What on earth is with record labels’ recent fascination with creating official lyric videos? One of the newest is for Katy Perry’s “E.T.,” the fourth single from her platinum Teenage Dream album, which has been remixed for release with a guest appearance by Kanye West (the pair is currently at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100).

Lyric videos seem to be arriving with increasing frequency since the first one, or at least the first I remember registering, Cee Lo’s “Fuck You,” landed last summer. My initial guess was that pared-back promotional budgets were the reason (though labels still have to pay someone to make these). But like Cee Lo (who’s at #2 in his 29th week on the chart), Katy and Kanye have also filmed a traditional music video for “E.T.,” directed by Floria Sigismondi, which is set to premiere at the end of the month. So in this case, I guess the lyric video has become another promotional tool, a way to goose additional interest in the song before the live-action clip is ready.

Not that I’m really complaining. As a fan of fonts and creative type treatments, such displays of graphic-design geekery totally appeal to me. As for Kanye’s rap, the line “I’ma disrobe you / Then I’ma probe you” has an irresistible pull too.

Purchase Katy Perry feat. Kanye West – “E.T.” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.