This is the digipak that my partner and I analysed. The use of the big and bold R throughout the front and back of the cover is to show that R. Kelly dominates his music and perhaps his style too. The fact that also on the front and back the image from his very first album cover is used, shows that perhaps he really hasn't changed and no one, not even a record label, will change him from the person who first entered the music business (with his first album). The back of the digipak, in the middle, shows R. Kelly with his arms up with a simple spotlight on him, in what looks like less of a stage and more of a theatre. This shows that R. Kelly is more of a performer, and thankful for everything he has done and achieved. He looks as if he is looking up to God and this portrays him as an honest man, the light around him is quite heavenly which adds to this. The bottom left image looks like clouds behind him, which also adds to this honest, true image that is portrayed in the top one. The colours black and red are used to add a tone of love and mystery/darkness - making R. Kelly a very deep character. The whole idea behind the digipak is to show R. Kelly as true to his music, genre and previous self.
This is my presentation on Independent and Major record companies. Researching them really gave me the opportunity to think seriously about what kind of record label my band would be looking to associate themselves with. From doing this research it is very likely that my band and their music would fit much more comfortably and benefit much more with an independent record label, seeming as they are a very independent, unique band that do not particularly want the label to change their image of personality on camera.
My partner and I have chosen our song that will be creating our music video to, which is Alright by Supergrass. I have chosen to do an analysis of Blur as they are very close in genre and style of music - Park Life particularly because it, much like Alright, is a fun, care-free song and I thought the music video could influence some of the themes or conventions we include in our own.
The video has very bright colours, which show the fun individual feel of the band. Their image is very clearly being shown through this music video as the type of band that doesnt take themselves 'too seriously' which is quite like the video we wanted to create. The camera stays static through quite a lot of the video, not following people as much as it stands and has people pass it. This is to show the idea of all the different people that go through their 'Park Life' and the fun part about this video is all of the people are quite random in what they do in the video. For example, one of the band members randomly takes his glasses off and puts it up to the camera, while at another point they twirl in a shopping trolley past the camera and out of view again. This adds a very young, fun, yet slightly rebellious feel to the band - much like their target audience may have been perceived.
The music video includes some stereotypical British aspects, such as a letterbox, ice cream van, buses, black cabs and British style houses. This is to show the ‘Commoner’ style of music and to show the band as not only fun and carefree but proud to be British, which would have gained a lot of enthusiasm from their target audience at this time.
The music video includes a lot of close ups of the singer, which follows the conventions of a band, though having him pulling a lot of funny faces or posing adds to the carefree image of the band. Other conventions that they include is the enhancement of lyrics through visuals, singing to the words and the reference of looking.
Strange camera angles make the video seem less ordinary and make it more interesting to watch. This and the use of different lenses which distort the image.
Having the band members be quite active with the walking or moving that they do within the video not only makes it more interesting and humorous for the audience to watch but also resembles how they act when playing live. This is something that would definitely appeal to audience members that had seen them live as they would recognise the personality coming through and feel like the video and artists are more personal to them.
This music video has definitely given me some ideas on how to incorporate random, quirky and fun things into my video while keeping it in line with the meaning of the song.
Since downloading music for free became easy, there has been the evermore pressing worry of the music industry eventually dying out. There are people that will lose out from this specifically and it is these people, that if not paid, will eventually walk away and the end of the music industry will take their place. These people are the musicians and corporations - both vital parts to the industry, without either we wouldn't have a music industry. This is known as the de-commodification of music. Though the consumers may be happy, the producers have no money and nothing that they could possibly sell to them. This is a reason for the very current 'sell out' of artists, that sell perfumes and other products to make money.There is now the worry that online piracy will be the end of the music industry, which keeps pushing record labels to find new ways to sell an artist as the idea of owning an actual CD isn't something that really bothers anyone now. Online piracy has become such a natural, quick and efficient way of listening to music that people don't even question it. The problem is, that is people continue to illegally download music, there may be no new music in the life's of generations to come.
Pixie Lott is a prime example of artists that have been processed through the 'machine' as we can see the before and after. When Pixie first became big she was quite the adorable, cute character - often wearing classy, cute outfits with the odd bit of leg or chest showing. Now that Pixie has made it even bigger you can see the transformations beginning. Pixie in some of her more recent videos and concerts has been wearing tiny shorts that reveals a lot of her thighs and low cut tops - all to sell her sexuality and further sell her act as a whole. From this:
To This. Not only has her look changed but she's dancing more provocatively and has now collaborated with a rap artists, which isn't necessarily her kind of music - another choice the 'machine' would have made.
An artist that completely goes against this theory - and finding more than a few proved quite difficult - is Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran writes his own music, the style and/or genre of which has not changed and he wears exactly what he wants, uncaring of whether it will 'attract' the people to his music or not. In fact, he is so casual about his look that he turned up to an award ceremony wearing a hoody - surrounded by artists in suits and tuxedos. The fact that Ed doesn't have to try over do it or try to hard makes his music even more personal to him and more real for the audience that watches. Ed Sheeran differs from Pixie Lott quite a bit, even in his videos the record label have allowed him to wear what he always does - even his most recent, most successful videos such as 'Small Bump':
Ed sheeran is a good example of what type of individuality we would like for our band, we don't want the band to be seen as any kind of sell out, we want them to be true to their music, fan and image - having their own style and having created their own personality for the band.
Adorno and Horkheimer came together to write a theory on what happens to an artists/band once they have been signed by a record company. The theory was that artists are no longer individual but pumped through the 'machine' that is the industry, creating nothing more than the same thing over and over. They believe that individuality does not exist within this industry, that for the artist to make the record label money - which is the record labels main priority - they are made into the 'norm' for their genre. The need for commodity within the industry means that the record label needs to sell an artist and considering the rising use of piracy, this means using other products such as perfume, souvenirs, appearances in adverts and so forth. The record label takes what could be a potentially individual, different artist and make them the same as every other artist within their genre - to be sure they will make money. We as an audience, though we always ask for new, unique acts are no better as we buy into all of this. As an audience, we like the artists that record labels produce, because they are fashionable and because we would most likely reject any real, different and out of the blue acts that don't quite fit in with what we have seen before. Therefore, the industry is nothing more than a machine, processing the artists the same way they do day in, day out. An example would be Pixie Lott who went from this:
To This:
and other artists like Nichole Sherzinger who since being signed have been sold through their femininity and sexual qualities -
