Narrative/Audience/Genre Theory

Intertextuality in Music Videos

Since cinema was invented, it has given artists the opportunity to bring their songs to life and advances in technology have allowed music videos to transform into what they are today. Surprisingly, music videos have been around since as early as the 1920s, and older artists such as Bessie Smith, often created short films to go with their jazz music (the start of intertextuality). But then, in the 1970s, TV shows struck the music industry as a great way to promote their music and artists and focused on producing short promotional videos instead of a live performance straight to the television screen. The most groundbreaking, visualising music video was in 1975 when 'Queen' released the video for Bohemian Rhapsody and marked the beginning of an era, being the first with advanced visual effects.

Goodwin's Theory

'Every music video you watch, you'll always have a relation to the lyrics and the visual' - Andrew Goodwin, 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory', 1992

I have evaluated four music videos to test Goodwin's theory and to see how it applies to the different genres:

Name of Track: Love Story

Artist/ Director: Taylor Swift/ Trey Fanjoy

Name of Track: Watercolour

Artist/Director: Pendulum/ Barney Steel and Mike Sharpe

Name of Track: She Said

Artist/ Director: Plan B/ Daniel Wolfe

Name of Track: Her Words Destroyed My Planet
Artist/ Director: Motion City Soundtrack/ Isaac Rentz

The Online Revolution

How has the revolution of music downloads affected how bands/artists promote their material?

'The Online Revolution' has caused a huge impact on the music industry; ever since 1999 when Napster was brought to many and shared 8 million files in it's first year alone. This was merely someone wanting to share his music with others, but for the music industry it was robbing them of millions of pounds. This number was only increasing as in 2008, 40 billion files were shared illegally on thousands of illegal download websites. As 23% of the revenue of the album/song releases go back to new artists, there could be a stunt if the revolution continues.

It is having a negative impact on CD sales as nowadays 99% of singles are downloaded from online shops, such as iTunes, rather than brought on a hard copy. This is only the beginning of the trend as 10 million albums were brought digitally in 2008, and this is ever increasing.

However, some may be grateful for 'The Online Revolution' as it is presenting artists with new ways of sharing their music:

Spotify

Spotify is a subscription service funded by advertisements and is growing at a rate of 50% in Sweden alone. It is allowing many to access all kinds of music, uninterrupted, for around £9.99 each month. Artists can now promote their music in one of the advertisements for those who have the free version of this programme.


Social Networking Sites
MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are examples of well known social networking sites which allow a new artist to develop a fan base as they can upload their music onto the website and an audience can listen. They also show when recent events are happening, such as a concert. This advertises them successfully and means the artist can use 'The Online Revolution' to their advantage.


Youtube
This is a video website where anyone, anywhere can upload themselves performing  a song or recording a concert they are at and show it to the rest of the world. This will get the artist known by billions of people. However, a disadvantage is the 'Youtube to MP3 Converter', which means it extracts the sound from the video and the person using the converter is left with the MP3 recording... for free and illegally.

Led Zeppelin - The Traditional Approach

Led Zeppelin are an English rock band formed in 1968 - as the Internet was not invented around this time, they had no choice but to use a traditional approach of flyers, television and radio advertisements. It is safe to say they succeeded as they were ranked number one on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock".

They were managed by Peter Grant who got them a prestigious contract with 'Atlantic Records'. This meant they were already ahead as they had a strong contract - but how did they promote themselves?

It is clear they promoted themselves for events via posters. This is their 1980 tour poster - as the Internet was not there to advertise to millions everywhere, they resorted to posters being placed on buildings, cafes, clubs and bars. This increased their success as if people missed one show, there were others near the same area as it was a tour.

Posters were even designed if they had a new song on release, an example being 'Whole Lotta Love' which had a poster when it was released. This would encourage an audience to want to listen to their music.

Greetings cards were even designed so fans could send relatives and companions cards with the Led Zeppelin design.

As one of the main forms of media communications during the 70s was via newspapers and magazines, Led Zeppelin were often featured if they were in the local area, or to advertise them as great musicians, such as Jimmy Page (the guitarist) being on the front cover of a well known guitar magazine.

