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Muziic Plays Vevo, YouTube Music Without 'Obtrusive' Ads

Major record labels have been hoping that music videos will become the best way to make free music pay, for the simple reason that is easier to advertise to people watching videos than to those just listening. Those plans could spring a leak, thanks to a new site called Muziic. It gives fans access to […]
A search for the band Major Lazer brings up a Vevo stream with playback controls at the bottom of the screen.
A search for the band Major Lazer brings up a Vevo stream, with playback controls at the bottom of the screen.

Major record labels have been hoping that music videos will become the best way to make free music pay, for the simple reason that is easier to advertise to people watching videos than to those just listening.

Those plans could spring a leak, thanks to a new site called Muziic. It gives fans access to millions of free songs on YouTube and the label-backed Vevo video service, without them having to see any pesky embedded ads. The service also bypasses labels' annoying country-by-country restrictions that ignore the fact that the internet is global.

Muziic was a Windows software application when I covered it for Wired's print edition this summer. The free program essentially turned YouTube into iTunes, by allowing users to organize music collections out of the millions of free songs on YouTube and rip their MP3s to YouTube.

But Muziic failed to go viral, in no small part because installing computer applications is so last-millennium. It's not surprising, then, that on Sunday, Muziic unveiled a web-based version of its service that should broaden its appeal.

And Muziic expanded its scope Monday to include Vevo -- the music video startup owned by Universal, Sony and Abu Dhabi, and operated by Google's YouTube -- allowing people to use the service without watching ads or abiding by the service's North America–only restriction on playback.

That could change, considering that Vevo does not approve of Muziic's use of its content. "Vevo does not authorize, condone or otherwise endorse, in any way whatsoever, the actions of Muziic which involve our licensed music videos or registered trademarks," said the company in a statement to wired.com (updated).

Regardless, video sites are fast replacing audio-only sites as the best places to stream music. Despite good intentions and innovation, audio-only sites imeem, iLike, Grooveshark, Spotify and Last.fm failed to deliver a free, encyclopedic music service to fans throughout 2009. Meanwhile, YouTube and Vevo offer millions of free songs, accompanied by videos. Muziic lets you treat those songs as if they lived on your computer rather than in the cloud.
vevo_searchLike Vevo, Muziic allows registered users to create playlists, but Muziic's search interface (above) is more efficient than Vevo's (right), offering direct song access that's more reminiscent of iTunes than YouTube. In addition, Muziic includes easy-to-access tools for posting links to the song on social networks or adding it to a playlist.

"Our integration of Vevo content reflects how many (myself included) felt Vevo.com should have been," said 16-year-old Muziic co-founder and CTO David Nelson by e-mail. "Examining user feedback for Vevo on Twitter and in the blogosphere was a big factor in its design."

Indeed, some music fans will prefer Muziic's slick interface to Vevo and YouTube, but the company's promise to deliver this music worldwide "without obtrusive video advertisements" could prove more alluring.

Since the whole idea behind Vevo is to extract more money from advertisers when people watch free music online, Google, the record labels and Abu Dhabi Media could bristle at the idea of Muziic and other services playing those songs without showing the ads. However, YouTube approved Muziic earlier this year, after Muziic agreed to increase the size of its video-player window, and Nelson says he doesn't expect Google, Vevo or the labels to block Muziic from accessing the songs.

"In certain countries we are not able to stream Vevo content for artists licensed by Sony," said Nelson by e-mail. "In these instances, Muziic performs a search for user-generated content that is accessible to the user, ensuring that every visitor finds exactly what they're looking for.... I anticipate no further video blocks."

Nelson said the company is working on an iPhone app to complement its playback software, web-based service and Facebook app.

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