Music Industry

 Friday 5th November 2021

The Music Industry: Music Magazines

LO: To explore the magazine industry and ownership, regulation and revenue.

Terminology:

Conglomerate- A conglomerate is the combination of two or more business entities engaged in either entirely different or similar businesses that fall under one corporate group,

Globalised- develop or be developed so as to make international influence or operation possible.

Diversify- enlarge or vary its range of products or field of operation.

Regulation- the action or process of regulating or being regulated.

Revenue- Revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods or services related to the company's primary operations

Circulation- Circulation is narrowly defined as the number of copies of a publication distributed through v

What's On TV- Future PLC

Radio Times- Hubert Burda Media

TV Choice- Bauer Media Group

Take A Break- Bauer Media Group

Good Housekeeping- Hearst Communication

Glamour- Advance Publications

Inside Soap- Hearst Communications

Bauer owns more than 600 magasines

Bauer owns Kerrang.

Bauer have diversified MOJO by creating music.com to accompany such a style of magasine.

Bauer also owns KISS, Absolute Radio, Magic Radio, Music TV, Kerrang!

Bauer Media Group is a diversified media conglomerate because it owns a wide range of magasine and radio companies, all including largely known artists and popular topics which all attract a large amount of attention from several nations.

IPSO and IMPRESS regulate magasines and newspapers

Bauer joined IPSO

Magasines make money by 

Events

Circulation

Advertisement

Sponsors

1. Bauer Media Group owns MOJO

2. IPSO regulates MOJO

3. British magasines are globalised by being owned by a country based in a different nation

4. 

5. Sponsorships and Events

Friday 12th November

Music Genres

Pop

Rock

Rap

Reggae

Drum and bass

R and B

Jazz

Funk

Soul

Hip Hop

Drill

Grime

Blues

Metal

Country

Classic

Ska

Folk

Disco

Indie

Pop

Typically upbeat songs sang by mainstream esc artists, male and female.
Can be about happiness, love, sadness etc. Generally not too brutal.

Wikipedia- Pop is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Rock

Rock is a combination of electric instruments which create a standard four piece band, for example, using electric and acoustic insrtuments. The main themes of rock are typically relationships, love, certain relationships with others whether that be love or hate, happiness etc. 

Wikipedia- Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, a style that drew directly from the blues and rhythm and blues genres of African-American music and from country music.

Drum and Bass

Drum and bass (also written as Drum&Bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165-185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre grew out of the UK's jungle scene in the early 1990s.

Friday 19th November 2021

Music Magazines

LO: To explore the terminology and genres of popular music magazines.

Typography is the art or procedure of arranging type or processing data and printing from it.

Layout is the arrangement of how something is structured.

Lexis is the level of language consisting of vocabulary, as opposed to grammar or syntax.

Colour Palette is the collection of colours in the scene/picture.

Mise-en-scene is the arrangement of the scenery, props, etc. on the stage.

Pop magazines regularly feature a bright and friendly colour palette and are easy on the eye. 

Rock magazines tend to be darker and have a more gloomy approach, with a more sinister look on things.

Rap/Hip Hop usually features a mix of these, and can have a mixed colour palette depending on the artists' approach.

Friday 26th November 2021

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Pop magazines have colour palettes that tend to pop out to the reader and are appealing to the eye. Also, they frequently tend to be mid shots or close ups to the main artist (in the main image.) Magazines such as Billboard use fonts like LL Brown, Lyon Display to have a soft and pleasant appeal. The style of vocabulary in most pop magazines is usually laid back, and not as formal as others. Artists tend to wear trendy clothing, or bright an appealing clothes.

Rock magazines tend to have a rugged approach to things, and their colour palettes tend to be darker but still remaining a mainstream element to it. The shot types on rock magazines tend to be long or medium long shots, considering most rock artists are groups/bands. The typography tends to be more rugged in terms of fonts. 

Genre and Target Audience

LO: to identify target audiences for a variety of music magazine genres and link to genre codes.

This Kerrang magazine clearly displays itself as a rock magazine, given the colour palette is suited to red, black and white. 

Friday 3rd December 2021

Mojo Target Audience 

Genre- Mixed

Publisher- Bauer Media Group

Mojo covers both current artists and those upcoming or from the past etc.

Every month, you get 'a definitive cover feature on an iconic act; a bespoke CD and their famous reviews section'.

