Closing Post

Dear Examiner,

Thank you for taking the time to go through and review my work.  My A-Level NEA is now complete and you can find all my work under the label "AL Research and Planning".  I hope you enjoy looking through the blog!

Thanks,

Jamal

Candidate 3161

THIS BLOG IS NOW CLOSED

10. My production review

I was was given feedback on my work, giving me an outward perspective on what I had produced so far and what could be done better in order to improve my products further in a way that would keep the demands of the brief as the central focus.

MUSIC VIDEO FEEDBACK:

Ms Blackborow (Media Teacher):

WWW: Instantly understood the intertextual reference to silent movies, as this was very clear from the beginning.  Also, she was mostly content about the grading on both the performance bed and singular close ups (that imitate 35mm film).

EBI: Mentioned that there needs to be a better way to distinguish between the moments when the 'actors' in the movie were not in character, as this would be easier for the audience to understand.  Additionally, the ending dialogue created a bit of confusion; there should be degree of build-up, leading to her decision to reject her co-star's love, or else it feels too abrupt.  Also, there was an inconsistent grade between the extreme close-ups; one of these looked textured with the grain filter whereas another appeared as flat.
The order of which the text came up on the end card could be adjusted so it would be a lot easier to read

WEBSITE + SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDBACK:

Emma (Media Technician): 

WWW: Mentioned that there was a clear house style among the graphics, fonts and the site as a whole.  There is also a good sense of anchorage between texts and the additional audio-visual content on the site.

EBI: Suggested some technical elements could do with some adjustments.  The merchandise section on the home page was rather limited; these could be made clickable so they can expand and the prices should be linked to a cart if somebody wishes to buy an item.  Similarly, the sponsor images should be hyperlinked to their respective pages and there should be an embedded link in order to listen to the song.
In terms of the linked page, a few adjustments were also suggested which also related to links.  This included hyperlinking the various sponsors, changing the anchor link to go to the right location and hyperlinking the text that refers to my social media pages.

Ms Dymioti (Media Teacher):

EBI: Suggested a pair changes.  The first was to ensure that the logo in the corner did not appear as too subtle; to avoid this, it should be moved closer to the menu as this may also cause problems for those viewing on smaller screens.  The second critique was that the social media presence was lacking; more posts would generate a greater idea for the viewers on who the artist is and what they're all about.

The feedback was really useful in understanding what areas my products were strong in and others which were perhaps weaker and needed improving.  I will immediately attempt to remedy these issues, as this will be used to meet the demands of the brief and to maximize the audience appeal as much as possible.

9. My Website and Social Media Pages

In order to create a successful website and social media page(s), it is vital that I do research into what other artists' websites look like and how they function, so mine can fit into what is conventional in the genre.  This is also a great way for me to obtain some more inspiration for my website.

When looking at the role of the internet, I did a general review of the codes and conventions in artist webpages, therefore in this research session, I decided to look closely at some websites individually, to understand how they utilise the codes and conventions as well as how they create a unique website:

Demi Lovato:

Demi Lovato's website has a modern design, centirc around her and her music.  The home page looks very sleek, with the titles on the edges of the page, some of which are overlapping.  Additionally, there is a consistent black and white style throughout the page; the branding overall (including the merchandise) is synergised.  There are multiple header images, displaying a wide amount of the song which she has out at the moment.  It is also multi-purposed, as it displays her brand deal with the company 'Fabletics' and the Original Youtube Documentary, 'Simply Complicated' about her life.
In regards to the brand deal, this creates the notion that Demi Lovato endorses Fabletics sportswear.  This builds up an element of trust between the artist and the audience, since she recommends what she uses and trusts.  The link to the Youtube documentary and Youtube is a method of digital convergence, linking the user not only to the content on her life, but also to the rest of her music videos / other audio-visual content, connecting the site and music on the website.  This is also achieved through the Youtube embed to the 'Sober' music video.

The merch page is combined with the tour page, which is not particularly typical.  The purchase of tickets is more incentivised, by bundling together the merchandise and tickets, such as the Super Digital Album being purchased with Ticket Access for a single price.

Demi Lovato's menu bar has links to social media pages and streaming services.

