Are Music Videos Becoming Irrelevant?

[Tanisha Thomas.]

Remember when music videos used to be fun and innovative? Remember when music videos used to tell a story or mean something? Remember when TRL and 106 & Park used to be shows you couldn't wait to watch?

I noticed within the last few years, music video channels have strayed away from the music video format. BET, MTV, Vh1 and several other video channels are playing less videos and more reality shows. Sure, videos like "Single Ladies" and "Poker Face" sparked a lot of popular interest, mainly on the Internet world, but still...

Are music videos becoming irrelevant? Are they even needed to promote a song or album? Discuss.

[galvanize]

In a way, they aren't but mostly are. When a music video is released, it spikes the digital sales of a track. However, I can assure you that most people outside of the internet have probably never seen Rihanna's "Hard" or the Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway" videos.

Remember how videos used to cost atleast a million dollars back in 1999-2000? Now the budget of most videos are around 1/5th of that today.

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Feb 11, 2010 1:09:58 GMT -5 @galvanize said:

In a way, they aren't but mostly are. When a music video is released, it spikes the digital sales of a track. However, I can assure you that most people outside of the internet have probably never seen Rihanna's "Hard" or the Black Eyed Peas' "Meet Me Halfway" videos.

Remember how videos used to cost atleast a million dollars back in 1999-2000? Now the budget of most videos are around 1/5th of that today.

I've seen the "Hard" video a million times on TV. However, I didn't discover the MMH video until recently.

[galvanize]

No offense, GIS but if you're talking about MTV Hits, MTV Jams, or VH1/VH1 Soul, it's not fair because some people don't have MTV Networks' extra digital channels. ;)

VH1 & FUSE still play videos so I see what you mean.

[Rurry]

In a way, yeah...but when a really good music video pops up (Bad Romance, Disturbia, Single Ladies) it doesn't get ignored.

People still watch music videos though, so I wouldn't say they're irrelevant, just not as much as a pop culture staple as they used to be.

[Love Plastic Love]

They are mostly becoming irrelevant except in special cases (Single Ladies, Bad Romance most recently).It is almost like you can no longer just put out a "nice" video, but rather have to come out with the correct video that strikes some sort of chord with pop culture mania.

[dbt88]

I don't think so. Music videos are supposed to be complementary to the music. Artists like Beyoncé, GaGa, Britney, Rihanna, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, and Usher to name a few, continue to make music videos interesting and highly anticipated. It's still nice to know that these few selected artists still bother to make quality music videos.

[Focus]

Yes, sadly

[rellybois]

I'm glad the music video is dying, considering the music video is what killed music in the first place and made it all about image, sex appeal and product placement.

[gin]

Apparently not since artists keep making them.

[Tanisha Thomas.]

Feb 11, 2010 10:20:31 GMT -5 gin said:

Apparently not since artists keep making them.

I'm talking about to the general public, music channels, etc. Of course the music labels are still pushing the artists to make them as a promotional tool, but a lot of those videos are cheap. It's like, "why even waste the money?"

[josuem1415]

I think the days of music videos ended when TRL started to die. I mean, music videos for smaller acts probably don't matter. But they are still a huge marketing tool for bigger artists.

[blue in moonlight]

I'm saddened by the wane of the music video actually. There were some really groundbreaking music video artists in the '80's and '90's whose music was wonderfully bolstered by their music videos. Many of them were cheaply made as well.

I don't think videos are completely irrelevant but many artists seem to feel there's no longer a reason to constantly produce clever ones. So what we're left with are glossy videos with the same themes repeated over and over again. There are exceptions to the rule and certain artists realize the video is a perfect opportunity to promote their image (which I believe has always been essential to success in the industry post-rock & rock era). So we get great videos like "Bad Romance," "D.A.N.C.E" or "Singe Ladies" still. But videos of that caliber seemed to happen more frequently just a short time ago.

[Tanisha Thomas.]

TRL was dead when 106 & Park was created. They appealed to different audiences, but they were always competitive for viewers, and 106 & Park always pulled in more. I remembered when 106 and TRL were both popular shows. I wouldn't be surprised if 106 & Park is canceled soon.

[Dalliance]

Oh of course not they are thriving.

