Purposes of Music Videos

Purposes of Music Videos 

Representation of Artist:

Music videos allow for the artist to be able to shown in the music video in the way they would like, and with the approval of the record label. This could be to express their 'real' personality and show themselves to everyone as they would like to be known. To be able to be who you are in music videos would greatly improve the quality of them as you are more comfortable and need not to change, also if the artist is represented in a good way this would raise awareness ad publicity for the Artist meaning that it boost sales and revenue for the record label. The artist would put forward the idea of how they want the music video to go and how they would like to be shown and represented the record label would then either approve of and or make changes to make it suitable for commercial purposes. 

Record labels simply want to make as much money as possible, so they would make a music video that would appeal to a larger range of audiences, after all they are not non-profit firms. The representation of the artist would entirely depend on the mise-en-scene, and the lyrics that the artist says, if they want to be portrayed in a certain way they would dress according to that. Artists without a record label, that are not signed will make a music video that will increase to their popularity and platforms such as youtube can work as if the video is spread through social media then it will increase popularity and may ultimately lead them to be signed or have sponsorships. 

In the example below, the Artist 'Stormzy' is not signed and to be able to be popular and reach a certain recognition has made a basic video, with a group of his friends and with a instrumental in the background most probably from a phone etc. And edited very basic with a computer and uploaded onto youtube has grown to be very popular song in the UK grime scene and 'Stormzy' is remembered by this. 

Synergy:

This is when two companies come together to be able to promote each other, this is so that fans of one thing can also be influenced and aware of the other. So for instance Artists making songs specifically for Film franchises will mean that the fans of both will be able to recognise it and maybe do further research into it, to be interested in that artist, or franchise. Synergy ultimately leads to both of the firms making a profit by raising awareness for each other, promoting your franchise, artist through a maybe more popular and well known company will be better as you will have more fans and recognition around people. Synergy will also mean that the artist may be known for doing a certain song and be remembered by it, this will create a lasting impression on the viewers who enjoyed the film, and so therefore possibly lead them to researching and finding out about the other songs and albums the artist released before. 

Synergy is all about promotion and advertising, fore both companies so that they can increase sales and boost profit and revenue. Also if the artist is not singed then companies may want to sponsor them so in return they promote their products / services, incorporating them into the music videos or albums that they make in the future. it's a win-situation for both sides, as if the other side doe snot get as much popularity as you, then it is not your fault, and if they do. The artist will be remembered as making a song for your film franchise etc.

An example of this is in the Film Rocky 3. The famous 'eye of the tiger song' was designed and made for the film, and now the song is one of the most popular songs of our time i would say, and is rememberable by everyone. This allowed for the artist to be recognised for doing the famous song for the film, and they both promoted each other. 

Extension of Outlets:

This is to extend the playability of the song that the artist has made, and to reach it out to as many platforms as possible in order to receive as much awareness and popularity as possible, widening the area's that the song and artist can be found greatly increases the chance of the artist being recognised and also to reach out to all audiences, as different audiences may use different ways to access music and listen to them, so reaching out to all if not most platforms increases the chance of the artist getting noticed.

If the artist is already known and popular then also increasing the platforms that the music can be played, bought and listened to also will increase revenue, as forcing people to only use one app or website will mean people are funneled into doing something where as if they have choice and variety of how they listen to the artist music, it will be more enjoyable for them, These platforms include: DVD, the internet ( personal websites) Youtube ( or other video sharing websites ) or applications through smart phones. Also the option to be able to buy the albums with a few taps and be able to listen to them on demand with your phone greatly increases accessibility and popularity for the artist.

This can also done through different record labels, there are 3 different types of record labels, Major record labels, independent record labels and unsigned record labels. These can increase the popularity and the longevity of the artist,

Major label companies such as Sony, EMI, Warner Music group, universal and Polygram. These label companies have large amounts of money and can fund the productions of all their artists music videos, these type of production companies can ensure that the music of the artist can reach the biggest audience through advertising and through their social media outlets as they would have recognition and people will want to know what each major label company is producing.