Instagram Page:

Demi's Instagram page consists mostly of content featuring her and what she gets up to on a day to day basis.  As one goes through the page, there are numerous posts which aren't directly related to new music, but instead about leisure or philanthropy.  This is not to say that there is no content that is explicitly self-promotional or cross-promotional.  An example of a cross-promotion would be the picture with the stars of the hit sitcom, 'Will and Grace'.  Such a photo makes clear that there's a connection between these people and consequently gives an artist like  Demi more exposure to the audience that follow that account.

Lewis Capaldi:

Lewis Capaldi's website is largely based around the imagery of his latest album, 'Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent', featuring the red and black colour scheme which is synergised with the album cover and merchandise.  I am really fond of the simplicity of the site, as it is easy to navigate across; it is only necessary for the user to scroll down to observe the majority of the content, whereas the details on merchandise are found on the linked page which merges physical albums (vinyls, CDs, cassettes, etc.) with the apparel, prints, bags and pins.

Twitter Page:

Lewis Capaldi is very active on social media, in particular Twitter, which is full of entertaining content; he constantly posts jokes and his thoughts, alongside audio-visual content of what he's been doing when it comes to collaborations and music.  The account's primary purpose is to let people into the life of Lewis Capaldi, but also works to digitally converge his musical content, in particular his newest music video, 'Bruises'.  A short teaser is posted and pinned, piquing the users interest to go ahead and watch the video.  Furthermore, the banner is synergistic to the website banner and the album cover, creating a connected style that runs across all his products.  In turn, this creates a memorable brand identity for the artist.

After taking the inspiration into account, I decided to make a flat-plan in Photoshop, to visualise what wanted my website to look like.  This would give be an idea as to where and how I wanted to move and place the graphics I wanted to make and where the content would go.  By making a flat-plan I could insert the codes and conventions that were necessary to have on both the main page and linked page:

I also thought about what audio-visual content I intended to make for the website; this is with the intention of it being engaging while also informative to the users on the artist outside of music as well as the persona and finally what the site has to offer the user:

I will put together a behinds the scenes video similar to the ME! (Taylor Swift & Brandon Urie) BTS video, showcasing the lengthy production process.

With this post, I have learnt largely about what it is that I need to implement on my own website and social media pages in order for it to maximize appeal to my target audience.  Part of that will be achieved through using some of the techniques that I picked up on from the various other artist websites that I looked into.  From here, I will go forward and use what I have learnt from other artists in the construction of my own website.

8. My music video

To make a successful pop music video, it is necessary that I draw on and organise the research that I have done and convert this into a plan for production.  I will be utilising the research of the pop genre, the other forms of media that I wish to be intertextual with and the material that I am working with (the song) to put together my music video.

To gain some inspiration in regards to my music video, I decided to analyze two videos closely which I have drawn some inspiration from:

Girls - The 1975

From a visual standpoint, the pop-rock song 'Girl's has been a a strong inspiration to my project.  This video demonstrates how to create a narrative in a stylistic fashion; the large majority of the video takes place in a studio environment (the rest takes place at the pool set).  The music video as a whole feels very artificial.  There are a series of close ups, with the lips of the girl in focus which contributes towards the representations formed in the video.  To a degree, the female figures are sexualised through such close-ups and the clothing they wear, but this is contradicted by the fact that they are equally as capable of being 'band members' as their male counterparts.  With this being said, the video explores the contrast between men and women; this can be assigned as an attribute of postmodern media and the notion of deconstruction in the way it's handled, since the 'grey area' between the two and their roles is equally explored.  An example of this would be the lead singer's (Matt) ability to show affection and compassion to who we can infer to be his 'other half.'

The editing on the whole is conventional to the pop genre, with constant cuts to the drum beats and close ups on the guitar.  There is often a tendency to cut from a long-shot to a close-up on the beat.  This is also done with a series of items to literally convey messages, such as the shot of the cupcake with the cupcake with the '17' candles.  This is a demonstration of Illustration (in Goodwin's terms) as it is a direct method of conveying the girl's age that is being discussed in the video.  Additionally, the shots that feature Matt and one of the main girls in the video, although not being a part of the core narrative (within a video with a loose narrative as a whole), these two shots provide us with an insight into the synergy between the two characters outside of it.

