Who creates music videos?

Institutions fund and help make music videos that help promotes the artist’s music and persona. They are responsible for providing the necessary resources to allow the video to be made to perfection and distributing it across various media platforms to increase its accessibility and exposure to its intended audience.

Institution differences

The Universal Music Group has many different labels that focus primarily on mainstream music (R&B, pop)- from Taylor Swift to Kanye West- that they can advertise on VEVO (due to co-ownership), a popular website available universally. Due to the vast amount of money available to the institution, Music Videos can be made more extreme such as in Katy Perry’s amplified music videos ‘California Gurls’ and ‘Roar’ as the label Island Def Jam gains funding from the parent company Universal Music Group. The music video can then be distributed on multiple media platforms as they are able to afford it.

An Independent group like VideoInk doesn’t have the luxury of ‘unlimited’ funding and, therefore, has to stick to the popular genres of Rock, Pop and Indie to attract as many people as possible; most of their funding coming from the public or/and quantity of views. Due to limited funding VideoInk’s music videos are less extreme, sticking to illustrative rather than amplified or disjuncture as budgets are restricted and less resources are available. Another Independent company titled REDCAPE focuses mainly on creating music videos for independents artists but exposure is restricted with music videos only being available on the company’s website and on YouTube as advertising is free. This limits the viewership of the video, lowering any potential income.

Sony Music Entertainment• Subsidiary of the Japanese

conglomerate Sony Corporation

• Revenue of $4.89 billion• Label genres (Country,

Classical, Latin, Christian/Gospel, Dance/Electronic- able to target a niche audience due to unlimited funding.

REDCAPE• Founded in 2012 by two

university classmates in UK

• Creates videos for all types of genres

• Money given to REDCAPE by the artists.

Universal Music Group • $6.552 billion revenue• Headquarters are based in

Santa Monica, California.• Co-developed Vevo• Produces mainly Pop and

R&B.

VideoInk • Founded in Manchester,

UK• Produces music videos for

Rock, Pop and Indie artists. • 3 staff• Income gained by artists

needed to create music videos.