Lyric videos
Lyric video, visualizer or music video: what to release for each song
Every song needs something to play on YouTube and something to post in vertical. Here is what each format does, what it takes to make, and how to combine them in a release.
In this guide
The three formats
- Music video: filmed images made for the song — performance, story or concept. The most expensive and the most memorable.
- Lyric video: the lyrics on screen, synced to the song, usually over the cover, an animation or footage. Helps people learn the words.
- Visualizer: a looping or animated image for the whole song — the cover moving, a texture, a short scene on repeat. Gives the song a video without telling a story.
Side by side
| Music video | Lyric video | Visualizer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does best | Builds the artist’s image | Teaches the lyrics, invites singing along | Gives every song a video |
| Typical effort | Days to weeks, a crew | Minutes to hours | Minutes to hours |
| Works in vertical | As cut-downs | As lyric snippets | As a loop or Canvas |
| Best for | Focus tracks | Singles and songs with strong lyrics | Album tracks, catalog |
Which one for each song
- Focus single: music video + lyric video. Release the lyric video first if the music video is late, or a few days after it as a second piece.
- Other singles: lyric video + clips from a live session.
- Album tracks: visualizer or lyric video for every song, plus a Spotify Canvas.
- Catalog songs that never had a video: a lyric video gives them a home on YouTube.
Tip: whatever you release on YouTube, make the vertical version too — music video cut-downs or lyric snippets for TikTok, Reels and Shorts (music video to Shorts).
How to make a lyric video in minutes
With the AI lyric video generator in TONTRIA Video Lyrics you paste a Spotify or YouTube link; TONTRIA takes the official cover, finds the synced lyrics or transcribes the singing, and renders the lyric video in horizontal for YouTube or vertical for Reels and TikTok — over the cover (vinyl, CD or floating) or over the music video. Step by step: how to make a lyric video with AI from a Spotify link.