The Purpose Of Music Videos

There are many different reasons artists decide to create music videos.

 One of the main reasons is to promote the single. This means that if an artist releases a single, people are more likely to want to watch it and be excited by it if it comes pared with a music video. Additionally it creates a better more exciting way for people to share the video and means that the views of the song will be better than if the song is released by its self. 

Another reason artists and labels decide to create a music video is to promote a whole album and not just a single. Creating a music video give first time listeners a snippet into what the album will be like and if they like it cause them to buy the rest/listen to it. Overall this is a rather effective reason to create a music video as it gives leverage to a whole brand and not just one video. Beyoncey did this when she dropped her album Lemonade she also released the music video 'Hold Up' which promoted the whole album at the same time.

A music video also promotes the artist showing their style and personality to the audience. This is effective as people are more likely to buy into a persons brand if they like their personality. For example Taylor Swift in her video 'Shake It Off' showed a new persona and style of music (from country music to pop) which befitted greatly for her in terms of views.

Finally a music video also is a way that the artist can give more of an understanding to their song to their audience. This is very useful of the more ambiguous songs that leave fans questioning what the song is about. 

Overall the reason for making a music video is generally more often than not all of the for mentioned reasons and likely more.