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PSY "Gentleman" is #1 Most Watched of 2013, #5 All Time

Don't call it a comeback, he's been for years. Or, at least a year. 

Just when you though PSY had run his amazing course, a press release comes to remind you that the follow-up, "Gentleman," is actually in the midst of an impressive run:

"Heating up his sizzling and scorching hot streak yet again, PSY's music video for "Gentleman" is currently YouTube's "Most-Viewed" music video of 2013 with over 572 million views. The cinematic clip for the infectious and invigorating international anthem continues to entice viewers daily. In addition, the music video is ranked #7 on YouTube's all-time most-viewed videos list. It's on track to hit 600 million by the end of the year. As a result it will become #5 of all-time."

Take that, Miley.

YouTube Rumored to be Launching Music Service

A 2012 Nielsen report pegged YouTube as the primary way teens listen to music — beating our radio, iTunes and CDs. Not a shocker: It's free, has a huge library, a great search engine attached to it, and did I mention it's free?

There are now rumblings via Billboard that YouTube will be launching a subscription music service this year to compete with Spotify, rdio and the other current players, while also providing a "premium" tier to complement VEVO.

Billboard reports that there will be a free unlimited tier — supported by ads — and a paid version, both tied into a new YouTube mobile app.

How does this effect music videos?

Well, if videos are just something hidden behind a window or otherwise minimized, then this could effect viewcounts, which could effect budgets and trickle on down. But it could also form the next step in the entwining of music and video into one product: After all, would "Wrecking Ball" and "Gangnam Style" have been big hits if not for sticky videos that you were compelled to watch, rewatch and share?

"Butt" - Tyler The Creator on The YouTube Music Award Nominations

"YOUTUBE AWARDS COULDVE FUCKING HAD NOMINATIONS ON COOL CREATIVE VIDEOS SHIT BUT NOOOO AGAIN ITS THE MOST TEENY BOPPER POP SHIT. YOU ARE BUTT... WHY NOT GIVE AWARDS TO JUST DIRECTORS, THESE FUCKING WEAK ASS ARTIST DONT COME UP WITH THESE SHOTS OR SIT IN COLORING FUCK THEM THEY SUCK... AT LEAST TORO GOT A NOM THATS SICK... EARL AND I HAVE TO PERFORM THERE NEXT WEEK HAHAHAHAHA"

 - Tyler The Creator, on the YouTube Music Award nominations (where he will be performing, of course, alongside fellow Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt, Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Avicii, M.I.A., and more...

And I agree that not crediting the directors and visual creators in the nominations is an oversight. (PS: How many directors sit in coloring sessions anyway?)

Do You Want Your REVOLT TV? Diddy's Network Launches Today - Watch it Live!

Contrary to popular belief, there is more music videos on TV than ever before. MTV has multiple 24/7 channels that primarily play music videos — MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTVU — Fuse is almost exclusively a music channel, plus there's AXS TV and Palladia which each focus on live concerts, other music channels like Vh1 Soul and Centric, not to mention the legacy channels like MTV, BET Vh1 which each maintain a presence for music and music videos...

So, where does REVOLT TV fit in? And, do Millenials want their music on TV? Do they even want TV at all?

Both questions will start to be answered at 8p ET (5p PT) today when REVOLT TV begins broadcasting nationwide via Time Warner Cable and Comcast. And you can also catch it online at http://live.revolt.tv/

Beware The Music Video Teaser?

Here's something to add to my Music Video Rules:

If you think a 15 second preview on Instagram — or a seven second Vine, or even a single Instagram photo — ruins the impact of your music video, then most likely your music video sucks. Sorry.

UK newspaper The Guardian has an editorial today about how social media reveals and other teasers have ruined music videos for the author, Issy Sampson.

Community

CMJ Panel on Proper Channels: The Marriage of TV and the Internet - Oct 17, 11a

If you're NYC and have a CMJ badge, please come say hi. I'll be on a panel Thursday morning, 11am, discussing the music on TV and the Internet...

Proper Channels: The Marriage of TV and the Internet

The merging of the computer and TV mean big changes for music marketing and consumption. We will address technology, the players (both legacy and start-ups), opportunities and pitfalls of this merger and how it will affect the emerging musician.

Annie Lennox, Sinead, Miley and Sex on Film and Music Videos

There must be something in the ether overseas with first Sinead O'Connor and now Eurtyhmics singer Annie Lennox taking stands against the sexualized nature of music videos...

First was Sinead, who has now posted several long open letters to Miley Cyrus, asking her to assume control of her image before it overwhelms her music and her life:

Sinead O'Connor: I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether its the music business or yourself doing the pimping." 