Information found at - http://www.ledzeppelin.com/

Kate Nash - Using the Internet

Kate Nash is an English songwriter/ singer discovered by her record label through the social networking site named MySpace. She was founded by 'Moshi Moshi Records'  and had her debut single of 'Foundations' in 2007 which reached number 2 in the UK singles charts, but then she released her successful album 'Made of Bricks', which reached number 1 in the UK album charts.

Her roaring and sudden success was down to her uploading and sharing her music online where her fans can listen for free. If it had not been for the Internet, it would be unlikely she would have been discovered by this record label and therefore owes her prestige in the music industry to the Internet.

What have I found out?

From looking in to Kate Nash and Led Zeppelin who have promoted their music on opposite ends of the spectrum but have managed to succeed, I have discovered the Internet is a quick way to build a fan base, whereas Led Zeppelin built over generations of hard and loyal work.

How has the Internet changed the promotion of music?

The Internet has allowed anyone, anywhere to be an independent artist by uploading their music on to a website where they can build an audience. The promotion of music has become Internet based as those who would like to succeed have more of an opportunity for feedback and discovery by record labels who are searching social networking sites. It allows concerts to be announced and the audience to feel a part of the life of the artist, which is part of the 'Uses and Gratifications' theory.

The Online Revolution - How will I use it?

I discovered my artist through the Internet: on the unsigned artist section on http://www.myspace.com/ - this shows the website is already creating them some success. To enhance the use of the Internet, I would create the artist an official website that would be advertised via the social networking websites that are frequently used by my target audience (e.g, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc.) On the website, it will contain updates of their music and tour dates so the audience understand what is happening with the artist.

Evaluation of Websites

Why is it so important to have a good website?

Originally, the Internet was designed so scientist's could share information, but as more people now have access to the Internet, it's usage is more broad. The tools haven't changed, only those who use it. It is a cheap, easy way to share images, files, videos and experiences. As the audience is becoming larger, it is vital an artist presents their website in an approachable way which promotes their music.

Gorillaz - http://gorillaz.com

The Prodigy - http://theprodigy.com

Beyoncé - http://beyonceonline.com

Branding

Branding is using the artist the same way you would use a designer - putting their names on items to boost sales. For artists, the main types of branding are as follows:

-Stickers

-Badges

-Posters

-Flyers

-Clothing

Where are these products sold?

These products are often sold on the artists website, such as 'The Rolling Stones' where they have branded successfully due to their iconic logo. Other websites, such as 'Amazon' and 'eBay' sell clothing and accessories to do with various artists. 'Big Cartel' is also a main website where it promotes artists with branding.

What purpose are they designed?

Branding is the most powerful marketing tool - it is not just a logo or a name, but something that attracts customers and forever will be associated with the artist. The brand means people will want to carry an item with the logo on to support the artist - it can be transported for various accessories (bags, jewellery, badges etc.) and so will promote them.

For a design to be successful, it has to be simple yet memorable. An example of this would be 'Take That' who have an uncomplicated logo, but it is instantly recognisable as theirs. This proves it to be a success; it can be used on all the branding items stated above as a symbol of support from a fan.  

Overall, branding is successful as instantly the audience will recognise the artist based on the logo they have taken as their own.

How do I intend to use branding?

As branding is an essential marketing strategy that will get my artist well known, I have to ensure the ancillary and main tasks have a recognisable link. I have decided to use stop frame animation for my music video, and so I will use the stop frame animation photos for the digipack, making a clear link between the two. The images that are used will be the branding items.

Having a Niche - Amy Winehouse

What is a Niche?

'You need a reason to stand out. Try to find something that will make people more curious about you - give them a reason to want to know you more.' - Heather McDonald in 'Your Guide to Music Careers'

That stated above is what having a niche is. It's about standing out from the crowd and bringing something new to music lovers everywhere. The artist who stands out in my mind is Amy Winehouse not only for having a niche in her music, but in her looks and in effect, a niche with the press.

Amy Winehouse

Background

Amy Winehouse was born 14th September 1983, and made her debut hit in 2003. How did she do this? What is so unique about this particular artist? Did she create a revolution?

Amy was born in North London and it was clear from an early age she was going to be a star as at the age of 10 she went to Susi Earnshaw Theatre School and later moving on to Sylvia Young Theatre School and eventually earning herself a place in the BRIT School where various stars such as ‘The Kooks’ all met and became famous. Is this where she gained her unique look and sound? Or was it perhaps her strong interest and influence from jazz music, constantly listening to artists like Frank Sinatra?