They are passionate about their love for music.

CLASS: Equal share of middle class and working class readers.

GENDER: Four times as likely to be read by men than women.

AGE: About 65% are over 35, but a higher proportion of 15-34 year olds read it.

Access music through streaming services such as Spotify, Youtube, Amazon Music etc. and uses CDs.

Loves going to gigs and festivals

Well paid job, spends money on gigs and festivals, cds etc.

Middle aged man probably married with kids, passionate about their music.

It reinforces his identity in the way that he can relate to artists of his childhood etc. 

He gains information about the bands he likes and new music that might appeal to him.

They are entertained by the content and listening to the music.

They recommend the music to their friends.

Friday 10th December 2021

MOJO U&G

Uses and Gratifications

Personal Identity- Music mags reinforce the readers sense of being a fan of certain genre or artist.

They offer aspirational role models, music artists with whom their readers can identify.

They might reinforce a reader's values.

Information- 

Entertainment- 

Social Interaction-

Personal Identity- 'Performance at 50' gives the impression and inclusion that older individuals can do whatever they want if they try

Information- info about 'the revenge of Noel Gallagher' and more

Entertainment- News/story about Noels revenge and news on Liam Gallagher on Oasis

Social Interaction- Share the news and reviews with friends and family

Cover Analysis                                                                                          Friday 7th January  

LO: To analyse the cover of a magazine, linking it to genre and audience.

Babyboomer generation- Baby Boomers: Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964. They're currently between 57-75 years old.

Diversification- the process of a business enlarging or varying its range of products or field of operation.

Audience address- how a text speaks to the audience, and involves/audiences them.

Discerning- showing good judgement or good taste.

House style- a company's preferred manner of presentation and layout of written material.

Codes and conventions- Codes are the tools we use to create meaning and to construct and analyse media work. Conventions are repeated ways of constructing media works, using codes that, over time, have become accepted by audiences.

Intertextuality- the relationship between texts, especially literary ones.

The shot type of Dave Grohl is a mid shot. 

The colour palette is predominantly yellow and blue.

The bands mentioned-Nirvana, Ian Dury, David Gilmour, Elvis, Lou Reed.

The mast head is bold and outstanding but also has an adventurous look.

The main cover line is big, blocky and bold, as if to solidify the statement, the minor cover line similar but smaller in size.

The puff is bright and pops out.

The colour palette pops out as a modern and cheerful style, not focusing on being too serious and looks quite pleasant which connotes a general magazine with a mainstream focus of classic and modern rock. This combined with the classic artists does appeal to the target audience.

The mast head is curved and smooth which connotes a modern look and sparks the idea of being brought new music as well as the classic enjoyed music, as well as selling itself as an all round magazine

MOJO AUDIENCE: Great notes & understanding of U&G COVER ANALYSIS 1: WWW: A great start. You've attempted to link the cover elements to the audience. EBI: Try linking to genre conventions and Uses & Gratifications too. Make sure you're using accurate terminology when it comes to typography.

The artists are predominantly male and therefore apply to a mainly middle age audience. The cover features artists such as Dave Grohl which suggests that the audience is rock orientated, featuring other off topic artists that also imply it is a universal genre magazine that is based around classic and modern rock. The colour palette is blue, black, and yellow which displays a upbeat and colourful idea of the magazine. 

DIRT                                                                                                            Friday 14th January

LO: To reflect and improve on exam style analysis.

Cover Analysis

LO: To refine analysis of magazine covers

The order is cluttered suggesting the magazine is overflowing with content

The colour is quite saturated and it bursts out at you which is a genre convention of pop

The layout is quite ordered and clean, giving a calm an organised look. This implies the readers are sophisticated and intelligent. The colour palette is muted and refined which also implies this.

Friday 21st January 2022

Cover Analysis

To refine analysis of magazine covers.

1. Sans Serif.

2. That it connotes an organised and clean look, masculine, block capitals.

3. The font in the main cover line is a script font.

4. The combination of red script font makes the magazine look quite calm and mainstream, nothing too bright and nothing too dark.

