Essentially combining music and moving images, music videos are mostly designed to capture the essence of a song and present it visually.
They primarily serve the purpose of promoting an artist and their work but have also evolved to be a revered form of artistic expression. By releasing a music video, artists are able to promote the single used, their newest album, and their record label, as well as any products or films. This in return usually increases profits for artists and record labels. Simultaneously, music videos hold the power to promote the ‘star image’ of an artist or band, creating an exciting and dynamic brand and attracting a fitting audience for them.
Through eccentric choreography, instrumentation often featuring harp and tom-tom drums, fantasy-oriented lyrics, and more, the aesthetic of Florence and the Machine’s songs and music videos frames its frontwoman,
Florence Welch, and the music they produce, as ‘witchy’ or magical—a description their fans closely associate with them. The band’s use of certain recognisable elements in the visuals of their music videos successfully portrays how music videos are a way for an artist to develop their brand and audience.
Flamboyant dances and Welch’s raw vocals are highly characteristic of Florence + the Machine’s artistic brand; these recurring qualities make the artist and their work more memorable and act as promotional elements.
Music videos may be created for artistic purposes but can also play the role of deepening the audience’s understanding of an artist, addressing political themes, and/or representing a narrative that makes an artist more relatable (and, as a result, more commercially successful in some cases). Sometimes, specific artists and their music are reduced to merely an aesthetic which is especially discernible in the age of platforms like Tik Tok; such an artist’s music videos may become an avenue for the audience to see a more nuanced narrative that isn’t rooted in aesthetic value alone.
Rocketing to fame after her songs “Washing Machine Heart” and “Nobody” went viral on TikTok, Mitski is often perceived, mostly by her white fans, to be the embodiment of the ‘sad indie girl’ stereotype—someone to turn up after shutting the door to the bedroom and yelling into a pillow (i.e. a scenario A-level students might be all too familiar with). However, most of the Japanese-American artist’s music videos and lyrics point toward narratives that are much more multi-dimensional than the ‘sad girl aesthetic’; "Your Best American Girl" and "Happy" in particular are great examples of how Mitski’s music videos flesh out her music’s explorations of Asian American themes, including her experiences of being the ‘forever foreigner’ and the unattainability of white beauty standards.[1]
Similarly, music videos can also play an integral part in helping an artist reinvent their image. A change in the trajectory of an artist’s music will be reflected in their music videos, marking a significant shift in their artistic expression which could either make them attract or lose fans—sometimes even both at the same time.
For instance, while Florence + the Machine’s brand has remained largely the same over the years, that of the Arctic Monkeys has been quite the opposite. The band’s recent albums are known to have very distinct voices and visuals, and the musical and visual shift from the guitar-heavy rock predecessor, AM (2013), to Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018) was a huge shock to many.
This album’s atmosphere is represented in the music and visuals in the form of a futuristic moon base rooted in the sensibilities of modern popular culture and focuses on retro elements of certain films and pieces of literature which Alex Turner was inspired by when creating the album.[2] Accordingly, the vibrant and eccentric visuals of Tranquility Base’s music videos are a huge departure from the monochrome rock aesthetic of AM, demonstrating how music videos are formative in shaping an artist’s image and audience’s expectations over time.
The major singles from AM (2013) and Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino (2018)—R U Mine and Four Out Of Five—reflect the band's changing aesthetic in their music videos as shown below.
Synergy—which, in this context, may revolve around an artist making a song and music video incorporating something they are trying to promote—can also be considered an important factor in the purpose and significance of making a music video. Its most common form can be found in songs that are part of a film’s soundtrack.
Released with cover art that visually compliments The Great Gatsby (2013) and a music video that resembles its decadent 1920s aesthetic, Lana Del Rey’s "Young and Beautiful" is a fitting example of this.
Ultimately, music videos are highly important when it comes to leaving an impression on the audience, be it by abstract visuals or fully-developed narratives, for promoting an artist and their album or another product side-by-side.
_______________________
Comments