The purpose of music videos

The purpose of music videos

There are five main purposes for music videos and each of them help music videos in there own way.

One reason for a music video is to promote a new music release such as new singles or albums. Social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook usually help the artist promote there newest single/album. Also another way to promote an artist new single is to make it go viral all around the world, bringing in a bigger audience for the band and also introducing different genres of music across the globe.  An example of this would be Coldplay with their single Paradise and there new album Mylo Xyloto. Coldplay is a very famous band who has won many music awards such as the Brit awards. Coldplay s album before Mylo Xyloto was released in 2008 ( Viva La Viva or Death and All His friends) so you could say that their new album was a comeback. The first single Coldplay released from their album was every tear drop is a waterfall and their second release was paradise. On YouTube Coldplay had a lot of advertisement for the new album and every time they were going to release a another single they would also be advertising that also. The music video of Paradise is indeed something unique and memorable. Also the video is something that the band hasn't done before  as they haven't done anything involving unicycles and elephant costumes such as at 2:00. Coldplay s newest videos have a more colourful and energetic mood to them while as there past ones focused around the slow pace and calm. This shows that an artist can return to the music industry with the same genre of music but with a slight twist to the music and their music videos. At 3:48 we see the band doing a live performance, which can make the audience watching the music video want to go and see them perform live, and also helps the audience know what there concerts are like promoting the band.


 

Another purpose for a music video is synergy which is where two different media industries combine together and help each other promote one another e.g. the music industry and the film industry. Synergy helps increase awareness of both media industry's -An example of this would be Taylor Swift single safe and sound which is the promotional single featured in the film The Hunger Games. This helps the artist get more recognition and more well known as its a main soundtrack from the film and helps increase her audience more as people  might have not known about Taylor Swift before the film was released, increasing her popularity.The synergy also helps the artist become more noticeable and helps her albums sell rate increase, as her song is featured on a very popular film, which is then going towards her record label. The song itself doesn't really show any resemblance to what it happening in the music video but, her music video creates questions such as why is she walking through a forest which then creates suspicion and mystery which then makes the audience become more interested in the video and the artist. etc. The artists music video helps her audience become more aware of what she is doing now with her music and also helps promote the film at the same time and helps the film get a bigger audience as well. Also being part of a synergy can help the artist go down the road of different media institutions. Throughout the video the scenery that the artist is walking around in has a relation to what the films scenery is which is forest.

Art is something that some artists take a great consideration in when it comes to their music videos as they want to portray themselves how they want to and also want to have control over what they want to show. Art music videos usually have a meaning that the artist wants to put across to their audience or society in general so they try and make their video as memorable as possible. When it comes to art its likely that the artist had complete control over what they wanted to show in the video be it good or bad and usually raises mystery or questions for the audience, which then increases the amount of views for the video as everyone wants to know why people are talking about the music video. Depending on the sort of artist e.g and independent or mainstream, the record company could have control over what the artist shows in their video, which takes away the artists right to express the opinions/views.Artists sometimes start a story in one music video and then continue it in another one and example of this would be Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is a very flamboyant person and loves to express herself through her clothing choice and her music videos as through the whole video we see her in different clothes such as at 3:20 and 2:09. Lady Gagas music videos usually come across as short films and that each music video shows a different side to her as a person and her music. At 3:15 we see Lady gaga at the centre of a crowd, which can make her seem like an important person and also shows what type of audience that she has as there are people seated around her which could connote that she has quite a big audience. The art that lady gaga includes in her music videos seem to be a way for her to express herself to society or how society represents her as at 2:03 we see her being being ripped of some clothing, which could connote that the people around her are society and that their ripping her identity away from her.






Visual representation is another way for artists to promote themselves, which is when artists want to represent themselves in a certain way through the lyrics of the song or the music video. Also music videos on streaming websites such as YouTube help the artist to be seen globally, rather than having to wait months to see them do a live performance. As the video is likely to be global it attracts a bigger audience and also helps the artist brand and gets it more well known. Plus, the audience is able to understand through the artists music video what's important to them and gives a slight inside viewing of the artists lifestyle and personality. An example of the would be the RnB artist Rihanna. In her earliest music videos she presents her self as a innocent young woman, but as the years have gone past her image has changed greatly and is now at the stage where she is getting judge quite frequently on her fashion,her life and her music career. This shows that music videos can also have a massive effect on how the artist is presented to their audience and this usually comes down to the artists record company, as long as it doesn't make them look bad and they gain money from it they don't really care what gets shown in their artists music videos. Rihanna is a good example of this as her past videos are like small story's with meaningful lyrics while now her music videos just include special effects and lyrics that don't really make sense. In her music video Rude boy she is presented as quite a loose woman as and a sexual object as at 0:16 we see her showing a fair amount of her body, which could represent her badly to her audience and give them the wrong impression on her. Also with all the specials effects such as at 0:23 it makes her look processional, but at the same time it comes across as only being used to expose her body a multiple of times.