'Girls' by The 1975 has mostly inspired my video from a visual point of view, bringing me to include shots in a studio environment that will still contribute to the overall theme of the narrative.  This will mostly be through close ups, two-shots and even individual, short duration shots of objects for the purpose of illustration.

Anne Marie - 2002

Anne-Marie's hit song '2002' has also had a lot of influence on my project.  Initially, the video interested me due the grading and aspect ratio.  The aspect ratio of the video, instead of the traditional 16:9, is 4:3 (on the default 16:9 of Youtube), which creates the 'old' effect, as if shot on film or an older camera.  This is reinforced by the costumes that the characters are wearing including the artist (such as the 'old-school' style of uniform).

The narrative explores her 'love story' over the years, particularly in the year of 2002, as the title suggests.  There is a positive representation of relationships and in particular the people within them.  Both characters are very much faithful to one another, reflecting the message that those of this age group who are infamously known not to 'commit' in relationships or partnerships do not all fit this characteristic.  The romantic relationship in this video is mostly idealistic and does not necessarily introduce any narrative disruptions when it comes to the passion they have for one another; the disruptions in the video are mostly cliches found in the likes of high school movies.  This in turn creates an overall positive mood for the narrative and entire video, as it conforms to the notion of 'love' that is emphasised a lot in the lyrics in the song; it is the relationship between the two of them that remedies problems that occur on a daily basis.

It was from these influences that I was able to create a narrative for my music video; this was converted into a storyboard in order to capture the visual element (in regards to framing, camera movement, angles, mise-en-scene, etc.) alongside the the sequential element, which is vital to the pacing of the shots, hence I had to think very hard on which shots came after the other for it to flow (and be spontaneous to suit the conventions of a pop genre).

In summary, my narrative is themed around unrequited love at first; two actors partake in a silent film which requires them to act as lovers.  However, when the person behind the camera says 'cut', it is revealed that the male actor is in love with his female co-star outside of the film.  As they progress, the female actor develops what seems to be a mutual feeling but by the very realises that it is not the type of relationship she would like. 
The theme for this came mostly from the line in the song 'The way we do its like a movie', which I decided to turn this into an illustrative interpretation.  The notion of the mood being almost perfect and flawless was also something I picked up on as a general theme in the video, so I attempted to amplify this message as a general thread throughout the song.  This was the process I went through for other lyrics as well when I performed an analysis of the song for the purpose of interpreting it for a video.

Additionally, I put together a Steal-o-matic, compiling some of my main intertextual references with some of the shots I intended to get for my performance and finally some of the things I wanted to achieve in post-production:

After this was decided, I had to establish the locations which I was going to film at (with a timeplan and risk assessments to go with this), a cast & crew list and a visual reference for the costume that I wanted them to wear:

COSTUME REFERENCE:

LOCATION RECCIES & RISK ASSESSMENT(S):

CAST & CREW LIST:

TIMEPLAN:

SHOOTBOARD:

This has been the process of me becoming inspired by other music videos in the genre to then going ahead and making one.  The large amount of organisation has been essential for shooting a video that will be of a high standard, similarly to the likes of other music videos at the moment; all of the planning has been needed to resemble the high production values that pop videos have today.  Moving forward, I will work to get the video edited and complete for review.

7. My pop artist or band

In order to create a credible artist persona for a pop musician, it is essential that I perform research looking at what other pop artists stand for and represent.  It is with this that I can construct my own, which will be in line with the overall image of the pop genre.

One of the influences, when it comes to representations, is Pharrell Williams; the artist puts out an image of optimism within their music, website and persona.  Pharrell is also highly creative beyond only his music, being a strong believer in the arts and other creative outlets such as film,  fashion and design.  This inspires me to develop a substantial artist persona that has value beyond the video, forming somewhat of a hegemony (as theorised by Dyer) for those within the fandom to understand and be excited by.  

Another influence on the creation of my artist persona has been will.i.am.  In terms of style, he has a similar aesthetic to the one that I am intending to create, often wearing accessories like hats and glasses.  He also wears hoodies and various streetwear items regularly, which also fits into the aesthetic.  On the other hand, the artist is represented as one that modern and in touch with the technological age, evidenced through the brand deal he has with 'BUTTONS', a wireless earphone brand.  This is also connoted through his overall branding being based around technology and 'the future'; he consistently promotes his audience and many others to begin coding and to stay up to date with the advancements of today.  Although I may not be able to formulate values for my own artist that are this extensive, I do still wish to form an artist persona around positive values that can be beneficial for the target audience.

