The Purpose of Music Videos

Music has always been a popular form of entertainment, with each era having it’s own iconic genre. When the surge of video entertainment was bought into place, it took music a while to keep up with the times. However, nowadays we have emerged from the Panoram Soundie, which was the first signifier of music video; it was a jukebox used in bars and clubs which played music alongside video clips. Nowadays, it is expected that every new song comes with a music video, for the user to watch and enjoy while listening to the song itself. This essay runs through why music videos are important.

One of the main reasons why music videos are important is the promotional aspect. There’s a limited number of ways in which bands or artists can promote themselves during a song, because it’s audio-based. However, merging the video industry with the music industry has allowed not only the music producers to promote themselves, but it’s also a great way for video producers to broaden their audience. There are number of ways in which artists can be promoted within their videos. A popular way is, if they’re using instruments within the video, to include the logo or name on the instrument; this is seen in The Hive’s video for ‘Hate to say I told you so’.

For music directors, the most efficient way of promotion is to promote their style of work, rather than their name. Michael Gondry, a popular video director, is known for thinking outside the box. This is seen in The White Stripes’ video for ‘Fell in love with a Girl’. His name is also included in the video description, which isn’t common. 

Artists and bands are, of course, all different. This needs to be emphasised within the music video industry, which is why each music video comes with it’s own form of excitement to the viewer. Despite this being the case, there are still many expected conventions with every music video. For example, female pop artists such as Katy Perry, Selena Gomez and Beyonce are all expected to play the stereotypical, perfectionist role. Their image on the screen is rather sexualised, in an innocent way. This juxtaposed view has only been the case in recent years, of course; in 1984, Laura Branigan’s video for ‘Self Control’ was denied airtime on television, because it portrayed women in an objectionable manner. There are, of course, many other conventions. Outfits and lighting are also huge elements within the music video industry; with shots being expected to appeal to the eye of the viewer.

Despite all of this, the main reason for many artists to produce music videos, is to further their income. Having simply a song with no music video would still generate the artist a huge wad of cash, presuming it’s played a large number of times. Every time the song receives airtime on a radio station, for example, the artist will generally receive some money for the use of their song; what’s known as commission. If you bare this in mind, in the current generation we live in, having a video with the music is a huge cash cow. Television and media outlets such as YouTube have made it easy for music producers to add a new dimension onto their revenue streams. The same concept applies with the case of only having a song, instead this time, every a video is played, the artist or band receives some money in exchange for the use of their creation.

The whole concept of money-making essentially evolves from the artist or band broadening their media platforms, or outlets. To add onto my point about finance, the only shot you have of someone listening to your song, without a music video, then you’d need to rely on either the radio, or music streaming apps such as Spotify or iTunes. Whereas if you were to enter the video industry, the limits become endless, essentially. The rise of social media has seen video sharing become more common. Many artists take to social media to promote their songs and, to summarise, people are more likely to share the Tweet, the Facebook post, or whatever it is, if it is video based. A rise in views doesn’t just mean a rise in income. If somebody were to view the video, and it’s their first time listening to the song, they may become a fan of that artist or band, meaning they will support the band by buying their future music.

Another concept that many don't know about is the idea of synergy. Essentially, synergy is when two companies combine, sharing each other's ideas, to form either a product or simply a concept, which will benefit both parties.These could either be in the form of DVD's, shopping stores, television programmes or simple, everyday products such as toothbrushes or shower products. Synergy is common in the music industry, as many bands or artists like to mass produce merchandise which resembles a song, or even their personal brand, and sll them to their fans. An example of this would be 'Skyfall' by Adele. Adele produced this song to work in conjunction with a new James Bond film, which was bound to be a blockbuster film. Nowadays, when people hear the song 'Skyfall' they think of both Adele and the James Bond franchise, hence benefiting them both.

To conclude, there are many reasons why a band or artist would want to produce a music video to coincide with their song. However, in my opinion, the main reason is because it's now seen as the done thing. The mainstream audience often listen to new songs, and immediately search for the music video, because it's expected to be there. Many artists would consider the money-making aspect as the reason, although they wouldn't be the first to admit it. However, the idea of producing a music video all stems from  expectation, and of course, all the reasons mentioned in this essay.