"FREE" Music-Video shoot

[john]

From EW:

Pia Toscano's new 'This Time' video: Sexy or robotic? Watch it here and decide
by Grady Smith

The video—like most Idol videos that are shot while the kids are on tour—is pretty straightforward. (I could swear I used that exact line earlier today…) Pia sings her song in a series of unrelated locations—a meadow, a beach, a convertible, a city street—and that’s pretty much it. Basically, it’s a three-minute clip of her looking stunning (not that I’m complaining).

But there’s definitely something missing from the clip—namely, personality. Pia looks positively gorgeous when she delivers her sultry stare into the camera, but every time she opens her mouth to perform the song, that connection disappears—and that’s a major problem for an amateur pop star.
http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/08/09/pia-t...ime-video/

Not sure who directed her video, but the comments from this article sum up my thoughts about it to a large extent. Putting aside the robotic issue, it is pretty but very basic; no actors or fancy sets.

Looking at many of Sims videos, most are pretty basic, although he does a nice job with obvious budget constraints. The Uncle Kracker video includes Kid Rock (a bud from Detroit who sings a little on the song) and a few characters walking by. But still very simple - in the car, in front of the restaurant, junk yard shots, etc. -- hanging out at locations in the community.

Haley has at least one actress in her video. Probably a set. Good signs. I don't think they would put an extra penny into it if they didn't see her single has having strong potential.

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Expenses are always a concern.

Interesting video about the business (costs, contracts, etc.) by an entertainment attorney. Of course, the message in the end is that you better have a good attorney and manager to represent your interests.

RIAA Accounting: Why Even Major Label Musicians Rarely Make Money From Album Sales
from the going-behind-the-veil dept
We recently had a fun post about Hollywood accounting, about how the movie industry makes sure even big hit movies "lose money" on paper. So how about the recording industry? Well, they're pretty famous for doing something quite similar. Reader Jay pointed out in the comments an article from The Root that goes through who gets paid what for music sales, and the basic answer is not the musician. That report suggests that for every $1,000 sold, the average musician gets $23.40. Here's the chart that the article shows, though you should read the whole article for all of the details:

The article goes on to break down the scenario in the graphic: Here