The Purpose of Music Videos

In this essay I will be discussing the overall purpose and function of the music video.
The invention of music videos began in 1941 when jukeboxes were created with the ability to play short video clips and music together. It wasn't then until 1962 when actual music television became popular itself with shows such as Top of the Pops. The video era then began in 1975 with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and this became very popular because of its use of special effects. Since this release, up until the modern day, the popularity and quality of music videos has increased immensely.

Many bands and artists, producers and directors are now promoting themselves via music videos as they have become very popular and it's a good method of building reputation. In order for a band to promote themselves effectively, they should take advantage of using music videos and present themselves with some identification, e.g. placing their name/logo around the video like Tenacious D. 

Producers and directors promote themselves by making their videos unique and showing the audience that they're original. An example of a director who does this is Mark Romanek, who has created many notable videos such as Closer by Nine Inch Nails. He is then able to be recognised by this and is being promoted because of his certain style. 

Because of the wide variety of artists and bands, the way that they are marketed will always be done differently. 
Major label bands will be promoted through sex appeal, locations and special effects and you will be able to view their videos on channels such as MTV and VIVA along with YouTube. This is because their videos are mainstream and are targeted to a bigger audience, e.g. many of Lady Gaga's videos will use this technique. 

This particular shot above shows exactly how this video relates to that term. She is completely naked which shows a very high sex appeal and since it's a lot more risky, this makes the video more viral and therefore more popular, which is why it's such a good way of marketing. This can both appeal to males and females too, for example with her appearance, this could make the viewers jealous or even look up to her more for being more risky. But generally, she will be looked at in a sexual way.

In comparison, independent bands will have a much lower budget and their videos will be more performance based with less shots, such as this video from Radiohead. 

You can see that from this screenshot they are performing, which can shows that they want to show off their live skills to their audience. The mise-en-scene also being rather dark and mysterious links to the song itself. I think that lower budget videos can also be good because it shows off the bands general style as they're not trying to impress the audience with looks or high quality equipment. Rather, they want the audience to listen to their music rather then them become jealous or look at them sexually, such as with Lady Gaga. I believe showing off their general music skills is a good technique, as people will appreciate them for that reason, even if the video is low quality.  
Therefore, they will not be on many mainstream channels. They are more likely to be on YouTube. Because of this, independent bands will not be as popular as the mainstream bands.

Along with these there are also self-produced artists who find fame by self-producing their work and distributing it via the internet. It's free distribution, you own the copyright and overall have more control over your projects, however a disadvantage of this is that there are limited resources. An example of this is Cimorelli who started out by posting their covers onto Youtube. They now have their own music videos. This links to the previous point that low budget videos are more likely letting the artist show off their talent rather than try and impress the audience with high budget objects and looks. 

There are also artists who solely aim to produce something that they want to be recognised for. This also links to them making artistic statements or just a piece of art. As they are not mainstream they will most likely be shown after 10 o clock at night and therefore are less popular. An example is a Japanese songwriter ent who has videos that are visually appealing. You can see that special effects have also been used. 

Special effects in artistic music videos, in my opinion, makes them more imaginative and also more attractive to the audience eye. They will most likely be following the images rather than listening to the music, but overall, the artist will be recognised for their creative style which I think can be a good technique for attracting certain people. More artistic videos may also have more of a narrative, and the video may stick in the audience's mind and make them curious. Having the video linger in the audience's mind, I think, is very important which is why this technique is good.

Each time a song is played on the radio the artist should receive payment (as royalties) because it's use of their product. This is the same for if they make the decision to have a music video with their song, and again they will receive payment for each time it is viewed. In theory, for the artists to get paid for every view is rather difficult as it is impossible to track every consumption because of the wide number of media outlets. Overall, an assumption is made and the payment is made accordingly. Since mainstream artist's songs are played more regularly, they are more likely to top the charts and therefore get more revenue. It is therefore difficult for a non-mainstream artist to become popular, because the media outlets wont take the risk with playing their music as they're not as popular. 

Anyone can access a music video via a media outlet/platform. There are many media related sources that we can use. For example:

• TV - Music channels (MTV, VH1, Kerrang etc.)
• Internet (Social networking sites, YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo)
• iTunes
• Radio (Radio 1, Beach, Kiss)
• CDs/DVDs

There are plenty of different platforms however each overall have their own advantages and disadvantages. Because of the wide range of platforms, artists have a varied choice of what to put their content on. However, this means that there is more competition and it is difficult to be more creative. When upon placing a product on the internet, this overall makes it easier for other people to steal, or in other words, there is the possibility piracy issues.

Linking to promotion and income, there is also the phrase of 'synergistic marketing'. Synergy, in media terms, links to the licensing deals and the promotion of products. An example of synergistic marketing is selling merchandise, films and video games etc. as a way of marketing the company. The first idea of synergy came from Walt Disney, when in the 1930s he granted the right for Mickey Mouse to be used by other firms and companies in other products. As a whole, using synergy means that you are promoting your own products via other companies and therefore increasing your income.
Linking this to music videos, big artists can use merchandise etc. to promote themselves even more. For example, S Club have carried out synergistic marketing via releasing films, TV shows and merchandise, therefore increasing their income and popularity. Other examples include One Direction, Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers. 

In my opinion, I believe that music videos are popular because they are entertaining and provide something extra along with a song. It also means that the audience are able to have something else to recognise an artist or band by, such as if the video shows off the artists themselves. At the current moment, music videos are still popular and are growing all over various media outlets such as the internet and TV, however the sustainability of music videos is questionable. I believe that their popularity may die out when something else and better comes along to replace them.