Saturday, 20 February 2016
Star Theory - Richard Dyer
Richard Dyer is an English academic and propounded star theory which is the notion that artists are manufactured institutions for financial reasons. Dyer believes that artists are developed through many artificial images such as advertising, films, magazines and music in order to attract the target audience. Therefore, record labels have to market different artists to cater specific target audiences, they consist of both 'niche' and 'mainstream' markets. Def Jam records have mainstream artists such as Kanye West, Big Sean, Jhene Aiko, Justin Bieber and Iggy Azalea while also catering for a niche market with artists: Krept and Konan, Lil Durk and Lil Reese.
He also claims that consumers prefer artists that aren't constructed by the record labels who try to create fake/artificial images for them. It is much better when artists portray that they're true to themselves as the audience can identify with them. A "real" artist can use this as their unique selling point. An example of this is Ed Sheeran, who is not image focused.
Promotion - Ideology & Culture
Another one of Dyers beliefs in Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters in the sense that audience members will imitate their hairstyles, clothing, lifestyle choices etc. An example of a lifestyle that the artist has that may be followed by fans is religious beliefs and cultural values. Due to the rapid development of the internet and the proliferation of hardware has meant that audiences have greater and quicker access into the personal lives of these stars. Social networking sites such a Twitter have been used to create fan pages that follow and promote the stars' day to day life as wel a music.
Stars support hegemony
Artists support the ideas of hegemony, propounded by Gramsci, in which highlights how society uses cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. They are presented as the more extravagant and wealthier versions of everyday humans.
Representation in music videos
Music videos can be used to send out specific messages regarding racial and gender identities. American hip-hop artist Chris Brown conforms to the stereotypical African-American rap which has a strong focus being "rich" and having an abundance of material things such as sports cars along with having sex with plenty of women. His song "Ayo" conforms to this racial stereotype and gives the audience something to look up to
.
Deconstructing Britney Spears (1998)
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Britney Spears raises interesting concerns regarding female identity in pop music Spears was initially viewed as a role model for the teen girl market. From a gender perspective Britney's identity was positioned securely in a male-dominated industry that works on the stereotypes of femininity.
Early videos:
In her earlier videos we can see that she was surrounded by particularly "girlie" mise-en-scene such as bedroom culture, dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out and applying make up.
Here she has her hair in pigtails - showing her youth along with choreographed dance routines.
Although this music video may appear to have an innocent message to it with a young girl jsust having fun with her friends but it is very exploiting. Laura Mulvey's male gaze is evident at certain parts during the video with Britney Spears used as the object of desire by wearing a low cut top and skirt. Additionally, her dance routine is very sexual along with the lyrics, "hit me baby one more time" which indicate the desire for penetration. This contrasts the "girlie" image that is being shown on the surface. Despite her taking up the active role in the video, the audience is forced to indentify her through the male gaze. Mulvey's theory displays how music videos can portray a patriarchal society as well as films.
On the other hand, Britney does have songs which show her teen identity by the year 2000 in which she is seen in a different way than before. We notice that her image changes wit her audience therefore her image changes all the time.
"From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart" reflects Britney's own troubles that she faces when entering adulthood after beng a teenager, in which many of her fans could relate to.
In 2001, a year later, Britney releases "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" from the film "Crossroads", here she is constructed as a role model. The video delves into the journey of growing up from a girl into a woman. However, she still maintains the male gaze to become a part of male erotic desire.
1) Shows Britney as a girl wearing white to represent purity, innocence and youth. No revealing clothing is worn here which would allow her to be seen in a sexual manner.
2) Britney has now become a woman and is seen wearing white again, however due to the low cut top and shorts, plenty of her flesh is on display causing the male gaze to take place and her to fall under the desire of men. Additionally her body language is very vulnerable and sexualised indicating she is ready to be subjugated by a man.
