YouTube long ago replaced MTV as a go-to outlet for music videos. Now the video service is launching its own potential rival to MTV’s Video Music Awards. The first-ever YouTube Music Awards ceremony promises live performances by Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, and Eminem. The live event will take place Sunday, November 3, in New York City. Actor/musician Jason Schwartzman will host, and music-video legend Spike Jonze is serving as creative director.
Nominees will be announced October 17, with the most-watched and shared videos getting the nods. Reflecting the times we live in, fans can vote for the winners by sharing their favorite videos across social media, so, as YouTube puts it, “the awards are judged in full view of everyone.” The artists involved will also be sharing “official music videos, covers, parodies, concerts, interviews, and fan videos” in the lead-up to the event, which will also feature events from Seoul, Moscow, London and Brazil.
Jonze, of course, has overseen a number of excellent movies since his video-directing days, among them Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Where the Wild Things Are; Jonze’s upcoming Her has music from Karen O and Arcade Fire. Schwartzman, who released music as Coconut Records after previously fronting Phantom Planet, has starred in Rushmore, Slackers, and I Heart Huckabees. Check out a video preview by Schwartzman below as we wait to see if Miley Cyrus will show up twerking.
//www.youtube.com/embed/9ckE_S5Y5QM