1. Sans Serif

2. That it is masculine and meant to be on a more hip hop approach.

3. It is very large red block capitals that stand out from the muted magazine and draw your eyes to the main subject.

4. It goes with the block capital style and pops out with a large red saturated colour.

1. Long Shot.

2. It is showing the main image of the band.

3. It uses an informal register.

4. They have used that register because they want the magazine to be slightly laid back.

1. Medium Close up 

2. It is showing what the person in the name image is wearing.

3. Informal register

4. That the magazine is laid back to a degree.

The font style on this magazine is Sans Serif, looking masculine. The colour palette is a mix, combining rainbow colours with a sleek dark look making the magazine look vibrant. The shot type is a Long shot to involve all members of the main image, Radiohead.  The register is informal, to give the magazine a less strict appearance. 

Friday 28th January 2022

One difference is the use of typography. On the Mojo cover, the font is very rounded and curvy, looking more relaxed. The Kerrang magazine's font is much more angular and rigid, giving it more of a wild look. 

On the other hand, Mojo's main image is of a solo artist which may suggest more of a widespread array of genres, compared to Kerrang's which seems to be more band based which suggests more of a rock/hard rock focus.

Another point is the target audience- Kerrang seems to target a teenage/young adult audience with features in the magazine such as 'kick ass posters' etc, an older individual may not find an interest in this. Mojo all round looks like a more 'sensible' target audience with a more sleek looking layout consisting of main stories of artists etc

Hair and clothes- bland but simple, quite straight forward/mainstream

Tattoos- individuality and rebellion

Expression- Simple and awkward 

04/2/22

Representation

LO: To explore the concept of representation in music magazines

Text- The text on the cover is elegantly handwritten in a script form which suggests femininity and creativity.

Setting- The nature setting connotes peace and positivity, along with keeping an elegant look.

Expression and pose- Her expression is light and smizing (smiling with your eyes) to look pleasant. 

Hair and Clothes- her dress is white to create purity and innocence which fits the nature background.

Expression and pose- He is posing in a way to show strength and masculinity.

Jewellery- His cross looks expensive and asserts dominance in such a way.

Hair and clothes- Wearing a vest (clothing vest) and a bullet proof vest to suggest his music to be unfriendly and gritty, explaining urban life for him.

Setting- Gritty urban dull setting connoting the same.

Text- Blocky and large, connotes masculinity.

Foo Fighters

• Energetic
• Passionate
• Loud
• Vibrant
• Talented

The artist is being represented as innocent and light with the connotation of the dress and the colour, along with the setting of the plants- being nature and peaceful. Her arms are positioned in such a way that might suggest liberty. 

Representation

LO: to analyse representations used in music magazines

The dull and gothic colour palette connotes a rather sinister appeal. This shows that they are also attempting to gather interest among readers about female rock artists. The messages conveyed by the main image first to be a gothic-rock approach, with the cross and featuring such an artist like Madonna. This is different to usual rock approaches, since females are not so common on the scene.

Friday 4th March 2022

Media Language in Music Videos

Exam Prep

Bauer Media

IPSO

Rock

Conglomerate

Globalisation

 Different registers of language are used to influence their audiences differently.

They might see the same magazine as an information for new music and to discover new content or to see new bands and the other may be to see personalised info for their own bands.

Friday 25th March 2022

Music Videos

1. Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars

2. Uptown Funk

3. Funk/Pop

4. 10 November 2014``

5. Uptown Funk is about a lifestyle and attitude that features a lot of cockiness and 'bragging'

6. The lead singer dances around with wealthily dressed men in a number of locations

7. Director Cameron Duddy and Mars shot the song's music video depicting Ronson, Mars and The Hooligans singing

Beyoncé- If I Were A Boy

In the music video, Beyoncé uses the music to narrate the song's story and portray the narrative with the visual aid to tell the story instead of typically dancing and singing with flair.

Uptown Funk

Lip Syncing, Performing to camera focused on main singer.

If I Were A Boy

Movie-Type shot, telling a story with the visuals

Friday 1st April 2022

LO: to examine the use of media language in music videos.

(Keyboard broke again work didnt save only just noticed as of 15:19)

Tuesday 5th April 2022

Live Lounge

LO: To research the case study and artists involved.

Holly Humberstone

Holly Ffion Humberstone is a British singer-songwriter from Grantham, England. She is 22 years old and makes alternative/indie music. She has won the Brit award for rising star and the NME award for best mixtape. Performed at the Glastonbury BBC Introducing stage in 2019. Performed on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.

Friday 8th April 2022

The overall tone and costume and props of the song entice into an upbeat and happy general feel. The colours pop and are saturated which also convey this feel.

