This blog will be a collection of my media studies classwork, homework and coursework over the next two years. I hope to keep it interesting and regularly updated.
Content Narrative Arc My storyline is as follows: The opening sees my artist come home to find her boyfriend in a hot tub (presumably being unfaithful) with another women. She then tells him to 'bounce' and we see him attempt to get her back with balloons, roses and chocolates. After unsuccessfully getting her to return his calls, the ex-boyfriend cries alone. Mini is then seen carefree and moving on on the set of her new video, channeling her emotion into a DJ performance and song. Her girl gang then pick her back up, have fun with her in the hot tub and dance with her in the studio. Showing the audience the individual power women have, not allowing unfair male behaviour and building strong friendships with others. Performance Despite by being in a studio, I want a feeling of closeness to my artist through 'real' shots, therefore I want to do some shoots with a closed set, with either me or one other person on camera. This will enable me to perform comfortably, including winks, laughter and carefree dancing. I have recieved some lip sync tips from an industry professional that will help me. These are:
Learn lyrics off by heart
Music video shoots play the song out loud and the artist sings out loud too. This is because convincing lip syncing need to be able to see the neck muscles moving.
I will watch myself do this in a mirror and keep my facial expressions controlled.
I want to channel the meanings of the words so when I do my lyrical analysis I will make sure to incorporate this into the actions
For example, when I say pronouns like ‘you’ I want to directly address the camera or point into it
Shot list - Visual references
Casting
Locations
I need to use at least two locations, for me one of these is the studio and I am utilising different lighting and performance set ups within this setting. For example, one with the DJ decks out, lit in silhouette with a white background and another with a pink hue, pink heart shaped balloons and a close up angle. Outside of here I will use the hot tub in my back garden for those shots and a relatives hallway and front door for the shots of the male lead attempting to 'get back' the female. Having reccied these locations to check there is enough lighting and space for long shots I have created the shot lists.
4 Location set ups
1 interior (school studio), plain white background set up with use of coloured lighting – Have already had studio training day so no need to recce –
Bedroom interior
Want plain white walls and fairly non-descript bed for actor to sit on with blanket
2 Exterior locations
Hot Tub
Need to be careful with filming times due to natural light making hot tub lights not show up
Remove items from background to look more professional and less like a ‘normal’ household garden
Front door/Hallway
Cannot use home location as not enough natural light and hallway isn’t long enough for desired farming. Aunt's house (Park Nook Gardens, Enfield) is within reachable distance of my actors and has no cars coming past as it is a dead-end street. Therefore less noise pollution or members of the public affecting shots.
Want a house with a modern front door and facing out onto street you should be able to see other houses across the road from it. Should have a window to see outline of actor as he rings doorbell.
My artist is a female disc jockey and singer called Mini.
Mini has a unique style in the dance music industry by being a DJ who not only produces music but also sings on her own samples. This gives her a unique edge and a self sufficient musical style. Her latest track 'Bounce' will be the first from her upcoming debut album. Therefore a lot rides on the video in establishing her ethos, performance style and look.
After reading an article in the New York Times entitled 'women edging their way into the dj booth' I was shocked to find that I previously knew very little about the difficulties that female DJ's face in the dance industry. The reasons stated for this are "An industry predominantly run by men, a lack of female role models and mentors of either gender, and a grueling lifestyle that is disruptive to having a family." Therefore I am going to create an artist persona which fulfills an audience want for female role models that have brains and aren't over sexualised. I want to use my platform as an artist to convey messages about respecting feminity and creativity as something more than a money making scheme.
Mini's look is current and on trend. Blends a mix of 90's rave pieces with modern sports luxe. Below is a style moodboard I have created. In terms of colour palettes I will be using the current fashion trend and dance genre favourite of neon tops and trousers, platform trainers and space buns and high ponytails.
After researching female DJ's and artists I have found often the use of monomyns create memorable artist personas and star identity that is separate from the person beneath.
Mini has made her way up through small clubs in the heart of London, to now playing on the international dance festival circuit in Ibiza, Berlin and globally. She promotes an aspirational, city-centric lifestyle that will resonate with a media savvy audience. Mini is fiercely femenist in a post modern setting and this is a key value I want to communicate through cross media marketing, her activism and political involvement is a key feature I want to communicate.
