From MTV to YouTube: How Music Videos Shape the Star Image

Introduction

Ever since their introduction on MTV in 1981, music videos, through their visual experience, have provided a more intimate way for artists to communicate their individual visual storytelling of music to their fans. Unlike regular music streaming, music videos grab attention - giving fans something to talk about, allowing them to engage with the artist, and most importantly, creating good press for an artist’s image. A star’s image is easily constructed by what they portray themselves as in their music videos, and how. In Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society (1986), Richard Dyer says that “Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose; to make money out of audience, who respond to various elements of a star’s personality by buying records and becoming fans”. In music videos, stars portray themselves as real people who are going through common emotions that their fans can relate to. This paper will examine the extent to which the power and influence of music videos help construct the star image, commoditize that image, shape their ideologies, and exploit these images for financial gain.

“In 2018, The UK’s singles chart included music videos for the first time. These included videos streamed by companies such as Apple, YouTube, Tidal and Spotify. The move, which comes exactly four years after audio streams were incorporated into the chart, has been approved by record labels and BBC Radio 1” (Savage, 2018). This shift proved beneficial to artists whose songs might not otherwise be doing so well, but due to the iconicity of their video, gained a lot of popularity. Singer Dua Lipa, whose music video for her hit song ‘New Rules’ became very popular, said, “Video was important to me in my career. It's another way, as artists, that we can get our music to our fans”.

Being a part of the singles list has been influential to a star’s image. Having music videos on the charts create publicity around a song, promote ideologies, and act as an extension of a star’s image. Music videos allow artists to construct the image of their choice - to be “attractive, humble, sensitive”, stir controversy and create a buzz around them and propagate a sense of acceptability (stars using music videos to be accepted and loved by their fans). Music videos also construct a star’s image by promoting ideas and beliefs, harbouring emotions between fan and star. They also have the power to manifest an artist’s brand, reassure fans what they as a star is all about.

Ariana Grande’s first Billboard number One, ‘Thank you, next’ was hyped for a month before its initial release, with Ariana providing teasers of the song and video in her social media channels. However, when the video came out, it trended on Number#1 for a variety of reasons - homage to romantic comedies, celebrity guest appearances, and her ode to past relationships. Recreation of scenes from movies such as Mean Girls, 13 going on 30, Legally Blonde, etc. were loved by Ariana’s music demographic. Andrew Goodwin theorises that ‘intertextual references’ (i.e. a music video encompassing references to other films, TV shows, etc.) increases the publicity of a star, as audiences get the ‘joke’ or ‘reference’ and relate to the star more (Goodwin, 1993). The movie scenes she recreates are all about a woman going through heartbreak and realizing her worth. Ariana’s split from fiancé Pete Davidson was a very hot topic around the time of the video release. Ariana’s strategy of addressing the topic of her broken engagement through her video only made fans rekindle their interest in her relationship status. This was useful move in constructing her image an artist propagating self-love. Amidst rumours of her breakup, Ariana promoted the song as an anthem for young girls to focus on themselves. The narrative spoke to young girls going through similar incidents in their lives, and made them look up to Grande as a role model.

Video as an advertisement for an artist

The use of a music video in telling the story of an artist creates publicity for the artists themselves, and gives fans insight on the artist’s life. The narrative is an element in a music video that is usually the primary determinant. ‘Thank you, Next’ is one of the more narrative music videos in an industry where most tend to be non-narrative. “More generally music videos mimic the concerns of pop music, which tend to be a consideration of a topic rather than the enactment of it” (Vernallis, 2004). In this instance, the music video manipulated Ariana’s breakup to promote her as an artist.

Music videos can also spark a lot of controversy, which creates publicity for the artist involved. In Rhianna’s ‘Man Down’, which was banned for sexual and violent content, there was implication of rape taking place. The video sparked furious debate, with some critics accusing the artist of glorifying violence (the opening scene has Rihanna shooting a man who raped her). Rihanna’s fans came to her support by calling the video inspiring and empowering. “As a survivor of relationship violence at the hands of her ex, Chris Brown, the singer is clearly under the microscope when it comes to this topic…people are likely to pay more attention to what she has to say about it because of her fame and the notoriety surrounding Brown's 2009 assault” (Kaufman, 2011). Here, her music video plays an important role as being a medium of communication to her fans, as well as bringing a controversial subject to the fore (which in turn made the song more popular). “Some have read the regret expressed in the video as a coded message for Rihanna’s relationship with Chris Brown, a kind of apology for ‘ruining his career’ after his violence against her became public” (McRobie, 2011). Rihanna even responded to the controversy saying, “I've been abused in the past, and you don't see me running around killing people in my spare time”. “Consumers are more likely to talk about companies and products when they feel they know a lot about them” (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). This ties in with one of the paradoxes in Dyer’s theory - where a star must be “ordinary and extraordinary”. Rihanna may portray herself as ordinary through the video, struggling with guilt and hatred, but her extraordinary talent is highlighted in telling a story of her abuse through her voice.

