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A music video is a short film that integrates a song with imagery, and is produced for promotional or artistic purposes.[1] Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie-in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie-ins and merchandising can be used for toys or for food or other products. Although the origins of the music video date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they again came into prominence in the 1980s when the channel MTV (originally "Music Television") based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these kinds of videos were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip".

Music videos use a wide range of styles and contemporary video-making techniques, including animation, live action, documentary, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos combine different styles with the music, such as animation and live action. Combining these styles and techniques has become more popular because of the variety for the audience. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the song's lyrics, while others take a more thematic approach. Other music videos may not have any concept, being merely a filmed version of the song's live concert performance.[2]

Censorship

See also: Sexuality in music videos

As the concept and medium of a music video is a form of artistic expression, artists have been on many occasions censored if their content is deemed offensive. What may be considered offensive will differ in countries due to censorship laws and local customs and ethics. In most cases, the record label will provide and distribute videos edited or provide both censored and uncensored videos for an artist. In some cases, it has been known for music videos to be banned in their entirety as they have been deemed far too offensive to be broadcast.

1980s

The first video to be banned by MTV was Queen's 1982 hit "Body Language". Due to thinly veiled homoerotic undertones plus lots of skin and sweat (but apparently not enough clothing, save that worn by the fully clothed members of Queen themselves), it was deemed unsuitable for a television audience at the time. However, the channel did air Olivia Newton-John's 1981 video for the hit song "Physical", which lavished camera time on male models working out in string bikinis who spurn her advances, ultimately pairing off to walk to the men's locker rooms holding hands, though the network ended the clip before the overt homosexual "reveal" ending in some airings. The video for "Girls on Film" by Duran Duran, which featured topless women mud wrestling and other depictions of sexual fetishes, was banned by the BBC. MTV did air the video, albeit in a heavily edited form.

Laura Branigan initially protested an MTV request to edit her "Self Control" video in 1984, but relented when the network refused to air the William Friedkin-directed clip, featuring the singer lured through an increasingly debauched, if increasingly stylized, series of nightclubs by a masked man who ultimately takes her to bed. In 1989, Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time" video (where the singer performs the song in an extremely revealing body suit surrounded by a ship full of cheering sailors) was restricted to late-night broadcasts on MTV. The Sex Pistols' video for "God Save the Queen" was banned by the BBC for calling the United Kingdom a fascist regime. Mötley Crüe's video for "Girls, Girls, Girls" was banned by MTV for having completely nude women dancing around the members of the band in a strip club, although they did produce another version that was accepted by MTV.

In 1983, Entertainment Tonight ran a segment on censorship and "Rock Video Violence".[3] The episode explored the impact of MTV rock video violence on the youth of the early 1980s. Excerpts from the music videos of Michael Jackson, Duran Duran, Golden Earring, Kiss, Kansas, Billy Idol, Def Leppard, Pat Benatar and The Rolling Stones were shown. Dr. Thomas Radecki of the National Coalition on TV Violence was interviewed accusing the fledgling rock video business of excessive violence. Night Tracks' producer Tom Lynch weighed in on the effects of the video violence controversy. Recording artists John Cougar Mellencamp, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of Kiss, along with directors Dominic Orlando and Julien Temple, provided a defense of their work. The episode's conclusion was that the controversy will continue to grow. Some artists have used censorship as a publicity tool. In the 1980s, the show Top of the Pops was censorious in its approach to video content, so some acts made videos that they knew would be censored, using the resulting public controversy to promote their release. Examples of this tactic were Duran Duran's aforementioned "Girls on Film" and Frankie Goes to Hollywood with "Relax", directed by Bernard Rose.

1990s

In 1991, the dance segment of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" was cut because it showed Jackson "inappropriately" touching himself in it. His most controversial video, for "They Don't Care About Us", was banned from MTV, VH1, and BBC because of the alleged anti-Semitic messages in the song and the visuals in the background of the "Prison Version" of the video.[citation needed]

Madonna is the artist most associated with music video censorship. Controversy surrounding Madonna's marketing of her sexuality began with the video for "Lucky Star", and amplified over time due to clips such as "Like a Virgin". Outcry occurred over the subject matter (relating to teenage pregnancy) discussed in the video for the song "Papa Don't Preach". "Like a Prayer" courted heavy criticism due to its religious, sexual, and racially oriented imagery. In 1990, Madonna's music video for the song "Justify My Love" was banned by MTV due to its depiction of sadomasochism, homosexuality, cross-dressing, and group sex which generated a media firestorm. The debate over the banning of "Justify My Love" by the Canadian music video network MuchMusic led to the launching in 1991 of Too Much 4 Much, a series of occasional, late-night specials (still being aired in the early 2000s) in which videos officially banned by MuchMusic were broadcast, followed by panel discussion regarding why they were removed.

