The Importance of Videos With Music - Jay Seeney (Blacklist Productions)

Photo provided by: Jay Seeney

‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ was a hit in 1979, and in 2024 video is now more important than ever when it comes to promoting your music. In just seven years, Jay Seeney has filmed the best in the Australian Country Music business. With over twenty million views for his videos and multiple awards the recognition for Jay’s hard work is well deserved. Originally starting as an artist in his own right Jay needed to find a way to shoot content for the band. He says, “over time, I learnt the ropes of shooting video, honed my skills over 3 months and eventually got to a point where I thought it was good enough to offer out to other artists to help them with their video”. The business quickly “blew up” and Blacklist Productions was formed “About 75% of our work is in the music industry and 25% with business helping to produce their content”.

Having a successful career in any industry is hard work. For many artists having a plan B or a backup career is always pointed out, but for Jay Seeney his love of music and dedication found him a niche in the Australian Country Music scene. To Jay he thinks “people should do the opposite and double down on what they are exceptional at and what resonates with their audience”. And for that Jay has been nominated seven times at the Golden Guitar Awards with two wins. You can find many videos on CMC with most being #1 all by Blacklist Productions. If you are struggling to decide how to promote your next release, you seriously need to consider video content. Jay Seeney has the answer as to why videos can be so important to your release success. “In the modern era, the use of video content is essential to the success of a release.

We live in a world where more and more are expected in every single industry. On demand, right now and fresh. Video is the most exceptional vehicle to reach a new audience of people. With TV kind of going by the wayside, people thought that that may be the end of the music video, but if anything, the rise of the internet has drastically increased the importance of quality video. In short, if you're not using video to accompany your release, you are putting yourself at a huge disadvantage compared to those that are using it.”

Now that you know why video is so instrumental to your music release success it’s time to ask, “the what.” What type of video content suits your needs? Short videos like TikTok/Instagram Reels and extended music videos both have a place. Jay pointed out that “the rise of short form content is remarkable over the last few years to the point where it is just as important and, in some cases, more important than a longer piece. Bite sized pieces of video increase your discoverability as a artist, people see you a few times, like it and then they will go to your music video, it is a gateway to grab attention. Short form is where the bulk of the attention is right now, so it makes sense to totally capitalize on that.”

There are many ways to use video to promote your music but by having a goal in mind that using video should be used to drive your revenue as an artist. From Jay’s experience “the song, the music and the short form video is what will hook your potential audience into your brand. From there, then they listen to you more on streaming services and YouTube and then if the music resonates with them enough, they will be at your show and buy merch with becomes a direct, tangible stream of revenue. Video is ultimately the gateway to show people the music and concerts.”

If you are thinking that only artists with big budgets and management teams are the only ones that can afford good quality videos then you might be mistaken. iPhone recordings can still be a great efficient way to promote your music. While there is a huge advantage working with a professional content team, there is a possibility to get quality content from smartphones if you use the right tools with the correct knowledge. Using a professional content team can also ensure that you are standing out from the crowd with the high quality. “The wonderful thing is that you can repurpose professionally shot content into short form so that you have both quality and quantity on a budget. “It has been less than a decade but Blacklist Production shave many career highlights. “My career highlights are a fun one to talk about because they are all successes in conjunction with artists. When they win, we win.” Aside from the millions of views for his work and winning two Golden

Guitars for Video of the Year, Jay has had dozens of CMC Number #1’s. His work played in ANZ Stadium (Sydney) to 75,000 people and video screen content at Stagecoach, one of the biggest country festivals in the world. Blacklist Productions certainly have had some remarkable wins. 2024 has already been a huge year for Jay Seeney and the Blacklist Productions team but they are not on a path to slow down. “We hope that we can continue to grow the business and achieve even more of an impact. We have plans to expand our footprint in the business sector and we hope to work with some more US acts too!”. If you would like to check out Jay’s work, follow Blacklist Productions across social media and to enquire about working with Jay and the team head to www.blacklistproductions.com.au/.

Vera Black

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