Copyright

Copyright

Objective: to be able to identify the purpose of copyright in the music industry

Outcomes:
All: will be able to research into the copyright law and describe how it is used within the music industry  (Grade E)
Most: will be able to research into the copyright law and explain how it is used in the industry by referring to detailed examples  (Grade C)
Some: will be able to discuss how  the copyright law is used within the music industry by discussing the main points and by referring to excellent examples  (Grade A)

The Copyright Law 
The Copyright law is a legal concept, enforced by most governments, giving the fabricator of work the exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. it gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights. 

        
How does copyright law apply to music?

The music industry exists because of two types of copyrights. 1) the musical composition, and 2) the sound recording. A musical composition copyright protects the lyrics and melody in a song, and the sound recording copyright protects the audio recording.

Musical composition and Sound recording 

If a musical composition is like the blueprint to build a house, then the sound recording would be the finished house. The musical composition gives us the blueprint for the song and the sound recording is the audio recording of an artist’s performance of the song. So, for example, if Beyonce and Barbra Streisand record their own versions of the same musical composition, as you can imagine, the resulting sound recordings would be very different.

How do music companies benefit from copyright law?
Copyrights can be sold and licensed. The practical result is that music publishers own musical compositions and record labels own sound recordings. So, when a songwriter is offered a “publishing deal,” they are signing an agreement to write musical compositions exclusively for that music publisher. And, when a singer is offered a “record deal,” they’re signing an agreement to exclusively make sound recordings for that record label. Sometimes the songwriter and singer are the same person, so it’s important to know which rights are involved in a contract, because the deals are very different.

Applying for copyright
1) Explain why you had to apply for copyright

2) Discuss in detail what you did. Identify the record label, email, phone, etc (step by step account)
3) Response- did you get a response from the record label, how many times did you contact them, are you still awaiting a response?

Research into music genres

Intro- How do music videos appeal to an audience?

Rap- Notes, videos images, analysis 

Dance- Notes, videos images, analysis 

Choice- Same as above 

Summary

Different music videos appeal to various audiences with different interests and from varied backgrounds. Music genres have a big effect in terms of appealing an audience to their music video.

Rap Video-DRAKE, OVER

Rap and Hip/Hop music videos often follow conventions which work well with the style of music. Many videos of this genre use short shots of up to 2 seconds. This works extremely well with the fast paced music and words, keeping the video conventions relevant to those of the song. Jump cuts are often used to show a jump in time, this works well as it quickens up the events on screen keeping the story line in sync with the song.

In the Drake music video 'Over' the mis-en-scene involved follows the type of rap conventions associated with rap songs. In the video we see a girl wearing underwear, suggesting that she has an intimate relationship with Drake, the concept of girls surrounding rap artists and almost worshiping them is present here and clearly follows rap conventions. Rap videos also shown many signs of wealth, Drake is highlighted as wealthy as he is shown in a new costume every scene (every new location in the video, a new costume is shown). This conveys that he cares about the way people perceive him as an artist and the concept of being 'fresh' is developed. His clothing has significance in this video, he wears various colors to represent different things about his life. At the beginning of the video, he wears white, accompanied by dark lighting. This creates suspense as the audience can see his clothing but not his face. The white he is wearing also connotes innocence and purity showing that Drake has a good side, but the dark dim lighting may suggest that he has come through a hard journey. This projects himself to the audience and builds a relationship with him and the people who are consuming him. Drake also wears red, which shows he also has a dangerous side to him too, this links to Dyers theory of 'A star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to target audiences' as the juxtaposition of white and red support this.

Much of Drake's video is located in a bedroom, this make it easier for the audience to interpret and makes it more accessible for the audience, therefore creating a connection with them. At the beginning of the video Drake is located  in the center of the room, highlighting that he is the central focus.  The dark lighting accompanies this location and as the scene moves on, Drake is revealed, perhaps a message that he is up and coming. The other location is in a dark room, posing a question of mystery about the artist. Therefore Drake is always keeping the audience questioning about his life.  Through the utilization of special effects Drakes journey through life is depicted. There are cars moving on the wall behind him, changing into images of cities. This shows the various paths in life that he has gone through and the work that had to be done to get to where he is now. Shadows are also moving behind him, this scene shows Drake is moving in real time, and the shadows are moving faster, conveying that Drake is the central focus and that it is his time in the limelight. It also creates a link between the lyrics and the visuals, as seen in Goodwins theory. 'I know way too many people here right now that I didn't know last year'. This creates a link as it accompanies the shadows in the back ground, again creating a connection with the audience as they are gaining an insight into Drakes life. It is also evident in the video that when the pace increases, so does the effects that are utilized.

