This is my audience profile sheet for Darcy Doo. I feel that I have quite a wide audience, even though they are majority a younger demographic. However, I think anyone of any age group could enjoy this song as a song to listen to as they commute. Still, there has to be a target that the video will appeal to and I believe this will be what it is.
Whilst my blog has been accredited for being a good blog, I still know that there are changes I need to make. I have to add more variation to my posts in terms of format as my blog is extremely text-heavy at the moment. I also need to make my blog look visually interesting, i.e. adding a banner that relates to my music video and a background. I'll also be sure to go back and add comments, linking it back to what improvements I could make to my music video from this.
Dreaming Dreaming by Blondie can be considered a mixture of rock and pop, both of which have many conventions. Some of the conventions of rock include:
Dark/black outfits that are usually scruffy - heavy eyeliner can be worn by males and females within a band
Rock artists are usually within a band, with each member playing an instrument
Photoshoots are often done with the singer in the front and guitarist, drummer etc. at the back
Music videos often have a story to them, following some sort of rebellious tone
Is an extremely popular genre, with Kerrang being a rock genre magazine
The Bangle's Walk Like an Egyptian is a great example of a rock music video, featuring women. They're overly sexualised in tiny dresses, complying to Goodwin's theory, but still generally being a lot more covered up than modern day female artists. The music video on stage is also very reflective of the genre, where many rock music videos are often recordings of the artist/band on stage. Shots of the audience and artists "rocking out" are common to make an audience feel involved with the video.
Whilst not all of this doesn't relate to Blondie, they are still seen as important stereotypes. Blondie follows more pop conventions:
Outfits and lyrics are very mainstream
Mood generally is happy and content, showing off their happiness
Songs and lyrics are often based around love or relationships
The target audience tends to be teens
It has very bold colours within the music video, and is very bright. Attracts people very quickly with how bright it is
Songs are usually 3-5 minutes, with a consistent and well structured beat.
Dance routines are common within videos
Female artists are usually very sexualised, makeup and outfits now are extremely sexy and appeal to male teens
Videos rely on technology (i.e. heavily edited)
Many pop videos follow Goodwin theory, with the skin-tight or bare skin outfits being prominent. Female and male artists often lip sync in their songs, which also relates to the Goodwin theory, relating to the lyrics and making the viewer feel more involved. Singers within pop are also often the only person in the music video, and within rock videos the singer spends most of the time on screen. Now that they are the main focus, the audience can relate to who the lead singer/artist is and connect who is the main "star" within the band or the artist alone.
An artist that shows Goodwin theory well is Beyonce in the 7/11 video. Beyonce throughout the video is wearing minimal clothing with often revealing parts, i.e. her at the start of the video, she is wearing a jumper and only in her underwear. These also link to the Laura Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory well, as this outfit could be inferred as her sexuality being frivolous or the male eye. There are lots of other moments throughout the video that will appeal to male gaze, with lots of girls at once and Beyonce doing suggestive movements (i.e. slapping girls)
This is a video I made on the recent developments I have made on my artist. It was a good experience to learn and expand the variety of posts on my blog, therefore making me feel a lot more comfortable to make videos again on updates.
I have decided that I am going to do the song 'Dreaming', by Blondie. The song was released in 1979, and follows the story of Debbie longing for some sort of love. However, because of how upbeat and rock the song is, it doesn't fit the typical soft and slow ideologies of a love song. Her dreamy attitude in the song can reflect quite a free and rebellious femininity, which is what I will be focusing on in my video. However, I do not have a name for my artist yet. Whilst I am aware Blondie is technically a band, my artist will be solo. I feel this will work as Debbie is part of the key iconography of the group. I also feel that my artist's name should only be one word as it will stand out more and be easier to remember, just like the band. I also have started my mood-board, making a glitter ombre barrier.
My artist is likely to fit into this theory, as whilst small changes have been made and the most prevalent thing about my artist being the 80s revival, not much is different from pop artists. The 80s trends are not new, but whilst a new generation will feel this is completely new and different, they will continue to have an engaged interest.
This is a PowerPoint I have made on the music industry crisis. Whilst I wanted to keep it simple so it was easy to read, I also wanted to add some graphics to keep it interesting and relevant. I find highlighting words in red allows people to grasp the most basic understanding of my PowerPoint. The music industry crisis is a struggling industry which I have learnt a lot about. Now knowing the struggle of tangible goods, I believe the best way for my artist to stay relevant and popular with sales is to only have it available online. Limited vinyls could be made for the super fans of my artist, however I do not find this necessary at this point in time.
1. What are the differences between major and independent record companies? Major record companies have lots of power over the music industry. For example, EMI. Major record companies are also different in that they normally have a parent company, so for example EMI's parent company is the Universal Music Group. This sets them apart from independent record companies as they do not have a parent company. A good example of an independent company is PWL. There are big differences in major and independent record companies for the type of contracts artists sign. The biggest difference is that major record companies make the artist sign over the music to them within the contract. This doesn't happen in independent record companies, therefore meaning the artist keeps all the rights to their own music. With this, they can sell it off to who they like and think will benefit them, i.e. TV adverts and films. A lot of it also boils down to money. Major record labels offer 10 - 15% of their artists royalty, whereas independent record labels offer 40 - 75% in royalty. Being signed to an independent company means that you have more to live off, whereas major record labels take most of the money for their own commission - since they have a big brand name it is not really argued with. Major record labels are very professional and do not form strong relationships with fans of the band. This may make fans lose eventual interest in the band as they cannot form a close relationship through social media. For independent record labels they set up a bond with their fans, meaning they're more likely to go to their performances and buy merchandise of their artist because they enjoy what they're doing. Technology has now helped independent artists as they have a much wider platform to promote their artists without spending anything or little at all, with Youtube and Soundcloud being prominent within the independent industry. 2. Who are the big three and who do they own? The biggest three music record labels are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Warner music group. All are USA based and take up about 20 - 30% of the music industry market. EMI is actually a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group. Sony Music deal with EMI's publishing and WMG absorbed with Virgin Classic label. 3. Independent UK labels The independent UK label North London was founded in 2005, with the two main artists being JME and Skepta. They are part of the grime genre which has since become a very popular industry for the youth of the UK. They started by appearing on pirate radio stations, names including Heat FM and Deja Vu FM. JME's hit album Famous? in 2008 is what brought light to the brothers JME and Skepta, with Skepta following suit with his new album Microphone Champion in 2009. Most recent releases with the label have been Skepta's Konnichiwa (2016) and Wiley's Godfather (2017). With this, I will most likely sign my artist to an independent UK record label, like FatCat records. As the video will not be very high production and pop rock is not the most popular genre (but still big enough to gain a good amount of interest), I feel a record label like this would be most sutiable.
