An anime music video (abbreviated AMV) is a music video consisting of clips from one or more anime series or movies set to songs; the term usually refers to fan-made unofficial videos.
Most are not official music videos released by the musicians, but rather amateur fan compositions which synchronize clips with an audio track. AMVs are most commonly informally released, often over the Internet. Anime conventions frequently run AMV contests or AMV exhibitions. While AMVs traditionally use footage taken from anime, video game cut-scene footage is also a popular option. Music used in AMVs is extremely diverse, using such genres as J-Pop, rock, hip hop, pop, R&B, country, and many others.
AMVs should not be confused with professional and original animated films produced as music videos for such groups as Daft Punk, or with such short music video films as Japanese musical duo Chage and Aska's song "On Your Mark" by Studio Ghibli. AMVs should also not be confused with fan-made "general animation" videos using non-Japanese video sources such as western cartoons. "Anime music videos" are a sub-genre of the more general "animated music videos". Parallels can be drawn between AMVs and Songvids, non-animated fan-made videos using footage from movies, television series, or other sources.
