Video Eligibility

All music videos that are included in the database must meet some basic criteria in order to be considered a music video.

So what constitutes a music video? We define a music video simply as a visual piece promoting a music release by an artist. This narrows the list down considerably, but for edge cases we also have set up the following rules for inclusion:

• The video must have been either commissioned or adopted as an official video by the artist or the artist's record label. In other words, the music video has to be official.

• The video must have been made with the purpose of promoting a piece of music. Videos where the music was composed for the video are not elligible. For instance, a short film with music written as a score for the film is not eligible.

• The video must be set to a recording to of the song. Live performances will not be accepted. However, videos where footage of a live performance set to a recorded track will be. One exception to this rule is live music videos or music videos where live performance and recorded tracks are combined (See "Live Music Videos" below).

• The music the video is promoting must be available independently of the video. For instance, if the video is for a rap track, that track needs to be available on a mix tape, or a CD, on a site like SoundCloud, or even available as a download. The music video cannot be the only place where the music is available. Videos for music that hasn't been released but is scheduled for one are eligble.

Contest Entries

Holding a contest for a music video is a fairly regular occurance, and any music videos that win a music video competition where the prize is explicitly to become an official video are eligible for inclusion in IMVDb. Content nominees, runners up, or winners that are not expicitly named an official video are not eligible.

Lyric Videos and EPK Videos

We are currently not listing lyric videos or EPK videos. However, lyric videos may be added as information to an existing video.

Unreleased Videos

Shelved or unreleased videos that have somehow found their way online are eligible for inclusion in the database, but are removed from some areas of the site, such as smart playlists.

Live Music Videos

Live music videos (like the ones that aired during the YouTube Music Awards) are eligible for the database as long as they are called an official music video by the artist or label and have a director name attached to them.

In Production Videos

Videos that are currently being made are also eligible for inclusion in the database, and can be added with the release status set to In Production or In Post Production. For music video professionals adding videos that are in production, please use your judgement to submit videos that you can be reasonably sure will be completed.