Erik Huggers is CEO at music specialist Vevo. He delivered a keynote address at IBC2016.

Speaking just ahead of his speech, titled ‘Online Broadcasting Evolves’, Huggers told us that he had just added content from Warner Music to his portfolio, and relaunched the service.

“Over the last year we’ve increasingly taken steps to prioritise our owned and operated Vevo experiences for mobile, web and connected TVs,” he says.

“Our relaunch was the culmination of these initial efforts, as we introduced a revitalised brand, product and approach to our content and programming. We’re re-focusing our brand to ensure that we’re putting our artists first in everything we do and let their content shine with the audience.

“For our product, we’re building a highly personalised experience that’s anchored in creating a community where music video lovers can enjoy and share their favourite content, while discovering new artists relevant to their tastes.

For our original content, we’re introducing a distinct editorial voice for the first time, through bringing a compelling roster of hosts and curators onto the platform.

We’re balancing this with high-quality production for our dscvr, LIFT and Vevo Presents programmes. The addition of Warner Music Group rounds out our content offering beautifully, through adding an incredible roster of artists.”

“Media platforms are evolving to allow anyone to find an audience”

Huggers admits that Vevo, while very important, is not the only game in town.

“Our audience has a finite amount of time every day,” he says.

“We have to offer an experience that’s distinct enough to become a daily habit. We also see the audio and video streaming spaces as very different experiences, so it’s difficult to make these comparisons as a result.”

An on-demand world

While Huggers was a key player in the introduction of the BBC’s iPlayer service, he observes the world has evolved considerably since then.

“The world has increasingly moved to an on-demand digital environment where connectivity is ubiquitous and consumers get the content they love when they want it and how they want it, through smartphone, TV or web.

“This new world is ushering in an era of personal broadcasting, where media platforms are evolving to allow anyone to find an audience, and even become a star if they can tell stories in a compelling way. It’s changing the fundamental way we look at building products in the digital media space.”

Global growth

Huggers recognises that there is still much to do, not least geographic expansion.

“80 per cent of our views are generated outside the US, and moving forward for us it’s important we capitalise on growing market opportunities in regions like Latin America and selective expansion in Europe and Asia. Core to our success here is ensuring we have the right regional content, local relationships and business model to appropriately develop and nurture these opportunities.”

This interview was first conducted for IBC2016.