The purpose of a music video is to;

1) Sell the song, and invoke a reaction so it leaves you remembering the song

2) To give the listener a better understanding of the song. (If the video is narrative)

3) To entertain (to show off other talents the musician may have, for example dancing or acting)

4) To sell CDs and DVDs to viewers. Creating a memorable visual for the song increases its chances to sell

5)marketing for the purposes of exposure and expansion of the artist's profile

Despite all of these being factors in why a music video is important, some people argue that the end result still has to serve one purpose: promotion. The music video is a promotional tool for the artist. It sometimes serves as a conduit to attention from a label, but more often it is a catalyst for CD sales or artist song downloads.

Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' was listed by Guinness World Records in 2006 as the "most successful music video", selling over 9 million. In 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honour. This was for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_MuUcxHATo

An example of a successful music video…

Types of music videos

There are 3 times of music video's; Performance, Narrative and Concept based.

Performance Based VideoThese are music videos that feature the artist/band/group performing the song through most if not all of the video. It’s probably the easiest to do on a budget provided you can get a suitable location for filming.

Narrative Based Video

A narrative based music video contains mostly footage that attempts to tell a story through the moving image. Usually involving actors, the story is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song, but this isn’t always the case. This type of music video tends to be popular for a song that’s featured in a movie and you will often see scenes cut into the music video.

Concept Based Video

This is a style of music video that is based around a single concept or idea. These types of videos tend to be fairly unusual or utilize a particular editing or filming technique. It’s not often you get a purely conceptual music video as the commercial world demands things to be a bit more accessible.