Purpose of A Music Video

Why are music video's made?
Music videos are made to promote new music releases, raise awareness of a new album/single or to be entertaining to the audience. Some people are more interested in the video rather than the song, so they create music video's to create a larger audience. Music video's are also made to represent an artist and show what type of person they are through the video, for example Lady Gaga is a creative and wild person, she shows this in her video's by her outfits, narrative of the video and props.

To promote a new music video?
Another purpose to make a music video is to promote the song and the artist. This is done to raise awareness about the artists upcoming album/single. When a video is shown on a music channel which has not be seen before, it gets people talking about the video and they share their thoughts about the video on social networking sites or even youtube where they can view the video.



To create a Visual Representation Of an Artist?
Another purpose of a music video is to repesent the artist and also to tell us a bit about the artist. For example Tinie Tempah's songs are very fast and upbeat, he represents himself as a fast, active and energetic person. Another example would be Gorilla's, in most of their videos they use cartoon characters to represent them. This connotes that they are shy and don't like to show their faces or they want to hide their identity. Also if a new audience view an artists music video, this could build their artists fan base if they like the representation of the artist.


To Extend the playability of & Provide Additional Income from a Song?
Another reason and one of the main reasons for creating a music video is to make more money out of the song. They do this by selling the video e.g. on iTunes, or some CD's/DVD's sell the music video with the song. Also music channels play music videos and e.g. MTV show a variety of the mainly the top songs. If a song has a music video (which most do) it is likely to be played in the top charts for a few weeks. The imapct this has on the label and the artist is they make more money from music videos and it increases the salary and business. ACDC is a good example to show play ability. ACDC is a well known old rock band and in the recent Iron Man 2 film, the main song was by ACDC Shoot to thrill. With a new movie, some people may like the song so the song becomes played more and comes back in the charts, which the band and record label make more money.



To create Synergy with other media sectors?
Another purpose of creating a music video is to create synergy with other media sectors. Some artists create and base songs on films and TV. This is to create awareness of the music video and to also advertise the film through the artist and video. The example i have chosen is Aerosmith 'I don't wanna miss a thing', this song is based on the film Armageddon. In the music video they show scenes of the film and the lyrics are about the film. This is good for the artist as their fans and audience might increase from the film side, increase on money and good for the artist as they enter the media industry.


To be Art in their own Right?
Some music videos are made to be creative and to be remembered. It allows the art/technology side to be creative and use technology. The impact this has on the audience is leaving them something to remember and something unforgettable. Most videos are made to enhance and create a narrative of the song to make it a short story. Also some music videos have enigmas which leaves the audience confused, puzzled and want to find out the mystery. This leaves the audience talking about the video and gets shared with friends trying to solve the mystery.