In 1992, The Shamen's video for the song "Ebeneezer Goode" was banned by the BBC due to its perceived subliminal endorsement of the recreational drug Ecstasy.[4] The Prodigy's 1997 video for "Smack My Bitch Up" was banned in some countries due to depictions of drug use and nudity. The Prodigy's video for "Firestarter" was banned by the BBC because of its references to arson.[5]

In 1993, Australian rock band INXS' song "The Gift" was banned by MTV because of its use of Holocaust and Gulf War footage, among images of famine, pollution, war and terrorism. As well as this, metal band Tool's music video for "Prison Sex" was banned from MTV, as the video and lyrics touch on the sensitive matter of child abuse.

2000s

In 2000, the music video for "Rock DJ" by Robbie Williams caused controversy due to the graphic nature of the video which features Williams stripping naked then peeling off his skin to reveal bloody flesh, followed by ripping off his muscles and organs until he is nothing but a blood-soaked skeleton. The video was censored in the UK during daytime hours, and was broadcast unedited after 10pm. The video was banned in Dominican Republic due to allegations of satanism.[6]

In 2001, Björk's video for "Pagan Poetry" was banned from MTV for depictions of sexual intercourse, fellatio, and body piercings. Her next single, "Cocoon", was also banned by MTV as it featured a nude Björk (though the nude body was actually a fitted body suit rigged with red string).

In 2002, the video for "All the Things She Said" by Russian duo t.A.T.u. caused controversy as it featured the young girls, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, embracing and eventually kissing. UK TV presenters Richard and Judy campaigned to have the video banned claiming it pandered to pedophiles with the use of school uniforms and young girls kissing, although the campaign failed. Capitalizing on the controversy, the kiss was choreographed into their live performances. Top of the Pops aired the girls' performance with the kiss replaced by audience footage. NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno cut away from the girls' kiss to shots of the band. Throughout their promotional tour, t.A.T.u. protested by appearing in shirts reading "censored".

In 2004, Maroon 5's video for "This Love" generated controversy due to intimate scenes between frontman Adam Levine and his then-girlfriend. Despite those particular scenes being shot at strategic angles, a censored version was released with a stream of computer-generated flowers added in to cover up more. The video for "(s)AINT" by Marilyn Manson was banned by their label due to its violence and sexual content. The following year, Eminem's video for "Just Lose It" caused controversy over its parody of Michael Jackson's 2005 child molestation trial, plastic surgery, and hair catching fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. The video was banned from BET, and Jackson spoke out against the video, calling it "inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large". In 2004, many family groups and politicians lobbied for the banning of the Eric Prydz video "Call on Me" for containing women dancing in a sexually suggestive way, however, the video was not banned.

As of 2005, the Egyptian state censorship committee banned at least 20 music videos which featured sexual connotations due to Muslim moral viewpoints.[7] The music video of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" which featured Jessica Simpson in character as Daisy Duke, was controversial for featuring Simpson in "revealing" outfits and washing the General Lee car in her bikini.[8] The controversy resulted in the music video being banned in some countries.[9]

In 2008, Justice's video for their song "Stress" was boycotted by several major music television channels due to allegations of racism and violence; the video depicts several youths committing various crimes throughout the streets of Paris, with the youths mainly being of North African descent.[10]

While country music has largely avoided controversy surrounding video content, it has not been immune. The music video for the 2003 Rascal Flatts song "I Melt" is a case in point, gaining notoriety for clips featuring guitarist Joe Don Rooney's bare buttocks, and model Christina Auria taking a shower in the nude.[11] The video was the first aired on CMT to show nudity,[12] and eventually reached No. 1 on the network's "Top Twenty Countdown" program.[13] However, Great American Country banned the video when the group refused to release an edited version.[12]

2010s

In 2010, Thirty Seconds to Mars' video "Hurricane" was censored because of its major elements of violence, nudity and sex.[14] The short film was later released with a clean version that can air on television.[15] The explicit version is available on the band's official website with a viewing certificate of 18+.[16]

In 2010, a rumour circulated that Lady Gaga's video "Telephone" was banned by MTV, a rumour which reached some press outlets. The rumour claimed that MTV had banned the video because the content could not be shown within their programming. MTV denied the ban and showed the video frequently on European MTV programming.[17] Lady Gaga's previous videos have also attracted criticism for their sexually suggestive content; the video for "LoveGame" was refused play on the Australian video music program Video Hits; however, other Australian programs aired the video uncensored. The video for "Alejandro" was criticized by the Catholic League, for showing the singer dressed in a red latex fetish version of a nun's habit, simulating rape, and appearing to swallow a rosary.[18]

