Purpose of a Music Video
Purpose of a Music Video
The primary purpose of a music video is to be a form of publicity for the artist or band and to present their song as a product. It is a brilliant promotional technique that can be used to advertise albums whether that be on streaming sites like YouTube or on television as an ad. They can also be shown on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to lure people into liking or following the artist's page.
Music videos also work as a visual way to tell the story of the song. Artist's can use a narrative typed video to show the story or what they felt when writing or performing the song. This is done more in genres like Alternative rather than pop. Pop is more about the fun, colour, performance videos. This is because the genre is generally made to sell as much as possible, if it is fun and the song is good, it is more likely to sell. It will also be seen as better viewing for TV channels such as MTV. This channel is often played at parties and therefore they would want some fun poppy music to liven it up. It is also the most recognised genre in terms of worldwide, pop is short for popular so it makes sense to appear more to the masses rather than a niche audience.
The most viewed music video on YouTube at the moment is 'Despacito' by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee (around 4.6 billion views), this is a video that was made to be wated by a huge audience. It has all the makings of a a music video for a pop song. It is mainly performance with both the artists starring in it.
This is different compared to something like 'Riptide' by Vance Joy who are more catered to a niche audience and don't expect the shear amount of views on the video. It is made on a much lower budget and generally more intimate to its audience. The differences in conventions of Pop/Alternative video's are very similar to the differences in big movie blockbusters and indie films. The indie films have a lower budget and are generally much more focused on the message or narrative (movies like: 'The Florida Project' and 'Gifted' are good examples) much like a Singer/Songwriter song and music video. Whereas blockbuster are more about bigger and better (movies like: 'The Amazing Spiderman') and the story is often compromised for performance as it doesn't matter because they have the money.
In terms of branding within a music video, it can really show how the star is sold to the public. They can put on a show. They can hold up to the public's persona of who they are (or maybe even break it). The artist wants to make sure that whatever they're putting out, they look good and it doesn't hurt their image. Taylor Swift however did something very unusual when she took the image the public had given her, 'a psycho girl, who can't be without a man' and instead of trying to prevent that image she exaggerated it making it seem almost stupid. The song 'Blank Space' was written as sarcasm to the media when they write articles about her, they had created a character that Taylor genuinely found interesting. So, she decided to create a whole music video about it and instead of addressing the incorrect stores about her, she made it seem very ridiculous by showing them what someone they're describing would look like.
Music videos can also be a great way to make money in terms of a brand deal. Many artists will include product placements throughout the video. They will be paid by that company to show that product and advertise it to the stars audience. This could be considered a type of synergy, especially if the artist is a big established brand themselves. Someone who took full advantage of brand deals in their video for 'Focus' was Ariana Grande. She showed at the beginning of the video herself using a Samsung touchscreen mobile phone. This is great for Samsung as although they will have to pay her to advertise it, with the big fanbase Ariana Grande has, they could easily make it up in sales. Also, more people (that don't consider to be fans) will watch the video, this opens it up and again especially as this the type of video that could be shown on an MTV show.
Music videos also work as a visual way to tell the story of the song. Artist's can use a narrative typed video to show the story or what they felt when writing or performing the song. This is done more in genres like Alternative rather than pop. Pop is more about the fun, colour, performance videos. This is because the genre is generally made to sell as much as possible, if it is fun and the song is good, it is more likely to sell. It will also be seen as better viewing for TV channels such as MTV. This channel is often played at parties and therefore they would want some fun poppy music to liven it up. It is also the most recognised genre in terms of worldwide, pop is short for popular so it makes sense to appear more to the masses rather than a niche audience.
The most viewed music video on YouTube at the moment is 'Despacito' by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee (around 4.6 billion views), this is a video that was made to be wated by a huge audience. It has all the makings of a a music video for a pop song. It is mainly performance with both the artists starring in it.
This is different compared to something like 'Riptide' by Vance Joy who are more catered to a niche audience and don't expect the shear amount of views on the video. It is made on a much lower budget and generally more intimate to its audience. The differences in conventions of Pop/Alternative video's are very similar to the differences in big movie blockbusters and indie films. The indie films have a lower budget and are generally much more focused on the message or narrative (movies like: 'The Florida Project' and 'Gifted' are good examples) much like a Singer/Songwriter song and music video. Whereas blockbuster are more about bigger and better (movies like: 'The Amazing Spiderman') and the story is often compromised for performance as it doesn't matter because they have the money.
In terms of branding within a music video, it can really show how the star is sold to the public. They can put on a show. They can hold up to the public's persona of who they are (or maybe even break it). The artist wants to make sure that whatever they're putting out, they look good and it doesn't hurt their image. Taylor Swift however did something very unusual when she took the image the public had given her, 'a psycho girl, who can't be without a man' and instead of trying to prevent that image she exaggerated it making it seem almost stupid. The song 'Blank Space' was written as sarcasm to the media when they write articles about her, they had created a character that Taylor genuinely found interesting. So, she decided to create a whole music video about it and instead of addressing the incorrect stores about her, she made it seem very ridiculous by showing them what someone they're describing would look like.
Music videos can also be a great way to make money in terms of a brand deal. Many artists will include product placements throughout the video. They will be paid by that company to show that product and advertise it to the stars audience. This could be considered a type of synergy, especially if the artist is a big established brand themselves. Someone who took full advantage of brand deals in their video for 'Focus' was Ariana Grande. She showed at the beginning of the video herself using a Samsung touchscreen mobile phone. This is great for Samsung as although they will have to pay her to advertise it, with the big fanbase Ariana Grande has, they could easily make it up in sales. Also, more people (that don't consider to be fans) will watch the video, this opens it up and again especially as this the type of video that could be shown on an MTV show.
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