MUSIC INDUSTRY STRUCTURE - WHERE MY POP VIDEO FITS

In modern society, music has successfully placed itself in the epicentre of popular culture. However, its growing popularity is largely responsible due to music being an entertaining way of expressing personality, opinions and class, which is why most people’s taste in music is reflected in their lifestyle. Music has become a canvas of controversy; it exposes elements that the population are forced to be interested in: fashion, race, body and hair, which results in music deferring away from being an art form. When our group decided on the song “Ta Douleur” by Camille, it was a way of expressing music authentically through simple movements, rather than producing another synthetic video to please the populations’ desire for the norm, like JLS. Our video is organic, a real singer, singing her own song naturally.

There is great tension between the contrasting methods of producing music. Most songs are aesthetically pleasing, due to the commercial forces that underline the succession of the business. However, there are a small minority which produce organic songs, which is what our pop video is going to be like. Our pop video is in contrast with the normal conventions of the music industry, instead of filming the band members with their instruments inter cut with a narrative to express the topic, the two worlds are mixed together through the singer being the narrative. This is a dangerous risk to take in reference to the popularity of our product. Most of the music industry relies of ‘synergetic connections,’ with other media forms, this co dependence with other media means that a ‘mutual reliance’ can be productive but also risky.

In order for the music industry to boom, there are a number of ‘Major’ companies which are responsible for the producing of the pop video. These are Universal, Sony/BMG, Warner Bros and EMI, which are trans-national corporations which dominate the music world. Here is a link to Sony Music to show how Sony almost dominate the music industry: http://www.sonymusic.co.uk/

However, due to our pop video being slightly different to the main stream music which is produced, it is unlikely that a huge business like Sony would take it on. Therefore, they ‘Majors’ licence a string of smaller subsidiary companies in order to reach different audiences in different kinds of genre, these companies are known are ‘major-independents.’ Finally, there are a huge number of small companies which are unable to be licensed by major companies because they little or not financial muscle. This leads to the companies concentrating on specific artists which produce music targeting towards a niche audience. These are known as ‘independents.’ There is a bitter relationship between Majors and Independents because they are both music producing corporations, but produce such contrasting songs. The most likely corporation to produce ‘Ta Douleur’ is an Independent, firstly because it is in French and therefore a niche target audience is already decided, and the quirkiness and indifference will again defer other types of audiences.

However, it would be misleading to think the music industry is a hierarchy dominated by the Majors. Although some songs are better known than others, all songs have an audience whether they be niche or mass. The complexity of all the corporations can be referred to as a ‘web.’ Where the small companies try to gain access to bigger markets, and the bigger companies try to involve themselves in new artist and movements in popular music. Our pop video would be considered by a mini company which produces songs for a niche market.

The music industry as a whole has a complex relationship with a number of different Medias, such as Radio, TV, Print media, Film and New media. This is when synergy is created between two media forms, as they work together to produce something for the same audience, Sky and their newspapers are a good example of this.

There are many purposes to a pop video; it is not only for the audience to be entertained, there are complexities which are considered whilst in the production stage. These functions include; promoting a specific single, and usually then an album, by having a pop video for a song, the audience is able to relate better because much of our pleasure is through visual, as Kuleshov states that “70% of meaning is through images.” This is why our pop video is planned to be visually stunning, through the performance of the singer, and the colours and costumes etc. Also when someone listens to a song they can interpret a meaning, which the pop video can later decide to reinforce or undermines through a narrative in the video. This is similar to our pop video where the person she is trying to please and cheer up is in fact herself. It also promotes a specific artist or band, the first pop video is crucial is deciding what kind of artist is being created, and what kind of audience will be interested. This is why the first pop video is always the most important and thought about because it could make or break an artist. A pop video can create a ‘star image’ through the portrayal of the band members in their fashion, characteristics and hair style.

