Taylor Swift dominated the VMAs, but do music videos still matter?

We're far from the days of blockbuster music videos playing back-to-back on TV channels like MTV.

Catchy hooks and sleek dance routines now dominate social media feeds, each hoping to stop people in their tracks long enough for them to give a new song a chance.

The evolution of this landscape was cemented last year when MTV axed five music channels in the UK after almost 40 years of rolling footage.

But despite the broadcaster reacting to the changes in viewing habits, its Video Music Awards (VMAs) still appear to hold power over music A-listers.

Pop music heavyweights, including Taylor Swift, Madonna and Charli XCX, were among those who turned up on Sunday to accept prizes and deliver dramatic performances.

Cinematographer Melissa Cofie tells BBC Newsbeat that while these award shows "may seem very performative to others", they are "so important" to those in the music industry.

"The sleepless nights, the months, the weeks that it takes to put together a music video, it's almost as much work as you would put into a film itself," she says.

But do music videos still hold the same importance for fans as they once did?

Cofie, who has directed music videos, feels their purpose has evolved over the last couple of decades.

For her, they're more of a way to "connect with artists" and for them to express their vision, rather than a crucial part of their press run like they were in the 2000s.

Pop stars like Swift, Sabrina Carpenter and Olivia Rodrigo are among those who still lean on videos heavily to build out the visual world for each of their albums' eras.

Swift, who broke the record for most MTV VMA wins ever last weekend, is known for big budget productions which fans trawl through for Easter eggs - clues that could point to something else she has planned.

She also often enlists the help of her star-studded contact book, with her recent video for Opalite jam-packed with famous faces, including Graham Norton, Lewis Capaldi, Cillian Murphy, Domhnall Gleeson and Jodie Turner-Smith.

However, the music video was released exclusively on Spotify and Apple Music in February, and did not appear on YouTube until 48 hours later.

Industry analysts speculated at the time that the exclusivity period was due to a change in the US chart rules, where songs streamed on YouTube will no longer count towards the Top 100.

This change came into place in January, with YouTube saying it was ending its decade-long partnership with Billboard, external as it claimed the chart uses an "outdated formula that weights subscription-supported streams higher than ad-supported".

"This doesn't reflect how fans engage with music today and ignores the massive engagement from fans who don't have a subscription," it added.

And while most artists don't have Swift-level budgets to start with, this change may have further discouraged US artists' to throw a lot of money into creating elaborate music videos.

However, in international markets like the world of K-Pop, creating visually aesthetic music videos featuring polished choreography has become essential when promoting the act to a global audience.

The genre's superstars like BTS and Blackpink often also release dance practice videos and behind-the-scenes clips alongside traditional music videos.

These variations offer them more content to clip up for social media, and also helps drive up their streaming numbers and global chart positions.

Cofie feels the rise of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube has "100%" changed the way videos are consumed and therefore, how they are created.

But she doesn't see this as a "blow" to the industry and isn't "discouraged that things are changing so quickly".

"It kind of pushes us to think: 'Okay, how can each scene, each still be the one that captures people's attention?'," she says.

"We don't have five minutes anymore. We've actually got two minutes, sometimes less.

"I think it pushes us as creatives to think how can we get the point across quickly in the best way possible."

Gener8ion and Swedish rapper Yung Lean's cinematic music video for their collaboration track Storm is a testament to how a short mesmerising visual moment can make a song go viral online.

The scene from within the full video sees Lean, acting as a teenage bully, stand amongst a group of dancers who are also dressed in school uniforms as they perform hypnotic, synchronised choreography, external.

They recreated the routine at the VMAs, and while it lost out on the coveted video of the year award to Swift's The Fate of Ophelia, clips of the performance once again have flooded social media.

Cofie admits it has been "really tough" to come up with "new creative ideas" like this since short clips have boomed post-pandemic, but says she is continually inspired by new music videos.

And her advice to artists and crews who still want to create music videos?

"It's cliche, but just to continue being creative and just exploring every corner of your mind, any idea that you have, just do it," she says.

"Don't worry that it's already been done and it's not original because each and every person's interpretation or perspective is different."

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