Vevo app refresh paves path to breaking free from YouTube

LOS ANGELES – Vevo, the music video brand of labels Sony and Universal, wants to give you a reason to watch its videos somewhere other than YouTube.

The relaunch of its mobile app Thursday adds several hosts who will curate playlists and create original snippets of video. It also introduces a video player that, like Snapchat, will play full-screen videos while a phone is upright instead of sideways, and provides a personalized feed of recommended videos that automatically shows moving image previews.

CEO Erik Huggers said the revamp is the “first step on the journey” toward moving audiences from the “one size fits all” YouTube platform to an app dedicated solely to music. He said the refresh paves the way for more originals, an ad-free subscription plan and more ways for fans to express their musical tastes.

Although YouTube remains a huge driver of Vevo’s success, moving off the world’s biggest video platform will enable Vevo and its record label owners to keep more revenue from ads.