Goodwin's Conventions of Music Videos

In his book "Dancing in the Distraction Factory" (1992) Andrew Goodwin shows that there are six popular conventions shown in music videos. These are;

  • 1. The music video demonstrates the characteristics of the genre of the song
(e.g. stage performances in rock/ metal videos, dance routines in pop videos)
An example of this is Halestorm's I Miss The Misery where most of the video is footage of the band's live performances. This is to be expected as it is a rock song and one of the genre conventions is live performances of the band.


  • 2. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals
The lyrics are represented by the video, either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting
An example of this can be shown is Fall Out Boy's My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) where the lyrics are "gonna need a spark to ignite" where the trail of petrol is ignited, this is also shown by the lyrics "light em up" and a fire is started.

  • 3. There is a relationship between the music and the visuals.
The tone and atmosphere of the video reflects that of the music, either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting. This can include editing similar to the the best of the song, such as shot changes on the beat. This can be shown in the 1975's song 'Girls' as there are frequent camera changes that happen on the beat.
  • 4. The demands of the record label includes the need for close ups of the artist and the artist may also develop a motif throughout his/ her videos.
An example of this is Lady Gaga's song Bad Romance as throughout the video there are close ups of her face therefore satisfying the demands of the record label. In this video we can see Lady Gaga's motif which includes of wearing extravagant outfits.
  • 5. There are frequent references to the notion of looking
(breaking the 4th wall, screens within screens etc.) / voyeuristic treatment of the female body. An example of the notion of looking is Sia's song 'Buttons' as throughout the entire video she sings into the camera.
  • 6. There are often inter-textual references to other media
Such as; films, TV programs, other music videos. This can be shown by the video for Paramore's song Decode where throughout the video there is footage from the film Twilight.

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