Ciara's video for "Ride" was banned by BET, with the network citing that the video was too sexually charged. The video was also subsequently banned by all UK television channels.[19]

Rihanna's video "S&M", which features the singer whipping a tied-up man, taking hostages and indulging in a lesbian kiss, was banned in 11 countries and was flagged as inappropriate for viewers that are under 18 on YouTube.[20]

Commercial release

Video album

Music videos have been released commercially on physical formats such as videotape, LaserDisc, DVD and Blu-ray. Similar to an audio album, a video album is a longform release containing multiple music videos on a disc. The market size of music videos is considerably smaller than audio albums and audio singles. Video albums are eligible for gold certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after record labels shipped 50,000 units to retailers, while both audio albums and singles have to ship 500,000 units to achieve gold.[21] One of the early video albums was Eat to the Beat (1979) by American rock band Blondie, a videocassette containing music videos of all tracks from their fourth studio album of the same name. The music videos were taped in New York and New Jersey, with some songs featuring the band playing in a concert fashion, and some others having scenarios based on the songs' lyrics.[22] Another popular video album was Olivia Physical (1982) by Olivia Newton-John, which won the Video of the Year at the 25th Grammy Awards.[23] The video collection features music videos of all songs from her ninth studio album, Physical (1981).

Due to the increase of video albums popularity, Billboard magazine introduced the weekly best-selling music video sales ranking in the United States, titled the Top Music Videocassette chart on March 30, 1985 (now known as Music Video Sales chart).[24] Its first chart-topper was Private Dancer (1984), a videocassette by Tina Turner containing four music videos.[25] The Official Charts Company began the similar chart in the United Kingdom on January 30, 1994, with Bryan Adams's So Far So Good reaching number one.[26] According to the RIAA, the Eagles' Farewell 1 Tour-Live from Melbourne (2005) is the top-certified longform music video with 30-time platinum (three million units shipped),[27] while the Rolling Stones' Four Flicks (2005) is the top-certified music video boxset with 19-time platinum (1.9 million units shipped).[28]

Video single

Madonna's "Justify My Love" is the best-selling music video single of all time.

A video single contains no more than three music videos in the form of a videotape, LaserDisc or DVD. In 1983, British synthpop band The Human League released the first commercial video single titled The Human League Video Single on both VHS and Betamax.[29] It was not a huge commercial success due to the high retail price of £10.99, compared to around £1.99 for a 7" vinyl single. The VHS single gained higher levels of mainstream popularity when Madonna released "Justify My Love" as a video single in 1990 following the blacklisting of the video by MTV. "Justify My Love" remains the best-selling video single of all time.[30]

The DVD single was introduced in the late 1990s as a replacement for the videotape single. Although many record companies in the United States refused to issue CD singles, they readily issued DVD singles, and some popular DVD singles include Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", Jessica Simpson's "With You", Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" and Iron Maiden's "Satellite 15... The Final Frontier". According to the RIAA, a music video single is defined as 1-2 songs per video OR under 15 minutes running time. In 2003, the first certified platinum and gold music DVD singles were certified by the RIAA.[31] Noteworthy early DVD singles in the United States include Sly and Robbie's "Superthruster" (1999), Björk's "All Is Full of Love" (1999), and Madonna's "Music" (2000).[32]

In the United Kingdom where up to 3 physical formats are eligible for the chart, DVD singles are quite common (with the single available on DVD as well as CD and/or vinyl record). As with other single formats, DVD singles have a limited production run, often causing them to become collector's items. The DVD single never experienced a high amount of popularity in the United Kingdom because when artists started releasing them in the early 2000s, the CD single had started declining. They were also seen as expensive. Some artists would not release DVD singles and instead put their music videos as enhanced content on a CD single/album.

Beginning in the early 2000s, artists in Japan may release singles in the CD+DVD format. Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki has been credited as the "creator of the CD+DVD format"; one of the examples is her 2005 single "Fairyland". The CD+DVD format is more expensive and usually contains one or more music videos, and sometimes a "making of" section or other bonus material is included.

