We're happy to welcome Justin Purser to Video Static as a contributing writer...
V.C.R.E.A.M.
Video Counts Rule Everything Around Me — The infamous words of The Wu-Tang Clan, remixed for this article. I also really liked the video for "C.R.E.A.M." You didn’t like it? Well, do you know how many views on YouTube it has?
The question, “How many views does it have?” is something people who work in the music video industry hear a lot these days. This is an age where view numbers on a video are quickly accessed, then just as rapidly used to judge if it warrants our view, favorite, thumbs up, like, follow, etc. It’s the first weapon pulled in any disagreement about a music video’s quality as entertainment.
Here we go...
When YouTube won the war as the number one online video-viewing destination, part of the reason was the simple display of a trustworthy view counter. It became a filter for the public. It helped us decide where to click next and spend hours of our life spiraling down the YouTube rabbit hole. Ya know, because if millions of people viewed something, then it has to be good, right?
Click.
When it comes to music, numbers measure success (See Charts, Billboard). It's a sign that the masses are in agreement about a song. Can that formula now be applied to the music video even if its appeal is heavily based on the song, and perhaps not the video at all? Is it like saying a great film could be made even if the script and actors aren’t very good? John Landis once told me something that should be considered total common sense, but since I often get accused of living in a fantasy world where I have none, it came as enlightenment. Mr. Landis said, “A music video can only be as good as the song.” I then asked him if that applied to a little music video he directed entitled “Thriller." I mean because after all... it’s THRILLER. To which he just smiled and walked away. Well played, John Landis.
Well played.
TREATMENT: BAND PERFORMS ON TREADMILLS. BAND BECOMES HOUSEHOLD NAME.
OK GO "Here We Go Again"
— This video was for sure a a huge part of why the band took that next level and the song got out there.
One could argue that a lot of consumers use YouTube as somewhat of a personal radio to listen to songs they like. People might not even be viewing the video while it’s playing. Maybe a "viewer" is lurking her ex’s Facebook photos while playing a Taylor Swift music video over and over, surely buried behind the open Facebook album belonging to the person’s ex boyfriend entitled “My New Side Piece” featuring pictures of him and his latest love interest. Tears streaming down her face because she loves and relates to the music. The visuals of the video not even a factor; the song being the only motive driving the view.
Sorry.
There are definitely instances where a video for a song is widely discussed, made into .gifs on tumblr, parodied, and help define an artist’s career. However, there are also thousands of videos with massive view counts that if you polled people who listed to the song, wouldn't even know what the music video for the song looked like, they couldn’t tell you.
For real.
SONG WAS A SUMMER BANGER ON THE RADIO & THE VIDEO HAS A MASSIVE VIEW COUNT:
Pitbull f/ Chris Brown "International Love" — If you have a radio that picks up pop stations, you've heard this song A LOT, but do you know the video? It has over 200 million views.
With MTV and old media , there was no easily accessible way of knowing how many people were actually viewing it. You just knew if it was in Heavy Rotation or if you saw Carson Daily counting it down on TRL( Side note, I never thought I would, but I actually miss TRL. Come back Carson come back!). Today, music videos are more than just a marketing tool and have become an actual valuable product the record label and artists earn revenue on via advertising and other means. Therefore I would assume that real viewer numbers are significant no matter how they are achieved.
C.R.E.A.M.?
There will always be ways for people to measure what is “amazing”. Award shows, press, and now view counts are all means by which people can claim that their video is superior. However, I often like to consider music videos as an artistic form and when I see or hear the boasts, I remind myself (and sometimes those making the claims) of the saying “art is better enjoyed than measured.”
THE ULTIMATE MUSIC VIDEO SUCCESS: YOU INSTANTLY THINK OF THE VIDEO WHEN YOU HEAR THE SONG:
Beyonce "Single Ladies"
— Even though Beyonce was already iconic, this video with all its fanfare and parodies inched her legacy a bit further.
I leave you with this question and analogy to ponder; Does over 2 billion people eating McDonalds everyday mean it's the best tasting food?
Thanks for reading — Justinp
When he can find time in between tweets, Justin Purser is a music video director.
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