Research Into Different Record Labels (J.P)

A record label is a type of branding or trademark that is linked to the marketing of music artists and their products, such as their actual songs, music videos, albums and tours. The better the record label that the artist manages to get, the better the production, manufacture and distribution, they will also get better funding.

Right now, there are two different types of record labels; major labels and independent labels.

Major Record Labels

Major record labels have a lot of money and power to make themselves a good reputation in the industry. They are able to spend a lot of money into the promotion of their artists so that they can release albums successfully. They use a lot of digital media to promote all of their artists, radio and TV being among them. They also use magazines and newspapers to promote artists, so that people who prefer reading can see the artists. Showing that they cover a lot of different media so that they can reach out to a vast audience.

There are a few disadvantages to belonging to a major record label, a few artists believe that they rip off their artists with unfair deals, rewarding the the business team more than the artist who created the music. They are also known for promoting unoriginal music so that it is safer for them, they don't like taking risks with someone unique and different incase the audience isn't as big and successful as mainstream music.

For 2013, there are three main Major Record Labels that have dominated the music industry, them three being 'Universal Music Group', 'Sony Music Entertainment' and 'Warner Music Group'.

Independent Record Labels

Independent record labels (indie) work in a very different way to the major record labels. Independent labels work very closely with all of their artists to help develop and promote their music, helping the artists to create the track that they had in their mind. This is very different and unlike major labels who are run by business executives, only thinking about the profit and not the thoughts of the artists.

The downsides of independent companies is that only recently have music consumers been recognising how much independent companies do for their artists. Independent companies also don't have as much money to fund their artists as major labels do, which will obviously effect how the audience of the artists music, due to not being as advertised as other artists. 

Questionnaire (J.H)

Here is the answers from our questionnaire, we decided to create one so that we could gather information to see what the most popular codes an conventions are for modern music videos. 

We have found out that are target audience is young females from the age of 12 to 16, but I thing that 17 to 25 year olds could also be included. We have also found from our research that people prefer the pop genre, this will be a big influence on what track to use as it will be more appealing to our target audience, I also think that pop is the most liked genre as that is the main focus in recent chart music. 

We have also found out that people prefer to see a live performance within a music video instead of a narrative, I think that we will decide to go against this and create a narrative. We will do this as we will like to create a hard hitting story within our music video, this will appeal to the audience more and give a bit of a moral to the songs story. 

Rudimental 'Waiting All Night' Analysis (J.P)

Audience -

There is a wide audience range for this video due to the song being in the charts and the video containing adults, but the song is mainly for teenagers. I would say that the video is mainly for males though as it contains a group of men messing around, participating in quite a dangerous hobby.

Genre -

Drum and base style music.

Narrative -

There is a very strong narrative throughout the music video, there is a very emotional and hard hitting story with in it. There is no shots of any of the band members throughout, so it is just a narrative.

The music video starts off with a group of mates messing around on their BMX bikes. You can see them weaving in and out of traffic, causing some drivers to beep at them, making you feel that they are being a bit irresponsible and dangerous.  Then, as the group of men cycle through an alley way, you see a man riding and overtaking his friend, exiting the alley way in to the path of an oncoming lorry. You then see him crash into the vehicle and then disappear out of sight. The video then pauses with a blank screen and cuts to shots of the group of men waiting around in a hospital, this is when the music begins, this is also when you see what damage has been caused after the man was hit by a lorry, unfortunately, he loses his leg. You then see his time that he spends in hospital, captured on camera in a home movie styled video, using amateur filming techniques, this carries on through the whole video, documenting his recovery and his ambition to be able to ride again.

Representation -

The video represents a close knit friendship group who have found each other through the same love and passion for riding and doing tricks. They all pull together to help their close friend get strong enough to fulfil his dream of riding again after losing a limb in the nasty accident. There is also a moral to the story, to always appreciate what you have, because others are not always as fortunate. In the video, you can see how the man changes after losing his leg, he becomes depressed as he watches his friends perfect tricks as he sits on the sidelines.

