YouTube announces music awards show “powered by you” (and not by Vevo)

YouTube has announced a crowd-sourced music awards show streamed live from New York on 3rd November, with the winning acts chosen by YouTube viewers.

We get it. You love music. From propelling unknown artists to the top of the charts, to cheering on established artists as they reinvent the music video, to remixing and reimagining your own, music fans have turned YouTube into the world’s go-to music destination. Now, to celebrate music fans and the music you love, we’re announcing a new kind of awards show–one powered by you … 

The nominations, based on the most-watched and most-shared content on YouTube over the past year, will be announced on 17th October. The winners will then be chosen by viewers sharing the nominated videos on social networks.

Hosted by actor Jason Schwartzman and directed by “music-video visionary” Spike Jonze, nominated artists already revealed include Lady Gaga, Eminem, and Arcade Fire.

GigaOM noted one name wasn’t mentioned:

Notably absent from the announcement was Vevo, the major-label-owned music video platform that has been supplying many of the most-viewed music videos to YouTube. That may not have been a coincidence: YouTube and Vevo have long been frenemies, with both parties trying to get as much as possible out of their relationship while at the same time trying to keep some independence.

Google took a $50M stake in Vevo back in February to retain its access to Vevo artists. YouTube and Vevo have had an uneasy relationship, likely not helped by the fact that Vevo has just launched in Germany, a market where rights disputes block many YouTube videos from German viewers. Germany is the 13th country to get Vevo’s own music video service.