What Is the Job Description of a Music Video Producer?
Find out what music video producers do, and check the requirements for entering this career field. Review the salary potential for music video producers, and get info on the employment outlook in the coming years.
Career Overview
The main responsibility of a music video producer is to represent an artist's song visually. As a music video producer, you'll be in charge of determining what type of images would be appropriate for the song, whether it be a live performance, an animated feature, a short film, or something never seen before. As the producer, you're responsible for working with the artist to find the best direction to take for representing a song.
Important Facts About Music Video Producers
| Training | Work experience in a related field is recommended |
| Key Skills | Creativity, leadership, clear communication, management skills |
| Work Environment | Video industries, performing arts companies, self-employed |
| Similar Occupations | Actors, art directors, announcers, film and video editors, camera operators, multimedia artists, animators, writers and authors |
Job Duties
From developing the initial storyboards to the final editing, you might be tasked with determining which direction to go with your visual representation of the music. You could be in charge of ensuring that the operation stays within budget, finding the proper cast and crew, writing scripts, and setting schedules. You're also responsible for setting the mood of the production through lighting, set design, costuming, and special effects.
As a music video producer, you'll usually be required to provide stylistic control of a video and adjust equipment to gain a desired visual effect. You'll not only need to supervise the shooting of the video, but you'll also be responsible for monitoring the editing process, which might include adding special effects, adjusting color, regulating sound, and adjusting motion parameters.
Training and Education
Although style and substance are important within the visual arts, you could greatly increase the scope of available opportunities by having some formal training. Programs are available from the certificate to the master's degree level in cinematography, film, and video production. You could benefit from having prior knowledge of editing, cinematography, screenwriting, marketing, and promotion. Excellent communication skills are also a requirement since you'll typically need to work closely with artists and crew.
Career Outlook and Salary
Although the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not list statistics for music video producers specifically, the outlook for producers, in general, is expected to grow at about 8% from 2021-2031 (www.bls.gov). The median annual wages for producers and directors were $79,000 as of May 2021, according to the BLS. However, those who worked with independent artists, writers and performers averaged $163,340 during that time.