11 Music Video Ideas To Inspire Yours in 2024

Music videos express an artist's vision and enable them to connect with their listeners visually. Moreover, music video production is still a sizable industry projected to reach $20.39 billion by 2028. In fact, 60% of Americans between 35 and 54 years old visit YouTube at least once a week to browse music-related content. 

Aside from factors such as the growth of internet connectivity and the advent of mobile devices, which have contributed to the growth of the music video production industry, nostalgia also plays a role in why people watch music videos. 68% of individuals who visit YouTube to watch music videos do so out of nostalgia. 

Music videos, when done well, can catapult artists and their careers to the forefront. However, translating your music into a powerful and compelling visual medium can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. With so many freelance video experts on Fiverr, you’ll find the right music video production service that fits your needs.  

11 Music Video Ideas Worth Trying Out

With 93% of the most-watched videos on YouTube being music videos, they provide plenty of opportunity for artists to get their vision and craft for the world to see. With that in mind, here are eleven creative music video ideas you may want to try for your next shoot.

1. Do a One-Shot Video

One-shot videos can be tough to shoot, given that they're done, well, in one continuous shot, but they can catch and hold your viewers' attention. They also give your videos a more authentic feel while being an excellent medium for storytelling. It also incentivizes you to record a short film video instead of a long one.

2. Use a Green Screen

Green screens offer a lot of room for experimentation. It’s versatile, allowing you to add different elements in post-production, and lends itself well to different music genres. 

Want to take your viewers to an alternate dimension? You definitely can with a green screen. You can record a video using one you buy on Amazon and then get it edited. Fiverr offers a wide array of video editing services that will take your music video to new heights.

3. Incorporate Animation

Animation lets your imagination go wild and adds a touch of whimsy to your music videos. There are plenty of options to choose from, including stop-motion animation, animated elements, visualizers, motion graphics, and 2D or 3D animation. You can also opt for a fully animated music video or select key scenes that will be animated. Creating animated music videos is a time-consuming process, so consider working with video and animation professionals on Fiverr. 

Character animation made by vidavic

4. Be Creative With Props

Using props can give your music video a more fun, whimsical feel. They’re also very versatile—you can add them to your video to add a touch of fun and whimsy, such as in OK Go’s Here It Goes Again, which made creative use of several treadmills, or use them to set off dark or melancholy music. The great thing about using props is it gives you plenty of room to play around and be creative.

Anything can be used as props for your music video, from household items and toys to exercise equipment. You can utilize props to enhance your video,  or you can make use of them as your video’s main characters or focal points. 

Think of toys coming to life or take photos of them as a loose reference for your song. With props, you can go as simple as you want or create something more complex—your imagination is the only limit to what you can achieve with props. 

5. Utilize Concert or Gig Clips

If you've done your fair share of gigs or concerts, you've amassed a collection of live show videos. While you can reuse these clips and create a montage using iconic scenes or just run the whole video for a particular song, you can also stage a gig and film it to look like you're at a real concert. These are a great way to give your viewers an idea of what your live performances are like.

6.Consider Storytelling

Music videos can be a powerful medium for storytelling. Say your lyrics tell a story; you can use that as a jumping-off point for your video. 

From there, you can take the lyrics and use them as an inspiration to help you build the imagery and atmosphere of your MV. They’re engaging and are a great way to take your viewers on a journey. You can take inspiration for video concepts from documentaries to create your own music video.

As a storytelling medium, you’re inviting your audience to stick around and watch the whole thing from start to finish. Think Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Taylor Swift’s All Too Well. 

7. Leverage Your Location

Love traveling? Are you frequently on the road to perform in gigs? Why not make use of your travel videos to create an MV? You can also use your location as your focal point and incorporate breathtaking shots of the mountains or the sea, for example. You can also try finding unique locations that you think will match the atmosphere you’re trying to create for your song. 

Create drone footage of your location in slow motion to create a dramatic effect. For example, create a golden hour video in a scenic location to capture warm tones for the final video naturally.