The cinematography also highlights Drake as an artist. The low angle shot of Drake shows him as a powerful artist, again highlighting that he is the central focus and that it is his time. During this shot the background consists of roads that are coming towards him, highlighting Drake coming towards success. There is also a high angle shot of Rita Ora- this is common in hip/hop, rap and RnB videos to have a well known artist in the video too. The high angle shot shows her innocence and later on in the scene the light dims and she leaves the room. This could suggest a love triangle between Drake and the women involved in the video, adding an additional narrative and engaging the audience in the video. The utilization of Rita Ora gives the video an extra appeal as she is well known.


Editing in the video includes shadows growing larger behind him, this portrays that Drake is growing as an artist. The use of special FX also shows more about Drake as an artist, these include fire whilst he is singing and glass shattering, this shows Drake in a rebellious light. This links to Dyers theory of common values of stardom. These editing techniques are minute but have a vital effect to the appeal of a music video as it gives an extra edge and flare.

Dance Video FLO RIDA ft DAVID GUETTA

The mis-en-scene in this video paints a clear picture of Flo Rida and the dance genre. Iconography is used in the form of cars. A gold Lamborghini is placed outside of the club with the color gold representing royalty. This highlights that Flo Rida is expressing his lifestyle and this is reinforced when he throws his money up in the air, suggesting that money isn't an issue for him. The iconography supports Flo Ridas lifestyle again with the use of champagne bottles and jewelry, this really enforces the picture that Flo Rida wants to get across to his audience.

The location he uses is a club, which would appeal to audiences 18+. He also utilizes a deserted street, linking with the lyrics 'the club can't even handle me'. The concept of the deserted and empty streets highlight that everyone is at the club because Flo Rida is there.

The costumes that are assigned to the people in the video convey that Flo Rida is the main focus. The people around him are all wearing black, white and generally bland colors. Whereas Flo Rida is wearing a red jacket, this may not be so much to connote danger, but a device to stand out in the crowd. The placement of people in the video conveys that he is almost a god to everyone else, they are surrounding him and worshiping him, he is also in the middle of everyone else and clearly stands out in the crows by being placed in higher positions to promote his power to everyone else. This appeals to an audience as some would aspire to be like him, with the money, power, popularity and a party lifestyle.

Camera utilization is vital to the success and appeal of a music video. A low angle shot is used to convey his superiority and success. At the beginning of the video, an establishing shot is used to introduce his lifestyle to the audience, this shot displays that expensive cars and the money that he possesses. He is always portrayed in the main frame of the video. Goodwins theory is evident in this video with the lyric 'the club cant even handle me right now' linking with the visuals of Flo Rida in an empty street surrounded by thousands of people, suggesting that the club was too small for Flo Rida's big personality and image.

ROCK VIDEO- ARCTIC MONKEYS- WHY'D YOU ONLY CALL ME WHEN YOU'RE HIGH

Generic conventions of a rock music video consist of dark lighting, performance and narrative based and often a derelict location to heighten the narrative. They also contain frequent alcohol consumption and sometimes drug consumption.

