March 11, 2015 Why You Need A Music Video
Back in the 80s it may have been enough for you to release a song with no visuals, this song may have then touched the hearts of many who would grow to love your music and you as an artist.
Snap back to the modern age and you’d be lucky if anyone would take the time to shake a stick at your audio only release. In this day and age you NEED a music video to accompany your song, whether it’s a professional video or you’re singing your heart into your webcam, a visual aid will definitely boost your chances of capturing new fans tenfold. When’s the last time you downloaded a mixtape or bought an album from an artist you didn’t know?
Been a while huh? Unless they’re friends are hyping up the project, or they’ve seen an amazing promotional video, the likelihood of an average listener taking a chance and slogging through a whole project of some guy they’ve never heard of is as slim as a runway model.
You’re best bet to generate interest around yourself as an upcoming artist and get people to listen to your music, is with a music video campaign. I realised this back in 2012 when i was getting ready to release my third project Snickers + Pringles, it became evident to me that people were engaging with my visual releases much more than my 20 track mixtapes. I could rack up thousands of views on something I had recorded on a low quality Sony handycam but would receive under 300 downloads of my mixtape. This revelation caused me to form CoolCut Films, a video production company dedicated to producing high quality visuals for people on a budget.
Think of a music video as a marketing investment, you want to showcase your character, your style, your image and most importantly your music. Once you’ve penetrated the short attention span of the average listener and made them aware of your music, THEN you can direct them to your mixtape download or audio release. And that’s why you need a music video. For video inquiries email info@coolcutfilms.com
About Jay Carteré
Jay Carteré is a producer, rapper and singer from London. Having found his passion for a career in music at age 16, Jay put his entrepreneurial mind to work and built himself a home studio. After teaching himself how to engineer vocals and record, Jay then invested in starting a video production company, CoolCut Films, in order to compliment his music with equally gripping visuals.
Reader Comments (5)
Dude, please go back to English class.
Your punctuation is atrocious.
Too many run-on sentences, homie. Get pro.
I am not convinced of the necessity of videos. What evidence are you basing these generalizations on? Hopefully not only your own anecdotal experience. My own anecdotal experience is the opposite; I have little interest in videos but always seek out new music, as a fan, producer, and DJ. So we should be careful of generalizing.
Of course many people watch videos; whether they use those videos to discover artists is the question. Don't many people discover their music still on traditional radio, web radio, iTunes recommendations, blogs, friends' recommendations, Shazaming tracks heard in public, streaming service recommendations, etc? None of those are video-based.
This post is a great resource to take advantage for the excess leaning and seeking different points of view.
Totally agree with you! Our days are the days of visual pleasure. People are used to visual effects, beautifula views and so on. The first inpression of the track is always stronger if it goes along with the stunning video!
@ Flint, the fact that you used the wrong "you're" is pretty ironic.
@ Serge, this post reflects my personal opinion and my experiences. If you disagree, you are more than welcome to your opinion.