I made a moodboard based on the representations and styles of pop artists that I researched in order to synthesize an aesthetic for my own artist persona:


























The majority of my stylistic influences are based around casual, urban styles that still incorporate some of the fundamental aesthetics of the pop genre and pop videos, such as bright colours, connoting positivity.  In the moodboard, it was my intention to make it clear what sort of clothing the artist would wear as well as how this would fit in with the performance (or more specifically how this would look on camera, hence the images of audio and lighting gear which I intend to accompany the artist)























The look that I formulated was almost an amalgamation of the various pop artists that I looked at for inspiration, as well as a few others, such as Schoolboy Q, Jaden Smith and Big Sean.  With all of this, I moved forward to build up the personality of the artist persona, looking at their values, ideologies and personality as somebody now in the public eye.  Additionally I made some additions to some of the visuals, in regards to the smaller details such as makeup and jewellery:

Overall, this task has been vital to the project, as now I have constructed a persona, which is the core component to the music video and the other material.  Now it is essential that I utilise what I have created, by crafting a performance bed, website and additional material that is moulded around this personality.

6. My chosen track

I have decided to research the artist and song that I have chosen for the task, as it will give me a greater idea as to what I want to do with the song during production, particularly the narrative; I must interpret the song and researching it will provide me with some necessary inspiration.

Initially I selected a series of tracks, which I would then reduce down to one:

Woozy - Kwassa

Lightweight - Thomston

Wave - Justin Timberlake

Pretty And Young - Austin Mahone

In the end, I decided to choose Woozy by Kwassa, partially because of the lyrics; I felt as if I would be able to work with them very well, with points I knew I could amplify and illustrate.  In contrast, some of the other songs, despite sounding very good, were difficult for forming a substantial narrative that could go around this (or at least one that was practical to produce with the time I had available to do so).

• Kwassa (Scott Verrill), formerly known by the stage name KYKO, is a pop artist signed to Warner Records UK.
• He has been involved in the music scene for a long time, being a part of the youngest band to play at Glastonbury while he was still as school.
• Kwassa's inspirations come from artists such as Taylor Swift, Paul Simon and Bon Iver.
• His first track, 'Animals' is still accessible on Soundcloud to this day.
• He still has a high amount of influence over the production process of his music, despite the signing.  He is highly involved when it comes to creating beats and melodies for his own music.

Woozy is a song based on a "salsa-ish" guitar loop as described by Kwassa himself; this was initially a joke but decided to turn it into an actual song.  This is very different to the rest of his music, so it was the chance to put out something fun, hence it does not need to be taken very seriously. 

With the song now chosen, I decided it would be appropriate to perform a lyrical analysis of the song, picking out what I would choose to utilise for illustration, amplification and contradiction.  Also this would be used to understand what the song was about from a thematic perspective:

Woozy - Kwassa (Performance)

My interpretation of the song versus Kwassa's in this additional performance video is quite different, in the way that his approach is more passionate and endearing, as it is a personal message.  This is differing to what I was intending to do, even when it comes to the performance, as my artist will be in fact narrating the story from what seems to be disconnected from the narrative element.  

From researching my chosen track, I have learnt what approach I will be taking with the video and how there can be a variety of interpretations from the same set of lyrics.  After this, I will be visualising these in the pre-production process, through a storyboard, so I understand how this will look further into the project.

5. My target audience

For my music video, it is essential that I understand the audience that my artist is targeting; in this case, I am targeting the mainstream 16-25 year old mass market.  Therefore, I have decided to research the audience to understand their behaviours and their interests in order to tailor my brand and products around them, with the intention of maximizing audience appeal.

A moodboard based on the behaviours of the '
mainstream' audience.

I initially began by creating a small moodboard in order to gain a general understanding of the target audience.  The 'mainstream' audience is one that is described to 'play things safe', doing what appears to be popular or the current trend of today.  Mainstream audiences (as referred to by UKTribes) lack a desire to discover 'less popular' genres or artists.  They are content with what's popular, such as chart music, Saturday Night TV, etc.  With this being said, the target audience is known to be very loyal in regards to what they support and enjoy.

