Function of a music video

A music video has many different functions. One of the main reasons for the creation of a music video is for promotion. Music videos help promote a new song , album or film.
The video for ‘Decode’ by Paramore includes scenes from the movie ‘Twilight’ as the song was the soundtrack for it.

Music videos can also create controversy, usually when the artist intends to do so. A recent artist to do this is Lady Gaga and her video for Judas. The song and video both concern religion. Lady Gaga is Mary Magdalene and the two main male characters portray Jesus and Judas. This sparked outrage among the Christian community and many of them spoke out , criticising the video and the artist. However the video still gained millions of views and is still gaining more.





Fans of a certain artist can connect to the artist through music videos. This usually happens when we see the artist doing everyday tasks. This can be seen in hip-hop artist J Cole’s video for ‘Workout’. In the video he is playing basketball and then going to a party.
A music video can also help you remember the song / lyrics. This is generally done by making the video memorable or actually having the lyrics written in the video.

Some music videos are created to show off the artistic ways of the artist / label. A good example of this is Rihanna’s Rude Boy video. The video shows the artist in many different outfits and settings. The video is full of colour and is very playful – showcasing her in a fun way.


In general most music videos function to tell the story of the song in an obvious or deeper way. Katy Perry’s Firework is a great example of this. The video tells the story of different people , who are suffering in a certain way , but in the end they all realise they are ‘fireworks’.