Music videos serve three main purposes: 1) promotional purposes by marketing and selling music recordings, 2) extending income through additional outlets like music channels and downloads, and 3) allowing producers to employ strategies to promote major label and independent artists. Historically, modern music videos originated in the 1950s as promotional devices for songs and expanded in the 1970s with the rise of shows like Top of the Pops that helped boost single sales. Today, a music video is typically created for every charting song to help promote the song through visuals and popularity.

1. What is the purpose of a
music video?

2. Requirements of a music video
• Promotional Purposes
• Extension of income
• Extension of outlets (Music Channels, DVD, CD, Website and
download sales)
• Synergy
• Producers Strategies (Major labels and independent)

3. History
• Modern music videos were originally created and used as a marketing
device intended to promote the sales of music recordings. They are
often called ‘Promos’.
• The earliest music video’s were filmed in the 1950’s.
• In 1956 Tony Bennett was filmed walking along the Serpentine in
Hyde Park as his song ‘stranger in paradise’ played. This was
distributed to TV stations in the UK and US.

4. 1970’s
• In the UK the importance of Top of the pops was to promote a single
created in an environment of innovation and competition amongst
bands and record labels as the show’s producers placed strict limits
on the number of videos it would use… therefore a good video would
increase a song’s sales.
• Michael Jackson was the first to create the idea of a short film – a
music video with a beginning, middle and end.

5. • Top of the pops was censorious in its approach to video content, so
another way for an artist to gain publicity and get people talking was
to produce a promo that would be banned or edited… For example:
• Duran Durans ‘Girls on Film’
• Frankie goes to Hollywood ‘Relax

6. Music Videos today
• Now, Music videos have become common place in the music industry
meaning that every song that makes it into the charts has a music
video made.
• Sometimes the popularity of the video is enough to propel the song
into the top 10.