A Video Before she was Famous

This is juxtaposition to how she appears nowadays:

Niche in Appearance

Something that makes Winehouse stand out from the rest is her looks with the over exaggerated eye makeup and the retro beehive. This started a huge new trend where many wanted to have the large bonnet and attention seeking eyes, which went against the women who had been presented in music beforehand, such as Mariah Carey. However, over the years, the image is gradually becoming less phenomenal and more worrying as she is clearly malnourished and has been arrested due to drugs.

Niche with the Press

Her niche with the press is one like no other – it has reached a point where she was photographed so much she carried out a harassment injunction, where press aren’t allowed more than 100 metres of her home, or when she is at a friend’s home. However, some of the images captured have shown a bad side to Winehouse: the constant drinking and drug taking. This has created a niche, but a negative one.

Niche in Music

This niche has let her create some of her most well known music such as the songs 'Back to Black' and 'Rehab' which emphasise her need for drugs and alcohol. The sound created is so abnormal to what many have heard as it is a mix of soul, R & B and jazz. Her voice has kick started a revival of soul music and has been named “The Winehouse Phenomenon” by Sebastian Danchin. She promoted other artists such as Adele and Duffy.

Amy Winehouse has used all of the above to promote her music because her name is known everywhere due to the press, and she still has a unique sound. This means if you saw her digipack, you would instantly recognise it was her due to her niche looks, and you would expect a niche sound to follow as such. I could promote my own artist’s album by having a different image that goes against the stereotype of an indie-rock band (which is the genre of my artist) on the front cover – one that is striking due to its non conventional look.

Will my artist have a niche?

My artist conforms to the genre and so unlike Amy Winehouse, is already part of a stereotype. To ensure the target audience listen to their music, they have to take the key characteristics of this genre of music and enhance them. (E.g, indie rock is guitar driven - images of the artist playing the guitar). As the music video is a stop frame animation mixed with a video based performance, the niche could be every music video created to do with the artist will follow this format, similar to the artist Ok Go who do 'one take' videos.

Target Audience

A Target Audience

When an artist or record label are thinking of promoting themselves, they have to consider the following with target audience:

- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Religion


I have researched several artists and how they have used various promotion techniques throughout the media to sell their albums. Have they been successful and reached a clear target audience?

Headlines - The Saturdays

The Header of 'The Saturdays' Website

'The Saturdays' are a girl group formed in 2007 in London, England. They made their recording debut in 2008 with 'Fascination Records' and have become a roaring success releasing another album on top along with a mini-album. This mini-album was named Headlines and has been their latest release in 2010 - what is their target audience? Did they promote it well to them? What ways did they advertise this new release? These are questions that must be answered to understand their success and to be able to do this when advertising my own artist's album.

View of the 'T-Shirt Bundle'

Being a female pop group, it is clear the gender they are aimed at is female, and conforming to the stereotype of today's woman (flawless, slim and deemed 'perfect') they are an inspiration to a younger audience in particular. They did successfully target a younger audience with the 'T Shirt Album Bundle' promoted on their website where you get a discount price is you buy both at once. However, the older female generations were targeted by the album being reviewed in the females magazine OK (www.ok.co.uk/posts/view/25269/Review-The-Saturdays-Headlines-) and therefore, as it is predominantly read by women, it advertises more towards that gender.

On 'The Saturdays' MySpace

They did also target a larger audience when using pop-ups on the Internet. This could have appeared on any one's computer, anywhere, therefore not giving a clear demographic. However, it is a way of using viral marketing as you can 'Share it on Facebook' and other social networking sites, much like how 'Nizlopi' released the JCB Song. Another form of viral marketing used was 'MySpace' (www.myspace.com/thesaturdays) where the banner on the artist's page was the mini-album's logo and you can even pre-order the album via this website. As you can listen to the album on their MySpace, they are using convergence to their advantage.

They also used synergy in creating a television advertisement to promote their album (www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UQDhmYctpk) where people can see parts of the music video and hear sections of the album, therefore buying it on what they have heard. This means that between television shows, viewers of any age, race or gender was able to listen and think about buying the album or not. It is not particularly targeting a set audience.

