What is a music video for and

why is it important?By Huda Ahmed

The purpose of a music video

• Music videos allow listeners to establish a visual connection with the song, it can leave the listener with a good

impression which leads them to watch the video repeatedly as well as listen to the song

• It also gives the artist a chance to display other talents apart from singing, they may be able to play instruments or even

have dancing skills, this gives them a chance to get on a pedestal and the audience will think highly of the artist.

• By having a music video it can be played on multiple platforms such as the television (music channels), YouTube (which can then be shares on to Facebook and twitter), this

will gain the artist popularity.

Why is it important?• Music videos are apart of technological growth, as the music

industry grows in order to match how fast society is moving they need to make sure profit is always stable, by expanding the margins of what a singer is it allows artist to become anything and anyone they want, by always re inventing themselves they can become who ever they need to be to sell their music to their target audience, and the main and easiest way to re invent yourself is by creating music videos.

• For example, Ariana Grande is known to be cute, petit and her target audience loved it, now she has had to expand her fan base and target an audience that can attend concerts and pay for her album so she decided to become a mature young woman with songs that are no longer so innocent and censored.

Goodwin’s Conventions

• Relationships between Music and visuals• Relationship between lyrics and visuals

• Intertextual references• Genre characteristics

Frith’s 3 typologies• Performance- Bands mostly go for

the performance type of videos, mostly because their instruments are a large part of their music and it also allows them to show off their musical talent without listeners having to attend a concert, it gives the audience a concert experience from the comfort of their bedroom

Frith’s 3 typologies

• Narrative- This is used to visually express the story the artist writes about, it usually has the same conventions of films with an equilibrium that becomes disrupted or a disruption solved and there is an equilibrium, singers mostly go for this type of video.

• Eg. Beyoncé- If I were a boy is about double standards and also gender roles, without the music video it would hard to create an image and emotional response to what Beyoncé is trying to touch on.

Frith’s 3 typologies

• Conceptual- this type of video is usually very vague and open, it usually sticks to one or concepts but they don’t ever shift into the other typologies. They don’t tend correlate with the lyrics of a song but they may have a deeper meaning, it gives room for interpretation and for the audience to relate it to whatever they wish.

Chris Brown Featuring Usher- New Flame.