What Is a Music Video?

Purposes of a music video: 

· A Market Tool to promote artist/song

A music video is primarily used to promote the sale of music recordings of the artist that has produced the song. They can also be used to promote other companies. An example of this is in ‘Beauty And The Beat’ by Justin Bieber where they promote the new gaming product ‘Just dance 4’ by showing the logo within the video. This will therefore promote the products. The srtist fans would see the artist using this product and therefore want it as the artist is seen as a start. This will create high demand for the product.

· Short Narrative or representation of artist 

Many music videos use a short narrative to tell a story within the clip. An example of this is in ‘Heart Attack’ by Trey Songz where his video shows Kelly Rowland (the love interest) and himself falling in love as well as showing their ups and downs through a number of short clips. This attracts the audience, as they want to follow the storyline and is also often used to compliment the words of the song and make it easier for the audience to understand. This is frequently used in r and b music where the artist uses emotion to create a relationship with the audience.  

· Attract a particular type of audience 

Videos are used to attract the target market that the song and genre is aimed at. An example of this is ‘The Promise’ by Girls Aloud where they use glamorous dresses and a choreographed routine that would attract teenage girl to watch the video and listen to the music. This highlights the contrasting ways in which artist can attract there audience. The is seen through costume the young audience of girls aloud would be attracted by glamorous nature of what they are wearing.

· Buy into the artists lifestyle 

The artist’s lifestyle is often portrayed in a music video so that the audience can put themselves into the world of the artist and understand the life that they live. ‘Got 2 Luv u’ by Sean Paul is a good example of this as they show the artist in a club with alcohol and lots of girls. This gives the impression that this is a regular occasion for him and gives the audience an insight into his lifestyle. The audience would be attracted to artists life style and show them as a star.

· Audience to remember the video

An audience will often remember a song by the video that is played along side it; especially as the most popular way to listen to music is on TV channels and YouTube where the videos are a main feature. An example would be  

· Audience to understand more about the song 

Lyrics can be very unclear and therefore can be determined in many different ways on a personal level according to how you perceive them. However by releasing a music video, the artist allows the audience to have a deeper understanding of their own perception which may encourage them to listen to it more as they have a clearer understanding of what it truly means, making the song more personal to the consumer listening to the song and therefore will be able to see the artist in a different way.

 

· Build a relationship with the artist 

Music video can help to build a relationship built between both artist and audience. This is done through imagery. It is common for the audience to take lyrics differently. Through the use of a video the artist can explain what they mean to the audience through the use of a video this will allow the audience to connect with both the video and the artist creating a larger fan base. In addition this will appeals to the target audience as they feel included and important in the artist’s life and will encourage them to continue watching the music video continuously and therefore are listening to the song boosting its success and promote the artist.

The style of music videos:

Concept –

This style of music video often promotes an idea or movement which may or may not go against the ideals of society. It frequently is used to encourage the audience to become open minded to a situation or idea i.e. homosexuality

Narrative –

A music video that has a narrative may be used to allow the audience a deeper understanding of a track as the lyrics and narrative often correlate in order to create this.

Performance –

This consists of the artist simply performing the song with the music video which is used to show the actual artist within the video in order to appeal to the audience

The codes and conventions within each genre of music:

 

Dance -

The generic conventions of a dance music would typically consist of a dancing scene, this can take place in many different setting such as a club, abandon buildings, extraordinary location such as beaches . However the dance routine is a main code and convention of the dance genre. This highlights lots of people dancing to create the illusion that everybody dancing is having a good time this evokes the feeling that the artist is trying to pass this feeling to the consumer creating the feeling that they want to dance as they want to gather the theme of enjoyment through the music video. Other conventions consists of flashing lights, girls and the showing of alcohol to reinforce the party like atmosphere. The party content is a effective convention of the dance genre, as it appeals to the target audience as it indicates that the song itself creates a good time, this will build an atmosphere for a party and therefore continue to listen to it for improve their mood.

 

 

RnB - 

Music videos for an RnB track typically are based around emotion. For example between a couple, consisting of a representation of a relationship this can be shown to the audience in a number of different ways for example to be happy, sad or showing the stages of breaking up i.e happy, arguing, breaking up and then individuals conveyed as lost/sad afterwards as a result. This allows the  target audience to relate to what they hear and see. subject that they can relate to as it is a universal issue. Love is a topic in which many can relate and therefore portrays the artist as more appealing as the audience can relate, allowing them to build a relationship and maintain an interest. During the video brands/products are promoted in order for the target audience to buy into the artist's lifestyle. For example, there may be a close up of an item of clothing the artist is wearing in order to promote the brand and also provide a short representation of the artist in terms of their fashion style; an aspect that target audience are interested in in order to copy and therefore feel like the artist. additionally. RnB artists are known to try and push the boundaries in order to stay relevant and controversial, consequently a topic of conversation and therefore the public are more aware of the artist and therefore more likely to listen to their music. By pushing boundaries, this provides the audience with an unrelatable quality which will provide interest as the audience are unfamiliar with such behaviour.

Girl band -  

The generic conventions for a music video for a girl band consist of all members having a similar identity in order to create the illusion of unity and companionship band member want to be seen by the audience to have a family like relationships for example brothers and sisters. Each member of the band will be matching in colour, however may not be wearing the same clothing. With one another in order to create and image in which the target audience can recognise and associate with the band; giving them a certain quality different from other bands to differ themselves. It is very common for there to be one main character or artist out of the band that videos typically show more of this person, so that the audience have a central member to relate to rather than being unable to relate to any of them as a result of a balanced status. However, the illusion of companionship and equality is still present in order to appear happy to the audience, friendly and approachable for the audience to feel as if they were a part of the group to help relate with the artist.

Hip Hop - 

The generic conventions of hip hop music video are typically based around 3 main topics.  money being one of them three, the artist representing their lavish lifestyle through the exposure of expensive cars, houses, jewellery and clothes. This particular convention of hip hop music videos provides the target audience with an representation of the artists' lifestyle in which they find unfamiliar as they can not directly relate to it this is something for the audience to want to inspire to. In turn, this appeals to the target audience as it allows them to engage in a lifestyle in which they cannot in their day to day lives and therefore are encouraged to maintain an interest within the artist in order to engage with their lifestyle. There are 2 further conventions typical of the genre;alcohol and drugs, in order to create the illusion that the artist is rebellious and care free, this shows the audience that the artist relates with them showing formilarites which the target audience can associate with. This representation of the artist portrays them as having little worries and plenty of time to party as a result of the amount of money they have. Again, this engages the target audience as it is dissimilar to their lives. Furthermore, the exposure of the female body is also commonly evident to suggest to the target audience that as a result of their lavish lifestyle, they attract females and therefore, such aspect typically appeals to males as they aspire to be life the artist themselves.