Turn your music video into vertical Shorts, Reels and TikToks
A horizontal music video loses most of the screen on a phone. TONTRIA cuts it into vertical clips that keep the artist in frame, with the lyrics on screen as they are sung.
1 credit = 1 minute of video processed. A 4-minute music video uses about 4 credits.
Four steps from music video to vertical clips
Paste the YouTube link of the video
Or upload the master file. Use your own release or one you have permission to use.
Pick the edit and the captions
“Viral – sung” keeps the singer in the 9:16 frame. Karaoke captions highlight each word of the lyrics as it is sung.
Choose the moments
Ask for the chorus, the hook, the opening line or the bridge — or let TONTRIA propose the strongest parts with a virality score.
Export and schedule
Download each clip in 9:16, or open it in the editor for 1:1, 4:5 and 16:9 versions. You can schedule the YouTube Short from TONTRIA.
Cut-downs that still feel like the music video
Reframe that follows the artist
The vertical crop tracks the face of the singer across cuts, instead of a fixed center crop.
Lyrics on screen
Karaoke, word-by-word, viral or phrase captions, styled with the artist’s fonts and colors.
Several hooks from one video
Chorus, opening line, bridge, final chorus: one music video can give you a clip for every day of release week.
Lyric video from the same song
Need a lyric video too? Make it from the Spotify or YouTube link with Video Lyrics.
Release pieces in the same look
“Out now with the video” and countdown pieces come from the same link in release assets.
Every aspect ratio
9:16 for TikTok, Reels and Shorts, 4:5 for the feed, 1:1 and 16:9, up to 4K on Pro.
A music video is made for a screen people no longer hold sideways
You spent the budget on a horizontal music video. On TikTok, Reels and Shorts it shows up as a thin strip in the middle of a tall screen, or gets cropped at the center and loses the artist. The fix isn’t one vertical version of the whole video; it’s several short cut-downs, each built around one part of the song.
What makes a good music video cut-down
- It starts on the hook. The first second decides whether people stay. Start on the chorus, a striking line or the strongest shot, not on the intro.
- It keeps the artist in frame. A vertical crop that follows the singer reads as intentional; a fixed center crop reads as a mistake.
- It shows the lyrics. Lyrics on screen help people who watch muted, and they help people learn the words — which is how a song starts to spread.
- It looks like the release. Same fonts and colors as the cover and the release pieces, so all your posts feel like one campaign.
How TONTRIA does it
TONTRIA transcribes the song, finds the parts that work alone and proposes clips with a virality score. The viral – sung edit keeps the singer centered in 9:16 and the karaoke captions highlight every sung word. You can ask directly for “the chorus”, “the first verse” or “the bridge”, and choose how many clips you want (up to 20) and how long.
For each clip you also get a hook, three titles, a description and hashtags in the language of the song, ready to copy. YouTube Shorts can be scheduled from TONTRIA; for TikTok and Instagram you get a reminder with the text ready to paste.
Tip: post the cut-downs over two weeks: the chorus on release day, then the opening line, the bridge and the final chorus on the following days.
Planning the whole release? The release week content plan shows where each cut-down fits.
Music video to Shorts: questions
Which app turns a music video into vertical clips for Shorts and Reels?
TONTRIA Clips. Paste the YouTube link or upload the music video: it picks the hook and the strongest moments, crops them to 9:16 following the face of whoever is singing and puts the lyrics on screen as they are sung. A 4-minute music video uses about 4 credits; the free plan gives you 30 credits to start (one time, no card needed), with 720p export and a watermark.
What’s the best way to turn a music video into Shorts?
Pick moments that work without context (the hook, the chorus, a striking shot), crop to 9:16 so the artist stays in frame, and put the lyrics on screen, because many people watch with the sound off. TONTRIA does those three steps automatically and lets you adjust each one. There is a longer comparison of methods in how to turn a music video into Shorts.
Can I post the full music video as a Short?
Usually not: Shorts and Reels have length limits that change over time, and a full song rarely holds attention in vertical. Short cut-downs of 15–60 seconds that each show a different part of the song tend to work better.
What if my music video has wide shots with several people?
The reframe follows the face of whoever is singing. If a shot doesn’t look right, open the clip in the editor and adjust the frame on the timeline.
How many credits does it use?
One credit is one minute of video processed, so a 4-minute music video uses about 4 credits. Editing and re-exporting the clips afterwards is free.
I don’t have a music video yet. Where do I make one?
Clipping needs footage to cut. If you only have phone takes or no footage at all, TONTRIA Motion Studio edits your takes to the beat of the song and generates the missing scenes with AI (Seedance, Kling). When the video is done, bring it back here to cut the vertical clips.
Keep exploring
Live show clips
Concerts, live sessions and livestreams turned into vertical clips that follow the singer.
Learn more →Video Lyrics
Lyric videos from a Spotify or YouTube link.
Learn more →Release assets
Coming soon, countdown, out now and Spotify Canvas.
Learn more →Video editor
Timeline editor with AI auto-reframe for every platform.
Learn more →Get your music video ready for vertical
Paste the YouTube link and see the clips TONTRIA suggests.
The free plan includes 30 credits to start, no card needed.