Listening to Music:

From my research, I've learnt that the target audience uses digital methods of listening to music.  Youtube and streaming services are the most popular among this age group coming in at 74% and 56% (according to the 4Youth community); they are even content with paying for these services primarily because of the ease of access and the ease of music discovery.  For example, pre-made playlists made by services like Spotify and Youtube give people the ability to listen to the music they enjoy and introduce them to new artists.  Additionally, they favour the sound quality which they get from these services, as well as the chance to download these songs to listen to offline.  

However, this is not to say that the target audience is against the idea of purchasing physical copies of their favourite music, as this not only supports the artist but it gives them a sense of their own identity (as Gauntlett theorised).  For this reason and for the sake of nostalgia, artists cater for this by selling vinyl, cassettes, CDs, etc. for their albums or singles.

Keeping Up to Date with Music & Artists:

The target audience also prides themselves in keeping up with their favourite artists through various means.  They mostly do this through mostly virtual means,  through social media, podcasts, radio and artist newsletters; these can also be used for music discovery.  

Additionally, some music listeners in this demographic like to feel more connected and up to date with the artists to a greater extent, hence the reason for buying merchandise and tour tickets.  They gain pleasure from supporting the artist in person or implicitly (by purchasing & wearing apparel put out by the artist).  This is done in other ways as well, through engaging with additional content, such as 'behind the scenes' videos and footage about the artist in regards to their real lives.

The audience feels that social media can be really useful for staying connected with artists, giving them the ability to have dialogues (even if brief) with the artist on platforms like Twitter.  As previously mentioned, fans like to gain an insight into the life of the artist outside of the music, through the use of features such as IGTV on Instagram.                                                                                                                                       
To conclude, researching the target audience has given me an insight into how I need to guide my artist's social media presence in order to maximize my appeal to the mass market which I am targeting the video too.  Next, it is essential that I plan out what additional audio-visual content I will be producing and what I will be using social media for, in order to engage the target audience as much as possible. 

4. The pop music genre

I have decided to research the pop genre, as it is in my best interest to understand what the genre is about and how I can make my video fit the 'pop' image.  This requires me to research other videos to understand the codes and conventions of them, so I can implement these into my own production.

Background:

The term 'pop music' refers to 'popular music'.  During the print revolution, 'broadside ballads' were sold cheaply; these were considered, in the 17th century, to be an early contribution to the genre.  These would consist of a small ballad, a rhyme, a small amount of news and possibly an illustration.

The version of pop which we know of today divided from the rock and roll genre after the 1950s.  Slightly before this in the 1930s, the rise in popularity of jazz music influenced those in the UK to create 'dance groups' which would evolve into become music groups and dominate the radio decades later.

In order to gain a sense of the codes and conventions of pop music videos, I made a Youtube Playlist consisting the videos I had watched and / or analysed:

From this, the conventions that I came across were:

• Even amount of narrative and performance
• Performance most of the time involves artist lip-syncing to the song 
• A disregard for continuity editing - this mostly applied to performance (notion of disjuncture)
• Fast paced editing - this includes cutting to the beat
• Variety of shot types

Then I took a look at some videos specifically to see how they were applied.  This taught me that on a case by case basis, the application is quite varied between videos:

DJ Khaled - No Brainer ft. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, Quavo

'No Brainer' is fast-paced and dynamic video that imitates the activities of a film set.  This 'movie' seems to one that is similar to the idealistic Hollywood narrative, being highly positive and lively.  This is met with a very stylised look to the entire video, lacking natural light or any true form of an outdoor location.  As the music video progresses, the camera movement becomes more arbitrary and active, capturing more items and people in the frame at the same time with the use of arcing shots and crane shots.  This feeds into the idea of disjuncture with the varying shots with no particularly 'logical' pattern, as Vernalis theorised.  The narrative in the video involves the convergence of multiple characters, making this a linear narrative to some extent.  With this being said, the narrative and performance are intertwined , due to the fact that the artists are the 'actors' in this case.