The magazine reviews, Internet based advertisements and television promotional advertisements did sell the album reasonably well as the album peaked at number 9 in the UK album chart. I feel they could have achieved more if they made their audience more precise because it was only their true fans from social networking that had it targeted towards them - other methods were shown to everyone. Radio advertisements would have been successful, or even Spotify adverts when the audience views the artist on this programme.

Recovery - Eminem

Eminem's Opening Image to Website

Eminem is a globally known American rapper who has won both a Grammy and an Oscar. He has earned his place in the music industry by his lyrical talent as the majority of the artist's songs are written by him. His most recent album named Recovery, released August 2010, was once again written by the artist himself about his own personal development after  a drugs overdose. Who was this album aimed at and why did it make such a huge success?

Eminem has advertised his album on his website (www.eminem.com/default.aspx) as it is the opening image, and is now selling clothing on this website with the album's name and logo printed on it. As the clothes are dark and baggy, it commonly stereotypes with teenagers who listen to this type of recovery. However, the logo contains a cross which is the inverse of the Red Cross showing aid and salvation - some may buy the clothing to support him through his rehabilitation. It could also relate strongly to those who have been in a similar situation with drugs, alcohol or other addictions.

The artist has also promoted the album via viral marketing as their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/eminem) contains the latest songs from the album. This is where the artist's fans can view and listen regularly for free before they buy the album as they can ensure they like it.

Events have also been set up to advertise Eminem's new album (www.cmonwealth.com/whatsnew/recovery.jpg) where the track listing was revealed and shown. These events allow the fans to group together and provide a social gathering as well as a promotional item for the artist.

The album has reached number 2 in the UK Album Charts meaning the events, viral marketing and clothing helped boost its name. I believe clothing is very effective and events allows Eminem fans to group together. Something that could have made the ratings even higher was possibly a television advertisement as those who could not access the Internet or events had an opportunity to view the album before purchasing.

Illusion of Safety - The Hoosiers

No one had heard from the indie-rock group 'The Hoosiers' since 2007 and then a fluster of television advertisements hit the screen and they had returned with another album named Illusion of Safety. After being kept quiet for several years, who did they want to target with their new sound?

The main television advertisement (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkYTl-ylwKE) was meant to target the old fans by having their biggest hits Worried About Ray and Goodbye Mr. A viewed on the advert. This would trigger the audience's memory. For a new target audience, they decided to add humour into the equation so people would remember the advert, and therefore them. Along with this advert, there were shorter 10 second clips (www.youtube.com/watch?v=ja4qjkj8qNY&feature=channel) that were played randomly on the main television channels. They did not contain any music, but only the group members talking of their new album. Once again, by containing humour it made them memorable and made the audience want to listen to the album. The retro outfits in the adverts suggest they are in fashion as retro items are always viewed in shops and it also suggests something quirky and different about them - it makes the audience ask themselves the question 'what makes them stand out?'

Also, like many artist's nowadays, they have succumbed to using viral marketing where their fans on MySpace (www.myspace.com/thehoosiers) can buy and download their album or latest single, Choices. This means their fans get first choice, and therefore will gain a larger fan base as many would like the opportunity to listen to their music first.

Before entering the official homepage to their website, there is the image of the digipack cover (www.thehoosiers.com/gb/splash/) and so you get commonly associated with it - this means if the audience went into a CD shop they would recognise it and look. Also, as the typography is bright and vibrant, it suggests their music is fun and light hearted; the audience may enjoy this emotion and buy the music based on that.

Was this intense and sudden promotional material a success? Yes. 'The Hoosiers' reached the top 10 - but what could have allowed them to make number 1? Unlike Eminem, they did not do any events based around the album, and unlike both 'The Saturdays' and Eminem, there is no clothing available. This could have increased the sales, but they did have a good comeback.

CD Cover Design & Digipacks

What is a 'digipack'?

"The content of a digipack is exactly the same as... usual CD covers, it is just getting dimensions and folds correct.'

The Fratellis - Costello Music

The Fratellis album Costello Music made a huge hit in the UK reaching it's peak at number 2 in the album charts, and also staying in the Top 100 for 83 weeks continuously.

