2. Andrew Goodwin’s 6 Features of Music
Videos
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, meaning that certain stereotypes within the genre will be
amplified to reinforce that it is of a known genre, some of these stereotypes may be the same across similar
genres like hip hop and rap.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, therefore creating a clear conveyed message throughout the
video, which is suitable for the audience and the genre(Lyrics represented with images)
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals, so that the video is more watchable. If the tone of the song
itself is sad, the visuals should emulate these emotions, making the video resonate easier with the audience
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist, this is due to the impact an
artist’s reputation will have on the video, the more known the artist is, the more viewed the video will be. Also is
helps audiences familiarise with the video more, as they can recognise their face.
5. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking, showing the attention of the artist(s) is elsewhere, which
gives the audience an insight into the artists life through the video as they seem to be doing their own thing. Also
this refers to the treatment of the female body in music videos which more often than not seems to be objectified,
or given more attention than any other aspect reinforcing the ‘male gaze’ ideology seen in media
6. There are often intertextual references, which helps the video relate to many more things like different cultures
and narratives, which could help it stretch to a different audience then perhaps it was intended to. References to
different media like film and TV, again make it more familiar for the audience as they can relate to other thing
outside the video helping it resonate with them more .
3. Sven E Carlsson
Often music videos have binary opposites to drive the narrative, for example
• Black and white
• Good and evil
• Male and female
• Light and dark
Also Carlsson believes music videos fall into 2 categories, conceptual and performance
• Conceptual- the video follows a particular storyline and the focus tends to not be solely on the
artist
• Narrative Clip- the video is almost like a silent movie, it has no lip synchronization, meaning the
narrative has to reflect the lyrics
• Art clip- the video has no story but the visuals symbolize a greater theme
• Performance- a video that sells or promotes the artists, reinforces their image and ego
• Commercial exhibition- the video solely sells the artist, often portraying them as successful
• Televised Bard- the artist acts as the storyteller of what's going on in the visuals themselves.
• Electronic Shaman- the artists doesn’t appear in the video, only a soundtrack, the song however
does mirror what's happening in the video
4. Michael Shore
Michael Shore believes that music videos are now ‘recycled styles’ of previous genres.
He also believes that videos include the elements of speed, power, girls and wealth,
ultimately leading to the attraction of heterosexual males.
Mostly female artists are objectified, wear tight revealing clothes and images are
clichéd conforming to male adolescent fantasies .
That music videos have faced the death of context and are mostly ‘surface without
substance’
5. Steve Neale
He says a video must conform to enough genre conventions to be identifies within that
genre. He also says that it must subvert enough conventions to be seen as a unique
production.
This is the ideology of ‘repetition’ and ‘difference’