I have outlined many of the positive aspects to pop videos, and incorporated negative aspects which have consequently led to their succession. However, in our rapidly developing society the music industry is being threatened, and slowly becoming irrelevant. This is due to illegal downloading, manufactured programmes with live feeds, the vidvert and finally music television becoming more mainstream, such as MTV. Other threats for the music industry are that audiences are becoming slightly bored with the same sort of concepts being reproduced over and over again. When deciding our pop video we took this into account and that is why we picked to make a quirky and abstract song, which would be different to other songs being produced at the moment. Although it may mean that a niche audience will be targeted, the audience that is does attract will be interested because it is unlike other pop videos which are over produced. There may be a slight worry that soon pop videos will turn into live feeds of recording, and therefore no narrative and visual effects will be needed, however, personally I don’t think this will happen because our society enjoy being entertained through plots and characters, rather than singers and their instruments.

PERMISSIONS LETTER

HURTWOOD HOUSE
HEADED PAPER

Head of Copyright and Legal Affairs
Virgin Records
553-579 Harrow Road
Kensal House
London
England
W10 4RH

September 30th 2010


Dear Sir or Madam

We are a group of A Level students working on an A Level project for a qualification in Media Studies. We are writing to request permission to use the following track as part of this project:

Ta Douleur - Camille

With your permission the track would be used as the accompaniment to a short form video that is made purely for assessment purposes and will have no commercial usage. The video will be viewed only by members of the school community and the assessor of the examination board.

The artist and the copyright holder will of course be fully recognised in the pre-production and evaluation material that accompanies the project. We can also include a full copyright notice if required both in the planning material and on the video itself.

Yours sincerely

Tessa Lomas
Hurtwood House School

FIRST PITCH

There are a group of conventions which are common in pop videos which I plan to either subvert or imitate in my pop video. Due to my pop video being in French, many of the conventions will be subverted because I will be unable to truly imitate the English/American conventions. However, the band which will play the song will have an aesthetically pleasing style, which will be unique and individual. I plan for the singer to be a female dressed in a unusual brightly coloured dress which puffs out at the bottom, and the band will be dressed in all black with quite strange make-up. This will make the audience be interested in them and their product because it will be unique, however, they will still be able to relate to it because it is not so strange that it seems completely foreign. The type of music, generic, will be different to normal English bands, due to it being a French song, however, the audience will be able to enjoy it still because it is an upbeat song, with a catchy rhythm. My pop video will not be ideologically pushed because it is about a broken-hearted girl, however, due to it being in French and the video being slightly abstract, the audience won’t feel it is predictable and tedious. These subverted aspects of the pop video will hopefully attract a mass audience for mass consumption. Keith Negus says that pop videos each have certain conventions. I deal with them paragraph by paragraph:

A feature that will be imitated in my pop video is the appearance of the artist. The band will be in both the narrative story and the performance aspect. In the narrative, the singer will be singer the song to the girl sitting down, and the band will be part of the group which are trying to make the girl happy again. In the performance frame, they will be playing their instruments and singing the song. This is imitating the convention because many bands do the performance and also play a role in the narrative. I chose to imitate this convention because it means the audience can relate to the band as they see both stories.

Although I have not organised each shot yet, I do plan to use a wide and extensive use of shot types, camera angles and movement, as Negus says. However, in the narrative story, I plan for the band to be seen in the perspective of the girl who is sitting down, because it will seem like she, and the audience, is being entertained.

Much of my pop video will be quite realistic, which could be subverting previous conventions. I have chosen to do this so the audience can relate to it, because it is realistic and not fantasy, however, the video will still be abstract in the singers actions, that way the audience is still interested.

I plan to do many quick shots will which reflect and cut to the beat of the song, that way the audience will feel comfortable with the normal convention, as Negus says. However, at some points in the pop video, I plan to remain on a shot for longer than usual, that way it will slightly shock the audience, because it is different, however, not so much that they will not enjoy the pop video.

