BIGSOUND: Is YouTube 'A Celebration Of Shitness'?

How has YouTube changed the art of the music video? A lot, judging by the comments from this morning's Video Makes the YouTube Star as a part of the BIGSOUND Music + Design program.

Regurgitator frontman and music video maker Quan Yeomans conceded early on that the internet, which was in its infancy when his band started, now rules everything. While once he was able to take a non-recoupable $15,000 from a label to make a clip without issue, he doesn't believe this practice is too widespread any more.

Access to product and the means of production – Yeomans believes many people are using pirated software – has made it tough for artists to ask for that kind of money to produce a video.

Natasha Pincus, responsible for the hugely popular clip for Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know, began by stating that time is a valuable commodity – for both conception and execution of a clip – and something that is becoming undervalued by record labels and artist managers, saying that she has, in the past, been asked to develop a video concept in an hour. She said that, due to her own high personal standard of quality, she will only make one or two clips per year.

The future of music videos being sustainable for filmmakers was at the core of much of the morning's discussion, director Stephen Lance (whose credits include videos for silverchair, Washington, Powderfinger) saying that music videos are considered to be “an expensive hobby” – time restrictions and low budgets requiring a filmmaker to call on myriad favours to complete a clip. The expectations of record labels are simply not proportionate to the budget allocated in many cases these days, he said.

Following on from that point, Mairi Cameron (Washington - with Lance -, Sarah Blasko, Kate Miller Heidke) admitted that filmmakers over-delivering has been an issue; so much heart and soul has been put into clips with no budget that it is becoming expected from those making budgetary decisions.

Pincus confirmed this, saying that those who make clips run the risk of crashing and burning while developing their portfolio these days. She suggested a possible profit share arrangement where a the maker of a film clip is paid a percentage of royalties by the artist, admitting she was offered this arrangement by Lior a number of years ago, but knocked it back.

While Lance said he'd happily never make another commercial again, but would always make music videos, animator and musician Celeste Potter (Sarah Blasko, Regurgitator, Bertie Blackman)had a slightly different take on it. She said she makes TV commercials because she wants to make music videos. She'll get paid “a shitload of money” for a TV commercial which will allow her to go and make a music video.

Unsurprisingly, YouTube dominated much of the discussion, facilitator Nathaniel Cooper asking the panel whether their aim is still to be played on television or whether the focus has shifted to the online video streaming giant.

Lance said that the longevity of YouTube makes it a more appealing avenue for a filmmaker, while a clip that is shown on rage might get a week or two of airplay, it can be pushed online for an indefinite amount of time.

Cameron added that the honesty in the comment of a YouTube video holds some amount of appeal as well when looking for feedback on the creative work produced.

This democratisation of the creative process should mean that artists are making more videos, Pincus said, going on to say that she feels an artist should make a video for every single song on their album –one or two with a budget and the rest of them as cheap as possible.

The most popular comment of the morning came from Lance who stated YouTube is “a celebration of shitness”, though he went on to echo Pincus' point, saying this should make artists want to create more and more.