I have created a logo (below) which is simple and will feature across all my media brands, incorporating itself into the titles of my video and appearing on my website and other audio-visual content. Many artists use this kind of iconography to visually reinforce their identities. I thought the idea of a pink heart connotes the subverted feminity and 'cute' image I want Mini to put out to fans.
Influences
I am taking particular inspiration from two female artists, Flava D and Charlie XCX as they are both popular female DJ's hailing from the UK, like my artist. They are respected in the industry for being trailblazers of unique styles of music and fashion
Flava D
She is a producer and DJ and has been from the age of 16. She is involved in grime, drum and bass and bassline music and is often touring the clubs and events of England and Europe. She is from Bournemouth and is well respected in the industry for bringing accessibility to female producers and female listeners. I admire the way her record label 'Butterz' have utilised cross media convergence, starting from a weekly show on Rinse FM radio to creating an entire label.
Charlie XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (2 August 1992), also known as Charli XCX, began performing at underground raves and signed with Asylum Records in 2010. She's known for her dance/electropop and her influences included Britney Spears and the Spice Girls. Her brand has been built up through social media platforms like Instagram and Tumblr. She uses her platform to be an activist, regularly campaigning for women's and LGBT rights and a sophisticated modern day generation responds well to this.She directed a 2015 documentary on gender equality, The F Word and Me, for BBC three.
My brief requires me to produce a three minute dance music video, commissioned by Universal Music and produced by an independent media production company. Also, a website with a homepage and one linked page. I will create a clear sense of branding for my artist persona across these two products. My Independent Media Production Company
Palmer Media Ltd.
London based cross platform production team specialising in visual media.
Aim to promote forward thinking media with a social/cultural awareness. As many production companies I researched like Luti media work in conjunction with independent directors I envision that mine hires a female entrepreneur who works closely with my artist, similarly to the partnership formed by Sarah McColgan and Charlie XCX. As shown the credits for the music video 'Boys' sees the two work simultaneously as directors within the bounds of the Atlantic Records production company. From my research around smaller production companies, I can see a clear theme of expressing complex ideas via symbolism rather than overly detailed mise en scene that we associate with high budget outlets.
Idea and inspirations
Having spent a long time researching and planning I have taken a lot of my inspirations from the music videos of Lily Allen. For example 'Smile' and 'Hard out Here'.
In her biography 'My Thoughts Exactly' she talks about the Hard out Here video in a way which particularly influenced mine. "I wanted the video to reflect the songs sentiment and hard edged anger. I wanted it to show exactly what women singers are expected to do in videos and at the same time undermine that expectation. And I wanted to do it with humour as well as rage. She also creates a unique style, converse and prom dresses, lots of blingly jewellery that I'm going to base some of my outfits on. How each artefact will connect with each other
I am going to create the blue and pink colour scheme across my website, lighting and costumes thereby throwing out the gender stereotyped colour motifs. Social media will be the main way I create synergy, posting on instagram and twitter about my website, audio visual interview and music video itself. This is also the way I feel I will best connect with my AB culturally sophisticated audience as they are tech savvy, use apps and smartphones profusely and understand the 360 degree marketing process needed for fan involvement with star personas. Casting
I need to represent at least two different social groups within my media products. I needed to cast 4 roles. These are essentially stereotypical characters, the boyfriend, the other woman and the supportive friends, I am going to widen representations by subverting these tropes, not casting conventionally attractive bodies or media representations of beautiful friends and heartthrob males. Top Songs
After widely researching an array of dance music genres, looking at disco, drum and bass, house etc. I narrowed my options down to three tracks featuring female vocals as my artist persona is female and both produces and samples on her tracks. These were:
Calvin Harris ft. Kelis - Bounce
Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello
Dee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart
I eventually chose 'Bounce' because I thought the soprano vocals work with the small stature of my persona and the name Mini corresponding to a squeaky and high pitched vocal. I also think that repetitive choruses and a catchy hook will lend themselves well to fast paced editing and an easily organised narrative structure.
My video is going to be a postmodern view on modern romance. Having analysed the lyrics, I can see that this song is about a female moving on from a breakup, however, I'm going to turn these conventions around by putting the female in the position of the 'dumper' rather than 'dumpee'. My video will feature a mix of performance and narrative. Overall Time Plan Roughly these are my aims per month for the project, in order to meet the deadline and keep my products to a high standard.
August - Research and Planning
September - Production & Website creation
October - Post-production, feedback and finalisation
My AB, culturally sophisticated audience are used to seeing diverse, accurate and intelligent media portrayals and so I need to reflect that in my coursework. Charlie XCX - BOYS
Charlie XCX's self directed music video for her song "boys" garnered a lot of media attention “They’re basically doing all the sexy things that girls usually do in videos,” she said. “I started thinking about all the guys that I’ve worked with or met [throughout all] my years in the industry... I just want to flip the male gaze on its head and have you guys do the sexy stuff.”
Sexuality
This Years & Years video features a Bisexual romance in the storyline, reflecting the identity of its frontman Olly Alexander. He also plays with gender stereotypes visually through feminine costumes, wearing makeup and attention to the male form. This kind of normalisation of LGBT people is so important in spreading awareness and acceptance. As many media theorists agree, more widespread representations have positive effects on tolerance.
Marina and the diamonds - How to be a Heartbreaker
Reclaiming female sexuality - images of scantily clad men
Role reversal of women as active pursuer of men and men as passive objects
Could be considered fairly hypocritical as the males are overly sexualised & video takes pleasure in women as deviants
Post modern femininity
Post modernist representations aim to reflect and distort the mirror the media holds up to our society. We favour irony, surrealism and hyperrealism to create more diverse and unusual representations that challenge traditional ones. A modern day youth audience expect to see this is the media they consume.
Annie Mac is a new and exciting female representation we are seeing in the media. Not only is she a female DJ and radio presenter, she is presented as cool and femenine and yet her talent allows her to be respected in a desexualised format. Annie Lenox - "I'm all for freedom of expression, but this is clearly one step beyond, and it's clearly into the realm of porn. How do you stop your kids being exposed to it?"
The Male Gaze - Laura Mulvey Mulvey's theory is based around the perception of women in the media from a straight male point of view, this has arisen largely from lack of diversity in directors and the media industry, where little oppurtunity for female input has allowed a narrow and often unfair viewpoint. The male gaze often denies female identity, focusing on physical attributes solely and portraying women as disposable and sexual objects. She also explores the negative effects this has on young women watching these videos, which can lead them themselves to view women in this way, thus creating a dominant reading in our society which has only begun to be questioned in a post feminist era.
Her game changing essay from the 1970's 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' has been hugely influential. The Freudian idea of Scopophilia, when we get sexual pleasure from the art of looking brings feelings of narcissism and guilt, however Mulvey explains the guilt is removed when a subject is unknowingly watched or when we are in the anonymity of a dark cinema. This results in active males and passive females.
Lacan's ideas also influenced Mulvey who explains that the mirror stage in the media is about seeing your identity visually reflected in the film you're watching.
Van Zoonen
This theorist explores dominant ideas about gender roles. Gender is constructed or performative adn meaning varies according to cultural or histroical contexts. In teh mainstream media these codes are used both visual and in narratives to construct an objectified female body rather than the typical male body as spectacle. This assumes a heterosexual gaze occuring and doesnt fit with LGBT views on objectification which make for much more complex representations.
'The recurring images of women in popular media have some influence on how people think of women in real life' Railton/Watson
For example - 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus & the male gaze The camera here plays the role of the voyeur, the unnoticed watcher. However, at one point in the video the gaze is returned by the female object giving the women some agency and empowerment (though still very little)
Manic Pixie Dream Girls
The term was coined by a journalist though this version of femininity has been around for centuries. The idea is explained well in this video about how the film '500 days of Summer' explores this trope and eventually punishes the male character, leaving him alone because he has spent his entire relationship constructing an optimistic and unrealistic feminine identity.
Videos generally follow three strands in combination to deliver messages.