I plan to use some special effects which Negus states is common in pop videos, in the post production stage. Due to the song being in French, I would like to for the main line of the song: “Je vais prendre ta douleur” to be incorporated into the video in English. For example, I may have the girl roll her sleeves up in frustration, and “I will take your pain” will be tattooed across her arm so that the audience know what is being said. However, I do not plan to use too many after effects because I feel the attraction to the pop video is that it is a simple story, and therefore the effects should reflect this.

I plan for the Mise en Scene to be slightly French, due to the song choice. It will be in a black studio for the narrative frame. This is neutral and simple, however, the methods that the singer and band will do to make the girl happy, could be slightly French and bizarre in order to reflect the lyrics and language. For example, the band could be miming a situation in order to make the girl happy, and I could incorporate red, white and blue into the set to advertise the French flag.

I feel that the audience will have a high impact instantly due to it firstly being in French, because this is not what they will be expecting. Then their amazement will sustain due to the content of the video. Negus argued “high impact” is vital for a pop video, therefore I plan to achieve this.

When pitching the idea to Luke, our teacher and executive producer, I showed him the song on youtube, and he was quite interested in the video and song to begin with. I explained my pitch for the video which is a French song called “Ta Douleur” by Camille, by clearly describing the narrative frame, against the performance frame. Luke felt that the narrative frame was very interesting, due to its simplicity. He liked the idea of the audience and the girl being entertained, and to increase this aspect he suggested that the camera be from the girl’s perspective in the narrative frame, and therefore hardly move at all. Luke also said that the methods which the band carries out to make the girl happy, need to be specific and interesting in order for the audience to enjoy it. Therefore, what I now need to do is decide exactly what the methods are going to be, and explain them in detail, that way nothing can go wrong on the shoot day, and also the audience will appreciate the specificity.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

I began my research by viewing various pop videos on youtube. I began with songs that I liked, and then listened to songs which had a promising video attached to it. I began to realise that common techniques are used in many high profile pop videos, for example, most girl bands are extremely glamorous and highlight their beauty to attract an audience, for example, ‘The Pussycat Dolls:’

With their sexy dances and revealing clothes, men watch for attraction, and women watch with envy, that way a mass audience is interested. However, this method is used for famous bands, however, other artists who are not high profile, take a different approach in attracting an audience. For example, ‘Jack Johnson,’ does not gain an audience through in appearance, but through his ideological lyrics and videos to fit, for example, ‘Upside Down:’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqUdI4AIDF0&ob=av2n
Here, ‘Curious George’ is incorporated to convey the confusion which people feel nowadays. After studying many pop videos I decided that I wanted to produce a video somewhere in between the high profile bands, and abstract artists which go against the norm. I began to develop 3 ideas:


‘Ta Douleur’ – Camille - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqUdI4AIDF0&ob=av2n

This is a French song about a lovesick girl, with a twist. The singer is talking to a girl about her lover who has left her for someone else, and the singer is trying to make her happy, by stating “I’m going to take your pain,” which is the title of the song. In the pop video created, the singer Camille is being attacked by blue knitting in a small room. She seems quite crazy and I wanted to recreate some of her strangeness in my video. Camille is not well known in England, but her songs as well as her pop videos are unique and individual, that’s why this is a good choice of song because it is different but a niche audience would still be interested.
I planned to set it in a black studio, where a girl is cross legged in the centre of the room, she is being sung to by the artist. The girl is dressed casually, and quite pretty, and the singer has back combed hair and it dressed in an old school puffed up dress. It is clear through the actions of the girl that she is upset, and the singer is trying to make her happy again. This is where I plan to recreate the strangeness, by making the singer quite hyper, by trying different methods of making her happy. She is running around the room, jumping up and down in a childish manner. Behind the girl sitting down, is 3 people standing in a line, they are the other members of the band. They do not carry instruments, but when the live music from the singer’s mouth begin, they mimic her, for example clapping and pursing their lips. They wear all black, but have strange, French make up, but not stereotypically so. They are performing some mime whilst the song goes on, implying the words which the artist is singing through their actions.
These narrative events are inter-cut with the band playing in a separate place. The singer is wearing something different, and has a microphone, but remains excited and hyper. The band is dressed in normal clothes, and are playing the instruments to the song.
In the after effects of the song, when the singer states “Je vais prendre ta Douleur” which means “I’m going to take your pain” it will appear on the screen in various ways. For example, the girl sitting crossed legged may roll up her sleeves and it will be written on her arm in English. Due to that line being the motif of the piece, I think it is important for the audience to know exactly what is being said.
To finish off the song, the upset girl who has been bombarded with methods to make her happy finally looks up, and there is a close up of her face, and she is smiling.


