Music video factsheet

As part of this unit, we were given a pack which contained some facts regarding the music industry, how music videos originated and specifically how music companies reacted to them. This pack helped aid our understanding of how music videos impacted the media industry and also how they can be structured differently depending on the artist and genre.

Notes from factsheet

• Sells products - album/film/tour/merchandise the song is a part of.
• Prior to the digital age, allowing full access to audiences was problematic.
• Top of the Pops (1964-2006, BBC) - only access to music videos in the U.K.
• Contemporary technology, such as mobile phones, allow for music videos to be viewed anywhere.
• Originally, record companies fought against music videos being free online, but more recently they've appreciated them as good marketing opportunities. E.g. Sony BMG have a YouTube channel - on that channel they can advertise any products the company have created.
• In America, there are 3 major record companies: Sony music entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media.
• Vevo is another hosting channel on YouTube which contains every contemporary mainstream music video, with YouTube and Google receiving a share of the advertising revenue for directing users to the official versions of the music videos, instead of ones uploaded by a third party. 
• Some conventions are seen throughout particular genres, with each having distinctive elements which separate their music from others. 
• Any movement in a music video works in correlation with the rhythm of the song, whether it's from the camera or actors within it, creating a sense of excitement.
• A music video may contain a narrative structure, relating directly to the lyrics or elaborating on some of the themes the song conveys across.
• Most music videos feature the band or artist, because they are also a product to be publicised and sold as a brand.
• The band or artist can be presented as either acting within the narrative or performing to showcase their talent (or occasionally both).
• Music videos can sometimes make references to previous music videos, whether it's through the visual artistic style or any other memorable and iconic traits, broadening their target audience.

Activity 1

Rihanna - We found love:

• Movement - The artist is seen as either sitting down in a melancholy manner, dancing and singing to the camera with flirtation or running around the locations ecstatically. This implies a somewhat bi-polar personality, which also relates to the fragile aspect of relationships, as apparent within the song's lyrics.   
• Narrative - The video tracks the evolving dynamic between a man and woman, who are also the two artists (Rihanna and Calvin Harris), in what appears to be a committed relationship. A majority of the scenes involve the two messing around, partying and being intimate with one another. However, as the video progresses the man becomes reckless and the woman realises he is a bad influence. By the end, she leaves him and regains control over her life.  
• Band/artist: By the two artists being in the video, the audience is able to put a face to the music and better understand their intentions within the music video. Because it conveys the artists in both a negative yet naturalistic light, the audience is able to find their characters as more relatable and therefore have more of an emotional attachment to them.
• Intertexuality: The are no specific references to other media texts in this music video, however by two well established artists uniting together to create a song they are helping to publicise one another in the music industry.

Activity 2

Generic conventions of 3 genres

• Hip hop: Low angle and close up shots, women conveyed as possessions, big crowds dancing, sport-orientated clothing, references to wealth and success, artist conveyed as part of a group, men are the dominant sex, presents an irresponsible lifestyle in a positive light, iconic traits of the artist are reflected in their music videos (e.g. Eminem) and  Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory.
• Metal/rock: Extreme hairstyles, performance-based videos, religious references (heaven/hell), focus on the instruments, dark colours within the settings and dress code to connote depression and death, use of make up, incorporate the theme of horror into the music videos, lead singer can often be the main focus if there's a narrative, set at night time and a majority of metal bands are composed of males.
• Punk: rebellion, layering instruments, gang vocals, themes of anger and romantic rejection, solitary figures, basic backdrops, narratives which closely reflect the lyrics, performance shots, contrasting colour schemes (black with pink etc.) and the use of synergy with mainstream instrument brands.