Research - Music Video Channels

Music Channels...

Music video channels are a media platform, television based in which their purpose is to broadcast artist/bands music videos from classics to modern mainstream artists. Music channels tend to be linked to radio channels in which the music played links to the music videos being played on television. There are many music channels in the UK which gives different audiences the chance to listen and view their preferred music artists on television. These channels, much like radio channels are used to communicate to their audiences, similar to forums/group chats e.g. music channels do this by calls, website/social media group chats in which they are used mainly for music requests, event winnings etc.

                                                           Channels in the UK

• MTV 
• MTV Hits
• MTV Rock
• MTV Live
• MTV Bass
• MTV Dance
• Starz
• Channel Aka
• Kiss
• VH1
• Bliss
• Viva
• Capital
• BOX Television

There are many benefits to music video channels when it comes to promotion and advertisement in which this falls into the category for financial gain. Music channels spreads promotion on an audience scale in which the channel has already gained; for example aka stars attracts audiences on a national scale in the UK and attracts mainly the younger viewers from the ages 16 - 30 who are interested in the rap, grime, hip hop genres.

Advantages & Disadvantages to Music Channels:

Advantages:

• Promotes artists
• Establishes a fan base in more places 
• Gives a variety of choices for he audience
• Gives the audience visuals as well as just music
• Viewers are given an insight to the artists creativity when creating a music video
• Creates relationship between artist and fans.

Disadvantages:

• Can be repetitive
• Same songs (mainstream) being played on all channels
• Not as popular to todays audiences
• Less choices in genre
• Videos can be viewed on more easier and portable devices such as iPod, Phones etc.

Overall, i think that music video channels are dying out as an entertainment platform because of the constant development in other media platforms that make music entertainment easier for audiences on their portable devices. The majority of people today have phones which allows them to have fast availability to music/videos with the use of apps and internet.

Research - Media Institutions

 Media Institutions..

What is an institution?

An institution is an organisation allowing artist/bands to produce music on a wider scale in which they also help produce and fund their signed artists. Most, if not all popular artist/bands are signed because giving popular artists a brand to their name will benefit both artist and institution for financial gain and additions to their globally renowned loyal fan base.  why having an institution can contribute to your success

The four leading institutions:

• Emi Record Label:

EMI is the worlds leading music company which is globally renowned and internationally successful. They own many successful subsidiary record labels including Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capital, Capital Latin, all very different genres. This is one of the reasons why EMI is the leading music company because their record labels can attract all audiences, both mainstream and niche. They have signed artist such as Katy Perry, Tinie Tempah, Lily Allen, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay.

• Sony

Sony was founded in 2004 and was formally known as Sony BMG Music Entertainment who then changed their name to Sony Music Entertainment in 2008. Sony are one of the biggest media institutions not only in the music industry. They mainly sign and sell mainstream audiences which usually attract the more younger audiences. These artists include Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Beyonce, One Direction, Britney Spears, Pitbull etc. 

• Universal

Universal are the largest music content institution that work in all media platforms than just the music industry in which they are known for investing in the music business of developing 'up and coming' artist such as Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Akon, Mariah Carey, Rita Ora, Rihanna etc. These artist, all careers have been jump started by this company which all have resulted in global success. 

• Warner Bros

Warner: Although they are globally renowned and have a world wide audience, they aren't as popular in the music industry. They own record labels such as Asylum, Atlantic, Cordless, East West, Road Runner and Rhino in which they work with artist to achieve long term music success. These artists include, Bruno Mars, B.O.B, Cee Lo Green, Ed Sheeran, James Blunt, Paramount etc. 

Overall, if i was an artist and had to choose from these four institutions, i would pick Sony Music Entertainment mainly because of the overall result in success of the artist they have signed in which they also include some of my favourite artists with my interest in music. This institutions artists mainly attract to the younger viewers around my age group of 12+ in which they are the largest and mainstream group of artists.

Research - Genre

Genres

There are many types of genres and and sub genres in the music industry today. This i due to the different artist/bands in the industry being  so distinctive and have different interests than others. Artist/bands tend to mix their interest and express more than one type of genre into a song making this a sub genre. The fans/audience of these artists also have different interest. This is why genres are categorised, to help make it easier to identify and know the genres.

Genres are may be referred to as the name of origin of the music; e.g. afro beat is classed in the 'African' genre, asian, brazilian etc.

Genres of music:

Hip Hop

Key conventions - youth, black/male dominated, upbeat, ghetto or glamourised setting, male squad, promiscuously dressed females, male gaze

Target audience: youth based, ages from 16 - 30, both male & female.

R&B

Key conventions - black dominated, both male and females, dancing beat, relationship concept, glamourised setting with background dancers

Target audience: all ages of both genders, favoured more by the black ethnicity.

Pop

Key conventions - dancing, usually includes green screen, bright, colourful, fantasised imagery.

Target audience: all ages of both genders.

Jazz

Key conventions - instruments, staged, live performance based, classic, male band, classic suits, black origin therefore black dominated

Target audience: more of the male gender of ages from 30+

Rock

Key conventions  - Band, instruments, dark & aggressive, up beat, leather, long hair, reckless, concerts, loud, mainly white people

Target audience: mainly males 16+

Dance

Key conventions - up beat, club based, colourful, dancing, partying, youth

Target audience: All ages but mainly the younger generation.