Performance Videos
Early music videos were performance orientated – e..g. filming live performances from gigs concerts
These featured shots of stages and crowds for atmosphere and involvement Performance videos use the following conventions:
‘real life’ – the band messing around, warming up, shots from the point of view of audience members looking up at the stage
‘spectacle’ = direct audience interaction
Motif = echoed throughout videos// iconography
Unusual performance settings e.g. rooftops/forests
Narrative videos Lyrically explanative – could be used in opposition to the song to make a social comment
Performer can play themselves or a character they create – think Katy Perry
Resembling a mini film/ short film and in recent years as music videos have become more of an event than just a marketing tool, the idea of releasing them essentially as a short film has become popularised. For example, Taylor Swift's bad blood video:
Marketing began 10 days before release via social media posts
Used teaser images of well known celebrities cast as characters
" "Bad Blood" creates a culture where girls want to be a part of that friend set, she says. "It's something that they aspire to see and be a part of."
Song came out prior to video release, enabling it to be recast in a new light through visuals
Enigma codes
Stereotypical representations
Intertextual references or found footage – film references
Some use a mixture
Electro House
The song I have chosen fits into the electro house genre, within the wider genre of dance music. This is typically identified by a prominent bassline and 125-135 beats per minute.
Easter eggs
The term is said to have been coined from the film 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' when the cast had an easter egg hunt on set and some of the unfound eggs appeared in the film. They can be beneficial in drawing in fans and keeping audience attention as the look for these easter eggs.
Conventions of dance music videos Lifestyle Music artists are well known for fame and wealth and the perks that come with this. Frequent shots of models, cars, houses and boats that are not necessarily the artists own are used to imply affluent and aspirational lifestyles.
Title Shot - My music video must involve a title shot with the name of the artist and song. This is integral for my video as my artist is up and coming and therefore it is helpful to remind the video audience of who they are. These are generally used in the recurring font/graphics for the artist persona.
Sports // Movement Extreme sports or fast paced aerobic style movement lends itself very well to the dance genre, as aside from playing in clubs etc. tracks like these will often be found in accompaniment to sports/dance classes due to there high, adrenaline pumping tempos. They are useful in casting visuals in time to the fast BPM.
Intertextuality A favourite is often films from popular culture. Also other videos from said artist e.g. Lily Allen trigger bang features locations from her previous videos and a prop of her debut album within the opening setting. This is particularly relevant for a 'culturally sophisticated' demographic as they will enjoy being intellectually stimulated and spend time spotting the references. There is less danger of them not 'getting' the intertextual references.
Dance sequences Typical of almost all dance music videos, a range of dancers and dance styles are usually explore, even if they do not fit with the genre. For example the Lean On video features Indian and Bollywood influences which create genre hybridity.
Performance Shots For dance music videos where live music is less of a key factor, typical shots would be those of the technical equiptment. Also performance shots repeat costumes, set ups and lyrical visualisation to create visual hooks and motifs.
Beauty Shots It's interesting to note the lack of these shots in male artist videos. Usually we see a heavily made up close up of a female performer, looking directly into the lens. Goodwin desribes these as 'visual hooks'.
Club shots Often used in conjunction with dance or performance shots, many artists reference locations where the music would actually be listened to/danced to to inspire audiences to venture out of the world of the video and potentially spend their money on listening to the track in a different setting.
Product Placement
This is a well known revenue source, particularly when brand partnerships and sponsorship are ever important in a changing industry.
“As little as $5,000 and as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the integration and the artist,” Lockwood reports. “Brand dollars are more important than ever to us. It allows us to make more and better videos -- and we like to showcase brands in the very best possible light.”
Editing
Carol Vernallis 'The Kindest Cut - Functions and meanings of Music Video Editing' (2001)
Narrative can be partial or fragmented and is generally a response to the music or lyrics. Structure may be disjointed too and thereby create enigma codes for the audience to follow and a resolution is not always found at the ending. Often montage styles are used with narrative playing a small role in moving the song along.
Editing often cuts in time to lyrical phrases or the beat of the song. Continuity editing is not followed in the same way as a traditional Hollywood cinema narrative becoming 'foregrounded' and obvious with multiple jump cuts to different times, locations and costumes. Rules such as the 180 degree rule are broke, frames see extreme juxtapostions and a style that runs through the video as a whole.
