Why Video is so Important to Your Music

We all know that Youtube can help your band gain exposure, but I'm starting to realize that it can also help gain interest in your music by stimulating the visual AND the audio senses! Maybe it's because I'm finally dabbling in video production that I'm noticing this as much as I am, but hear me out.

Project DIVIDE have released a videosong teaser for an upcoming EP, and through the first verse of the song you can see what goes on in the studio. When the second verse of the song comes in, the screen changes to a black background with white text to describe the upcoming EP. The same song is playing, and the energy of the song is still there, but the energy all of a sudden just feels different. It's like the video helps to stimulate your senses to get you more interested in what you're hearing, but when it's gone the audio just seems like it separates itself from the video and becomes a separate entity.

Here's the video in question:



Here's another example: We'll take a song from Jack Conte, then compare that with Dumbfounded. Both create videosongs, like Project DIVIDE is doing, but I can't find any Youtube audio of either act's music that doesn't include the video. So I challenge you to watch each of these videos in full screen mode, then watch them again and either close your eyes or turn off your monitor. The second time, I just want you to listen to the music without seeing the visual stimulation.

First we'll do Jack Conte:



Then we'll do Dumbfounded:



I always knew that video was a helpful tool, and maybe I'm coming in a bit late with this "AH HA!" moment, but I thought it was worth sharing. In my view, having video content for your songs on Youtube will help increase your web traffic by increasing the likability of your music. It doesn't have to be a videosong, it could be any sort of content. But it has to stimulate the visual senses in some way.

If you're interested in the Videosong format, check out http://videosongsblog.com