With the rather trashy reality TV shows that continue to invade MTV and have forced out music videos as an entirety, there’s one thought that must resonate with musically-inclined individuals like myself: Thank goodness for music websites like VEVO.

Sure, I tune into the variety of dramatic, slander-heavy, and blatantly inappropriate shows that have found permanent time slots on channels like MTV, VH1, and Bravo, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit there was a big part of me that pines for the days when I could come home from school and have fresh-faced Carson Daly ready for the Top 10 countdown on TRL, or back in the earlier days when MTV played video after video of our favorite ‘90s rock and pop bands. Sadly, the only music video I’ve seen as of late is Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night.”

The way things are going these days with the new genre of reality TV shows plugging up the airwaves, it’s looking like channels like MTV will never be able to turn back. In fact, the only time I ever see music videos coming up for air is when a song’s title and artist scrolls across the bottom of the screen as it plays in the background of say, Teen Mom or the Jersey Shore.  

Music videos may be taking a backstage spot on MTV, but they are now taking more of the spotlight on websites like VEVO, whose content is distributed on YouTube, and now on Microsoft’s (News - Alert) Xbox Live service. The only catch is users have to endure a short 30-second or so advertisement before their jam starts to play on the screen.

Since VEVO launched almost two years ago by record company moguls Universal and Sony, VEVO has become one of the most popular music streaming Websites, and No. 3 video site behind YouTube and Facebook (News - Alert), according to the Business Insider. The numbers speak for themselves, as VEVO garners almost 57 million monthly unique viewers who spend an average of more than an hour on the site. Makes me wonder how that racks up next to viewers of MTV’s current selection of shows.

And, as an advocate against ripping music, these stats are music to my own ears: VEVO has paid out millions in royalties to the musicians and content owners who dole out videos through the site. 

It’s obvious VEVO has found its niche, but will the company one day attempt to mirror what MTV used to be in terms of a dedicated music channel? Not quite, according to VEVO CEO Rio Caraeff (News - Alert), who said the company is aiming to build a global audience of music lovers as grandeur as the audience that loves sporting events like the World Cup or the Super Bowl.

“We're not interested in buying an old cable channel and flipping it into something else,” Caraeff told Business Insider during an interview, in reference to the idea of venturing into TV. “I don't think that's the best approach but I do think that we will be on television. We will be there through partnerships with traditional incumbents who are in the business of operating networks today and we will be there through partnerships with companies who are more disruptive and focused on the future.”

VEVO’s business ventures over the next year also come at an interesting time with Google’s (News - Alert) move to redesign YouTube to make the site look more like a television. While Caraeff confirms VEVO’s content will remain on YouTube despite these changes, the company is still working on how it plans to package its content under a variety of channels.

“We look at our partnership with YouTube (News - Alert) specifically as essentially a syndication partner for VEVO. It's one spoke on the wheel but it's a very large spoke, of course.”I know I’m elated to hear VEVO will continue to permeate the music landscape of YouTube, which has inevitably become my No. 1 resource for video watching. If all else fails, we always have the return of good ol’ “Beavis and Butthead” to supply us with the mere minutes of music videos still remaining on MTV. 

Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell