AS1: Task 1: The Purpose of a Music Video

The Purpose of a Music Video

Availability of the Artist:

The Beatles: During the 1960's, to say The Beatles were popular was an undeniable understatement. By 1964 The Beatles had already starred in their first feature film; "A Hard Day's Night", directed by Richard Lester. Aside is a clip from the film where the group perform their hit "She Loves You".

  

By 1965 the group were already creating promotional clips and broadcasts in different countries around the world.  Here is a clip from one of the groups' promotional features shown below.

The Beatles would create these promotional clips to enable them to promote their records without having to physically perform live in person. This was beneficial for the group because this meant that they had more time to create new records while their previous records were still being played. This was clever because the group was able to have a steady income, and it also meant that they were able to gain more publicity. Due to their increasing popularity, The Beatles would often have huge crowds of fans bombarding them. By not singing at live events, this increased their safety. 

The Beatles' success was on par with Queen and their hit single; "Bohemian Rhapsody". 

Due to each band's success, it became fairly common for production companies to release promotional videos for their groups. Bohemian Rhapsody was probably one of Queen's most successful songs and to this day is still quite popular due to their music videos being one of the first ever. Top of the Pops was a popular show for promoting music as the artists wouldn't need to appear on television. This is beneficial for the artists because this gave them time to release more records and the longer the air time they had on television and in the charts, the more successful their song was.

Before the days of promotional videos if artists were unavailable, their songs would be broadcast and would have dancers accompany them on "Pan's People". Here is an example of a broadcast of Pan's People from April 1976.

Brian May, the popular member of Queen and lead guitarist stated that the video for Bohemian Rhapsody was produced simply because this would help them to avoid performing such a complexed song on Top of the Pops and having to mime along to it. Queen weren't able to appear on the show whenever they were invited to, due to the group about to go on tour. Due to the amount of air time Bohemian Rhapsody was able to obtain, this led to this song being number 1 for 9 consecutive weeks.

Promotional:

As music videos were becoming increasingly popular, they worked as a great promotional tool for artists as it provided great advertisement as quoted; "It is designed to draw attention to the music and illustrate the song". The music appeals to a visual audience and this is because more and more people were buying televisions and this meant that more people could watch music videos.

Appeals to a Visual Audience:

Psy's Gangnam Style and Kpop:

As mainstream media became more and more popular, in 2012 a South Korean artist known as "Psy" (싸이) released a single entitled "Gangnam Style" ("강남 스타일"). Psy is known as a "K-Artist" or "Kpop Artist" (the 'K' meaning Korean) who made the genre Kpop become extremely popular by releasing this single. Due to it's popularity, Gangnam Style was the first ever video on YouTube to reach over 1 billion views. Today the video now has over 2 billion views.

Kpop has been around since as long as the 1990's and not many people had heard of this genre beforehand - however popular groups such as "Big Bang" (빅뱅), "Super Junior" (슈퍼주니어), "Bangtan Boys (BTS)" (방탄소년단), "SHINee" (샤이니),   "Got7" (갓세븐), "Exo" (엑소) and many more have been noticed all around the world and have been known for making Kpop extremely popular. There are three main Kpop companies that most Kpop fans know of today and they are; SM Entertainment (founded in 1989), JYP Entertainment (founded in 1997) and YG Entertainment (founded in 1998) - the biggest groups in Kpop today belong to these three, however there are more companies. Shown below are more examples of Kpop music videos from these groups.

Big Bang:

Shown opposite is the popular music video by South Korean boy band Big Bang entitled "Bang Bang Bang". Big Bang debuted in 2006 and belong to YG Entertainment. Known as a hip hop group, their first album ("Always", 2007) sold around 48,000 copies and their hit single from this album entitled Lies (거짓말) went on to top Korean music charts for 7 consecutive weeks. After 10 years of success, Big Bang have sold over 6.7 million albums in Korea, Japan and all throughout the rest of Asia.

Super Junior:

Here is a music video for Super Junior's "Mr Simple". Super Junior debuted in 2005 and belong to SM Entertainment. Like Big Bang, they are one of the longest groups to be around for this length of time. At one time the group had 13 members from 2006, however two members have left the group since. Due to their popularity, the group were nominated for an MTV EMA (European Music Award) under the category "Best Asian Act". As I have previously mentioned, Psy made Kpop become increasingly popular to the world during this time and Super Junior being nominated for this award shows Kpop's growing popularity.

