Music Video Theories

I will be dedicating this blog to sharing what we learned in our media class. Since most of us are doing the Music Promotion package, we were learning about popular music video theorists and their theories which apply to music videos or media products.

The 3 theorists we learned about were Vladimir Propps, Andrew Goodwin and Roland Bartes.

But I will specifically be talking about Andrew Goodwin’s theories.

Goodwin has multiple theories on music videos. He mainly believes that a muisc video succeeds when it features forms of intertextuality such as a movie soundtracks and holding references to other media projects having mise en scene and conventions so that the audience can directly relate to it. He also believes in videos taking a stand about an issue or ideology, and that they hold influence due to the two step flow where people share opinions.

The theories include-

Genre Characteristics
Voyeurism
Music VS. Visuals
Star Image

Genre Characteristics

Goodwin believes that all music genres have certain conventions that their music videos should follow in order for it to be identified and prefered by the audience. It also makes it easier for audiences to sieve through their preferences. This theory also links to intertextuality where a music video can make reference to other music or film genres. An example of this can be Fancy by Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX which holds references from the popular chick flick Clueless.

Theory Of Voyerism

Goodwin also believes that Music videos either play up to the Male or Female gaze where they portray heterosexual men and women seductively for the opposite sex to enjoy. But in the pop genre it is more common for women to be more objectified than men. An example of this can be the music video of Boys itself where the video features attractive men, most of them shirtless showing off their bodies and doing sensual actions at the camera.

Music Vs Visuals

This specific theory relates to the relationship between music and visuals where they are mostly illustrative and the music video demonstrates the meaning of the lyrics that the artist has written. The meanings and effects of the video can also be amplified and shown through the music video in order to persuade the audience. There is also disjuncture where the meaning of the song is completely disregarded and a new narrative is told. A music video where the artist disregards the lyrics and creates a strange narrative in his music video is Kiwi by Harry Styles where the lyrics go ” Im having your baby, its none of your business” where the video features middle school children in a cake fight.

Star Image

This particular theory ilustrates the fact that each artist has their own representation and their main selling point is their music promotional material. This theory also states that their is a meta narrative which shows the development of the artists and how their image/personality has changed from the beginning of their career. This theory works mostly for pop artists who have a large fan bases.

An example of such a theory can be History by One Direction which features the memories of the band when they were young and their rise to stardom.