| 15 | Music Videos |
Video production and promotions
Music videos can play a key part in the success of the well-crafted marketing plan of a record label. They can add another dimension to the song and its lyrics by adding that visual element to the musical performance of the artist. It can create strong images to pique the passion of the video viewers and get them more involved in the music. Ultimately, the marketer’s objective is to direct that passion into the need to possess the music in the form of a purchased CD, or download from a music retailer.
From the point of the record label, the three functions of a music video are:
Programming for video channels
Promotion for records
Products to sell in record stores (personal interview with Amy Macy)
This chapter is dedicated to gaining a better understanding of music videos, how they fit into a marketing plan, and how they are used strategically to stimulate retail sales of a recording.
The earliest form of video promotion of music began in 1890. From then on and through the next 25 years, “illustrated songs” became the rage of thousands of large and small theaters across America, and were credited with selling millions of copies of sheet music. In these theaters, vocalists accompanied by bands or small orchestras would perform songs, while hand-painted glass slides were sequenced and projected on a screen depicting the story of the lyrics. Often, a vocalist would then lead the audience in singing the song as the lyrics were projected (PBSKids, 2004).
When radio was introduced in the 1920s, music promotion changed. One of the earliest of radio deejays was an announcer named Al Jarvis, who worked in the 1930s at a radio station in Los Angeles. He created a radio show featuring recorded music mixed with chatter. It was also Al Jarvis who went on television in early 1950s with a program that featured recordings, guests, and information which made him one of the original video deejays. His program was replicated in numerous other television markets, and became a staple of many major broadcast companies. By the mid-1950s, video deejay programs were prominent in all top 50 media markets.
Some of these early television shows featured what was known as a soundie. A soundie was a video creation by the Mills Novelty Company that featured performances by bands, and was used in coin-operated video machines. In the early l940s, Mills Novelty created over 2,000 promotional soundies. In the early ‘50s, producer Louis Snader created 750 “visual records,” and Screen Gems and United Artists began creating their versions of early music videos.
The granddaddy of video deejay television shows was Bandstand, which began airing in Philadelphia in 1952 with host Bob Horn. In 1956, Dick Clark replaced Horn, and the show soon became American Bandstand on the ABC Television Network.
Television in the 1960s and early ‘70s featured many shows that included musical performances, but it wasn’t until the mid-’70s that artists like Queen and Rod Stewart created videos designed specifically to assist in the promotion of their recorded music projects. But the link of the music video to record promotion caught fire when cable television began to flourish in the early 1980s. Among the first to begin using music videos was a program called Night Flight on the USA Network. Since then, scores of cable channels and hundreds of regional and local shows have continued to regularly feature music videos as part of their entertainment programming (McCourt, T. and Zuberi, N., 2005).
Deciding to produce the music video
Investing in a music video means that the label views it as an important promotional piece for the recording. It is a very strong promotional device designed to promote the label’s recording, but places the image of the artist in the homes of concert ticket buyers, too. There are instances where the music and its images are inseparable, and a video is a necessity. At other times—for whatever reason—the artist may not be camera-friendly, and the decision to create a video will include images that do not feature or focus on the image of the artist.
The general kinds of music videos created can be classified as shown in Table 15.1.
|
Elements of music videos |
|
Scratch videos |
These videos use pieces of film that are synchronized with the tempo of the music. |
Performance videos |
This is a concert view of the artist performing and singing. |
Abstract images |
These videos incorporate surrealistic special effects and sometimes bizarre images. |
Storyline video |
The video follows the storyline of the song lyrics. |
From the record company’s perspective, a number of considerations come into the decision matrix to determine whether a video makes business sense for a specific recorded music project. Those considerations are detailed in Table 15.2.
Considerations to making a music video |
|
Is there a story that a video can tell? |
Creative services, the song producer, the publicist, the artist, and marketing may all help determine if the song lyrics and the artist can enhance the impact of the recording through a video creation. |
Is there a budget available for a video? |
Reasonable video production costs have ranges of $125,000-$150,000 for a new artist; $250,000-$500,000 for a mid-level artist; and $500,000-$750,000 for major acts (Passman, D., 2003). The budget must be adequate to make the video competitive with others that are currently airing on target video programs. |
How much of the production cost is the artist expected to pay? |
Artist contracts typically include a provision that the artist pays for half of the cost of video production, though some require the artist to pay for all costs above $100,000. The artist must be willing to accept these recoupable costs. |
Is there a viable programming opportunity for the video? |
The video promotion department must confirm that there are video programming opportunities for the message and concept of the video, and an adequate number of outlets must be identified that are likely to present it to their audiences. |
Creating a music video has all of the standard financial considerations that are applied to a label’s recorded music project. But, it comes down to an answer to the question: “Will the video help us sell more music than it will cost to create?”
Creating a budget that stays within available funds is the first step in creating the music video. The criteria for the quality of the production are determined by looking at the video channels themselves. Any music video that the label produces must at least be comparable to production elements used by those that actually make it to the air on the video channels. We have heard about the low-budget music video that gets airplay, but instances like that are anomalies; the label must create a music video for programming that meets the level of creative and technical quality that matches or exceeds videos currently airing on the target network or program. Often this reaches $250,000, and can at times exceed a million dollars (Tiwary, V. J., 2002).
