{"id":4420,"date":"2020-07-21T11:53:04","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T11:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/?p=4420"},"modified":"2024-01-22T13:45:36","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T13:45:36","slug":"why-stock-footage-must-have-for-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new-blog.artlist.io\/blog\/why-stock-footage-must-have-for-musicians\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Stock Footage Is a Must-Have Source of Video Content for Musicians"},"content":{"rendered":"
In this post, you will see why video content is a must-have tool for musicians, especially\u00a0independent musicians<\/a>\u00a0and the different sources that provide such content. When you consider factors like time, cost and quality, it\u2019s obvious that\u00a0royalty-free stock footage\u00a0sites are the best source for visual material. And when it comes to royalty-free stock footage,\u00a0Artlist\u2019s footage license<\/a>\u00a0and unlimited downloads make it ideal for any musician or band looking for quality video content.<\/p>\n
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Whatever your genre or style, visuals are always great assets to musicians. Everything, from music videos, live shows to musicians’ fashion and social media presence, can be considered a visual asset. Collectively, these visual tools create an image and brand with which existing and potential fans can identify.<\/p>\n

Great visuals made early rock and roll a big hit with young folks in the 1950s. Later, they helped attract many people to the sonic and intellectual liberation of punk rock and its aftermath. And if you look at hip hop, from its roots with 1980s fashion and graffiti to its more recent use of social media marketing and music videos, it\u2019s undeniable how powerful and effective visuals can be at communicating to fans.<\/p>\n

Music artists with big record deals have a lot of resources at their disposal for visuals. However, the vast majority of musicians these days can and do create their own visual image. And it\u2019s not just a matter of necessity\u2014many musicians enjoy choosing how they want to visually present their music and image.<\/p>\n

One way of creating visuals on various platforms is by using\u00a0stock footage<\/a>, and there are a few different ways musicians can use it for their visuals, which we will discuss below.<\/p>\n

Music Videos<\/h2>\n

Going back to the 1960s, when music videos were fairly primitive, the medium was a way of giving a song some visual accompaniment. While they were obviously marketing and publicity tools, music videos were also a type of artistic expression for musicians. Look at The Beatles\u2019 short\u00a0promotional film<\/a>\u00a0for \u201cStrawberry Fields Forever\u201d\u2014it captures the band\u2019s trippy, experimental mentality in 1967.<\/p>\n

While technology has made it possible for anyone with a DSLR or smartphone camera to\u00a0make music videos<\/a>, it\u2019s still a time-consuming and complicated undertaking. Remember, a music video acts as a musician\u2019s calling card, so it has to look right. If you choose to hire professionals to shoot it, the costs start to mount up.<\/p>\n

Stock footage comes in handy as a tool that eliminates the need for shooting days if you\u2019re looking to make an entire video or helps you get b-roll<\/a> that complements your own video work.<\/p>\n

For instance, if a musician wanted only aerial shots of a desert for their next music video, they wouldn\u2019t need to physically go to a desert and start filming. All they need to do is go to a stock site like Artlist and type \u2018desert\u2019 in the search box and get plenty of videos of deserts from around the world in various styles, like close-ups or extreme wide shots. If an artist wanted stock footage of a city like New York City, Paris, or Shanghai, they could also find it on such platforms.<\/p>\n

For inspiration, you can look at this video by Italian pop singer Napo (Luca Napolitano), who mashed news footage of current events with Artlist stock clips and created a powerful video relevant to what\u2019s happening in the world today.<\/p>\n