Bangtan Boys (BTS):

Bangtan Boys (BTS)'s music video for their hit single "Fire". BTS are relatively a new group who debuted in 2013 and belong to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS' fanbase is extremely large, starting from Asia to Europe, North America, South America and Australia and it is no surprise that they were the first Kpop band to chart at number 1 on the Billboard World Albums Chart for weeks in a row with their album; "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 2".

SHINee:

SHINee debuted in 2008 and are signed to SM Entertainment. They have continued to release top 10 singles over the last 8 years. Shown opposite is their single "Married to the Music". SHINee also contribute to the genre "Jpop" (Japanese Pop) along with Big Bang and other groups and this proves how the Kpop influence has spread to other parts of Asia and various parts of the world. In 2012 the group released their fifth album called "Sherlock" and this was their most successful album, having sold over 180,000 copies.

Got7:

Got7 is a relatively new group having only debuted in 2014 and are signed to JYP Entertainment. They released an album in late 2015 and shown opposite is their popular single from it; "Fly". Got7 are another hip hop group who released their debut album in 2014 called; "Identify". The group's popular single; "Stop Stop It" from this album led to the album selling more than 80,000 copies.






Exo:

Exo have got to be one of the most famous South Korean boy bands to date having debuted in 2011 and belonging to SM Entertainment. Exo have been the best selling Korean artist in 12 years and this was due to the release of their first album "XOXO" in 2013 - the success led to the album selling over 1 million copies. Exo have notably been called "the forefront of pop domination" due to their insane choreography and the craft of their song writing.

Psy's Gangnam Style music video appeals to a visual audience because not only is the song catchy, but the video includes choreography that the audience may find peculiar. The dance repeatedly shows Psy and his dancers swinging an arm round in a circle and jumping up and down on each leg at a time - as if they are riding a horse (for example) and from experience I personally saw students from my school dancing along to this song, therefore I believe it was very effective. Gangnam Style was definitely a good use of promotion as it promoted the genre Kpop more and created a wider audience for it.

One Direction:

Psy along with other Kpop groups and soloists aren't the only artists to have made an impact on the world of music. In 2010 One Direction were formed on the popular singing competition; The X Factor. Due to social media developing and more and more people having social media accounts on Twitter (for example), this helped the group become increasingly popular all around the world in the space of just 2-3 years. Their first single "What Makes You Beautiful" led to their huge success and by the time the group had been together for three years, they already had multiple number 1's and awards, have a film documentary made about them and are known as the biggest boy band in the world, becoming more popular than The Beatles.

Creating a Brand:

Artists are often used as promotional tools in order to help promote their music videos or other items, i.e. fragrances, this creates a wider audience so that they are able to buy into the brand. Artists often sell themselves through the use of mise en scene. The mise en scene helps to set the look for the rest of their careers if a music video is memorable. Their image is set for the rest of the of their careers through their music videos, style, talent, websites, modelling image and many more. The artists normally care for their image more than the quality of their products and the Spice Girls are a good example of caring for their image.

Spice Girls:

The Spice Girls have been notably famous for their debut single "Wannabe". Spice Girls consisted of "Scary Spice", "Baby Spice", "Posh Spice", "Ginger Spice" and "Sporty Spice" - their names corresponded to their own styles of fashion.

Ed Sheeran:

Other times, music isn't about the image but it is about the song itself and its meaning. Ed Sheeran is a singer/songwriter who believes that image doesn't have to make a song sell, but its lyrics do and in his own song "Take It Back" Sheeran states this.







Marketing an Image:

There some artists who market their own image. This can be demonstrated through Lady Gaga and Adele - two completely different artists and have different styles.

Lady Gaga:

Lady Gaga has been active since 2001, but she really rose to fame with her album "The Fame" (2008) which included chart topping singles, "Poker Face" and "Just Dance". Gaga's following album the next year; "The Fame Monster" (2009) led to her increasing popularity with hit singles; "Bad Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". Lady Gaga's image is somewhat unique and forever changing on each appearance. Shown opposite Lady Gaga collected her MTV VMA (Video Music Award) wearing a controversial dress made of meat. By wearing bizarre outfits, Lady Gaga has definitely made her impact on becoming a trend setter as her image has already been set by her unusual promotion of her wardrobe. She creates a brand by expanding her marketing skills through releasing fragrances, by doing this she expands her audience. Gaga's fans are known as "Monsters" and her dress sense often correlates to this word, however some may say that her style is unique and different.