A wide range of shot lengths, types and distances are used sometimes in time with the music and the camera may move to the music or use master shots frequently.
The world of the video setting or 'diegesis' often confuses audiences through slow reveals and enigma codes that create gaps in audience understanding and result in endearing videos which keep viewers excited and paying attention for there duration.
Dance Styles
Dance styles are created in conjunction with the BPM of a genre of music and will often be performed in the video or created my fans outside of it. This generates a buzz around the song, for example the song 'Black Beatles' inspired many fans to post on social media doing the 'Mannequin challenge' giving the song and artist more buzz and exposure.
Goodwin - Codes and conventions
Visuals will illustrate, amplify or contradict lyrics
Thought beats - lyrics and visuals
Genre style & Iconography
Creation of a recognisable brand image
Voyeurism in relation to women - the male gaze
Websites
Websites not only create brand synergy through anchoring the artist to a different place than their music but also are products in an of themselves which encourage purchasing, fan interaction and immediacy value. I analysed Charlie XCX's webpage which she has made through her tumblr account, integrating social media into her brand. Landing page Artists websites are laid out fairly minimally with one long rolling page for the first thing audiences click to. A large picture of the band or artist is generally featured in a wash across the homepage with the most recent video/tour/merch featured in a pop up or box at the top. For Charlie XCX her latest single '1999' and a call to action in the button 'listen now' provide fans with immediacy value and a call to action. Similarly in the Major Lazer homepage we see a YouTube link to their latest video.
Calls to action - Sign Ups
Usually found in the footer of the page or in popups
Social media Social media links, often depicted with icons create cross platform synergy and technical convergence as they allow fan interaction through comments, likes and follows while keeping them up to date with artist news. Menu bar Convention of any website and will display my 'Home' page and 'News' page in a header bar across the top right hand side.
Selling points - Merch Original Images of band artist I need a minimum of two original images, these are often displayed as a full size focal image across the screen, while other images may be used to advertise shoots and album/single covers from the artist. It further communicates there look and fashion style and may help[ inspire fans to purchase clothing from the online store.
Videos
As specified in the brief, my video will be displayed on my website, allowing fans to link to YouTube and view the latest content released from my artist. Having online stores also inspires purchase of the single, especially after seeing a visual representation of it.
Colour Scheme - Usually a palette of 3/4 colours are used which fits with the artists aesthetic. Fonts and graphics are consistent and minimal enabling memorable styles appropriate to the artist.
Universal Music Group - henceforth known as UMG describe themselves as the 'world's leading music company'. They are a horizontally and vertically integrated media conglomerate which means they have merged and acquired an array of business involving music producing, music videos, merchandising and marketing. They operate across the world and have a over a century's worth of musical recordings.Where Hollywood have the big six, the music industry has the big three - Universal alongside Sony Music & Warner Music Group. They were sold off from Universal Pictures and are a subsidiary of the French media conglomerate Vivendi.
Owns various smaller independent record labels (as pictured)
My artist is signed to universal music who have commissioned the music video to be made by a smaller independent production company.
"We identify and develop recording artists and songwriters, and we produce, distribute and promote the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain fans around the world." UMG
Universal do not have artists specific to one genre, examples of such are below:
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Lil Wayne
Metallica
ABBA
Martin Garrix
Richard Dyers 'star theory'
Talks about how stars are manufactured by the industry and their record labels, to create a certain persona and serve a purpose. This is largely to make money specially in big corporations with large profit motives which is why the music industry is known for being fake and ruthless. In order to make money, record labels must produce consistently high quality music and artists that generate large fan bases.
How record labels make money
Labels essentially create legally binding contracts for artists that require them to produce a certain amount of music over a time period e.g. 3 albums over 5 years and the artist receives royalty payments after the music label receives all the money first. An advance payment however is often given to the artist at first to support them before any music has been releases. The label also markets, distributes and owns the music and brand of that artist, gives them a studio and puts them in touch with the right producers, stylists and musicians.
