Vevo's 2024 NewFront Gathering Lets the Music Play…and Play Some More

The Big Message: There's a channel running on Vevo for every musical genre, every music-minded viewer and every advertiser out to reach a particular audience, audiences inside underrepresented communities included. "We're living deeper into one of the great passion points of entertainment --music videos," explained Rob Christensen, the venture's Executive Vice President, Global Sales. "When fans watch music, they equally watch your brand. (They) are engaged viewers, because music videos deeply resonate with them, influence them and display the people and stories that reflect the world around them."

Hosts: Christensen paired up with U.S. Sales Vice President Melissa Sofo. Both kept their remarks short and factoid focused. "We'll speak less, so you can watch more music," Christensen added.

What Worked: The emphasis on music genres showcased round-the-clock on Vevo's channel assortment, as well as the ability to spotlight trends on the rise from Afrobeats to Regional Mexican (picking up three billion views last year).

What Also Worked: Brown's mini-concert, more intimate and personable than usual. Backed by a trio of musicians playing violin, acoustic guitar and keyboards, Brown's energetic voice and easygoing (if often salty on language) manner had the audience grooving to such songs as "I Like Country Music," "Bury Me In Georgia," "I Love It" and "Heaven."

What Can Work Here: A minute or two spotlighting an advertiser's campaign, how inventive it was and how it turned out. Ad industry attendees are hungry for that kind of takeaway. What's more, in Vevo's surroundings, you can make the case musically live on stage or through a video.

Data Points: With a catalog of nearly one million music videos, Vevo's channels are watched by more than 33 million people every day. Collectively, these ad-supported channels are available to 88 percent of all U.S. smart TV households. Seventy percent of the top 100 Vevo music acts come from underrepresented communities. Brown's performance and story-centric videos have racked up more than 2.5 billion Vevo views so far.

News: Over the next few months, Vevo will invite specific advertisers and brands to sponsor videos of specific artists on a category-exclusive basis. The agreements will cover messages placed near an artist's archived videos and new material. In some cases, based on the artist, sponsor campaigns will cover multiple music video channels. Also, look for more smart TV products and multichannel bundles to launch multiple Vevo networks over the summer.

Bonus Points: Brown's soulful rendition of the Ray Charles classic tune "Georgia," with solo keyboard accompaniment. If you couldn't be at Webster Hall to see him sing live, or watch by livestream, you'll get another chance May 16 when for the second straight year, Prime Video presents the annual Academy of Country Music Awards live from Frisco, Texas. Brown is nominated in several categories, including Entertainer of the Year. At Vevo's after-party reception, we found one more nominee for best NewFront appetizer of 2024. Fanfare please: mushroom maki rolls.

Parting Words: "Now is the time for us to double down on the value we can add to advertisers, positioning them alongside the biggest cultural moments and artists." -Melissa Sofo, Vevo's Vice President of U.S. Sales.

"This is awkward as hell, and I'm glad to be here…There's that fly. Come on over!" -Kane Brown.

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