Polydor Records

Polydor Records, operating as a part of Universal music group, is a British Record label that has a long and prestigious music history. Founded in Germany in 1946 as a Gramophone label, it preceded to find and produce all different types of music, where it later branched out to the UK 10 years later. Polydor came to the UK coincidentally at the same time as the rock'n'roll revolution that was 'transforming the musical landscape and establishing youth culture.' Currently, the label has a range of artists from Ellie Goulding to the Rolling Stones. I was fortunate enough to meet two video commissioners from Polydor Records who educated me on the reality of the music industry business :

• When they originally meet with the director, they have to determine several questions. The main one is Who the artist is? This is important as they have to ensure they maintain the artist's image through the music video, etc.
• Sometimes, artists have a very clear idea of what they want in their video. It is hard sometimes especially when the idea is not feasible as artists can be tricky to work with. When this happens, it is their job to try and steer them in the right direction. 
• Important to remember that a music video gives fans a sense of who the artist is as it is how they become relatable.
• Rare for music videos to go well. Often lots of problems.
• Finance team decides budget...music video ranges between £5,000...£500,000
• Sponsorship and product placement is used to help fund the music video.
• The record label is constantly looking for more people to ensure diversity.
• Important to make sure that the beginning of the video is exciting to make sure audience stays interested.
• Music video takes roughly 1-2 days of shooting.
• 1-2 months to make the entire video from start to finish. 
• The generic structure for a pop video is a build up to a finale with a party.

After this, the women from Polydor records showed us several examples of videos they had produced. Here are some examples :