Internet Video Magazine

Interview with Tim Devine, founder of Webcastr.com, a new company whose slogan says it all - ‘the Best of Internet TV.’

Why would a well-known music business executive walk away from a successful career (and a seven-figure salary) to become the next Internet entrepreneur? Just ask Tim Devine, founder of Webcastr.com, a new company whose slogan says it all - ‘the Best of Internet TV.’

A year ago, Devine was sitting at the top of Sony’s Columbia Records West Coast operation as GM and SVP, Artists and Repertoire. A man whose shrewd skills as a talent scout, dealmaker and corporate player helped plump record company coffers to the tune of half a billion dollars across the last two decades, he’d been instrumental in the careers of such diverse artists as U2, Prince, Devo, Bonnie Raitt, the Beastie Boys, Blind Melon, The Offspring, Train, Switchfoot and dozens of other name acts. But now he found himself awash in an entertainment technology sea change that was swamping the traditional label model.

“There was a seismic shift happening,” Devine recalls. “It was painfully obvious – especially with the video revolution – that the frontier of opportunity in entertainment is in digitization and the web.” With every URL now the platform for a potential media empire, Devine opted out to build and rule his own.

Now sitting in the offices of The Devine Company at the center of Hollywood’s Sunset Strip, Devine is excited about the pioneering feel of his new enterprise. “It’s early days,” he says with a gleam in his eye. “We’re helping to create a whole new kind of media.” Turning to his computer, he navigates briskly through a portfolio of web commerce ventures he’s currently developing that range from real estate to automobiles to entertainment. Webcastr.com, the crown jewel the collection, is focused on is the burgeoning field of internet television. Devine is quick to explain what that

Website highlights best of professional clips on the web.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8

(Reuters) — Webcastr.com, a video website featuring professional video content from over 200 channel providers, today announced the winners of it’s Videos of the Year awards. Webcastr’s viewers, along with it’s editors voted amongst over 2,500 professionally produced videos on the website to pick the best video clips of the year for 2007.Thirty finalists were chosen by the staff of the webbery with the final clips being voted on during the last two weeks of December.The winners are:

• Heidi Loves Her Bazooms — (Victoria Secret promo spot featuring supermodel Heidi Klum)
• D*ck In A Box (The popular SNL skit featuring Justin Timberlake and Andy Samburg)
• Led Zeppelin Reunion Concert in the UK
• Acting for the Greenscreen (a comedy sketch from Body of Art)
• Bob Dylan Cadillac Commercial
• Britney Spears VMA Parody (featuring Chris Crocker from National Lampoon.com)
• Don’t Taze Me, Bro (from the John Kerry speech at Univ. of Florida)
• Snoop Dogg in the UK (where the US rapper was hassled by Heathrow authorities)
• The Chemical Bros. “Salmon Dance” (computer animated music video)
• Bush vs. Miss North Carolina (a comedy mashup)

Honorable Mention: SUV Driving Through a Shopping Mall (video surveillance tape)

Unlike the majority of video sharing sites, Webcastr features clips that come from licensed sources of professional and semi-pro content. “With so much of the user generated content out there being of questionable quality, we are happy to present these awards in recognition of the efforts of pro content creators who increasingly understand the value of the short form online video medium,” said Webcastr CEO, Tim Devine.

Webcastr.com now distributing content from over 200 name brand channel providers including CBS News, MTV News, Reuters, Vanity Fair, Daily Variety, FHM, Speed TV, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal TV, Celeb TV, AutoTrader TV, Sony/BMG Musicbox, and many more. Alexa rankings increased 1,500% among all websites worldwide.