The major labels can have very different strategies for their artists than the
independent labels and then there are those artists that do not have a record
label and are forced to self-produce their own music video in order to increase
their presence on the internet and perhaps even television.
The major labels often have the strategy
that they wish to create a very specific image of their artist in order to maximize their appeal to the target audience. Look at any pop group and their
music videos will contain choreographed dancing, the latest fashions (and lots
of costume changes) and a whole range of other elements that will make the
artist look rich, sexy and successful.
Looking at the early videos of Eminem is
interesting. My Name Is was the first major single. It features Dr Dre which
helps to establish Eminem as a new and ‘cool’ hip hop artist. It does
everything it can to make Eminem into an icon. He dresses up as Bob Hope,
Marilyn Manson, and the President and appears in set ups that make him look
like a TV star of wholesome shows like The Brady Bunch. It sets him up as a pop
icon that will subversively attack all that is ‘good’ and ‘clean cut’ in pop
culture.
His next song, Guilty Conscience, and the
video for it, made Slim Shady look like the devil compared to Dr Dre’s more
even tempered, sensible and wiser gangster rapper. The first music video off
his following album, The Real Slim Shady, attacked and parodied a huge range of
pop stars. The strategy is clear; make Eminem appeal to pop fans by putting
down his competitors and still make him appeal to hip hop fans by his rude, aggressive
attitude. His video for Lose Yourself featured clips from his starring role in
the film 8 Mile and helped promote his film and the 8 Mile soundtrack.
The Prodigy are an excellent example of a
group that have had a much more independent spirit in their music videos and
career. They were on independent label XL Recordings for much of their career
and recently moved to Cooking Vinyl, another independent label. Their music
videos have often been very dark and controversial and they ensured that people
would see them by refusing to appear live on Top of the Pops when their singles
were in the charts.
A fairly early example of their music
videos is Poison which features the group members performing in a small dark
room and eventually becoming caked in sloppy dark filth. The music video is
cheap and simple but also sells the image of the band as something different,
edgy and dirty. Their later video for Firestarter, all filmed in underground
tunnels in black and white, was considered too scary for children and some
channels would not show it until after the watershed. All their videos paled in
comparison to the video for their most controversial song Smack My Bitch Up.
This video was banned from television and after huge public demand, MTV agreed
to play it only after midnight. It contains drug use, violence and a very
explicit sex scene but does not feature the actual group at all. It is a
shocking example of an artist seeking publicity by courting controversy and determinedly
positioning themselves outside of the mainstream, despite their success.
Some artists will self-produce their own
videos with or without the backing of a record label. Forever the Sickest Kids
put three months of hard work into a stop motion music video for their song Crossroads.
Ed Sheeran gained huge exposure from the simple video filmed for SBTV of his
song and performance of You
Need Me, I Don’t Need You.
Perhaps the greatest
example of what a home made low budget music video can do for a band is OK Go’s
A Million Ways that simply has the band perform a choreographed dance in a back
yard. The video went viral, becoming an internet sensation and hurling the band
into public recognition and popularity.
All the videos mentioned are below and are
good examples of how music videos can be a part of a producer’s overall
strategy for an artist.
