Despite a rich legacy dating as far back as the late 1800s, music videos only came to enjoy cultural currency with the advent of MTV in 1981. Initially a novelty, these short visual inserts accompanied new releases, witnessing an upsurge simultaneous to the popularity of the Beatles— one of the first few bands to pioneer the emergent art form as early as the 1960s. Today, music videos are not just an integral part of the entertainment industry, it’s most often used as a canvas for creative expression, and a tool for mass marketing. While most musicians have adopted the practice readily, others have gone on to splurge on creating the best their dollars can buy. We take a look at the most expensive music videos ever made.
Video killed the radio star
Music historians date the first such video back to 1895 and down to Thomas Edison’s lab. While the melody was created by a specially-developed machine called the Kinetophone, the film showed moving pictures of two men dancing to the tunes of the violin, played by William Dickson— the man credited with inventing the motion picture. Another group of historiographers argue that the “illustrated song” produced by Edward B. Marks and Joe Stern in 1894 was not just an ingenious way of marketing sheet music, but also the first foray into the modern concept of music videos.
New York’s theatre culture of the 1920s provided a big impetus to the music video era. In 1927, the city’s Rivoli Theater presented the first motion picture titled The Jazz Singer, complete with a sound-on-film mechanism — a system that synchronised movies and their soundtracks. The success of this musical technology birthed “soundies” in the 1940s: three-minute films featuring music and dance performances, designed to display on jukebox-like projection machines in bars, restaurants, and other public spaces.
Although individual artists were toying with the concept, music and film’s inevitable marriage occurred during the reign of the Beatles. In addition to starring in full-length features such as Help and A Hard Day’s Night, the band recorded several promotional clips — some with narratives and others with monologues of psychedelic images — that were broadcast in their native England and overseas. Others quickly followed suit, gradually creating the perfect environment for the birth of MTV on August 1, 1981. The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ (1979) aptly became the first music video played on the channel.
Music video productions today
The rise of the music video industry has fuelled new forms of film-making as well equipped artists to be in command of their own visual language. With technology on the rise, music videos are not only more elaborate and visually stunning, they’ve resulted in a significant increase in production costs as well. Some of the most expensive music videos in the world have pushed the boundaries of creativity, production value, and special effects. From Michael and Janet Jackson’s USD 12.5 million (INR 103 crore approx.) ‘Scream’ video to ‘Die Another Day’ by Madonna, we look at the 25 most expensive music videos ever made.
The most expensive music videos ever made
1. ‘Scream’ by Michael and Janet Jackson – USD 13 million (INR 107 crore approx.)
Topping the list with their 1995 track, ‘Scream’ is the King of Pop, Michael Jackson with his sister Janet. The stylised anti-media film, directed by Mary Romanek, created a buzzy, futuristic vibe with the Jackson siblings in a sci-fi setting, surrounded by cutting-edge special effects and sound design. The video cost an estimated USD 7 million (INR 57 crore approx.) at the time and was the creative collaboration of the choreography team consisting of Travis Payne, LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon, Sacha Lucashenko, and Sean Cheesman, with production by Tom Foden.
‘Scream’ gave fans an insight into Michael Jackson’s troubled relationship with the press, and was released in the years after his child abuse allegations became public knowledge in 1993. A part of his album titled HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, the ‘Scream’ video premiered in the summer of 1995, on MTV, BET, and on ABC-TV’s Primetime Live during Diane Sawyer’s interview with Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. The track debuted at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the first song in history to enter the list at such a high position.
2. ‘Express Yourself’ by Madonna; USD 11 million (INR 91 crore approx.)
A part of her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna’s equality-driven, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis-inspired video comes in at a hot second on the list of the most expensive music videos ever made. When the American singer-songwriter approached the track, she knew she had to make an impact. Golden Globe-winning director David Fincher was approached to create the visuals; a task he generously accepted at a USD 5 million (INR 41 crore approx.) production expense. The video featured Madonna as a glamorous lady and chained masochist, with muscular men acting as her workers. At the end, she picked one of them — played by model Cameron Alborzian — as her date. ‘Express Yourself’ was released globally on MTV in 1989 and continued as an exclusive on the channel for three weeks.
