As a steady stream of reality shows replace music videos on cable stations like MTV, local production companies are facing a precarious future.
New data from the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. shows that the number of music video shooting days in L.A. County dropped dramatically from 182 in July to 95 in August. In May, permits were issued for 314 shooting days.
Though there have been random drops in the number of local shoots in the past, local producers aren’t prepared to shrug off the latest numbers as merely a glitch.
“There’s no question that the industry is changing,” said Bruce Martin, an executive producer with 1171 Production Group. “Just like what happened with FM radio before, music television has gravitated to the broadest demographic market, and as a result the rotation of music videos has shrunk.”
Record labels are continuing to make music videos to promote new CDs released by their artists. But these days, the bulk of those videos never make it to MTV. Many are used for marketing purposes and at best get shown on smaller regional television stations or on the Internet, according to Martin.
As a result, many of the videos now being produced are low-budget, with record companies reserving the big bucks for only their top-selling acts.
More money, less videos
“It’s becoming a very focused market,” said Catherine Finkenstaedt, executive producer with Extension Films and president of the Music Video Producers Association in Los Angeles. “More money is spent on fewer videos, as the record companies are taking less risks on new and unproven acts, and there is very little exposure for them.”
Meanwhile, the growing popularity of reality shows such as “Real World” and “Road Rules” on MTV, and music-oriented documentaries like “Behind the Music” on VH1 have made straightforward music video shows a rarity on major cable stations.
Cable network executives tend to write that off as simply a way of reinventing the way music is packaged. But that explanation doesn’t fly with many people in the music industry.
“The general trend that I see is that MTV plays about anything but music videos,” said Tess Taylor, president of the National Association of Record Industry Professionals. “It’s part of a general homogenization of radio and video driven by the need to generate advertising revenues, and it gives the strong impression that music video is becoming a thing of the past.”
Those music video shows that have survived are featuring a smaller number of artists. One example is MTV’s “Total Request Live,” which spotlights a select group of best-selling Top 40 artists with lots of record company money behind them.
“You’re seeing more music videos with budgets of $1 million or $1.5 million, and a lot fewer with budgets of $150,000,” said Finkenstaedt. “The production companies with celebrity directors who focus on the pop market are doing well, but others that focus on more alternative styles are having a much harder time.”
More runaway production?
The exception may be urban music, rap and hip hop, which are thriving in L.A. and have their own local outlet through The Box, a request show on cable.
There are no hard numbers breaking out the amount of money spent on music video production in L.A. But industry insiders estimate that it totals hundreds of millions of dollars a year. However, as budgets continue to grow for the biggest acts, production companies are discovering the lure of less-expensive locations, such as Toronto and Miami.
“It makes sense,” said Taylor. “How much savings can you generate if you move production for a $100,000 video to Canada? But with a million-dollar budget, it may very well be worth it.”
Meanwhile, it may be no coincidence that the music video production activity in L.A. has started to drop during the current strike by the Screen Actors Guild. Music video productions tend to be non-union, and SAG’s increasingly militant opposition to non-union commercial shoots may be having a chilling effect.
“We haven’t had any serious problems with SAG so far,” said Finkenstaedt. “But we don’t know how long that’s going to last. Besides that, production in L.A. has gotten very expensive and it has gotten a lot less production-friendly in general in recent years.”
While local government officials have gone to great lengths to accommodate filming throughout Los Angeles, local residents are growing weary of the chronic disruptions caused by location shoots, she said.
