• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 7, 2009

On the eve of its official launch, music video site Vevo said Monday that is has added videos from EMI Music Group to its cache, which already includes clips from owners Universal Music Group and Sony.

EMI -- the smallest of the four top music labels -- is only licensing its videos to the venture, and isn't joining as an equity partner. Rather, it is expected to get an advance against revenue upfront.

According to Vevo President and CEO Rio Caraeff, the new site is more than just a music video hub. "It is also about original programming and strengthening the connection between artists and fans."

More to the point, Caraeff added, the site is about "immediately providing advertisers with the scalability they desire and access to the most sought-after demographic on the Web" -- i.e., the young and the culture-obsessed.

The deal means Warner Music Group will be the only one of the four major labels that is not working with the video site.

Warner, for its part, has struck its own deal with Google's YouTube -- which, ironically, is powering the Vevo platform. (Previously, last December, Warner Music Group pulled its content from the site after failing to come to terms to renew its agreement.)

In exchange for a share of ad revenue, Google's YouTube will operate Vevo.com as a stand-alone site, and feature a Vevo channel on its own video hub.

To date, Universal Music Group and the other major labels had already done distribution deals with YouTube. More broadly, YouTube has signed deals over the past year with the likes of CBS, MGM, and Disney in an effort to carry more premium, advertiser-friendly fare.

In October, Abu Dhabi Media Company purchased a stake in Vevo from Universal Music and Sony. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it reportedly valued the joint venture at about $300 million, and was intended to allay antitrust issues, given that Vevo's owners represent two of the four major music labels.

In November, meanwhile, Hulu -- originally envisioned as a hub for long-form premium video content -- announced its own partnership with EMI, and in turn gave artist Norah Jones her own dedicated "channel," featuring her music videos along with various concert and interview footage.