Research - History of Music Videos

• Modern music videos originally made as a marketing device to promote the sale of music - used to be called 'promos'.
• The earliest videos date back to the 1950's
  - The Beatles first major motion picture 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964) set the basic vocabulary for today's music videos.
• 1970's;
  - shows like 'Top of the Pops' promoted new bands and created competition between artists as producers limited the number of videos shown - so a good video meant more chance of success and an increase in sales. 
• 1980's;
  - 1981 = the launch of MTV.
  - in the 1980's David Bowie got his first no.1
  - artists began to use more sophisticated effects and started to add storylines and concepts to their videos. 
• Michael Jackson was the first artist to create a 'story video' with a beginning, middle and end.
• 'Top of the Pops' was often censored, but this soon became a marketing technique for artists as they began to create videos that would either be banned or edited. 
• Music videos became essential to the marketing process and artists soon began to formulate a representation of themselves to gain promo and success
  - i.e; Madonna - who had a seductive appeal in her videos.
• Now, music videos are very common, so every song that enters the charts has a video to match - and this is sometimes enough to assure the song reaches the top 10.

Purpose of a Video;

1. Sell/invoke a reaction so that an audience will remember it.
2. Give a better understanding of the song.
3. Entertain audience and show off the artist.
4. Sell CD's, DVD's and downloads.
5. A form of marketing to increase and promote the artist's profile. 

- artists set the mood by matching a song to certain experiences.

- 'Gangnam Style' = the first video to receive 1 billion hits/social media made it popular on such a massive scale. 

- Music videos can be responsible for long-term success of an artist if it is memorable. So much so that they may be advertised within news reports (particularly on social media) and can lead to more exposure for the artist;
  - i.e; 'Queen' - "Bohemian Rhapsody" = undoubtedly one of the most influential videos. One of the first to use more sophisticated technology and one of the longest. It is still looked to as inspiration today.

  - i.e; 'Panic! At The Disco' - "I Write Sins Not Tragedies = 'Panic! At The Disco' are one of the most influential pop-punk bands of the 21st century. Signed to the record label 'Fueled by Ramen' by "Fall Out Boys"'s lead singer Pete Wentz, the frontman Brendon Urie has changed the face of the music scene. Inspired by Queen himself, Brendon always covers "Bohemian Rhapsody" with his fellow 'live' band mates at every gig. 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' was the first single by the band to showcase their debut album 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'. The song received immediate success, but this was escalated massively when they released the rather eccentric video to match.

- audiences can now actively look for videos they want to watch;

  - controversial videos can help to create a 'buzz', and this can lead to more views.
  - i.e; 'Kaiser Chiefs' - "Coming Home" = the Kaiser Chiefs last album titled 'Education, Education, Education and War' is probably one of the most controversial indie rock albums of all time. As suggested by the title, the album is very political. The lyrics written by the band express views about issues such as war and government treatment of soldiers. 'Coming Home' is one such song, and the various things seen within the video act as symbolism for such ideas.

 - the main symbol embedded within the video is that of everyday activities people would do in a family home. It highlights how many soldiers do not get to come home to this, or if they do come home, they are so changed by what they've seen that they will never experience these things again.

  - i.e; 'Jessie J' - "Do It Like A Dude" = when Jessie J exploded onto the music scene her video to accompany her first single shocked audiences on a massive scale. She was a singer who started out on YouTube covering songs and posting originals. The image she portrayed within the video for 'Do It Like A Dude' contradicted conventions of pop music and actually highlighted that of rock videos;

   - e.g; dark lighting, large crowds, contradiction of light and dark.

• SYNERGY = can relate to videos that contain clips from a film - promotes the film and the artist and may lead to the trailer for the film being seen on a larger scale;
  - i.e; 'Twenty One Pilots' - "Heathens"
  - i.e; 'Take That' - "Get Ready For It"
• Both these videos involve the artists portraying themselves within the films.
• This can solidify ideas about the artist's iconography and their desired audience.
  - Product placement can generate income.

- independent artists don't have a massive budget, so don't usually use synergy or product placement - MTV embrace big labels. 

'Black Veil Brides' - "Coffin" (Image 1)

Rock music video conventions;
- males = the subject/women = object.
- dark colours.
- on-stage performances.
- back-stage clips.
- male bonding.
- guitars.
- costumes are dark-coloured.

'Black Veil Brides' - "Coffin" (Image 2)

- contradiction of light and dark. 

ANDREW GOODWIN - (1992: 'DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION FACTORY');
- all videos have certain genre characteristics.
- there is a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics/music and the lyrics.
- the lyrics can link to the visuals through object/images that represent them
  - i.e; 'Panic! At The Disco' - "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" = contains the lyrics "as I'm pacing the pews in a church corridor"/"what a beautiful wedding", which is represented by the setting of a church and a priest hosting a wedding.
- demands of the label will often be present within the video.
- artist iconography is recognisable;
- notion of looking.
- intertexuality.
- believes visuals are styled to suit the genre.

• ARTIST ICONOGRAPHY is vital because this can give an artist an recognisable image;
  - take the rock 'n' roll band 'Black Veil Brides' for example: the band formed in 2006 and had a striking image that all the band members carried throughout their high school years. As the band progressed, their image changed, but their icon/logo hasn't.
  - when bands keep one thing the same it provides them with a constant for fans. 

'Andy Sixx'

'Andy Biersack'

'Andy Black'

'Black Veil Brides' - logo

The bands logo is seen frequently in every video, so fans are always exposed to the bands main iconography and identity.
Despite the fact their image changes, the band always remains the same by providing fans with a symbol they will always recognise and associate with Black Veil Brides. 


- in terms of intertexuality and how lyrics are connected to the visuals, the video for Black Veil Brides song 'Coffin' is a good example. As previously mentioned, the bands image has changed frequently as they've progressed; and this has been something Andy has had to deal with especially in terms of critique within the media. The song covers his transition between being 'Andy Sixx' and becoming 'Andy Biersack'. It symbolises how that representation of himself is in the past, but his music remains the same and this is merely a chance for him to express himself in a different way.

'Andy Sixx' being 'buried' - as symbolised within the video for 'Coffin'

- music videos demand audience to be voyeuristic - especially to males who are the subject of videos.

- but Goodwin believes that it is females who are objectified;
  - i.e; Rihanna's videos often involve her appearing as an object of voyeurism to please a male viewer.