Music videos are a medium as old as anybody in this world. But why do they exist

1. UNITS 1,16,29
TASK 2
A L I S TA I R P E A R L M A N

2. WHAT IS THE
PURPOSE OF
MUSIC VIDEOS

3. PROMOTION
Music videos allow new artists a greater reach of media, as music videos are not
exclusive to radio, but can also be seen on TV. This means more people who maybe
don’t buy albums, or individual songs, get to know the artist through their greatest hits,
and become fans because of this, meaning they have a larger chance of buying the
music created by that artist.
Videos being a visual medium mean that well made videos can propel a decent or good
song into stardom. An example of this is Psy’s Gangnam style a Korean pop song that
became famous in the west due to its humour and distinct video.
It gets the public used to the appearance of an artists, and puts focus on aspects of the
artists that need to be shown, this allows studios to give those artists “star power”
http://www.vevo.com/watch/psy/Gangnam-Style/USUV71201410

4. LABEL
Sometimes the music video will show the label the artists works for. This means that it
promotes the label, as people who enjoy the music will search for other musicians under the
label, giving them more profit.
Admittedly many videos don’t feature the logo literally, but nether the less the same logic
applies, if they enjoy the band enough, they may check out other bands under the same label,
assuming they would be of similar quality. This means musicians under a label will benefit from
the success of other artists music videos, leading to profit for everyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhwBBaL0_Xw
Example: Trinidad James's “Def Jam”, is a song in
witch the label is literally the title. The video features
the label heavily and the entirety of the song is
about him getting the label, thinly veiled
advertisement for an already popular label.

5. REPRESENTATION
• Music Videos can create an idea of the artist that the studio wants to promote. They
represent that artists in a certain way so people who watch the video come to create
an image of that artist. Weather or not the image is correct is another thing entirely.
Having a certain image for an artist can make them seem better than they actually are,
and can lend people to either idolising them. Or making them as relatable and likeable
as possible. Leading to more sales as people grow to enjoy their image, and want more
of it.Example: Jammer’s Dagenham Dave, this video was
created to show the artist as down to earth and relatable
(cant get more relatable than rapping outside a local
chicken shop), it has shots of him walking down a local
street and in what appears to be his local pub. Most of
Jammer’s Videos look armature and lead to an idea of him
being a relatable, leading you to be more interested in him
than you would be a more professional rapper, most
people feel kinship wish him, he feels like he is doing it for
him.http://www.vevo.com/watch/jammer/Dagenham-
Dave/GBEU71600024

6. EXAMPLES OF REPRESENTATION
Kanye west- Only One
This video show Kanye with his kids, showing how
he cares about them. For an artist often accused of
being self centred, this was a good move to
represent him as a loving father. He likely is but
now the entire world knows it.
Slipknot- The devil in I
Slipknot wants to be viewed as satanic and scary
, so in their music videos they use horrifying
imagery to create an air of fear around
themselves. Representing themselves as demon
like creatures

7. STAR POWER
A large part of music videos is creating or giving an Identity to musicians. Having their
characters be presented through music videos allows listeners to grow attached to them
on more than one level, and with that attachment comes better sales as they grow in
popularity. Showing the “stars” face is a good way of getting the public used to their
appearance, and therefore making them recognizable.
Example: Fallout boy: Irresistible
Builds up a character for every member of the band and
gets listeners attached to the members, making them want
to see more.
http://www.vevo.com/watch/fall-out-boy/Irresistible-
(Official)/USUV71403009

8. STAR POWER- CLOSE UPS ON FACE
Isombard- Declan McKenna
Justin Bieber- what do you mean
Kanye west- stronger
Sia- The Greatest

9. CO-STARRING AND FEATURING
Having different members of the same studio or label
collaborate exposes these artists too the other artists fans.
This means both groups or individuals profit from these
collaborations. Having it as a music video allows for easier
accessibility, being able to find it on MTV or YouTube
means more people will find it, exposing them to both
artists under that label, and creating more buyers for both
groups. Pairing a smaller Artist with a bigger one can give
the smaller artist more popularity.
Example: Daft punk and Pharrell Williams’s get lucky. A
collaboration with two of the giants of Sony music. Fans of
Pharrell got exposed to daft punk, and daft punk fans get
exposed to Pharrell Williams. This means that both groups
end up with more frequent watchers.http://www.vevo.com/watch/daft-punk/Get-Lucky-
(Official-Audio)/USQX91300884

10. COLLABORATIONS AND FEATURING
EXAMPLES
Destiny's child ft. little Wayne-
Soldier
Mark Ronson ft Bruno mars- Uptown
Tedashi ft Tripp lee and Lecrae-
Nothing I cant do
Borgeous & Rvssian & M.R.I ft. Sean Paul- Ride it

11. MALE GAZE THEORY
Its no secret, sex sells.
Therefore the same applies to music videos. Male Gaze theory states that the visual arts and
literature depict the world and women from a masculine point of view, presenting women as
objects of male pleasure. This means that having a conventionally attractive woman in your
music video will greatly boost the amount of popularity it has. This does not just affect men,
but woman will treat these stars as idols, fans will want to look like them, meaning these stars
can sell clothes lines, makeup and other beauty products to capitalize on their success.
Example: In Nicki Minaj’s “anaconda”, the sexualized lyrics and strong sexual images consist of
exclusively females. While some would argue that its her music and video, and therefore not
the result of male gaze, she definitely understands that more straight men are likely to watch
the video solely due to the sex appeal she brings.
http://www.vevo.com/watch/nicki-
minaj/Anaconda/USCMV1400044

12. MALE GAZE THEORY EXAMPLES
Nicki minaj- Anaconda Fifth Harmony- All in my head
Ariana Grande- Side to side Beyoncé- yoncé

13. SYNERGY
Synergy is the stretching of a brand over several forms of media. Sometimes a brand will
commission musicians to create music for them. This artist will often create a video, and
feature that brand in it as part of the video. This means fans of the brand will be attracted
to the video, and therefore may watch other videos by the artist
An example of this happening is Sam smith’s
“writing on the wall”. This song was written for
Spectre, the latest instalment in the James
bond franchise. The video makes use of this
brand, featuring images of Daniel Craig's
bond and the villain of the movie. Even Smith
dresses up in a tux (classic bond style) and
uses very bond like imagery, such as the line
of coffins featuring British flags shown to the
right.
http://www.vevo.com/watch/sam-smith/Writings-On-The-
Wall-(from-Spectre)/GBUV71500792

14. SYNERGY
Another example of synergy is shown in Eminem’s “lose
yourself”. The song was made for 8 Mile, a movie about an
aspiring rapper, featuring Eminem as the main character. The
song was made for the movie, but the movie was made with
the artist in mind, meaning Eminem’s brand is shown through
the video. The Video features shots of the movie, and while the
song advertises the movie and fans of Eminem will go to see it
due to this song, the movie also advertises the song for casual
moviegoers who went to see it. They might hear the song in
the movie and choose to go out and watch it, creating further
sales for the track
Link to Eminem’s “lose yourself”

15. EXAMPLES OF SYNERGY
The Beatles: Help movie, Is essentuly one
giant paid for music video, a call back to
the music serials of the 1920’s
Pink Floyd: the wall
movie was the entire
album visualised, most
consider this to be a
collection of music
videos