‘River Flows in You’ – Yiruma http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhN7SG-H-3k

Yiruma is Chinese pianist well known for his music in various soundtracks. Most of his pop videos are him playing the piano, edited in a way to make it interesting, by using lots of fading. I wanted to incorporate some narrative events into the song, by creating a story line of 3 separate people during the song.
The first story is of two dancers, male and female, who are practising a romantic styled dance. The emotions they feel are portrayed through the dancing: the girl is finding it difficult, but wants to remain strong because she does not want to disappoint her partner. She seems interested in him, but he does not notice or care, shown through the choreography, for example, she embraces him but he will push away. She has an ankle support on her ankle, and at one point in the song, when the piano slows, she falls over. She huddles her ankle in pain, but he lifts her up and they carry on.
This is inter-cut with the piano player who in alone in a room playing the piano. He has plasters on his fingers, suggesting his over practising. His whole face in never shown, only close ups on different objects, for example, a close up of him biting his lip, then another of his eyes tightening with frustration and another of sweat dripping down his forehead, dripping onto the piano. His scene finishes with a wide shot of his face in slight pain and tired because he has been trying so hard, and finally a wide shot to show the empty room, showing that no one is listening.
This is also inter-cut with a girl sitting on the floor of a messy room, surrounded by screwed up pieces of paper. She is trying to write lyrics to a song but finding it really difficult. Her frustration is shown through the camera work, with close ups of her face being upset and annoyed.
These 3 pieces are being constantly inter-cut throughout the whole piece, and to end it they all finish: they finish their dance, he ends of piece of piano, and she completes her lyrics. This is showing the competitive nature which teenagers have nowadays, and how many people never give up because success is everything. This would be good to attract a specific target audience as it is relatable to many people.


“More Time” – Need to Breathe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X-WknDe0Jo

Need to Breathe are in indie-rock band, who are quite individual in their style, music, and characters. They are not very well known but appear in many soundtracks for films.
I decided to use narrative events inter-cut with the band playing for the video. It is the story of two separate lives, but with similar difficulties.
There is a young man, and he wakes up and goes about his daily routine: showering, eating breakfast, changing etc, but through his movements and facial expressions it is clear that he is very nervous. There are photos dotted round the house of him and a woman, in love.
This is inter-cut with shots of an elderly man, who wakes up and goes about his daily routine, much the same as the young man. However, the photos are of him and an elderly woman, in love.
These two narrative events will either be inter-cut or put together on the screen, so both stories are being shown at the same time.
The endings are different though; the young man enters a hospital room and is greeted by the young woman and a new born baby. He is happy, however, slightly bewildered!
This elderly man enters a hospital room and sits beside his elderly wife, who later dies, and he cries in mourning.
For the final shots the photographs will be shown again. However, the young man and woman, a baby will appear in their arms, and for the elderly man, the woman next to him will disappear. These narrative events are inter-cut with shots of the band in a studio, wearing unique clothing and playing their instruments and singing.
The story is justified, that the young man needs more time to grow up and mature before becoming a father, and the elderly man wants more time with his wife before she dies.

