With the recent announcement of the 2013 VMA nominations, we’ve been reminiscing about the birth of the music video. A concept dating back to the 1960s, when The Beatles began creating short psychedelic films featuring their upcoming music, the music video has slowly become an essential part of an artist’s creative packaging. Whether the artist is a certified pop superstar whose music videos inevitably go on to win MTV’s coveted Video Music Awards, or just a kid playing around with a guitar and a video camera, recording artists have come to use videos to solidify their visual brand.

And while the video has seemingly risen in rank to the level of a song itself, there are still differences in how each is received by the public. While artists can measure a song’s popularity through several platforms—namely radio plays, chart positions, and of course, sales—there is only one, simple way to measure the impact of a music video: views. A music video is often recognized as being “successful” if it has upwards of one million views on YouTube—regardless of its actual creative content, or even how it visually captures the song it was created to promote.

On the one hand, counting views is a perfectly legitimate way to track the visibility of a music video (because, really, how else would you do it?).  The issue, however, is that it’s easy to forget that a high number of views does not necessarily translate into a creatively outstanding, beloved video. While many people may tune in to a video—especially those starring A-level acts or that have some kind of sensationalized wow-factor—this not mean that all of those viewers like what they see. In fact, it could potentially mean that a video is so bizarre that people have to watch it multiple times to understand it. Or, more probably, to avoid being left out of the conversation.

And yet, talk show hosts still say things like: “Please welcome Artist XYZ to the stage. Her music video has 30 million views on YouTube and is a smashing success!” We can’t help but wonder if sometimes artists do make confusing, outrageous videos just for the purpose of gaining millions of views and being deemed a success. With Reservoir’s recent partnership with OnRamp Digital, a company that partners with cover artists to create new video content on Youtube, it’s never been more apparent that there are hundreds, even thousands, of extremely talented artists on YouTube who make videos to accompany original songs or covers, but that are simply not visible enough to garner the views of, say, a Rihanna, the official most viewed artist on Youtube. It’s a shame that these homemade, heartfelt videos are potentially overshadowed by the big names in the industry whose camps may be more focused on gaining views and supporting sales than on creating meaningful, expressive art.

As musicians and music enthusiasts ourselves, we’re always down to support the creative output of any artist, big or small.  Still, we hope this year’s Video Music Awards are granted to the music videos that are truly the most beautiful, creative, and inspiring. Here’s to a great show!