The mis-en-scene involved in this video conforms to the generic conventions of a rock music video. There are various locations that reflect different things within the video. The location begins with a busy pub and the lead singer of the band Alex Turner. He is clearly intoxicated with alcohol as the iconography of the shot glasses suggests that he has consumed many shots, as well as his band mates. This location fits in with the generic conventions as rock bands are often associated with heavy drinking and self destruction. This is also in-keeping with Dyers common values of stardom, in this case it is rebellion. Dark locations are utilized throughout, rock bands are commonly associated with darkness and the color black, which is evident in the video by using settings such as alleyways to perhaps show isolation and emptiness. The whole video is Alex Turner walking home from a night out and the various things he encounters. These dark locations create a mystery surrounding the whole night and keeps the audience wondering what will happen. Also the location of the empty public street highlights that it is late at night due to the emptiness and that only shops such as kebab shops and off licences are open. The costume he is wearing reflects the generic conventions of a rock band and video. The color black is constantly enforced in this video, perhaps to surround the narrative with some sort of mystery. He wears black clothing with a leather jacket, which again, is conforming to the generic conventions of a rock music video.

The cinematography involved reflects the narrative. The close up shots of Alex Turner highlight that he is the main focus in the video, these close ups are presented throughout the video to depict his emotions as he makes his journey home. POV shots are also used to show the events that are going on through Alex's eyes. We see how Alex is thinking of sex as he believes he is seeing a man in the kebab shop having intercourse with a woman, when really the man is just preparing food for customers, the fact that the audience is able to witness the things that Alex is viewing creates a connection with the audience as they are able to relate to the character on a more personal level. This is repeated when Alex sees a taxi driver having sexual relations with a woman, when really the taxi driver is just trying to talk to Alex, these hallucinations that he is having are also felt by the audience and we get a deeper insight to his thoughts. They also highlight his intoxication. This is reinforced through the utilization of a long shot at the end of the video. The long shot reveals Alex knocking on the door of an old woman's house. He was meant to be at the woman he had been texting and calling throughout the night 'Stephanie'. The use of the long shot is often used in rock videos to enforce a bigger picture on the audience and allow the audience to have a greater understanding of the narrative. This is similar here as there is a link between the lyrics and the visuals, this is evident as he is knocking on the door of an old womans house because he is intoxicated when he was meant to be at Stephanie's as he had been calling her, referring back to the title of the song 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High'.

The editing in this video reflects the generic conventions of a rock video. Much of the editing involved is too show that Alex is 'high' and intoxicated. This is evident when the clock in the pub morphs into a smiling face, this is done to show that Alex is tripping out. Similarly this is used when Alex goes into the toilet in the pub and looks in the mirror, the mirror then starts shaking and making wavy motions, then a duplicate of Alex appears in the background, perhaps to suggest that Alex has two sides of him and two different people when he is high and when he is not high, almost as if the duplicate is a ghost of Alex and watching over him; his sober self is watching intoxicated body. Effects are also used with the use of the text messages he is receiving as they appear out of the phone, this is done to display to the audience the role of Stephanie and to give them a deeper insight to what type of relationship they have.

Research and analysis of a star- Dyers theory

The term 'star', according to Dyer, refers to the mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a larger and loyal audience.


Some of the common values of stardom are;

• Youthfulness 
• Rebellion 
• Sexual magnetism 
• Originality 
• Creative/talent 
• Aggression 
• Success against the odds
• Disregard for social values such as drugs and sex
• Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods

Stars have some features in common.

1. Stars are commodities, not a person. They are constructed out of a range of materials e.g. Advertisements, magazines and films. 
2. These stars/commodities are produced and consumed on the strength of their success as an artist.

Stars depend on a large range of subsidiary media such as magazines, TV, radio and internet to fabricate an image for themselves which can be marketed to audiences. A stars image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to a range of target audiences.

Fundamentally a stars image is incoherent and open. This is based on two key paradoxes;

1. Star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer.

2. Star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer.

Rihanna kick started her successful career 'Music of the sun' which was her debut album. The album consisted of songs such as 'Pon De Replay' reaching number 2 in the UK charts and USA, she also reached number 1 in 3 countries. Her style was largely R&B based, reinforcing her image of an RnB artist and the type of album that she is fabricating. She maintains a natural look with natural and subtle hair accompained with subtle make uo that makes her look ordinary, creating a connection with the audience  in order to market her image to a large audience as she becomes more relatable. Her clothing replicates Goodwins theory of frequent reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. She wears revealing clothing, exposing large segments of her body. This would appeal to her chosen target audience of 16-25 year olds that listen to the R&B genre. 'A music video should demonstrate genre characteristics' is achieved through the mis-en-scene, the location of the video is a club, promoting the concept of 'youthfulness'. This is reinforced as she dances around the club with her friends, conforming to the conventions of the RnB genre. It also portrays her as an artist and conveys her personality as she is enjoying herself and portrays her personality in a good light.

