Tuesday 16 July 2013

Mainstream vs independent

Matt Cardle, 2010 winner of the x factor, recorded a studio version of the song "Many of Horror" by Biffy Clyro. The song became the UK's christmas number one and since 2012 it has had over 1 million hits. Where Biffy Clyro only had 225,000. Fans of the band made an internet campaign to get the original "Many of Horror" re-entered into the charts. it hit its peak reaching number eight in the UK singles chart.

Matt Cardle had been quoted to say he did not want to change the song but to make it his own. However he changed the song completely (apart from the lyrics) making the song acoustic so he could play guitar and re-naming the song "When we Collide".

It could be said that this was a marketing scheme as the song before was consider to be for a more niche audience and not to the mainstream music taste. However it could be for the image of Matt Cardle or what the x factor have helped him to become.


This helped me decide on what would be good for an artist label, i decided independent would be a good one to do as i want to be able to make a independent label more recongisable and make the artist be know, so we thought we could twist this and do a cover of a mainstream song by an independent label and see if it sells just as well or even more.

Saturday 6 July 2013

Cross Media Conversion: Analyse on artist.



We was set a task to individually analysis an artist on website, a poster, and album and a music video. This was designed to help us with our artist and ideas for them.

It helped to convey the typical codes and conventions found in each one of these fields. Particularly in the music video, as this show intertexual references and helped us think abou how the lyrics can link to the video, or action happening on screen. 

Tuesday 2 July 2013

History of music videos

1965: Bob Dylan Films (don't look back) seen to many people as a music video, combining music with lyrics.

1970's: The record industry discovers tv shows as a way to promote artists. They focus on producing short "promos" early music which start to replace the live performance of the artist on the tv stage.

1975: Bohemian Rhapsony, a ground breaking released by Queen marked the beginning of the video era. The video is considered one of the first to use advanced visual effect. 

Technical codes - cinematography.
  • As with any moving image text, how the camera is used and how images are sequenced will have a significant impact upon meaning.
  • Camera movement angle and set distance.
  • Camera movement to create a more dynamic feel to the stage performance.
  • The close up does predominate, as in most tv partly because of the size of the screen and partly because of the desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer.   
 Fast cut montage - common in editing, not showing everything in shot.
 Often visual  effects (split screen).

Monday 1 July 2013

The Culture industry: The fratellis

The fratellis are a band that could be suggested to be against Adorno and Horkheimer. Although they are considered to be 'indie rock' they don't fit into the usual codes and convention of it.

Starting in 2005 on a independent label, and then moving to a major label in 2012 their music has not been affected by this change, which most bands have been. This goes against Adorno and Horkheimer 'lock and key theory'.

Considering that appearance is meant to be key in success, their looks, well aren't to everyones taste. The fratellis fame is therefore down to their music and not their looks, clearly. 
Their website is also very simple with no main image, we are instead presented with the title in large white letters. again, reiterating the point that their fame is not based on their looks. However, it is clear that the record label has had some impact on the website as they have a 'Brand New Fratellis Merchandise Now Available! Click Here to Buy' title at the top. This meaning that Adorno and Horkheimer could be right in saying that artist are used as a means to make money.


Culture industury.

It has been suggested that all artist and bands have been standardized to fit in to the pop genre and have music that sells. Artist now are seen as 'products' and are used in a way of getting money. Boy bands like JLS have been marketed and have realised produces as a means of obtaining money.

Adorno and Horkheimer have a theory that suggests that industries have a certain way of have to produce something. They say that all artist are the same. Their example of this would be the 'lock and key' theory suggesting that all artist are keys that all look the same and have little, if any differences. The key is then perfect to fit into the lock, or in this cause the music industry.

Adorno and Horkheimer also suggest that mainstream industry reject anything that isn't familiar, and that they get rid of anything that is pure. Most pop songs claim to have originality and have something different were, in reliability, they have just the same type of music as everyone else.  

Culture indusry allows people to become the 'masses' and can be easily manipulated.

Adorno and Horkheimer have been critised for looking down on the x factor and their views on mainstream artist and popular singing shows being the end of all taste had been said to have been greatly over exaggerated.