In her biography, Madonna ‘Talking’: Madonna in Her Own Words, the Grammy-winner commented about the development of the video, “This one I had the most amount of input. I oversaw everything — the building of the sets, everyone’s costumes, I had meetings with make-up and hair, and the cinematographer, everybody. Casting, finding the right cat — just every aspect. Kind of like making a little movie. We basically sat down and just threw out every idea we could possibly conceive of and of all the things we wanted. All the imagery we wanted — and I had a few set ideas, for instance, the cat and the idea of Metropolis. I definitely wanted to have that influence, that looks on all the men—the workers, diligently, methodically working away.”
3. ‘Estranged’ by Guns N Roses, USD 10 million (INR 82 crore approx.)
A visually stunning music video, with its elaborate sets, special effects, and intricate choreography, this Guns N Roses track was the conclusion to the unofficial trilogy featuring ‘Don’t Cry’ as well as ‘November Rain’. The video was helmed by Andy Morahan, the director credited with the previous two iterations, and cost an estimated USD 5 million (INR 41 crore approx.) at the time. Frontman Axl Rose is said to have penned the script of the nearly nine-minute-long video himself. The final scene sees Axl being rescued by dolphins, a special effects-heavy narrative that conflated costs to USD 4 million (INR 33 crore approx.) — a jawdropping amount, considering it was the ’90s. Adjusted to today’s inflation rates, the sum reaches a staggering USD 10 million.
Released in December 1993, ‘Estranged’ was placed on the New York Times list of the ’15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos’.
4. ‘Die Another Day’ and ‘Bedtime Story’ by Madonna, USD 9.6-9.9 million (INR 79-81 crore approx.)
A tune worthy enough to accompany James Bond on his otherworldly adventures had to be the best. Naturally, the queen of the music industry had to be called in for the fireworks. The high-tech, high-production extravaganza directed by Traktor, a Swedish advertorial team, was developed as an independent Madonna clip but with inspiration sourced from the Bond films. The video projected Madonna as a prisoner locked in a torture chamber. She even goes on to duel with herself — a sequence which Traktor would go on to reveal was created using special effects. The sci-fi music video was estimated to cost USD 6.1 million (INR 50 crore approx.) in 2002 when it was released.
With ‘Bedtime Story’, an electro-house song with techno influences, Madonna’s surrealist vision was clear. Directed by Mark Romanek over a course of six days at Universal Studios, California, the production roped in storyboard artist Grant Shaffer for the coveted collab. Making the clip reportedly cost USD 5 million (USD 9.6 million (INR 79 crore approx.) today), and featured several eye-catching snippets like the singer submerged in a tank, and snoozing in futuristic apparel. In a docu-series by Mubi about the art of music videos, Madonna revealed the inspiration for the music video: “My ‘Bedtime Story’ video was completely inspired by all the female surrealist painters like Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. There’s that one shot where my hands are up in the air and stars are spinning around me. And me flying through the hallway with my hair trailing behind me, the birds flying out of my open robe — all of those images were an homage to female surrealist painters; there’s a little bit of Frida Kahlo in there, too.”
5. ‘Black or White’ by Michael Jackson, USD 8.5 million (INR 70 crore approx.)
Jackson’s cult hit finds its sweet spot in the middle of our list with ‘Black or White’. Directed by John Landis, who previously directed Thriller for Michael, the song witnessed a global premiere via MTV, BET, VH1, and Fox, giving it the highest Nielsen ratings ever received at the time. The video begins with a young Macaulay Culkin dancing to rock music in his bedroom. His father yells at him to stop, urging him to retaliate by playing an electric guitar loudly enough to fire him into space, before finally landing in Africa.
While the first half of the video had been subjected to plagiarism attacks, it was the last four minutes of the imagery that sparked the real outrage. Jackson, who morphs out of a panther in this segment, is shown suggestively touching himself, unzipping his pants, and smashing the windows of a car. Following a critical op-ed in the Entertainment Weekly, the video censored the final bits from its subsequent broadcast.
