How have music videos shaped and changed the industry?
Music videos have taken the genre of music to an entirely new level. It now places another degree of "performance" pressure onto the artists, because no song is "perfect" without a music video. While some songs can stand alone, most audiences feel that they have to connect to the music video before they believe they have truly connected with the meaning of the song and have actually engaged the artist's work. Music videos provide a link between the artist and the listener, particularly when the listener has not seen an artist in concert, live, or wants the experience of "getting to know" the artist on their own.
In a large way, music videos are considered "links" to the artists, and this has been used to great advantage. Whether a music video is considered extremely popular, or it has created extreme controversy, artists have used them to draw attention to themselves and promote their work. Starting with the Beatles and Yellow Submarine and going all the way to Lady Gaga's Telephone with Beyonce (released just last week) music videos have created some of the most fascinating news in celebrity gossip. As a positive example, who can forget Michael Jackson's Thriller? The most expensive music video made, yet one which paid off exponentially and has also gone down in history as the most popular, causing Jackson to gain worldwide acclaim and attention. Jackson knew how to properly play an audience and get responses, rising as a pop artist who could be famous for just his videos alone.
On another level, music artists have taken their music video opportunity as a way to take risks and promote their craft. Like the movies, one issue that became apparent very quickly was censorship. What was "allowed" in a music video, and why should someone express it or not? The two most contested things are violence and sexual content. Violence is highlighted in the media, and music videos are included in the contested issue as to how much is "promoting" and how much is merely an expression. In the sexual realm, the issue goes from "How much is too much to show?" to, "is that even normal?"
Today's youth cannot imagine the music industry without the music video. It has become a necessary staple for the genre and something which cannot be ignored in the realm of the music industry.
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