5 Reasons Why All Bands and Artists Need a Music Video
Posted in: Blog, Music, Music Video Shoots | No Comments | April 23, 2012
So why does my band need a music video anyways? I hear this question all the time. After all, aren’t your fans in it for your music? The truth is without a music video, particularly a music video with high audio and video production quality, it is hard to be taken seriously in this internet driven world. The benefits of having a high quality music video are immense. It helps show off one’s talent as an artist, gives a visual representation of your music and allows you to show off your other star-quality talents, such as stage presence and/or acting and helps promote your brand. Here are my 5 most important reasons why all bands and artists need a music video:
Decatur Dan, Colin Quinn and Jeff Schulman working on set for the Trey Songz "Oh My" video shoot
Provides a visual representation of your music and brand
Back in your grandma’s time, the main medium people listened to recorded music was through, of course, the radio. An artist’s image wasn’t as important or heavily emphasized. Ah yes, the good ol’ days. However, these days, whether you like it or not, visual representation is equally as important as the song itself. Having a fresh music video that provides a strong vision for the music gives your fans and potential record labels the understanding of who you truly are as an artist or band, making you that much more marketable.
Exceptional promotional tool to help push your album, EP, or single
Only a few years ago, record labels were fighting tooth and nail to keep music videos that they owned from being illegally distributed. These days they are encouraging everyone to watch and distribute their music videos left and right, free of charge. Well that begs a question, why would record labels be making music videos with massive budgets and then releasing them for free? The answer is the rate of return on music videos is absolutely phenomenal. Really there is no better marketing tool to get an album or merchandise sold then a fresh, cool music video.
Shows uniqueness apart from others
Just ask the bands such as “OK, Go!” how music videos can show uniqueness and make your name stand out from the crowd. The “Hole in My Pocket” video by J.Kap is a 5 minute showcase of the unique musical and visual tastes of our team and is most definitive reason for the video’s success. The reality is, now that film gear is becoming cheaper and progressively high quality, more and more artists have the ability to shoot their videos for a relatively low budget. As you know, everyone wants to be a rock star and the world is saturated with aspiring artists. A unique video that goes viral online can literally break an artists career and take them from obscurity to the big time.
Ok Go!'s unique music videos propelled them into mainstream consciousness
Adds legitimacy
For better or worse, perception is reality in life. You could be a life long music-maker, but if you come up with your first video late in the game, the perception is that you are just beginning the process. It can go the other way as well for people just beginning their career in music who release a fantastic video right away and give off the perception they’ve been at it for years. A great video makes you appear to have serious legitimacy and gives your potential audience the understanding that you are no amateur.
Allows you to show off other aspects of your talents
Why else do artists need a music videos besides to showcase the music? Well, are you a natural actor? Do you have the swagger of Chuck Norris? A well produced music video is the perfect opportunity to show off your many other talents. There are so many elements that play into the success and longevity of an artist’s career. The difference between a run-of-the-mill artist and a “star” is how well you connect with your audience. A music video provides you a number of ways in which to expose your other artistic strengths. So you’re known for your killer stage presence? Here’s a way for people who have never bought a ticket to your show to get a taste of your ability. Many artists have the acting itch. A video that let’s them express their theatrics in concert with their music will create an aura of excitement from your fans.
Ok, now that you know you need a video and you are ready to make it happen, what do you do? I’ll explain that in my next blog, “How to begin a music video project”
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