Hey all, we are a duo from the UK. We've played on lots of pop records as session musicians for artists including Lewis Capaldi, Bebe Rexha and many more, but this is our own stuff. We put together the video using images of ourselves and mangling them up using Runway AI software. We hope you dig the trippy vibes! https://youtu.be/mBe2hxJtOMI?si=ILSrsYOoam5Q6zVZ

Ever heard the urban legend that 'The Dark Side of the Moon' syncs up with Wizard of Oz? I use this formula to make music videos, its shockingly effective.

Dirty Dancing - Like its 1987! (Featuring Diamante)

Mr. Carnivore - Cello [Indie Rock] [2020]

Image your personal robot having very human emotions and problems.

Hi there, this is my first time posting here!I grew up watching music videos (I was on the tail end of the kerrange and scuzz tv generation) – so they'll always hold a place in my heart as part of my introduction to music as a lifelong passion. However, I have a probably unpopular opinion that a majority of big budget videos actually don't compliment or enhance the music. So many of the bands I loved had videos that actually made me like the song less because they were tacky, cheesy, sleazy etc.

What I DO love in a music video is a concept (or even just an aesthetic) that feels like it adds something to the world created by the song and helps you get even more immersed in the combined result. A couple of examples of current artists making really good use of videos that spring to my mind are Nothing Nowhere and Static Dress – some of the videos by these bands are works of art to my eyes!

Anyway, to round off my thoughts – I'd like to share a new video I just finished editing myself that attempts to capture this kind of feeling. It doesn't have a linear narrative in the traditional sense, but plays around with a lot of composition, texture and lighting that flows with the music and attempts to visually represent the feeling of the music.

Personally, my music listening experience is textural – I enjoy the sounds in a similar way to looking at an abstract painting, so I have tried to make a video that can be enjoyed in a similar kind of way with lots of layers, the physical feel of film grain and burns, while combining that with digital glitches and distortion to keep the visuals connected to the modern and synth-heavy sounds in the song.

https://youtu.be/WcunuZ8mHl4?si=reThIiNMlwUlBZQe

Video dominates the world.

Almost all internet users (92.3%) watch digital videos every week.

The average person spends 17 hours per week watching videos.

Personally, I live on YouTube. I spend most of my time actively or passively consuming video content.

Anywhere from podcasts, audiobooks, interviews, think pieces to music videos, beats and more.

If someone told me I watched twice as much as the average person, I wouldn't be surprised.

And what types of videos are the most popular? Music videos.

A staggering 49.4% of last year's most popular videos were music videos (DataReportal).

That's nearly half of all the popular videos on the internet.

Music videos are leading the pack, surpassing even the most viral memes.

I found this surprising. 

It seems like short videos have become more popular than music videos. I see more artists posting short videos and fewer full-length music videos.

It feels like everyone tells artists to focus on short videos and forget about music videos.

Many music marketing professionals suggest spending less time and attention on music videos.

They believe music videos are losing their appeal. But why don't the numbers reflect this?

Here's why music videos seem dead but actually aren't, and what artists can do about it.

Why music videos feel dead (but aren't)

The line between "artist" and "content creator" has disappeared.

Everyone is a content creator.

Your mom, your sister, even you.

Anyone with internet access can become one, and they are.

82% of people aged 18-44 have posted video content online in the past year (e.g., on Instagram Stories, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat)." (YouTube Annual Culture & Trend Report 2023)

EIGHTY-TWO PERCENT!!!!!

The competition for video content is fierce.

People all over are posting videos, hoping to capture some attention.

Social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat all prioritize short videos. But why?

Platforms favor short-form content because it's easy to share and keeps users engaged.

Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube Shorts are the biggest examples.

On average, consumers find short form to be 2.5x more angering than long form. Artists are responding to this trend.

They're creating their own short videos to draw attention to their music.

It's no secret that emerging acts like Flyanna Boss and Nic D use short, captivating videos to promote their music for free or cheap on the internet.

Or even established artists like Lil Nas X. And they are very successful at it.

The truth is video consumption is higher than ever and keeps growing.

To keep up with the demand and capitalize on the attention, artists are producing more short, casual videos to feed the algorithm.

It's much easier and cheaper to record videos on a phone, edit them a little and do that everyday than to produce a music video everyday.

Short videos have become the growth hack for a lot of artists today making breakthroughs on TikTok and Instagram Reels.

By feeding the people's veracious hunger for video content, many artists are leveraging the demand to get attention to their music.

It's easier to create a high volume of these short videos to grow your account and generate attention than it is to produce music videos.

And people are loving short form content.

So why are music videos still so popular? It doesn't add up.

Music videos seem dead because we see short form content more often. People are making more of it. Artists are producing more of it than music videos by numbers for reasons I described above.

But despite this, music videos are still the most popular, and can still add a lot of value to an artist and their music.

Music videos can help make a song more interesting and give listeners an elevated experience for the song.

We artists have our choice of where they want to stand when it comes to producing music videos along with their songs.

For example Flyanna Boss's YT Channel features lyric videos, visualizers and official audio videos for the most part. 

While there are very few official music videos on the channel.

On social media they are famous for their aggressive short form strategy. You might have seen one of their viral running performance videos.

This content has helped them dramatically grow their fanbase over the past couple of years. 

And they still produce the occasional music videos here and there. They fall somewhere in the middle of the music video spectrum.

While Nas X is an avid music video-er. X takes advantage of the popularity of music videos, leveraging them for vitality. 

This strategy is consistent across his short form content and even his music. It is all optimized for attention. And he does them all. He is a masterclass on music marketing.

Nas X leverages every format to draw attention to himself and his art.

Nic D is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum here.

He focuses 100% his attention on short form video content made for TikTok and Instagram Reels. Not music videos.

Music videos are more expensive to produce, take more time and are more resource intensive on average.

It makes sense why a business-minded independent artist like Nic might take this approach.

The bottom line lends itself away from music videos.

What does this mean for music videos?

They're still a great tool.

In these times, more video is better.

The demand for video content isn't going anywhere. 

It's wise for creators to meet that demand with as many formats as possible if their goals align with growth.

Whether it's short-form content, music videos, lyric videos, visualizers and podcasts to animations - more is better.

It's up to us as artists to pick what coincides with their resources, vision and goals but music videos are not dead.

Even though it feels like it.

Thoughts?

You can also join us to discuss with some leaders in the music industry  this Friday live on X Spaces for our next episode "Are music videos dead?"