The Purpose of Music Videos.

Music videos have different purposes. They are originally used to promote the sales of their music, they are also a great way to engage and entertain artists fans. Some videos can carry story lines and visual narratives which work accordingly to the lyrics. The 5 purposes that all music videos contain are: 

• To create synergy with other media sectors
• To promote a new music video release
• To create visual representsation of an artist. 
• To extend the play-ability of and provide additional income from a song
• To be art in their own right

Synergy is where two different media industries combine together and help each other promote one another. An example of this music video purpose would be with the music industry and the film industry. Synergy enhances both industries well, an example were it really increased the industry  really well, would be with Adele - Skyfall. Adele's song was the main feature in the James Bond film, Skyfall. This really helped Adele get more recognition and made her more well known all over the world, especially how some people may not have known Adele before the film was released, this synergy also increased Adele's popularity and fan base. The synergy also helps the artists albums sell rate increase as her song is featured in a very popular film, which then goes towards her record label. The music video itself are short clips of the film Skyfall which makes it seem like a trailer rather than a music video. This advertises the film more as the music video would be played on the majority of music channels, this brings more of an awareness to the film making more people want to go watch it.

One purpose for a music video would be to promote new music releases, singles and albums. Many social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube are two of many ways which help the artist promote there newest album and singles. Another way which helps the promotion of an artist single would be to make it go viral all over the world, bringing a wider audience for the artist, bringing out different genres of music across the globe. It is important for the artist to create something memorable, interesting and creative. An example of a music video which went viral all over the world with 1,810,666,889 views would be Psy - Gangnam style. Psy was a new comer into the industry with the K-Pop style of music, so he had needed something to get him out there which is what his video definitely did, especially how it was very different and interesting. From YouTube, Psy's video had successfully hit over a billion views. K-pop is not a well known genre world wide however, Psy had really brought the genre out with a strange but funny video. People wanted to share the video with the iconic dance that went with it too, the dance would be done every time the song would be played at parties and other events which really brought attention to the music video and the song. People would pass the video around so they can learn the dance too, which made the music video be passed around on different social networking sites. 

Music videos also create a visual representation of the artist. Not only do artists express and represent themselves through their lyrics but they also used music videos to create an impression of themselves to their audience. From visual representation, artists are able to express themselves and shed light on their personalities through a music video. Artists also have a chance to reinvent themselves from what they used to be through a music video, an example of a well known artist that has completely changed her image through the music industry would be Rihanna. When starting out in the music industry Rihanna was a innocent young woman, but as the years went by she completely changed her image from cutting her hair shorter making her look more edgy. This drastic change brought out her third album in 2007 Good Girl Gone Bad. By changing her appearance she has also changed the way her music reflects because of the way she looks. Rihanna often gets judged quite frequently because of her change, this shows that music videos such as "Rude Boy" can have a massive effect on her audience's opinion of her. However not all of Rihanna's videos display her as a sexual object like her music video "Rude Boy" does for example "Diamonds".Another example of an artist which used their music video to represent themselves would be Biggie Smalls. Biggie Smalls song Juicy, often talks about the poverty in Brooklyn were he was born and raised. The video itself is based in Brooklyn which shows that the video is close to him and is definitely meaningful. The lyrics in the song relate to his aspirations, when being younger, of being a rap artist trying to battle through drugs and crime. The video itself starts of with Biggie smalls in the rundown neighborhood with the camera at a high angle, making him look small which is probably how he felt when he wasn't privileged. The video goes on to Biggie Smalls having quite a lavish lifestyle with clips of him in a mansion which was due to his breakthrough into the music industry. Biggie smalls wanted to send a message through his video by giving people a chance to reach out for their dreams and goals like he did. Social networks weren't as big back then in the 90's as they are now, which meant that people had to see the video through music channels and radios. Although through a radio you are not able to see the music video, the lyrics were still inspiring to people which is why Biggie Smalls was thought to be quite iconic in his time. 

An example of the camera at a high angle, showing his low status in community during the 90s

Another purpose of a music video would be extended playability. This where a particular song is played for a long period of time on websites such as YouTube or music channels. Extended playability helps the artist gain a bigger audience by staying in the public eye as their music video is constantly being played for a long period of time. The music channel that plays the music video would usually get paid for airing the song, which means that the money will also go towards the artists record label. A good example of extended playability would be Bruno Mars - The lazy song. This song was played repetitively for about 2 months. The reason for this song to be so over played could be because Bruno Mars at the time was new artist with two previous singles that had turned out to be great hits. The two videos to go with those two singles had been quite meaningful love songs with well thought out videos to match with them. Whereas the music video to The Lazy Song introduced more of a fun creative side to Bruno Mars. The video begins with five men wearing gorilla masks which straight away engages the audiences attention, making the video much more memorable in comparison to his other videos such as "Grenade". Bruno Mars was an upcoming artist, so he needed as much promotion from his music video to make him well known which is  why the video was so over played over time. The song also carries a catchy melody making the song memorable as well. When the video had been released on YouTube, the layout of the website had changed too a background of his album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans, along with details of release dates. At the end of the music video, at 3:22 we see the album being advertised through the sunglasses Mars was wearing, this technique promotes the artists album as well .   

Art is taken into consideration from most artists for their music videos. It is a great way for artists to portray themselves by having control on what they want to show to their audience. Some artists use art to make their videos as memorable as possible to gain as many views to promote themselves and their music. If an artist of independent or mainstream, the record company could have control over what the artist shows in their video which takes away the artists right to express their opinions., some artists have too rely on directors to help them with the creativity on their music video an example of a director would be Spike Jonez. Lady Gaga is an example of an artist that really plays with her imagination and creativity  Lady Gaga is best known for her elaborate clothing and weird videos. An example of a video in which she shows her flamboyant personality would be "Bad Romance". Throughout Bad Romance Gaga changes her costume especially between 3:09 and 5:01, we see a series of different shots of her with different clothing and possible story lines she wants to show. In her video, there are many short clips which possibly show various different sides to her. By having these weird but wonderful clips throughout her videos can be risky as not many people could watch the video in the way Gaga is trying to show them. They either love the video or completely loathe it. Lady Gaga's choice to be different gets the viewers talking about her a lot, which is a great promotion strategy for herself. Gaga is consistent when releasing her music videos, as every time she does they tend to be very interesting which is why she gets so many views on YouTube. 

These are just three out of many costume changes Lady Gaga goes through throughout her Bad Romance video.