6. ‘Bad’ by Michael Jackson, USD 5.6 million (INR 46 crore approx.)
At a time when Martin Scorsese was climbing the ranks of Hollywood’s most renowned directors, he was approached by Jackson to develop ‘Bad’. Filmed in Brooklyn’s e Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets station and inspired by a true story, the music video culminated in an 18-minute long narrative penned by novelist Richard Price, and shot by Michael Chapman. The video, which also finds choreographical inspiration in the film West Side Story, shows Jackson and a group of gangsters in a street dancing sequence.
In Jackson’s 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, he addressed the context behind his iconic video. ” ‘Bad’ is a song about the street. It’s about this kid from a bad neighbourhood who gets to go away to a private school. He comes back to the old neighbourhood when he’s on a break from school and the kids from the neighbourhood start giving him trouble. He sings, ‘I’m bad, you’re bad, who’s bad, who’s the best?’ He’s saying when you’re strong and good, then you’re bad,” he revealed. At the time of filming, the video wielded a total cost of USD 2.2 million (INR 18 crore approx.), amounting to USD 5.6 million (INR 46 crore approx.) today.
7. ‘2 Legit 2 Quit’ by MC Hammer, USD 5.3 million (INR 43 crore approx.)
Directed by Rupert Wainwright and almost 15 minutes in length, ‘2 Legit 2 Quit’ by MC Hammer might be touted as an average attempt at hip-hop by music critics, but the video has stealthily established its presence on the most expensive lists as a result of the incurred cost. Based on the concept of receiving Michael Jackson’s glove, the visuals are pyrotechnic-heavy with several noted cameos by legends like James Brown and Eazy-E to a long list of Hall of Famers, including David Robinson and Ricky Henderson, Mark Wahlberg, Queen Latifah and then some.
The song catapulted Hammer into a hip-hop icon, whose song influenced a generation of music lovers. Speaking to CBS in 2016, he stated, “There’s a tremendous amount 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.”
8. ‘Make Me Like You’ by Gwen Stefani, USD 4.87 million (INR 40 crore approx.)
Filmed at the Warner Brothers lot during the live broadcast of the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Gwen Stefani’s hit track ‘Make Me Like You’ saw 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 led 40 performers through 11 different sets and Stefani’s seven live costume changes on a capacious 32,000-square-foot soundstage at the location. A collaboration with American utility giant Target, the video was a labour of love that helped Stefani pick up her first Bronze Lion at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Billboard estimated that Target invested roughly USD 12 million (INR 99 crore approx.) into the campaign, including USD 8 million (INR 66 crore approx.) for the airtime alone.
9. ‘Victory’ by P. Diddy feat Notorious B.I.G and Busta Rhymes, USD 4.84 million (INR 40 crore approx.)
Created as an homage to the 1987’s hit film, The Running Man, ‘Victory’ was originally written by The Notorious B.I.G., Jason Phillips, and Steven Jordan. This song featured the last verses recorded by Notorious, a day before his fatal shooting in 1997. The 8-minute long video directed by Marcus Nispel featured cameos from Dennis Hopper and Danny DeVito. The posthumously released video reverberated a spectral presence with B.I.G flickering in and out of focus as a fallen Viking. “The most melodramatic hip-hop song of a melodramatic rap moment, “Victory” is the fury of life after death,” denoted Rolling Stone in its list of the rapper’s 50 best tracks.
One of the reasons why the video became immortalised and continues to enjoy its position in hip hop history is because of Diddy’s entrepreneurial genius. Unlike other celebrity producers, he understood that in order to make money, you needed to spend money. So when the music video for ‘Victory’ was released in 1998, he didn’t hesitate to spend USD 2.7 million (INR 22 crore approx.), according to Hip Hop Wired.
10. ‘Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit, USD 4.6 million (INR 38 crore approx.)
One of the most prominent factors which led to the success of ‘Rollin’ was its cinematography. Filmed in September 2000 atop the South Tower of the original World Trade Center, the video featured actors Ben Stiller and Stephen Dorff mistaking Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst for the valet and handing him the keys to their shiny Bentley Azure. The video was shot in the weeks leading up to the release of Zoolander, which prompted many to believe it was more promotional and artistic. The ‘Rollin’ video received the award for Best Rock Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards.
