What Are The Guidelines?
Our Guidelines and Best Practices for the Pitching Process lay out step by step instructions for hiring directors for music videos. These Guidelines promote a culture of mutual respect, increased transparency, and the belief that free work should be a choice, not an expectation.
Why Should I Use Them?
Because when there is no standard, people get taken advantage of.
The lack of oversight in the music video industry has created a hectic environment leaving all those involved feeling disrespected and taken advantage of. It’s time to do better.
How to use
Visit our Guidelines’ how-to page for easy implementation and examples.
The Fine print
Download and read the Guidelines and learn about their additional benefits.
guidelines faq
Still have questions? Check out our FAQ!
Educate and inspire the next generation to do better and expect better
Join Spike Jonze, Melina Matsoukas, Hiro Murai, Alma Har’el, and the 1,900+ other industry professionals who have pledged to support WDMV’s mission and use the guidelines.
The state of music videos
In many cases up to 40+ directors are writing treatments for one music video, working uncompensated without confirmation their treatment is considered or even received. After years of this lack of transparency and respect, many directors are financially insecure and demoralized.
Music video director survey
We surveyed over 100 directors about the traditional music video pitching process to measure how many directors were negatively affected by the current process and what changes they would like to see. The results are just one of the sources we used to build the Guidelines.
Strength Of Collective Bargaining
The more individuals and companies who adopt these guidelines, the more powerful they become. These are guidelines after all, not hard fast rules, so there is still a degree of flexibility for each individual or company to adapt them to their own workflow.