The Purpose of a Music Video
A music
video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of
music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a [marketing]
device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins
of music videos go back much further, they came into their own in the 1980s,
when MTV based their format around the medium, and later with the launch of VH1.
The term "music video" first came into popular usage in the early
1980s. Prior to that time, these works were described by various terms
including "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film",
"promotional (promo) clip" or "film clip" (Wikipedia)
What do you think are the major elements of an Album
marketing campaign (the different ways in which a Band/Artists identity is
mediated to an audience)?
- Colour scheme. It is important to look into what the band themselves like to wear. For instance, Ed Sheeran has orange hair, so his album cover has a photo of him with orange hair.
- Imagery itself. If a band are known for a certain logo, such as Deadmau5 and his mouse logo, then that should be used in some way in their album covers so the audience know that it is their logo.
- Their album name should have a title, lyrics of or a connotation to their songs to remind the audience that the album is the bands.
- There are some connotations to the stereotypes of their genre, such as use black or red if it is a metal or rock band, and bright colours if it is pop. Rock artists usually have choppy layered haircuts and casual grungy outfits, whereas Pop artists usually have clean cut hairstyles and sometimes costumes. Male acoustic or 'indie' artists usually wear checked shirts, usually have some form of facial hair, and scruffy hair or clean shaved with a quiff hairstyle. They are likely to have an acoustic guitar.
Where have you encountered these elements in your daily
life?
YouTube advertisements, TV adverts, Spotify, on public billboards, in music stores such as HMV.
What factors make you ‘like’ a band and therefore download
their music, buy their albums or attend their concerts? How do you decide which
band is ‘cool’ and which is not?
I am either influenced by friends, as I usually like the music that they recommend me. Otherwise it is mainly a case of 'Does their music sound good?' If it does then I will like it. If I don't like a certain band's music then I will think that they are 'uncool'. If they are bad role models then I tend to dislike them too.
What makes the music video
unique?
The music video is designed for
multiple viewings; it has to be instantly memorable yet interesting enough to
warrant watching again and again. Unlike the Film Trailer it is not designed to
be viewed on a large screen nor is its audience captive.
Where and when do you watch Music
Videos?
I usually watch them either on YouTube or on the Music channels at home, if there isn't much on TV and I'm waiting for a TV show to start.
