music videos

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on music videos:

Today in Apple history: iTunes experiments with video downloads

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Morcheeba's
Morcheeba's "The Antidote" was one of the first music videos available on iTunes.
Photo: Morcheeba

May 9: Today in Apple history: iTunes experiments with video downloads May 9, 2005: Apple quietly begins selling music videos in the iTunes Music Store.

The feature arrives with iTunes 4.8, initially offering bonus content for people purchasing albums through the store. It will take several months for Apple to start selling individual music videos, along with Pixar short films and a selection of TV shows, for $1.99 a pop.

R&B star learns iMovie on lockdown to make sexy ‘quarantine style’ video

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Kehlani music video on iMove
Kehlani doing her work at home.
Screenshot: Kehlani/YouTube

Kehlani, an R&B star from Oakland, California, used her time in COVID-19 quarantine to teach herself iMovie — then shot and edited a racy DIY music video at home.

The video for her new single “Toxic” involves creative lighting, a lot of twerking and, um, implied self-care. “Created, directed, edited by me in my room in an hour,” she wrote on Twitter. “Thank U red wine.”

Memoji steal the show in bouncy new music video

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Memoji music video
Baby with an Animoji twist.
Screenshot: Scorpio Music/YouTube

Our amazement for great photos and even feature films shot on the iPhone is starting to seem less amazing.

But a French DJ and producer recently took a music video to the next level by animating some of the singing actors with Memoji.

Apple Music videos make the leap to Android

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Music Video
Apple Music -- now with added music videos.
Photo: Apple

Apple has rolled out its new music video-oriented Apple Music app update for Android.

Now available to download in the Google Play store, the Apple Music 2.4.2 update boasts the same “music video experience” recently added with iOS 11.3. That means that users can access a plethora of exclusive music video playlists curated by Apple.

Curated ‘Music Videos’ section debuts in Apple Music app

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Music Video
Apple is highlighting music videos in Apple Music.
Image: Apple

Apple Music subscribers have started spotting a “Music Videos” section in their Apple Music app, which can be found by looking in the “Browse” tab.

While music videos have been available in Apple Music since the start, the dedicated section shows that Apple is keen to showcase them as a big part of its $9.99 per month service. The curated section features both new videos and also artist and region-specific highlights.

Wizibel makes videos for your music, so you don’t have to

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wizibel
It won't make Thriller, but it's better than nothing.
Photo: Klevgränd

The rumors say that SoundCloud is on its way out. The company is laying off staff, while burning through streaming bandwidth with no real way to make any money. If you’re a musician, this is a big deal, because SoundCloud is where you share music, and where you go to hear other musicians’ music. It’s a mixtape and an audition reel combined.

The smart move is to take your music to YouTube, because a) it’s not going away, b) it’s free, and c) it’s where everyone goes for free music anyway. The problem? You need to make a video. You could always just put a still image up there, but then the kids will get bored and move onto something else. But as a musician, you’d probably rather spend your time making music instead of making movie.

Luckily — surprise surprise — there’s an app for that. It’s called Wizibel, ands it comes from master iOS music-app-maker Klevgränd.

Kitschy Scopitone jukebox brought the jams before MTV

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The Scopitone was a kind of video jukebox that had a brief life in the United States 17 years before music videos were the rage.
The Scopitone was a kind of video jukebox that had a brief life in the United States 17 years before music videos were the rage.
Photo: Walker Art Center

Cable boxes couldn’t be hooked up fast enough in August of 1981. People said I want my MTV.
 
Music videos blew our minds as we watched for hours on end a steady rotation of our favorite rock and pop stars who not only sang their music, but became characters in an elaborate, often hyper-sexualized narrative with a backdrop of visual effects and exotic locations.

But a version of what became the music video craze nearly seduced Americans in the 1960s with the Scopitone, a jukebox topped with a large screen that played short Technicolor films of singers performing on a crazy set that often included bikini-clad dancers.

This Mac Pro-powered OK Go cart makes some awesome videos

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These wires and Mac Pro do some amazing work. Photo: Damian Kulash/Instagram
These wires and Mac Pro do some amazing work. Photo: Damian Kulash/Instagram

Just take a look at that beast above, posted by lead singer and guitarist for nerdtastic rock band OK Go, Damian Kulash. The Instagram photo, captioned “There is a machine that makes OK Go videos. This is that machine.”

Founded in 1998, OK Go consists of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion) and Andy Ross (guitar, keyboards and vocals). They’re known for their extensive, quirky and technically complex music videos.

Here are a few of those awesome videos, made with the OK Go cart above.

24 Hour Music Videos Could Come To The Apple TV This Week Thanks To Vevo Deal

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apple-itv

Earlier this month, we reported that Vevo, the popular music platform, was in talks with Apple to make its own Apple TV channel a reality. The channel would allow Apple TV owners to access Vevo’s 24-7 music programming, and would be monetized by ads.

Unfortunately, there were no other details, and you know what they say, “A rumor’s not a rumor that doesn’t die.” So let’s kill off this rumor by making it a reality: the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the Vevo app could launch on the Apple TV as early as this week.

VEVO Updates iOS App With Full AirPlay Support

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vevo-iPhone.png

You can’t get music videos on MTV anymore, but that doesn’t mean the 60-inch TV strapped to your wall can’t get jiggy with Beyonce and Katy Perry’s newest music vids. VEVO announced today that it has added full AirPlay support to its iOS app, allowing users to stream audio and video to an Apple TV.