Are Music videos financially rewarding for filmmakers and artists?

Music videos have evolved over the decades, with changes in technology and distribution outlets. MTV was king until youtube took its place.

With online, comes big audiences, but can video makers and musicians get rewarded for their work? Labels will promote albums using music videos, but for indie artists who want to earn money through their actual videos, is this really realistic or should they consider product placement instead?

Youtube has had a revenue sharing partnership for several years, but the pre-roll ads and CPC ads (cost per click) don’t give enough back to creatives, unless they have viewership in the millions. Audience’s come back time and time again to watch music videos, often because they like the song. Surely, there must be a financial model that pays better for online distribution when there is high quality content available?

Product Placement in music videos

Lady Gaga Telephone