Institutional Research

This research is to show how I understand how music videos are publicised and how they are placed within the media. This should give me a greater idea of how to produce a professional music video.


When thinking about institutions within music and music videos I need to consider where my video may be placed and publicised. There are many forms of media and business that links how music videos hit our television screens so let's start with the record companies.

The Record Companies are the people responsible for the artist and publicising them. They are the people that have the final say when an artist wants to make a change or a decision. A record company that I could refer to is 'Distiller Records'. They are the company who produce Andy Burrows and the likes of 'Funeral For a Friend' and 'The Blackout'.

As it's 'Distillers' job to publicise the artist they are involved with all aspects of the music video. This includes budgeting, advertising, product placement etc. Record companies will give me more money depending on the success of the business and the success of the artist previously. They expect to invest money into the artist with a return on their expenditure making an income. Hence why it's hard for wannabee artists to secure a record deal and why smaller companies have less artists. Money is pumped into the video including paying staff, paying for equipment, settings, travel etc. They then also pay to advertise the band and often use the music video as a platform to advertise them further. Money is then also spent on getting the video on television (mainly satellite). This is where the music video channel war begins:

 Above are some examples of music video channels. However this is just a few examples as there are many, many more varying in all types of genre. If I were to place my music video on any music channel I'd say that 'Q' would best suit the genre. However I do also feel the song works on many levels and could be used on more pop based channels possibly depending on the success of the song and video. For example Bruno Mars considers himself as both a pop song artist but also with mixes of acoustic and jazz. The music channel industry has certainly given a boost to the music business as it's one of the best ways of publicising artists. Therefore music channels are worth a lot of money; or atleast they were....

With technology progressing all the time, music channels have felt the wrath of the internet who threaten to destroy them. If you ask most people where they watched their music videos a large majority with them would say on the internet. This is because we have seen a huge rise in the amount of sites which broadcast the music videos. These videos can also be linked to the artist's website which creates a circle of promotion and cross-advertising. Sites such as youtube and vevo are responsible for online publicisation of music videos. They are considered more popular than music channels as you can watch what you want and when you want it on demand; a huge advantage over the music channels who give limited selection for the public.

If I had the backing of a record company then there are advantages that I would use. Considering my own music video; I would have a greater setting for bands shots e.g. outside, fantasy settings, on top of building etc. I'd also hire professional actors and use various settings and travel further to take shots. I'd also use a higher grade of editing suite to my advantage and would use the record company to help publicise my work.