Any money in music videos? Is it worth it?

D

dustinstoneband

Member
Hey. First post, but looking forward to joining the DVX USER family!

I have been trying to get into the music video production business for about a year and half now... I started a production company and have made a few low budget music videos for independent musicians in my city..all were happy with the results.

But I'm finding it EXTREMELY difficult to make money in the music video business! Even though the product we provide is very high quality (each production had 10- 15 person crews, great quality cameras / equipment / planning etc ), it's seeming so hard to find new clients.. NOBODY HAS ANY MONEY!!!! I tried to charge around $3 to $5 grand so that I can not only make a quality product but also make a little profit.. but getting that amount of money from musicians that don't have a record label is like trying to get blood from a stone.

I've done my share of things for free to build up my company's portfolio, but this cash problem is really starting to wear me down. I love music videos and don't want to make corporate videos or anything else. But how can I make money?

Do I need to be the chosen production company that a record label uses for their signed artists? Is that the only way to make money in the music video business? And if so, does anyone have any advice on how to get there?

I would be willing to put my own money into making a kick ass music video if it had a shot of playing on MTV / MuchMusic / CMT to bring us more work. Is this a good idea? I know a few artists who recently are getting more and more radio play.. I could offer to assist them and also help myself by making them a video. Then maybe shop this around to record labels?

Anyone making money in the music video business, if you exist, please help! I feel so frustrated.. I just want to make a living doing what I love! Is there any hope?

Dustin Stone
 
dustinstoneband said:
Hey. First post, but looking forward to joining the DVX USER family!

I have been trying to get into the music video production business for about a year and half now... I started a production company and have made a few low budget music videos for independent musicians in my city..all were happy with the results.

But I'm finding it EXTREMELY difficult to make money in the music video business! Even though the product we provide is very high quality (each production had 10- 15 person crews, great quality cameras / equipment / planning etc ), it's seeming so hard to find new clients.. NOBODY HAS ANY MONEY!!!! I tried to charge around $3 to $5 grand so that I can not only make a quality product but also make a little profit.. but getting that amount of money from musicians that don't have a record label is like trying to get blood from a stone.


I've done my share of things for free to build up my company's portfolio, but this cash problem is really starting to wear me down. I love music videos and don't want to make corporate videos or anything else. But how can I make money?

Do I need to be the chosen production company that a record label uses for their signed artists? Is that the only way to make money in the music video business? And if so, does anyone have any advice on how to get there?

I would be willing to put my own money into making a kick ass music video if it had a shot of playing on MTV / MuchMusic / CMT to bring us more work. Is this a good idea? I know a few artists who recently are getting more and more radio play.. I could offer to assist them and also help myself by making them a video. Then maybe shop this around to record labels?

Anyone making money in the music video business, if you exist, please help! I feel so frustrated.. I just want to make a living doing what I love! Is there any hope?

Dustin Stone
Click to expand...

take it from me, you won't start making any REAL money until one of your videos gets somewhat famous. I'm right with you there, 8 music videos, didn't make any money what so ever from them. But i'm slowly getting bigger clients, so i guess that's just what you have to do! Just hang in there and maybe one day you'll get you're break but right now artists without a label expect a great music video for nothing....


good luck!
 
Nope. Unless you want to do more no or low budget almost no-paying music videos, or unless you're a masochist, or unless you want a showcase piece, making money shooting music videos isn't really a reality unless you're using a very specific formula and doing back to back projects that have quick turnaround times.

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Once you are known as a well established pruductin company, it's not hard to bid on real music videos. Until then, you mainly just make em for your reel as struggling musicians aint got a dime, even if they tell ya they do.
You rreel is what will lead to the job that will give you the experience to be able to create that sound productin company. Don't skip the staffing then freelancing steps. If you do, you are just unemployed with an overhead.
 
Hm. So basically, there's no money to be made in music videos until you make it big. I figured as much.

Grinner, how do you go about bidding on music videos? Like, how do you know when a known artist is preparing to shoot a new video? Is there some way of being kept in the loop with what the record labels are planning? Do they accept bids from production companies as a whole package, or does it have to come from the director?

I guess I feel too intimidated at this time to contact a record label or big musician and see if they would like to work with us. I just think, they must have a production company of choice that they use... I am familiar with a few in town and they seem to use the exact same crew and director with each and every music video they put out.

I'm thinking if I want to keep busy with video work, it might be a good time to start doing corporate and short films as well to help fill the increasingly empty schedule....
 
dustinstoneband said:
Hm. So basically, there's no money to be made in music videos until you make it big. I figured as much.
Click to expand...

Not even. It's generally the case that even established commercial directors who direct music videos, don't really do it for the money. Other than the top music video directors who have achieved celebrity status, I'd guess profit on music videos is slim for everyone else.

It's more often than not a labor of love or a chance to do something interesting for a change that gets people involved, not a means to pay mortgages and car leases.

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They call and ask for a bid. You compete with options and, unfortunatly price. It will always be more profitable for you to be known as the best, not the cheapest. Keep that in mind later on.
There is indeed money in it toward the top. It's a long ladder though. I suggest gripping on some big lable music videos and making some connections as a PA. Work your way up from there.
 
Well

Well

It's not true that there's no money in music videos. Not true at all. There is still a LOT of money spent on music videos. If you are an established director, you can make money on the projects you do, and if you own the production company and can direct lower budget work, you can make money. A lot of labels are commissioning videos for the $8,000 to $20,000 range. If you own the means of production and direct the video, you can charge for your time and your equipment, and still offer great videos if you have the talent. I know people who do this, but I haven't personally gotten there yet. Definitely there are stories about big directors declining pay on a music video or taking very low pay just for fun, yes, but that's not the rule. It's still the standard system that the director gets a 10% markup on the below-the-line cost of the video, so there is money to be made if you can establish yourself as a premiere music video director. But the fact is, there aren't many of those people, for one, and two, very very few people make a living JUST on music videos. I bet you could count those directors on two hands, seriously. Most do other commercial work or whatnot to make their main source of income. But that doesn't mean there isn't money to be made if you make it to the top.

Your post is so funny because it was me a year and a half ago. I started trying to make money in music videos -- there is NO MONEY AT ALL in indie music videos. None. It's like bleeding a rock, as you said. There is nothing. We had a company, with advertising, with everything we could do to get clients, and never had a single offer above $2,000. The person who would pay $2,000 wanted a $75,000 video, easily. She proposed green screen work, a child actor, stunt work, 4-5 locations, an aerial shot, etc. For $2,000! hahahaha, yeah right.

Other times I got some hilarious ones like $550 for a video. Uhh, ok $550? Gee that extra $50 really makes the difference. A real company cannot do videos under about $4-5K per one, it's just not possible, and even then it's not much. Music videos are far too much work for far too little money in general.

Why should I spend tons of time being creative, come up with a great idea, and expend a lot of time and energy, all to make a few thousand bucks? Screw that. I can get the same amount of money for a corporate video and it's possible to do that work with a crew of 3, not 10-15.

So that's what I do now. I hired a sales and marketing director, she finds the clients, and we do virtual tours, industrials, corporate work in general, whatever we can find that makes sense.

I am going to start trying to get a few music videos, though, through labels. Just for fun. I don't care if I make $1,500 for two weeks of work, if I only do 2-3 per year max, during holes in the schedule. Better to keep busy and make something than do nothing. I have done 4 music videos now, spent about $17,500 on my reel for them and they've been selected to 24 festivals now and won 3 times, so at least I have the resume and reel to approach labels, which is what I was trying to do anyway. But I will approach them as a production company as well, not just a director.
 
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