With the rise of YouTube taking over the internet, it’s changed the game for a lot of video and animation production. One big area it changed was music videos, RIP MTV. Out of that larger change came the rise of a newer type of content that is really being capitalized on by record labels, the lyric video.
What Is a Lyric Video, Anyway?
A lyric video is basically a music video that focuses on showing the lyrics to the song on screen as the song is played. A simple idea, but it’s taking off and becoming a popular genre for labels to get more content out there that they can monetize for their bands, and thusly becoming a new area for animators to capitalize on for work.
Lyric videos are used by bands and labels for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, like with Cee Lo Green’s “F*&% You,” they’ll be posted ahead of when the official video is supposed to be out, to capitalize on the popularity of a song on the radio or maybe to try to get more people’s attention ahead of the official release. It’s also become a popular channel for B-sides to be released. When a new album comes out with a big hit, lyric videos can be made as additional content for those albums to go with the other songs that aren’t released as singles.
Creative Direction for Lyric Videos Is Open
The creative direction for lyric videos is usually very open, and when it’s not, it’s usually just trying to go off of whatever album art the song may already be associated with. The budgets usually aren’t huge, and the turn around is usually pretty quick but for something that usually has no expenses in making it (depending on how you design it of course) it’s not a bad gig. It’s also a field that is booming right now, more and more bands and labels releasing lyric videos. Katy Perry releases a ton of them. Also if you work smart they can be pretty fun little projects, go in with an animation style that lends itself to copying and pasting to all the lyrics and you’ll have a much easier time making the project.
While not as respected as official videos and looked at sometimes as kind of additional filler content, lyric videos are a new niche for animators that is growing rapidly and can be capitalized on if you’re interested in making a music video that animates and focuses on the lyrics of your song being represented on screen. So if you can handle a crazy turn around, why not give lyric videos a try!
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