Music Videos

From LoveToKnow Music

Music videos are short films set to an artist’s song for the intention of promoting sales of albums and merchandise. This particular form of marketing dates back much further than MTV, but it wasn’t until MTV’s launch in the early 80’s that the music video would become a big business.


The History of Music Videos

Although it can be argued that music videos began with the first Hollywood musical, the 1960’s are probably the most relevant place to start. In regard to a short film being specifically made to promote an artist’s music, record companies really began to push this relatively inexpensive form of advertising. In addition to the artists’ album sales increasing, the music videos themselves could make money. A perfect early example of one is the 1966 film of Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”. The image of Dylan flipping through cue cards in an alley has permeated throughout popular culture since. INXS would later resurrect the scene with much success in their video for “Mediate”. Other videos throughout the 60’s, and 70's were often cheap tapings of live performances, television performances, and bizarre short films that mirrored the times.


The Birth of Modern Music Videos

In 1981, a bold new direction in television was taken with the launch of MTV, a 24-hour music channel. No one knew exactly what the response would be, as it was once a humble cable channel with very little budget. Not only would it become a huge success, it would change the music industry forever. Before music videos became status quo for successful bands, musical groups could still sell albums without adhering to a certain image. There were some bands that wouldn’t survive the MTV boom, as their physical appearance lacked a mainstream appeal. An example of this would be the band Romeo Void. A successful new wave group before MTV, it has been theorized that their star would have risen higher if full-figured lead singer Debora Iyall had a more conventional starlet’s look. However, some artists used the medium to showcase other talents, such as Michael Jackson and his dancing.


The Video Business Today

In today’s music world, a video can have a budget of major motion picture. In fact, Michael Jackson’s video for “Scream” cost $7 million. After MTV became a huge hit, every mainstream band was expected to have a video made for their singles. Similar television stations followed, such as VH-1, The Box, MTV2, Fuse and CMT (Country Music Television). The genre has continued to shape the music industry and not for the better, some say. With appearances becoming more and more crucial to a band’s success, cookie-cutter groups and artists are being constructed by media moguls. The manipulation of artists by recording executives is nothing new, as boy bands and girl groups have been around for over 50 years. However, it seems that much of today’s best-selling artists have been created, such as pop stars Ashlee Simpson and, arguably, American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson.



 


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