Don’t let anyone deter you from your goal. If you want to direct music videos, then direct music videos. You may have to adapt or supplement your career with income from other type of content. But don’t let so-called industry trends stop you from your goal. Only you are responsible for what you do or don’t achieve.
Personally I feel like tik tok videos are becoming more important in how a song blows but ultimately music videos will always be here to create a legacy for an artist, the same way you can't take shortcuts to success. I'll never think of an artist and be like "oh yeah I remember that tik tok they did" but would remember every Eminem music video for example, whether this just means adapting to help create other types of videos for artists as well I'm here for
Yeah, i remember every artist released a music video for their song and it as A CULTURAL EVENT. Most music videos with over 1B views came out in 2014-2019, it was the golden age, and it was so fun because some of those videos weren't just "media tools" to promote the music, they were MOVIES, BLOCKBUSTERS, artistic pieces that improved or expanded the story of the songs. Now it's rare if a music video, even one for the biggest songs of the decade (2020's) reaches 1B views. It's just not the same anymore, and as you said, many of these artists are doing the same, nothing interesting, same tropes, as if there was a textbook to follow. Great video.
Couldn’t agree more with this! In the past 12-18 months I’ve gone from shooting around 8-10 + videos per month to shooting 3 or 4 max. At first I was concerned it was something to do with the quality of my work, but after speaking with other people about this I was reassured that wasn’t the issue. I’ve mainly worked with lower budgets during the 4 years I’ve been doing music videos & I agree that most artists want to do what every other artist is doing, because for some, it’s brought in big numbers, but for the majority, people will see it & notice how similar it is to others. TikTok lyric videos seem to be something that’s had a big impact, artists will record a 30 second clip on their phone, get someone to edit for £50 & rinse the promo on it - which works better for recognition than a lot of music videos these days & is more cost effective for the artist/label. It’s reassuring to see that someone who’s been in the industry much longer than me has noticed this too!
From someone who's been shooting music videos for 25 years plus i can vouch for what kevin is saying but over the years Ive personally devised strategies to compensate the loss of earning. Such as getting sponsors and product placement in videos. Its worked for me and proven to be quite lucrative. Its all about working smarter now not harder.
I agree with most of what you said, music videos got over saturated around 2012, and it lasted a good 8 years or so… too many artists making too many songs making too many videos. Now days it’s those same people making reels and TikTok’s. Return on investment is similar, but they aren’t spending tons of money on a video and waiting for someone to edit it. Just microwaving their way to a viral clip.
This is all so true... a $10-15k budget for a video used to be the norm for a mid-tier artist, that has dropped to $5k or less. Not a lot of money to go around. My director friends have pretty much abandoned MV and now only do ads or campaign work. Not nearly as fun, but having a career doing only MV is just not viable anymore.
Interesting points Kevin, I think were all feeling very similar within the industry, but we just need to think of ways to reinvent ourselves as creatives and find new ways to be creative aswell as sustaining ourselves. Which you seem to be doing well!
I'm trying my best! I try to always think of new ways to reivent myself, even when times were good and especially now the landscape if shifting. Keep powering through too my bro!
I think it's largely based on the way we treat the product of video in the scape it's in. Fuelled by the gap between the age of access and the age of curation. If you scroll through people making vertical videos they are treating the video like a billboard to their digital storefront, ultimately bringing the "content" closer to their end goal of conversion. The discouragement come from a place of not acknowledging that in the age of infinite access, that the Music video serves as a development of visual language for the products store front. Meaning the Traditional music video should be treated as such. A Means of communication closer to the means of conversion as supposed to being created as a stand alone valued art work. Traditional advertisements hold that value and the select few that are memorable are those that communicate the product as precisely. Another huge problem is based around the fact that most of these distribution platforms aren't user owned so the ability to "recoup" on their investment is already diminished. Once we can keep our subscribers and viewers across platforms then the value of a clearly communicated product explodes in value once again
i find that the music video has always walked the line between being promotional material and a piece of art in itself. certainly, today we can see it losing its value as a marketing asset, as the video acts more like and end-destination of a funnel (just as a stream on Spotify). BUT, might this mean that we see the artistic purpose of the mv rise on the account of promo material? artists are beginning to use the music video not as a tool, but as a part of their brand of their artistic integrity as a whole. which is kind of freeing in a way if you think about it. like you said, man - lets switch it up
Yeah I agree with that, if you're allowed to create art and help mould an artist's brand and look through creative music videos then it's definitely worth it but those opportunities aren't as common anymore.
I have a $35,000 camera and used to get booked more than half the month. On a great month it was almost every day. Now I shot like 3-4 vids a month. Shit is dried up badddd
there’s just so many dope videos that drop. I feel like artists don’t even promote their new music videos enough. They kind of just post it and move on to the next! Good music videos used to be rare, but now they’re a dime a dozen! Probably because the cameras these days are so damn good and available to average consumers
Agree with artists not promoting their music videos enough, we'll see trailers/promo a few days before and on release but then that's it for the most part.
