Richard Bona has 10 albums. That include single projects, collaborative albums and live albums. Yet the man does not have a single music video.
Yes, he appeared in the video for Charlotte Dipanda's Bodimbea (which, by the way, I think is her most musically-accomplished song), and also for the song he did for the Ngarbuh massacre, which is a rather special song.
Richard Bona is a gifted artist. Certainly the most gifted of his generation. He has constantly preached about the importance of playing live music, and the fact that he is a jazz musician no doubt accentuates the fact that he does not do music videos. I love jazz and I have never really imagined myself watching a Charles Mingus music video.
That being said, Richard Bona came up in the era of the music videos. MTV was popping and a good number of Richard Bona's songs could have definitely made some beautiful music videos. Despite that he flourished and excelled and gained wide recognition and has played in the most prestigious jazz festivals in the world.
That being said, this is the different epoch. Richard Bona may have come up in the era of the music videos, but this is the era of content. Many musicians who were pushed by MTV and other channels thanks to label associations will hardly make it today because there are so many channels to view music from.
My question to you guys is, can a musician today, in 2021, irrespective of the genre, start a career and make it to worldwide, or even continental recognition without music videos?
Is that possible?
Let us hear from you guys in the comment section. Tell us what you think.
- Team Poise