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Turns out the treadmill video wasn't an isolated bout of creativity for OK Go. The band has since delivered an amazing contraption-themed video for "This Too Shall Pass," and more recently, a Crayola-clothed adventure for "End Love" (see below). The "End Love" video was actually premiered at Bonnaroo, another cool twist.
This is a creative well that keeps producing engaging and memorable videos. You might laugh out loud, or your jaw might drop in disbelief. But what about the music? Is the audio as great, or just an inferior appendage to these YouTube masterpieces?
This treads into incredibly subjective territory, like so many music discussions. OK Go fans would argue otherwise, but it seems that these brilliant videos are far more memorable than the songs themselves. Can you hum "This Too Shall Pass" while walking down the street? Or, can you more easily remember the Rube Goldberg contraption?
As the post-EMI story on OK Go unfolds, this is a case study worth watching closely. Of course, EMI turned out to be the worst place for a band that thrives on viral videos, but EMI has the right to monetize its investments the way it wants.
And the band appears okay with that. In a recent interview with the Seattle Weekly, OK Go frontman Damien Kulash seemed rather philosophical about the EMI rift. "I don't blame EMI for anything they did," the singer said. "They're acting in what they believe is their best interest. It just wasn't in our best interest."
The rest is a work in progress. On the monetization end, Kulash pointed to modest touring and recording sales for the band. "I think people who love the video watch the video. They're not people who buy records," Kulash shared, while also noting that the band still "make[s] most of [its] money off of licensing."
Paul Resnikoff, Publisher.
Related: "What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from OK Go," ReadWriteWeb.
Comments Closed
albertcamus Friday, June 18, 2010
I don't think I'd care about this band if it weren't for the videos.
But if it was the other way around - great music, not so great videos - I'd probably never have heard of ok go.
You have to hand it to them, they know how to cut through.
CTyankee Friday, June 18, 2010
not judging. or trying to anyway. but let's face it, this "End Love" song is really not that strong. This is a gimmick band.
SantonioBragadocius Friday, June 18, 2010
Good point. Their music isn't memorable at all. You don't see DJs sampling their riffs. Or artists making covers of their songs.
There is something to be said about mega-viral music videos with more than 10 million views because it is representative of their artists - Bieber, Gaga, etc - being billboard goliaths. Ok Go! is probably the only band on the world that can reach this epic milestone and still not make a ripple in the giant pond of mainstream music. That might provide for "indie cred", but then again, "indie cred" doesn't mean writing NYT articles whining about how not enough people are listening to your music.
And sure, it's gimmicky. And sure, no one would be able to experience their awesome videos if they weren't a band in the first place.
But here's an old chestnut: If Ok Go! wasn't there to make the world's most impressive Rube Goldberg Machine, don't you think a giant ad agency would be right around the corner to do it anyway?
The "Sierra Mist" Rube Goldberg Machine would probably provide for a more enjoyable music experience!
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