Another purpose of music videos is extended playability of a song. This is where a certain song is played for a long period of time on music channels or websites such as YouTube. This helps the artist reach out for a larger audience and that they stay in the public eye for a while increasing their publicity and known rate. Music channels usually get paid for playing a song from an artist which will go towards them but also go the artists record label. An example of this would be Bruno Mars- The lazy song. This was his third single from his album "doo wops and hooligans", and was played repetitively for a couple of months. The reason for this might be because Bruno Mars at the time was a new artist to the world and he had already released two other singles from his album and they turned out to be a massive hits. The two singles beforehand had different music videos compared to The lazy song as they focused more around more meaningful love related videos while this one is has more creativity such as at  right at the start of the video 0:04 we are introduced to five men wearing monkey masks which straight away makes the audience more keen on watching it as the want to know what's going to happen and it also makes it more memorable. The reason why this song was played over and over was because Mars was a new upcoming artist and the repeat of his song was giving him more publicity and, also the song had catchy melody and that this music video is something you haven't really seen before, which makes it unique and different which results in more people watching it. When watching the song on YouTube it showed that the layout had been changed to advertisement of his album including details such as release dates. Also at 3:22 we see the album being advertised, which can promote the artist more as the video would have been shown on music channels, which then creates the audience wanting to purchase the album and then making it a more played song.


 

Evaluating Music Video outlets

The purpose of music videos

Music videos are used to promote the artists music. Music videos usually help the artist sell there songs more as they can include content which the audience like. Music videos can come in a range of styles such as animation, typography, acting out a story which could be behind what the lyrics mean in the song or an live performance of song.

Social media-
The positive outcomes for social media outlet is that you can access it from the majority of places such as YouTube, Facebook, and twitter. Also you are able to see the feedback from other people and what they think of the music video. Also this is helping the artist get more popular and making his/her fan base grow quicker and also the target audience of the artist might change as if your sharing a video on a social networking site, there’s a high chance of different age groups listening to the song. Another positive outcome of social media is that its worldwide so this helps the artist become more popular globally. An example of this would be the Korean artist Psy. Before his song gangam style he was only famous in his country but after the songs release the majority of the world knows him. With the help of social media more unknown artists can become known and is also a good way for people to here different cultures music. The negative outcomes of social media is that the artist may pay for advertisement which then results into waiting for the video to load and another negative point would be re-posts and if you keep seeing the same music video being posted over and over the audience might soon become bored and loose interest in the song and soon start to become annoyed or irritated by the artist.

Music channels
Music channels are the only programmes on TV that stream music videos and the information on music such as upcoming artists, new albums, and the month’s number one ext. The positive impact on music channels is that it shows the latest music and they have different channels dedicated to different genres of music e.g. Kerrang is more aimed to the rock genre while clubland focuses more on the fast pace electronic music. This is important as the majority of people all like different music genres an each channel is aimed at a specific audience e.g. Kerrang. Another positive reason for music channels is that they introduce new artists/bands. The bad thing about music channels is that they only show around 3-4 songs and then they start to show advertisements also, a negative outcome to music channels is that some people might not be able to afford monthly payment for certain music channels such as MTV. Music channels help artists become more popular and more well known and also with the different genre music channels such as Kerrang, it helps their audience be more up to date with the latest rock songs. When an artist passes away their music is played non stop for a few months e.g Whitney Houston giving her publicity even when she is dead and also still making her record company gain money by them releasing her old albums.When she died early this year, all of her music was played on the channels such as MTV, Kiss,4 music,smash hits. Whitney was a very famous artist during her time and focused around the late RnB,soul and dance music and nowadays music has changed from the past, so with a death of an artist it can also bring back different genres of music.