The video contains normal, down to earth people who are not represented as rich and full of themselves, they are represented as clear enthusiasts of their hobby, this is clear through out as they have lots of BMX clothing and props, such as home made ramps and bike parts.

Institution -

Rudimental are a British electronic music quartet who are signed to Asylum Records. The band consists of songwriters Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden, Amir Amor and DJ Locksmith.

Analysis -

There is a mise en scene that represents a down to earthj vibe through out, this is shown with all the shots of them biking everywhere, manmade ramps, houses that are not posh and plush, the element of smoking and wearing plain, unbranded clothing which shows that they are not rich. The video also seems to be set in suburban California or in America somewhere, as there are glimpses of palm trees, clear skys and lovely calm beaches.

Through out the video, there is an amature filming technique used so that the music video takes on a 'hoe video' type of feel to it., so there is shakey filming, sharp panning and blurry zooming in. At the beginning of the film, the camera is mostly focused on the bikers legs in action as they cycle through the traffic, this is a kind of foregrounding, as the main character loses his leg. There is also a lot of camera work that consists of the camera being attatched to one of the bikes to capture the fast speed and the tricks whilst the bikers are cycling over the ramps. This is what was being used when the accident was filmed and there was a lot of close ups involved of all the friends waiting in hospital, this was to show the worry and concern on their faces. There was then a medium shot used to show what damage was done to the mans leg, as there was a shot of him in bed with the half of his leg all bandaged up. During the mans recovery, there are a lot of group shots that involve the man in his wheelchair, he looks quite isolated as he is on a lower level compared to everyone else and he is surrounded by people doing his hobby that he can no longer do.

Most of the obvious editing, is jump cuts to different tricks that are being preformed on their bikes. Other than that, there are no special effects and no high tech editing techniques used as the whole music video is made to look amateurish.

At the beginning, before the music video starts, there are the sounds of the busy streets, car horns, the bikes grinding across poles and the men talking. Until the accident happens and then there is the sound of screeching tires and the sound of the bike and the man colliding with the lorry.

Kings Of Leon 'Use Somebody' Analysis (J.P)

Audience -

Wide audience range which includes both genders from a young age.

Genre -

Rock genre, contains a full band.

Narrative -

Video reflects the lack of glamour whilst touring and how lonely that it is when they are constantly on the road. The fact that they 'just need somebody' really shines through in the video.

Representation -

Parts of the video show a clear representation of a rock genre. Dark clothing and lighting is stereotypical of rock bands, they also show the rough touring lifestyle, which is contrasting as everyone thinks that touring is all glamourous.

Analysis -

The mise en scene includes a view of New York skyline which sets the scene of the video and reflects the numerous places where the band go on tour. There are also several shots of the band lounging around, this shows that they're clearly exhausted, which represents their hectic busy lifestyle due to being on tour with the band. This could also represents the hard work that the whole band put into their music and how being famous isn't as easy as people first think. 

When it comes to the editing, there are a lot of short, quick shots throughout of the video, the fast pace of these shots reflects the fast pace of the rock and roll life style while on tour. 

The camera work is mainly focused on the lead singer of the band, which reflects how fans mainly focus on the singer and give him all of the attention. there are then shots of the whole band when they are backstage, hanging around. This shows the group together and represents a group effort, it shows fans that there is more to the band than just the singer. 

R Kelly feat. Usher 'Same Girl' Analysis (J.P)

Audience

For young male music listeners (teens) who are fans of R&B.

Genre

R&B, soft rap.

Narrative

There is a narrative, which is a convention to the pop/R&B genre. There is a balance equilibrium as the two men discuss their 'girls' over the phone, this shows a collaboration between the two different artists. The equilibrium is then disturbed as the men then think that they are seeing the same girl. They then plan to trick the girl, then they find out that they have both been dating twins. This is when the equilibrium is restored.

