It’s an old and well known story. A bunch of friends meet in college or high school, they start a band and begin practicing in their parent’s garage. After playing gigs at local bars and clubs, they finally catch their big break. Flash forward a few years and you are watching their music video on your TV and computer screen, while scrambling to get tickets to their latest concert tour.
What can up-and-coming bands do when they haven’t quite got there yet? While most are recording their music in home studios (it’s amazing what you can do on a Mac), they are still faced with the challenge of getting their music out there.
Some artists such as Lana Del Rey, Ok Go and Justin Bieber famously found their spotlight through YouTube. The question is, how do you create an eye-catching YouTube music video, without breaking the bank? As we have seen time and time again, with a bit of creativity, anything is possible.
When we first saw Atlanta-based, indie rock band Penny Western’s YouTube music Video, we couldn’t help but shriek in excitement. Penny Western is made up of 4 very talented musicians, namely Randall Kirsch, Ian Groves, Lawton Zurn and Whit Lanier. The reason for all our excitement? Their YouTube music video is made up entirely of Fiverr Gigs!
When this cool, up-and-coming band decided to create their very first music video, they were overwhelmed by the costs that it entailed.
Using their out-the-box thinking and a whole bunch of Fiverr-tastic Gigs they created an awesome, inexpensive video. The results? We’ll let you see for yourself:
We immediately contacted this awesome band to find out more.
So… What was behind the making of this YouTube music video?
We made this album because we were proud of the music we had created and because Penny Western is a fun creative outlet for us. We brainstormed all the things we wanted to do in conjunction with the album, and making a music video was definitely an idea we toyed with. We had already discussed that “Heaven Seems Closer…” was the most “fun” song on the album and therefore it was likely the best candidate for a music video.
How much does a music video usually cost to produce?
I can’t say we knew the answer to this before we set out to make a video, just that it was likely more than we would care to spend. We did some research and found that $5,000 is a very modest budget.
How did you go about choosing Gigs for the video?
One of the most interesting and entertaining things was just browsing all of the available Gigs, and when we saw one we liked, we tried to imagine if we could weave it into a somewhat coherent complete concept. Once we had a skeleton of an idea for what types of things we wanted to include in the video, we wound up ordering literally every available Gig we could find that would fit within that theme.
How many videos did you use in the end and how much did you spend?
When we counted, we’re pretty sure that 20 Gigs wound up in the final version of the video. We know that at least 3-4 Gigs that we ordered didn’t make the cut for one reason or another. I also think we did order a few “extras” for the Gigs that we really liked and thought would make the biggest contribution to the video. The grand total was probably right around $200.
What was the best Gig you came across while making the video?
That’s a tough one – Fiverr is such a great source for true creativity. We would prefer to give a shout-out to an underdog here, but Professor Puppet was a true professional and really did a fantastic job with his parts. Even though he was lip syncing, he put a lot of personality into the clips (much of which was edited out in the final cut, unfortunately).
What has the response to the video been?
You know, it has been really great. Our hope was that it would be something that people really enjoyed and wanted to share with other people and we’ve had some success with that goal. The unanticipated side benefit is that we shared the finished product with all of the “stars” of the Gigs, and they all were very complimentary of the finished product and seemed flattered to be part of a bigger project. Who knows, there may be 20 more Gigs out there that could make up a second video someday.
There you have it. Take one cool band, add an awesome idea and you get this great result. There is hope for all up-and-coming bands out there after all!
For the next few weeks Penny Western will be selling their album on Fiverr at the discounted price of… you guessed it, $5! So click here now to purchase this incredible album.
For a chance to win the album on Fiverr, tell us how many of the Gigs used in the video do you recognize?
Great article we were very happy to have our Gig be a part of the video!!!
Great article, actually getting inspired. Really early days for my gig but surely, putting my small gigs together can actually make a big gig band.
Awesome! The power of Fiverr continues to amaze!
Good article.
Great :) Carry On :)
Wow. It is very interested.
I’m reading the full article.
Thanks Chandana
Wow, thats pretty cool!
Really great and unique idea, and it turned out really nice!
Seems like they paid a lot more than anything close to $200 :)
-LoGo4
Woooow Really Amazing. Great job done by them. And awesome Idea for upcoming bands. Actually 200$ for 1music video is probably easy for new bands. Good Luck guys.
Great video and I learned a lot from this article. I’d love to be part of the second video!! :)
This is really a helpful analysis. And will help a lot of users like me. Thanks for the great blog post guys. Keep rocking.
Superb…i guess..i have worked for them..
i would love to work again with them..
:)
Fantastic!
This is really awesome! Great work guys!
awesome Idea for upcoming bands. Actually 200$ for 1music video is probably easy for new bands.
Loved the whole concept of stitching together a bunch of Fiverr gigs…very clever and creative.
Thia awesome…. fiverr rock :D
that is superb..
superb heart touching story, fiverr seller really help their clients with 100% satisfaction and quality.
That’s great!
congratulations…
great work fiverr.
This is awesome! Love seeing musicians being proactive, getting out there and making something cool, especially on a limited budget rather then waiting for a ‘lucky break’
Only 947 views, that is a shame. This is a really unique idea!
Wow what a great video! Great music guys! Really enjoyed the video!
good works
Great idea, Penny Western. The video is awesome. i can’t wait to see the next one. Good luck.
PS I recognized three of the gigs use in the video.
That’s great!
So simple yet so creative – brilliant!
Oh really fabulous. the way to success is working hard
Great idea. There is so much creativity on fiverr. I could see this happening more often especially for small independent bands looking to make an impact.
We focus on music as well and hope to help that community grow on fiverr
Wow never imagined the Power of Fiverr. Keep it going :)
Thanks everyone for all the great feedback! Fiverr is proof that creativity fosters more creativity, and we found such inspiration from just browsing around all of the available gigs on Fiverr. We still think Fiverr is a “best kept secret” on the web, but we’re doing what we can to get the word out. Thanks again for your support!
Thanks Penny Western! You album is awesome and can be heard in the Fiverr offices!
Grrrrreat! I just sent this great idea to a musician friend of mine. It would be very helpful if we could identify, by links, the gigs that they used, it sure does seem like they deserve some promotion from this post.
Who is the girl @ 2:28 in the video?
I recognize haleylujah, sexysamantha, professorpuppet and neverevergiveup
I would love to know who is @ 2:28 and 3:16 …
3:16 – http://fiverr.com/meekabe/talkpromotesing-what-you-want-as-a-chinface
Thanks Leon
I like this video its great