Guide · Music video costs
A music video in the UK typically starts at £2,000 to £5,000 for a simple performance piece, and the budget rises with locations, cast and creative ambition. Most of that money goes on crew days.
This guide breaks a shoot into pre-production, production and post-production, with a typical rate for every role and, where one exists, the recommended rate UK crews are paid on commercials as a benchmark.
Budget figure: Media Village, How Much Does Video Production Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide), updated April 2026.
Overview
The cost of a music video depends on the concept, location fees, the size and experience of the crew, and how much post-production the edit needs. A simple performance video with one location and a small crew sits at the lower end. Multiple locations, dancers, set builds and visual effects move it up quickly.
Every music video starts with the concept. The artist, director and producer agree on a visual narrative that fits the song's themes and mood, and that concept becomes the blueprint for every decision and every line of the budget that follows.
A note on the benchmark column. The Advertising Producers Association publishes recommended day rates for crews on UK commercials, agreed with the union Bectu. There is no equivalent published rate card for music videos, so the APA figures are the closest official reference for what experienced crew charge per day.
Phase 1
The creative team brainstorms the video's narrative, theme and visual style. Storyboards plan shot sequences, framing and transitions, giving the crew a visual script before anyone arrives on set.
| Role | What they do | Typical rate | APA benchmark, per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Creative direction, concept development and visual storytelling | £500 to £2,000+ | up to £933 |
| Producer | Logistics, budgeting, scheduling and coordination | £400 to £1,500+ | up to £933 |
| Director of photography | Plans the look: camera angles, lighting and composition | £450 to £1,500+ | £908 to £1,516 |
| Art director | Visual style, set design, props and wardrobe | £350 to £1,200+ | £655 to £852 |
| Location manager | Scouts and secures locations, permits and logistics | £250 to £800+ | £489 to £580 |
| Casting director | Casts actors, dancers or models | £300 to £1,000+ | £852 per session |
| Storyboard artist | Draws the shot-by-shot storyboard | £200 to £600+ | not listed |
| Total | All pre-production roles above | £2,450 to £8,600+ |
Phase 2
The shoot is where the plan becomes footage. It's the most expensive phase, because every role on set is paid for every shoot day, and a second day roughly doubles the crew line.
| Role | What they do | Typical rate, per day | APA benchmark, per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Creative lead on set | £500 to £5,000 | up to £933 |
| Producer | Budget, schedule and coordination | £450 to £3,000 | up to £933 |
| Director of photography | Visual storytelling and camera | £450 to £2,500 | £908 to £1,516 |
| Camera operator | Operates the cameras | £250 to £800 | £514 to £637 |
| Gaffer | Chief lighting technician | £250 to £600 | up to £568 |
| Key grip | Camera support and rigging | £200 to £500 | up to £558 |
| Lighting technician | Supports lighting and rigging | £150 to £350 | up to £444 |
| Production designer | Designs the video's visual environment | £250 to £2,000 | not listed |
| Art director | Visual style and set design | £200 to £800 | £655 to £852 |
| Wardrobe stylist | Costumes and wardrobe | £200 to £700 | £504 to £628 |
| Make-up and hair | On-camera looks | £150 to £500 | £331 to £649 |
| Choreographer | Designs and teaches the routines | £250 to £1,000 | not listed |
| Runner | Supports the whole set | £70 to £120 | up to £238 |
| Behind-the-scenes crew | Documents the production | £200 to £600 | not listed |
| Total | All production roles above, per shoot day | £3,570 to £18,470+ |
Phase 3
Post-production turns the footage into the final video: editing to the music, colour grading, visual effects and sound. It shapes the pace and the final look, and it's where a simple shoot can become an ambitious video, or an ambitious shoot can run over budget.
| Role | What they do | Typical rate, per day | Published reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video editor | Cuts the footage to the music, pacing and transitions | £200 to £1,000 | £400 to £800 editing and post |
| Colourist | Colour grade and consistency | £250 to £700 | not listed |
| Visual effects artist | Digital effects and CGI | £300 to £1,000 | not listed |
| Motion graphics designer | Animated graphics and titles | £250 to £600 | not listed |
| Sound editor | Audio post, effects and mix | £200 to £600 | not listed |
| Total | All post-production roles above, per day | £1,200 to £3,900+ |
Sources for the benchmark columns: Advertising Producers Association, APA Recommended Terms for Engaging Crew on the Production of Commercials, Appendix 1, effective 1 September 2025 (maximum basic day rate for a 10+1 hour day, or the minimum to maximum range where both are published); editing figure from Media Village's 2026 UK guide. Typical rates are compiled estimates for UK music video work in 2026, not a single published rate card; they are reviewed each September.
Industry view
Rate tables tell you what each role costs. They don't tell you what it's like to make a video on the money that's actually available. This is what directors, producers and the industry's own awards say, on the record.
Under £5K
The UK Music Video Awards define a low-budget video as one made for less than £5,000, and limit their Newcomer categories to videos budgeted under £20,000.
Promonews, UK Music Video Awards 2026 entry criteria, 4 August 2026
One budget, 10 cuts
Jennifer Byrne, head of development at Academy Films, says labels are less willing to invest heavily in a single video and spread the money across far more deliverables. As she put it, "It used to just be one three-minute video."
The Guardian, 18 October 2025
One house, four people
London director Iris Luz, who has made videos for PinkPantheress, says budgets are shrinking even for simple clips, and that ideas set in one house with four people get turned down as too costly.
The Guardian, 18 October 2025
Self-funded
Musician Hannah Diamond says her videos were made through luck, grafting or years of work on a single piece, and that artists rarely get a video budget unless they're big names on big labels.
The Guardian, 18 October 2025
£5K to £20K
When commissioners last spoke publicly about numbers, Atlantic Records put a newly signed artist's video at £5,000 to £20,000, and another commissioner put the average across their roster at £30,000 to £40,000. The figures are from 2019, and the Guardian's reporting suggests budgets have shrunk since.
APA rates apply
Bectu, the UK's media and entertainment union, tells freelancers working on commercials and promos to follow the APA's recommended crew terms: the same day rates shown in the benchmark column above.
Bectu, ratecards
Paying crew
A day rate is only part of paying a crew properly. These are the terms UK crews work to on commercials and promos, and what freelancers say a fair quote includes. Budget for them from the start and the day runs better for everyone.
10+1 hour day
A crew day rate covers 10 working hours plus an hour for lunch. Anything beyond that is overtime, paid at the role's overtime rate.
APA Recommended Crew Terms, September 2025
11 hours off
Crew get at least 11 hours between wrap and the next call. If that break is cut to 10, the lost hour is paid at the overtime rate.
APA Recommended Crew Terms, September 2025
Double time
Night shoots and Sunday shoots are paid at double the basic hourly rate, with a minimum of ten hours.
APA Recommended Crew Terms, September 2025
50%, 75%, 100%
Cancel four to six days before the shoot and crew are paid 50% of the agreed fee; two to three days, 75%; the day before, 100%.
APA Recommended Crew Terms, September 2025
Labour + kit
The Bectu Camera Branch advises crew to keep their labour rate separate from equipment hire, so a discount on kit never becomes a cut to the day rate.
Bectu Camera Branch rate card, 2025
£350 to £750 a day
A UK videographer puts a filming day for music and social work at £350 to £750, with editing quoted on top and never below £250.
r/videography, June 2026
Full days
A London videographer quotes full days only, at £550 all inclusive: travel across the city, kit prep and handling the footage mean even a short shoot is a full day's work.
r/videography, July 2023
£250 to £350 a day
UK editors put £250 a day as the minimum for editing and £350 as the fair rate for an experienced editor. Budget post-production from the start, not from whatever is left.
r/editors, April 2020
Planning
Push the concept before you add cost. A strong idea with one location will beat an average idea spread across four. Symbolism and subtext add depth without adding crew days.
Share the artistic vision, expectations and the real budget with the director and producer at the outset. A budget that's known early can be allocated properly across the three phases.
Prioritise the elements the viewer sees: location, cinematography and the edit. Stay true to the artist's identity; authenticity reads on camera in a way that expensive set dressing doesn't.
Decide the promotion before the shoot day. Teasers, behind-the-scenes footage and vertical cuts for social are much easier to capture on set than to create afterwards.
We Stream does not currently take on music video commissions. Our work is event, brand and same-day content for companies. We keep this guide current because it's one of the most-read pages on our site.
If you need a crew for a live session or concert filming, that we do: see concert videography. For companies, see brand video production.
Questions
A simple performance music video in the UK typically starts at £2,000 to £5,000, according to Media Village's 2026 guide, and rises with locations, cast and creative ambition. Crew days are the largest cost: a full production crew for one shoot day can run from about £3,570 to over £18,000.
Typical UK music video director rates run from £500 to £5,000 a day on set. For comparison, the APA's recommended maximum basic day rate for a director on commercials is £933.
Typically £450 to £2,500 a day. The APA's recommended range for a DoP on UK commercials is £908 to £1,516 a day for a 10+1 hour day.
Production. Every crew member is paid for every shoot day, so the number of shoot days and the size of the crew move the budget more than anything else. Set builds, dancers and visual effects add on top.
Editing and post-production in the UK typically cost £400 to £800 a day, according to Media Village's 2026 guide. Colour grading, visual effects and sound design are usually charged separately.
The UK Music Video Awards define a low-budget video as one made for under £5,000, and limit their Newcomer categories to videos budgeted under £20,000.
People in the industry say so. In The Guardian in October 2025, Academy Films' head of development said labels now spread video money across many more deliverables, and London director Iris Luz said budgets are shrinking even for simple ideas.
The closest UK benchmark is the APA's recommended crew rates, which Bectu tells freelancers on commercials and promos to follow. A day rate covers 10 hours plus lunch; overtime, night and Sunday rates, cancellation fees and kit hire come on top.
Not currently. We Stream works on event, brand and same-day content for companies, and films live sessions and concerts. This guide is kept up to date as a reference.