Research into the Music Industry

How are music videos made?

The creation of music videos can be a complicated business as almost all videos have to use the studio-recorded version of the song to lip synch to. This can create some problems so, generally, the song is played in the background so the artists can get a feel for the song and, if the band is shown in the video, this enables the director to get authentic live shots of the band playing their instruments to the song. Lighting rigs are also set up to help facilitate the artificial light needed to have a shot that isn’t too dark and, depending on the location, areas cordoned off much like a movie set.

Depending on what is going on in the video green screens may be used and these effects can send the costs of a music video up considerably. Overall, artists (despite accusations) tend to play the song live in some way to get the ‘feel’ of the song so it doesn’t look especially fake.

What are the main companies which show music videos?

MTV is the forerunner for music videos and it still is perhaps the number one television network that shows music videos, although it has now branched in to other forms of media. VH1 is another network that shows music videos on a non-stop loop but, on digital television, there are several channels dedicated to just music videos 24/7 which is a far cry from 25 years ago when MTV was the only channel to show music videos.

Where can you find music videos?

Music videos were once only found on television but now, with the advent of Web 2.0 and convergence, videos are found everywhere. MTV is still a major force in the music industry and the latest and most popular videos will be found on there but now music videos are shared everywhere and anywhere thanks to the internet. Some of the most popular distribution formats seem to be Youtube and Twitter with Justin Bieber’s song ‘Baby’ registering over 600 million views on Youtube is a good example of this.

Of course, music videos aren’t just found on the television and the internet. Screens in Times Square and other popular spots around the world show music videos occasionally and it is now very hard to get away from music videos as being the main reason for the success of a single due to the sheer amount of places where you can find music videos.

What is the purpose of music videos?

Music videos are generally made to advertise the single of a band or artist or to advertise the band/artist itself. Music videos create a real buzz around a song and a good idea can literally make or break a song. Royalties from music videos also help the artist so there is a financial motive behind music videos. The most important facet of music videos is that a well-created music video can make an artist popular, regardless of the quality of the song.