As a Professional Director who mostly does music videos i can tell you the space has definitely changed, however music videos aren't dead in fact more videos are being shot than ever before because nowadays a audio only release rarely blows up like they use to. It is just the budgets that are getting smaller and thats also a result of cameras getting cheaper
See this why people i know music videos aren't popping they have be on tik tok with it. I use SoundCloud etc to drive track to RUclips. If was dropping a video i do a promo before releasing one.
Music will never die as long as music exists. A music video is an advertisement for music. Unless you just want to be in just the audio part of music, music videos are the best way to showcase your music to your audience.
for small underground artist music videos does help give views. some Artist will only get like 100 views if video just has thumb nail. if they make music video they can get around 1,000 to 10,000 views. when get big and everyone knows your name music videos do not work anymore. music videos still work form pop punk bands.
@@KevinHudsonFilm Interesting, and I believe it. Makes me sad to see the decline of music in a lot of categories, this being one. The best will always have work, I'm sure you'll keep busy as tides change. Some new tech on the horizon that might elevate your art beyond your wildest dreams. AI allowing for unlimited camera angles/movement on a shot etc. Pros and cons to it ofc.
Genuine question but as someone who’s recently been trying to get into the music video directing industry, would you say it’s even worth dedicating myself and time to getting into it?
I'd say it's still good to get your practice hours in from creating music videos, but don't dedicate your career to it because it's a crazy space at the moment.
I think the music is a reflection for that and the lack of creativity and wanting a "hit" vs creating art. Michael Jackson changed the music video making Landscape because he wanted to to be its own thing with promoting a song. If you watch his Music Video on mute, you can still get the story that was intended.
Its dead for now. People are starting to realise that authenticity is desirable. Kanye brought an ai music video out for 530 and he got absolutely rinsed for it. Same with coca cola doing the ai xmas ad. It wont take long for people to start truly valuing art again.
Don’t let anyone deter you from your goal. If you want to direct music videos, then direct music videos. You may have to adapt or supplement your career with income from other type of content. But don’t let so-called industry trends stop you from your goal. Only you are responsible for what you do or don’t achieve.
Personally I feel like tik tok videos are becoming more important in how a song blows but ultimately music videos will always be here to create a legacy for an artist, the same way you can't take shortcuts to success. I'll never think of an artist and be like "oh yeah I remember that tik tok they did" but would remember every Eminem music video for example, whether this just means adapting to help create other types of videos for artists as well I'm here for
Yeah, i remember every artist released a music video for their song and it as A CULTURAL EVENT. Most music videos with over 1B views came out in 2014-2019, it was the golden age, and it was so fun because some of those videos weren't just "media tools" to promote the music, they were MOVIES, BLOCKBUSTERS, artistic pieces that improved or expanded the story of the songs.
Now it's rare if a music video, even one for the biggest songs of the decade (2020's) reaches 1B views. It's just not the same anymore, and as you said, many of these artists are doing the same, nothing interesting, same tropes, as if there was a textbook to follow.
Great video.
Facts this real tho
Couldn’t agree more with this! In the past 12-18 months I’ve gone from shooting around 8-10 + videos per month to shooting 3 or 4 max. At first I was concerned it was something to do with the quality of my work, but after speaking with other people about this I was reassured that wasn’t the issue. I’ve mainly worked with lower budgets during the 4 years I’ve been doing music videos & I agree that most artists want to do what every other artist is doing, because for some, it’s brought in big numbers, but for the majority, people will see it & notice how similar it is to others. TikTok lyric videos seem to be something that’s had a big impact, artists will record a 30 second clip on their phone, get someone to edit for £50 & rinse the promo on it - which works better for recognition than a lot of music videos these days & is more cost effective for the artist/label. It’s reassuring to see that someone who’s been in the industry much longer than me has noticed this too!
Yeah don't worry we're all feeling it. the industry is changing and we have to adapt.
From someone who's been shooting music videos for 25 years plus i can vouch for what kevin is saying but over the years Ive personally devised strategies to compensate the loss of earning. Such as getting sponsors and product placement in videos. Its worked for me and proven to be quite lucrative. Its all about working smarter now not harder.
I agree with most of what you said, music videos got over saturated around 2012, and it lasted a good 8 years or so… too many artists making too many songs making too many videos. Now days it’s those same people making reels and TikTok’s. Return on investment is similar, but they aren’t spending tons of money on a video and waiting for someone to edit it. Just microwaving their way to a viral clip.
Facts bro this why i haven't dropped a visual
Bro once channel aka stopped the recoup was gone we soon work again though had to reshuffle super proud of all thats been accomplished tho💯💯💯💯💯
This is all so true... a $10-15k budget for a video used to be the norm for a mid-tier artist, that has dropped to $5k or less. Not a lot of money to go around. My director friends have pretty much abandoned MV and now only do ads or campaign work. Not nearly as fun, but having a career doing only MV is just not viable anymore.
