Jay Z has released another video from his new album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” featuring Justing Timberlake. In keeping with the spirit of this album that created #newrules, Jay Z became the first major artist to release a video on the popular social media platform Facebook.
According to billboard.com:
“Jay Z and Justin Timberlake’s ‘Holy Grail’ music video became the first clip by a major music star to premiere on Facebook — and with a 24-hour exclusivity window to boot. The premiere utilizes Facebook’s proprietary video player, which will have the exclusive on the clip before YouTube and any other video provider until noon EDT on Friday Aug. 30.”
This kind of exclusive video release is something that Facebook is looking to do more of in the future, which means it has thrown down the gauntlet to services like YouTube and Vevo.
“What we’re doing with Jay Z today is really exciting and we think emblematic of the evolution of music and how musicians can connect with their fans,” said Nick Grudin, head of content partnerships for Facebook. “And we think that is particularly evident in Jay Z’s approach here, which will really allow him to go direct to a massive and instant global audience. It’s something that only Facebook, I think, can really deliver in this way, given the scale of the audiences musicians have and the global nature of those audiences and the social dynamics of what happens when they engage on Facebook.”
Sounds like a big deal for all parties involved. Facebook gets exclusive content on its platform, and Jay Z continues to redefine how to deliver content for recording artists.
The “Holy Grail” video was directed by Anthony Mandler, who along with Jay Z takes a different approach to the music video concept. In the video, the song is rearranged to fit the visuals and there are many moments where the vocals are slowed down to sync with what is happening onscreen.
As described by mtv.com:
“Big and beautiful, full of cinematic flourishes like flames, ghostly dancers and glass shattering in slow-motion, played out on massive sets and bathed in moody lighting — it also has the artful audacity to try something entirely new: Namely, mess with the source material.”
Check out Jay Z’s “Holy Grail” video above and comment below.