About the music video, Durst told LouderSound in a 2022 interview, “It felt like we just started to poke fun at what people thought we were and embrace that. That’s why we made the Rollin’ video. There were red caps everywhere, and look at Wes at the beginning of the video with his grills in. How the hell did people not realise we weren’t being serious? We thought it was hilarious.” New Music Express listed the cost of the 2000 release at USD 3 million (INR 24 crore approx.).
11. ‘Heartbreaker’ by Mariah Carey, USD 4.39 million (INR 36 crore approx.)
Released in 1999, ‘Heartbreaker’ helped Carey establish herself further in the R&B and hip-hop market. Lyrically, the song talks about an adulterous relationship from the female perspective, and how the protagonist incessantly returns to her lover, despite breaking her heart numerous times. While the song received mixed reviews at the time, it was the empowering video that emerged as a fan favourite.
Filmed at the Los Angeles Theatre in the same year, the music video saw Brett Ratner taking directorial credits with the insert airing on MTV on August 16, 1999. The clip was filmed in a comedic manner with Mariah insisting on keeping the sequences in tandem with the lyrics. Grease and Enter The Dragon were the main inspirations behind the video, although the track itself was developed for Carey’s upcoming film at the time. “Actually, I wrote ‘Heartbreaker’ for the movie ‘All That Glitters,’ Carey revealed to MTV News. “We’re just, like, going back and forth with different directors, but it was perfect for the movie because it’s very ’80s. The beat is from actually a Stacy Lattisaw record called ‘Attack Of The Name Game,’ which I didn’t even know. I usually am ‘loop queen,’ like I usually know all those things,” she added. At the time of filming, the cost of production ran upwards of USD 2.5 million (INR 20 crore approx.), which keeping in mind today’s inflation, would balloon up to USD 4.39 million (INR 36 crore approx.).
12. ‘Doesn’t Really Matter’ by Janet Jackson, USD 4.39 million (INR 36 crore approx.)
While the song featured in the soundtrack to the 2000 film Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, its music video was directed separately by Grammy-winning Joesph Kahn. Portraying a futuristic city inspired by Tokyo, the sequences showcased Jackson in an anime-like environment, complete with an AI dog, levitating platforms, and a neoteric Acura vehicle. Filmed in Universal City, California, the video was estimated to cost USD 2.5 million (INR 20 crore approx.) at the time, making it one of the most expensive videos ever made.
Jackson contacted Kahn to direct the music video, explaining that she wanted to experiment with make-up and costuming in order to make a more lasting impact. The video saw dancers performing choreography while being suspended using bungee cords: a first of its kind. One celebrity who found their first break on the sets of ‘Heartbreak’ was actress and dancer, Jenna Dewan, who performed the bit at the age of 19. The music video was one of the first appearances by Dewan, who stated “I was fortunate enough to work with Janet who treats her dancers amazing”. Following this interaction, Jackson asked Dewan to appear in the music video for her 2001 single ‘All for You’, and subsequently, be a dancer on her two-year All for You Tour.
13. ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’ by Celine Dion, USD 4.29 million (INR 35 crore approx.)
The power ballad penned by Jim Steinman saw three major releases, one of which was recorded by Celine Dion for her album Falling into You. The first version recorded by Pandora’s Box was featured in their concept album Original Sin whereas Meat Loaf eventually recorded the last iteration as a duet with Norwegian singer Marion Raven in 2006. All versions witnessed simultaneous music video releases with death as a recurring theme in all. “In Steinman’s songs, the dead come to life and the living are doomed to die,” read Virgin Records’ press statement for Original Sin.
For Dion’s version, British director Nigel Dick was roped in, with Simon Archer as cinematographer and Jaromir Svarc as the art director. It was filmed at the quaint Castle Ploskovice, the summer palace of the Austrian Emperors, with additional sequences at Barandov Studios, both of which are located in Prague, Czech Republic. In January 2020, the music video reached 100 million views on YouTube.