Interesting points Kevin, I think were all feeling very similar within the industry, but we just need to think of ways to reinvent ourselves as creatives and find new ways to be creative aswell as sustaining ourselves. Which you seem to be doing well!
I'm trying my best!
I try to always think of new ways to reivent myself, even when times were good and especially now the landscape if shifting.
Keep powering through too my bro!
I think it's largely based on the way we treat the product of video in the scape it's in. Fuelled by the gap between the age of access and the age of curation. If you scroll through people making vertical videos they are treating the video like a billboard to their digital storefront, ultimately bringing the "content" closer to their end goal of conversion. The discouragement come from a place of not acknowledging that in the age of infinite access, that the Music video serves as a development of visual language for the products store front. Meaning the Traditional music video should be treated as such. A Means of communication closer to the means of conversion as supposed to being created as a stand alone valued art work. Traditional advertisements hold that value and the select few that are memorable are those that communicate the product as precisely. Another huge problem is based around the fact that most of these distribution platforms aren't user owned so the ability to "recoup" on their investment is already diminished. Once we can keep our subscribers and viewers across platforms then the value of a clearly communicated product explodes in value once again
Completely agree about loads of videos looking the same nowadays - rap ones especially - it's so boring :(
i find that the music video has always walked the line between being promotional material and a piece of art in itself. certainly, today we can see it losing its value as a marketing asset, as the video acts more like and end-destination of a funnel (just as a stream on Spotify). BUT, might this mean that we see the artistic purpose of the mv rise on the account of promo material? artists are beginning to use the music video not as a tool, but as a part of their brand of their artistic integrity as a whole. which is kind of freeing in a way if you think about it.
like you said, man - lets switch it up
Yeah I agree with that, if you're allowed to create art and help mould an artist's brand and look through creative music videos then it's definitely worth it but those opportunities aren't as common anymore.
I have a $35,000 camera and used to get booked more than half the month. On a great month it was almost every day. Now I shot like 3-4 vids a month. Shit is dried up badddd
there’s just so many dope videos that drop. I feel like artists don’t even promote their new music videos enough. They kind of just post it and move on to the next! Good music videos used to be rare, but now they’re a dime a dozen! Probably because the cameras these days are so damn good and available to average consumers
Agree with artists not promoting their music videos enough, we'll see trailers/promo a few days before and on release but then that's it for the most part.
As a Professional Director who mostly does music videos i can tell you the space has definitely changed, however music videos aren't dead in fact more videos are being shot than ever before because nowadays a audio only release rarely blows up like they use to. It is just the budgets that are getting smaller and thats also a result of cameras getting cheaper
Yo… the video title was crazy captivating
Bring back the old big budget dope videos. Ones with ideas and stories. So tired of the content driven mentality let’s get back to the art!
See this why people i know music videos aren't popping they have be on tik tok with it. I use SoundCloud etc to drive track to RUclips. If was dropping a video i do a promo before releasing one.
Music will never die as long as music exists. A music video is an advertisement for music. Unless you just want to be in just the audio part of music, music videos are the best way to showcase your music to your audience.
for small underground artist music videos does help give views. some Artist will only get like 100 views if video just has thumb nail. if they make music video they can get around 1,000 to 10,000 views. when get big and everyone knows your name music videos do not work anymore. music videos still work form pop punk bands.
Why not do more music videos that start in vertical shorts style but later encourage people to turn their phones?
You could do but the artists and labels will probably want to spend less on those types of videos as it will just be seen as "Content"
@@KevinHudsonFilm Interesting, and I believe it. Makes me sad to see the decline of music in a lot of categories, this being one.
The best will always have work, I'm sure you'll keep busy as tides change. Some new tech on the horizon that might elevate your art beyond your wildest dreams.
AI allowing for unlimited camera angles/movement on a shot etc. Pros and cons to it ofc.
Genuine question but as someone who’s recently been trying to get into the music video directing industry, would you say it’s even worth dedicating myself and time to getting into it?
I'd say it's still good to get your practice hours in from creating music videos, but don't dedicate your career to it because it's a crazy space at the moment.
@@KevinHudsonFilm Yh makes sense will keep it in mind, appreciate the response bro
I think the music is a reflection for that and the lack of creativity and wanting a "hit" vs creating art. Michael Jackson changed the music video making Landscape because he wanted to to be its own thing with promoting a song. If you watch his Music Video on mute, you can still get the story that was intended.
Blame people for default RUclips as video hub for music videos. Monopoly kills.
damn this is kinda destroying my dreams of directing music videos😂
You'll be good, the work will continue but don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Its dead for now. People are starting to realise that authenticity is desirable. Kanye brought an ai music video out for 530 and he got absolutely rinsed for it. Same with coca cola doing the ai xmas ad. It wont take long for people to start truly valuing art again.
these days artist don't need music video's anymore they got tiktok now sadly. short form content has changed everything
my mans speaking facts
💯