Are music videos still relevant?
An image of a videographer or cameraman at a video shoot.
Recently, a conversation ensued among some music enthusiasts on the relevance of music videos to African music (considering the current trends in the industry). Do artists need to spend so much on their musical videos to make a great impression and go viral? In other words, are musical videos essential for promoting an artist or are they nice to have?
Truly, music videos were vital to an artist's storytelling in the 90s and early 2000s. Music Video Directors such as Clarence Abiodun Peters, Meji Alabi, and Justin Campos, to mention a few, broke the glass ceiling in musical video production and became the key to success. A mention of any of these names on an artist's release, instantly earns an acceptance in exclusive circles and wide recognition on the streets. However, the emergence of online music distribution and social media virals may be putting the value of music videos in question. These days, it appears an engaging content or dance challenge going viral on Tik Tok is all an artist needs.
But before we draw conclusions, perhaps we test the hypothesis. How did you first hear Kizz Daniel's Buga - Lo lo lo ? Radio ? TV ? YouTube? or Tik Tok? How about Fireboy DML’s Peru (feat. Ed Sheeran)? Was it Audio first or Video? Asake’s Bandana with Fireboy DML? Would you say the musical video contributed greatly to its success?
Nonetheless, do you know Saad Lamjarred had over 1 billion views on YouTube? Master kg’s Jerusalema had 562 million views? And Rema & Selena Gomez’s Calm Down (Remix) had 485 million views ?
What can we infer ?
In today's online world of music streaming, perhaps music videos remain a driving force behind viral trends and vice versa. We are currently witnessing a new era of music and visuals as this collaboration continues to captivate audiences worldwide. TikTok and other short video-sharing platforms have opened new avenues for music videos to enter mainstream culture. Dance challenges, meme-worthy moments, and visually arresting situations from music videos go viral, transforming songs into cultural phenomena.
Another important observation is how the visuals on Thriller and TikTok are typically shorter than three to four minutes musical video.
Can this trimmed duration negate the role of the listener- produced clips as another form of music video for their releases? Not sure.
Perhaps "Shorts" provide a good way for artists to peek at consumers ' impressions and reaction to their work.
Overall, we may all agree that music videos enhance music experience, create lasting impressions, and spark viral trends demonstrates that they remain an integral part of the music industry.
Well, the question remains - are music videos losing their relevance?
What's your take? Do you think music videos are still relevant or do you think they are a thing of the past? Let’s hear your thoughts.