frederic - Sukiraism

'Sukiraism' is a pop-rock song, by Japanese band frederic.  The narrative is based on a couple who explore their relationship with one another.  The disruption of this narrative is discovering that there is an ongoing trend of conflict and making up throughout their journey together.  The music video provides us with a .  The video follows through with the disjunctive properties of music videos, ignoring continuity in many respects (as do many of their songs).  An example of this would be the shots that involve the band and the characters in the same location; this creates a seamless transition between performance and narrative to the extent where they're almost interconnected.  There is also a fast pace to the song and video, with a high amount of cuts occurring within the arcing shots (the main shot used throughout the entirety of the video).  Additionally, the song is structured similarly to Western pop songs, repeating lines such as 'Pure emotional controversy hate that kind of thing' (translated) and 'I hate but I can not hate why."; these lyric lines are matched by the 'love-hate' relationship they have throughout the video.  This is an example of amplification which is a prominent convention in music videos.

Anne-Marie - Ciao Adios

Anne-Marie's 'Ciao Adios' video has a more 'concrete' narrative to the other two videos; with the lyrics and the events of the narrative elements, we can infer that her and her friends have decided to go on a trip to a foreign country, due to the problems she had in her previous relationship.  This is a trip with pleasure and self-discovery in mind, which involves meeting new people that live different lives to your own along the way.  Unlike videos like 'No Brainer', the vast majority of this video has a sense of natural light and is shot either outdoors or on location.  The video also does not acknowledge the principle of logical shot orders, often switching from a medium close-up to another from a different location, or simply cutting between close up shots and wide shots.

In conclusion, from researching the codes and conventions of music videos and the pop genre, I have learnt what it is that my video needs to conform to in order to fit in with the genre.  Now it is essential that I find a suitable track to craft my narrative around and then see how I can apply what I have learnt here in pre-production.  For my own video, I wish to play on the  conventional disjunctive elements of music videos by cutting between different settings and grading setups for performance.  I also intend to do this with my narrative section as well; I wish to experiment with grading and mise-en-scene to vary the emotions being felt at different sections of the story.

3. Regulation in the music industry

I have decided to research how the regulatory framework around music videos, in order for me to understand what it is that my video needs to comply to, so it can meet the demands of the brief: it must be suitable for broadcast on streaming sites such as Youtube and age appropriate for young adults from the age of 16.  Following these regulations will maximize the audience appeal for who I'm supposed to target and will allow my video to be present on the platforms I wish for my video to be on.

PROBLEMS IN REGARDS TO REGULATION / SOCIAL-CULTURAL CONTEXTS:

A main issue in the music industry, when moving through the new millenia, was adjusting to the rise of digital technology and the internet as it was becoming more widespread.  This spawned an ongoing battle with the rise of what was known as 'music piracy', due to the recent growth in peer-to-peer file sharing websites such as LimeWire.  Unlike previous filesharing websites, the court battle (although eventually successful) was particularly lengthy, demonstrating that the choice not to adapt with digital technology rather than deny it may have been counter-productive for the industry as a whole.

Another issue in regards to music videos that has arisen in the UK has been one that questions the role of the state in regulating / censoring forms of self-expression.  This has been the challenge the government has faced with the rise of 'drill music', a rap sub-genre that gives way for the disfranchised to describe their stories surrounding drug culture, crime and more.  The government and police decisions in attempt to crack down on this sort of music, as it was to their belief that this was causing more knife crime in the country (particularly the capital).  This has been unpopular among some and finding this balance is a challenge that the government is still learning about today.

A final prominent issue is the sexualisation of the content available in music videos today; the supposed impact of this is potential damage to the social perceptions of gender (girls in particular).  This risk is exacerbated by the rate of which we consume the media, as we live in what can be dscribed as a consumerist and commercial society, where children and people of young ages are exposed to this sort of content.  Consequently, the response to this is a regulatory framework.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION:

The government, to some extent, has taken up a greater role in cracking down on copyright infringements and disputes.  The Digital Economies Act 2010 was a major step in the direction of tackling piracy; the statute caused internet service providers (ISPs) to tale a more active role in reducing copyright infringement, court orders could now be obtained by the Secretary of State to block internet connections that were used in connection to copyright infringement and much more.  This was seen as a way of giving back more digital control to the media industry as a whole, particularly the music industry.