She then fabricated a new album in 2007 when she released 'Good Girl Gone Bad'. The album received positive reviews from critics, who praised its composition and Rihanna's new musical direction; however, the album was criticized in terms of the lyrics and inconsistency of the record. It earned Rihanna seven Grammy Award nominations which included dance tracks such as 'Shut Up and Drive'. Her image evolved in this period of time as she reinvented herself as being a bit more edgy changing her hair, to a short, Gothic style as she dyed it black. 

'Rated R' followed this album and the Rolling Stones went on to say "Rihanna has transformed her sound and made one of the best pop records of the year". The album contained R&B and pop-orientated with Hip Hop and Rock influences. The single 'Rude Boy' was one of the most successful of the album and achieved a number 1 spot. Her image again altered at this point, going for a 'rock chick' look.  She tended to wear heavy makeup (mainly consisting of black) as well as dyeing her hair blonde and shaving it on one side.

Dyer Once Stated

“In these terms it can be argued that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society. There is a good deal at stake in such conceptions. On the one hand, our society stresses what makes them like others in the social group/class/gender to which they belong. This individualising stress involves a separation of the person's "self" from his/her social "roles", and hence poses the individual against society. On the other hand society suggests that certain norms of behaviour are appropriate to given groups of people, which many people in such groups would now wish to contest (eg the struggles over representation of blacks, women and gays in recent years).

Stars are one of the ways in which conceptions of such persons are promulgated.”

Richard Dyer (Stars, BFI, 1981)

He believed that stars have some key features in common:

1. A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (eg advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music])
2. Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
3. The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences
4. Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media - magazines, TV, radio, the internet - in which can be marketed to their target audiences.

In the duration of her album 'Rated R' she was labelled as being edgy with a Rock influence. It was believed that Rihanna had transformed into raunchy and that the 'R' stood for 'restricted'. However this was false and actually stood for 'Rihanna'. This therefore made the album more personal as she could connect with the audience on a more accessible level.

Research and ideas for chosen songs

Sun dont shine- Sonnentanz

Car crash, friend in the car when it crashes, friend dies- slow motion, debree coming off of car in slow motion, over shoulder shots, sun dont shine without his friend. Inspiration from coldplay- yellow. when car crash is rewinded- everything is backwards without his best friend. Teen drinking- no seatbelts, under the influence. Coming back from party- friends telling him not to drive- he drives with his friend.

Is in coma because of car crash- -'dont ever let go'- lyrics link with visuals. Wakes up in the end, happy ending. When trumpet sound comes on, heart monitor shows.

Initial Planning Ideas

• Max Heath-
• Bluke Thompson- Luke has gained experience with the camera and is confident incorporating different shots and editing techniques in order to create a successful music video.
• Rhiannon Andrews-West- Rhiannon has acquired inspiration from various music videos and has suggested that we incorporate different features from them, she also made sure that we stick to the conventions and stay within our narrative.
• Will Stacey- Will expresses his ideas with passion.

Meeting 1

We had a range of choices and genres to pick from and collected all of the ideas that we had to share within the group, but we narrowed it down to the house/dance music genre  as that is where most of the innovation came from. By evaluating all of our options we could analyse the defects that each one would have and whether or not it conforms to the conventions of a typical dance muisc video. This was as well as selecting the target audience that our video would be most suited to. These were our options;

1. Zinc- Only for Tonight- A level results, 'something on your mind' - referring to the results therefore drowning your sorrows with excessive drug use and alcohol consumption. - This one we felt was not an adequate narrative and was not a good enough idea to go on in terms of fabricating a successful music video.
2. Creature- Drug use- shows how you turn into a creature by using drugs, would use props such as face masks to highlight the fact that drugs have consumed and the difference between your sober self and intoxicated self.
3. We Used to be Real-

Meeting 2

This session we gathered ideas on our story board and the order in which the music video will be constructed 

Research into Goodiwns theory

GOODWINS THEORY

1 - Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.
- Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song, to help to portray the message of the song.

