"As soon as we knew (Timberlake's label) was going to push out a lyric video, we proactively asked them to let us make this an event the biggest way possible... We have conversations with artists all the time. We know how popular they are. They can be down and dirty, or elaborate. There is such a desire to know what the lyrics are to your favorite songs." — Amy Doyle, EVP of Music And Talent from an AP article on lyric videos
The AP follows our lead by dipping into the lyric video subject — "Suit And Tie" was their inspiration, whereas I forget what convinced Doug Stern and I to get lyrical back in September with a series of posts, headlined a Top 5 lyric videos of all time list — and it's a good one.
Why shouldn't lyric videos be treated like real videos? And why shouldn't they be made with a goal to be as compelling as a "real" video? When Van Halen put out "Right Now," nobody said it was good for a lyric video. It was just good (And I would prove it by linking to it, but the web seems to have been expunged of all official Van Hagar content.)
One thing I'd hate to see is for lyric videos to become like viral videos. Once upon a time a viral video meant a music video so off kilter and so compelling that it just spread like a case of the clap in a hippie commune. Now it's a synonym for something cheap released with no ambition besides posting on YouTube and letting it do what it do.
So, follow Timberlake's lead. Lyric videos can be good. They don't need to be mere Stand-Ins.
