How Cheap Music Videos Are Getting 130 Million Views

It’s rare that novice musicians and major label employees ponder the same problems, but it’s been clear for a long time that it’s hard for a lot of artists to justify the expensive high-effort music video. And while the laziest in music punditry proclaims "the music video is dead," reality paints a different picture. 

Major labels, big indies, and successful DIY artists are all increasing their music video output. However, they're not just working harder - they're working smarter. Let's dive into this phenomenon and explore how you can leverage this trend to your advantage.

The Rise of the Minimum Viable Video (MVV)

The concept of the Minimum Viable Video, or MVV, is revolutionizing how artists approach visual content. Borrowed from the tech world's "minimum viable product," an MVV is a simple, cost-effective video that can effectively promote your music. 

Here's why it works:

• With the prevalence of short-form videos and high-retention edits, our collective attention spans give enough motion while not breaking the bank. 

• Many listeners turn to YouTube for free music consumption. Having a video, even a simple one, can keep these potential fans engaged.

• MVVs allow artists to have visual content throughout their promotion cycle with minimal investment of time, as these can often be made by yourself in half a day and still create massive hits with hundreds of millions of streams like Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” which as I write this has 132 million streams. 

The Psychology Behind MVVs

MVVs serve 4 crucial psychological functions:

• They provide visual stimulation for listeners with shorter attention spans who are often coming over from scrolling on short form. 

• Effective MVVs capture and reinforce the emotion of the song.

• Simple, less polished videos can often feel more genuine and relatable to viewers.

• The same viewers who’ve destroyed their attention spans are also the ones who are the early adopters of new music and consume the most content. 

Case Studies: Let's examine how various artists have effectively used MVVs

1. Shaboozey - "Tipsy"

   1. Created a single-take video with a green screen and separate crowd footage, yet it has 130 million + views.

   2. Psychological trick: showing cliché country music fans enjoying his song is telling people “it’s okay to love this song” in a genre that can be close-minded (to be as kind as possible) to a guy who looks like Shaboozey.

2. Dasha - "Austin"

   1. 10M+ views on a video that used a few performance takes, had a few simple cuts, and one camera filter effect

   2. Dasha made a bigger budget video a few months later after the initial one blew up, and that one has 3x as many views as the initial one in less time, proving a music video is still powerful for ROI but in a world where we are testing songs and releasing rapidly, we can spend more effectively. 

3. Bilmuri 

   1. The king of the MVV, he often films himself walking his dog or mowing his lawn, aligning with his authentic image.

   2. His journey from DIY artist to major label touring artist is paved with fun, MVV’s he has made for years that have positioned him as a fun artist you always want to tune into whenever they drop a video. 

4. Tommy Richman - "Million Dollar Baby"

   1. Combined on-screen lyrics and simple glitches with iPhone-shot party footage.

   2. The original visualizer had minimal motion. 

5. Durry - “Losers Club”

   1. These videos are ideal for indie bands who can lock into raw minimal vibes and small town sets described in their lyrics. 

6. Fcukers - "Bon Bon"

   1. The most buzzy band in Dimes Square, destined for an ascent to massive festivals, has been putting “low effort” into music videos for their debut EP rollout. 

   2. Employed a simple green screen with stock roller coaster footage.

   3. Their other videos are often one-shots that give small hints to their new school slacker aesthetic.

   4. Oh yeah, it seems Rosalia liked the idea. She made it her own in MVV.