"Black Lines"

In my time I've seen a variety of different music videos and I've noticed that a lot have recently started to include black lines around the top and bottom of the video. I'm aware that this is to do with aspect ratio but I was considering the reason behind it - obviously the music videos have enough of a budget to be shot in a wider screen.
It appears that the videos look more cinematic with the use of these black borders which seem to focus the audience's attention more to the performance on screen. Additionally, as films typically are shot in a similar fashion, it makes the video seem more artistic or professional as it tries to copy the features of major cinematic releases.

Here is a number of examples I've found:




It is important to note the sheer difference in the genres which use this feature. The range of genres clearly indicates how popular the technique has become and this is especially interesting within the indie genre. Major artists such as Katy Perry and Usher (Panic! At the Disco being a very well known pop-punk band with a large teen following) or those typically in the charts seem to use the aspect ratio within the video for aesthetic purposes, they can shoot in full screen but choose not to as it appears more (as previously stated) cinematic and professional. Bands and artists who aren't as 'popular', or as tied to major record labels - such as Watsky or Rat Boy - tend to need to produce lower-end budget videos; as if to appear more professional, these artists have included these "black lines" within some of their videos.

I doubt that I have the equipment to shoot in the correct ratio, the school Canon Power Shot cameras don't support the format - which would need to stretch the video when shooting for it to look detailed enough when re-scaling in the final edit. As such, I could perhaps see about simply adding in black lines to act as borders in post production - either using Flash or the shapes option in Premiere Pro. This could make my final video appear as if it had a higher budget when in actuality is was quite low, like many in the indie genre.
While the more 'professional' and cinematic look might undermine the conventions of the indie genre, which typically has an amateur aesthetic when it comes to the quality of the equipment used, I have seen a few indie artists such as Twenty One Pilots (as listed above) use this same technique - possibly to compensate for the inexpensive equipment used, but in some cases these major indie artists have high camera quality.