Premium music video service Vevo has reached weekend daily highs of one billion global views, a record milestone, according to its annual year-end lookback.

This year, Vevo has been hyper-focused on its distribution strategy and expansion into the home via an array of OTT partners, including Samsung TV Plus, VIZIO and Netrange. Through these partnerships, Vevo is not only bringing music videos back to home television screens, but also greatly increasing its scale and reach.

As a result, UK viewership via connected television is up 24 per cent from January through November 2020 vs. the same period in 2019.

Notably, Samsung TV Plus and Pluto TV have together contributed on average nearly ten million average daily views, including nearly two million daily views of the Vevo Holiday Channel, which launched in November.

“In a year when the world grappled with a global pandemic and demanded social justice for all, music was a unifier. There’s no doubt, it’s a key part of our lives,” said Alan Price, Chief Executive Officer, Vevo. “On the business front, we saw our audience grow as people watched more music videos than ever before. In part, that’s due to our expansion into the living room, which brought new levels of engagement across our platform. These year-end trends exemplify the power and depth of our catalogue, and show how, at scale, we deliver culturally relevant content that reveals true artistic creativity. Vevo is poised for a successful 2021, and we look forward to continuing to add value to our partners.”

The music videos that kept the UK going

Vevo has seen significant spikes in viewership around global events:

• The moment the UK left the EU saw Europe’s The Final Countdown jump by over 161 per cent to 17.8K views on January 31st – showing how music was there to help console and celebrate the momentous date in the country’s history.

• R.E.M. ‘s It’s the End of the World video saw a 2,719 per cent lift in views after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March. As we all got used to social distancing, The Police Don’t Stand So Close To Me lifted moods with a 1070 per cent rise in views.

• During the global social justice movements across June, Childish Gambino’s This is America saw a +225 per cent increase in monthly views, and The Black Eyed Peas’ Where Is The Love? saw a 351 per cent lift in views. These moments highlight the role music videos play for people during pivotal societal moments, as they turn to music to soundtrack their lives.

• Future and Drake’s Life is Good is the most viewed Vevo video of 2020, with over 58.3 million views in the UK and 1.3B views globally with viewers loving this 5.35-minute long look at the world’s top rappers living more ‘ordinary’ lives. The video maintained the top spot throughout the year, beating the second and third spot by both versions of Blinding Lights by The Weeknd which held 30.4 million views combined.

• British artists also did well, with Little Mix securing the overall most watched artists spot – securing over 90.3 million views, with Sweet Melody coming in as the group’s top song with over 5.4 million views. Coming in second and third place were Ariana Grande with over 88.5 million views and Billie Eilish with over 86.8 million watches.

UK Top Videos 

UK Top Artists

UK Top Genres

Other posts by Colin Mann:

1. Analysis: SVoDs drive $220bn content spend
2. A TikToking clock heading towards regeneration – or not?
3. European pay-radio: Getting ready

Categories: Articles, Connected TV, Markets, OTT, OTT, Premium, Research, Video, VOD

Tags: Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Vevo