Post 2: Industry

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.

DANCE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Dance music is defined as:

dance music in British

noun

1. 

music that is suitable for dancing

2. Also called: dance

pop music with a strong electronic rhythm

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

Post 1: Audience

My audience as specified in the brief is a 'culturally sophisticated, 16-25 yr old, AB class demographic'

Lifestyle
These are the four key areas I have identified in my audience, what is necessary and important to them and therefore areas/experiences I should gratify in my video

• Likely in education, university/school/college
• Part time jobs
• Relationships/friendships 
• Transition into adulthood & finding your way in the world

An artists target audience is often dictated by their label, they decide which group to market them on based on who they think they will appeal to (and generate income from) the most.

This demographic don't want sentimentality and are not as easily impressed by technological intricacy in videos due to being tech savvy.

A psychometric method of audience categorisation developed by Young and Rubicam.

A - upper middle class, higher managerial administrative, professional
B- middle class, intermediate managerial, administrative or professional

• Lots of disposable income
• Social media usage
• Intertextuality will reference modern consumer tastes
• Target audience for my video are people that enjoy dance music

Mood Board

Guidelines & Regulations

"To improve consumer awareness about the content of certain music videos, and to improve child protection online, Vevo and YouTube, working in partnership with the BBFC, are making permanent a pilot scheme to age rate all music videos by artists signed to Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK and Warner Music UK that are unsuitable for younger children (under 12s). On 18 August 2015, Government also announced that independent UK music labels will take part in a further six month phase of the pilot."

E4 & UK Tribes

The TV channel E4, targeted at my 16-25 AB demographic too has done extensive research on this demographic in order to improve programming and marketing. UK tribes is a community of more than 400 people who share views online. They do market research through surveys, interviews and video diaries and in conclusion have found 25 tribes within 5 key groups. I have decided the one that most fits my target audience would be the Aspirant group, despite my artist being within the 'leading edge' group of artists and content creators.

Dictated mainly by their aspirational lifestyle and the way in which they share it with the world, often making others envious through fronts on social media. They are up to date with cutting edge clothes, music and hot spots and being sociable and moving in the right circles is very important to them. This makes them big consumers, often in AB class demographics with lots of disposable income and brand loyalty is a key trait.

Trendies – my core audience

-love fashion

-focus on ‘brand-me’

-lean towards instagram, vlogging

Vloggers – secondary audience

Sharing their attitudes, vlaues and beliefs through online presences, though not necessarily creating content, more reblogging etc.

Reference to the tumblr generation

Other aspirants:

• New casuals
• Hypebeasts
• Hipsters

Notes:
Students contribute an estimated £20 billion to the UK economy per year

Culturally sophisticated people want products that adhere to a high standard

They are some of the largest media consumers so intertextuality is important to them, they recognise familiar tropes from tv shows, music and social media content

Wide range of interests from sport, gaming, fashion

Geo demographics, the generation is everywhere, many could be in university to close to university cities

Want to see the generation positively and accurately represented, often given a negative media portrayal outside of the demographic

A report by Demos in 2014 found 80% of young people believe this generation is more concerned with social issues than previous ones. This is also how I hope to generate a response in my adverts by challenging social issues like gender stereotypes and peer approval.

"Many of
the Tribes follow their favourite artists on YouTube and Facebook to keep up to date with new releases, collaborations, tour dates and music videos in order to stay in the loop with the latest music. They also use Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to keep up with the day to day to lives of the artists they follow and reading their account bio and about me pages in order to get to know them better."

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Audiences make choices about what they consumed with growing technological change. They were less of a passive mass and instead chose media outlets that provided functions for both individuals and society as a whole. The theorist Lasswell has suggested four functions:

Want of surveillance of wider society, things they do not know about, issues and events they was exposure to

Correlation - notably fan bases, to confirm values, attitudes and beliefs and share in those they already have

Entertainment - e.g. comedy shows, reality TV, game shows

Cultural Transmission - experiences learning e.g. documentaries

As new media forms have emerged, Blumer and Katz have expanded this theory, suggesting the following uses and gratifications for audiences:

• Diversion
• Personal relationships and emotional interaction
• Personal Identity
• Surveillance

I therefore need to make sure that in order to create a relatable and accessible artist, video and website I need to gratify what audiences/fans want.

