Vevo has taken the first step towards being less reliant on YouTube

Vevo may be the most-popular music video platform in the world, but it’s almost entirely reliant on YouTube for views, and by extension, advertising revenue. Obviously, no company wants to be so reliant on another company for revenue, especially when that company has been encroaching on Vevo’s territory with services like YouTube Music and YouTube Red, which is why Vevo has decided to acquire video-streaming platform known as Showyou. This acquisition, which is Vevo’s first, will not only help it become more independent, it’ll help the company transition from an ad-based revenue model to a subscription-based one.

Vevo, the world’s largest music video platform, has today announced its first acquisition: Showyou, a subscription-based video streaming platform that helps users find video content that might appeal to them. Vevo is a joint venture of Universal Music Group, Google, Sony Music Entertainment and Abu Dhabi Media, and offers music videos from major record labels, which are then distributed through YouTube, but the company has been gradually shifting its platform to be more independent. With the acquisition, Vevo is positioning itself to compete more directly with premium, paid products like YouTube Red and Spotify. A Showyou spokesperson had this to say: “Remixation is the company that made Showyou. Remixation was founded in 2006 by Mark Hall, along with co-founders Scott Persinger and Spencer Miles. Their first product was Vodpod, which was sold to Lockerz in 2011 so that the team could focus full-time and exclusively on the development of Showyou. The company has been backed by venture capital firm True Ventures throughout its history. Remixation is winding down its affairs as a result of the acquisition of Showyou.”