Artists, producers and directors pour huge amounts of money, talent and creativity into an average 3 minute pop video nowadays. No longer just 'promos', modern videos have elevated themselves to the status of an art form on an equal footing with the music itself. Michael Jackson of course has made many hugely extravagant videos for his singles over the years, while in the 1990's rap star MC Hammer spent millions on his own efforts. Other masters of the medium include the Backstreet Boys, Will Smith, Britney Spears and Guns N' Roses, who have all had an impact on the fickle world of MTV over the years, with their expensive mini epics.
So what makes music videos so important? Is it really necessary to go to such lengths to make a song memorable by producing videos that oupriced Hollywood in terms of production cost per minute? Let's take a quick look at some of the most expensive music videos ever made and see if we can find some clues.
Too Legit to Quit (1991)
One of the 1990's most popular artists would have to be MC Hammer, the rapper who gave us such mega hits as "U Can't Touch This" and "Pray". Hammer was huge and his equally voluminous parachute pants became a fashion trend. After the success of his multi-platinum Please. Hammer. Don't Hurt 'Em album in 1990, the next year saw MC Hammer releasing his sophomore effort, Too Legit To Quit. The first single from this album was the title track and Hammer blew a whopping $2.5 million on high profile athletes such as Chris Mulen and Roger Craig, who turned up in the video.
November Rain (1992)
Rock bands don't usually make big budget videos, however in 1992, Guns N' Roses put together an 11 minute video that cost a hefty $1.5 million to produce. The video was a narrative around the marriage of singer Axl Rose and model Stephanie Seymour and also included live concert performance footage.
Scream (1995)
A couple of years after Michael Jackson's first child molestation trial, the eccentric singer released his greatest hits set HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 in 1995, which included the lead single "Scream" with sister Janet Jackson. The aggressive, vitriolic song was directed at tabloid coverage of the sexual abuse accusations levelled against Jackson. Choreographed by Michael himself, the music video for "Scream" cost approximately $7 million and is regarded as the most expensive music video ever made by The Guinness Book of Records. Michael spent around $5 million alone on the 11 futuristic spaceship sets that he and Janet are seen in. In addition, the video took almost 2 weeks to shoot and over $600,000 was spent on the production every single day.
Miami (1999)
Will Smith's "Miami" video was heavy on morphing special effects that cost him $40,000 a piece (and there were at least 50 such morphs featured throughout the video!). Video morphing from one location to another was an impressive technological feat at the time and Will hired a huge floating set in Miami at a cost $500,000 for just a few hours. The bill for this music video came in at $2 million.
Die Another Day (2002)
Madonna's "Die Another Day" from the 007 movie of the same name cost about $6 million to make and contains violent scenes that were censored in some countries. The video references earlier Bond flicks and features plenty of fighting shots and gun battles. Almost like a mini Bond movie itself, the post-production pushed the cost of this video into the stratosphere.
Toxic (2004)
Before shaving her head and spending time in rehab, Britney was the unstoppable Queen of Pop (and has now made a comeback). In 2004, Britney's "Toxic" single made headlines with its shots of the young diva dressed only in diamonds. "Toxic" was a No1 hit in The UK and Australia and reached the Top10 in her home country. The video employs various special effects that cast Britney as a super hero. The video clocked in at $1 million.
Stronger (2007)
Controversial rapper Kanye West joined the exorbitantly priced music video elite with this effort from 2007. "Stronger" is a unique Hip Hop track and its classy video suits it very well. Shot over nine days in Japan, the "Stronger" video took over three months to complete and cost $1.2 million. The video showcases plenty of unique visual effects and digital renderings of Kanye himself, along with featured singer Cassie.
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