News

Marty Callner, RIP

One of the essential figures in the history of music videos has passed away. Rest in peace, Marty Callner, aged 78.

Legendary by almost any metric, the director is best know for classic clips starting from Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and an amazing hit journey through the '80s/'90s that included:

  • Aerosmith "Amazing" "Crazy" "Cryin" "Dude Looks Like A Lady"
  • Cher "If I Could Turn Back Time"
  • Poison "Every Rose Has Its Thorn"
  • Whitesnake "Here I Go Again" "Still Of The Night"

Callner also originated the NFL series "Hard Knocks" and directed numerous comedy and live musoc specials.

A legend and an iconic director by almost any metric. He will be missed.

Best Music Video Grammy: Kendrick Lamar "Not Like Us"

"They Not Like Us" emerged as a big winner for last night's Grammy Awards, getting nods as  Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song, and the one category we really track, Best Music Video.

Congrats to Kendrick and the pglang team, and all the other winners at the 2025 Grammy Awards.

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Best Music Video

Winners: Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jack Begert, Cornell Brown, Sam Canter, Jared Heinke, Jamie Rabineau & Anthony Saleh, video producers

LA Fire Resources

Los Angeles is a central hub for the music video community and it's been heartbreaking to see the widespread devastation from the fires, and to hear too many personal stories of loss.

I'm taking a brief pause out of respect for those affected. Please see below for some relevant links for those looking for ways to help, or for those who need help or information.

Please stay safe...

2025 Grammy Best Music Video Noms

Nominations for the 2025 Grammys have been announced, with the Best Music Video category recognizing the following nominees:

  • Tailor Swif" — A$AP Rocky Vania Heymann & Gal Muggia, video directors
  • "360" — Charli xcx Aidan Zamiri, video director; Jami Arceo & Evan Thicke, video producers
  • "Houdini" — Eminem Rich Lee, video director; Kathy Angstadt, Lisa Arianna & Justin Diener, video producers
  • "Not Like Us" — Kendrick Lamar Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jack Begert, Sam Canter & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
  • "Fortnight" — Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone ​Taylor Swift, video director; Jil Hardin, video producer

Congrats to all the noms!

2024 UK MVA Winners

Charli XCX, AntsLive, RM, The Chemical Brothers and Fontaines D.C. were the big winners at this year’s UK Music Video Awards, as they collected 2 awards apiece, most notably Charli XCX's "3660" which won Video of the Year and Best Pop Video. The  UK MVAs also bestowed their Icon Award to legendary director Floria Sigismondi.

Read More for all the winners.

2024 MTV VMA Winners

Congratulations to all the winners at 2024 MTV VMA Awards...

VIDEO OF THE YEAR, Presented by Burger King®  

  • Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Republic Records

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Taylor Swift – Republic Records 

SONG OF THE YEAR

  • Sabrina Carpenter – “Espresso” – Island Records

BEST NEW ARTIST

  • Chappell Roan – Island Records

MTV PUSH PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

  • June 2024: LE SSERAFIM – "EASY" – SOURCE MUSIC / Geffen Records

BEST COLLABORATION

  • Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Republic Records

BEST POP

  • Taylor Swift – Republic Records

BEST HIP-HOP

  • Eminem – “Houdini” – Shady / Aftermath / Interscope Records

BEST R&B

  • SZA – “Snooze” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records

BEST ALTERNATIVE

  • Benson Boone – “Beautiful Things” – Night Street Records, Inc. / Warner Records

BEST ROCK

  • Lenny Kravitz – “Human” – ℗© 2024 Roxie Records Inc. under exclusive license to BMG Rights Management GmbH

BEST LATIN

  • Anitta – “Mil Veces” – Floresta Records / Republic Records / Universal Music Latin Entertainment

BEST AFROBEATS

  • Tyla – “Water” – FAX Records / Epic Records

BEST K-POP

  • LISA – “Rockstar” – Lloud Co. / RCA Records

VIDEO FOR GOOD

  • Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For (From The Motion Picture “Barbie”)” – Darkroom / Interscope Records

BEST DIRECTION

  • Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Republic Records – Directed by Taylor Swift

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

  • Ariana Grande – “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” – Republic Records – Cinematography by Anatol Trofimov

BEST EDITING

  • Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Republic Records – Editing by Chancler Haynes

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

  • Dua Lipa – “Houdini” – Warner Records – Choreography by Charm La'Donna

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

  • Eminem – “Houdini” – Shady / Aftermath / Interscope Records – Visual Effects by Synapse Virtual Production, Louise Lee, Rich Lee, Metaphysic, Flawless Post

BEST ART DIRECTION

  • Megan Thee Stallion – “BOA” – Hot Girl Productions – Art Direction by Brittany Porter

SOCIAL CATEGORIES:

BEST TRENDING VIDEO

  • Megan Thee Stallion ft. Yuki Chiba – “Mamushi” – Hot Girl Productions

BEST GROUP

  • SEVENTEEN – PLEDIS Entertainment / Geffen Records

SONG OF THE SUMMER, Presented by Hilton 

  • Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone – “Fortnight” – Republic Records

VMAs MOST ICONIC PERFORMANCE (+VIDEO VANGUARD AWARD WINNER)

  • Katy Perry – “Roar”

2024 MTV VMA Nominees

Nominations have been announced for the 2024 MTV VMA Awards, with Taylor Swift leading all contenders with 10 nods, followed closely by Post Malone with nine, and then Ariana Grande, Eminem and Sabrina Carpenter with six apiece. Read more for the full list.