This album has had a huge variety of reviews from critics from it being compared to The Libertines, Babyshams and Arctic Monkeys and also being described as sounding like 15 other artists of this time. However, it has had some positive reviews by being 'amible' and also by taking themselves less seriously than most other indie rock bands. This is meant to be reflected in their general attitude; and yet due to their hair and their album artwork are meant to have a classy attribute to them:

Overall, I believe this album was such a success partly due to the artwork as it would attract a wide variety of audiences and also grab people's attention due to the cover being unconventional by going against a stereotype in the image. However, as it is also based around a fashion, one could argue they were simply modifying the image of women. I do believe they may have sold the album  due to other factors, such as them having a typical indie-rock band sound, which is so popular today. 

Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - Searching for the Hows and Whys

This is one of my favourite album, challenging the acoustic guitar and modern issues commonly featured on the news; however others did not agree considering it's peak in the UK music charts was number 33. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly has a lovable persona, but this did not help him sell his music - not even guest vocalist Kate Nash boosted the sales. Critics say he did not challenge the folk-rock genre enough to create a successful revenue. This was not to do with the eye-catching, strange digipack, but what was contained on the CD.

Overall, this album had a selective audience at first eye, but could relate to many people's inner emotions. This cover was therefore successful and evaluated the artist well by using intertextuality of him being on the front cover. Perhaps it simply was the music that faulted a large profit.

Adele - 19

This was Adele's debut album and what a raving success it was! It reached number one in it's first weeks in the charts, and was also released in the same week as the number one single Chasing Pavements. Within the album was a cover of Bob Dylan's song Make You Feel My Love which was strongly approved by many critics. The cover was an image of the new artist emerging out of the darkness, relating to her emotions when this was released.

Overall, the album was a huge success but possible due to the catchy song Chasing Pavements enlarging the image of this album and therefore attracting many to buy it. The cover could represent the artist's emotions as she is slowly rising to be one of the UK's largest female artists.

Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

This album was Arctic Monkeys debut album and was titled the UK's 5th greatest album, emphasising its success. It was the UK's fastest ever selling album in selling 360,000 copies in its first week in stores and also went quadruple platinum.

The idea of this album was the concern of the young Northern English clubbers shown in song tracks such as I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor and also challenging topics on nightlife shown by When the Sun Goes Down. This gives the album a set demographic, but it reached a larger audience than expected shown by the sale rate.

Overall, the cover of this digipack does not aim at a set audience, par the smoking, but not a significantly young audience. As the cover reveals very little about music, the consumers of the album may have brought it out of curiosity.

Pixie Lott - Turn It Up

This was Pixie Lott's debut album, which reached number six in the UK charts - not the best of starts. However, the first two tracks on the album Mama and Boys and Girls reached number one in the UK's singles charts. It sold 500,000 copies in the UK and earned itself a platinum certificate.

Overall, the sale was down to the first two singles being successful. The cover was showing the artist's passion for music rather than giving any indication on the genre or what the music contains. It does not have a set theme, only a typical pop CD.

Pitch Feedback

My Pitch

Pitch presentation

View more presentations from Lorna Wooldridge.

To advertise my idea for my music video, I sold it through a pitch and asked for feedback from my peers. This was the feedback I gained:

What I have considered...

The feedback I would like to incorporate into my video would be the idea of the star image motif being on the iPod. This would be unique and also create a central idea from the very beginning. I am also considering a variety of locations instead of the protagonist chasing the girl through a party scene.

I explained in my pitch that there is a chance of lighting issues, and so if the lighting is not good at the time of shooting, then I can adjust the brightness on iMovie (the editing software). If not, I can hold a torch or place a lamp to add extra light.

Location Shots

To get a description of the location, hover over the image.


Lighting could be an issue in the house scenes, but to prevent this, I am going to add flash to the stop frame animation images. If not, a spotlight will be used.

For the open air performance based scenes, the weather is most likely the worrying issue but the only way this can be prevented is by planning a date around the weather forecast.

Original Images

This is the image of the fire that will be used for the first line of the lyrics 'This party's heating up'. This will be used in stop frame animation and the colourisation will slowly develop linking to the genre.

The dropping of the heart will act as significant and the image of the heart in the hand will be used in both the digipack and the music video. It will act as symbolism of the protagonist not getting the girl he desires.

These images will be used as part of the 'lyrics to visuals' but will also by edited so they are on a fluorescent coloured background and then put on the front CD cover. 

The big close up of eyes acts as part of Goodwin's Principles 'notion of looking'. These will also be put on the digipack behind the front of the CD - I will cut out just the eyes and then layer them so they are gradually opening. This will link to the music video.

Storyboard