While the music video remains an important part of the cultural landscape (just think of the spate of lyrics videos, album teasers, and interactive videos) its status as a make-or-break marketing tool has faded somewhat over the years.

But back during the music video’s glory days, when the iPod and YouTube were still a rising dot on the cultural horizon, blockbuster clips were big business. The success of sales hinged not on tweets, shares, and likes but on word of mouth, and few things got the media’s collective lips a-flapping than an extravagant multi-million dollar music video.

To prove it, Business Insider Australia has revealed a list of the Most Expensive Music Videos ever made. A gawdy collection of clips that ooze with the chiming of dollars as they show off all manner of costly (and very dated) visual effects (here’s looking at you Busta Rhymes), excessive dramatics (that’ll be Guns N’ Roses), and the most lavish of sets and costumes (such as ‘Larger Than Life’ boyband, The Backstreet Boys).

So who’s got the most expensive tastes in video production? That honour would probably have to go to Madonna. The 55-year-old Queen of Pop racks up three of the Top 5 most costly music videos of all time.But while the pop heiress has her share of bank-breaking videos, it’s actually the fallen King of Pop that has produced the most expensive music video of all time

Madge’s clips for ‘Express Yourself’ and ‘Bedtime Story’ were both produced at a cost of $US 5 million a piece, while ‘Die Another Day’ – her 2002 James Bond theme for the 007 flick of the same name – featured Madonna fighting with multiple versions of herself to the tune of $US 6.1 million. But given she’s still the highest paid musician in the world, with an empire worth $US 125 million, she can probably afford to exceed those budgets several times over.

The pop heiress has her share of bank-breaking videos, but it’s actually the fallen King of Pop that has produced the most expensive music video of all time, with a little help from his sister.

Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson’s 1995 team-up, ‘Scream’, takes the top of the list, with a jaw-dropping $US 7 million spent on the Mark Romanek-directed video. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a staggering $US 10.7m.

Starring the siblings on a sleek, computer-generated space station orbiting Earth, the video’s bill footed $US 175,000 in lighting alone and another $US 65,000 on its CGI, while shoot for the four-minute-ish long video spiralled into an 11 day-long saga. But then MJ always did like to go big with his extended mini-movies, with the Eddie Murphy-starring Egyptian adventure ‘Remember The Time’ and the Macauly Calkin-featuring ‘Black or White’ videos also making the most expensive cut.

While the bulk of the videos on the list are from the 80s and 90s (with no less than three clips from 1999 in the Top 15), there is a much more recent, $US 6.5 million exception to that trend, with the presence of Britney Spear’s 2013 money-spinning clip for ‘Work Bitch’.

The relatively skint pockets of today’s modern day music industry means the lavish music video is a far rarer beast, with labels and artists sensibly prioritising innovation over multi-million dollar budgets. A great example being the world’s first 24-hour long music video; the Oscar-nominated ‘Happy’ by the Future Music Festival-bound Pharrell Willams.

Other creative ideas that have fuelled some awesome videos include a UK clip where you control how drunk the band gets, and amazing ‘crowdsourced’ clips from a Dutch band and Japanese trio, and Bob Dylan’s incredible channel-surfing video for ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ showing how awesome interactive music videos can be (take note Queens Of The Stone Age).

You can view the full Top 15 clips from the Business Insider Australia list of the most expensive music videos of all-time below.

1. Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson – ‘Scream’ (1995)

Cost: US$ 7 million

2. Britney Spears – ‘Work Bitch’ (2013)

Cost: $US 6.5 million

3. Madonna – ‘Die Another Day’ (2002)

Cost: $US 6.1 million

4. Madonna – ‘Express Yourself’ (1989)

Cost: $US 5 million

5. Madonna – ‘Bedtime Story’ (1995)

Cost: $US 5 million

6. Michael Jackson – ‘Black Or White’ (1991)

Cost: $US 4 million

7. Guns N’ Roses – ‘Estranged’ (1993)

Cost: $US 4 million

8. Puff Daddy – ‘Victory’ (1998)

Cost: $US 2.7 million

9. MC Hammer – ‘2 Legit 2 Quit’ (1991)

Cost: $US 2.5 million

10. Mariah Carey – ‘Heartbreaker’ (feat. Jay Z) (1999)

Cost: $US 2.5 million

11. Busta Rhymes – ‘What’s It Gonna Be?!’ (feat. Janet Jackson) (1999)

Cost: $US 2.4 million

12. Celine Dion – ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ (1996)

Cost: $US 2.3 million

13. Michael Jackson – ‘Bad’ (1987)

Cost: $US 2.2 million

14. Backstreet Boys – ‘Larger Than Life’ (1999)

Cost: $US 2.1 million

15. Michael Jackson – ‘Remember The Time’ (1992)

Cost: $US 2 million

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine