Music videos were one of the first types of media that were distributed on the net and compromise a high proposition of all watched and downloaded streaming multimedia files. If you surf the net and search for music videos, you will discover a cornucopia of web sites offering music videos. Some are paid sites that require a subscription to access the videos - others like AOL, require you to subscribe to the ISP service. Another good source of music videos are the various record company web sites as well as specific sites, hosted by these multimedia conglomerates, that feature a specific artists and their recordings. Some sites provide a wide range of musical styles while others just concentrate on a certain genre. There are a variety of free sites that are either totally independent of the record companies or are affiliated with a variety of companies. Some of the smaller free sites just provide links to music videos hosted at the record company sites - others actually host the videos themselves. The free sites often provide a range of quality options for you to choose form - depending on your connection to the Internet, and or your brand of computer and operating system, you can select between accessing high bandwidth 300 kbps streams or smaller 20 k streams suitable for dial up modems. Most sites also offer a choice of download file formats - you can usually select between Real Media, Windows Media and QuickTime. Some sites offer avi or asf files that can be downloaded to your computer and be played back later. So which is best? A lot depends on what kind of music you like - some sites have a classic rock and roll emphasis while others may lean more to hip hop and rap. Here are our choices for the top ten FREE music video sites for 2003 - in alphabetical order. 
If you like music videos, you got to check out Artist Direct for some of the latest and best music videos you can find anywhere on the net. Artist Direct includes music in a wide selection of formats - from alternative rock to blues to hip hop to new age, reggae, rock and world music. This site also includes free featured MP3 music downloads, news and gossip. And of course, you can buy stuff - everything from CDs to books t-shirts and sneakers.
The Boards Music Video page spotlights some of the coolest and artistic music videos you will see anywhere. This is not your typical music video site - no big hits, no top forty bands. With these videos, style and images are the most important aspect - music second. These videos exemplify and explore differing ways of making and creating videos that include music of all types and cultures.
 Check out the new Internet Video Magazine Streaming Video Channel for Music News
Blastro.com provides the "on-demand generation" with entertainment they can access on the Internet 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to enhance their lifestyles. Blastro features original programming, music videos, and live interactive TV. They produce highly original programming that you won't see anywhere else. Their music videos run the gamut from rock, metal, R&B, hip-hop to trance, electronica and pop/dance tunes.
InterneTV is a very busy site with lots of information and links - you can choose between individual music videos or you can pick to watch various pre-programmed play lists. They cover a variety of genres including Industrial, Techno, Ambient, Alternative, Country, and Urban. You can watch videos at 56K, 100K and 300K. They even offer a section with hot European videos.
 
LAUNCH offers thousands of great music videos at a variety of download speeds and resolutions. The full-screen 300 Kbps stuff looks pretty good and sounds wonderful. Even better, it is free - but you do have to sign up for Yahoo. You can watch videos, you can listen to various Internet radio stations, you can buy tickets to upcoming shows and concerts.
If you want to see some of the latest and coolest music videos on the web, make sure you check out Lycos TV. The music video section spotlights new music videos as well as provides an extensive archive of older music videos. Music videos cover all the genres - rock, jazz/swing, pop, country, urban, Christian, electronic, Latin, reggae, alternative and "backstage" which features behind the scenes interviews with musicians and fans
MP4.com is associated with MP3.com, EMusic.com and RollingStone.com and offers a good selection of music videos that run the gamut from pop to electronica to hip hop to country.. If you are looking for something different in the way of music videos but with good quality, this is the web site to check out. In addition, there have a bunch of cool short videos and animations. FYI - if you are into games, check out their gaming section!
www.mssvision.com is all about music videos from independent artists. We provide Artists with some tools for Internet promotion as: sending videos by e-mail, allowing Artists to link to their videos. Many of the videos are synchronized with Artist's story, links comments etc.