Artists websites
Artists websites help promote the artist themselves and is where you can find exclusive information on the artist such as interviews, updates on latest single or album. A positive outcome for artist websites is that its easy to access and you learn more about the artist and that its something you can get easy access to. There isn't really any negative outcomes for artist websites as they include the most detail about the artist. On Lady gaga website she has other social media icons on her page such as twitter and Facebook which helps her to be able to have interactions with her audience and can also keep them updated with what she is doing in her life and music career. Another thing about her page is that is shows what type of personality or style she has which could relate to what her music videos show and how they relate to her. Also on her page she is advertising her own merchandise and links to her record label,which helps her gain more notice and money, plus the money from the merchandise will  partly go towards her record company. As she is a mainstream artist, her audience is larger which then also helps her record label and herself gain more money and popularity.

Mainstream television

Nowadays music videos/artists don't really get shown on mainstream television like they did in the past and that is why there are music channels. But, as artist are more easier to get interviewed, as they usually go on shows such as Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross show, The one show etc . And this is where they get interviewed on there life and their music career. Its something that you don't really see on mainstream television, so the audience increases and then the rates go up for the show and the artist gets more publicity. When artists go on interview shows such as Adele on the Alan Carr: Chatty man they get to talk about what is happening with there career etc and as Adele is a well known artist, the audience for the show shall be quite big, while if it was a less known artist many people wouldn't watch the show because they dont know anything about the artist. Recently Adele has released a new single that is featured on the film skyfall, so as she is appearing on the show she is able to promote herself and the film. The only way music meets mainstream TV is because of shows such the x-factor. The artists themselves arnt shown but, the participates sing songs from all different genres and this helps update the audience with the latest music etc.  The reason why not many music videos are not shown on mainstream TV is because now all you need to do is go on to a streaming website which is usually YouTube and just search for an artist and you get them straight away. While on TV you would have to wait for a period of time to watch the video, and on YouTube you can watch the video as much as you want.

legal/illegal downloads 

Illegal and legal downloads have become the way for the vast majority of people to gain music. Many websites offer free download for songs, its quick, easy and free. Unfortunately though  if you get caught you can get fined and its likely that the song you download doesn't have the best of quality. The record company can gain money from this though as if a person is caught ripping of their music/merchandise they can get heavily fined and the money will go towards the industry. Another negative outcome for illegally downloading songs is that it doesn't go towards the artist or there record company which makes them loose money and helps the download site gain money. ITunes is the most legal sight where you can download music and is the most trust worthy site when it comes to quality of music. Also iTunes sells albums at the same price that any music shop would sell them at, which shows that the people who buy albums on-line are not being scammed for their money. Also when it comes to Itunes and you want to buy a album, you can listen to the songs that are featured on the album, this helps the audience because they get to have a glimpse at the artists new music, and if its not as good as they expected, they dont have to waste there money on it.

Direct CD/DVD releases

Direct CD/DVD releases usually contain extra information on the artist such as interviews with the artist, promoting their merchandise or even sometimes include another CD/DVD where you can watch the artist live performance or it’s just a bonus track. CDs usually get shipped to shops that focus around music e.g. HMV. The artists record company gains money every time there artists CD is bought, which could make quite a lot of money for the company if the artist is popular. HMV helps promote the latest singles by playing them throughout the store, which could increase sell rate. The bad thing about CDs is that they can become damaged or broken easily and that now days is that the majority of people use iTunes to download albums and singles, which is increasing the sell rate for the artist and record company but at the same time their losing money as they have created CDs that aren't going to be bought as much. Sometimes artist release DVDs showing there life and how they got into the music business , the problem with this is that now its focused around blu-ray DVDs which cost around £20 and this is where people start downloading it on-line because they know it will be cheaper or just free. Also HMV gains money and loses money as well not as much as the artist but they are the ones that are helping promote their music.

Streaming websites

There are many streaming websites which help promote new music videos, the main one would be YouTube as they promote the new releases on there web page and also you can also search for more dated back a few years. Also as for YouTube unlike mainstream television you are able to search for specific music videos rather than having to wait for one. Also YouTube links up with other networking sites such as Facebook and twitter, as usually on the bottom of the music video on YouTube there are small icons that allow the viewer post it directly to there page, this way it helps the artist become more popular as there audience is getting larger and more people will begin to listen to them. When it comes to new releases YouTube makes sure that the front page of the website has the information and maybe sometimes sneak peaks of the new music video, this here helps the promotion of the video and it also makes the record label money as they are advertising the music video. Also on the front page of YouTube it recommends videos for you, as if you have watched an artist video YouTube will recommend to you another music video from the artist. An example of this would be Bruno Mars new single "locked out of heaven".