Music videos can provide another reason for an artists fame to be escalated due to the popularity of them. If a music video is successful then a music track can become successful from that and gain a lot more radio play and sales then what it would have done if it didn't. A good example in the modern day of a song that has spiraled is Miley Cyrus' wrecking ball which due to the edgy video that nobody had seen anything like before meant the song became hugely popular. Miley Cyrus was of course well known before her 2013 release of Wrecking Ball but it sent her popularity to a level she had never seen before and also changed her image. Miley Cyrus' video wasn't particularly well shot or artistic but it was risky, that's why it was watched so much and talked about so much.
On the other hand some music videos provide a platform for artists to work from because they are so artistic and changed the game. A-ha's video of Take On Me gave them instant stardom mainly due to the continuous replays of the video which contains a mix of real life and rotoscoping animation. This had never been seen before and fitted with the song so well creating a wonderful mix of visual and audio which gave an all round viewing experience. This is proof that there isn't a textbook method of how to create a good music video as all are so different. Miley Cyrus' and A-ha's were both completely different but successful in their own right creating promotion for the artist.
How and why are artists marketed differently?
If all artists were marketed the same the music industry would be the same and it would be hard to distinguish people from each other. It's vital that there is a choice for everyone and producers are clever when marketing their artists in order to reach certain demographics and sell copies of their music. Taylor Swift is marketed in a very different way to Nicki Minaj for example. Not only are their genres different which will obviously attract different people anyway, but the way they dress, the way they act, the way they dance, the shows they perform in and interviews they do are all planned so that they are perceived in a different way to meet their marketing plan.
As you can see above Nicki Minaj is marketed with a slutty persona and dances in a provocative way. This isn't her natural way, it's a plan to sell music to certain people and get certain people to like her. Due to her music being of a certain nature her image needs to coincide with that - hence the way she acts in public.
The video above is one of her first music videos which was recorded nearly 10 years ago, as you can see in this she looks a lot more authentic and less mainstream than she does now. She has a ghetto mentality about her and appeals to a smaller demographic than what she does now. By making her music more mainstream and more slutty is attracts a bigger audience and will sell more - this is a marketing strategy.
Compare this to Taylor Swift who is perceived as a loving, caring and classy singer who's career is closely monitored and made sure that she is kept in line. Back in 2006 she was a 'country star' who wore cowboy boots and played the guitar, she found huge success from this but not enough to make it really big. 10 years on and now Taylor Swift is one of the biggest stars on the planet and produces songs for a huge market. If she would have carried on with her country style that she was portraying back in 2006 she would have had relative success but not to the extent she has found in 2016.
This is all due to a marketing strategy. It's similar to Nicki Minaj's style change but almost the opposite. Swift now produces songs for the masses rather than the minority and has a solid brand image that so many people love.
Swift now has an edgy but classy way about her and collaborating with well known artists who only create more buzz around her. She's well spoken and dresses well - once again all a plan that is carried out to perfection to make sure her career goes well.
Extending artists and record labels income
When you think about music artists you think that all of their money will come through radio play but in actual fact only a small percentage comes through that. Music videos have allowed artists to earn more money and through different ways as well. Music videos on YouTube often reach millions of people and because music is different to other videos because you can replay it over and over again meaning views are easier to achieve on these types of videos. YouTube has a monetisation system which allows content creators to earn money by having ads placed on their videos and they are then paid for that. It also makes it easier for artists to gain product placement deals as advertisers respect that music videos are influential forms of media that are viewed by many people. A good example of product placement is by Dr Dre headphones, these are seen in many music videos and it's on of their preferred forms of advertising.
As you can see from the table below some of last years most successful music videos contained some form of product placement and this can be a great source of revenue for music artists as it is an extension from their normal pay
Other methods of income include the likes of merchandising and licensing their songs to TV shows and movies. It's was well reported that Green Day made hundreds of thousands of pounds from licensing out their song 99 revolutions for the Will Ferrel movie, The Campaign.
The aforementioned merchandising can be huge as well and it's been reported that One Direction were making nearly £250,000 per show just from t-shirt sales on their latest tour. Merchandise can be worn in photo shoots and music videos to allow their fans to be able to identify what is fashionable and cool and can boost sales.
The extension of media outlets
The way music is listened to has changed considerably since the emergence of music videos back in the 1940's. The online revolution has contributed to this with Spotify, YouTube and other music streaming websites coming to light. Back in the early 2000's magazines were a great way for music artists to gain exposure but they have started to die out since then and other methods are now preferred to gain exposure. CD sales have dropped considerably since the emergence of online downloads but as with everything industries move on and get stronger. Music videos are now one of the most important methods to promote with due to the popularity of them in this day and age and the view retention that they have. For example these videos can be posted across social media as videos and links to other products can be made from here.
For example if we look at Adele's most recent smash hit 'Hello' the video has gained over 1 billion views, an absolutely huge amount. YouTube is free to watch and she will only be earning money from the ads that are placed on her video by 3rd party companies but the description of the video is powerful. As you can see she has placed links to all of the places where you can buy the song instead of stream it - this is more financially rewarding for her. Even if 1% of the people who watch the video purchase the song that is still over £10,000,000 in revenue. As well as this she will be gaining followers on her other social media platforms from this YouTube video which proves that music videos have huge power.
Synergistic Marketing
Synergy translates to 'working together' and is one of the best avenues of income and growth out of all the different methods. Many artists have seen the power that synergy has with both brand deals and also collaboration with other artists. In a horizontal synergistic connection two artists could collaborate on a song to make the song better than it would have been without two people and also to promote one of the artists to the others audience. This is simple collaboration but is one of the most valuable forms of organic growth.
Above is one of Iggy Azalea's biggest songs and it features Charli XCX who at the time was a small time alternative singer who nobody really knew about. After this successful song with Iggy Azalea her radio play has gone up exponentially and she is known by millions of people. This is due to Iggy Azalea's current fans hearing the song and then going to listen to Charli XCX.
Another method of synergistic marketing would be through the use of product placement and brands coming together to work on reaching the largest possible audience and making the most amount of money whilst also making sure that long terms growth is possible by creating a connection with the consumer and brand.
A good example of synergy that has worked is Sam Smith's song - writing's on the wall that was the main song in the latest James Bond movie - Spectre. This was the first ever Bond song to go to number one in the charts and this was due to Sam Smith already having a huge fan base and also having synergy with such a long running and successful film franchise. This song racked up 70,000 sales in the first week to fight off Juston Bieber's latest song and take him to the top of the charts - proof that well thought out Synergy with two quality products combining works well.
Evaluation
I believe that music videos are so popular and powerful because it's combining two of the favourite forms of media in the world. By having supporting visuals with audio is creates an engaging and exciting product. As well as this music videos are usually posted across social media meaning that it's free to access and you can keep on watching it. Brands have also caught on to this trend and realise it's a valuable form of advertising, the Beats by Dre example that I used higher up in the essay is a good example of this. This means that there is more money to produce these videos and mean that the quality and hence growth will be sustainable.
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