Moreover, "Overprotected" (2002) is a song that is empowering to women as its message refers to Britney no longer liked being told what to wear as if she's still a child. This video was a direct response on a news report about the attire she wears, and felt that this was an act of empowerment because she has the right to feel comfortable with her body.
Modern Britney
Britney's career has evolved from once being a so called "Teen Princess" to a half naked woman who performs for a male audience. Both of these identities are stereotypical illusions of femininity as presented in a range of media texts. The effect of these evolving images is shown to have on Britney in her videos, in particular: "Hold It Against Me" (2011). In this video she rises up on a platform in a long white dress, which could represent that this is the 'new' and 'fresh' version of her. As she begins to rise above the screen this can indicate that she is bigger and better than the media and doesn't need their approval of her. Around 2/3 of the way into the video a duplicate Britney appears and she begins to fight her, signifying that she doesn't want the old Britney that could be recognised earlier in her career, to interfere with the new and improved version of herself. In conjunction to that, during their fight the several screens surrounding them playing Britney's old videos such as "Hit Me Baby One More Time" start to turn off as Britney punches her old self.
 |
| Krept and Konan, dressed as rappers who want to produce good music. |
 |
Justin Bieber, evidently has a target audience of teenage girls.
|
He also claims that consumers prefer artists that aren't constructed by the record labels who try to create fake/artificial images for them. It is much better when artists portray that they're true to themselves as the audience can identify with them. A "real" artist can use this as their unique selling point. An example of this is Ed Sheeran, who is not image focused.
Promotion - Ideology & Culture
Another one of Dyers beliefs in Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters in the sense that audience members will imitate their hairstyles, clothing, lifestyle choices etc. An example of a lifestyle that the artist has that may be followed by fans is religious beliefs and cultural values. Due to the rapid development of the internet and the proliferation of hardware has meant that audiences have greater and quicker access into the personal lives of these stars. Social networking sites such a Twitter have been used to create fan pages that follow and promote the stars' day to day life as wel a music.
Stars support hegemony
Artists support the ideas of hegemony, propounded by Gramsci, in which highlights how society uses cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. They are presented as the more extravagant and wealthier versions of everyday humans.
Representation in music videos
Music videos can be used to send out specific messages regarding racial and gender identities. American hip-hop artist Chris Brown conforms to the stereotypical African-American rap which has a strong focus being "rich" and having an abundance of material things such as sports cars along with having sex with plenty of women. His song "Ayo" conforms to this racial stereotype and gives the audience something to look up to
.
 |
| Chris taking a photograph with money in his hand to display his wealth, along with many notes being dumped into his pool. This strengthens the notion that he is extremely wealthy as he can afford to destroy money. |
 |
| Here is surrounded by sports cars and many attractive women sitting on them. This shows that wealth allows you to have all the beautiful women you could ever want, also this conforms to the typical African-American rap video stereotype where there is a strong focus on the female as a sexual object and materialism. |
 |
| Tyga and Chris Brown wearing expensive jewellery to show how wealthy they are and conforming once again to the black rapper image. |
Deconstructing Britney Spears (1998)
Britney Spears raises interesting concerns regarding female identity in pop music Spears was initially viewed as a role model for the teen girl market. From a gender perspective Britney's identity was positioned securely in a male-dominated industry that works on the stereotypes of femininity.
Early videos:
In her earlier videos we can see that she was surrounded by particularly "girlie" mise-en-scene such as bedroom culture, dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out and applying make up.
Here she has her hair in pigtails - showing her youth along with choreographed dance routines.
Although this music video may appear to have an innocent message to it with a young girl jsust having fun with her friends but it is very exploiting. Laura Mulvey's male gaze is evident at certain parts during the video with Britney Spears used as the object of desire by wearing a low cut top and skirt. Additionally, her dance routine is very sexual along with the lyrics, "hit me baby one more time" which indicate the desire for penetration. This contrasts the "girlie" image that is being shown on the surface. Despite her taking up the active role in the video, the audience is forced to indentify her through the male gaze. Mulvey's theory displays how music videos can portray a patriarchal society as well as films.