Firstly, the colours and positioning of the main frontman, Bruno Mars is clearly promoting him to be the main star of the music video being the main vocalist.

Beyonce has shot If I Were A Boy in a monochrome fashion in order to direct the audience to focus on the narrative of the song rather than the visuals and any sort of distractions 

Low-Key lighting is used on Beyonce's character when she is with another man. By using Low-key lighting here, Beyonce's face is half covered with shadow. The lighting could suggest to the audience that her character is hiding something bad.

In this part of the video Beyonce is in high-key lighting. Here the lighting style has changed from low-key to high-key. In my opinion this part of the video is lit this way because she is directly addressing the audience seriously, given her more 'basic' appearance.

Beyonce is dressed as a police officer in a scene that displays equality between males and females in what is typically a male role.

The music videos for Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk and Beyonce's If I Were A Boy have a very contrasting use of lighting and colour. 

For example, Uptown Funk's lighting is very saturated and poppy whereas If I Were A Boy's is monochrome and the visuals have an element of lifelessness. 

The styles contrast because one is very narrative focused and the other is just much more upbeat and happy focused in terms of mood and term.

Friday 29th April 2022

Camerawork

If I Were A Boy- Naturalistic

Uptown Funk- Expressionistic

1. Two Person Mid Shot, To show them both conversating in a casual manner.

2. Close Up, To emphasise the part where is she is speaking emotionally, to avoid any distraction like clothes etc.

3. Low Angle, To show Bruno as above others, social status etc.

4. Close Up, 

5. Dutch Angle, used to create a fun and loose feel in the music video to match the music.

In Uptown Funk, the camera move is quite frantic, with frequent uses of methods such as whip rolls and other fast movements. The upbeat camerawork fits the tone of the song in it's upbeat lively behaviour. 

Friday 6th May 2022

LO: To explore how sound and editing are used to create meaning in music videos.

Diegetic sounds are those from inside the world of the text (that the characters can hear)

Non diegetic sounds are sounds outside the world of the film that the characters cannot hear.

If I Were A Boy- Diegetic sound

Static, car doors, sirens, public background noise, jewellery, gunshots. Add realism

Uptown Funk- No diegetic sounds because no narrative, no need for sound effects to convey story.

Linear If I Were A Boy: Events are edited/presented in chronological order .

More traditional/Cinematic.

Non Linear Uptown Funk: Out of order editing. No clear distinction of time.

Events are cut up and rearranged. (beginning- middle- end is unclear)

More abstract/expressionistic.

Uptown Funk is edited in a Non Linear order. The shots have no perception of time and they are shown in no particular order. If I Were A Boy is linear, it's shots are played to support the narrative and follow the story of the song. Uptown Funk has a faster pace, the cuts come in much quicker and is much more frantic.

light- monochrome and saturation- editing

A way that the the language differs is through the colour palette in editing, the difference in colour is very appealing as If I Were A Boy is shot in monochrome and Uptown Funk saturated, this is to focus the audience onto the narrative of IIWAB, as opposed to Uptown Funk where the video is meant to be very appealing.

Friday 13th May 2022

Representation

Representation

Stereotypes

Countertype

Masculine/Feminine

Powerful, dominant, weak etc.

Objectified/Objectification

Underrepresentation 

Uptown Funk

Men- High status, wealthy and important

Women- Objectified sexually, given no identity

Ethnicity- Flips stereotypes, shoeshine scene rewrites the expectation of skin colour

Bruno Mars- Arrogant, wealthy and important

Group of men- Follow Bruno, rich and high status

IIWAB

Men- Colleagues objectify Beyonce

Women- Objectfied

Ethnicity-

Beyonce- Sexually objectified, portrayed with men traits due to gender change

The Police- Objectify Beyonce

20.05.22

LO: To explain how representations are constructed in music videos

IIWAB connotes that it subverts these stereotypes as they play opposite genders in the music video. Beyonce portrays more masculine features, such as not being affected emotionally and less sensitive. 

Long shot.

Woman is framed with just her body in the frame and being objectified by being catcalled etc.

Shot focuses on woman's body and the men focusing on her.

In the Uptown Funk music video, women are sexually objectified in the video multiple times, for example showing women when they are wearing revealing clothes.

