There are many different pieces in this new music industry. For those that love music, there is a place for everyone. Now, that may not be on stage in front of huge adoring crowds but that is just fine to many of us. Just staying connected to the music is good enough. For instance, my days of making music have long passed but this website and helping artists achieve thier own goals makes me even happier today
We recently came across Calvin West and the amazing work he does with mixing, mastering, and his true talent in creating lyric videos for songs. He has definitely found his place in the music industry.
At the age of 19, Calvin West recorded his first album in Sweden. He hasn’t left the music business since. His focus has shifted to his unique artistry of the lyric music video. Now working out of his own studio in Spain, Calvin has collaborated with hundreds of talented artists and record labels from all over the world.
We Caught up with Calvin West to get some of his knowledge about the visual aspect of music today:
Why is it so important for bands to have videos for their music nowadays?
Videos are the most effective way to promote music today, hands down. Lyric videos, in particular, provide a more cost-effective option than music videos. One of my record label clients tells me that in fact, they get more views on their lyric videos than music videos.
Aside from that, fans like to feel a connection with the artist. And lyric videos are a great way for fans to learn the lyrics of a song while they listen!
What is your process for turning a song into a lyric video?
My first step for creating a lyric video is always setting up a theme. Sometimes clients provide the album artwork or a photo/video to show the lyrics over. Otherwise I go looking for stock imagery while I listen to the song. I test out a few font styles over our background to see what looks good.
After having the basic theme set up, I proceed to write and animate the first couple of lines. I try to reflect the mood of the song in the way the words transition in and out. Once I have that, I pass it by the client for feedback, and it’s smooth sailing from there!
Tell us a success story about one of the videos you made?
I would say it depends on how you define success. If it’s on views, then the video I made for Regi (Ellie) is almost at 5 million views! One of my personal favorites has to be the project I did for the Rasmus. I was a big fan of them in my teens and even made my band play covers of their songs in school. So you can imagine I was delighted to be able to work on a video for them! In the end, I got to make 4 videos for them and if I had to pick one it’d be Holy Grail. It was a cool concept where I turned the singer’s handwriting into lyrics being written over footage of him standing in a crowded street in Tokyo. It recently passed a million views too!
Calvin West has helped so many bands get recognized well beyond thier music. His videos have helped them get tons of new fans and floated virally around the internet. He is open to working with any artist that is serious about thier craft and wants to expose their art to the world. You can see more videos and chat with him on his WEBSITE.
Keep up with Calvin West on his Social Media as well:
https://www.facebook.com/CalvinWestMusic