On the other hand, Britney does have songs which show her teen identity by the year 2000 in which she is seen in a different way than before. We notice that her image changes wit her audience therefore her image changes all the time.
"From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart" reflects Britney's own troubles that she faces when entering adulthood after beng a teenager, in which many of her fans could relate to.
In 2001, a year later, Britney releases "I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman" from the film "Crossroads", here she is constructed as a role model. The video delves into the journey of growing up from a girl into a woman. However, she still maintains the male gaze to become a part of male erotic desire.
1) Shows Britney as a girl wearing white to represent purity, innocence and youth. No revealing clothing is worn here which would allow her to be seen in a sexual manner.
2) Britney has now become a woman and is seen wearing white again, however due to the low cut top and shorts, plenty of her flesh is on display causing the male gaze to take place and her to fall under the desire of men. Additionally her body language is very vulnerable and sexualised indicating she is ready to be subjugated by a man.
Moreover, "Overprotected" (2002) is a song that is empowering to women as its message refers to Britney no longer liked being told what to wear as if she's still a child. This video was a direct response on a news report about the attire she wears, and felt that this was an act of empowerment because she has the right to feel comfortable with her body.
Modern Britney
Britney's career has evolved from once being a so called "Teen Princess" to a half naked woman who performs for a male audience. Both of these identities are stereotypical illusions of femininity as presented in a range of media texts. The effect of these evolving images is shown to have on Britney in her videos, in particular: "Hold It Against Me" (2011). In this video she rises up on a platform in a long white dress, which could represent that this is the 'new' and 'fresh' version of her. As she begins to rise above the screen this can indicate that she is bigger and better than the media and doesn't need their approval of her. Around 2/3 of the way into the video a duplicate Britney appears and she begins to fight her, signifying that she doesn't want the old Britney that could be recognised earlier in her career, to interfere with the new and improved version of herself. In conjunction to that, during their fight the several screens surrounding them playing Britney's old videos such as "Hit Me Baby One More Time" start to turn off as Britney punches her old self.
Monday, 15 February 2016
Purpose of Promo Music Video
The two key purposes of creating a music video is for:
1) Promotion and publicity
2) To make money and increase sales
Promotion:
A music video is a key platform for the promotion of a band, song and album. It persuades the audience to buy the record, or in today's industry, to buy a ticket for their concert. Some artists use product placement in their videos, for example Katy Perry in "Roar" where we see a Nokia Lumia right at the start.
Synergy:
Synergy is defined as "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations,
substances or other agents to produce a combined greater effect than the sum of their separate effects." In the music industry artists can promote films, TV shows and products alongside their song and image. It works in mutual benefit for both parties. Examples of this include:
"Skyfall" - Adele
Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film that Adele wrote and sang a song for. It quickly rose up the iTunes chart and increased both popularity for Adele and for the film. The soundtrack was second in the UK singles chart and the film second highest grossing film of that year.
"Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" - Bryan Adams
This song was performed by Bryan Adams who performed this song for the film "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves". This song proved to be a huge success as it spent 16 consecutive weeks at the top of the UK singles chart, this boosted not only Adams' fan base but the films. The film managed to become the second highest grossing film of 1991 and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
"Lose Yourself" - Eminem
This is a song by rapper Eminem from the film 8 mile in which he's the star. It was released on September 17 2002 as the lead soundtrack for the film. Many critics described this as Eminem's best work to date praising the aggressive lyrics. Some critics have gone as far to say that this was one of the best hip hop songs of all time. "Lose Yourself" reached international success peaking the top of the charts in eighteen countries including the UK and Australia. It was the first ever rap song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and also received other awards such as the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance in 2004.
What makes a successful music video?