When the inclusion of a music video becomes part of the promotional plan for a recorded music project, the label will typically request proposals from video production houses for storyboards and ask them to include their suggested concepts for the video. Replies by video companies will also include the budget necessary to produce the video based on the suggested concept. The label will either accept the idea and its budget, or it may negotiate for a larger or smaller production and accompanying budget.
The Wall Street world of financial accountability has pushed some record companies towards more of a conservative approach to music videos by delaying the production decision until it is clear that the single is finding airplay chart success at radio. In the past, this strategy carried risks because music video production required six to eight weeks to take the video from concept to completion. By that time, it might have been too late to get a music video promoted to video channels to help the single. This was especially true with rock and urban stations, where time on an airplay chart can be fewer than ten weeks.
However, it is possible today to request proposals for concepts and then keep the proposals on file until the single achieves chart success. If the video is required, video production companies can use current technology to provide rough cuts of the produced video in a week, and have the final version ready for promotion in less than two weeks.
From this point, the challenge is in the hands of those responsible for promoting the new video to convince video programmers to find a place to add it into the playlist.
In a perfect world it would be a simple matter to create the video and be able to determine the impact it has had in supporting the sale of a recorded music project. Certainly a bump in sales figures can often be seen in SoundScan data when a music video has been added into the rotation of a video channel or local cable program, but there are other opportunities for use of the video to support the project. Often, it is difficult to measure the impact of these other uses for the video, but following are some of those additional opportunities the music video offers the record label.
The publicity department and the independent publicist rely on a video to help them garner media attention for the artist. When a new artist is being pitched to a journalist for a story, the video is helpful by associating faces and performances with the music. The publicist also uses the video when vying for a performance opportunity on early morning and late night network television shows, including Saturday Night Live, Today Show, or Oprah. This added tool gives the gatekeepers of these television shows a view of what they might expect when the artist appears.
The radio promotion staff may find the video useful, especially if the artist is new. Radio programmers are mailed a copy of the music video, or they might be emailed an mpeg or an .avi file to make an impression that goes beyond the music. An example of the power of the video is the debut single of country group Trick Pony. Some radio programmers increased spins on their stations based on the strength of their video for “Pour Me.”
For labels with new media departments, the music video can create a presence on the Internet. Yahoo and other sites have set aside an amount of dedicated space to feature music videos. The label’s website often includes a link to the music video, and the artist’s website will have an associated link with the music video. Artist management companies that maintain an active web presence will also include links to either the label’s or the artist’s site to give web surfers the experience of the music video.
The marketing department also has specialized uses for the music video by including it as part of a “value added” feature of the release of the CD. It is not uncommon for CD jewel cases to display an added bonus for the consumer in the form of video performances either as a separate DVD, or as a single disc with the music CD on one side, and a DVD on the other side (dual-disc). Packaging music video performances as part of the experience the consumer purchases with a music CD adds value to the product, and positions it to better compete with movie DVDs, which regularly include added features.
Based on RIAA shipment data, shipments of VHS music videos peaked in 1998. The DVD format has grown significantly since its introduction in ‘98 to command a majority of the music video sales market. Even with the introduction of the DVD format, the music video market had not recovered to 1998 levels until 2004, according to the RIAA. For 2004, even VHS music video shipments were up slightly. Based on RIAA shipment figures, cost per unit on VHS music videos slipped from $12.65 in 2003, to $12.49 in 2004. The average cost of a DVD music video in 2004 was $19.34.
Figure 15.1 Music video shipments
The SoundScan numbers tell a slightly different story, with sales for 2001 at only 8.9 million units. The RIAA shows more units of VHS were shipped in 2001 than DVD, whereas SoundScan shows more DVD units sold in 2001 than VHS units. Both show DVD sales increasing exponentially from 2001 to 2004, and the overall video market growing with it—more than tripling in just two years. VHS, on the other hand, is in the decline stage according to SoundScan, accounting for just a fraction of sales by 2004.
Figure 15.2 Music video sales
Labels do not do their own music video production, preferring to hire outside firms that are specialists in the field. However, all labels have someone on staff who coordinates the creation of music videos as one of their job responsibilities. Depending on the label, video coordination may be a stand-alone job, it could be part of creative services, or it may be a part of the publicity department. Likewise, many labels hire out video promotion.
Coordination of the creation of a music video involves working with A&R, publicity, marketing, radio promotion, video producers, and creative services to find a common vision for the video. The coordinator seeks to find a story or concept that can enhance the music, and then find a consensus among the various responsibility centers in the label.
Contracting with an outside music video promotion company can be efficient for many record labels because the video promotion function is not one that is done on a full-time basis at most labels.
