Although music videos help promote a band, they can also help to get filmmakers/directors, and on a lesser note actor's/actresses recognized. For example "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran was directed by Jason Koenig.
"Perfect" was Koenig's most recent music video, however, he was already established from his work with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as he was the director for many of their projects including Glorious and Cant hold us.
To get a music video created, much like a film, you need to have a producer, whether that is a production company, a freelance producer, or you produce it yourself (Often individuals/bands that have only just started out and are trying to get recognized by the public/an "influencer"/music label.)
An example of this would be Robert Geraldino who goes by the Alias "RobertIDK" on YouTube. He recorders and produces shot music videos for covers, and original songs that he has created/sung and uploads them to his YouTube channel.
On the other hand, "Established" artists sometimes try to draw attention to a cause or issue through their music/music video. For example, "The Script" have recently released a new album "Freedom Child" which has a very deliberate meaning to behind it. "Arms Open" by the script tries to bring awareness to two serious situation that a lot of people in the US and the UK. Homelessness and/or foster care. They are working with a company called "A sense of home" who are working to "eradicate a layer of poverty" . They conduct interviews at the beginning and the end of the video, as well as having subtitles at the bottom of the screen periodically through the video which are facts about homelessness and foster care.
When an artist releases a album/song they obviously make a large profit/income from the sales. However, this is not the only source of income. When a band's music video is shown online/on TV [as well as when the song's are, theoretically, the band should receive royalties, meaning that they increase their profit margin over a more extended time. For example, when the script released "Rain", the radio station's continuously played it in every radio programme, and it was also played a lot on MTV, as well as being on many people's "Recommended for you" on YouTube.
Since 2005 there has been an increase of availability of music videos whether it was YouTube, Facebook, twitter etc. YouTube is the main provider as most if not all music videos are uploaded directly to a band's Vevo or personal account. However, Facebook is being used more now for video distribution that in previous years, as it has the possibility to reach a larger audience. Ed Sheeran has used Facebook to advertise/alert his fans of his recent recording/music video called "Perfect Symphony", a take on his song "Perfect" performed/recorded by Andre Bocelli and himself.
Sometimes music videos are funded through sponsorship or synergistic means. Synergy is when a music video features a company's product to help advertise the product to their audience/an audience that wouldn't usually use their products. For example, Avril Larigne's "Rock N Roll" where she is promoting the new Sony Experia phone.
In 1930 the idea of synergy was pioneered by Walt Disney. He allowed different companies to use mickey mouse in their advertisements and on the labeling of their products. This meant that the company's using the characters were able to sell more products (as people are more likely to buy products with their favorite characters on it) and at the same time they are giving Disney free advertising.
In conclusion I believe that the reason music videos are so mainstream now and commonly watched is that is is a easy way for the public to watch their favorite artists perform for free, as well as allowing the audience to get a visual representation of the narrative created by the artist(s) through the lyrics of the song.
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