Music videos haven’t been the central part of programming on MTV and VH1 in EONS, but thanks to YOUTUBE and MYSPACE they have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity.

Check out the Wall Street Journal Article ‘Bands Walk Fine Line With Contests That Invite Fans to Shoot Music Videos’

Today, artists aren’t turning to Big Directors to shoot their videos, instead they are turning to fans. Björk, Red Hot Chili Peppers , Ozzy Osbourne, and the Decemberists, are holding video-making contests in conjuction with the release of their latest albums.

Epic Records was ready to prepare to produce a new Incubus video for the song dig just in case the contest failed to garner results. Lee Stimmel, Epic’s senior vice president of marketing, said the label was impressed with the submissions, which totaled more than 800. Also, Fans have submitted more than 350 videos for “Charlie,” a new Chili Peppers song.

The labels also see the contests as a marketing opportunity and an opportunity to cut costs.

Epic’s Mr. Stimmel said the contests are a relative bargain compared with the cost of producing a full-blown music video. He estimates the label spent about a quarter as much on the Incubus contest as it might have spent producing a video, which can cost $150,000 to $250,000. And with a traditional video, there’s a risk the fans won’t like it, he said. In the contests, “your fans, or your potential fans, are part of the process.”

Check out one of many fan directed Incubus videos.