YouTube Premieres is a YouTube-specific feature that creates hype around the release of a new music video by allowing artists to watch and experience their new content alongside viewers.

Once a premiere has been set up, a shareable watch page with a countdown is automatically generated. 

Please note, YouTube Premieres are only available for videos that have not gone live yet.

Criteria

(For Form Requests):

+ Requests are approved during business hours (Monday-Friday 10 am-6 pm Pacific, Eastern, British Standard Time)

+ All information must be accurate (no placeholder information - ***doing so may jeopardize your YouTube Premiere***).

+ Only submit requests for videos that have actually been delivered. If a request is approved for a video that's not delivered, the premiere will not actually be scheduled, as there's nothing in Backstage to Schedule.

For Backstage Users with permissions to create premieres: Link - How to Schedule a Premiere in Backstage

Link for Premiere form

Please fill out the form at this address. 

https://ops.vevo.com/premieres/

For Trailers - Please add the trailer on the bottom of the second page of the form. Please note a premiere trailer must be longer than 15 seconds and shorter than 3 minutes or the trailer will not populate on the watchpage.

Once we have processed your form submission you will get an email confirmation detailing the date and time of the premiere and watch page, if any of this information is incorrect or you wish to make a change to the timings please contact content@vevo.com

You should also receive a confirmation email when your watch page goes live, or you can watch the action at the YouTube link for your video in Backstage!

This is an example of a Watch Page for a video that will Premiere on YouTube:

How do I access my watch page and who can view it?

Once watch page is live, a page like the above, featuring a thumbnail or a trailer if you have one will be searchable on YouTube and visible to the public. The live chat starts when the watch page starts. All premieres, with the exception of videos marked "Made For Kids" (which have no live chat), will have the live chat displayed and it cannot be disabled.

Live Chat FAQ:

How does the artist enter the chat?

Once a premiere with chat watch page is live, the artist can enter the chat by logging into their OAC youtube account and going to the videos URL. If the OAC is set as a moderator (added ahead of time by Vevo content ops, this is on the premiere form), their messages will be highlighted and feature a wrench icon. This makes artist-fan interactions easy to see.

How long is the chat available for?

The chat is available when the Watch Page is launched and is available for the entire duration of the countdown.

It disappears after the video has fully premiered. You can replay a live chat after a premiere, but no new messages can be sent once the premiere is over. All premieres, with the exception of videos marked "Made For Kids" (which have no live chat), will have the live chat displayed and it cannot be disabled.

Can multiple artists use the chat?

Yes, if the track is featuring multiple artists the OAC account of the additional artists that are featuring on the track can be added as moderators, giving them access to the chat. Please set this up ahead of time with content@vevo.com

If you'd like the extra artists removed from being moderators after the premiere, please notify content ops after the premiere.

Can an artist enter the chat using their cell phone?

Artist can access chat using the YouTube app on their phone to access the chat as long as they are logged in to their OAC account.

Premiere features 

Live Redirect:

 Link - Red carpet/ Live Redirect - Support Article

The Live Redirect feature allows you to navigate your viewers from a Livestream, directly to a video's premiere. (Or vice versa). Please contact your YouTube Partner Manager for more information. Live redirect can only be used for livestreams or other videos that are in premiere mode. Live Redirect cannot be used for videos that are private, unlisted, or are already public.

How this works on Vevo. 

• The video gets delivered to Vevo as per usual 
• Set up your video premiere as you normally would
• Label contacts content@vevo.com to add the artist channel to the live direct allow list of the Vevo channel.
• Label reaches out to Youtube to get the live redirect set up. 
• For more detailed instructions - please visit this link

Pinning comments in live chat

How this works on Vevo. 

• The video gets delivered to Vevo as per usual 
• Label reaches out to Youtube to get channel whitelisted
• Label contacts content@vevo.com conflicting channel is whitelisted and confirming the email associated with the OAC.
• This email will be added as a channel manager to the Vevo channel by content ops and instructions will be given to the label on how to pinned comments in the live chat
• Alternately, if you're just pinning one chat message, it's easiest to send the copy to content@vevo.com and request that the comment be posted and pinned in the live chat.

Trailers

• For Premiere Trailers, a video must be supplied to be used as a trailer that will play during the Premiere period when a user lands on the page. This can be added via the form (on the second page)
•  The video must be at least 15 seconds and no longer than 3 minutes. The trailer will not display on the watch page if it does not comply with these requirements.
• Trailers can be scheduled via the premiere form and via Backstage

Countdowns:

The Countdown is a descending timer that appears when the video is to go live. This allows fans and latecomers a little extra time to watch the video's first play live. A countdown by default is 2 minutes long. If your video is set to go live at 11 PM, then the 2 minute countdown will begin at 11 PM, and thus your video will play for the first time at 11:02. 

The countdown can be between 1 and 4 minutes long. This can be adjusted in Backstage. Different countdown themes are also available in YouTube/Backstage. you'll be able to select one from the dropdown list. 

Premiere FAQ

If my video Premiered at the wrong time can I set up a new Premiere?

Once a video has premiered, it can not premiere again due to youtube restrictions.

I have a Premiere on my OAC channel can I now move this video to my Vevo channel?

Yes! Please see our chown process: Link - Chowning  

What promo materials can be used in a Premiere?

• Hashtags
• Album/Single Pack Shots (Cover Art)
•  Can display at the end of the video for no more than 3 seconds (if combined with other promo items, the total display time for all promo items should not exceed 3 seconds). Pack shots are acceptable throughout audio videos.

What promo materials can not be used?

As with all Vevo content the below could be considered an “Ad” or endorsement that would conflict with the Ads we (and YouTube) serve. If you’d like confirmation prior to delivering the video, please email content@vevo.com for approval.

• Cards/Slates that appear at the beginning of the video
• Cards/Slates that appear at the end of the video for more than 3 seconds (total)
• Burned in logos
• Brand/Product Logos/text
• Chyrons & Lower Thirds
• Months/Dates/Year callouts
• URLs, Twitter Handles, Instagram Handle
• Digital/Physical retail or DSP callouts/buttons
• End Cards for the purpose of YouTube Annotations

How can I make updates to a video in Premiere mode?

Updates can be sent to videos in Premiere mode, however, the updates may not actually go through until after the countdown is over. If your watch page is live and you need the below updated urgently, please contact content@vevo.com 

-Thumbnail

-Start date/time

If you wish to update any of these fields, please contact content@vevo.com and we can make these updates directly on YouTube.