Country

Key conventions - Western setting/atmosphere, cowboys/girl, acoustic/guitar , instruments, calm/happy atmosphere

Target audience: favoured more by the southern/country side of America e.g. Texas, Wisconsin

  

Mainstream and Niche genres

Mainstream - The mainstream genres are usually the genres in which the music is being played repeatedly for weeks or months all over the radio and hyped about on social media. These genres are usually made of the mixes of R&B, Pop, Hip Hop, Dance.

Niche - Niche genres tend to have a smaller fan base than mainstream audiences as the music is more distinctive and therefore enjoyed by those with different interest than mainstream audiences. These genres are usually sub genres such as country, jazz, electronic or cultural based music such as afro beats, asian pop etc.  

Table of conventions:

Importance of genres for audiences:

Identifying a genre can sometimes be difficult for audiences because their may be similar elements the genres tend to have. This is why genres are categorised in to smaller categories such as African - afro beats to be more specific, which helps the audience identify the genre of music much clearer. This will also allow fans stay loyal to their favoured artist/bands as it can help them tell the difference between genres. Categorising of genres can also set a platform for audiences being able to identify different music.

In conclusion, i believe that genres and sub genres are important for the audiences to identify music genres that are categorised. This is because they are able to stay loyal to their favoured artist/band which also allows them be more up to date and have a gain of knowledge about music in the industry.

Research - Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin's Theory.. 

Andrew Goodwin believed that most conventional music videos do 8 conventional things which will appeal to an audience. These 8 things are seen in every music video, however not all 8 will be seen every music video, only some. This is because some music videos are quite controversial. 

Genre characteristics - Music videos often reflect their genre through the use of specific characteristics which makes them conventional. For example R&B music tend to use a fantasized set with bright and attractive scenery to attract the viewers. Luxurious objects are often used also to catch the eye of the viewer. The majority of R&B music videos tend to just have a fun and playful scenery because it matches the music.

 E.g. Chris Brown ft Tyga - Ayo


What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?
This is when a connection is show through the visuals relating to the lyrics. This is either; 

• llustrative - when the visuals are explained by the lyrics
• Amplifying - when the lyrics are exaggerated and displayed on the video
• Contradicting - when the visuals just tend to be visuals and do not relate to the lyrics purposely. 

These are all shown clearly, throughout the music video of 'Wet Dreamz' By J Cole. The video is portrayed by two dogs having human like behavior and the lyrics explain the visuals of a male and female dog having one seems to be similar to a human relationship.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?
Similar to relationship with lyrics and visuals, the connection between music and visuals are the same. They are also illustrative, amplifying or contradicting. The easiest way to identify this in a music video is when the music tends to be more up beat or slower the editing and visuals will also tend to be slower to make the music video seem more in sync and make more sense towards the viewers.

Star motifs
The music video would occasionally include many close-up shots of the artist to make them the clear main focus of the music video in which this may tend to be demanded by the record labels to make them identifiable and the star of the video as the artist is the one being promoted. 

Notion of looking
This is particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body meaning that woman that are seen as a sexual object, therefore young and attractive females tend to be used in videos dress promiscuous or half naked to attract more of the male viewers than the females. This is also known as the male gaze (Laura Mulvey's theory). There are many music videos nowadays that could fit into this section.

Inter textual references
in many music videos you will find there are often links to other films, TV programmes, other artist or real life events. Many artist with songs featured in a films soundtrack often have short scenes that are consistent throughout the music video in which the song featured the film in. This is an extra advertisement method used outside the film industry. Other methods of inter-textual references can be done in a more playful but can be a controversial way. This can be seen in the music video of Eminem's 'Without Me' or 'Just Lose It'. You will see references to the characters of Batman & Robin, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley in which Eminem plays a funny version of those artist and characters and can sometimes be seen as controversial and offensive to those who dislike it.

Performance, Narrative or concept based

• Performance - the focus of the music video would solidly be on the artist/band. For example Lil Snupe - Melo music video shows the camera just focused on Lil snupe in which this technique is used in many individual artists music videos.
  

• Narrative - means that their is a story attached to the video/lyrics of the song. For example J Coles - G.O.M.D has a slavery story in which J Cole portrays a young black slave owned by rich white men the conclusion of the music video is freedom.

• Concept - this is usually a single concept - obscure, surreal for the audience, more than likely including special effects. Some concepts can be very basic e.g. relationships, family, city etc. some may be very detailed and what seems to be a fantasy to the viewers for example Chris Brown's - Fine China is set in a futuristic world wear technology has upgraded immensely.
  
   

Technical elements

This is when the micro elements simply compliment the genre therefore the editing, cinematography , mise en scene and sound are purely relied or or seperately focused on e.g. some artist may want to have very good editing more than relying on the Mise en scene. An example in which these elements are used in is Tyga - Glitta. This is a music video with basic but clear use of the micro elements.

