29.1 - Understanding the purposes of music videos

Assignment title : Understanding the purposes of music videos



. Promotion of a new artist or promotion of an artist's change in musical direction or image:
Yelawolf - Devil In My Veins

Yelawolf is a famous American rapper from Alabama who is signed to Eminem's record label, Shady Records. He was an underground street rapper who had previously worked with other rappers such as Gucci Mane, Eminem and ASAP Rocky however when bringing out his second studio album Yelawolf changed his image from a street rapper to a more country/rock/rap direction. The song Devil In My Veins itself is a big change and is the first song he has only just sung on and not rapped. The video also works to help promote this change through different aspects. Firstly the setting; previously Yelawolf's music videos had been what you could say are typical hip-hop videos, in the club with lots of alcohol and women, in this video he is in the desert in the deep south of america. Secondly he can be seen in the video riding through the desert on a Harley Davidson motorbike instead of his old mode of transport a Chevrolet low-rider. Furthermore his own image has changed in the video, from Nike Jordan's to cowboy boots, from basketball jerseys to leather jackets and from snapbacks to a cowboy hat. There is also close up shots of acoustic guitars which also add to showing his new direction to music.

. Increasing the income for the record company:
P Diddy ft Black Rob & Mark Curry - Bad Boy For Life

P Diddy formed record label Bad Boy Records in 1993 as a result of him being fired from his role at Motown Records. Bad Boy has been continuously one of the most prominent record labels for hip-hop and R&B music in the United States which has had artists such as the Notorious B.I.G, Faith Evans and French Montana signed to it. In 2001 the song Bad Boy For life was released as a single off P Diddy's album The Saga Continues.... A video was produced to go with the song which helps promote P Diddy's record label Bad Boy Records. The song title itself promotes the label as it includes its name 'Bad Boy'. In addition two artists who were signed to the label, Black Rob and Mark Curry are featured on the song and video which exposes them to a broader audience which in turn will help boost revenue for Bad Boy. Furthermore in the video there are many famous cameos such as Mike Tyson, Ben Stiller, Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg, Shaquille O'Neal and Ice Cube. By big name celebrities being in the video it also helps promote Bad Boy as a brand as it will make more people eager to view the video. Additionally to help promote the record label in the video its logo pops up discretely in the video on different occasions such as on a golf ball. The video ended up being nominated for various prestigious awards such as best rap video at the 2002 MTV music video awards.

. Promotion of and synergy with another media product (film, television programme etc.):
Aerosmith - I don't want to miss a thing

I don't want to miss a thing is a classic rock ballad from the band Aerosmith. It was released in 1998 to accompany the film Armageddon. The song was a hit across the world and sold over a million copies whilst also reaching number 1 in various different countries. The video itself features the band performing the song in a space station setting, which coincides with the film's theme, they are also being projected through to mission control via monitors. Also in the video the scenes of Aerosmith performing intertwine with scenes from the film. Actress Liz Tyler who is actually the daughter of the lead singer of Aerosmith, Steven Tyler, and Bruce Willis both appear in the video as they play the two main characters in the film. Furthermore during the video when the more intense parts of the song are happening close up shots of Steven Tyler are used to show the emotion he is portraying which in turn matches the emotional lyrics he is singing. Furthermore in the video behind the band you can see a fictional space shuttle called 'freedom' and also a full orchestra, when a powerful part of the song happens smoke surrounds the band and the orchestra from the taking off of the space shuttle which also links with the space theme of the film Armageddon. 

. Increasing the range of media artist is active in:

Kanye West - Runaway
In 2010 Kanye West released his highly anticipated album My Dark Beautiful Twisted Fantasy, after a year full of controversy for Kanye (which involved him snatching the mic of Taylor Swift at the VMA's) he was keen to make a big impact with this release. To help him achieve this alongside the album he directed his own short film called 'Runaway' to accompany the album. The video is a compilation of all the songs on the album and he cited his inspirations for the film as Michael Jackson's Thriller, Purple Rain and artists such as Picasso and Henri Matisse. The plot of the short film is when Kanye's character finds love with a half women half phoenix who has crashed down to earth. With this video Kanye is trying to show the world he is more than just a rapper and a producer and is trying to show off that he can also act and direct as well as be a leading visionary in the world today. Kanye shows of his acting skills in multiple scenes but one that stands out the most is when he and the phoenix attend a dinner party and are subject to disgusted guests who say negative comments towards the couple and give them disgusted looks. This then leads to an emotional Griffin (Kanye) leaving the table and going to a piano to perform an emotional rendition of the song Runaway which is accompanied by an interpretive dance sequence by a group of ballerinas around him. The short film was highly acclaimed by critics and got showings at the VMA awards and the BAFTAS as well as being nominated for Video of the year and Kanye himself being nominated for director of the year thus showing how is attempt to increase the range of the media he is active in worked.




. Promotion of an artist's album:
The Weeknd ft Daft Punk - Starboy

Canadian singer The Weeknd released the single and the video for the first single of his upcoming album Starboy which is also the same name of the single. The song features dance duo Daft Punk and therefore leads the song to a more electro sound, something different from The Weeknd's older stuff. At the start of the video a man in a mask is seen killing The Weeknd by suffocating him, when walking away the man takes of the mask and reveals that it is actually The Weeknd himself but with a new haircut (previously his trademark). As the video progresses he walks through a house which has all of his platinum album and single plaques hung up on a wall as well as his awards in a cabinet. The Weeknd then proceeds to destroying all these plaques and awards with a red cross. This signifies how he wants people to forget about what he was and what he has previously done and instead focus on his new sound and new album. The video is also very dark and gloomy which matches the lyrics and sound of the song which could be setting the tone for the album ahead. The song also having the same name as the upcoming album will also help to build up hype and anticipation for it.



. Promotion of a particular song:
Pharrell Williams - Happy

A music video that specifically promotes a particular song is that off Happy by Pharrell. The song was a lead single of Pharrell's second solo album called Girls. It was the most successful song of 2014 selling 13.9 million worldwide, breaking multiple chart records in the process. There was two videos released for the song, one being 24 hours long and one 4 minute one (the one i will be focusing on). As of September 2016 the video has had 880 million views, it features multiple scenes of Pharrell, other famous celebrities and average day to day people dancing and just genuinley appearing happy in the streets of Los Angeles. The video serves the purposes of promoting the song by not necessarily focusing on the artist all the time but instead focusing on the mood which corresponds with the lyrics. For example there are scenes of famous rap group Odd Future looking cheerful and spinning around in dance and even Jamie Foxx with holding hands with his family skipping down the street as well as scenes of Pharrell with an upbeat choir. A lot of the people who are in the video are wearing bright clothes and are often filmed on a bright sunny day which also helps contribute to the happy mood of the video. The video ended up winning Best Male Video and Video of the Year at the MTV VMA's as well as the Grammy for video of the year.