In his book, Dancing in the Distraction Factory, Andrew Goodwin identified a number of key features which distinguish music video as a form.
- There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visual (with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contracting the lyrics).
- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (again with visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contracting the lyrics).
- Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography (E.g. live stage performance in heavy rock).
- There is a demand on the part of the record company for lots of close ups of the main artist/vocalist.
- The artist may develop their own star iconography, in and out of their videos, which, over time, become part of their star image.
- There is likely to be a reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in terms of systems of looking (screens within screens, binoculars, cameras etc).
- There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts.
