Unit 29: Understanding the Purpose of Music Videos

Loryah Coke
60 Cred Group
HSD

Throughout this essay I will be discussing the main purposes of 
music video and why they are relevant to us in this day and age.
I will be using various sources to help me piece together my 
writing as well as my own knowledge from what I have learnt 
in lesson.

Nowadays people watch music videos everywhere. Whether its 
on a cellular device,a laptop,tablet etc. This has changed 
over the years because in the past there wasn’t as much internet 
access then as there is now let alone as many platforms now than 
when we had before. We use websites such as youtube,vevo and 
many more to consume the music videos.

Jay-Z - a well known rapper who is also married to Beyonce is not just a

businessman,but he's a business and also a man, so of course 

Hova’s 2008-founded imprint and entertainment company was

gonna be a big deal. Its roster stretches far beyond Jay’s

hip-hop beginnings: as well as the likes of J Cole and 

Rihanna, Grimes and Haim are among the names 

Roc Nation’s management arm looks after.

I feel as though he would benefit from this 

directly as other artists would pay him

to be signed onto his label.

Music videos promote the song as the artist or someone else in the video is either 
miming the song or if it is  live performance video they are singing it directly. The video 

itself either has elements that link to the song itself for example 

there might be a specific range of colours that are used to 

represent the vibe of the song or there could be a certain 

action for the words being sung/rapped.

Michael Jackson’s album ‘BAD’ was promoted through the music video for the song 

on his album with the same title. The album cover was him dressed 

in the same clothes that he was dancing and singing in when he 

was recording in the video

( NME. (2014). Jay-Z. Available: 
https://www.nme.com/photos/16-of-the-best-record-labels-run-by-musicians-1413624#
5TvIPt8POtBXcYU3.99. Last accessed 8th Nov 2018.)

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1. Who are the two linguistic philosophers that semiotics is developed from?
2. - De Saussare
3. - Pierce

1. Which French ‘Structuralist’ recently developed this media concept?
2. The two methods

1. Describing the TEXT is called the starting points
2. Myths and associations with the TEXT is called connotations
3. 
   

4. What quest is at the heart of the semiotic approach?
5. 
   
6. Identify the factor that is given for readings of a media texts that determines the variety of meanings it can give?
7. 
   
8. What word is given for OPEN TEXTS ?
9. 
   
10.  Popular and mass culture e.g. mass media texts are known as ________ texts.
11. _________ where words, captions or logos are used to direct a reader towards a particular meaning.
12. __________ is when a text prefers one particular meaning.  These can be a result of media producers agendas and assumptions.
13. 
    
14. Define Stuart Hall’s THREE main types of audience decoding.

1. DOMINANT -
2. NEGOTIATED - 
3. OPPOSITIONAL - 
4. p'p      
5. 
   

11. How media texts speak to an audience is known as _____  _________
12. 
    

1. Describe how this is applied to FILMS and TELEVISION
2. 
   

12. Define what the MALE GAZE is ?
13. What is Semiotics?
14. 
    

1. How could you apply this to a MUSIC VIDEO ?