Ah the early years of MTV. I know you younger generations have likely heard the older ones moan about how MTV ‘used’ to be something else. Oh, its absolutely still something for sure. What has changed is the novelty. When we were younger you didn’t see music videos. You were lucky if you caught American Bandstand or Soul Train early on a Saturday morning if you wanted your music fix from a television set. And let’s be honest, that just wasn’t the same as a band on a wicked set doing some wild jamming sessions right before our eyes. Yes, in the days of visual feast, music videos were a great new treat for everyone who was young enough to appreciate them when they first spouted out of our televisions.
So how about now? Do videos still effect people the same way? I think they do. Subconsciously, on my own private music list, whenever given the choice between playing an MP3 or a video, something in me just chooses video. It seems easy enough that while a great song at the right time is priceless, that a great video at the right moment is just icing on the cake. So when you are considering online music promotion, try to remember how visually hungry people can be. There are entire industries based on what you see is what you get, and your personal music videos should always reflect that thought and purpose. If you are a garage band who loves to hook up and thrash out a few songs for fun, do not make videos of yourselves playing in a setting that does not reflect the true grit of the band. Doing so will not only send up red flags to possible fans who appreciate originality and it will also make something you enjoy, your music, into a job that may reduce your passion for playing. And that is positively one thing that will make itself apparent in your videos.
So take advantage of the fans who are desperate to see their favorite tunes banged out by the players themselves. Grab yourself a Youtube account and start building. And hey, if the younger ones out there can’t appreciate a good video these days, you still have all of us Generation X’rs that just can’t get enough of seeing your independent music videos. The idea that got me started thinking about the video days of long ago was an article I found here.