2 - Relationship between the music and the visuals.

- The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes.


3 - Music videos have genre characteristics

- Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music, for example a girl bands/artists are expected to have dancers and close ups of the singers, whilst a Indi band are expected to have performance shots ofthe band and cut to a fast beat.


4 - Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos

- This allows the record label to promote a set image for the band, which will help target audiences empathise with the band.


5 - Emphasis on 'looking'
- The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men. This often means a voyeuristic view of, and an objectification, of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.


6 - Intertexual references 

Music videos reference other forms of media, most commonly film, but can alos be television and other music videos. 

How to analyse music videos;
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we, the audience, should look out for;
- Thought beats – Where you ‘see’ in the sound
- Narrative and Performance
- The Star Image
- Relation of visuals to song
- Technical aspects of a music video
Narrative & Performance

Songs fail to give us the complete narrative.

We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told – An negotiated view of a text.
Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertiseing.
Music videos should coherent.  Narrative and performance work hand in hand its make it easier for the audience to watch over and over without loosing interest.
The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.

‘Star Image’ The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. Meta narrative which is a big story that describes the development of the star over time, it has an important part to play in the music video production process.

Narrative based video: Uses moving image to tell a story throughout the video. It usually involves actors and is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song.

Performance based videos: Performance based videos often show the artist performing the song. This is often in a studio or live performance. 

A performance based will allow the audience to image that they themselves are watching the artist at the concert and therefore sells the experience to the audience. It also advertises the artist concert and makes the audience want to purchase a ticket. 

An example of a performance-based video is ‘Ego’ by Beyoncé where the entire video shows Beyoncé and two backing dancers performing a dance routine. 

Concept based music videos: These types of videos usually follow a random concept and have no storyline. A concept video tends to be fairly unusual or utilise a particular editing or filming technique. 

Research into music censorship

Do you think music videos should be censored?

Things to include....

Ofcom, censorship law
Detailed, examples from music videos
Specific artists from the music industry
The Eminem debate
Provided both sides of argument- Parents view for and against, record label, Kiss radio station, Eminem himself, MTV, 15 year old fan.

I do believe that music videos should be censored, this is because I do not think certain material is suitable for society to watch, mainly including young children who interpret different things from videos and in many occasions think that it is acceptable to copy the artists because they are a 'role model'.

Ofcom is an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. It takes into the consideration and importance in terms of freedom in the music industry. Music videos are an artistic and creative concept, which sometimes contain a deep message that connects with the audience, however some people may find certain material offensive. Ofcom has duties with regard to all music videos to hold boundaries in terms of limiting certain material. These duties ensure that under eighteens are protected and enforce generally accepted standards to provide protection for members of the public from the inclusion of offensive and/or harmful material. For example in the video 'We Found Love' by Rihanna face controversy with the music video due to the content involved, some of the material included sex, drugs, anti social behaviour, gambling and violence. Due to this material the video was only shown after prime time, where it was less likely to be viewed by people under the age of eighteen. Ofcom say 'We are aware of the issues faced by broadcasters in this area, including the desire and commerical need to broadcast new music videos as soon as possible after there release, and the challenge of managing the expectations of music labels and other stakeholders'.

An artist that faced controversy throughout his whole career is Eminem; he believes that censorship is not necessary as he listened to the same genre of music in terms of material when he was growing up. He says in an interview the he listened to artists such as 'Rum DMC' and 'NWA'. He also stated that 'kids are smarter now-a-days'. Throughout his whole interview he justifies why his material and other artist's material should not be censored. 'I used to sneak in to R-rated movies', 'I never raped anyone'. He also states that 'I didn't turn out bad', 'it's the parents fault'. He finally ties the whole interview off by stating that 'its only music, its only entertainment'. However, if this material was broadcasted around the globe to various people from different walk of like and exposed to young children then this would surely be detrimental for society as kids would copy Eminem and all of the things he promotes.

