Music Videos: Going From Budget Sucks To Revenue Streams
posted in: Features • Music News
We remember the days when the big music video reigned supreme. They used to be marketing tools without compare; there was no better way of cementing the image and character of an act than a big budget music video and a daring, creative, or iconic production was equivalent to buying one’s way onto the playlists of the major cable music channels.
But that era is long gone. People just don’t make videos like they used to, for two big reasons. One, the decreased fortunes of the music industry at large. Two, we live in the era of democratic technology. Anyone can be a director! The pros and cons there are obvious. Joe Filmmaker over here tries to make something on the fly for his band. Cheap, quick, and easy. And chances are it’s not going to connect with a large audience. No, the competition that creative types face on the Internet make it impossible to rise above the rabble without a compelling product. But this is a sword with two edges. Do you think you would’ve heard of PSY’s über-anthem “Gangnam Style” without the game-changing visual accompaniment? Maybe. But the clip holds up impressively without the audio to go with it.
So things are sort of better now! I swear. And it’s because the Internet is finally starting to pay back the dues that it owes to creators and to the music industry in general. And we’ll outline some of the ways that video hosting outlets are growing to help creators out after the jump.
YouTube is the alpha and omega, the beginning and end of video hosting services. They’re the most popular and they’re still not done growing. The site just had its most watched live streamed event ever when 8 million people tuned in for the broadcast of Felix Baumgartner’s much hyped space jump. YouTube’s live and original content segments are impressive but not the focus of what we’re talking about today. People have made careers posting videos to YouTube. It’s how guys like Ray William Johnston can make six figures off of videos about viral videos.
So how can this help artists? Well, one doesn’t need to have 6 million subscribers in order to generate some sizable revenue. Look at The Needle Drop, a music criticism blog/YouTube channel run by one guy, Anthony Fantano. Thanks to a steady stream of content and engagement with his audience, Fantano has noted that he can almost support himself off of the income he makes from his videos alone. That money is coming from YouTube; Fantano, Johnson, and hundreds of other owners of popular YouTube accounts are involved in YouTube’s Partner Program, in which affiliates can embed ads into their clips. It’s pretty straightforward. More views means more ad impressions means more money. And it’s not just about cold hard numbers either as YouTube is also measuring audience engagement in how they determine payout to content creators. So you have a music video? Make a lyric one to go along with it! Why not film dispatches from the studio or updates on the band’s tour life? There’s money on the table waiting for you, if you don’t mind subjecting your fans to ads that is.
Vimeo is YouTube’s younger, cooler, hotter cousin. Cooler as they don’t have the same focus on advertising that YouTube does. Instead, on Vimeo, your fans can help you directly with Tip Jar. The newly launched functionality allows Vimeo site members to contribute directly to the creators of the videos that they like provided they have their PayPal account linked to their account. Here’s the Vimeo guys going into it with a bit more detail.
But that’s not the only thing that Vimeo is looking to do for their most talented content makers. Vimeo will be launching Pay-To-View functionality at some point in 2013, allowing creators to charge viewers to see their product. Now that’s an incredibly high barrier for a lot of musician/content creators. But if you can make a compelling enough product and don’t mind limiting the potential number of views then there might be a way to utilize that program when it goes live.
Of course, there are some other video hosting services out there. I’d be remiss if I didn’t toot OurStage’s horn, where we offer cash prizes for channel competition winners, video channels included. But the third and final one that I wanted to mention here is VideofyMe, a very young Swedish startup that’s offering bloggers an alternative to bigger name video services. VideofyMe allows users to add videos to their site with pre-loaded ads, something that YouTube only offers to those in their partner program. What makes VideofyMe even cooler is the ease of use. Want to record and upload from the mobile device of your choosing? Done. Have to add an Instagram-like filter? They got em. Sharing across various social media entities is straightforward as well. Early adopters of the egalitarian service have already seen returns; VideofyMe has paid out over $1 million to users since 2009.
More like this: