A music video is a video of variable length, that integrates a music song or music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.

Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared, they again came into prominence when ViacomCBS’s MTV based its format around the medium. These kinds of videos were described by various terms including “illustrated song,” “filmed insert,” “promotional (promo) film,” “promotional clip,” “promotional video,” “song video,” “song clip,” “film clip,” or simply “video.”

Music videos use a wide range of styles and contemporary video-making techniques, including animation, live-action, documentary, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos combine different styles with music, such as animation and live-action. Combining these styles and techniques has become more popular due to the variety for the audience. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the song’s lyrics, while others take a more thematic approach. Other music videos may not have any concept, being only a filmed version of the song’s live concert performance.