a debate that was held with Eminem, a 15 year old fan, Channel AKA, Eminems record label, a parent against this, Kiss radio and also MTV. Eminem stated 'leave me to be what I want to be' which the parent replied 'You are encouraging kids to wear because you are a real model to them'. This response was countered with 'Music shouldn't be censored because kids will find out the words anyway'. Music channels had opposing views on the matter, with Kiss and MTV supporting censorship, Kiss said that 'we only play music if its uncensored as it is hard to censor music that has lots of swearing'. MTV concurred with; 'Because MTV is a universal channel, Eminems songs should only be played if swearing is limited'. The parent on Eminems side argued that 'We have got used to swearing over the generations'. Channel AKA and the record label concluded, Channel AKA stated 'yes, Eminem comes under the crude category but that is what our channel promotes and we think he is a great artist for being real'. This was followed by his record label that said 'we support Eminem's lyrics because we believe in the freedom of speech'. Although there is a good argument for both sides, children are going to be influenced by the artists no matter what other people say, they will find out some way to find any type of music, explicit or not. And if this type of music is persistently drilled into a young childs mind, they will think it is a norm for people to speak like this.

It is clear that there is an argument for both sides, with one being that music should be what it is without censorship to the freedom of speech etc. The other being that artists like Eminem and Rihanna influence young children with their material and I think this is a vital point as I don't think it is acceptable for children to listen to this type of music or see the material that these artists promote.

Research into music channels and target audiences

Kiss Fm's music channel has a large target audience due to the large range of genres that is played, such as: music from the charts, R&B, hip-hop, dance and urban. However it is more specifically aimed at the target audience of 16-25 year olds as the type of music that is played on the channel is by modern artists with a newer interpretation of music that elder generations may not appreciate. Artists such as Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown, Drake and Nicki Minaj feature frequently on their programme. This will appeal to the target audience as they are artists that are popular with people between the ages of 16-25 as they are largely in the public eye and continuously bring out new music. The channel promotes itself through its sister companies such as: Kerrang, 4music, Heat and E4 and is therefore used as a form of branding. Kiss's channel logo is a pale blue which is fairly unobtrusive and allows the channel to target such a wide audience. This is more affective rather than choosing a colour that may have connotations that doesn't appeal to a section of the target audience eg. Pink for girls.  The shape shown on the logo is very obscure and could perhaps reflect the vast range of genres and artists that the channel plays. 

MTV is a cable and satellite television with a target audience of youth (ages from 12-24 years) and this is due to the channel broadcasting popular music and promotional music videos.  MTV aimed to capture the teen audience by giving them a feeling that they are the centre of the universe: that they are powerful, and cool. The channel immerses them into these young adults music, style, and reality. They also use many techniques such as changing styles and introducing new music to keep teen viewers wanting more. The channel plays popular music thats in the charts including artists such as Miley Cyrus, One direction, Rihanna and Pink. (How is the channel used as a form of branding)

4Music is a part of various different channels that makes up the Channel Four company and plays a range of different genres, usually the UK Top 40. The target audience is 16-25 year olds as they play current music which will attract a younger audience. The logo is in the shape of a number 4 with a bold purple/pink outline with the word music written inside. The bold colour succeeds in grabbing the attention of the audience and advertises the channel. Artists such as: Rihanna, Jessie J, The Saturdays and The Wanted. (How is the channel used as a form of branding)

Kerrang! has a target audience of males aged 18-25 with an interest in the rock genre and subgenres. The channel therefore mainly plays music that belongs to the rock/metal genre, usually hardcore but also has features soft rock, in order to attract and entertain their audience. These music videos generally focus on the band and the instruments and usually features them playing to an audience. Artists played include: Pearl Jam, Biffy Clyro, Korn and Paramore. The logo consists of a red background in a jagged shape with contrasting bold white writing. There is also a bar code features underneathe the writing and is used to promote their best selling magazine. The bold colours and font stands out and grabs the attention of the audience. 

What is a music video?

What is a music video?

