The Purpose Of Music Videos

INTRODUCTION

In this essay I will be discussing the truth behind a music video for example its promotion, its purpose etc. Music Videos have become more and more in demand over the last decade especially for new upcoming bands. A music video's purpose is to promote the artist and the song, create a visual buzz and enhance visual pleasure.

PROMOTION

Making a music video for a band can let them take huge advantage using it as a method of promotion. Some bands choose to include their name in the music video in some way and some bands chose to create a symbol/icon to represent their band in the video using it as some sort of identification. One band in particular that do this a lot is H.I.M especially in the video below their symbol. Below is also a picture of their symbol.

 

The director usually find a way for themselves to be promoted in some way through the music video and that is usually by putting input into how the music video is made. In the final outcome you can usually tell what director has directed it because of the way the video works. Below is a video from the band Falling In Reverse the song The Drug In Me Is You directed/produced by Michael Baskette who previously worked with Radke on Escape The Fate's Dying Is Your Latest Fashion. His visual style seems to be quite dark and gothic. In most of his videos that he directs you can notice some sort of band playing. 

STRATEGIES

Different style artists will be marketed in different ways due to many different reasons, one artist could be mainstream, independent or even self produced. The mainstream artists connected with majour labels will have a lot of publicity and their image is usually the stereotypical perfect look. with the sex appeal, attractive women and a lot of glossy high end locations. A great example of this would be Robin Thicke's Blured lines. This particular video is sexy and glamorous because it is completely covered in females using their body yo promote the song with next to nothing on.

Videos produced by artists connected with a major label will be shown on websites such as Vivo, Youtube, Vimeo and iTunes. The channels videos created by major labelled artists would be 4Music, MTV Hits and Viva. Independent bands never really have the same finance as a a major label artist therefore the chances of them backing a large project is pretty slim so they therefore produce and release videos paid for by their independent record labels. A great example of this would be Awake Awake's Harbor Lights.This is a great example of independent bands because it shows just how hard it is to not just create the music on your own but also how hard it is to create the videos.

Videos produced by Independent bands will be shown on websites such as Youtube and SBTV. The channels videos like this will be shown on Scuzz, MTV2 and Kerrang. Self-produced bands and artists are probably some of the most hard working artists and bands around and they are able to produce and distribute all of their own music via the internet using sites such as facebook youtube and twitter the list is endless. Three big artists now who started their career through youtube or social networking are The Midnight Beast, Christinna Grimme and The Lonely Island. The advantages of self-produced artists is that they have complete artist control over the video and the music they produce, they have access to all platforms of distribution and exhibitions and all earnings go straight to them no middle man. The disadvantages of producing your own music videos is that your budget may be a lot lower which means your a lot more limited  and you will be incredibly saturated. A great example of an artist would be Christina Grimme's Advice.
Some artists really go the other way and do not exist for the purpose of commercialized work. Their aim is to create a piece of art or visual masterpiece through the beauty of music videos and songs. Therefore can be used to promote maybe a movement in art or a statement. These videos usually feature abstract locations, bright colors and bizarre story lines. The websites you'd usually see these types of music videos on is YouTube, VH1 and Late night TV channels. A great example of a music video like this is Apex Twin's Come To Daddy. This is a statement because it uses a lot of powerful imagery in the video showing how the world around us works.

EXTENSION OF INCOME
Whenever an artists record is played on either the radio, television or another media platform in theory they should be given some sort of royalty or payment in exchange for the use of their record. The reason for the 'in theory' is that 9 times out of 10 the artist wont be paid in anyway as its impossible to track every time a record is played. Instead there is an estimate made and this is made by figuring out how popular a track is and how well it is selling. The mainstream artists are most likely to come out on top as they are quite obviously most played and most popular. The trouble with alternative/non-mainstream artists is that there is way too much risk playing their music compared to playing it safe and sticking to what they know. The best way to air new talent is to put them on YouTube, by doing covers of songs or showcasing their own material, also do some free Exhibitions and Distributions such as street performances and putting your music onto SoundCloud.

EXTENSION OF OUTLETS/PLATFORMS

There are a numerous amount of outlets that allow us, the public to listen to listen to music. These include the Internet, Tv and Radio. The Internet includes YouTube, SoundCloud, Vevo, Spotify and Shazam. Television includes 4Music, Viva, MTV, Kerrang, Scuzz and The Box. Radio channels include Radio 1,2,3, Heart and Kiss. The advantages of the growing media outlets is that we have more chance to listen to the music we want to, more promotion for the artists and more opportunity for money. The disadvantages are that there is more chance of saturation, its a lot harder to be unique and the chance of piracy is increased.

SYNERGY
Synergy in the music/media industry is all about the promotion and sale of a product. For example it could be like a logo or a character advertising and enticing customers to view the music video and maybe buy the track. A great example of this is the Rolling Stones with their lips and tongue logo. Below is the logo itself and this logo has really sold it for the group.

CONCLUSION

Nowadays music videos are so popular and create such a fuss with the public eye. They are so popular more now then ever because there is such a variety available, the quality of the music video has grown dramatically and there is a lot more ways to listen/watch them.