The Purpose of Music Videos

Introduction

In this essay, I will be exploring the evolution of music videos and how they have helped grow the music industry that we know today. I will be particularly  looking at the effects music videos have had on artists and directors.

History of Music videos

-  In 1941 a new visual jukebox  called a Panorama which played music accompanied by synchronized film was invented. The device consisted of 16mm film projected onto a glass screen. It was soon a hit in the USA and could be found in many club across the country.


-  In 1975 Queen's music video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" is released and sparks the evolution of the modern day music video.


- In 1981 MTV is launched as the very first 24 hour satellite music channel. MTV would rapidly grow into a major hit and cultural icon.

- In 2005 iTunes and YouTube are launched creating a new and easily accessible method of sharing music. Both  iTunes and YouTube grow instantaneously with iTunes passing one million downloads under twenty days.


Promotion of Artists

Music videos have allowed not only artists to be discovered but also the directors, producers and editors that work alongside the artists.

"Gold on the Ceiling" by the Black Keys, uses self promotion in their music video by showing the bands name on the bass drum. This a simple but effective method of promoting the bands image. The video also highlights the bands dress sense and it their live performances.





Music videos can also promote directors. Arctic Monkey's music  video for "Why'd you only call me when your high" was directed by a young film director called Nabil Elderkin, who has worked with a number of famous artists such Bon Iver, Foals and Kanye west has gown in popularity primarily because of his previous work and the hype they have created.






Producers Strategies

Different bands will be marketed in different ways. Artists considered as mainstream will often be portrayed with a glossy polished image giving an appealing appearance to the audience. These Mainstream artists will include a number of differing conventions in their music videos such as CGI, sex appeal and high budgets (Locations, cars, fashion). Main stream artists are often promoted on websites such as MTV and YouTube.


Kanye West's latest music video for "Black
Skinhead" uses CGI to create Kanye himself dancing and morphing into a "possessed" creature. The possessive animal inside is trying break out of Kanye West  and his attempts "fight back" fail.

Music videos can often have a high sex appeal. Katy Perry's "California Girls", uses a mixture of female nudity, sex related references in the lyrics and in the fashion worn by Katy Perry.  Lyrics such as "sex on the beach" and fashion accessories such as nipple tassels are used to attract a certain audience. The provocative references are both subtle and alluring.

Independent bands and artists will often take a different approach in marketing their talent rather than their image. However this isn't always the case, as some artists may want their work to lead in the direction of mainstream audiences. Independent bands and artists will either pay for their music videos to be produced or their independent record labels will; either way their budgets are far less than a mainstream artists. These bands and artists are often promoted on websites such as Vimeo, YouTube and Scuzz.

Coasts released their debut single "Wallow" in 2013 and are signed with Tidal records, a small London based independent record label. The music video is a very simple performance based video that highlights the bands skills and vocal talents. 

Self produced artists use websites such as Twitter and Facebook to self promote and share their work for free and to a large audience. Many artists have risen to fame through the use of Social Networking such as Logic, who started out as young rapper from Chicago. He produced his own work in his room for a number of years, posting his music on Facebook, Twitter and his own personal YouTube channel. His rise to fame came  through publicity on large YouTube channels such as "Faze Clan" a gaming channel who's audience began to love Logic's music. Eventually he was signed by Daff Rap recordings and seen continuous success.

One of Logic's Music videos, that has helped him grow through marketing on social networking.

Advantages:

• Innovation on ideas
• Free marketing
• Freedom for new ideas
• Can set your own deadlines

Disadvantages:

• Low budget, limits ideas
• Saturation, less likely for the artist to get noticed

"Art" and statement through music videos

Artists who like to express their music videos through artistic visuals will do so to promote a statement or address an issue. They will normally be:

• Visually experimental
• Low Budget (not always)
• Contain various transitions / shots like crossfades

Thirty Second To Mar's music video for "This is War" was created to help promote peace in the middle east and war in general. The video uses a mixture of stock footage and artificially produced footage. It depicts the loss of a soldier and friend. 

Extension of Income

Like radio, when a music video is shown on screen the artist gets royalties. Each time it is watched another payment is made. The artist will 'in theory' get royalties as it is almost impossible to track the consumption of the video. Instead an estimate is made which is based on the popularity of the artist or song. One problem with that is only some unrecognized artists get royalties and is due to mainstream popularity.

Reasons are:

• Mainstream artists are popular
• Companies don't want to take the risk on paying the unrecognized artists
• Budget may be low or the music video might not be well made due to low budget

There are other methods for unrecognized artists to get paid for their videos:

• Coming up with innovative ideas
• Uploading to YouTube, payments can be made through the amount of views a video gets
• Other methods of distribution and exhibition

Self Produced artists that promote their music on websites such as YouTube will often partner with companies in order to gain a steady revenue. This allows them to make money from advertisements on their channel/videos. Its a less common method of income for most artists but an option that some are delving into.

Extensions of income/platforms

There are a range of media formats that allow audiences to hear watch their favorite artists/ bands. Each media format as advantages and disadvantages but all have the same goal of promoting and sharing of music. The most common methods are:

• The Internet : YouTube - Vimeo
• Radio: Radio 1 - Kiss - Capital FM
• TV: MTV - Kerrang
• CD/DVD:  Springsteen & I  (DVD) - Born in the USA

Multiple media outlets can have their advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

• More platforms to distribute and exhibit videos and music

Disadvantages:

• The ideas become saturated due to other artists doing the same thing
• Innovation is required to gain exposure
• Piracy is becoming popular

Synergy

Synergy is the term used to describe the promotion and marketing of a product, and its multiple versions on a range of media formats. In music videos synergy refers to the promoting and marketing of another media format such as a film. A films official soundtrack will use promotional material (clips) from the film in its music video. Eminem released his music video for "lose yourself" alongside his film "8 mile". The soundtracks music video includes a number of clips from the film and helped promote the film very well.

Eminem also sells merchandise alongside his tours and albums. Fans are able to wear the same clothes as their favorite artist. Not only are his fans able to wear his clothes but Eminem's popularity will continue to grow as friends of friends begin sharing both his merchandise and his music.

Conclusion
Music videos are popular for a number of reasons. They give a new and interesting method of viewership for the artists fans. Music videos also allow fans to watch their favorite artists play live engaging with the audience. They also get to see glimpses of their personalities and fashion styles. Music videos will continue to grow alongside technology. New media formats will be created allowing music videos to be viewed by even more people. However, formats such as the Internet are causing major issues with Copyright laws.