Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin's book 'Dancing in The Distraction Factory', published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1992, was the first book to focus on MTV and music videos in popular culture. In it, Goodwin proposes a 'music video theory' - pointing out the common features and conventions of the music video, as well as the techniques used to attract it's intended audience and promote the artist's product. Although written over two decades ago, it is still very applicable to the music videos made today, particularly those within popular and mainstream music genres.

• Music videos have genre-specific conventions and characteristics - For example, pop videos often feature women dancing, electronic music videos use bright colours and graphics, whereas indie rock videos include lots of band shots.
• There is a relationship between the lyrics and visual aspects of the video - The imagery used in the video can either illustrate the lyrics, amplify / draw attention to them or contradict them.
• There is a relationship between the music and visual aspects of the video - Once again, the visuals in the video can either amplify the beat of the music, and 'flow' with it's rhythm or purposefully contradict the beat to attract attention to it.
• There is a focus on the artist in the video - Record labels often demand that a lot of focus is put on the artist, usually resulting in a lot of close-up lip-syncing shots, as this is a good means of promotion. Also, artists may develop recognisable 'trademarks' through music videos, which will be cohesive / be included in their other promotion material.
• There is a notion of looking and the male 'gaze' - A lot of music videos are filmed in a way that follow the 'male gaze'. For example, a voyeuristic view of the female body is common. In addition to this, focus on the artist helps the audience to connect more with them, as they are looking at them for a longer period of time.
• Intertextual references (to other media products) are common in music videos - Music videos can reference films, books and TV that their target audience would be familiar with.

This theory is important for us to look at before we create our media product, as it highlights the conventions of the music video; allowing us to decide which conventions we want to follow and which we want to challenge. It also gives us things to look out for whilst analysing music videos from our chosen artist and from other artists within the genre.