[UPDATED] Once you’ve gone to the trouble of creating a music video, it’s important to give some thought to how you want it distributed. Here we look at the benefits and downsides of both YouTube and Vevo.
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Guest post by Alexandra Kennedy of Symphonic Distribution
So you’re planning to release an upcoming music video and are unsure if you should utilize a personal YouTube channel or create a Vevo channel to distribute your video more “officially”?
It’s important to know not only the difference between YouTube and Vevo, but also the benefits and downsides to both so that you can confidently upload your music videos and set yourself up for success.
The main difference between YouTube and Vevo is the simple fact that YouTube is limitless in terms of the type of video content uploaded to the platform, while Vevo is solely for music content. Even though yes, your video is competing with a vastly larger number of videos on YouTube, that doesn’t mean it’s capability for exposure is less. By ensuring your channel and videos are optimized correctly, you can increase the visibility of your videos.
Here are some key differences between YouTube and Vevo:
YouTube //
- Total ability to quickly and easily manage all parts of your channel at any time
- Ability to upload and take down videos quickly
- Access to Creator Studio
- Ability to view, analyze and report your channel’s analytics
- Ability to manage and optimize your individual videos with tags, cards, end screens, etc.
- Ability to set channel and video upload defaults
- Livestream capabilities
- Interaction with your YouTube fans through likes, comments and messages
- No consideration for feature placement on Vevo
- Less likely for videos to go viral unless optimized correctly
Vevo //
- Cannot update channel yourself, but can have the below details updated through your distributor per request
- Artist image
- Channel Banner
- Channel Trailer Video
- Channel Description (found under “About” tab)
- Social Media Links
- Featured Channels
- Google Analytics Tracking ID
- Makes you look more “legit” as an artist
- Doesn’t guarantee more exposure, but has more potential to go viral
- More likely to get your video featured in a well-exposed playlist, i.e. Vevo playlists
- Video content lives on Vevo YouTube channel AND Vevo.com (App included)
Video Distribution Monetization //
Symphonic Video Distribution clients have their videos monetized on Vevo, iTunes, Tidal and Amazon. Any other channels that provide ad based streams and/or royalties are accounted. Clients collect 70% of the royalties for video distribution.
When you upload your video to both YouTube and Vevo, you can’t monetize your personal video. Learn more about video distribution monetization here.
Can you do both?
Of course. In fact, we recommend it. Odds are that as an artist, your only content on YouTube isn’t solely that of official content like official music videos, track videos, behind the scenes videos, or lyric videos (all of which that can be uploaded to your Vevo channel upon approval). You’ve probably uploaded to your personal channel full live performances, teaser videos, fan contests, or whatever else that has made sense for your brand as an artist. If you decide you want to keep your personal YouTube channel with all of these videos and then get a Vevo channel created to release more official content, you can easily link them both so that viewers visiting both channels are in the know (i.e. playlists and Featured Channels).
We hope that this article has cleared up the key differences between YouTube and Vevo, and will give you the direction you need when planning to release your next music video.
If you go the personal YouTube channel route but need help ensuring your channel and videos are fully optimized and branded, check out our YouTube Optimization Service. If you’re interested in getting a Vevo channel created, check out our Music Video Distribution Service.