A label like universal is both horizontally and vertically integrated, having their own in house production teams and recording studios that allows them to take maximum profit. However, being a large corporation with lots of spending power allows them to commission others, in my case an independent music video production company, to better appeal to a niche market or to add some variety to their conventional formats, this works well in a dance music genre which is more niche than the common pop and mainstream music associated with the label.
Large labels like UMG have more power and high profile lawyers which mean often artists are left with unfair deals, like small royalty percentages, exclusivity and copyright binding contracts. Other revenue streams can also be created outside of just music sales. Income can be generated through performances at festivals, tours and selling merchandise.
Independent Music Video Production Companies
This is defined as a company 'free of government or corporate interest' The mainstream media are often described as biased so small businesses can allow a wider range of creative control and this idea also fits with a culturally sophisticated demographic as they would want content which sends interesting or complex messages.
Case Study: Luti Media
Founded in 2006, Luti media make music videos, films and television and work with in house and independent directors, mostly on commissioned projects. They talk on their website of including lots of product placement and brand tie ins with larger corporations and have won many awards for their output. They have offices in both London and LA and have worked with the likes of Drake, Rita Ora, Jay Z and Iggy Azeala. This makes them a classic example of the kind of independent company Universal Music would commission to make a video for them. In fact, they are listed on their list of clients.
YouTube
YouTube is a video sharing website founded in 2005 and now owned by Google. Its used by both individuals and large corporations to grow audiences, The site is free and generates revenue from advertising, though it has recently started offering an ad-free paid subscription service. Artists can share videos via channels and playlists and get direct audience feedback via likes/dislikes/comments and subscribers. More than half of youtube views come from mobile devices and the site can be accessed online or via an app.
Universal have a fairly turbulent history with youtube, in 2007 they were accused of not following a copyright act by forcing videos using their music to be removed from the site. However, UMG also co developed Vevo, one of youtubes most popular music video channels.
There is supposedly a 'value gap' between what youtube makes and what artists who put content on the site make.“The biggest problem facing music creators is that the most significant source of online music, video streaming services, pay them insignificant royalties,” Gadi Oron, chief executive of Cisac, the international confederation of societies of authors and composers.
Spotify & Music Streaming sites
What I've learnt
Decline in physical album sales with the rise of free music streaming services
Number of music streams doubled from 2014-15
YouTube pay some of the lowest royalties with $0.0003 paid per stream
If we convert listeners to subscribers we'll make more money - but particularly in young generations they don't want to pay for music they've grown up having for free
Unless you're generating huge followers (in the millions) you're likely not making any money, these sites aren't supporting up and coming artists
Millennial's are spending 29% of their monetary contribution to the music industry on live music
'Real metric is fan engagement'
VEVO
Vevo is a youtube channel founded in 2009, as a joint project between Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI.It is known as a 'content aggregator' as it markets and produces videos under the vevo trademark, taking a percentage of the revenue and in return giving artists videos exposure and a collective viewing channel. It gains 25billion youtube views per month and reach 60% of adults age 18-49, keeping my demograaphic at the lower end but making up a large percentage of those views. This is likely the channel where my artist would be posted and where people would be exposed to their content. Vevo refers viewers to online music stores to encourage purchase of music and advertisers are willing to pay large sums to have pop ups at the bottom of and at the beginning of videos.
The 4 hour vevo record is that for the most views recieved within 24 hours of its release. It is currently held by Taylor Swift (A universal music artist) for her music video for 'Look what you made me do' with 43 million views.
It has therefore been around for centuries to accompany those dancing to a wide range of genres The dance/club/EDM music scene was popularised in the nightclubs and tourist scene of Ibiza, Spain during the 1980's and is often termed the 'new wave'. Club and festival culture increased and the genre expanded further as disco music became accessible via computerization. EDM is generally created for playback by DJ's who create mixes. The scene has come under criticism for what's called 'push button DJ's' who don't live mix but simply use auto-synced tracks and pre-recorded mixes.
Saturday Night Live produced a sketch parodying modern EDM music
Controversy Drug use
Ecstasy or MDMA has been largely popular in the dance music scene since its origins. The drug use is used to enhance further the experience of partygoers due to the release of chemicals in the brain, giving them a sense of euphoria. This works in conjunction with the loud music, lights and dancing.