There is a myriad of elements that must merge together to make a successful music video. The following factors contribute to/reflect the success of a good promo video:
1) Promotion and publicity
2) To make money and increase sales
Promotion:
A music video is a key platform for the promotion of a band, song and album. It persuades the audience to buy the record, or in today's industry, to buy a ticket for their concert. Some artists use product placement in their videos, for example Katy Perry in "Roar" where we see a Nokia Lumia right at the start.
Synergy:
Synergy is defined as "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organisations,
substances or other agents to produce a combined greater effect than the sum of their separate effects." In the music industry artists can promote films, TV shows and products alongside their song and image. It works in mutual benefit for both parties. Examples of this include:
"Skyfall" - Adele
Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film that Adele wrote and sang a song for. It quickly rose up the iTunes chart and increased both popularity for Adele and for the film. The soundtrack was second in the UK singles chart and the film second highest grossing film of that year.
"Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" - Bryan Adams
This song was performed by Bryan Adams who performed this song for the film "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves". This song proved to be a huge success as it spent 16 consecutive weeks at the top of the UK singles chart, this boosted not only Adams' fan base but the films. The film managed to become the second highest grossing film of 1991 and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
"Lose Yourself" - Eminem
This is a song by rapper Eminem from the film 8 mile in which he's the star. It was released on September 17 2002 as the lead soundtrack for the film. Many critics described this as Eminem's best work to date praising the aggressive lyrics. Some critics have gone as far to say that this was one of the best hip hop songs of all time. "Lose Yourself" reached international success peaking the top of the charts in eighteen countries including the UK and Australia. It was the first ever rap song to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and also received other awards such as the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Solo Performance in 2004.
What makes a successful music video?
There is a myriad of elements that must merge together to make a successful music video. The following factors contribute to/reflect the success of a good promo video:
- Word of mouth?
If the music video is constantly being praised by critics and spoken about amongst different groups of people the video will gain a larger audience and possibly attract more sales.
- Newspaper articles/TV reports?
The most common "word of mouth" is newspaper articles like The Daily Mail. However, in recent times, apps and websites such as YouTube and Vimeo are much more successful methods of distributing videos as audiences can comment on what they think of the video and open discussion,
- Number of times shown on television?
Music channels like Smash Hits, Kiss and MTV distribute music videos, in particular MTV is renowned for gaining success for artists. But due to the technology advancements there are much more successful methods of distribution now,
- Number of views on YouTube?
As many people today own smartphones it's much more convenient for them to view videos on apps like YouTube which give them access to millions of music videos at their fingertips. Also if they enjoyed the video they just watched, YouTube has features that enable sharing on other branches of social media to spread the video to friends and family.
- Publicity?
Through social network sites and TV advertisements artists can gain even more success with their video. As many artists today have a social network page in which they have followers on who act as subscribers to their content and can post it in an instant and get quick feedback.
- Brand Identity?
Pop artists like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna have an image which has been enforced into their 'brand'. The audience know what to expect from a video of theirs which encourages them to watch more as they are familiar with them.
- Downloads (legal/illegal)?
Although the artists do not gain anything financially from illegal downloads, they do gain larger publicity which means they will have a larger audience and hopefully sell more concert tickets as a reuslt of this.Legal downloads through iTunes/Google Play Music are popular due to many people owning smartphones where music can be downloaded instantly.
- Charts?
This provides a list of the most popular downloaded songs at the moment and usually features as a show on music channels. For example 4Music normally do a "UK Top 40" show where all music videos of songs in the top 40 are shown.
- CD sales?
CD sales reflect the success of the music video, however of recent times due to the developments in technology there is a constant decline on its impact.
Michael Jackson
Here are the videos mentioned in the presentation;
Rockin Robin - 1972
Rock With You - 1979
Billie Jean - 1982
Beat It - 1982
Thriller - 1983
The Way You Make Me Feel - 1987
Bad - 1987
Black or White - 1991
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