Universal Music Group To Premiere Music Video Content On Vessel, A Premium Online Video Service

Vessel subscribers to receive early access to select videos by Universal Music Group artists

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Feb 18, 2015, 03:15 ET

DANA POINT, Calif., Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's leading music company, and Vessel, a premium online video service, announced today an agreement to premiere select UMG videos through Vessel for an exclusive time period before making the content available on free, ad-supported services.

Lucian Grainge, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Music Group, and Jason Kilar, CEO and co-founder of Vessel, made the announcement today in Dana Point, California, at the Code/Media conference hosted by Re/Code.

"Vessel represents the latest business model innovation for premium short-form content and we're pleased to extend our industry-leading track record of empowering entrepreneurs who are growing the playing field for new content services," Grainge said. "Jason and his team recognize the substantial value of the music videos created by our world class roster of artists and have built a platform that promises fans a first-rate experience while providing artists and labels new ways to increase the monetization of their creative work."

"We are excited to work with Lucian and everyone at Universal. Their team has a real gift for finding talented new voices and helping them reach a wider audience through new platforms like Vessel," said Kilar. "It's no secret that consumers love music videos. We look forward to giving Universal artists an amazing new home on Vessel."

The specific artist videos from UMG's labels that will be featured on Vessel's paid tier will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Vessel subscribers receive at least 72 hours of exclusive access to short-form, professionally produced content on mobile devices and the Web for the price of $2.99 a month. During the early access period, videos on Vessel can earn a multiple of 20-times more per-view compared with free, ad-supported online video services.

After the exclusive time period, videos posted on Vessel become available on general ad-supported online services, including Vessel's free, ad-supported offering.

About Universal Music Group:
Universal Music Group is the global music leader, with wholly owned operations in 60 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the industry's premier music publishing operations worldwide.

Universal Music Group's labels include A&M Records, Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note Records, Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol Records, Capitol Records Nashville, Caroline, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, EMI Records Nashville, Fonovisa, Geffen Records, Harvest, Interscope Records, Island Records, Machete Music, Manhattan, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Republic Records, Universal Music Latino, Verve Music Group, Virgin Records, Virgin EMI Records, as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalogue of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalogue is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes Global Digital Business, its new media and technologies division and Bravado, its merchandising company.

Universal Music Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Vivendi.

About Vessel:
Vessel is a premium video service that gives passionate fans early access to short-form videos from their favorite creators. For only $2.99 a month, Vessel offers these videos through a curated, beautiful and creator-first platform that is accessible via mobile apps for iPad and iPhone and via Vessel.com.

In addition to its early access subscription offering, Vessel also offers a free, ad-supported version of the service where videos become available after their early access period.

Vessel, a San Francisco-based startup, was founded in 2013 by Jason Kilar and Richard Tom, the founding CEO and former CTO of Hulu. Vessel's investors include Benchmark Capital, Greylock Partners, and Bezos Expeditions.

SOURCE Universal Music Group