Research: What is a music video?

What is a music video?

A music video is a short film which is accompanied by a song. It is usually produced for promotional or artistic purposes. The music video could be promoting a single for an upcoming album, making the audience aware of more music that will be released. A music video will also gain attraction for the main single as audio tracks are usually released before the music video, therefore boosting sales or making the song more popular in the charts.

What is the purpose of a music video?

Music videos can have many purposes, these include:

To attract and entertain audiences - attracting and entertaining audience can be very important as it gives the artist a lot of attention and it could be vital as a breakthrough artist to reach new audiences.
Post Malone - White Iverson is an example of this as "White Iverson" was one of his first ever singles as an artist and the music video has generated over 209 million views.

To promote an upcoming album - a music video can promote an album by giving a single from the album some visuals, this will allow more people to be aware of the upcoming album and to make the decision of whether to purchase it or not.
An example of this is Justin Bieber - Sorry, which is now one of the most watched videos on Youtube with over 1 billion views, he is already an established artist with a well formed reputation.

To promote a film - Music videos are sometimes made to help promote films, usually these songs are directly from the soundtrack of the film; but also include the artist themselves.
An example of this is Skrillex & Rick Ross - Purple Lamborghini, which was made to promote the movie "Suicide Squad". It was released on the same day as the film. This is an example of a good use of synergy as the music video would help promote the film, and the film, the music artist.

For publicity  - Music videos can also generate a lot of controversy due to the nature of them, many news outlets will report about them and the artist will gain a lot of attention.
An example of this is Kanye West - Famous, a highly controversial video which features wax figures of many nude celebrities. This caught the eye of many news outlets and gained a lot of attention amongst the mass media. Kanye West uses his controversy as his unique selling point, he is known to attract attention from the media and he surprised audiences with a distinct video such as this one.

For product placement - Some artists may use their music videos for product placement to advertise a company they are partnered with or own. This is because they know their video will generate a lot of views and will be used as an effective advertising tool.
This is evident in 50 cent - I'm The Man, where there are multiple shots of his vodka brand, Effen Vodka.

To send a message -  Music videos can be used by artists to convey a message, whether the subject being something personal or current affairs.
An example of this is Michael Jackson - Black or White, which was set to promote racial harmony.

Conventions of a music video

Dancing - Dancing is a popular and very common convention in a music video as it is a form of entertainment and the artist is usually involved in the dance, supported by backup dancers.

Narrative - Many music videos have narratives as they are essentially short films, the song usually carries the most important parts of the story, although it may have a beginning middle and end part without music.

Lip Syncing - Lip syncing is one of the most common conventions as artists usually perform in their music video to make it seem like they are singing throughout the video.

Artist's presence - An artist's presence is as common as lip syncing, rarely will there be music videos with artists that are not lip syncing. This is to make the audience aware of who the artist is and what they look like.

Lady Gaga - Telephone (2009)

Psy - Gangnam Style (2012)

Special effects - Special effects are sometimes used as a form of entertainment for audiences, making the music video look and feel more like a movie or a major production.

Editing - Editing is a very common convention as it makes the music video look very professional, For example editing to the beat of a song requires a lot of skill and is difficult to pull off, especially on a fast paced song.

Synergy

Synergy can be used effectively to promote a music video, thereby promoting the upcoming album or film. Various forms of media can be used such as tv, radio, newspapers and social media.

Examples of synergy: Drake promoting his album "Views" with various appearances and performing singles.

Drake on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon"

Drake on HOT97

Drake on the cover of The FADER

Drake promoted the trailer for his new album, views, which was first posted onto Twitter, followed by other social media platforms.

Audience impact

The impact a music video has on an audience depends on how they view the music video.
Music videos may influence audience's opinions on the artist, depending on whether they see the music video in a positive light or not. This would also affect audience's enjoyment of the music.

An upbeat or positive song could lead the audience to have a positive view of the artist, therefore being more likely to sell albums as well as the single.

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (2014)

Another impact a music video could have on the audience is an emotional response. This does not necessarily have to negative as a lot of people enjoy listening to sad, slower songs. An example of this is Green Day- Wake Me Up When September Ends, which is a song about people fighting in wars and the impact it has on their loved ones.

Music videos can also have a negative impact on people, usually due to the controversy of the lyrics or the content of the music video itself. An example of this is Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines, which gained a lot of media attention as well as the song being banned in various UK university campuses. The song contained lines such as "I know you want it" and some outlets claimed it promoted rape culture. The video featured a number of barely clothed and topless women dancing around men who are fully clothed. Robin Thicke's following album had flopped commercially, possibly suggesting a correlation to the way one of his most popular videos was viewed.

Technology advancements

Increasing technological advancements have led to the improvements of music videos in many ways, these include:

• Higher quality videos, with the introduction of High definition as well as 4k, audience enjoyment of music videos is increased as they are able to experience videos in better quality. 

• There has also been an increase in availability in terms of music videos, there are more websites and smartphone apps to watch music videos on. MTV and Vevo are examples of places you can watch music videos on.

• Artists are also able to release music videos onto streaming services such as Spotify or Apple music, making more people aware of their music and therefore more likely to search for a music video.

• Social media plays a large part in sharing music videos, places such as Facebook or Twitter with millions of users daily, making social media great platforms for advertising music, usually at a very low cost.

• Technological advancements have allowed people to access music videos from around the globe with ease, sites such as Youtube with their like/dislike system has allowed users to base their opinion on videos. As shown with Justin Bieber - Baby which is the most disliked video on Youtube, with 6.7 million dislikes.

- Threats caused by technology advancements

Technological advancements mean that it is easier for independent artists to record and distribute their music, which in the long term may be seen as a threat by mainstream artists.

Digital music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music allow people to listen to music while on the move, this means certain audiences will be less likely to watch music videos, ultimately reducing profit for music videos.

Easier access to "explicit" versions of music videos, such as on applications such as Youtube puts younger and vulnerable audiences at risk, making people dislike artists or certain music videos.


The future of music videos

Certain technological advancements have made it a lot easier for audiences to listen to music without watching music videos, this would reduce the profit of music videos and may make people lose interest in music videos. More recently there has been a lot less money spent on making music videos, this is due to the rise of websites such as Youtube and Vevo, therefore production quality is a lot less. According to Forbes, the most expensive music video is "Scream" by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, which cost $7 Million at the time.

Conclusion

Overall, music videos are a crucial part of an artists success as this is one of the ways an artist can provide an audience with another form of entertainment other than audio.