Viki inks deals with Warner Music and more to screen music videos

Viki, a Singapore-based global video site, has announced this week that it has signed deals with Warner Music Group (WMG), LOEN Entertainment and SEED Music Group, as well as other labels and agencies, to stream thousands of music videos from hundreds of artists on the website.

The music videos are being streamed on Viki.com to users in the United States, Canada, Europe, as well as most countries in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The content will roll out in other markets later this year.

Featured artists include global superstars and emerging talent from diverse genres and multiple languages. They include K-Pop and rap artists IU, Drunken Tiger and Brown Eyed Girls. 

“Viki’s mission is to bring down language barriers around great content, and there’s no better way to do it than through music, which is universally loved,” said Razmig Hovaghimian, CEO and co-founder of Viki.

The press release states that Viki sees more than 12 million visitors each month. They come onto the site to watch their favorite TV shows and movies, subtitled into 150 languages by its community.

Said Won-Su Shin, CEO of LOEN Entertainment: “Through the alliance with Viki, we’ve established a foothold for spreading K-Pop throughout the world. We anticipate that many users can now share their favorite music more conveniently and that global competitiveness of Korean music will be strengthened.”

In 2011, Viki announced US$20M in Series B funding from strategic investors include BBC Worldwide and SK Planet, a subsidiary of SK Telecom; as well as from existing investors Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Charles River Ventures and Neoteny Labs, among others.

In 2010, they raised US$4.3M in Series A funding  from the same firms, in addition to private investors from the media industry, including Rajesh Sawhney, President of Reliance Entertainment of India, and Alex Zubillaga, former global head of digital at Warner Music.