Monday, 23 June 2014

The Purpose Of Music Videos

     Music videos have been around for decades and people still love to watch them today but how have they evolved? They started from short video clips played to a jukebox, to live performances such as the Beatles and shows like top of the tops all the way to the first video Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen in 1975 and they only continued to grow from there. There's so many that all have their own unique intention from producers, musicians and directors which is why they are so unique however one main intention for music videos is promotion.

      Promotion for artist can really boost their popularity especially if a video is creative and goes viral however more often than not artists will show their name and a logo for the audience to remember them by and also they will promote an image for themselves. A good example is American Idiot by Green Day as it shows a name on their drum kit, a logo which is also used on the American Idiot album and they promote a punk rock image in their video with the way they act.

                            

     Directors can also promote themselves by creating music videos such as Spike Jonze did. Some of his earliest work was with music videos dating back to 1992. Directing music videos was a great opening into the music industry for him as it allowed him to be very creative and work with artist with similar interests such as Tenacious D with Wonderboy.

                     

     Producer's have strategies to market artists differently to others, This can depend on the genre of music for example a big artist like Katie Perry would probably be marketed as a role model for a younger audience whilst using the male gaze to attract attention. You can find music videos like this on TV channels like MTV Hits, 4 Music and online with websites like YouTube. An independent artist or band is more likely to show talent to promote the music itself rather than the artist, this is usually more common in heavier types of music with bands like Metallica, these can be found on YouTube or on channels like SBTV, Scuzz and Kerrang.

             

     Recently due to in-home technology artist will become self produced making their own videos and distributing them on YouTube and other social networking sites, some artist have found fame through this such as Justin Bieber however there are many smaller "Internet Famous" artists out there such as Madilyn Bailey and Jake Coco.the good things about being self produced is that you have complete artistic control, you can tailor it to fit and it's great because the distribution and exhibition is free however it does have it's down sides such as special fx won't really be possible and there's not as much money but the main problem is there's already too much content so it's saturated.

            

     Some artists even use their videos to make a statement and treat it like a visual piece of art that they want to be remembered for, artists like David Bowie and Bjork have been known to do this before. These types of music videos are often associated with certain conventions, usually this includes; low budgeting, experimental camera work and effects but also the video is usually always visual. Most of these videos will be seen on the TV later at night after 10 or 11 however like everything else they're view able on YouTube and other websites.

           

      There are many ways artists can earn money, some of the most common ways is through the radio or music videos as every time as song is played either on the radio or on the TV or online with a music video then in theory they should earn a payment in the form of royalties. The reason I say in theory is because of the vast amount of media outlets making it near impossible to track the consumption of a single music video. Estimates can be made depending how popular the track is or how well the single is selling, an assumption can then be made and the artist well be paid royalties based on it's popularity. Mainstream artists will usaully always top the charts because their songs are always being played on the radio leaving underground and more alternative musicians to rely on other media outlets so they can be heard and recognized, however this is difficult for un-established artists to go on the television and major radio stations because it's risky with the amount of money and viewers there are. They best way for new talent to make money in this competitive industry is by making use of exhibition and distribution wherever they can for free by using websites such as YouTube but also to be innovating so they stand out from the crowd and get noticed.


     Media outlets are sources that allow allow us to access media texts so when studying music videos we are referring to any media related source that would allow us to view or access a music video. The main media outlets are TV channels for music videos such as Scuzz, Kerrang and SBTV along with many others also with Radio stations like BBC 1 &2, Kiss and Heat. Also websites for music videos play a big part like YouTube, Daily Motion and Vimeo. Some channels such as Scuzz and Kerrang may also have a TV channel as well as a Radio Station. The advantages to the vast amount of media outlets is that there's more platforms to advertise and promote however that also means that you're always fighting for exposure making it difficult to be different and unique but also it's far easier for your product to be stolen.
     Synergy is a brilliant way to advertise and it first came about in the 1930's with Walt Disney when he granted other companies the rights to use Mickey Mouse in various products and advertisement and Disney continued to do this with many of their other products so another company can promote their product with the use of Mickey Mouse and by doing so they promote Disney. Bands often do this with merchandise especially young teen bands such as One Direction, they will make bedspreads and curtains with their faces on so they can promote the company selling them whilst promoting them self.

     This happens in music videos as well for example when Ed Sheeran recorded the song I See Fire for The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug they also recorded the music video at the same time using clips of the film in it as well making a good use of synergy by promoting the film using the artist and the promoting the artist using the film.

         

     The brilliant thing about synergistic marketing is that both parties benefit from at as they are using each other to promote there self (Or there product) and can sometimes make an advert or film trailer viral as it raises awareness through the use of the other party, drawing in both audiences from each party and introducing them t a new one.

      I think the reason music videos are so popular is because of their ability to be as creative or literal as they like allowing for endless possibilities to fit their style of music or even completely contradict it working as a double edge sword as it can either be completely different to the artists usaully stuff and work in their favor or annoy fans because it's different and doesn't quite work. Music videos have grown over the years and become a very unique film style within them self allowing for very experimental camera styles and techniques which you wouldn't be able to do normally with any other form of video.


Bibliography:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_video 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spike_Jonze 

2 comments:

  1. Jack,

    This is unfinished too. Please complete this post ASAP.

    EllieB

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jack,

    This is now a solid merit and you have covered the terms and provided carefully chosen examples. This is almost a distinction but you need very specific examples from videos for these.

    EllieB

    ReplyDelete