In 1964, the English band, The Beatles, released a film called, ''A Hard Day's Night'', which was a black and white comedy film. The film was made in the style of a mockumentary, describing a couple of days in the lives of the group. The reason the film was created was too advertise the band and the album, it also gave people a chance to view the band's life and music on a big screen as it was released in Cinema.
The main purpose of music videos to , promote, advertise, entertain and to create a lasting impression on the viewer's mind. This works hand in hand with promotion and the more entertaining the music video, the more exposure the video will get from the public.
Music videos are created to promote the music/single created by the artist and to advertise the music to people, it also helps the artist gain interest from the public. 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 date back much further, they came into prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium.
Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action. Many music videos do not interpret images from the song's lyrics, making it less literal than expected. Other music videos may be without a set concept, being merely a filmed version of the song's live performance.
However, some music videos have been created as tribute to an artist. Two examples we have are, Joy Division, with their video to the song Atmosphere. This was created as a tribute to frontman of the band, Ian Curtis, who sadly died ages 23. We also have the Micheal Jackson song, Hold my Hand, released in 2010, the year after his death.
A good music video must be entertaining, accessible to the mainstream audience, unique (different), must make a lasting impression. It also helps if the music video tells a story but the director must not feel confined to make it to similair to the song. People will also look out for a memorable video, such as something that has a meaning behind it. Some music videos are also very original and exciting, Pop music brings this idea to the videos as it contains partying, dancing and bright flashing lights to create an exciting vibe.
Audiences can comsume, watch and download videos from places such as MTV, YouTube, DVD, iTunes and social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace.
MTV was created in 1981, the main purpose of MTV was and still is to allow bands artists to promote their music to the viewers 24/7. Music channels have moved on over the last decade and music videos are placed in competitions with reality TV shows.
DVD's are also a way of exposing music to people. DVD can something be given away with the CD single which demonstrates the promotion aspects of the video itself. DVD is also a traditional form of promoting something as artists, record companies and retailers will profit from the sale of these DVD's.
Viral websites such as YouTube and Vevo are also a very good way of getting music out there as artists can create channels which display all current, previous and upcoming videos and songs. This kind of promotion can also benefit lesser known or unsigned artists. By using viral webistes, the promotion of the single is assisted and the popularity can be measured by monitoring the amount of hits the video and single has. Artists such as Justin Bieber and Rebecca Black have been found by creating YouTube channels and being watched by millions worldwide.
iTunes is also a very big way to advertise, promote and download music. iTunes is used for promotional purposes, any money made will be given to iTunes itself, the record company and obviously the artist.
Social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace are also a very good of promoting and advertising music. The artists and musicians can create pages which can then be searched and viewed by surfers of the internet. It also a great way for people to view music this way as it doesn't cost anything to view or listen and fans can also interact with the artists and give feedback, views and opinions. The artists progress can be monitored according to hits and views. The artist's pages will make money from the advertising. The more popular the video, the more advertisements, therefore, the more money you will have gained.
Synergy
- Synergy comes from the Greek word that means, work together. In media it is used to explain how different products can work together using the same concepts, for example, film, soundtrack and game.
- An example is the film, Terminator 2, a Guns and Roses song, ‘’You Could Be Mine’’, was used in the soundtrack. The result was that the song promoted the film and vice versa.
Strategies
- The music industry consists of many artists and performers working with varying levels of ambition and success.
- Major record labels are usually owned by multinational corporations. Labels such as London, Island and Polydor sign artists that they think will have mass appeal and therefore make lots of money. They will look to use music videos as part of a wider marketing strategy that includes things such as radio play, press reviews, TV appearances and an expensive website.
Here is an example of a major record label music video:
This is an example of a Major record label music video as the video begins with singer, Chris Cornell on a large high up platform which leaves the rest of the band scaling up in a lift. The video contains a lot of emphasis on the bright strobe lighting which in some cases may cause epileptic fits, massive fireworks and explosions which was reported as being a possible terrorist attack. This video is very risky due to the flashing lights and what the video contains.
- Independent record labels such as Domino, have much smaller subjects and the artists they sing generally have a more niche appeal. This means that the marketing strategy is different as they can’t rely on radio and TV for productions. Music videos are used, although they will be much lower budget and accessed mainly through the internet.
This is an example of an independent music video as it only contains the band performing in a dark room with a few bright lights infront of the band. Throughout the video it keeps cutting to a group of dancing girls who are performing along to the music but neither shot contains the other performers.
Self produce
- Artists who self produce are not signed to a record label tend to not have much of a budget for music videos. Their videos tend to be homemade and posted online receiving very few hits, an example is the band Soul Khan. Some self produced videos tend to be of bad quality.
Here is an example of a self produced music video:
This is a self produced music video as it is home-made, it features the rapper on train tracks and under a bridge throughout the video. During the chorus it features people miming the lyrics and singing along.
No comments:
Post a Comment