Vevo planning subscription plan for ad-free music videos

Vevo is working on a paid version of its music video service, as it works to expand its empire and move past a reliance on advertising for revenue.

Erik Huggers, CEO of Vevo, announced at the Code/Media conference on Wednesday the paid service could launch as soon as this year.

"Today our business is all about ad-supported," said Huggers, speaking at the conference in California. "So we think that one of the important things -- we hear this throughout the industry -- is the move toward subscription. That's something we're interested in."

Vevo, a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music, will work to cater music videos to users' listening habits, the executive said. If you're watching a music video on YouTube, it's likely from Vevo.

Vevo videos, which garners 17 billion views a month worldwide, will continue to be ad-supported and free on YouTube, its main platform for garnering viewers.