Functions of a music video

What job does a music video do?

a music video adds a visual element to an artist's music. this is useful for the artist because they can convey extra meaning to their songs, add a connection between themselves and their audience and build an image for themselves. a video can also add a lot of hype for the song and artist as good videos can go viral.

Music TV & Sales

MTV was the world's first music tv station (that's what is stands for). tv is actually still a really big platform for music videos because it is accessible for everyone.
additionally, 5 billion songs have been bought from itunes since its creation in 2003. the massive developments in technology mean that people can now buy music in the easiest way possible, although this generally does not include music videos. however, music videos can still be bought on itunes.
artists can also make money from their music videos if they are on youtube as youtube partners receive money per certain amount of views their video gets, and (big budget) music videos tend to get millions of views.

Technological development

New technology means that people can buy stuff all the time, thus meaning that they can contribute towards the artists earning money wherever they are buy watching and buying videos and songs. this means that artists can probably make more money from videos now than they could 10 years ago because mtv was only available on cable channels that only fairly rich people had access to. therefore, due to the easy access of music videos and songs, artists tend to find the whole thing more profitable.

History of the music video

Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues (1929) is credited as being possible the first music video.

The film featured a dramatised version of the song and was shown in theatres after its release.

Bob Dylan in 1965 filmed a video for Subterranean Homesick Blues, featuring him holding cards displaying the lyrics in one take.this video is credited as being the first modern music video.

in the 1970s, promo films (music videos) were used to replace live performances so that they could be shown on tv and the artist could appear in two places at once, giving them more opportunities to make money. in 1975, Queen marked the beginning of the modern music era with Bohemian Rhapsody which used editing and effects.