Alternative - The alternative genre tends to use more concept and narrative based, rather than performance. This allows for more creativity and individuality.
Pop - Pop music videos are usually more performance or narrative based. To make a music video of this genre would probably be the easiest as you can focus much more on artist image rather than concepts.
Dance - Dance music videos tend to me more narrative based. If making a narrative music video, I would be enabled to be a bit more creative and come up with a story line which is in-keeping with the lyrics.
The music video links with the lyrics, portraying the general 'I love it' concept, supporting Goodwin's theory. This is done in several ways including the lyrics on screen and the actions of the artist
Music & Visuals Relationship
The I Love It video is cut to the beat, meaning that the editing is quick due to the dance genre and the up tempo beat. Solo instrumentals are not particularly illustrated, although the majority of the video is singing. However, there are cuts to instruments such as the DJ decks and the lips of the artist.
Close Ups & Star Image Motifs
Icona Pop are given a fun, carefree and rebellious image. This fits the dance genre that their music fits into and helps the record label to sell the track. Various star motifs are used in multiple videos showing continuity in their image.
Icona Pop's videos also are themed in a stylised way which is very visual for the audience. Post-production effects are added in such as light leaks and switches throughout the video from full colour to black and white, including scenes of the band talking in French with subtitles. All of these act as artist motifs.
In the two examples above, the stills on the left are taken from the music video to Icona Pop - We Got The World and the two examples on the right are taken from the I Love It which can be found at the top of this post. Notion of Looking
The music video has fairly limited references to Goodwin's idea of the notion of 'looking' except for the focus the video has on the lips and the mouth. In lots of other music videos, there is particular focus on the women through close up shots of them often wearing skimpy outfits. However, in the 'I Love It' video the artist's costumes are modest and the only extreme close ups tend to be on the mouth and the lips.
Because the video doesn't have much reference to the notion of looking and the video is centred around the 'I don't care' concept, reference to the mouth could have been chosen to represent a more feminist view such that women can do what they want and don't need to be dominated by a male figure. This is also supported by the fact that the band are female.
Intertextuality
Intertextual references are used in the video to relate to other Icona Pop music videos. The colourful leaks, switches to black and white and the opening credits screen discussed previously are also examples of intertextuality. Aside from this, there are no real examples of intertextuality use where there are links to separate texts.
Many of the most successful singles have had some sort of movie backing, which has increased their success rates and made more money for the artists and labels. The table below shows the singles which have remained at the top of the charts for the longest.
Half of the above songs (those which are highlighted) are famous due to films, showing that the combination of music and film is a powerful tool for music promotion. Not only does it expand the artist's media platform, but it expands their audience which raise the artist's profile and allow for greater sales.
Contemporary Example of Music in Film
Adele - Skyfall
The theme song to Skyfall, the latest in the James Bond series, hugely boosted Adele's career. Although she was fairly well known prior to the soundtrack, her appeal was generalised to a wider audience, reaching out to people of all ages and nationalities.
The theme song charted at #1 in at least 16 countries, winning both an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Brit and an Oscar. Arguably, her appearance on the Skyfall soundtrack and the success that followed due to the film could be a contributing factor to her recent MBE award.
As you can probably guess, music videos have come a long way since they began due to the development of technology as well as changes in society. Although the first music video was made in the 1920s, music videos really started coming into their own in the 50s.
1950s
1981 - The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star was the first music video to be played on MTV. As a channel solely devoted to playing music, MTV offered a new platform for musicians other than on the radio, providing an image to their audiences rather than just a sound.
1983 - Music videos began to become more expensive with Michael Jackson's Thriller being the first music video to cost over $1million as videos became more conceptualised, using extras and special effects
2005 - YouTube was launched. YouTube showed technological development that music promotion was becoming more and more effective online rather than just on the TV and Radio as it offered yet another platform for musicians, especially those who are unsigned or cannot afford to make expensive music videos or aren't well known enough to have them shown on TV.
Music videos act as a promotion so that an artist can be promoted without actually having to be present. For example, music videos are used as TV promotions on channels such as MTV, 4Music & Viva etc. Music videos can also be used in single and album advertisements, in order to boost and maximise both physical and download sales, in order to maximise profits.
Music videos promote an artist by showing different sides to them and helping them appeal to new fans as well as already existing fans. The presence of an artist in the music video also helps to create familiarity yet at the same time, expanding the media platform that the artist performs on. For example, music videos can allow the audience to see skills, such as acting, that they may have not seen before. For example, AlunaGeorge's Attracting Flies video shows the band acting, something which their fans would not usually see them doing thus advertising the artist to their audience.
Fundamentally though, music videos act as money makers for the artists and their labels as they encourage the purchase of their music and gig tickets as well as the music video itself.