One of the most common forms of death from ecstasy is death from dehydration which is why many people have lost their lives at dance music events due to the heavy sweating and dancing. 58 drug-related fatalities were recorded from 2010 to September 2016 in Ibiza. There have also been many recent notable drug deaths for example the DJ Avicii, Mac Miller and Demi Lovato (who overdosed and is now in recovery)
UK charity Help Musicians found that in 2016, 69 per cent of its 2,211 participants had experienced depression, while 71 per cent had panic attacks and/or high levels of anxiety. People working in music may be three times more likely to experience depression than the general public.
This article from The Independent "'It's unacceptable to expect DJs to keep going and going': Why Avicii's death is a wake-up call for the music industry" talks widely about the ups and downs of a music career in conjunction with endless touring takes a huge toll on an artists mental and physical health, often leading to drug addiction. Artists are being more vocal about this struggle now with the nightclub Fabric even offering guided meditation and donating profits to the mental health charity "Calm".
Music Video Industry
Algorithms, Product Placement and Shirtless Boys: Inside the Music Video Economy of 2018
Music Videos have a huge impact on popular culture, think Michael Jackson 'Thriller' the biggest video ever played on MTV
Online platforms like YouTube now have huge effects on how songs/artists fair
Danny Lockwood of Capitol Music Group said “When I started,” he says, “videos were purely loss leaders, and MTV airplay was the golden ring: We aimed for brainwash rotation and labels were selling CDs.”
The internet created a larger business model with larger budgets and greater artist exposure
"MTV’s playlists were small, and you were watching whatever MTV decided to serve you. Now, the eyeballs have become more valuable because they’re not passive.”
Horizontal videos are those created to fit on a computer screen but it is now more important to have Vertical videos where content is accessible via smart phones, this is also relevant for websites.
How music videos are made
The label gives out a budget and rough idea of the song and appoints an executive known as the 'video commissioner'. They then pair up artists and independent music video directors
“Directors’ reps would come to all the labels and plug all their clients,” Lockwood says. “Now it’s the wild west. There’s a few reps left, but they handle a hundred directors apiece. The commissioners now have to hone their relationships and creative acumen.”
Independent Music Video Directors: Music video directors have had their careers made by just one video. Michel Gondry is a French film director who has often been commissioned to create music videos aswell, which began his career. The artist Björk first noticed him and the pair have since collaborated on eight videos. He's also directed for bands like Daft Punk, The White Stripes and Paul McCartney. Through an extensive career he has produced a recognisable style.
Sarah McColgan
McColgan is a female director, unusual in a male dominated career but who has made a huge name in the industry as a independent director for artists like David Guetta, Afrojack and Charlie XCX. In an interview with CRACK she said:
"I think the role of the music video is evolving and changing. People have the power to choose exactly what they want to watch and it’s right in the palm of their hands. Creators have so much freedom and the tools are so much more accessible now. You can make a video on your iPhone that is seen by a billion people. At the core, a music video is a marketing tool for the artist. But as a creative medium for the director, the possibilities are wide open, there is a freedom in making music videos, you can push the limits as far as your mind will take you. It’s an exciting space to work in, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues to evolve."
Marketing Artists within the industry
Music artists are marketed differently in the Web 2.0 age than ever before. Cross brand and cross technological marketing now sees artists as 'brand-me'. Artists now have clothing lines, modelling jobs, huge social media following. Fans want 360 degree coverage of the favourite artists they want to see personality, style and product endorsement as well as just the music. For example, Rihanna now has her Fenty clothing line, a brand collaboration with Puma. It works because she retains a large amount of creative control so you see her values, attitudes and beliefs through her work. Her Fenty lines promote ethnic and body diversity with shows featuring a huge range of models, promoting LGBT rights and high quality products. She promotes these lines through social media and is vocal in interviews about what is important, all this has seen her brand last over 15 years and make her one of the richest female artists of all time.
Digital Revolution and the future of the music industry
The survival of the fittest effect produced by Capitalism and how small brands are tackling this
3 major record labels own over half of the worlds records
