Do your music movies go viral on platforms like TikTok and Instagram?
If not, there could also be three pretty easy changes you may make shifting ahead to get extra eyeballs in your music video content material.
After all, I can’t promise your movies will go “viral.”
There are a whole lot of variables for virality: High quality, expertise, traits, timing, algorithms.
However I CAN say a number of the music content material that’s surfaced in my very own social feeds all through the previous 12 months has shared three frequent qualities.
1. It’s best to put up “stay” efficiency movies
All through 2023 and 2024, a lot of the music-related movies that I’ve seen going “viral” (which means a number of views, likes, feedback, and shares) are performances. And I don’t imply live performance footage from gigs.
I imply issues like Jon Poppii’s minimalist acoustic covers.
Or Mark Scibilia’s live-looping movies.
Or Stroll Off the Earth’s hilarious stunt performances.
Irrespective of how a lot you hear concerning the recognition of GRWM movies, dance traits, or memes — on the subject of music, evidently viewers on TikTok and Reels merely love seeing good performers doing their factor. Singing a tune. Enjoying an instrument. Feeling the feels.
To be clear, I’ve seen some exceptions to this rule in 2024, which is good. Since that provides you extra inventive choices to your movies, and you’ll discover extra “vertical” approaches to the standard narrative or impressionistic music-video format.
However as a normal rule, I nonetheless assume the stay efficiency pattern is holding sturdy and needs to be the strategy you prioritize.
So… don’t fret about big-budget movies. Don’t fear about “official” music movies. Simply shoot some footage of you taking part in “stay.”
It may be in your bed room, rehearsal area, studio, a theater, a subject of flowers, a mountaintop, a protest, the median of a busy roadway (security first!), a sizzling air balloon, or wherever else. What’s most necessary is that you simply ship an awesome efficiency.
And if you do, how do you have to strategy the video shoot so the viewer feels linked to your efficiency?
2. Get it multi functional take with one digital camera
One other frequent high quality of viral music content material is the single-camera / single-take strategy.
A brand new iPhone is sufficient.
No edits! No cutaways! No b-roll!
Simply the intimacy of 1 digital camera monitoring no matter motion is most necessary within the second. And all the real-time threat that comes with it.
I don’t imply you need to publish your FIRST take. However fairly, your finest take.
That is nice information for you, on the one hand, as a result of it enormously reduces your manufacturing workload and finances; You don’t want a number of cameras or a number of individuals to shoot video. And also you don’t want an editor afterwards.
Nonetheless, as a result of you possibly can’t lean on edits to create urgency or to cover-up for awkward moments, the strain is on whereas filming.
Keep in mind, although: It’s short-form video. You’re apt to get extra views for a 15-30 second snippet than for a full 4-minute efficiency.
So should you can solely confidently ship 30 seconds of the hook, it is perhaps greater than sufficient!
For those who’re nonetheless doubting your self, fearful that you could’t even seize 30-seconds of nice visuals and nice audio concurrently…
3. You’re allowed to lip-sync in your “stay” efficiency movies
Although the visuals are essential, so is the audio. High quality sound is vital. It might’t be crap.
As I mentioned above, if getting good audio and video on the similar time is aggravating, simply lip-sync!
Seize the good recording first, after which put effort into believably performing together with that observe. It must look convincing, however it doesn’t should be hermetic.
Loads of the movies I see going viral in 2024 are clearly lip-synced. Others are much less clearly lip-synced. Some — I assume — are literally stay. However the level is, that distinction doesn’t actually matter for you common viewer.
It’s the kind of factor we musicians will get all twisted about, holding ourselves again from producing content material that has an opportunity of getting seen! So give your self permission to lip-sync.
You don’t should publish the outcomes, however I’d wager you’ll get higher outcomes if you attempt it.
Conclusion
The thrilling factor about this efficiency video pattern is that it’s asking musicians to do the very factor it is best to already really feel comfy doing: taking part in songs stay.
For those who give your self permission to lip-sync, you’re eradicating one of many largest technical hurdles to capturing good efficiency footage. And should you decide to the single-camera / one-take strategy, these sorts of movies are literally EASIER to supply. All nice information for musicians who handle their very own social, video manufacturing, and advertising.
However traits don’t final endlessly, and the algorithms will definitely shift what they advocate finally. So bounce on this music video pattern immediately.