Audience Research
I identified two key members of my target audience, Hattie and Rick and asked them questions relevant to their values attitudes and beliefs and how this dictates what music videos fulfill their needs and gratifications.

Rick Jones, 19, University of Warwick student
What do you feel is important to your generation?
I think now more than ever, politics and the world around us is making the youth wake up and want to take responsibility for it.

What's your favourite music video and why?
Pulp, Common People, mainly because I love the song and I like the way the video describes the story of the lyrics

What brands/styles speak to you the most?
I don't really follow high fashion because its so expensive! But I usually get my stuff from vintage/retro shops and I go for mainstream brands like Adidas and Nike.

What are your hobbies/things you spend your money on?
Right now I'm at Uni, so all my student loan is spent on rent and food. Extra money I have goes on nights out in Warwick and the occasional item of clothing.

What dance music do you listen to?
I love techno and I went to dimensions festival this year which was perfect and I really got my fix, I don't think in the UK there's as much variety of techno events and widespread appreciation of it as a genre.

Hattie Palmer Noon, 16, Marylebone school student

What do you feel is important to your generation?
Expressing your individuality because quite often older generations make assumptions about young people that are collective and unfair.

What's your favourite music video and why?
Dua Lipa New Rules, I love the outfits, colour scheme and obviously the song itself.

What brands/styles speak to you the most?
I always like looking for second-hand designer clothes from places like Depop, Rokit and Ebay. I love 70's inspired clothing, like flares and statement jewellery at the moment but my tastes are constantly shifting. I usually use celebrity instagrams to find the latest trends, people like Lily Allen and Anne-Marie.

What are your hobbies/ things you spend money on?
Food! I go out for dinner a lot with my friends to places like Wagamamas. I also like cooking at home and the shared experiences of eating together and feeling like you've made it yourself. In terms of hobbies I do lots of extra curricular stuff like model United Nations and dance.

What dance music do you listen to?
I love disco, songs like 'Groove is in the heart' by Dee-lite, Donna Summer and Chaka Khan. Recently I've been getting more into Drum and Bass and Garage though because I stream more independent artists through Soundcloud.

NEA Task

The mini-NEA has been a huge learning curve for me. Since beginning the project, I have found which areas of production I enjoy the most and where I need to pay particular attention in my real NEA. I have found that where my strengths lie are in the research and planning stages but not so much in the technical areas so I know that while I have developed ideas about lighting and camera shots this is where I’m, going to hone my skills over the summer. I have also found the performance workshops useful in terms of giving me the confidence to know I can perform in my own NEA project in September, rather than essentially hiding behind the camera!

The first thing I did was extensively researching music videos. This was a fairly unfamiliar territory for me, particularly the dance genre. I really enjoyed learning such niche codes and conventions, for example, how editing works for specific artists, the EDM ‘look’ and narrative style for these kinds of videos. Planning the styling makeup and hair for my persona allowed me to think about the overall look of my video. I found the editing was the part I really enjoyed the most, I like the way continuity rules apply differently for music videos and allowed me a lot of creative freedom, experimenting with slow motion, fast motion, grading and pace. I made a detailed shoot board with visuals, camera angles and shots and this helped me think about what really goes into a music video and how meticulous my planning for September will be. I took part in lip syncing and performing workshops to build my confidence, dance skills and knowledge of performance. We also took a detailed tour of the studio, cameras, lighting and other equipment.

