Music videos serve several purposes in the music industry. They provide a visual representation of the song to accompany the audio. Artists and directors use music videos as a way to showcase their creativity and style. Music videos also help introduce new artists to audiences and charts. They can be found playing in public spaces like malls, on TV, and in clubs. Music videos are often used to promote both artists and the directors who make them. They provide exposure for all involved and can drive more views, streams, and sales. Larger artists are able to self-produce their own music videos to maintain more control over the vision, while smaller artists rely on other promotional methods like touring with bigger bands.

1. The Purpose of a Music Video
Music videosare neededinthe musicindustryformanyreasons,mostlyforavisual representation
of the songas well asthe audio,some musicvideodirectorsandartistsuse itas a way to show their
creativityora particularsense of style forthat artist(i.e.,LadyGaga, Beyoncé etc.). The audience
use the musicvideostoidentifynew artistsandintroduce themtothe charts,andtheycan be
watchedinshoppingmalls,TV channels,clubsandmanymore. Thisessaywill explore the more in-
depthreasonsasto why musicvideosare made,how theybecome sopopularandhow accessible
theyare.
Many musicvideosare a way to promote anartist or director.Forexample,the Madonna ‘Like a
Prayer’(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79fzeNUqQbQ ) wasdirectedbyMary Lambert,who
additionallydirectedmusicvideosfor MötleyCrüe,earlyJanetJackson,WhitneyHoustonand
variousothermassive names. Thiswasadvertisementforherasit wasseenas so iconicsopeople
wouldfindoutwhodirecteditandthenwatch herotherwork.The same goesfor Madonna,people
wouldbe exposedtohermusicandresearchthe rest of her songs,whichinturnshe receivesmoney
for,and the more viewsamusicvideogets,andthe more likelyitistobe usedinthings like
advertisementsandfilms. Some bandspromote themselvesintheirmusicvideossuchas Mcflyin
‘Love isEasy’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APlPjz9Ry84) where theiraudience isstanding
aroundthemin the final momentswavingbannerssayingthingslike “LovingMcflyiseasy”and
“Mcfly I love you”.
Some musicvideosare createdtohelppromote a directoror
filmmaker.Anexampleof thisis Panic!Atthe Disco’s‘Don’t
threatenme witha goodtime’(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5NqIsnyTG8&pbjreload=10),
directedbyTimHendrix whoisalsoa special effectsartiston‘Daredevil’,‘Spiderman’,andvarious
othermusicvideos.ThismusicvideofeaturesawomanandBrendonUrie at a clubgetting
horrendouslydrunksohe takesherback to hishouse andtheygetin the bedroomand tentaclesrip
out of her body and kill him.The nextmorninghe wakesupwithtentaclesforarmsand goesto the
mirrorand is human,he thenleavesanddanceswithawomanwho he thenshowshistentaclesand
it endswithherscreaming,thisisgoodadvertisingforTimHendrix aspeople willsee thismusic
video’s creativityandsearchhisother work.
A lotof artistssuchas Kanye West,Beyoncé andLadyGaga produce theirownmusicvideossothey
can control what happensinthembetter. Kanye Westrealisedamusicvideoforhissong‘Famous’
(https://www.vevo.com/watch/kanye-west/famous/USUV71602016 )whichcouldbe consideredto
be one of the most controversial musicvideosof the lastcentury.Itfeatureslook-a-likesof Donald
Trump,Taylor Swift,CaitlynJenner,himself andhis wife KimKardashianWestandvariousother
celebritieswhohave beenconsideredtobe exploitedanddone thingsforfame.Theyare all layingin
a bednakedtogetherandit appearsto have beenfilmedonanoldstyle camerawithsmaller
dimensions,andKanye describeditasa “commenton fame”. Thisreached30 millionviewsandwas
broadcast oversocial mediaandnewsoutlets,whichisone of hisstrategiestogethismusicheard.
Thisdiffers tohowsmallerartistsmarkettheirmusic,astheirmusicvideosaren’tgoingtoreachthe

2. same amountof viewsastheiraudience isnotasbig.A band calledFickle Friendstouredthe UKasa
warm upact for The Kooks,whichgotthempublicity,andasof now theirYouTube channel has
reached17,000 subscribers.Theirmainwayof advertisingisthroughpostersandpromotionwith
The Kooks,so theyare marketedcompletelydifferentlytothe mainstreampopularmusiciansas
theysimplydon’thave the numberstogetthere yet.
Many musicartistswork withrecordlabelstogeta steadyincome andadvertisement.Some of the
biggestrecordlabelsare Universal MusicGroup,SonyMusic Group,Warner Music Group andthese
groupsare parentsgroupsto smallerbranchessuchas ‘FueledbyRamen’whoworkwithPanic! At
the disco, Fall OutBoy, Paramore and upand comingbands. Self-producedartistsare becoming
easiertofindrecentlywithYouTube andothersocial media’ssuchasFacebookandtwitter,andthe
advantagestothisare that theycan control what theywantand how they do it,whatmusictheycan
release andit’scheaper.Additionally,the disadvantagesare thatit’sharderto get noticedandit’s
harderto make content/musicvideos.Also,youhave tobe responsibleformakingthe musicand
videosall byyourself whereas acompanywouldhelpdoitwithyou.
Recentlyitiseasierandeasierforartiststo getnoticedthroughdifferentoutlets,social media,
digital marketingboards,TV advertisementandmusicinadverts,andmanyotherways,there are up
and comingartistseverywhere.AnexampleisTashSultana,she startedoff buskinginthe streets
and people filmedheranduploadedittoYouTube andFacebook.Now she hasa followingof 292.4k
on Spotifyalone,and iscurrentlydoingaworldtour.The advantagesforan artist to use media
outletsisthatit’sbeingadvertisedtothe majorityof peopleinplacestheirmusicislikelytobe
heard,such as Facebook.Facebookhasadvertisementsforthe general userscrollingdowntheir
timelineandover1 billionpeopleuse it.That’sa massive 1/7of the entire worldpopulation,soit
reallyisan easywayto get found.
A simple wayfora musicvideotogetfundingisthroughproductplacementand promotion,whichis
calledsynergisticmarketing.A goodexample of thisisAll Time Low’s‘Somethingsgottagive’
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYeM0nFWcqE ).33 secondsinwe can see a womanholdinga
can of ‘Rockstar’energydrink,soRockstarwill have paidAll Time Low tohave that product intheir
video.
I thinkmusicvideosare sopopularbecause theycanbe replayed.Once somebodywatchesthe
videotheygetthe songintheirheadand go back to itand if it has a memorable videotheywillwant
to watch itagain. Most individual artistsmake theirmusicvideosasapiece of art or visual
representationof theirmusicvideosandpeople enjoywatchingthemasthey’re oftenmore unique.