Music Industry Research

How are music videos made?
Like most media productions, many music videos require an extensive team to make them work. This can be from the director to lighting technicians, everyone is needed. There are many different ways to actually make the video.
Performance based videos often have the song playing from a speaker and the band singing / playing their instruments over the music so the lip sync can be dubbed correctly. Some effects make band performance look even better such as playing at double speed and then slowing it down. This requires the band members to learn the song and how to play it twice as fast. The result of this effect looks really good, as seen in videos such as The Script – For the First Time.
Narrative videos need the story to be constructed with many shots. This often means a lot of locations have to be visited and shot at. Much more footage is shot than is needed and filming often takes a very long time to get right. Narrative videos often take longer due to getting two lots of film as there is normally performance within the video as well.
After getting all of the footage, it then needs to be edited. This process can take a long time to perfect, but it is extremely needed. The lip syncing needs to be perfect to fit the song or it looks extremely odd for the viewer. After effects can then be added on such as onscreen graphics, transitions and reducing/increasing speed of clips.

Who are the main companies in music videos?
In the music industry there are many companies who produce records, some of the biggest are Universal Motown Republic Records (UMRP) and Warner Records. Although being some of the biggest music production compaines in the world they often hire directors like Nick Bartleet (who has worked with bands like Pendulum) and Spike Jonze to direct their music videos.

Where can you find music videos?
Across many media platforms you can now find music videos, and the introduction of new technology has made this even easier. On television there are many music channels dedicated to playing music videos all day, everyday. The most popular examples of these channels are Kerrang for the rock genre and similar, 4music for the pop genre and mainstream, Channel U for urban and hip-hop music and MTV for a bit of everything. These are a few TV channels that operate in the UK but there are many channels dedicated to music videos in other countries such as Fly Music in Spain and Channel O in South Africa.
Nearly all music videos can now be found on the internet. Sites such as YouTube allow users and companies to upload their own content. This is a powerful tool for distribution as it is a way of getting a music video to be accessed by many people very fast. Along with this, sites such as MTV, Kerrang and NME still show music videos on their sites. Through phones, iPads and other technology that can access the internet, music videos can now be watched with ease.

What are the purposes of music videos?
Music videos are primarily used to market and promote the sale of a single for the artist and company to profit further. By making a music video the company ensures that the song can be played on many TV channels and be watched on the internet rather than just listening to the actual song. This means that the song is played a lot and can be drummed into the audience through different media platforms, ensuring that they remember the song if they like the sound of it. Companies spend money on music videos to make even more money in the long run, and it works very well.