I have honed an enjoyment of editing/styling in particular and am fully on board to carry on with the music video brief for my A level coursework. I will make changes to details like the song and artist persona I created, but will likely continue with the studio setup and mise en scene used this time round. I can appreciate the paired back and colourful backdrop that is typical of lots of dance music videos, as I have found from my research. I’m going to utilise my time over summer to make creative decisions regarding my project so I am ready to start fresh in September. I will definitely continue with the same process in terms of doing things in a set chronological order and working my way from research to planning to styling to making a shoot board etc. as I feel this was really beneficial and helped me organise my ideas this time round. In September I will be shooting all new material so this will need to be planned soon so I am ready to go on more or less the first day back. I’m going to create an extensive shoot board detailing around 6-8 set ups that I will use in my final edit. I’m also going to reccie locations outside of the studio and think about promo shots that I can use on my website. 

13. Closing Post

This blog is now closed.

Thank you for reading my blog, I have had a great time working on this project and I hope that comes across through my work. Everything in the project is under the label 'AS Research and Planning'.

12. My Final Production

Here is my final production!

This is my first advert.




This is my second advert.

11. Production review: My production and my intended improvements

Review 1 - BLK - Advert 1
After doing a rough cut of my advert, I decided to re shoot some scenes with a slightly different story line. The idea of 'coming out' wasn't coming across clearly and there wasn't a clear sense of fun and energy which I was going for. On re shooting I decided to use dialogue to better convey the emotions and point I was making and also to change the idea of 'coming out' to going out. However this would feature both a boy and girl getting ready together, allowing the audience to fully accept that a boy could put makeup on just as a girl can.

Review 2 - Technician -  Advert 2
On doing a technical review, I was told I needed to grade my footage carefully. This was because I shot outside on a very bright but not particularly sunny day, leaving a lot of my shots very overexposed. In the final two, the can of deodorant is hard to make out so I need to up the contrast and do some colour correction either with oranges or blues.

Review 3 - DYM -  Advert 1 and 2
For advert 2, my feedback was mainly positive, the storyline was clear but it was suggested that I include some voiceover to make the decision making of the main character clearer and relate it back to the branding of the product, for example, having someone say that the boy chased after the girl because he had the confidence bestowed by wave. I am going to record this today and test it out to see if it works. For advert 1, we discussed my re shoot and made a plan of a different storyline I could sue that would better convey the message. We also decided that when I next film I should have the boy already in a full face of makeup and make my actors feel more comfortable in front of the camera to give off a more upbeat and fun vibe. Furthermore, the costumes don't make it particularly clear that the actors are getting ready for a night out, so I need to make sure they wear something bright/sparkly and convey that via their emotions.

Review 4 - Technician Advert 1
We decided that the use of colour was important in this advert, so decided to up the saturation to make the costumes and makeup pop. We also considered whether the montage of footage would look better and allow more of a storyline if some of it was put in fast motion - I am going to try this out and then decide. I was told to swap the usage shots to show a clear image of the deodorant bottle. I also decided to include more shots of the boy actor to convey the storyline better.

Review 5- DYM - Advert 1 and 2
We discussed adding sound effects into both adverts, for example spraying in one and panting in the other after the actors have stopped jogging. We decided

Review 6 - Target Audience
I used two girls and a boy ages 16-18 to represent my target audience. They thought the message was clearly conveyed and said the fun and upbeat feel allowed them to engage with the brand and the product. I was advised to change the music on my first advert as it felt too comical/jazzy. They suggested I use the same rock/pop style on both adverts to better convey the idea of a 'series'.

Review 7 - BLK - Here we discussed leaving some background noise in to create a level of atmosphere and realism to the adverts. I was also advised to swap the first and second shots round so that the audience would get a clearer picture of both actors faces and to build suspense of the fact that the friend you expect to be a girl is in fact a boy. I was advised to use some slow motion in the advert where the boy and girl bump into each other to create a more dramatic effect.

Review 8 - Technician
We adjusted the grading and sound mix levels to make sure there weren't any peaks.

10. My planning evidence

These are my shoot itineraries.

These are my scripts

Here are the storyboards I made for both my shoots detailing the storyline, shot type and providing a guide for me to use while shooting.

Here is a large PDF document I made and gave out to my actors, it contains a location report, Prop list, risk assessment, voice over plan and a cast costume and makeup list.