As a a group in class we created a table with the 8 points of Goodwin's Theory used to analyse the music video of Will Smith's song 'Miami'. Here is an image of the table we made and filled during class:

The class were then separated to complete the same task but individually. I then chose to analyse Eminem's Music video 'The Way I Am'

Here is my analysis of Will Smith's music video of 'Miami' covering the 8 points of Goodwin's Theory:

Features to look for	General examples present	Detailed example
Genre Characteristics	Dark, personal, hip hop, aggressive, not conventional to the hip hop genre	Dark, hip hop, not usually what we see in Eminem videos where his inter textual references are more funny and reckless.
What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?	The lyrics relate to the narrative throughout the music video, telling a story, lyrics reflect on video	This song is more aggressive and personal therefore the visuals are more dark and gritty in the more gritty locations
What is the relationship between music and visuals?	The music is in sync with the editing of the video. The more up tempo the music gets the faster paced editing it gets.	With every loud beat or last word of a lyric the editing cuts to a different shot. This allows the music video to be in sync with the music, making sense to the viewer.
Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?	Many close ups showing the artist facial expressions. The narrative of the video portrays the dark and negative side to his life and how it is to live in the music industry.	These close ups showing facial expressions allow the viewers to identify what lyrics provoke different types of emotions to the artist.
Is there reference to the notion of looking?	Main focus is Eminem, there is no conventional use of the male gaze.	The video is of a dark atmosphere and focuses on the artist personal life which is unconventional to the expected hip hop genre portraying a glamorous lifestyle.
Is there inter-textual references?	The main inter textual reference in this video is the portrayal of daily events e.g. fans asking for autographs, pictures etc.	Eminem is a star and wants to represent himself in this video as a victim in the negative side of the music industry.
Is it performance based, or concept based? How much of each?	Both performance and concept, more concept than performance. Concept is the insight to the negatives in his life.	The small amount of performance in this video used is to help make a clear understanding to the viewers what he is trying to portray.

Conclusion

Learning Goodwin's theory has allowed me to analyse and break down a music video with the 8 points of his theory. This knowledge will now allow me to accomplish a production of a successful music video as this theory allows me to include all the right elements to create a great music video.

Research: What is a music video?

What is a music video and what is it's purpose?

A music video is a short film produced with or after the release of a song. Music videos are for promotional/ or personal reasons. The promotional factor of a music video is mainly used to increase the selling of the record/album or to promote films the song has featured in. For example Ed Sheeran - I See Fire was used in the Hobbit Movie soundtrack, therefore in the music video, scenes from the film were used in which this helps promote both the artist and film.

Music videos such as Rihanna - We Found Love is used to portray personal events. Rihanna produced this video portraying her past relationship with Chris Brown which ended in domestic abuse. The video to this song was released a month after the song release in September 2011. This video created more sense to the audience about the Rihanna and Brown relationship creating more hype towards the song creating more success for the artist.

 Other promotional methods used can be to advertise products or brands etc just by quickly showing the use of the product or by showing the name of a brand in the video. For example Chris Brown - New Flame advertises the Dr.Dre Beats pill and app.

Classic Conventions:

A music videos main purpose is to attract and sell therefore there are conventions used to help this purpose. The use of the male gaze is one of the most easiest to identify. This is when the use of one or many attractive young woman are put in the video to help create a seductive and fantasized atmosphere. The use of expensive products in the background such as cars, jewelry, mansions is also a classic convention that also takes the factor of a fantasy making viewers want the lifestyle portrayed. For example Meek Mill - B Boy music video does this;

Synergy:

The release of a music video is often a small boost to an artist music campaign. This can be done by producing a video after the release of a single to create hype on an upcoming album. Singles/soundtracks are sometimes featured in mainstream films which create huge hype and publicity towards the songs/artist. Scenes from the film would often be shown in the music video to help advertise the film. An artist has done this recently in the book to film production 'Fifty Shades of Grey' in which artist, 'The Weeknd' have several featured tracks in the movie soundtrack. The release of the more fan favored track 'Earned It' had sky rocketed in success after the music video release with 161 million views on YouTube alongside being played on the radio for months and the hype all over social media such as Instagram, twitter etc.

Audience Impact:

The audience have a huge impact on whether the music video is successful or not. This also adds on to the fans/viewers opinions posted on social media which can also either help increase or decrease the success and hype of the music video.

Technological Advancements:

Current Threats..

• The majority of people use portable devices such is phones and iPod's therefore they have the availability to use music apps such as iTunes and Spotify to download favored songs. This would sometimes destroy the purpose of watching music videos.

• Some non mainstream apps are also available for easy downloadable music on portable devices. This may be easier for the fans/viewers but for the artist, this reduces the success of the song on mainstream media.

• People may produce remixes in which this version may be favored by some audiences.

Conclusion:

The music industry will remain the same as far as music videos go because of the small purpose it has to the artist and the impact it has on the audience. Music videos may have gradual success throughout the years if and when explicit videos are available to all audiences as the viewers are sometimes blocked from watching explicit videos due to age restrictions. This makes a small affect on those viewers as the internet is easily accessible and easy to find and view restricted imagery.