Adele:

The unmistakable singer Adele has her own unique style. The release of her latest album "25" (2015) included the song "Hello". Hello was Adele's first song after her 4 year hiatus and immediately shot to number 1 and has now gathered over 1 billion views on YouTube. Adele expresses her talent through her remarkable voice and in contrast to Lady Gaga, she presents herself in a more suitable and calm manner. Adele and Lady Gaga's dress sense differs clearly from the other where Gaga goes for the bizarre look on most occasions and Adele goes for the more conservative look. This type of identity could lead to more exposure due to Gaga's odd dress sense, whereas Adele's exposure comes from her unique voice.

What Makes it Memorable?:

All of these videos are memorable because they are good examples of promotional videos. "Gangnam Style" was memorable because of its peculiar music video and this eventually led to the huge expanse of the KPop world. "Wannabe" is memorable for the Spice Girls because each member made sure to express their individuality in the music video - the song is also seen as an anthem for many girls around the world as they truly believe that their "lover" should really learn to accept their friends.

Extension of Income:

Music videos contribute to artists' income. A great example of this will be Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video. Thriller was a very popular music video for Jackson - the video was 14 minutes long and it gives viewers the idea that they are watching a scary movie. We see Michael Jackson in the cinema and this gives the perception that the audience are being prepared to actually watch a thriller.

When fans watch music videos it encourages them to stay loyal to their favourite artists and buy their merchandise - this can include their albums, t-shirts, posters, wristbands. One Direction, again are an extremely popular boy band and they often release new merchandise for their fans, such as perfumes and calendars and have continued to sell large amounts of their products worldwide to their fans. Overtime this will eventually encourage fans to attend concerts, tours and festivals.

Music videos are good advertisement for a product as they can provide the artist the chance to promote their music and products. Another example would be how Christina Aguilera's music video for "Not Myself Tonight" - she later released a perfume and the music video was good promotion for this as she already has a large fanbase.




Extension of Outlets:

Each artist has an outlet which enables them to connect with the world and their fans and this can be through websites, social media, music channels/YouTube/Vevo and many more.

Synergy:

Music videos are always purposeful as they can provide synergy. Synergy is what happens when two media products combine their work for each other's benefit. An example of this would be singer Adele and the film Skyfall - Adele provided the soundtrack for the popular Bond film. This is a good example of a collaboration because the synergy helps to promote Adele's song, whilst Adele's song promotes the film.

Producer's Strategies:

There are three different types of artists. These include:

• Major Label
• Independent 
• Artist self-produced

Each of these type will all have different types of music videos to them - they will each serve a different purpose, however their music videos will still be a vital tool.

Major Record Labels:

The music industry is surrounded by four Multinational Corporations/Transnational Corporations (MNC's/TNC's) and these include:

• Universal
• Sony
• Warner Brothers
• EMI

These record labels dominate the music industry, hence why they are referred to as the major record labels. These major labels also own their own sub labels which are popular today. These consist of:

• Columbia
• Island
• Syco
• RCA
• Virgin

These sub labels are known as major independent labels and they present a large variety of music genres to create a different kind of audience.

Artists Self Produced:

Self produced artists are often unknown and have the lowest budget. Self produced artists rely on making music videos in order for their career to take off and they would most likely upload their music videos to YouTube. One very popular self produced artist is none other than Justin Bieber.

Justin Bieber:

Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube in 2008 by Scooter Braun after he found his videos. Bieber quickly rose to fame in 2009 after the release of his debut single "One Time" from his album "My World". Justin became more successful in 2010 after he released the single "Baby" from his album "My World 2.0" which created mixed views after the music video was released. The video to this day was the first video on Vevo to reach 1 billion views and has gained more dislikes to likes on YouTube - with over 5 million likes and over 7 million dislikes. Although Bieber has a huge fanbase, when he rose to fame he also received a lot of hate for his music.