Music video platform Vevo has confirmed that it will be shutting down all of its mobile apps and consumer-facing video hosting website, signaling a shift in its business to focus on YouTube (via Variety). Apps affected include those for iOS and Android, but as of now "select" smart TV apps, potentially including Apple TV, will continue to run.

Vevo is well known for being a platform that users can go to watch the latest music videos, but many viewers simply use the company's YouTube channel, leading Vevo's iOS, Android, Apple TV, and other apps to struggle with growth. After the discontinuation of its apps and website, Vevo's YouTube channel will become the primary source of its music video distribution.

vevo iphone app

Major-label owned Vevo is giving up on plans to build its own music video platform outside of YouTube’s control: Vevo is shutting down its mobile apps and consumer-facing website, the company announced Thursday morning.

“We will phase out elements of our owned and operated platforms,” the company said in a blog post Thursday. “Going forward, Vevo will remain focused on engaging the biggest audiences and pursuing growth opportunities.”

To ensure a smooth transition, Vevo will provide a playlist tool to its mobile app users so they can import their Vevo playlists over to YouTube. In the iOS app [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad, Vevo offers its users personalized recommendations, user profiles to follow, specific notifications about new videos and live performances, and more -- all of which will now go away.

The announcement comes a few weeks after it was revealed that YouTube and Vevo have a new deal that lets YouTube sell the music video platform's clips directly to advertisers, in an effort to boost ad sales. The sunsetting of Vevo apps also follows months of shakeups at the company, with former CEO Erik Huggers leaving in December, head of product Mark Hall leaving in January, chief technology officer Alex Nunes departing in the spring, and "significant" layoffs to Vevo's product and engineering teams at the same time.

Apple has also been increasing its focus on music videos within its Music app, launching a dedicated "Music Videos" section inside of Apple Music this spring. In the new area, subscribers can find new weekly playlists for various genres, browse through the latest videos, watch exclusive content, and more.

Tag: Vevo

Top Rated Comments

adamjackson Avatar
87 months ago
Big picture, Vevo was one of the only current players that had an opportunity to actually take on YouTube. Even they are throwing in their hat.

1. Partnerships with labels & artists
2. revenue sharing deasl
3. Apps & Website
4. Plenty of content

They're still succumbing that it's just easier to keep putting it all on YouTube's platform.

It's a shame because there are very few companies who have what it takes to compete with youTube. Vevo was one of them.

When I did watch music videos, I much preferred doing it on Vevo's properties.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSearch Avatar
87 months ago
That's unfortunate. What few people realize is that the quality of music videos on the Vevo website is significantly better than on YouTube, especially some of the older videos that Vevo uploaded when it first started.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Westside guy Avatar
87 months ago
Focussing all your company's efforts on offering your product via a platform which is also a direct competitor... doesn't seem like a good, long-term business decision.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
martyjmclean Avatar
87 months ago
I don’t know anybody who uses the Vevo app or website.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jonblatho Avatar
87 months ago
They had an app?

(Kidding.)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...