Representation

The props used throughout the video create a clear representation of a rich R&B world. The clothing, cigars, private jets and jewellery all add up to the representation of the 'R&B' world. The way the two men speak and the half dressed women is all stereotypical to R&B singers, although the woman is represented as a cheat, which is not stereotypical to the female gender. She is also shown to have control over both of the men, when it is usually the men who are in control.

Institution

Presented by Sylvester films and produced by Sony Music in 2007.

It is a collaboration between two artists, Usher and Kells, this helps to sell more records as there will be a bigger fan base.

Analysis

There is a mise en scene that represents wealth and an R&B world, the posh American hotel, cigars and fancy clothes. The men are both wearing similar clothes, this shows the closeness between them and their whit clothing represents innocence.

The most obvious editing technique is the split screen shots, which shows both men on the phone to each other. The screen then splits into three so that the 'Same Girl' is in between the two men, this represents a split in the friendship which is caused by the girl.

The camera work all adds to a sexual feel as the women stars in the close ups which includes her thighs, lips and face, this also adds to the stereotypical R&B feel.

The repetition of the words 'same girl' throughout the song shows how the two men can't believe that they are both seeing the same girl and that she is cheating on them both. this turns out to be wrong in the end anyway.

Codes and Conventions Of A Music Video (J.P)

The codes and conventions of a music video are a recipe that media producers follow in order to make a particular text. It can also be thought of as the grammar that enables a media text to make sense.

Conventions

Mise En Scene    -    Concert location

Setting                 -    Urban, stage setting, practise room

Costume              -    (genre), make up

Props                   -    Instruments

Lighting               -    High key lighting

                         

One big Convention of a music video is that the moving image needs to be conducted and edited in time with the actual music track, this convention has stemmed from the first music video to introduce this theory, the Bohemian Rhapsody. This convention applies to any genre and can be easily carried out with simple editing techniques such as cross cutting.

There are different types of music videos that suit different genres, there's a narrative styled video, which has a story behind it, this suits most types of music genres. Then there is a music video that just consists of the band and their lifestyle, this suits the rock genre more than most other genres of music. You can also get a dual narrative styled video, where you have shots of a narrative and then shots of the bands performance, they are merged together with crosscutting to create the two toned video.

The Development Of The Music Video (J.P)

Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody from 1975, is believed to have been the influence for the music video era, by creating a moving image that fits the timing of music. But, in actual fact, the Bohemian Rhapsody was very much influenced by the work of Sergei Eisenstein, Walt Disney and also Busby Berkley, they are all major influences and land marks in the development of popular and more modern music videos. 

While the Panorama Soundie jukebox played the film clips to popular songs of the 1940's, the rock and role lifestyle and era, introduced the idea to their audience, of including a band performance within their music videos. This turned out to be a big hit  when Rock Around the Clock, starring Bill Haley, made a huge hit in 1956.

The momentum of the young generation then influenced the transformation of different styles of clothing, this ranged from the making of the Beatles suit, to the long haired rebellion of the hippy phase.   Throughout this era, the televised music industry influenced the codes and conventions of choreographed performances, set up in time with a recorded track. This is why the Bohemian Rhapsody is such a revelation to the music industry, they created the huge code and convention of having the music video to be in exact time to the tracks arrangement. 

The production of the music video for Michael Jackson's Thriller was another huge revelation to the music industry. The fact that he and his producers created the concept of the narrative within a music video means that he has been a huge influence to the modern popular videos. His music video was such a huge hit that it had to be replayed twice an hour on the MTV music program to keep up with the constant demand of people wanting to view it. This music video was not only a revelation to the music industry, but it was also a break through for coloured people to have someone of the same race to be so highly accepted at that time where they were thought of as outcasts. 

The Brief

A2 G324 Advanced Portfolio
A promotion package for the release of an album.

The Brief 
You have to produce a promotion package for the release of an album, to include: to include:


Main task:

• A music promo video

Ancillary Task:

• A cover for it's release on CD
• A magazine advertisement for the CD