My idle thoughts on tech startups
Video Killed the Radio Star
Well, maybe not quite. But Viacom put out a press release at the end of 2007 highlighting the growth in MTV Networks’ (MTV.com, VH1.com, CMT.com) online video usage. The stats are impressive… 1.2B videos streamed (roughly 50% music videos, 50% other video content), 30M+ monthly visitors, and overall 30% year over year growth vs. 2007. Full disclosure too, Point Judith Capital has an investment in Music Nation, a company that lets unsigned musicians showcase their music videos and connect with fans and record labels.
Music videos never killed the radio of course and the web won’t kill MTV’s television properties either, though the latter is now mostly reality shows. But it’s interesting to see how the distribution of music videos has changed and the emphasis MTV Networks (and Viacom overall) has placed on online media.