Music has many different genres, some being rap, RnB, Drum and Bass, House, Reggae, Garage, Soul, Indie, Rock, Pop, Country and Hip/Hop. There is also different purposes that a music video has; to market the song to an audience, to create a short narrative/representation, to buy into the artists lifestyle i.e. 50 Cent in the video P.I.M.P. This is to show the various conventions of a genre/music video, for the audience to remember the music video e.g. Fatboy Slim- Praise You. This for the audience to understand more about a song and also to build a relationship with the artist such as Justin Bieber's video Beauty and a Beat.

In Justin Bieber's video- Beauty and a Beat, it reveals more about the artist and also builds a relationship with the artists as he speaks directly to the audience with the point of view camera angle. It also gives the audience an insight into his life, 'In October 2012 three hours of personal footage was stolen from musician Justin Bieber'. The footage included a video of Justin when he was young and this shows the path of his career, this was done to connect (build a relationship with) the audience. The artists lifestyle is also conveyed throughout the party atmosphere, girls in bikinis and alcohol. The location also highlights the target audience, it is set in a water park which appeals to the younger audience with the concept of fun conveyed throughout. This shows the style of life that he is living and this is appealing to the audience, as they get to interact with him on a more personal level.

There are also different various styles of a music video. One being the performance (singing/dancing), narrative (tells the audience a story) and also the concept (selling the audience an idea/theme or ideology). Some videos contain a mixture of styles. For example, in the Christina Aguilera video Beautiful various styles are conveyed. The narrative styles is depicted as she addresses real world issues, she addresses the gay audience, transvestites, rock fans and anorexia in order to convey a story, with the message being that everyone is 'beautiful' regardless of their background, interests or what they look like. This message therefore connects with the audience and this therefore makes it easier to market this song and the video. The video also includes the burning of a magazine, this suggests that she is getting across that the media tabloids should not be taken notice of, this concept reinforces that this song is not only performance based (her singing into camera), but more importantly that it is a marketing tool utilized to connect with a mass market.This is because this gives the artist a good image and reputation, inevitably meaning more record sales and acquiring a large fan base. So although the performance plays a big part, the narrative accompanying the performance in the video is also vital in order to fabricate a successful music video.

There are also different codes and conventions of a music video, they are all different with different genres and different target audiences. For example RnB connotations are rich, African American, a love concept, expensive cars, expensive/popular brands and money. For example in the video by Trey Songz - Heart Attack, brands such as Louis Vuitton, a luxury house, a relationship with a woman, a song about love (flashbacks of good memories with love companion) and a popular star in the video: Kelly Rowland. The featuring of Kelly Rowland in the video gives the video a greater ecognition and status, therefore attracting a large audience as they would have recognised this artist. The use of big brands such as Gucci handbags give the audience an insight to his lifestyle, the big house he is in also gives the audience an insight to the type of life he lives, and although he has all these luxury brands, he still feels pain and emotion, highlighted in the name of the song 'heart attack'. This therefore enables the audience to connect and relate to Trey Songz as he becomes more accessible through his emotions. So his luxury lifestyle of beautiful woman and expensive brands are juxtaposed with negative emotions. 

The video I have chosen is by Fatboy Slim- Right Here Right Now. It is a dance genre with multiple purposes as a video. It's purpose is to market the song to a large audience, this is because it conveys a narrative style, the narrative included depicts the evolution of time, highlighted by monkeys turning into men, and dinosaurs turning into alligators. This message is to portray that we are constantly changing. It's purpose is also to learn more about the song, it has a deeper message, it is almost educating you as well as entertaining as it captures the concept of Darwins theory of evolution. The video is catchy and bold and the theme of dinosaurs would attract young members of society which gives a good idea of the target audience of the music video, which is everyone. The lyrics are also repeated to engage the audience with the repetition of 'Right Here Right Now'. This concept of repetition suggests that FatBoy Slim wanted to convey that we are constantly evolving as human beings, the video shows the constant change of the Earth and the organisms on the planet. This connects with the audience on a more personal level as it would make them think about life with idea of things changing on a constant basis, such as the monkey changing into a man. Ultimately the message is that 'we are evolving' and the 'world is changing'. Although the narrative is the main focus in the video, it also sticks to the conventions of a dance video, with bright colors, fats movements and a deeper message.