And of course, the other headliner in the world of online music video is MTV.com and their web music video page. A bit more edgy than Rolling Stone's page, the MTV site offers the latest new videos, as well as full-length versions of videos that often you see played short. You also get online access to a variety of MTV productions including MTV.com Unplugged and live performances. And of course, there are message boards to discuss your favorite performers, guide to what is playing on moth MTV and MTV2, as well as the ability to buy stuff. For those with very fast broadband Internet connections, MTV features a special Broadband Zone section of high resolution streaming music videos.
As you would expect, The Rolling Stone Magazine music video page is among the royalty of Internet music video web sites. They feature the latest videos from the industry's top performers and bands, plus a good collection of past favorite videos. The web site also includes video interviews with artists and bands. You can also join chat sessions to discuss your favorite artists and their videos, as well as rate the songs and performances. And as this is Rolling Stone, you can buy stuff. Rolling Stone Top NEW Music Videos
Runner-Ups - not in the top ten but very good anyhow...
The Raft.Com is a cool site for music videos and music webcasts. In addition, you can win contests for free tickets and other goodies. This site is sponsored by Virgin Records, part of EMI Recordings.
FMITV provides a nice assortment of current and relatively new music videos to select from. They offer the streams in both 56K speed for dial-up users as well as 300K speed for broadband. Nice quality - especially when you hit the full page display button.
Like to watch the latest music videos? Have a high speed broadband connection to the Internet? Check out VH1's Broadband Zone - featuring the hottest music videos from all the big stars. I really like the section featuring the top 100 music videos of all time (but you only get 30 seconds of each, darn it).
Not really a music video web site per se but a wonderful search engine for all things multi-media, SingingFish is nontheless a great site for finding the music video you are searching for. Unlike gogole or Yahoo - SingingFish specializes in mp3s, Music videos, Movie trailers, TV/radio news and broadcasts, Sports games, Web-cam footage and other entertainment content
Looking for some alternative and punk videos that you can't find anywhere else? Check out Screen Edge Music. This includes classic cuts from Throbbing Gristle, Black Flag, Cherry Bombz, and others. You have a choice of watching the videos as a live stream or downloading the video to your hard drive to savor over and over again.
Looking for thousands of current and classic music videos? And you want to watch them high resolution (up to 1 Mbps!) Check out MusicBrigade.com. This site offers a wide choice of both pay and free music videos, You can select from a wide range of styles and channels including dance, metal, punk, pop, oldies, R&B, hip-hop, rock and even special channels dedicated to Swedish rock and Kylie Minoque. (In fact, they have a whole section just dedicated to Kylie!). In addition, they offer these clips in either the full length or just 30 second clips. You can choose to view these at 56K download speeds, or at 90K, 450K or an incredible 1,000K. Definitely worth adding to your favorites list! This site is no longer free - but you can check it out for 3 days without having to pay.
Do you like music videos? Check out VideoC from United Kingdom. They have links to an incredible range of new and old music videos - of all types and genres. A great source for rare and hard to find Europe music. The only gotcha is that the clips are only 30 seconds long. However, for quick sampling, you can beat this.
Warner Bros Music Video JukeBox provides access to the entire list of Warner Bros artists and their videos. In addition, most of the selected videos also have links to additional fan information and to the artist's web sites. In addition, you can find and listen to songs that do not have videos.
Not all music videos are produced by the commercial music machines.. check out the Canadian ZED site and their music video page Some of these music videos are very slick, some are quite rough, and most fall somewhere in between. There is a lot of new music here - you could spend an evening or two just exploring..
GetMusic is committed to providing you with unprecedented access to your favorite artists and music, while introducing you to the stars and sounds of tomorrow. They feature the latest audio and video clips, in-depth artist coverage and news; exciting contests and games; exclusive performances, and interviews with artists and performers. GetMusic also has cool interactive features that let you express yourself. Share your opinions on the community boards, create your own music videos with Videolab, record your favorite songs with GetMusic Karaoke or help discover the next big thing on Bands to Bet On.
* Honorable Mention for Slant Magazine and their article about the Top 100 Music Videos of all time - no links to videos but great information about the videos, artists and producers.
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