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Feb 11, 2010 1:17:03 GMT -5 @galvanize said:

No offense, GIS but if you're talking about MTV Hits, MTV Jams, or VH1/VH1 Soul, it's not fair because some people don't have MTV Networks' extra digital channels. ;)

VH1 & FUSE still play videos so I see what you mean.

No, just regular BET and MTV.

[Hefty Hanna]

Nope.

MTV/VH1/BET has become irrelevant, not music videos in general.

With the internet and YouTube, music videos can still play a big part in a singer's/song's success. I highly doubt the IASF era would have been as big as it was without the SL video. Taylor wouldn't have become a pop culture icon of 2009 without Kanye upstaging her at the Video Music Awards. The 'Bad Romance' video really gave the song that extra push. They're still useful.

Note: Everything above is just my opinion and outlook on things. I am not trying to determine them as facts.

[Tanisha Thomas.]

"Single Ladies" definitely made the song what it was. Without that video, I doubt the song would have done what it did.

However, I don't think MTV and Vh1 played the "I Gotta Feeling" video, so I'm guessing it would have been huge without the video.

Of course, there is an exception to every rule. But I remember when multiple artists and videos were standard. Now, you might get a great video or two from a pop artist or two.

Maybe I should have rephrased the question. "Are music videos becoming LESS relevant?" should have been the question.

[Gabe]

No

[Keelzit]

If anything, I think that music videos are becoming relevant again thanks to YouTube.

[blue in moonlight]

^ Mainly for the popular, mainstream artists. It's a rare case now where you have a video like "D.A.N.C.E" or "Here We Go Again" garner attention for an artist people otherwise would not have heard of. Viral word of mouth is very helpful but it's not the same immediate exposure that artists had back when MTV and VH1 actually played music videos and people tuned in for them.

[jamrock16]

I'd say yes, definitely. A music video is no longer necessary for a song to become succesful. I honestly think that songs such as Tik Tok, I Gotta Feeling, We Belong Together, Irreplaceable, No One and so on would have been just as huge had they not had a music video to accompany them (Especially those songs in particular who don't have a striking/ground breaking video).

On the flip side though, some videos MAKE a song succesful (most recently, Single Ladies) and do help with digital sales since they are still played on TV and viewed on YouTube.

[Choco]

No.

[K.]

The irrelevant ones are.

Unfortunately, that has become the majority of music videos.

Thank god for Lady Gaga.

[Rurry]

Feb 11, 2010 14:12:16 GMT -5 Hefty Hanna said:

Nope.

MTV/VH1/BET has become irrelevant, not music videos in general.

With the internet and YouTube, music videos can still play a big part in a singer's/song's success. I highly doubt the IASF era would have been as big as it was without the SL video. Taylor wouldn't have become a pop culture icon of 2009 without Kanye upstaging her at the Video Music Awards. The 'Bad Romance' video really gave the song that extra push. They're still useful.

Note: Everything above is just my opinion and outlook on things. I am not trying to determine them as facts.

Yeah, I agree. Maybe they're *less* relevant but they still play a part.

[ㅤ]

To an extent, but I appreciate the artists who still take the time to make good ones. I thought some of Lady Gaga's videos had some of the same qualities that made many of Madonna's videos so memorable.

Budgets are becoming smaller, but some artists/labels spend the money. But it is possible to make a good video with a low budget.

Here are some examples:







I see some of the recent videos by some high profile artists that were big budget ventures and they didn't look like the cost much. That isn't always the point, but they just didn't justify the high price tag.

[Kii]

^ at those video examples.

Anyways, they're not necessarily irrelevant, it's just people are viewing them through different resources than in the past i.e. internet, youtube, iPhone/other portable digital devices. So I don't think they're any less relevant. Those with a real interest in music still are interested in the videos of artists they follow. If a video garners attention in becomes viral in the way Single Ladies and Bad Romance did. Things are just changing in a more modern direction where the people get to dictate the popularity of a video rather than just the charts/MTV & similar shows.

[Osaka Sun]

No. Shows like TRL are dead because people now have a new, easier medium to view music videos. Music videos are viewed millions of times on Youtube. Just like radio doesn't have as many listeners because of iPods.

[musicjunky318]

On TV? Yes. On the internet? No.

[radicaltheory]

No, it's a new age though, no one's watching MTV for music anymore, it's all about the internet.

I don't think they'll ever become irrelevant.