YOUTUBE COPYRIGHT REGULATION:

In order to prevent the theft of content by musicians, Youtube has multiple systems in place to prevent other creators on the platform to resolve copyright disputes.  Youtube has the copyright strike system in place, which is issued when the "copyright owner has sent a complete and valid request", asking the service to do so, which will result in the deletion of the video.  If a user receives three of these in a certain time frame, the channel will be shut down.  This disincentives people on the platform to use the artist's content without the rights.
Additionally, Youtube has a Content ID claim system; this was developed into the Youtube algorithm, causing all videos to be automatically searched for copyrighted material.  If the amount is reasonable and there is no contest from the user who used this material (this is usually a fair use argument), a copyright claim is issued to that user.  This prevents the video from generating any revenue (content demonetization).

BBFC RATINGS:

Exerpt from https://bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/online-music-videos

The BBFC also has a role to play in the regulatory framework around music videos; those signed to Sony Music UK, Universal Music UK, Warner Music UK and all independent labels who have videos unsuitable for children under 12 will be classified by the BBFC age rating and will feature when published on Youtube.

An example of where the age rating can be found.

As a result me researching this, I have established that I will be using the '15' age rating, due to the specifications set on the brief being from 16-25 year olds.  The reason for this is because I intend to produce a video that is not explicit in any fashion; it will not promote negative behaviours, such as 'drug use' or 'imitatible dangerous behaviour' for example, as the BBFC quotes.

These ratings work in conjunction to Youtube's age restriction system, which requires users to acknowledge and agree that the content before them contains some parts which may be of an explicit nature.

These ratings are positive as they will allow my music video to be seen by the right people (the target audience) while also regulate who watches the video; this can make it clear for parental figures whether the video is appropriate or not for their child, encouraging safe media consumption.

In regards to regulation, Ofcom is key when it comes to setting the standards as to what parts of music videos can be advertised and which parts should not.  Ofcom has various precedents in place in regards to the 'rise' in sexualised music video content.  This is in the interests of those
watching television before the 9pm watershed.


From researching the regulatory framework in place around the music industry, I have learnt how my video can be made appropriate for the target audience. I have gained some insight into how the music industry on the whole has had to adapt to the rise in digital technology and the new age, 'Digital Britain'.  I will be responding to what it is that I have learnt here during the pre-production phase, to ensure that the video is safe to the extent that the brief requires it to be.

2. The role of the internet in the music industry

For almost the past three decades, music has become more assimilated with the internet, hence the reason why the artists of today.  The growth of streaming platforms has helped the music business recover from a 15-year decline, as it has countered inclination to pirate music; this has been beneficial for pop artists and the music industry as a collective.  I decided to research the extent of which the internet is involved in the music industry, as my artist will need to utilise the internet and have a digital presence in order to appeal to the mainstream 16-25 year old demographic.

Notable Companies & Services in the Music Industry


Spotify:

• Spotify is a digital music streaming service which provides its users with access to millions of songs for free
• Spotify was founded by Swedish founder Daniel Ek in April 2006 (who is now CEO of the company)
• Spotify, despite being reported to be a loss-making company was reported to be worth $20bn in 2018 on the New York Stock Exchange
• The company was reported to have made an annual revenue of $5 billion
• Reported to have 159 million active users; 71 million are subscribed monthly, allowing them to listen to music offline and ad-free.  There are 88 million 'freenium' users.
• Artists earn revenue through this per stream; the music label that the artist is a part of gains a cut of this.

Spotify is used widely by pop artists, as this is how the majority of their audience listens to their music.  Therefore it is necessary that artists do this in order to reach broader audiences and grow a following.

Youtube & Youtube Music:

• Youtube & Youtube Music, ran by CEO Susan Wojicki, is a portal for streaming songs, albums, music videos, covers, remixes, etc.
• The subscription is at $9.99 a month; this gives the user the ability to listen to music and watch music videos offline
• The service allows artists to centralise all their music under their name, preventing the other 'creators' on the platform from potentially monetizing  content with their copyrighted material.

Youtube Music allows artists to bring together their music videos, songs, albums, etc. all in one place.  This is key for providing audiences with the visual aspect of their content, which Youtube provides.

