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The glitz and glamor of the music business has successfully deluded most young and aspiring artists and conned them into forgetting the business part of things. Artists spend hard earned money on “A look” instead of using simple economic principles like comparative cost analysis to assess which operational costs are worth their time and investments and which costs should be overlooked for the sake of the bigger picture.
My focus today is Music videos, Music videos were originally meant to spread the reach of an artist beyond radio and records allow people to not only put a face to the name of the artist but to further break down the song and give them an insight into what it’s about.
As time went on, music evolved and along with this evolution came the evolution of Music videos which changed from just being a simple means to an end (Promoting the image of the artist visually) to a display of wealth and a competition on who can shoot the most extravagant and outrageous videos. Everything was a competition from the director to shoot to the location, the props, outfit, the list is unending.
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Today One of Nigeria’s foremost Video directors TG Omori charges 100 million Naira for a video shoot, an outrageous amount given the current state of the Nigerian economy, the Naira to dollar exchange rate and the fact that the only obvious ROI is the payment for video streams on platforms like YouTube. However it is very important to note before I go further into this discourse that TG is undoubtedly one of the absolute best cinematographers in the entire world. His videos are colorful, the story boards are beautiful and his choice of location, extras, dancers and even video vixens are second to none. Speaking from personal experience it is almost impossible to leave a TG Omori video set and not feel like you have gotten value for your money.
Now to further examine the importance of music videos in this day and age from personal experience and based off my own research.
Music promotion has evolved with music and is finally in a place that is truly empowering for artist, from being able to distribute directly without a label and collect royalties thanks to Digital Distribution platforms to being able to relate directly with the people that listen to your music via social media, there is an ease in music promotion today that makes even successful artists from a decade or two ago genuinely jealous.
However it is important to note that this ease comes with the curse of having the airwaves flooded by music and content, thus putting a heavy burden on the artist to not only standout through his art but to through the ways he/she markets said art to the consumers.
Most social media platforms are heavily visually driven so the artist needs visuals to follow his music in order to grab the attention of the consumer. Although the artist has options like lyric videos, covert art, performance videos, the more attractive the visual is and the more often the consumer sees it the more likely they are to engage with it and the artist. Plus unlike all the other visual options mentioned above, music videos can go on Television which is still one of the most important forms of traditional media and thus extend the reach of the art. Music videos are also likely to get more attention on social media and video streaming platforms like YouTube than any of the other aforementioned visual content, thus the dilemma most artists currently face about whether to spend hard earned money on a music video today.
My verdict? It all depends on the budget available to the artist. Whilst it is quite possible to shoot low budget music videos, the final output may defeat the aim of the music videos because it might not be TV standard based on the quality of cameras and the level of editing at the artists disposal and further more it might not be good for the artist brand as it might cause them to be perceived as cheap when their video is compared to other music videos on rotation.
It’s also important to note that even if you can afford to shoot a proper tv standard video, if you do not have at least 50% of the cost of production to spend on promoting it then it’s probably not worth it.
It’s also important to pick video directors who can offer a little more than just video direction. Part of TG Omori’s appeal is his brand, he has amassed quite a large following on social media and even the posts he would make to announce your clients video release would serve your promotion efforts greatly.
When you take all this into consideration, Music Videos are still a worthy investment with the right budget, director and if they’re fully optimized for the artists benefit.