14. ‘What’s It Gonna Be?!’ Busta Rhymes (featuring Janet Jackson), USD 4.21 million (INR 34 crore approx.)
A special effects fiesta, ‘What’s It Gonna Be?!’ saw rapper Busta Rhymes collaborating with Janet Jackson for a track that would go on to enjoy a bronze position on the Billboard Hot 100 list. The song was nominated for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2000 Grammy Awards. The music video directed by Rhymes & Hype Williams alternatively, received four nominations at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, apart from receiving positive reviews by fans and critics alike.
A lot of sexual innuendos find imagery in this music video. At one point, Jackson appears in a liquid tunnel as Rhymes morphs into a sperm-like creature and floats toward her. In the finale, both artists are united as their bodies rub against each other. The remaining scenery combusts into flames as the two leads transform into a silver liquid. The extensive CGI requirements propelled the production cost of the video to USD 2 million (INR 16 crore approx.) at the time.
15. ‘Remember the Time’ by Michael Jackson, USD 4.17 million (INR 34 crore approx.)
By now, it is clear that Michael Jackson left no stone unturned for an innovative music video. For his 1992 release, the King of Pop was back at it with a 9-minute “short film” that saw John Singleton in the director’s chair. Set in Ancient Egypt, the clip features cameos by Eddie Murphy, Iman, Tommy “Tiny” Lister, and Magic Johnson. It was well-received by critics and contemporaries with Entertainment Weekly quoting it to be, “a “gorgeous ancient Egyptian extravaganza.” The extensive morphing, set design, and elaborate CGI ensured the USD 2 million (INR 16 crore approx.) budget was generously utilised.
Special mentions
Now that we’ve charted the 15 most expensive music videos ever made, we must mention the next 10 stars on this ever-growing list. With production costs running into millions, these incredible music films can easily be held responsible for revolutionising the industry forever.
- ‘Larger Than Life’ by Backstreet Boys, USD 3.68 million (INR 30 crore approx.)
- ‘Honey’ by Mariah Carey, USD 3.64 million (INR 30 crore approx.)
- ‘Miami’ by Will Smith, USD 3.51 million (INR 29 crore approx.)
- ‘She’s a B*tch’ by Missy Elliott, USD 3.51 million (INR 29 crore approx.)
- ‘I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You)’ by Grace Jones, USD 3.2 million (INR 26 crore approx.)
- ‘November Rain’ by Guns N’ Roses, USD 3.12 million (INR 25 crore approx.)
- ‘Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ in the film Mughal-E-Azam, USD 3.16 million (INR 26 crore approx.)
- ‘My Name’s Women’ by Ayumi Hamasaki, USD 2.99 million (INR 24 crore approx.)
- ‘Fairyland’ by Ayumi Hamasaki, USD 2.99 million (INR 24 crore approx.)
- ‘Dola Re Dola’ in the film Devdas, USD 2.82 million (INR 23 crore approx.)
Which of the most expensive music videos have you watched?
Hero and featured image: Courtesy IMDb, Bill Bottrell, MJJ Productions, Optimum Productions
This story first appeared on Prestige Singapore.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Michael Jackson's 'Scream' with sister Janet Jackson, is the most expensive music video ever made with a budget of USD 12 million.
According to some reports, the most expensive BTS music video is "The Idol" which is estimated to cost USD 11 million.
The most expensive rap video is P.Diddy's '2 Legit 2 Quit' featuring Notorious B.I.G and Busta Rhymes. It is estimated to have cost around USD 4.84 million.
Even in 2023, the title of the most expensive video ever made goes to Michael and Janet Jackson's 'Scream'.
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As a pop-culture enthusiast with a penchant for fashion, Srijoni found herself graduating with a degree in History from Miranda House, DU and a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Apart from binging on the latest web series, trying DIY recipes from TikTok, and spending hours window shopping on the latest Instagram stores, she loves spending time with her family and curating vacation mood boards. Writing opinion pieces, and critiquing international fashion trends are a part of her forte. Srijoni was previously employed at iDiva as their ‘Chief Fashion Writer’ for 5 years.
