Genero.tv is in the middle of a terrific competition with Duran Duran, inviting talented film makers to create a video for any of the nine ALL YOU NEED IS NOW tracks released on iTunes in December.
There is a $5,000 prize for each of the nine tracks, making a total prize pool of $45,000. Once the entries are in, five finalists will be selected for each song by Duran Duran and Genero.tv, with Duran Duran choosing the winner for each track.
The submissions we've seen have been outstanding - so much so, the competition deadline has been moved to February 22nd as people needed more time to work on their creations. We decided to chat with co-founder Mick Entwisle to learn more about this very cool project.
1) As one of the founders, tell us a bit about Genero.tv
We launched the site in September 2009 so we’ve been up and running for about a year and a half now. The idea was really to try to introduce a new model for music video, something that responded to the growth in the number of people globally that could make amazing videos, as well as the growing importance online played in an artist’s success. We also wanted to help spark the creativity in music video again, because we grew up as part of the ‘MTV generation’ and we just felt it had lost some of the magic.
So we launched Genero.tv to help artists to connect with fans and film makers by allowing them to legally make their own music videos for their songs. We also wanted to give film makers from around the world the opportunity to make official music videos for international artists, something many of them would otherwise not have the opportunity to ever do.
2) Does the name "Genero" have any special meaning?
‘Genero’ means to produce or create in Latin so it was just a good fit for what we’re trying to do, which is really focused on creativity.
3) What was the first musical artist Genero did a competition with?
We actually launched with 16 artists in our first competition round back in September 2009. Before we launched the site it was basically about convincing artists that this new approach would work for them and luckily bands including UNKLE, The Temper Trap, Easy Star All-Stars and Bridezilla had enough faith to give it a go.
4) How did you come up with the concept to work with Duran Duran?
We had a chance meeting with their management in New York in October and with a new album due out a few months later discussed the possibility of working together. We were lucky enough to hear some of the early mixes of some of the songs and we loved what we heard, so we were really excited at the prospect.
Soon after that meeting we found out that the band loved the idea and wanted us to feature the whole album which was fantastic news. Being such an iconic band and playing such a critical role in the growth of music video it really is amazing to be working with them, and we can’t wait to see the videos the film makers come up with.
5) How would you rate the creativity of film makers based on the competitions you’ve run so far?
We’ve been constantly amazed by the talented film makers from around the world that make up our community. There are so many incredible videos that have been entered and to be honest we’re really glad we don’t have to choose the winners because it’s such a difficult job! The standard of videos just keeps getting better and better, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with for Duran Duran.
6) Is there a "dream" artist you'd like to work with on Genero.tv?
We’re huge music fans so there are so many amazing artists we’d love to work with, both old and new. If we had to choose just one though it would probably be Radiohead. We’re long-time fans and their songs lend themselves perfectly to creative interpretation in music videos. We know our community would absolutely love that opportunity as well and we’d get hundreds of amazing videos. Sounds like their new album is almost done too so we’ll keep our fingers crossed!
7) What's your favorite Duran Duran video and why?
Growing up we spent many hours in front of MTV and Duran Duran’s videos are some of my strongest memories from that time. I distinctly remember when "Girls on Film" came out and caused such a stir, but my favourite is definitely "Wild Boys." The pure scale of it was incredible for its time and for me it’s Duran Duran’s ‘Thriller’ if you like. A video that will always be remembered as raising the bar and pushing the boundaries of what could be done in music video. With this competition hopefully it gives film makers around the world a great opportunity to push the boundaries again, just like Duran Duran did back in the 80s.
You can learn more about Genero.tv, and the ALL YOU NEED IS NOW Duran Duran video competition by clicking here