Great Expectations – The Dangers of the Music Video

I found a very interesting article ‘Video in the Machine: The Incorporation of Music Video into the Recording Industry’ by theorist Jack Banks which raises an important issue with Music Videos.
Before MTV, record labels funded tours for their new artists in order to attract a following. The 1970’s in particular, artists were required by record companies to tour for the release of a new album. However come the 1980’s record companies (mostly the major labels) stopped subsidizing artists tours and looked at other means for maximizing CD sales. The combination of rising tour costs and small crowds meant there profits were crippled. Thus the major labels looked at Music Video as the way to promote artists over touring.
What is important to note is that music videos did not kill concerts, fans always want to go see their favourite bands play live. It did however shape how the performances took place. For instance music John Banks discusses pop stars which use choreography, imagery and special effects in making their music videos. What this does however is make an expectation for the fan as to what the artists live performance is like. This pressure to perform often means artists attempt to replicate their performance in their music video, often making it seem ‘pre-planned’ taking away the spontaneity of a live show.
A recent well known example that comes to mind is rock band Fall Out Boy. This band sold out an Auckland show at the Saint James with out ever playing in New Zealand. Music video was used to establish their perceived live show, to portray their image and their authenticity. Thus fans felt they already knew what they were like without ever actually seeing them.
I guess the point I am trying to raise is that; while music videos undoubtedly provide great exposure from a band’s point of view, it can take away the magic of the spontaneous live show which used to be more prevalent pre MTV. The pressures created to live up to the perceived performance in music video means shows often comes across as pre-planned moving the emphasis away from the music itself.