What the function?

Well the function of music videos are mainly to promote the single, the album and the artist that made the song. To do this the video has to sell the song in a way that the audience can remember the song from the video, give a better understanding of the song to the viewer by providing visuals and to entertain the viewer whilst highlighting the talent of the artist.

Which is all well and good but really begs the question, what is a music video?

Which in turn begs the answer: A videotaped performance of a recorded popular song, usually accompanied by dancing and visual images interpreting the lyrics.

Here is an example of what I consider to be a good example of the music video form:


This is a classic music video which kick started Britney's career and having recreated it in the summer I feel like it's an appropriate choice. It is a great example of a music video because it does everything stated above about the purposes of music videos and does it extremely well but in a fun way. The video is instantly memorable and has a very strong connection with the song, so much so that you can't hear the song without thinking of the video. This was Britney's debut music video and clearly highlighted her talents whilst also carefully setting up her public persona with the school uniforms and dance routines. The video created buzz for Britney and ...Baby One More Time went on to be a huge hit, one of the biggest selling singles of all time, proving the success of the video. The video is now 15 years on but is still seen as an iconic moment in pop culture which is why to me this is a great example of a music video.