Most Expensive Music Videos in the World

Despite a long history extending back to the late 1800s, music videos only gained cultural currency with the introduction of MTV in 1981. These short video inserts, which were first a novelty, accompanied new albums, seeing a rise in popularity along with the fame of the Beatles—one of the first few bands to pioneer the emerging art form as early as the 1960s.

Music videos are no longer just an important part of the entertainment industry; they are also often used as a canvas for creative expression as well as a tool for mass marketing. While most musicians right away accepted the method, some went on to insane heights to make the finest their money could buy. We look into the most expensive music videos ever made.

List of the Most Expensive Music Videos Sold in Millions

Here is the list of the most exclusive soundtrack videos ever made by the most prestigious artist in the world.

‘Scream’ by Michael & Janet Jackson

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and his sister Janet top the list with their 1995 single “Scream.” Mary Romanek’s stylized anti-media film made a buzzy, futuristic feel with the Jackson twins in a sci-fi environment, surrounded by modern special effects and music styles. The choreography team of Travis Payne, LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon, Sacha Lucashenko, and Sean Cheesman created the video, which cost an estimated USD 7 million at the time, with production by Tom Foden.

‘Scream,’ which was published in the years following Michael Jackson’s child abuse claims became public knowledge in 1993, offered audiences a peek into Michael Jackson’s chaotic relationship with the press. The ‘Scream’ video debuted in the summer of 1995, as part of his album HIStory: Past, Present, and Future, Book I, on MTV, BET, and ABC-TV’s Primetime Live during Diane Sawyer’s interview with Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. The song debuted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it the first single in history to do so. Read more about the most expensive TV albums

  ‘Express Yourself’ by Madonna

Madonna’s equality-driven, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis-inspired video from her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer (1989), stands in second on the list of the most costly music videos ever created. The American singer-songwriter knew she had to create an impression as she approached this melody. The images were created by Golden Globe-winning filmmaker David Fincher, who accepted the challenge at a USD 5 million production cost. Madonna appeared in the video as a lovely woman and shackled masochist, with strong guys playing her workers. Finally, she chose one of them, played by model Cameron Alborzian, as her date. ‘Express Yourself’ was first shown on MTV in 1989 and remained an exclusive for three years.

In “Madonna ‘Talking’: Madonna in Her Own Words,” the singer reveals she had significant creative control over the music video for “Express Yourself” and oversaw every aspect, from casting to costume design, make-up, and cinematography. She drew inspiration from the film “Metropolis” and incorporated various visual elements into the video. Read more about the most expensive celebrity photographs in the world.

‘Estranged’ by Guns N Roses

This Guns N Roses song was the end to the unofficial trilogy that included ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘November Rain.’ It was a visually magnificent music video, with lavish sets, special effects, and precise choreography. The video was directed by Andy Morahan, who was also responsible for the previous two editions and was projected to cost USD 5 million at the time. Frontman Axl Rose is claimed to have written the roughly nine-minute-long video screenplay alone.

In the last scene, Axl is saved by Dolphins, a special effects-heavy tale that increased expenditures to USD 4 million – an amazing amount given it was the 1990s. When adjusted for current inflation rates, the total approaches a mind-boggling USD 10 million. ‘Estranged,’ released in December 1993, was named one of the ’15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos’ by the New York Times. Read more about the most expensive artists in the world

‘Die Another Day’ by Madonna

A song capable of accompanying Agent Bond on his otherworldly escapades has to be the finest. Naturally, the music industry’s queen had to be summoned for the pyrotechnics. The high-tech, high-production extravaganza was created as an independent Madonna clip but with inspiration from Bond flicks by Traktor, a Swedish advertorial agency. Madonna was shown in the video as a prisoner imprisoned in a torture cell. She even engages in combat with herself, which Traktor later reveals was manufactured using special effects. When it was released in 2002, the sci-fi music video was believed to cost USD 6.1 million.

Madonna’s “Bedtime Story” music video was directed by Mark Romanek and filmed on location at Universal Studios, California, over six days. The video features surrealist elements, including Madonna submerged in a tank and sleeping in futuristic clothing. According to Madonna, the video was heavily influenced by female surrealist painters such as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo and also pays homage to Frida Kahlo. The making of the video reportedly cost $5 million ($9.6 million adjusted for inflation). Read more about the most stylish female celebrities in the world.

‘Black or White’ by Michael Jackson

Jackson’s cult smash ‘Black or White’ finds a lovely position in the center of our list. The song was directed by John Landis, who had earlier directed Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and had its global debut on MTV, BET, VH1, and Fox, gaining the highest Nielsen ratings ever at the time. The video opens with a young Macaulay Culkin dancing in his bedroom to rock music. His father shouts at him to stop, prompting him to react by playing an electric guitar loud enough to launch him into space, where he eventually lands in Africa.

While the first half of the film had been targeted for copying, it was the final four minutes of the visual that drew the most fury. In this clip, Jackson is shown suggestively stroking himself, unzipping his pants, and shattering the windows of a car. Following a negative op-ed in Entertainment Weekly, the video was edited for its second airing.

‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson

In 1979, Martin Scorsese collaborated with Michael Jackson on the music video “Bad,” filmed at Brooklyn’s Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station. Based on a true story and featuring an 18-minute narrative written by Richard Price and shot by Michael Chapman, the video showcased Jackson and a group of gangsters performing a dance sequence inspired by West Side Story. Jackson addressed the setting of his legendary video in his 1988 book Moonwalk. ” ‘Bad’ is a song about life on the streets. It’s about a child from a rough neighborhood who gets to attend a private school.

When he has a vacation from school, he returns to his old neighborhood, where the youngsters start causing him problems. ‘I’m bad, you’re awful, who’s bad, who’s the best?’ he sings. “He’s saying that when you’re strong and good, you’re bad,” he explained. The video cost a total of USD 2.2 million at the time of filming, which equates to USD 5.6 million now.

‘2 Legit 2 Quit’ by MC Hammer

‘2 Legit 2 Quit’ by MC Hammer, directed by Rupert Wainwright and about 15 minutes in length, may be regarded as a mediocre attempt at hip-hop by music reviewers, but the video has quietly secured its place on the most costly lists as a consequence of the incurred expense. The graphics are pyrotechnic-heavy, and there are many notable cameos by superstars such as James Brown and Eazy-E to a large list of Hall of Famers, including David Robinson and Ricky Henderson, Mark Wahlberg, Queen Latifah, and others.

The song elevated Hammer to the status of a hip-hop icon, influencing a new generation of music fans. In a 2016 interview with CBS, he said, “There’s an awful lot of dancing going on, and that was the foundation we laid, going from the late ’80s into the ’90s, celebrating the art of dance, beats, performance, music.”

‘Make Me Like You’ by Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani’s hit track ‘Make Me Like You’ was filmed at the Warner Brothers lot in the on-air broadcast of the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, with Grammy Award-winner Sophie Mueller in the director’s chair, following the success of her previous outings: ‘Don’t Speak’ (1996), ‘Cool’ (2005), and ‘Spark the Fire’ (2014). Mueller and choreographer Fatima Robinson guided 40 performers through 11 distinct sets and Stefani’s seven live wardrobe changes on the location’s vast 32,000-square-foot staging. The video was a labor of love that helped Stefani win her very first Bronze Lion at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. It was a cooperation with American utility behemoth Target.

According to Billboard, Target committed over USD 12 million to the campaign, involving USD 8 million for advertising alone.