The Japanese music conglomerate Hello! Project released corresponding DVD singles for almost all of its CD single releases. The company calls them Single Vs. A Single V usually contains a music video for the title song plus several more of its versions and a making-of. Sometimes, an Event V (エベントV) will be released at Hello! Project fan club events that will offer alternate shots of a promotional video, or bonus footage, like backstage footage or footage from a photo shoot not released anywhere else. As of 2017, Single Vs are no longer released, instead Hello! Project acts now put the music videos on DVDs included on a CD single's limited edition. The DVD singles are popular and chart in the generic Oricon DVD sales chart, due to non-existence of a separate DVD single ranking in Japan.

Unofficial music videos

Unofficial, fan-made music videos ("bootleg" tapes) are typically made by synchronizing existing footage from other sources, such as television series or movies, with the song. The first known fan video, or songvid, was created by Kandy Fong in 1975 using still images from Star Trek loaded into a slide carousel and played in conjunction with a song. Fan videos made using videocassette recorders soon followed.[33] With the advent of easy distribution over the internet and cheap video-editing software, fan-created videos began to gain wider notice in the late 1990s. Videos are sometimes known as OPV, Original Promotional Videos (or sometimes Other People's Videos). A well-known example of an unofficial video is one made for Danger Mouse's illegal mash-up from his The Grey Album, of the Jay-Z track Encore with music sampled from the Beatles' White Album, in which concert footage of the Beatles is remixed with footage of Jay-Z and rap dancers.[34]

In 2004, a Placebo fan from South Africa[35] made a claymation video for the band's song "English Summer Rain" and sent it to the band. They liked the result so much that it was included on their greatest hits DVD.[36]

Music video stations

Music video stations include the following:

Music video shows

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dan Moller: Redefining Music Video". Dan Moller. 2011.
  2. ^ Cutietta, Robert (1985). "Using Rock Music Videos to Your Advantage". Music Educators Journal. 71 (6): 47–49.
  3. ^ ""Entertainment Tonight" Rock Video Violence (1983)".
  4. ^ "Top of the Pops 2". BBC. October 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  5. ^ "Top of the Pops 2". BBC. October 2002. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  6. ^ "Robbie video banned for 'Satanism'". BBC News. October 19, 2000. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  7. ^ "Egypt: State censorship committee bans music videos". Freemuse.org. April 1, 2005. Archived from the original on May 3, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Walls, Jeannette (July 27, 2005). "Has Sienna Miller found love in Bloom?". msnbc.msn.com. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  9. ^ [1] Archived July 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Justice – Stress". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2010. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Rascal Flatts Discuss Their Racy Video Archived April 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ a b "Rascal Flatts - Saucy Country Video Creates A Storm Of Controversy". Contactmusic.com. July 15, 2003. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  13. ^ "CMT.com: CMT - Top Twenty Countdown". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on October 30, 2003. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  14. ^ Vick, Megan (November 30, 2010). "Video Ban: 30 Seconds to Mars Too Sexual For MTV". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  15. ^ "30 Seconds To Mars Releases Clean Version Of Controversial "Hurricane" Video, Makes Last.fm Best Of 2010". CBS Radio. CBS Interactive. December 23, 2010. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars / Hurricane". Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Lady Gaga's New Zealand tour thrills fans as MTV bans Telephone video with Beyonce". Dailytelegraph.com.au. March 23, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  18. ^ "Lady Gaga Mimics Madonna". Catholic League (U.S.). June 9, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  19. ^ "Ciara's back with smooth new single Ride". Ciaraworld. Archived from the original on June 8, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "Rihanna causes controversy with S&M video - watch it here". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  21. ^ "About the Awards - RIAA". riaa.com. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  22. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (October 11, 1980). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved June 28, 2018 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  23. ^ Dennis McDougal, The Last Mogul: Lew Wasserman, MCA, and the Hidden History of Hollywood (New York: Da Capo, 2001), p. 407.
  24. ^ "Music Video Sales : Page 1 - Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  25. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (March 30, 1985). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved June 28, 2018 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ "Official Music Video Chart Top 50 - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  27. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". riaa.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  28. ^ "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". riaa.com. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  29. ^ Virgin Records 1983
  30. ^ "Madonna, 'Justify My Love' (1990)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wolf 2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Mancini, Rob (August 14, 2000). "Madonna Delivers New Videos On DVD". MTV News. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  33. ^ Lyndsay Brown. "Stories as Pieces and Fragments as Wholes: The Influence of Final Cut Pro and Nonlinear Digital Editing on Fan Videos". Archived from the original on January 25, 2008. Retrieved September 29, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ The Beatles vs Jay-Z (The Grey Album) on YouTube
  35. ^ www.t75.org. "music - Placebo, English Summer Rain video details, and DVD special". indielondon.co.uk. Retrieved June 13, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Once More with Feeling DVD audio commentary, Virgin, 2004

Further reading

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