Stuck at home? No problem! Your house can still serve as a great venue for shooting a music video. Think about the areas in your house that can be used for filming and try to see what it would be like to shoot your video there. 

Plus, this is one of those music video ideas that have the potential to work well, even if you're working on a tight budget. You can also take things a step further and go out of your house. Film your neighborhood or feature local spots. Make a timelapse video of cars going by or what the sunset looks like from your home. 

8. Try Collabs or Hire Actors

If you’re working with a bigger budget, you can look into hiring actors. Or you can also try getting in touch with influencers or other famous personalities who align with your brand and music. You can leverage their influence to expand your reach and grow your audience. But this isn’t just limited to famous people or people who have a large following online—you can also do a collab with your fans or get your friends and family involved. 

9. Consider Lyric Videos

Lyric videos have come a long way since their static and very plain predecessors. Nowadays, they’re dynamic and often involve several animated elements alongside the story you’re trying to tell. Its predecessors still remain a popular YouTube video category.

Lyric videos do a great job of introducing your fans to your lyrics. Plus, it lets them sing along, adding a layer of engagement to your MV. They're relatively easy to produce and can be done even with a small budget.

They're also a good alternative for artists who are unable to shoot a music video but still want to share their music with their audience. Plus, they can be used as a storytelling medium. Fiverr offers many options for artists who want to create eye-catching lyric videos. 

10. Go the DIY Route

You can always go the DIY route, but ensure you have reliable video editing software like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro.

You can use old video footage from your archives (think home videos), incorporate camera tricks like VFX visual effects, or film behind-the-scenes clips that you can incorporate into the final product. In these videos, you can get actors/singers to lip-sync the song's lyrics in the entire video while playing the playback music.

You can also engage your fans by asking them to contribute their clips from your concerts or gigs, for example.

11. Use AI to Create Your MV

Traditional filmmaking rules differ when creating music videos, so this is your chance to explore creative ways to make a video, even as a beginner. If you want to create a low-budget music video, consider using AI software to generate great music videos for your songs. 

There are AI tools that let you input your lyrics and add audio indicators to create a new video. One advantage of using AI to create a music video is that it’s not as time-consuming. 

Many user-friendly applications can generate a video in just a few minutes using built-in templates or from scratch. It may even be a more cost-effective alternative. If using AI to create an MV seems daunting, Fiverr has an array of professionals who can help you create AI-generated music videos.

Music video production tips

So, you’ve decided on an idea for your next MV. What’s next? Here are a few tips to help you get started.

• If you haven't yet decided which music video idea to use, you can watch other music videos to get ideas for your next project. 

• Take a closer look at your music and consider the concept or storyline you want. Creating a storyboard or a list can help you keep things organized and stay on top of the elements or shots that must be filmed. Doing so can also give you an idea of the project's scale, allowing you to assess how much it could cost or how long it will take to finish filming. 

• Aside from the concept, story or choreography, you must think about the MV's overall look and feel. Do you want to create a sped-up montage of your clips, or do you want something with a more modern aesthetic? Do you want the video to have a vintage feel, or do you want it to look futuristic? 

• Don’t forget to account for your budget. While you can always come up with an awesome music video on a tight budget, you can also consider increasing your funds, especially if your MV is on a grander scale. Look into using fundraising sites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter. 

• Consider the technical aspects of your shoot. Are you taking a DIY approach, or will you work with other creatives, such as directors, post-production video editors, designers, etc.? Will you need a lot of filming equipment, or will you be fine with using only your smartphone? Think about other key factors, such as lighting and camera angles.

• Once you’ve finished filming and post-production, you need to think about how you will be promoting your MV. Will you be doing guerilla-style marketing and promoting the video yourself using social media, or will you be working with a music label that can help you craft a marketing strategy? You also have to think about how you’re going to protect your work once it goes live.

Conclusion

Making music videos is not an easy feat. The good news is that there are plenty of music video ideas to choose from that can turn your ideas into reality. When done well, your music video not only communicates your vision and ideas to listeners but also allows them to get a more in-depth look into your artistry.