Music videos also promote star image by featuring serious issues. The artists’ reflection of these issues creates positive imagery - making them seem more ‘supportive’ and ‘relatable’. Logic and Alicia Cara’s music video for the song 1-800-273-8255 (which happens to be the national suicide prevention lifeline number in the United States), has a video depicting an African-American boy and his struggles with homophobia. Logic’s music video provides a means for his fans to seek help the right way, and professes the message that his fans are not alone. The video surpassed 2 million views, and paved the way for Logic to reach out and bring 50 suicide attempters to join him on stage during his performance at the MTV VMA in 2017. The music video and performance struck a chord with the audience, and more people came forward with their struggles with depression. “According to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, calls to the namesake phone number increased by 50 percent following the VMA performance (The NSPH experienced a bump of 27 percent the day of the song’s release back in April)” (Kennedy, 2017). The music video, and the message behind the song, enhanced Logic’s image, and made him a strong contender in the industry.

An example of a music video catapulting a new artist to a star is PSY’s Gangnam Style, which blew up the charts in 2012. Since its initial upload, it became one of the only 20 music videos on YouTube that have crossed the 2 billion views mark. PSY was not a known name before this release, which showcases the artist dancing with one repetitive step around different locations in Korea. The music video does not have any special effects or creative camera techniques - its sheer simplicity with catchy and funny dance moves is what captured audiences. YG entertainment, a Korean company, wanted to enter the American music arena in 2012 - they already had a large subscriber base, and used this to promote the video that they knew fans would be passionate about. The record company added local South Korean personalities to be a part of the video to appeal to their Korean audience. “The music video did what it was intended to do. It again attracted a lot of media attention and almost every gossip and music site began to talk about it” (Papineni, 2014). PSY used humour and comedic dance moves, which attracted audiences led to his image being cemented in the industry.

Music videos are also important to an artist to create and manifest their brand. In 2018, rapper Drake was under a lot of heat for speaking against his competition, making sexist remarks, and for dating considerably younger women. His music video for ‘God’s Plan’ showed him giving away his seven-figure budget for the video to people in the form of hard cash, luxury cars and shopping sprees. He also donated $50,000 to a student who wanted to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health. “The God’s Plan visual…does exactly what a music video should do: it creates a visual narrative, introduces us to some seriously inspirational characters and leaves us feeling entertained, with a smile on our faces” (Hall, 2018). Another example is Drake’s ‘Nice for What’ video, which stunned audiences by showcasing a cast of strong fierce women including A-list celebrities Rashida Jones, Tiffany Haddish, Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde, and Letitia Wright. Through both these videos, Drake laid the foundation of being a giver, a philanthropist and most importantly being a supporter of strong women in the industry. This created positive affirmation for Drake’s image, and made him more acceptable and loved by fans.

Music videos have progressed from merely being a performance of an artist to a more film-like experience, which was in turn beneficial in enhancing their star image. The best example is the legendary ‘Thriller’ video, directed by John Landis, a movie director. The video changed the way music videos were made - it acknowledged a story line, and the 14-minute ‘short film’ paved the way for more movie directors to be involved in the music industry. Michael Jackson was accorded the title of ‘King of Pop’ after the release of this video, and his popularity increased exponentially.

Music videos act as an extension of the artist’s perception in the media as well. His image is usually constructed through music videos and advertising. In 2016, Beyoncé dropped a trailer for ‘Lemonade’, while simultaneously introducing her athleisure brand ‘Ivy Park’. “With her combination of artistry, theatricality and suspense strategically feeding into other lucrative revenue streams like the Ivy Park clothing line, Beyoncé not only broke the mould, she set the standard for releasing music in 2016” (Rogers, 2016). Beyoncé combined visual elements in her album to expose her emotions to experiences in her own life - Jay-Z’s cheating, women empowerment, etc. The album showed Beyoncé tearing down cars (‘Hold Up’), speaking about a women’s betrayal by her husband, and linking it to a historical African-American narrative of triumph over tragedy. By constructing this emotion through her videos, Beyoncé resonated with her audience. Beyoncé’s videos from the album also spoke of her views on multiple controversial topics. “Law enforcement blasted the Formation video as anti-police, with its references to police-involved shootings and a sinking cop car in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Police officers created a ‘Boycott Beyoncé’ movement and threatened to not work security for concerts on her world tour” (Quarshie, 2017). Beyoncé, who hadn’t released music for a while before ‘Lemonade’, leveraged her already popular star image to re-emerge into the industry, while simultaneously promoting her ideas and beliefs on what she considered.

Conclusion

The ubiquity of music videos in nearly every sphere of visual entertainment – promoting, cajoling, influencing, and most importantly, iconising the stars they represent – forces us to believe that their potency is here to stay. “Within nearly every level of the music industry, the music video is re-emerging as a potent force. And it helps that there are now more places to watch and share such videos now than ever before” (Unterberger, 2018). They have been game-changers in enhancing the brand, image, and identity of many a star, and have truly contributed to making them ‘extraordinary’.