Video before 2000- Audience appeal

Video before 2000- Audience appeal

Pre-2000 Music Video Appeal

Traditional Music Promotion

  • Before 2000, music videos were primarily a promotional tool for albums and singles.
  • Televised media like MTV played a crucial role in music video marketing.
  • Iconic videos from this era, like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, made unprecedented impact due to captivating narratives and theatrics.

Nostalgic Appeal

  • Nostalgia plays a significant role in the audience appeal of pre-2000 music videos.
  • Videos from this era often bear distinctive visual styles, reflecting music and pop culture trends of their time.

Rogue Aesthetics

  • Pre-digital era videos often have a distinctive low-fi or grainy quality, lending a certain charm and aesthetic unique to that era.
  • This differentiates them from the high-definition, digitally created videos of the modern era.

Audience Identification

Genre and Identity

  • Certain genres are associated with specific subcultures, and music videos are a powerful medium to depict and communicate these cultural identities.
  • For example, 90s grunge visuals in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” appealed to the rebel youth, while the glamour and excess in Madonna’s “Material Girl” reflected the 80s pop culture.

Star Persona

  • Artists’ personal brand and persona played a significant role in the appeal of music videos.
  • They contributed to the branding of artists as pop culture icons, from Prince to Britney Spears.

Music Video Influence on Culture

Fashion Influence

  • Music videos had a significant impact on fashion trends, from Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” sneakers to Jennifer Lopez’s Versace dress in “Waiting for Tonight”.
  • Their visual impact reaches beyond the selling of music, influencing streetwear, designer fashion, and pop culture.
  • Choreography in music videos often leads to dance crazes, from Macarena to Gangnam Style.
  • These physical expressions traverse beyond the music video format to real world events and interactions.

Evolution towards the Digital Age

  • The gradual shift towards digital technology in the late 90s began to change the music video landscape.
  • Increased accessibility led to creative experimentation, as seen in Radiohead’s “Karma Police”, which introduced non-linear and abstract narrative techniques.