Research: Channels

Music Channels

What are music channels and why are they important?

Music channels are dedicated TV channels that show only music videos by popular artists within the industry to the audience. This is vital to the industry as not only are the audience listening to the song, but they are also being exposed to the music video - this can lead to a larger a fan base. If music channels did not exist, exposure of music videos would not be as effective and artists would not be as successful. Although it can be argued with the introduction of YouTube and other social media platforms, it is not as difficult for artists to reach a wider audience with their music videos. Music video channels have a form of synergy with channels such as KISS and Magic having their own TV channels as well as radio stations allowing audiences to reach the music in different forms.

Music channels today

There are a large variety of music channels today, this is mainly due to the number of different genres there are therefore different audiences to appeal to.

Today's music channels include: Kiss, Flava, 4Music, Magic, Kerrang, The Vault, Bliss, Heart TV, Capital TV, Starz, Stars TV, Heat, MTV.

Are music channels the same as they were in the past?

Music channels no longer just cater for music video fans and audiences as they also show reality TV programmes due to larger audience appeal. MTV is an example of this, from being known to showing only music videos, to being one of the main music channels that show TV shows such as reality and drama - this is mainly because MTV cater to younger females ages 16-25.

MTV also has other channels on their network such as:

MTV Rocks - shows alternative rock music
MTV Classic - plays music from the 1960s to 1990s
MTV Base - plays Hip Hop, RnB and Rap
MTV Dance - dedicated to dance music

Examples of TV shows on MTV are Ex On The Beach, Catfish: The TV Show, Teen Wolf and Jersey Shore.


                                   


What music genres are under represented and why?

Although there are more music genres than ever in the 21st century, some music genres are still under represented as they are niche genres and have a much smaller audience appeal, nevertheless fans of the genre. Alternative R&B and Hip-Hop are under represented genres - as their controversial content may put off networks from showing them, therefore they are only shown generally after 8pm to a small audience ranging from 18 to 30 years old.
Jazz music is also a genre that is seen to be under represented, although this is because Jazz mainly appeals to an older audience, aged 40 or older and they are unlikely to watch music channels but rather alternatives such as listen to the radio.
Grime music is a genre which is influenced by UK garage music but is also under represented as the genre might be seen as too niche or even inappropriate to be shown on major TV networks. Although there are smaller channels such as Channel AKA which show the music videos - YouTube is seen as the new and more effective platform for niche genres such as these. Music channels such as SB:TV and Link Up TV which focus of Grime and UK Rap are designed to promote these niche genres.

Advantages of the number of music channels

Promoting artists - Artists can get more recognition when played on music channels.
Creating a relationship between the artist and audience - This is done by the audience relating to the artist.
Establishing a fan base - Audience may recognise artists on music channels and the artist may establish a fan base this way.
Entertain audience - The audience have a large choice as to what to watch, they will therefore watch what entertain them.
Music industry growing - The music industry grows as the increase of music channels which allows them to play more advertisements and generate more income.
Artists earn more - As the music channels grow, artists get more air time and therefore more income.

Disadvantages of the number of music channels

Under representation - Many music channels may lead to very few artists getting the most recognition, leaving a lot of artists and genres under represented.
Less engagement and viewers - Music channels are not the most viewed TV channels therefore will not get as many viewers, this leads to audiences tuning in to watch TV shows, ultimately the networks playing more TV shows than music videos.
Less videos being played - Less music videos being played leads to less artist recognition which causes them to move to other platforms such as YouTube for their videos.

Conclusion: What music channels do you think your video will play on and why?

I believe my music video will be played on MTV as MTV is the most popular music channel, also it has many sister channels which can give my music video airtime. My music video may be for a song of a niche genre but it may get many views as MTV cater to most genres which leads to better recognition and eventually an established fan base. My music can also be played on radio channels as not everyone watches music channels for music videos, although if it is a niche genre, radio channels may not be appropriate.

Research: Popular Theory

Introduction:

There are multiple theories that can be applied to music videos, the most popular ones can be applied to general audiences and allow them to understand the music industry and why certain decisions are made when making music videos. Music video theorists are generally sociologists or psychologists and are very knowledgeable in their field making the theory effective. I researched, the 'Popular Culture' theory, Antonio Gramsci's theory of Hegemony, the Frankfurt school, Theodor Adorno's theory, the Birmingham school and Dick Hebdige's theory of subcultures.