Video promotion takes on many of the features of radio promotion of a single. Independent music video promotion company AristoMedia has a 12-week program for its music video promotion clients. The company:
Takes new music videos to cable channels and pitches them to the programming staff;
Puts videos on a compilation DVD, called a video pool, and services local, regional, and national video outlets;
Follows up with video programmers;
Creates tracking sheets so they know the frequency the video appears on each of the outlets to which they promote;
Follows the charts of each of the music video outlets;
Always promotes for the heaviest rotation possible.
Among the services offered by some independent video promoters is a semimonthly creation of genre-specific compilation discs, sometimes referred to as video pools, which are sent to video channels. A promotion like this is fee-based, but it is an efficient method to distribute music videos to hundreds of music video outlets. Some of the businesses that use reels from video pools include:
Nightclubs and DJ services
Music retail outlets like Best Buy, Tower, and Sam Goody
Retails outlets like Sears, Nordstrom, and Footlocker
Restaurants like Colton’s Steak House & Grill
Bowling alleys
Theme parks and cruise lines such as Pleasure Island
U.S. Military entertainment complexes
Health clubs such as Gold’s Gym
Airline entertainment reels (AristoMedia, 2005)
The penetration of music videos into American households through cable and satellite channels is growing each year. The data shown in Table 15.3 indicates a considerable presence in homes, underscoring the important part they play in getting music in front of consumers.
Most video channels have their own protocol for acquiring videos for consideration. The video networks associated with MTV, which include VH1, CMT, and Nickelodeon, have a detailed submission form available from any of the network-affiliated channels. It is a four-page contract that gives the MTV networks certain rights for the use of the label’s music videos. Among elements of the agreement between the label and MTV are:
The network has the right to use the video in all available technologies that deliver MTV programming
The video will be used by MTV at no cost to the network
The label will pay for all expenses of providing copies to the network and must meet network specifications on the format of the copies
Videos will be submitted with the inclusion of closed-captioning
The network has the privilege to use the video for ten years
The network must be able to use the video, or parts of the video, to promote itself and its programming in other media (MTV, 2005)
After the video has been accepted for consideration, the video channels follow their own weekly schedule for programming decisions. An example of how these decisions are made is by looking at one of the MTV network channels, CMT. Their weekly calendar for programming music videos is like this:
Wednesday—The programming staff reviews airplay information from BDS and MediaBase 24/7 to determine how often radio is playing certain songs. They also review SoundScan data released every Wednesday, which indicates how many units of sales the singles and albums have had during the most recent reporting period.
Thursday—Members of the staff will hear pitches from video promoters who are trying to establish airplay for a particular single.
Friday—The programming staff decides which videos will be added and which ones will be taken off of the current video playlist. At this meeting, the staff will circulate viewer feedback from the telephone request line and from the channel’s website.
Monday—The new video rotation begins.
The impact of the music video will continue to increase as cable and satellite television services penetrate international markets that currently are not serviced. The resulting opportunity is for the presentation of American music in non-English speaking countries with visual images to help interpret the lyrics and connect the viewer with the music. And even the definition of the traditional “video” will continue to be revised as the programming for cable stations and consumer dual-discs include visual content to add entertainment dimensions beyond the standard music video.
Technology has combined the CD with the DVD onto a single disc, placing recordings into a position to compete with the added features found on movie DVDs. However, it is unclear if the ability to download music videos to cell phones will become as big of an opportunity as music ringtones have become.
Some of the answers to questions about the music video’s future will become apparent as new generations of 3G cell phones, PSPs, PS3s, and video iPods are developed, and when satellite radio broadcasters and others add portable video offerings to their services. The acceleration of broadband deployment into homes has made video broadcasts via the Internet a way to present quality video music performances to web users, and offers new opportunities for content creators.
AVI – A computer file format that compresses the size of the video to make it easier to view on the Internet or to send via email.
Broadband – This is high speed Internet access by means other than a 56k modem.
Illustrated songs – An early form of promoting music in theaters featuring live music and projected slides depicting the lyric story line.
MPEG – A computer file format that compresses the size of the video to make it easier to view on the Internet or to send via email.
Soundie – Black and white short films of live performances presented in video jukeboxes in the 1940s.
Video deejay – A television program that features an announcer, information, and music videos.
Video pool – A compilation of music videos that are distributed on a regular basis (semi-monthly and monthly) by independent video promoters to local, cable, and satellite video channels which use this kind of programming.
Visual records – Video film productions in the 1950s created to promote sound recordings.
A special thanks to Jeff Walker for his input and help with this chapter.
Bibliography
AristoMedia (2005). Aristomedia.com and Jeff Walker.
McCourt, T. and Zuberi, N. (2005). http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/musicontele/musicontele.htm.
MTV (2005). MTV Networks Videoclip Submission Specifications form http://www.mtv.com/onair/mpeg_us/release.jhtml.
Passman, D. All You Need to Know About the Music Business, Simon & Schuster, NY p. 156
PBSKids (2004). Music Video 1900 Style. http://pbskids.org/wayback/tech1900/music/index.
PR Newswire Association LLC, 2004, Lexis-Nexis.com, various 2004 client news releases
Tiwary, V. J. (2002). http://www.starpolish.com/advice/print.asp?id=35.