> No one actually pays attention to the details of music videos any more. It’s visual chewing gum at best.
Hilarious to hear someone in industry blame their audience for the commodification of the medium. Is every industry like this? Surely nobody goes into creative fields thinking “I can’t wait to feed the masses slop!” Who’s killing our spirit?
He's not wrong though. In the 80s I'd watch video shows and over the course of a week I'd probably see some videos 10 times. And it wasn't background filler - I'd actually be sitting in a chair/couch and watching the videos. Kids don't do this anymore. First many/most songs are made popular through TikTok memes, not videos. And videos really are mostly just played in the background as they do other stuff. No one is just tuning into Yo MTV Raps or Headbangers Ball anymore.
Video killed the radio star. Streaming killed the video. Sure, lots of people use youtube for consuming music, but how many of them truly are watching the videos or just have them on while they do something else without seeing the images? With that in mind, putting anything on screen is just checking the boxes
I think short-form video has killed many things. There's just too much dopamine stimulation.
Although arguably music videos have always been a sort of short-form-video - takes strung together enough to keep you engaged through the song.
No, that’s not the fault of the audience.