What is a music video?

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 A music video is any visual multimedia (like a short motion picture) that is associated with an audio track/ song. The aim of a music video is to visually interpret the song and its lyrics, often enhancing the overall experience of the song and listeners. Music videos can range from simple performance clips of an artist or band, to elaborate narratives, animations, or artistic visuals that highlight the meaning of the song. These also serve as a promotional tool to attract listeners and create a lasting impact on the audience by forming a deeper connection between them and the song. Furthermore, music videos have been made widely available to watch on different streaming services such as Apple Music, YouTube, and Spotify. Additionally, artists often post short clips of their songs on social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc. either directly or through links. We’ll now delve into the different types of music videos:

Concept Video:

Concept videos are an artistic expression. They center around a specific theme or story and are designed to convey a narrative that complements the song's lyrics and mood.

“High by the Beach” by Lana Del Rey is an excellent example of a concept video that symbolizes isolation and independence.

Lyric Video:

It is a kind of music video in which the lyrics appear on the screen. Unlike other kinds of videos, lyric videos focus on presenting the words of a song, often with dynamic text and creative visual elements. The text is dominant and played around with in terms of font and boldness, and is synchronized with the song. In some cases, lyric videos include happening backgrounds and animations to make them more visually appealing.


“Car’s Outside” by James Arthur is an example that shows not only plain text, but animations and pictures to show the words displayed in relation to the meaning of the song

Performance Video:

Performance videos include the artist or band themselves performing in the video. They are shot in different locations with the artist dancing and acting, or in front of a live audience, in a recording studio, etc. Close-up and wide-angle shots of the artists are used to make the video dynamic.


“Black Swan” by BTS incorporates dance sequences and acting to convey the song's themes through movement. The dance routines are central to the video and are performed with intense emotion and precision, which is a key characteristic of performance videos.

Animated Videos:

Animated videos, unlike live action which involve real people and settings, rely on various forms of animation to create their visuals. It uses CGI (computer-generated imagery) to create images related to the music and combine them to form a smooth video of a story.


“Save Your Tears” by Ariana Grande and TheWeeknd is a popular example of an animated video. It doesn’t show the characters IRL but in the form of animated characters.



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