Popular culture;

Popular culture relates to understanding the ideas of mainstream society to influence the society has on audiences. Popular culture was mainstream in the 80s and is mainly followed by working class citizens - known as "the masses". This is done through media such as music, arts, films and fashion which are all vital platforms for popular culture in today's society. In comparison to this, the middle class is said to follow "true art" who are seen to look down on the masses. This can be linked to the music industry and the promotion of artists and songs in particular ways, the masses simply take this on board and agree with it. Michael Jackson is an example of an artist that was highly regarded in the music industry and was labelled the "King of Pop" in the mainstream media and the masses therefore followed this and regarded him as the King of Pop, despite his death. This shows popular culture exists in society and in the music industry.

Theodor Adorno:

Theodor Adorno was a German sociologist and was known for his critical theory of society. Adorno suggests that popular music is usually divided into genres of music such as rock, pop, rap, heavy metal and reggae etc. Although, all popular music is standardised which are interchangeable from one song to another, and they all sing about the same types of lifestyles. The effects of standardisation are often hidden by "frills" that are put within a song to disguise that it sounds the same. Adorno also distinguishes between popular music and serious music, as serious music such as classical and avant-garde, plays to the pleasures of imagination which offers engagement. He also argues that popular music makes everyone think the same and that it is false, unnatural and immature. Whereas serious music is seen as deep, meaningful and natural, as those who follow popular music do not know what true art is, usually due to not having access to that type of content.

Frankfurt School:

The Frankfurt School were a group of German-American philosophers and sociologists who analysed the changes in Western capitalist societies that occurred since the classical theory of Marx. They proposed the Effects model which saw society to be composed of isolated individuals who were gullible to media messages, and visualised the media as a hypodermic syringe, suggesting that the contents of the media were injected into the thoughts of the audience, who accepted these attitudes, opinions and beliefs without questioning it, also highlighting the audience as purely passive. This was arguably also due to technology not being as developed as today, the media in general was heavily controlled by social elites back then and people had no platform or no choice at all to argue with the system in place. Prominent Frankfurt school theorists included, Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse. Horkheimer and Adorno focused on Hollywood as an example of conflict theory being used to enlighten and emancipate people. Hollywood was seen to produce profits by pumping out an endless stream of films, all with the aim to appeal to very similar audience, ensuring the viewer does not have to exert any mental energy to understand the film. The very small differences that came up in those films were simply put down to pseudo-individualism, this serves to mask the fact the style and form of films were identical to each others, small variations in plot or character were superficial imitations of individuality which masked the uniformity of all the products. Studios spend very large amounts of money promoting bigger and better films with a new brand, a new star with an underlying structural uniformity which the audience are not aware of.

Antonio Gramsci:

Antonio Gramsci was an Italian neo-marxist theorist and politician. He used the term 'hegemony' to denote the predominance of one social class over others. Dominant ideologies are considered hegemonic, power in society is maintained by constructing ideologies which tend to be promoted by the mass media. For example, the media is likely to control what is broadcasted to audiences, as well as what is censored and what is banned. As a result of this, musicians self publish their music and video on sites that are widely accessible, avoiding the mainstream media. It is argued that broadcasting companies do not hold hegemony anymore, although they attempt to regain it by using new technology, therefore the people hold hegemony. The mainstream media want us to believe in certain ideologies and this is done through media such as music and music videos.

Birmingham School:

Stuart Hall was a cultural theorist and sociologist who attended the Birmingham school and created a theory which revolved around issues regarding hegemony, he took a post-gramscian stance. He elaborated on encoding and decoding.

Encoding- the process by which a text is constructed by its producers
Decoding- the way in which an audience reads, understands and interprets a text, spectators will decode the text a different way.

Based on how music is interpreted for active audiences, producers are believed to be the bourgeoisie who encode messages within music and videos, this is evident through repetition in music and lyrics, although the way the working class receive and interpret the messages differ.

