Music videos started to become mainstream in the early 80s and since then have become increasingly popular. Now in this century it seems as if almost every band and artist have music videos for their singles. But what is the purpose of these videos? Are they made simply to promote the song in order to sell more singles? Or are they only made for the sexualisation of the singer's body and to increase their global fame? Or perhaps they're made to express the emotions of the singer, songwriter, or director, and to spread a humanitarian message? Whatever their purpose there exists different opinions on the matter. Matt Hanson described in his work, 'The End of Celluloid' (2004), that music videos are based on reinvention and re-imagining, and that they act as a confluence point for the more free-form moving artists. Theodor Adorno, on the other hand, described music videos (as part of pop culture in general), as responsible for keeping people uninterested in political change, and that they create desires in audiences for material consumption.
First, I will consider whether music videos are commercials. The singer always has the most screen prevalence and the purpose of this is to get the singer's image out into the world's eyes. Along with this, the singers are often commodified, selling the celebrity lifestyle and acting as advocates of materialism, which all make music videos prime targets for product placement. Lady Gaga's video for the song 'Telephone' included such products as Chanel shoes, a Nintendo Wii, and HP laptop, a Burberry trench coat, Heartbeats earphones, and more. Music videos are also streamed on music channels seamlessly with ad' breaks, and narrative fuzz in music videos encourages repeatability to constantly drill the message into audiences. New singles are often advertised on YouTube with clips of the music video. Theodor Adorno said that music videos (as part of pop culture) create false needs in audiences that maintain capitalism. All these indicate rather blatantly that some music videos are made for commercial reasons only, and thus can be considered commercials.
Music videos, in particular rap videos, feature a lot of sexual imagery with half-naked women often with the male in control, fitting into Goffman et al's theory of 'function ranking', as the women featured in the videos are portrayed in a supportive, assistant, or decorative role, such as being half naked at a car wash. Women featured in videos also suit Goffman et al's theory of the artificial look of slender legs, a pure face, and nice curves. Dismemberment and voyeurism are common in many music videos with close-ups of the legs, lips, and breasts, where the camera lingers on the subject from the perspective of a heterosexual male. One such example that would support the idea of music videos being a version of soft porn is the video for Eric Prydz's song 'Call On Me'. This video features an aerobics class of women wearing 1980s styled aerobic outfits performing sexually suggestive gym routines. The video is so provocative that it was required to have two versions - an edited version for daytime viewing and an uncut version for late night viewing. Videos such as that for 'Call On Me' and the general portrayals of women in music videos, even when the singer is a woman (Rihanna and Shakira are often dressed very provocatively in their music videos), support Laura Mulvey's theory arguing that music videos are made for the male gaze.
Some music videos, however, can be considered highly creative and that music videos allow directors to be experimental with new film-making techniques. The Oxford Dictionary defines art as "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination". By this definition music videos are without question an art form as creativity and imagination are essential to make one. Music videos have also been used to spread a message of an issue, in the same way that art has been used for that. The music video for the song 'Runaway Train' by the band Soul Asylum aimed to raise awareness of missing children in the United States. The video featured photographs of real missing children that accompany dramatic re-enactments. The pivotal moment of the video features a preteen prostitute being beaten, gang-raped, and apparently killed. The effect of this video shows that music videos can make a difference as 22 of the 36 missing children featured in the video were eventually found. Music videos also represent a binding of lyrics, music, and visuals, and allow for many different visual, colour, and audio techniques to be used. In the same way that we think of great artists such as Picasso, Dali, and Monet, music videos also have people who are considered 'greats' or 'auteurs' such as Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry.
I have arrived at a rather inconclusive conclusion. My answer to the question of whether music videos are commercial, porn, or art is that it depends on the artist and director. The much more mainstream artists' music videos are generally made for commercial purposes in order to maintain or increase their level of fame, and to increase profitability. However this is not always true, e.g. Michael Jackson's video for 'Heal the World'. Other music groups and some directors may wish to convey a humanitarian message or express their emotions in the same way that many artists do. Some singers are also more willing to expose their body and hence their videos become more sexual. So it depends on the singer and director.
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