You wrote one song, but it has to live on a dozen different feeds — and they don't all want the same shape of video. Getting the aspect ratio right is one of the simplest ways to make your video look native (and perform better) on each platform.
The two ratios that matter most
16:9 is widescreen — wider than it is tall, the classic "TV" and YouTube shape. 9:16 is vertical — taller than it is wide, built for phones held upright. Almost every place you'll post a music video wants one of these two.
Platform by platform
- YouTube (main): 16:9. This is the home for your full music video.
- TikTok: 9:16, full-screen vertical.
- Instagram Reels: 9:16.
- YouTube Shorts: 9:16.
- Instagram feed: historically square or portrait, but Reels (9:16) now dominate reach.
Why you often want both
A single release usually needs a 16:9 main video for YouTube and your release page, plus 9:16 cuts for the short-form platforms where discovery actually happens. Posting a letterboxed 16:9 video to TikTok wastes most of the screen and reads as "reposted," which the algorithms tend to bury.
Planning shots that reframe well
If you know a video will be cut into both shapes, keep the important action centered so it survives the crop, and avoid putting key visuals at the far edges of a 16:9 frame where a vertical crop will lose them.
How Kinetix handles formats
Every Kinetix video — including the free test and the $9.99 Instant 10s Lite — lets you choose 16:9 widescreen or 9:16 vertical. The Social Promo Pack is built specifically as hook-first vertical clips for TikTok, Reels, and Shorts, so your short-form cuts look native rather than cropped.
If you're deciding how much to invest across formats, our guide to what a music video costs in 2026 breaks down the options.