The disadvantage to major label companies, is that they can be very demanding of the artist, as they can be sent to world tours and then also be forced to make an album etc, very formal meetings and wanting to maximise profit and efficiency, the production company does not necessarily care for the artist, they only seek to increase their revenue, and so can force the artist to over work them selves to collect more revenue from sales etc.



Independent record labels such as Boy better know, as shown below are production companies are record labels set up by the artist themselves, and so have more freedom to do what they like and can use the production company to reach their music out to more people, this of course requires large funding, so only really rich or famous artist can really set up their own record label, as to fund all their operations.

The disadvantage to independent label companies is that they cannot exactly compete with the major label companies, as they are much more powerful and have much more funds, and thus the independent label company may be forgotten or not known about as much, and this works to the disadvantage of the artist, as the reason for signing for an independent record label is that they receive more recognition and can reach out to a wider audience, however if the record label cannot achieve this for the artist due to the bigger companies, this can become an issue.



 Personal Website of UK Grime ( BBK)

Lastly unsigned artists, who are not belonging to any record label, can use the internet and other ways to make their music reach out to a wider audience, such as through the website unsigned.com, where unsigned artist can place their music and their biography as to reach out to potential record labels who may be interested in signing them, this can be effective in reaching out to potential viewers and record labels, as their talent and music can be listened to and then judged accordingly, there are a lot of different artist on the website and so deciphering through all of them to find a good one can be quite difficult. Youtube is also a place for unsigned artist to try and gain recognition, as it is free to upload your own music onto youtube, and since youtube is known for videos and music, it can be a good way of reaching out to potential viewers, and thus gain more recognition through views, the youtube algorithm works in such as way, that the more views, then the video will be more likely to be featured on the trending page and thus more potential views and more recognition for the artist, however this may be unlikely.

The disadvantage to unsigned artists are that they practically have no funding, and thus rely on social media accounts to try and show their music, by sending links to their music to their friends and relying on word of mouth to spread their music, they cannot use any funding for advertisement, in newspapers, posters, tv etc. They rely on free services to try and reach a wider audience, and be recognised by a record label, to get signed, and thus try to reach the widest possible audience they can, due to them having no funding, most of the artists, either will have to use their own money, and this will be limited, and/or will eventually run out. So the artist will either eventually give up, and or just use the free services available to them.

The internet, video sharing websites such as youtube.

Styles of Music videos

Styles of Music Video's

Performance:

Performance type of music video's allow for the audience to see their favorite artist live and see how they are represented, they get to see their artist in the flesh and see how they act, and represent themselves to the fans, they also see the other fans in the concert that's being done by the artist and so would create envy to those watching it at home and so would boost merchandise and ticket sales as the next concert that the artist does, will have more people buying tickets to come to the concert as they saw the atmosphere of the last concert and was heavily influenced by it, and would also lead to social interaction as if a person has went to a concert they would tell their friends which would then spread the word and so boosting popularity and fans for the artist. 

Live performance video's allows the audience to see the character and build of their artist as they only see them in music videos, however when they are live they can see what they do and say after one of their songs is finished. 

Narrative:

In a narrative music video, it tells a story to the audience with a chain of events that are occurring, with a beginning, middle and end. Somewhat like a short film, usually most of them have morals or messages that the artist is trying to get across to the audience. This allows the audience to visualise the lyrics and have something to look at while listening to the music, the story engages the audience as they watch it to see what happens at the end of the music video and what the outcome will be, this makes the audience more interested and also they could personally identify with the problem or dilemma that is happening in the story in the music video, also the story allows the artist to get their expressions and emotions across to the audience without having to actually having to show themselves to the audience, and so can use the story to indirectly influence their audience in a certain way.

The lyrics of this particular song by Avicii-Grinding is about Grinding, which means persevering and working hard, so there are 2 characters in the music video, a worker who works in a mine, who is very labour intensive hard work, and is also in debt and is having financial struggles, but grinds his way through it through very hard work and finally pays off all his debt and is finally 'happy'. where as on the other hand the other character opts for the easy way of making money, crime. Goes around robbing banks and stores to make money with Guns, then after attempting a bank robbery, is betrayed by his 'colleagues' and so finds out the hard way that, crime is not the way forward, and easy money will never make you happy.

