Music Video Research

Purpose of Music Videos

PURPOSE

Sell the song and invoke a reaction so the audience remember the song

To entertain

Sell CDs, DVDs and downloads – memorable visuals are likely to increase it's chances of selling

Marketing for the purpose of exposure and expansion for the artist(s)

Video changed the face of the music industry. Seen initially as a way to advertise records, music videos have become an industry in themselves. Today it is inconceivable for a major, or even a new, band to release a recording without a video to accompany it. The complexity of videos has also increased. The first videos usually showed a band performing on stage or in a carefully chosen scene. However, their success led to increased budgets and pop music mini-epics made by cinema directors.

Conventions of Music Videos

Narrative music videos

The music video contains a series of events that both make sense to the audience and appear to be unified in time and space. To ensure repeated viewings and the effective marketing of the band/artist and song, the narrative code must be “loose‟ or simply “suggestive‟ rather than “realistic‟ or “detailed‟.

The band performance

A degree of authenticity of the performance is required by the band and the director so we often find lip-syncing close-up, mimed playing of instruments, repetition of chorus shots to enhance “repeatability‟, unusual camera shots and angles.

Solo artist performance

For a solo performance, there are many of the band performance conventions plus choreographed dance routines to enhance “repeatability‟. Also, a first-person mode of address is used directly engaging the viewer through the camera which involves many close-up shots of eyes rolling and gesturing and if the video is a hybrid form cutting between performance and narrative then the solo artist or band lead singer often becomes part of the narrative story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time.

Star Image

Only 1 in 10 artists promoted by a major record company will actually make that company any substantial profit. This is why certain select profit making stars are manufactured, manipulated and marketed by the record label’s “artist and repertoire‟ division so aggressively. The star image of individuals through their videos is a vital component of this process. This is why we can identify the “metanarrative‟ of stars through their videos whereby the record label manipulates and changes the artist’s image with each new video release to increase sales, combine target audiences and broaden appeal to new fan bases.

Marketing

Marketing a performer and their recordings is the major function of record companies. Their aim is to make as much money as possible out of the acts they sign to their labels. Crucial to the marketing of a performer is their image. This is the way they present themselves to, and the way they are seen by, their audience. It includes the style of their music, the way they dress and the things they do and say. Record companies recognise that image is especially important for performers with a mostly young audience. One image that is particularly attractive to young audiences is that of rebellion against society and the older generation. Image can also harm a performer’s success. Many acts are criticised by fans for changing their image, or ‘selling out’, when they sign to a major record company. A record company may insist that performers tone down or emphasise a particular element of their images in order to attract a wider audience for their music. Also, musical styles and fashion in clothes change quickly and a band that is associated with a sound or a ‘look’ that has gone out of fashion can find their record sales falling.