MUSiC Videos
In 1981, MTV launched the first music video channel and gave record labels a reason to produce more of the new entertainment format. Other genre-specific channels soon followed, such as Black Entertainment Television (BET), VH-1 for adult contemporary music, and Country Music Television (CMT). It became evident early on that music video exposure was beneficial to developing artists' careers and promoting their music. Stars like Madonna and Michael Jackson owe a lot of their fame to video exposure. Telegenics became an important aspect in artists' careers, forcing record labels to concentrate on signing artists with visual appeal.
That being said, the costs of producing a music video are astronomical, and record labels must weigh the benefits of creating one against the additional costs. Additionally, the plethora of music videos crowded the airwaves by the early 1990s, so that producing a music video did not automatically guarantee airplay on the major video outlets.
Videos remain an important promotional tool, if not for consumer promotion, then to showcase the artist to booking agents for TV shows and concerts. The rise of YouTube and other online video outlets has spurred a new kind of video format that is more edgy and an alternative to the slick Hollywood-style videos on cable TV. It's called the viral video, but virility is but one component. To begin with, many of the successful viral videos were not actually made by hobbyists but are produced to give that appearance—like the movie the Blair Witch Project. Then, because the videos seem to come from "the street" but have interesting qualities, they are passed around as consumers get the impression that they "found it first" and want to share this nugget with their friends. If they had the impression it was a corporate-sponsored mass media product, they would probably not bother with grassroots "sharing" because they would assume everyone would be exposed to it soon enough. A video presence is now recommended for all artists regardless of the level of their career or marketing budget.
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