 Voting for most categories is open to the public at by vote.mtv.com, with the final show slated for Sept 10 broadcasting live from NY's from UBS Arena at 8PM ET/PT.

2024 UK Music Video Awards Announced

A date has been announced for the annual UK Music Video Awards, to be held Thursday, October 24th in London.

A call for entries is now open through August 1st, with submissions and information at their official website, UKMVA.com.

Award categories are as follows:

  • Best Pop Video – UK, in association with Cinelab Film & Digital Best R&B / Soul Video – UK
  • Best Dance / Electronic Video – UK
  • Best Rock Video – UK
  • ​Best Alternative Video – UK
  • Best Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Video – UK Best Pop Video – International
  • Best R&B / Soul Video – International
  • Best Dance / Electronic Video – International Best Rock Video – International
  • Best Alternative Video – International
  • Best Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Video – International Best Pop / R&B / Soul Video – Newcomer
  • Best Dance / Electronic Video – Newcomer
  • Best Rock / Alternative Video – Newcomer
  • Best Hip Hop / Grime / Rap Video – Newcomer
  • Best Live Video
  • Best Special Visual Project
  • Best Performance in a Video
  • Best Production Design in a Video
  • Best Styling in a Video
  • Best Choreography in a Video
  • Best Cinematography in a Video
  • Best Cinematography in a Video – Newcomer
  • Best Colour Grading in a Video, in association with Studio RM Best Colour Grading in a Video – Newcomer
  • Best Editing in a Video
  • Best Editing in a Video – Newcomer
  • Best Visual Eects in a Video
  • Best Animation in a Video
  • Best Creative Commissioner
  • Best Agent
  • Best New Director
  • Best Director, in association with Electric Theatre Collective Best Producer, in association with WPA
  • Best Executive Producer
  • Best Production Company, in association with Kodak

2024 Grammy Nominees: Music Video

Congrats to everyone nominated in the Best Music Video category for the 2024 Grammy Awards.

Nominees are:

I'm Only Sleeping - The Beatles  | Em Cooper, video director; Jonathan Clyde, Sophie Hilton, Sue Loughlin & Laura Thomas, video producers

In Your Love - Tyler Childers | Bryan Schlam, video director; Kacie Barton, Silas House, Nicholas Robespierre, Ian Thornton & Whitney Wolanin, video producers

What Was I Made For - Billie Eilish | Billie Eilish, video director; Michelle An, Chelsea Dodson & David Moore, video producers

Count Me Out - Kendrick Lamar | Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jason Baum & Jamie Rabineau, video producers

Rush - Troye Sivan | Gordon Von Steiner, video director; Kelly McGee, video producer

The 2024 Grammys will air live on CBS and Paramount+. Visit the Grammy website for full nominees and more info.

2023 MTV VMA Nominees

Nominees have been announced for the annual MTV Video Music Awards. Taylor Swift leads the field with eight nominations, followed by SZA with six noms, and several acts checking in with five nods: Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sam Smith.

Voting for most categories is open at vote.mtv.com.

The awards show airs live from Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Tuesday, September 12th at 8PM ET/PT across 150+ countries globally. 

Read more for the nominees!

Grammy Awards 2023: Sunday, Feb 5

The 2023 GRAMMYs take place Sunday, Feb. 5, broadcasting live 8 – 11:30pm ET on CBS and on-demand on Paramout+ from Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena. The Music Video category shakes out as follows:

  • Adele "Easy On Me" Xavier Dolan, video director; Xavier Dolan & Nancy Grant, video producers
  • BTS "Yet To Come" Yong Seok Choi, video director; Tiffany Suh, video producer
  • Doja Cat "Woman" Child., video director; Missy Galanida, Sam Houston, Michelle Larkin & Isaac Rice, video producers
  • Kendrick Lamar "The Heart Part 5" Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jason Baum & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
  • Harry Styles "As It Was" Tanu Muino, video director; Frank Borin, Ivanna Borin, Fred Bonham Carter & Alexa Haywood, video producers
  • Taylor Swift "All Too Well: The Short Film" Taylor Swift, video director; Saul Germaine, video producer

Good luck to all the nominees!

Grammy Awards 2023: Music Video Nominations

2023 Grammy Nominations have been announced. The Music Video category is as follows:

  • Adele "Easy On Me" Xavier Dolan, video director; Xavier Dolan & Nancy Grant, video producers
  • BTS "Yet To Come" Yong Seok Choi, video director; Tiffany Suh, video producer
  • Doja Cat "Woman" Child., video director; Missy Galanida, Sam Houston, Michelle Larkin & Isaac Rice, video producers
  • Kendrick Lamar "The Heart Part 5" Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jason Baum & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
  • Harry Styles "As It Was" Tanu Muino, video director; Frank Borin, Ivanna Borin, Fred Bonham Carter & Alexa Haywood, video producers
  • Taylor Swift "All Too Well: The Short Film" Taylor Swift, video director; Saul Germaine, video producer

Takeoff of Migos, Dead at 28

Tragedy again strikes hip-hop with Migos rapper Takeoff shot to death in Houston, TX, last night, per reports in TMZ and many other news outlets. He was 28. 

Takeoff was currently supporting a joint release with fellow Migos member Quavo, with their most recent video "Messy" just dropping.