Conceptual:

These are music videos that are not performative of narrative based, they usually have visuals to suit the theme and appropriate to the tempo and feel of the song. This allows the artist to adapt the visuals to the lyrics that they had, so they can be free in the lyrics that they write, and so that they do not be limited by thinking about how they would create a music video that would go with it. If the song was dramatic/sad then it would have suited visuals to it, to portray the feelings and emotions of the artist to the audience so that they understand the current mood situation of their favourite artist, or if the song had a happy/cheerful theme then it would have suited visuals to portray that. The artist will have an idea or message that they try to get across or leave it for the audience to interpret, this leaves them with freedom to do what they want.

The lyrics would either go along with or contradict the music's beat and fee;, if it is a jolly music type then the lyrics will most probably be happy and cheerful as well, but in order to create a contrast may also be about sadness. the editing again depends on the style of the music, usually a fast paced editing with visuals will be for a exciting/ happy song. cutting to the beat. However if the lyrics are sad/slow then the editing will also be done in a way to suit it, so slow pace editing and maybe not cutting to the beat to confuse the audience and to draw attention to the lyrics, more than the audience to just enjoy the instrumental.

Interpretative:

This is where the lyrics of the song also match what is happening int he music video itself, this allows of the audience to understand and go along with the lyrics easier. This also means that some of the lyrics, this allows for the audience to gain satisfaction by easily understanding what the artists are singing and also to visualise the lyrics and see what the artists are probably thinking or seeing at that time when they are singing. An interpretive music video can be interpreted in many different ways by the audience, they could see a different perspective and get a different message moral from it. Although the artist may trying to influence the audience through the use of the visuals or trying to get a view across. The music video may have hidden messages, that the audience can de-code and feel better about themselves as they have found the 'secret'. 

The lyrics would usually be portrayed in the video or be visualised through the use of the visual effects. the visuals would usually conform to the lyrics and increase the effectiveness of the lyrics as they are being thrown into the audiences face, vividly creating an image that would not be forgotten easily. The music will be cut to the beat as usually these type of videos have a exciting or quick pace to them. The editing will also be of a quick pace, usually going along with the lyrics and switching between each artists lyrics or a different verse in a solo-artists song. the camera angles and shots will mostly focus on the artists and show the audience what they are doing. 

Animation:

In Animation type videos it allows the producers and creators to make a music video without having to actually show them selves or hire actors etc if they were to a narrative type of music video. Also animation music videos are not common, so they also catch the eye of the viewer and are more creative and flamboyant. Animation music videos mean that the producer can be free in their lyrics because you can do anything with animation, so the lyrics can be as far-fetched as possible. If they were to use humans they could not make them jump off buildings or survive impossible things or show them to do impossible things to human nature, but with animation it is all possible and it lets the producers to have no barrier to their creativity and imagination.

 Also even if the lyrics were quite subtle and normal to be able to visualize every part of it would cost the producing label massive amounts of money to precisely show everything that is occurring within the lyrics. So the main reason why a music band/ group would be to cut cost and still be able to make a music video that sticks in the audience's mind. The editing would in par with the music, most probably cutting to the beat and the tempo would also suit the theme of the song and the lyrics.

Surreal:

Surreal music videos are videos that contain a style that are so strange and unreal that it's impossible that the situation would ever happen. They are 'fun' and exciting which does appeal to younger audiences. They usually have an artistic feel to them and may use special effects and some animation to create a visual effect that would have a lasting impression on the audience.These music videos are very abstract, may not have a relation to the music or lyrics itself, these videos are very artistic and creative.

 This again allows for the artist to be free with their lyrics and can express their feelings and emotions confidently, also since most people will find these type of music videos to be 'weird' it will draw attention and prompt social interaction and raise awareness for the artist and their music, doing something out of the norm will mean more attention and publicity and this is one of the main purposes for music videos in the first place. The editing may not be cut to the beat to show how 'unique' the artist is and also to create distortion or confusion to the audience, or maybe to slow down the pace and feel of the song depending on the lyrics and the message the artist wants to get across to the audience.