THE FIVE STAGES OF PRODUCTION

There are five stages of production for a pop video:


1) Research and Development

Research - Once I have decided on my pop video I will begin to research the target audience, therefore I know whether the video will be aimed towards a niche or mass audience, and of what age, gender, and class. This will help to mould the video because I will have knowledge of what to include to gain the interest of the audience. Another aspect of research to consider is other competing pop videos which are producing a similar message or song. Therefore I can try to avoid this duplicate by comparing ideas and videos and making sure the video I produce is different, but still understandable for the audience. A pop video which I looked at for research was ‘Man who can’t be moved’ by ‘The Script’, which keeps to the common conventions of pop music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16nOViwmSJ4&ob=av2e

The artists are aesthetically pleasing, through their dress sense, hair style and figures:

They are inter cut with narrative shots as well as the band playing. A wide range of camera shots are included, for example, wide shots to set the scene, as well as close ups of the instruments etc. There is a narrative structure of the lead singer posing to be a homeless man, waiting for a woman; this is interesting to audience because we feel connected with him whilst we watch his journey through the song. This is also a carefully constructed ‘Mise en Scene’ which is appropriate to the content of the song, as his lyrics suggest people think of him as a homeless man whilst he waits night and day for his lover to return to the place where they first met.

Development – After deciding on a song I plan to concoct a possible treatment in detail for the video. At the moment the treatment is very vague but after total agreement on which song is being used, I will begin to adapt it so it is in great detail and accessible to others. Another area which will be organised is the casting, which will be specific for each particular pop video due to what is trying to be put across. A camera test will be used on the actor to see whether they are effective on camera and are not timid or look uncomfortable, that way if they are not appropriate another can be found in good time for the shoot. Finally an animatic storyboard needs to be created that way the shape of the video will begin to be created, and with detailed pictures and captions of what is happening, I can start to visual the video and see whether it will work.

2) Pre – Production

This stage is most important to make sure that everything on the day of the shoot goes according to plan. Everything that has been researched and developed needs to be in great detail, in order for the shoot day to be successful. I need to make a ‘call sheet’ with everything on it: equipment, cast, locations, costumes, props, effects, make up, lighting and finally studio design:

The call sheet will be the bible for the day, anything and everything we need to know will be there.

3) Production

This is the day of the shoot. The pre-production organisation is vital for the succession of the day. The call sheet needs to be followed precisely in order for everything that was planned to happen, to go smoothly.

4) Post Production
This involves the editing and after effects of the pop video, this carefully done in a studio:

This needs to be carefully thought out, because different styles of editing can mean different things.

For example, if I was trying to convey a lonely woman longing after a man, I would use slow edits, remaining on each shot for longer to show her sadness. However, this is a contrast to a pop video which is happy and joyful, as the edits should be quick and short that way the audience gets excited along with the music.

5) Distribution and Exhibition

Distribution – This is the arrangement of where the product is going to go. This will be specific for each pop video due to the target audience, and where they are placed, therefore which area is appropriate for its showing. For example, a pop video including a London taxi driving would be successfully shown in London, however, wouldn’t be relevant to an audience in Devon.

Exhibition – This is the product being shown in a cinema, things which need to be considered are: the time of the showing, the area of the cinema.

However, with a pop video, cinema exhibition is unlikely; therefore showing on the TV will be the most obvious way to exhibiting the product. Similarly to cinema, the timings of the showing need to be organised, in order to have the largest audience watching who will be interested. Also, the channel in which it is showed is vital because different ages/genders/classes are attracted to different channels, therefore the target audience for the pop video will need to be known, in order to arrange the most suitable channel.

POP VIDEO AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN A2

You have to create:
- THREE MULTI MEDIA PRODUCTS
- TO ESTABLISH THE IMAGE AND BRAND OF YOUR SINGER AND GROUP and
- HELP SELL THE SONG FROM THEIR FIRST ALBUM.

The group or singer must be a NEW GROUP (even if they are doing a copy of an existing song).

The song is a SINGLE from their FIRST ALBUM.

The actual products to be produced are:
- THE POP VIDEO
- A DIGIPAK for the ALBUM
- A MAGAZINE ADVERT for the ALBUM.