Dick Hebdige:

Dick Hebdige's main focus was on subcultures which are significant in the media industry. His argument was that consumption is an active process with differences in audiences' social and ideological construction which leads up to different readings of the same cultural products. The audience have a choice whether to resist the power of conglomerates and other large companies by finding alternative products to consume. This leads to the audience recognising themselves as different from mainstream culture, becoming subcultures. Hebdige also believes that companies attempt to stop resistance by creating products for subcultures also, this allows the audience to decide whether they should accept these products or resist them. Certain artists may also display subcultural values, usually through niche genre music which appeals to a subcultural audience. For example, Fall Out Boy are a rock band but most of their music is, pop rock, punk and emo pop. Therefore they appeal to the rock culture as well as the subcultures surrounding it.

Conclusion:

Each theory is significant individually due to the different viewpoints they have. Most of the theories are developed from the basis of Marxism and they all clarify societal divisions as well as in the music industry. Within these theories, the working class are primarily portrayed as not educated enough as they continue to absorb all the information being fed by the media and follow the popular culture. Whereas more middle class people or the bourgeoisie are seen as more intelligent and they follow true art which is influenced by their upbringing and differing hobbies from those who are working class.

Research: Intertextuality

What is intertextuality?

Intertextuality in a music video is when there are references to other media within the video. Examples are past significant events, films or famous people. Artists may use intertextuality for many reasons, Goodwin also mentions intertextual references as a part of his theory as a key characteristic of music videos and this is evident in mainstream music videos, also is therefore a feature of a successful music video. Intertextual references impact the audience by generating a reaction from them, as audiences may base their opinions depending on the references and whether they enjoy them or not. Including intertextuality can benefit a music video as it can be entertaining for some audiences.

Examples of intertextual references

In this song "I Really Like You" by Carly Rae Jepsen, the star of the music video is a very well known Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, due to this there are intertextual references to his previous films. For example a man comes up to him and asks him to sign a table tennis bat, which is an intertextual reference to Tom Hanks' film Forrest Gump where he played a character who was skilled in table tennis.

In Eminem "Without Me", there are multiple references to comic books and super heroes such as Batman and Robin. For example when Eminem is shown putting on a costume he is wearing one very similar to the comic book character Robin. The whole concept of the music video is also that it is styled like a comic book.

George Michael "Outside" made many references to his own personal life. In the video a couple are caught in public toilets by the police which was a reference to his personal incident of being caught having sexual intercourse with a police officer and was subsequently arrested for it.

In the song "You Know Me" by Robbie Williams, the music video has various references to the fantasy world of Alice in Wonderland. The main artist is dressed as the character from the Alice in Wonderland franchise and is exploring the world and finishes by dancing with women dressed as rabbits, presumably other characters from the fantasy world.

In Taylor Swift - "Love Story" there are multiple intertextual references to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The lyrics also support this and the two main characters are seen meeting at night presumably when they are not supposed to. Although the original story of Romeo and Juliet ends in tragedy, the music video has a happy ending with the couple together.


Why are intertextual references used and why might it appeal to a mass audience?

Intertextual references are used within music videos usually at the artist or directors choice, the artist may want to present a particular opinion as done with Taylor Swift - Love Song, where she changes the ending of a classic story to one she prefers. It is also done to create a response from an audience and and media critics, these references may generate a positive or negative reaction and may result in the audience enjoying the music video a lot more.

Criticisms of intertextual references

References may offend - Some intertextual references within videos may offend people. For example Eminem is an artist who regularly uses references without any limits, making fun of Michael Jackson's hair being caught on fire in Just Lose It. This may offend some who are watching or possibly those who are fans of Michael Jackson.

Influence opinion - References may also attempt to influence peoples opinion which does not allow the audience to generate their own opinions and have a genuine reaction to a music video. For example a larger more popular artist might influence a fan bases opinion on a less popular artist, influencing their opinion on the less popular artist. An example of this is the recent feud between artists Drake and Meek Mill, both of whom wrote and recorded 'diss tracks' aimed toward each other but Drake has a much larger fan base and was able to influence a lot more peoples opinions.

May spread negativity - Some references could spread negativity as not every artist has references that have a positive message.

References may be controversial - References, especially those of political opinions or opinions on current events can be very controversial. For example if an artist is anti-war and regularly makes intertextual references about wars and poses the opinion against war, those who are pro-war may dislike the artist due to their views.

