Kicking off our brand new industry series, StarPolish brings you a rare look behind the scenes of Virgin Record's Video Promotion department. Stephanie Seymour, Virgin's Manager of National Video Promotion, has been a veteran of Virgin's video team for several years. Along with up and coming Promotions Assistant Jason Pleskow, Seymour speaks volumes on the music video industry and their place in it. Supporting priority artists like Lenny Kravitz and Nikka Costa, Seymour is able to provide specific examples of how videos are produced and promoted from a label standpoint.
|
As digital technology puts broadcast level quality in the hands of young filmmakers, the reality of a band being broken by an innovative video snowballing into mainstream airplay is a greater reality than ever before. Videos like Blur's "Coffee & TV" and low-fi entries like Fatboy Slim/Spike Jones video for "Praise You" are proving that a good video will find a way to be played, no matter what the state of MTV may dictate.
Seymour and Pleskow field questions ranging from getting a job in the industry to the concept of an artist making a video on an ultra-low budget. Can an unknown artist produce a video that gets played to the masses on MTV? Who do you turn to if MTV, BET, Much Music and VH1 pass you by? These questions and more are answered in this exclusive interview.
This is the first of several planned industry interviews that speak with top label and independent professionals. This series offers a wealth of advice for both those aspiring for a position in the music industry, and also for bands and artists looking for a do-it-yourself advantage. Special thanks to Seymour, Pleskow and Virgin for helping us kick off this exciting series.
Activate the pulldown below to watch the interview. Like all videos on the StarPolish site, you must have Real Player installed.
Interview: J Bills, Jim Willcox
Editor: Chris Pascarella
Print Entire Artist Interview
