Purpose of music videos

History of Music Videos
Before music videos then were pop promos which was a short film to promote the artists songs. One of the earliest pop promos was made by The Animals, House Of Rising Sun in 1964. The colour clip was filmed in a studio with a built set and an edited sequence of tracking shots, closeups and longshots. In the 60s The Beatles were one of the biggest artists around that time. In 1966 they made to colour promos were Rain and Paperback writer. In 1967 the colour promotional clips for Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane directed by Peter Goldman. It took the promotional film format to a new level. They used techniques including reversed film and slow motion, dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles and colour filtering added in post-production. During late 1972–73 David Bowie featured in a series of promotional films directed by pop photographer Mick Rock who worked extensively with Bowie in this period. These clips are important landmarks in the development of the music video genre in the 1970s, and they are also notable because they were made by a professional photographer rather than an established film or TV director, and because Mick Rock was given total creative control over the clips. Mick Rock directed and edited four clips, all originally shot on 16 mm colour film, to promote four consecutive David Bowie singles John I’m Only Dancing (May 1972), The Jean Genie (Nov1972) Space Oddity (Dec 1972) Life On Mars (1973). British TV programme Top of the Pops started playing music videos in the late 70s. Therefore a good video would increase a song's sales as viewers hoped to see it again the following week. In 1975, the band Queen ordered Bruce Gowers to make a promo video for there new single Bohemian Rhapsody to show it on Top of the Pops this is also notable for being entirely shot and edited on videotape. In the 80s MTV was the first music video channel. Airing “Video Killed The Radio Star” starting the channel. With this new outlet for material, the music video would, by the mid-1980s, grow to play a central role in popular music marketing. Many important acts of this period, most notably Adam and the Ants and Madonna owed a great deal of their success to the skillful construction and seductive appeal of their videos. Two key innovations in the development of the modern music video were the development of relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use video recording and editing equipment, and the development of a number of related effects. In 1983, the most successful and influential music video of all time was released—the nearly 14-minute-long video for Michael Jackson song “Thriller”. The video set new standards for production, having cost US$500,000 to film. That video, along with earlier videos by Michael Jackson for his songs Billie Jean and Beat It, also was instrumental in getting music videos by African American artists played on MTV; earlier, such videos were rare because MTV initially conceived itself as a rock-music-oriented channel.

Promotion
Part of the reason for music videos is to promote the artists and their songs. Music videos can make an visual representation of an piece of music. Its a further opportunity for the tracks to be heard. Also a way to promote a particular artists or tracks to illustrate three or four tracks from an album.

Extensions of the income
Extensions of the income is to keep the artists in the public eye for months after the release of albums and singles so the public see the videos it could make them buy singles and albums so theres more income from selling albums. Which can help recoup some of the costs for the production of recording the music initially.

Outlets
Outlets that the music videos can be played on are TV like MTV, and everytime the songs get played the artists some kind of income. People that are on the internet access the videos by youtube, vodpod and videocure. Other outlets that can play music videos are CDs, DVDs, artists websites and phones that can play them. Which will promote the band again on everytime there on.

Links to TV or TV synergy
Another way of promting the singer/band is on TV or films. Songs from artists that are played in films can sometimes have clips of the film in they music videos.
Examples of songs in films:
Aerosmith-I dont want to miss a thing(Armageddon)
Berlin-Take My Breath Away(Top Gun)
Harold Faltermeyer-Axel F( Beverly Hills Cop)
They are examples of songs and films doing better because of the song being in the film and film clips being in the music video.
The song by Aerosmith in Armageddon was number four in the charts before the film and then the film came out the song went to number for four weeks. Also the song by Berlin in Top Gun was first in th3e charts at 159 and went right to 20 once the film was released.