Universal Music's much-discussed music video service has finally been brought to life. The Hulu-like site, which was formed following major label dissatisfaction with YouTube, has gone live with content from Universal, Sony Music and EMI.

Independent labels and Warner Music Group haven't signed up yet, which removes quite a chunk of the music market place - nearly 40% of the market if the latest figures are accurate. Add that to the problem that it isn't available outside of the States, and you have a service that's rather limited.

However, the US doesn't have much in the way of free music streaming options since most music videos have been removed from YouTube. So it's entirely possible that Americans will go crazy for Vevo in the same way that Europeans have gone crazy over the free streaming offered by the award-winning Spotify.

It'll be ad-supported, with advertisers at launch including AT&T, Colgate-Palmolive, MasterCard and McDonald’s. However, given that there'll be no label payments (because it's run by the labels) it makes things quite a bit more viable than other free streaming services.

If you've had a look at Vevo, either through being in the US or using a proxy server, we'd love to hear what you think of the catalogue and how irritating the ads are. Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Via: wired.com

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