May lead to an artist losing fans - References could cause artists to lose fans if they find the intertextual references inappropriate, they may not support the artist and their music any further due to this.

Will you use intertextual references in your music video?

After my research into intertextual references I have learned that I have to be very specific and choose my references carefully if I am going to do so. Due to this I will most likely not include any intertextual references, but if i am able to during the process, I will make sure the reference does not have any negative connotations and will not result in my artist losing any fans, or influencing opinions.

Research: Mulvey’s Male Gaze

Mulvey's Male Gaze

Introduction:

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film critic. In 1975 she came up with the theory of The Male Gaze - film viewers view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. Cameras linger on the curves of the female body, specifically breasts and bottom, this demeans women to the status of objects, almost viewing them as props.

There are three ways in which feminists see this theory:

1) How men look at women
2) How women look at themselves
3) How women look at other women



Mulvey's Male Gaze:

There are many features of Mulvey's male gaze theory, it revolves around the idea that what we see on screen is from a heterosexual male's perspective. This is because the camera lingers on female's body parts and are presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to these events. The male gaze suggests that women should look sexually appealing, as shown through various mid shots and close ups. This can also be linked to a patriarchal society as masculine individuals or organisations exert their power to determine what is"natural" - which eventually creates levels of inferiority.

Examples:

Artist drake presented as a wealthy dominant male, with stereotypes of males drinking being shown as he is surrounded by empty champagne glasses. He is wearing jewellery and is presumably in an expensive home. His gaze is straight at the camera which asserts dominance as he wants to be the focal point of the situation.

Rihanna is presented wearing less clothing as her shoulders are exposed. Unlike most male artists she is not looking directly at the camera, she is looking away; almost as if she is exposed or vulnerable.

In this video there are multiple women wearing very minimal clothing. This video when it was released caused a lot of controversy due to the lyrics. However, this video can be interpreted differently by different people. Some might argue that the women in the video are being objectified, almost seen as props for the video as they are near nude and the men are fully clothed from top to bottom. Others may argue that the women are taking control as they are comfortable in their bodies and are therefore empowering themselves, the men are shown to be brushing their hair while they dance around and the females directly look at the camera at some points, asserting their dominance over the male actors.

In the video for "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus she is presented as naked for the majority of the video, although this may be interpreted as an empowering position for a young woman, as she is not being objectified by males which could be considered as the unfortunate norm in the music video industry.

In French Montana's "Pop That" the majority of women are all wearing minimal clothing, walking around and dancing with bikinis. This is contrasted to the males who are fully clothed. Mulvey's gaze can be applied to this as there is focus on the women's breasts and buttocks. The males are portrayed as having ultimate control as the women are seen as props and the women are simply there just to please the males. 

Criticisms:

Mulvey suggests that the characters we see are through the perspective of a heterosexual male. This does not include the view of bisexual male or homosexual female audiences who may also enjoy watching female assets.

Does not consider all women, as all women are different. Not every woman is promiscuous and objectified, the theory considers these women as lacking respect for themselves. The women in music videos are usually models or other artists.

Mulvey's theory only takes into consideration the gazing of women's assets but not males. Despite it being rarely identified, male's assets can also be gazed upon.

The theory does not consider people's own opinions whether they enjoy being looked at or not. Some females may be proud of their bodies and see it rather as a compliment than objectification when being gazed upon. If women in music videos were uncomfortable by the way they were being portrayed in the video,

Mulvey's theory of the male gaze is a significant theory in the modern age, especially due to the feminism movement. It is obvious that there are women that are being seen as sex objects and this being promoted highly by the rap and hip hop genre, and this can be centered around Mulvey's theory of male gaze. As well as this, the genre of rap and hip hop is constantly growing and there is an increase in the number of videos that contain women wearing less clothing and revealing assets. Despite this, some women may see this as empowering rather than seeing themselves as being objectified.

In conclusion, due to how relevant Muley's theory of the male gaze is today and as I will be making a video based on the Rap/Hip-hop genre, I will be implementing the theory in my music video. I will not be asking female actresses to appear in my music video but if they are, they will be fully clothed and my camera shots will not linger on their assets. I see this as a shift from the stereotypical norm of a rap or hip hop music video, thereby making my video appeal to niche audiences but still have the general pleasure of a rap or hiphop music video.