Will Millenials Want The REVOLT To Be Televised?

"The glory days of playing music videos in rotation probably wore off after that first year. If you look anything like you did five years ago, especially if you are targeting a younger demographic, you are in trouble." - Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music & Logo Group [from an Adage.com article]

There's a flurry of press coverage as Diddy's much hyped REVOLT music TV channel prepares to launch this upmconing month in over 25 million homes via Time Warner Cable, Comcast and other carriers. The mission is clearly to be the go-to channel for music fans — co-founder Andy Schuon goes as far as to say they want to be to music as ESPN is to sports and CNN is to news.

The question that AdAge.com and Business Insider grapple with in dueling articles is whether Millenials actually want that on TV. In a way, I personally think the time could be right for short-format programming on TV — playing to small attention spans and distracted viewers who give their second screens as much attention as what they're supposedly watching.

The question is where they will turn, especially with VEVO entering the fray via AppleTV, XBox and other connected devices... and if it will involve anything more than a laptop or a tablet...

Read more at AdAge.com and Business Insider...

Katy Perry "Roar" Draws Complaints from PETA

Once upon a time, Katy Perry was in the good graces of PETA — partially because her concert rider required that hummous be provided (seriously), and partially because she "became Mrs. Sexiest Vegetarian in the UK when she married Russell Brand"

The honeymoon and the marriage, alas, is over and the animal rights org is taking exception to new video "Roar" and its inclusion of animals:

"Animals used for entertainment endure horrific cruelty and suffer from extreme confinement and violent training methods. They often become stressed and anxious when hauled around and forced into unfamiliar or frightening situations."

Which also makes for a pretty good description of most pop stars, actually...

20th Anniversary of 'Heart Shaped Box' with director Anton Corbijn

Over on The Daily Beast, they have an interview with director Anton Corbijn discussing the process of creating the amazing clip for 'Heart Shaped Box.' Hard to believe it's been 20 years, but Corbijn still recalls that Cobain's ideas (shared via fax machine!) were exactly what the iconic song needed.

Anton Corbijn:

Writing, drawings, both. Kurt drew out images for the video. He would fax them to me. But of course, fax paper… anything written on it disappears after a few years, so I have nothing left.

Generally, the ideas for videos are mine, with sometimes an idea from a singer or a band worked into it. But usually the ideas are sparked off by me listening to a song. I tend to need a long time. I need to play the song 20 or 30 times in a row while I do exercise or sit in the bath; these are places where I always get ideas. But Kurt's ideas came fully formed, along with the song. Kurt was so incredibly detailed in his ideas, and they were so good, that of course I went with those. I would say that I contributed, idea-wise, maybe 15 percent.

The Daily Beast piece is definitely worth a read, including how Courtney suggested the director to the band and the difficulty of casting an old man that looks like an old man when you're in Los Angeles.

By Doug Stern on September 13, 2013 @ 12:00pm PDT

Director Jonathan Glazer on the State of Music Videos

From a fantastic interview by Collider.com with director Jonathan Glazer about his new movie Under The Skin and his music video background — which includes the classics Jamiroquai "Virtual Insanity," UNKLE "Rabbit In Your Headlights," and Radiohead "Karma Police."  ...

Jonathan Glazer:

"Well looking back, I think we were in a period of time when the language of music videos wasn’t yet fully formed. It was still nascent somehow. There was a relationship between the filmmakers and the bands who wanted to keep pushing and challenging the form. There was great artistry around, absolutely. And when I think there’s a group of people fortunate enough to work in the same field and the same time, it’s not competitive, but there’s a great sense of, “he’s done that so I’ll have to push further.” There was a lovely sense of theater around that period with MTV, I suppose. There was a stage that we all played to. And now I haven’t made a music video in about 4-5 years. I hear from people who do make music videos that there are a lot of complaints about how controlled it is now. How people pitch music videos for $2000-$3000 and lose to people who then take ideas from everyone else’s pitches. It feels quite tragic to me. It’s become homogenized and controlled by certain people. The artistry has left the building, I think. That doesn’t mean there aren’t brilliant people around. I just think it’s much harder for them to do interesting things than it was for us, which is ironic because the work is so immediately available online. But that’s not all of it. It’s about faith that the band show you and the freedom the record company give you to pursue your ideas, the controversy that might follow and embracing that. It’s a very different time. But I think it’s just the period of time and it’s a cycle. It’ll change and people will break through. I haven’t seen any in a while, but that’s probably because I’ve had my head down making this film."