Bands, Performers, Where Are Your Videos? Why Even A Low Quality Video is Better Than Nothing at All

I’m just going to come out and say it. If you are a performer and you don’t have current and accessible video on YouTube, Hulu or Vimo, you do not exist.  There is absolutely no excuse for this. A Sony camcorder is what 200 bucks? You have a smartphone don’t you? I do, and it does a decent job, no it’s not the greatest, but if you have nothing, it is by far a better choice. If you do not have a video up, it also shows that you do not care, or that your too lazy, or that you have no experience; none of these are messages you want to convey.

When you have a video on YouTube, even a less than superior quality video,  it least gives me a good idea about whether or not I will like your band, how well you perform, and what kind of music you make. All of these inform my decision to support you. The last thing I’m looking for is the actual quality of that video, although, sound quality is important.

It seems as if some bands who used to be big 20 years ago, don’t think they need to update their YouTube presence. Again, I don’t care what you sounded like20-30 years ago, if I can’t find out what you’re doing now, I won’t go see you, I won’t promote you and I will not seek to  cover you as a blogger. Sorry, that’s the truth. Most of us, and especially here at The Hazard Report, have limited resources and we want to insure we spend those resources wisely, which means doing our due research and finding the best possible acts to follow. Now, that’s not to say that I will never be at your shoes, if I get a special invitation and it works for me, sure I’ll go.

I do not think anyone has an adequate excuse for not posting at least one or two halfway decent video that represents what you do. It’s always best to give promoters and other booking agents at least some idea of who you are. More than simply hearing you, venues want to see you in action; just to be sure you sound good live and put on a good show.

I cannot stress the importance of video enough, and there are a myriad of reasons to put one out there, but don’t spend too much effort worrying about whether or not your video is good enough, just put your best foot forward and if you’re not entirely satisfied, replace it with a higher quality video when you can.

Most performers are far harder on themselves than the ones watching them so be sure you’re not nit picking yourself to death, just be sure that when you perform, you give it your all and more importantly, have fun! That will come across in your performance and your video will reflect that and we are first and foremost looking for a good time. If your video is not in HD, or is a little shaky, that’s fine, we understand; most gigs are not shot at Austin City Limits, and you can’t tow a professional DP with you to every gig, and we don’t care. We just want to see if you can deliver.

Consider this: How much will your audience enjoy watching your performances get better and better? I know I love seeing the progression of video and performance quality over time. Then, when you’re at the level that you are putting out high quality video from festivals and large venues, we can all have a good laugh at that first, shoddy, hand held camcorder version of your first gig. People love that shit.