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".