Artists Use of the Internet in the Music Industry:

Pop artists use these services and integrate them within their web spaces, converging them all together with the ultimate intention of leading their audience back to their website, in order to sell their products (such as tour tickets and merchandise).

Demi Lovato's menu bar has links to social media pages and streaming services.

Links to social media pages as well as the various pages on her page is conventional for pop artists (such as news, bio, tour, etc.).  There are also many other conventional features of artist / band websites, for example:

• a link / embedded link to watch the music video(s)
• a short biography of the artist / band
• a page or section to purchase tickets, merchandise, apparel, etc.
• images of the artist / band for obtaining a sense of identity for the artist
• a large header image, featuring the artist and potentially the music they're promoting.

I summarised these conventions by making a moodboard, looking at how artists incorporated these across their websites:

A moodboard on the conventional uses of the internet by pop artists.

I decided to look closely at some websites individually, to gain a greater understanding of how these are put into practice by some large figures in the pop genre today:

DNCE:

Second DNCE header image.

The DNCE band website has a clean design,  featuring the band on the header image and links to their various other pages and the streaming platforms that they are present on.  In this case, this features their latest EP, 'People to People'.  The two header images give us an insight into the band identity, giving us an idea that each member provides a unique sense of style to the band, connoted through the different clothing and styles as oppose to a uniform look.    The use of a bio, titled 'Meet DNCE' reiterates the 'star identity' of the band, talking about their successes on the charts and the awards.
Visually, there is a clean sense of style to the website, using primarily a white, black and red colour scheme.  There is also a consistant sense of branding, with the
The site also uses the conventional email newsletter, creating a way for fans to stay
updated use of the black 'DNCE' logo. with the band's activities.  This is in order to establish a connection with the fandom and the band, forming the notion that the two are connected, or that the fandom is on the journey with DNCE.

Email Newsletter

The band also has a few other pages, such as a tour page, a videos page and even a photos page.  The photos page is slightly less typical; in the case of the DNCE page, it is another way of integrating the idea of fandom within the website.   The photos page not only shows pictures of the band, primarily from their social media page, but also gives the user the ability to rebrand their social media pages with DNCE images, offering them the chance to further their connection with the brand and be more integrated with them.  The images also show how the fans express their expression for the band, again, integrating the element of fandom with the band, showing they care for those who support them.



Taylor Swift:

Taylor Swift's website is very simple, due to the fact that the majority of the content is based on one page, which is conventional of modern pop artist websites.  From the very instant one is sent to the website through the URL, there is an immediate promotion of her latest album, 'Lover' which is available to download and/or stream.  On top of this, we get a large sense of star identity from the MCU of her outside of the album cover.  This is reinforced by the logo that remains on the top of the page for the entire time.  As one navigates further down the page, there is evidence of digital convergence, with the use of the embedded Youtube player on the fourth panel down.  This can send the user to her Youtube channel, where you can find the rest of her videos; in reverse, her website is linked in the description of the video, so the viewers can learn more about her, the album, merchandise, etc.

The linked pages on her website works as a means of expanding on the content that are presented initially on the home page.  The primary example of this is the merchandise page, which contains more details on the pricing of each item, colours, shipping details, etc.


Justin Timberlake:

Justin Timberlake's website despite conforming to the majority of the conventions of pop artist websites, his is rather unique in a few ways.  The main difference is that a portion of his content, such as videos and images is behind a paywall.  For $24.99 annually, members of the 'Tennessee Kids' receive deeper access to photos, videos, etc. and are also given some exclusive benefits, such as a free limited edition t-shirt once they sign up.  Furthermore, a lot of Justin's content that isn't music is promoted on the website, like his book 'Hindsight & All the Things I Can't See in Front of Me' and his collaboration with Levi Jeans.  Overall, his site feels more personal, giving us a greater sense of who he is as a person as well as a musician.

Since researching the role of the internet in the music industry, I now have a greater understanding of who the key players are within the internet space and also how artists utilise the space to their advantage.  Moving forward, I need to be able to use the conventions I have picked up on and also make a site that provides the user with a strong sense of identity for my artist simultaneously.  Various conventional features like a newsletter and a merchandise section are fundamental to artist websites; these are the features that I must consider implementing when crwating my own website.