This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wisconsin chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Why music videos need more love
Last night, my friends and I went to one of Madison’s finest establishments— Chasers 2.0. We are partial to the third level dance floor, and as we walked through the door we were met with a flat screen tv spanning the length of the wall, showing the music video for every song the DJ played. This is a rare occurrence, and we immediately knew it was going to be a great night.
Something about seeing the music videos made us feel so much more connected to each song, almost like it was a concert. Looking back at this night out, it made me come to realize the lack of hype that music videos have today.
As someone who grew up in the golden age of 2010s pop music, I vividly remember waiting for a new Taylor Swift or One Direction music video to drop so that I could watch it on the family desktop computer. Some of the most famous singers of the type were known for their music videos, and it was such an important aspect of pop culture for a long time.
Going back even further, MTV broadcasted artists’ newest videos for around 20 years, showing icons like Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Prince’s video for his hit song Kiss (NPR). Outside of these videos just being iconic, they were a secondary form of entertainment and expression. A lot of music videos had narratives and plotlines that allowed for imagery to be coupled with music in order to tell a story.
While aspects of these videos blatantly shared a story, the use of colors and “easter eggs” also allowed for fans to come to their own conclusions and therefore cause buzz around a new song. Music videos were so creative, and often shaped how viewers looked at their favorite, or least favorite, musicians.
However, in 2026 these forms of media are few and far between. With how accessible technology has made information, there is less reason to watch a music video compared to years prior. Without purposefully watching the video, you can know the entire plotline, color scheme, and imagery simply through scrolling social media for 10 minutes. Because of this, listeners are also given less creative freedom to come up with their own interpretations of a song’s meaning before seeing the imagery projected by the creator themselves.
With all of that said, I urge you to take three minutes from your day and watch the music video to your favorite song. These short forms of entertainment make music so much more than a song. It can give the context of the lyrics, spread a message that is important to the artist, or just visually show what the song expresses.
Art is so powerful, and music videos are a genre that has been cast to the shadows over the years. Being able to revisit these iconic pieces of media showed me how much of an impact they can have, and why music videos deserve more love.