Official Lyric Videos Creatively Caption Songs
If you’re old enough to remember when MTV showed videos all day long, you may remember that captioned videos weren’t a thing in the 80s, or even the 90s. You had to buy the album to see the lyrics.
But today’s technology offers us more options to capture the words of our favorite singers. Enter official lyric videos: artist-created videos with captions of exact lyrics synced perfectly with the video and music. What a boon for people with hearing loss!
In George Ezra’s “Anyone For You” video, the lyrics are large and easy to read, and his “Blame it On Me” video cleverly shows the lyrics in an old TV. Jason Isbell’s “24 Frames” incorporates the lyrics as an artistic element in the video, which shows old photos in an album. Bonnie Raitt’s lyrics in her new “Just Like That” official lyric video fit the haunting, longing mood of the song. Even a static video like Avi Kaplan’s “I’m Only Getting Started” works better with the lyrics incorporated by Kaplan and his video editors, rather than automatically generated captions, which are often inaccurate and confusing.
We’re pleased with the commitment to accessibility shown by these artists—and even better, for showing lyrics in ways that enrich the video and enhance the impact of the song. Having the band or singer’s stamp of approval makes these lyric videos all the better.
Do you have a favorite official lyric video? Share it with us below in the comments.