A music video is a short film that accompanies as song or a sound track. The soul purpose of a music video is to promote the artist and sell their life styles which attract audiences and increase record sales. Music videos were created in the 1920s, however Betsi was the first singer who added images to her music. In the modern era we live in it is very rare that a song is released without a music video as it is used as a marketing device and the song may not be heard of on more than one platform without a music video, such as TV and Internet, which may cause it becoming less successful and popular for the music charts.
What is the purpose of a music video?
There are many purposes of a music video which help the success of the song as well as the star as again, it can be used as a synergy technique to bring in audiences.
A few other purposes of a music video:
To attract audiences to the song and to entertain them- Music videos can entertain audiences in many ways as it connects the audiences to the star and makes them feel apart of their lifestyle. Music videos are viewed around the world so a music video that is able to entertain the audience can cause a commotion and which can increase the artists popularity. If artist didn't make music videos, it may take viewers longer to find out about the song and audiences may loose interest in the artist
For Attention and Publicity- As well as entertaining, some music videos can attract publicity and viewers using its distinct and maybe controversial content. Controversial videos are bound to have more attention around them as audiences are attracted to them due to the use of synergy, i.e. promoting it on TV, magazines, Internet, and radio. Artist can gain fans through their controversial videos as they're usually never before done, for example Madonna 'Like a Prayer' had a lot of critics have a lot negative views on it due to her use of religious iconography (burning crucifix) and a interracial Jesus which offended and shocked the religious public. However despite this, she also gained many fans that appreciated her distinct video and her confidence for doing it, which is one reason Madonna is such a big star today. Videos like this still attract attention today such as Kanye West 'Famous.'
Madonna- Like a Prayer
To sustain relationship with audience- Maintaining a relationship with the audience is important to the artist because the image of them selves they put across to the audience determines how it sells them self as a brand while promoting their lifestyle and persona. If they were to not create music videos, audiences may loose interest in the artist because; today, appearance is equally as important to the viewer as the music created, such as the sweetheart lover boy look Shawn Mendes and One Direction has; or the pimp, gangster look 50 cent poses due to the iconography of gold chains and the setting of his expensive lifestyle. All three of these artist attract different audiences however are all highly successful.
To promote a movie- Artists that are asked to make a sound track for upcoming movies often make music videos to promote their song aswell as the film. The video may include snippets from the new upcoming movie which excites the audience and encourages them to go watch it, which can be classed as double promotion as it advertises 2 products at the same time. An example of this is Imagine Dragons ft Lil Wayne , Wiz Khalifa, logic, Ty Dolla Sign ft Ambassadors - Sucker for pain. The song had major fan appeal as it had different successful artist attracting audiences which also attracted them to the film.
Imagine Dragons ft Lil Wayne , Wiz Khalifa, logic, Ty Dolla Sign ft Ambassadors - Sucker for pain.
COMMON CONVENTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO:
Music videos can be categorized under three subheadings, narrative, performance, and concept All music videos have certain classical conventions depending on the genre of the song, that are expected to be evident in every video.
Rock music: The rock genre is often in the performance category as rock and punk rock music is usually band based and they perform in their videos. Common conventions in performance videos are iconography of instruments, costume that are similar to each other, and a number of close up shots to the face and long shots to the whole band. Moreover a lot of fast pace editing is also visible. An example of a video would be 'Green Day' a punk rock group
Green Day- American Idiot
R&B and Hip Hop: The R&B and Hip Hop genre is usually based around the narrative and performance category as the songs can have a story behind it, or the video could be to promote their glamorous life style to the audiences. Common things to expect from the music videos are expensive jewelry, big houses or mansions, branded clothes, and a glamorous life. On the other hand if the video is narrative based, They can be about a love story or attraction between 2 people,this is mainly visible in old R&B and Hip Hop videos.
Nelly ft Kelly Rowland- Dilemma
Ariana Grande ft Nicki Minaj- Side to Side
Techno Electro: Techno and Electro music videos have fast pace editing to match the beat of the song. This almost pumps up the audience to feel the beat even more as the visuals accompany the song and have a big impact on it. Also, Moreover Techno + Electro music videos are usually taken from a concert the DJ's (This music genre is commonly produced by DJ's) have performed in which also excited the audience. Also videos taken live from concerts make audiences feel closer to the artist as the artists are constantly interacting with audiences which makes them seem normal as everyone else.
Major Lazer ft Justin Bieber & MO - Cold Water
Synergy.
The release of an artist’s music video is only one of many, strands of their multi media campaign of their promotion. One reason for this is because the single that is initially released is often to promote an upcoming album, and can be seen as a sneak peek to the rest of the artist album, However the music video accompanying the video is used to gain publicity and fandom. The music industry has a strong relationship with many different other media platforms. This can be TV, print media, radio, film and the internet. For example, Simple Minds- 'Don't you forget about me' in the film Breakfast club was not only promoting their new single but was also promoting the film. The single was also promoted in adverts, concerts and helped gain the film and the artists a lot of publicity, and many may say; was it was a break through song for Simple Minds as it is recognized as one of the most typical 80's songs of all time.
