Video Sites Announce New Music Features: Hulu Adds Artist Pages, Vevo Sets Launch

Norah Jones, whose new album The Fall was released yesterday, is about to become a Web-music guinea pig. EMI has teamed with video-streaming site Hulu — itself a partnership between NBC, ABC and Fox — to establish artist pages for the major label's roster. Jones is the first to get her very own Hulu page, which will house all of the Grammy winner's music videos and a selection of live performances, as well as interviews about recording The Fall. As Rolling Stone previously reported, in December 2008 major labels were weighing partnering with Hulu to increase streaming royalties.

According to the New York Times, EMI hopes to add more of their artists over time, as well as continuously update Jones' Hulu page to keep it a destination for fans. Andy Forssell, a senior vice president at Hulu, anticipates that the streaming video site will eventually agree to deals with the remaining major labels.

Interestingly enough, Hulu's dip into the music world comes the same day that new video Website Vevo — a joint venture between YouTube, Universal and Sony — announced its launch date, December 8th. Using the YouTube model, Vevo will offer up music videos plus other artist-related content, Billboard.biz reports.

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Song Stories

“All Along the Watchtower”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience | 1968

Jimi Hendrix got hold of Bob Dylan's early John Wesley Harding tapes and in late 1967 recorded a version of "All Along the Watchtower" with the Experience in London. Dissatisfied with that first development, Hendrix brought those tapes with him to New York in early 1968 when he began work on Electric Ladyland. Eddie Kramer, Hendrix's engineer at the time, told Rolling Stone that Hendrix "was still looked upon by his basically white audience as the mammoth black guitar hero. There was a constant fight within him to expand himself." Hendrix's successful take on Dylan's work has long been recognized by the songwriter. "I liked Jimi Hendrix's record of this and ever since he died I've been doing it that way," Dylan wrote in the liner notes to his Biograph box set. "Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it's a tribute to him in some kind of way."

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