The Most Expensive Music Videos

THE COST OF MADNESS IS TOO

Guns n’ Roses

Song: Estranged

Budget: $5,000,000

It was obvious that the budget for the clip, directed by Andy Morahan, which was released in 1993, would not be a reasonable figure when it was first prepared. Because the script to be written for a piece of 9 minutes and 46 seconds could not have consisted of monotonous images, and it was fashionable to invest in video clips at that time. However, if the group in question consisted of Axl Rose, who is famous for his craziness, and Slash, who is at least as dominant as him, then the expectations would be high. The main budget for the video, which was released as the final part of the trilogy after Don’t Cry and November Rain, was undoubtedly the Jumbo jet, fuel tanker, limousines and helicopters hired for the aerial scenes. Dolphins and countless players remained only a detail.

THE PRICE OF INDIA’S SPINNESS

Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni, Lata Mangeshkar

Song: Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya

Budget: $320,000

Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya, the title track of the soundtrack of the epic Indian movie Mughal-e-Azam, translated into Turkish as the Great Mongol Empire, is the oldest among the most expensive video clips of all time. Created at Mohan Studios, inspired by Sheesh Mahal, the set was extraordinarily large for its time. The mirrors made of Belgian glass used in the set, which was astonishing with its height and width, took up most of the budget. The construction of the set took two years. Although its budget was stated as 320,000 dollars at that time, its budget is around 3 million dollars according to today’s inflation. The clip, which frightened the film’s financiers during the shooting, attracted so much attention that it was reflected in the revenue of this film, and Mughal-e-Azam became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

FOR THE LOVE OF DAVID FINCHER

The Rolling Stones

Song: Love is Strong

Budget: $1,000,000

It’s not for every musician, of course. If you want David Fincher, the creator of the legendary films Gone Girl, Se7en, Fight Club to direct your music video, you must first convince him and then check your wallet. That doesn’t apply to The Rolling Stones. Because they needed neither persuasion nor a film career of Fincher when they shot this video in 1994. In the video they made with the comfort of discovering the successful director at an early stage, Fincher also presented one of the biggest bands in the rock world in gigantic dimensions, befitting his reputation.