IIWAB represents gender stereotypes as subverted as in the video, we see the genders flip and the typical connotations of the gender stereotypes are reversed onto the opposite suspected gender, this is the narrative of the video.

Friday 27th May 2022

LO: To explain the construction of representation in music videos

How is love represented in IIWAB?

Love in IIWAB is represented through the two characters that have the flipped gender stereotypes, heterosexually. Love, in terms of the male side, is represented in a toxic and deceitful way, and females are portrayed to be lied to and are oblivious to this concept.

In both, masculinity is represented as being powerful and having physical and mental strength, and being of a high status.

Women are represented as sex objects in Uptown Funk- they are always objectified and there is never an identity attached to any women in the video. In IIWAB, they are represented as loyal and mentally strong, even when being lied to.

Tuesday 5th April 2022

Live Lounge

LO: To research the case study and artists involved.

Holly Humberstone

Holly Ffion Humberstone is a British singer-songwriter from Grantham, England. She is 22 years old and makes alternative/indie music. She has won the Brit award for rising star and the NME award for best mixtape. Performed at the Glastonbury BBC Introducing stage in 2019. Performed on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.

Tuesday 3 May 2022

Radio Industry and audiences

LO: To explore the industry and audience behind Live Lounge

Public service broadcasting- something broadcasted for the purpose of the benefit of the public rather than commercial interest.

 

1) 10, all age ranges and interests, many genres and themes covered.
2) 40
3) funded by the licence fee paid by UK households
4) Stations below
5) Classic FM, Magic Network, Kiss, Magic, talkSPORT.
6) Phone, Radio, TV, Car, Computer

Radio 1- Age 15-29 'addressed by presenters close to the age of the main listeners demographic'

Radio 2- Age 35+ commonly hosted by ex Radio 1 presenters

Radio 4- 54+

Bright colours connote a relatively young audience, positive and fun vibe

1) Product is shared everywhere

2) Access to good quality product

3) Easy to access

 

17/05/22

Lounge appeal and format

LO: to explore the format of the show and it's appeals

Being hosted by Radio 1 and 1Xtra means it will gain more of a broad audience quicker due to the music

being broadcasted on two different stations, and therefore gain more of a following and profit.

P- Personal Identity

I- Information- About the artist

E- Entertainment- Listen to song + cover

S- Social Interaction- Mentions social events, covers on youtube= comments etc

Tuesday 7th June 2022

Exam Format

LO: to understand exam style questions and practice exam technique.

BBC Live Lounge appeals to the BBC remit by targeting 15-29 year olds with their music, and interviews,

as they offer a large range of content within this area, multiple that feature younger presenters that help connect the audience more as they feel more of an understanding with their particular dialect for example, and may become more interested with use of slang and casual language. Examples of this are uses of 'big up' and 'sick' in different interviews with modern artists. 

Live Lounge also includes a range of different genres in modern music that can expand a listeners taste of music listening to the Live Lounge. An example of this is when Stormzy, a UK Grime artist performs Beyonce's song, Brown Skin Girl, an older pop song, this puts an interesting twist on the music from an artist that produces a very different genre of music.

Questions 1 2 and 3 could be on radio

Question 1 (1 Mark)

OFCOM regulates radio in the UK

BBC owns Radio 1

Public Service Broadcasting is for the benefit of the public (PSB)

Convergence is interconnection of information and communications technologies, computer networks, and media content.

Question 2 (4 Marks)

Online radio has numerous advantages over live radio, such as being able to listen to different sections or parts of a schedule on a specific station. If the listener particularly likes or dislikes a specific part of a broadcast, they can skip off or skip to a specific part. This gives the audience more liberty when using the online radio services. 

Question 3 (10 Marks)

Producers of radio programmes target different audiences by presenting a range of artists and songs from different genres and backgrounds. This expands the audience to a much broader range and increases revenue. etc.

DIRT

LO: To review and reflect on the mock exam and set personal targets.

Regulators-

Film- BBFC

TV and Radio- OFCOM

Advertisment- ASA

Magazines and Newspapers- IPSO/IMPRESS

Video Games- Video Standards Council

Media Language- Camerawork, Editing, Mise-en-scene, Narrative style.

In each video, the lighting varies to create a contrasting mood and setting between the pair. In IIWAB the lighting is predominantly monochrome, which removes any distraction from the audience and creates a serious tone, focusing the reader onto the narrative and story.

In Uptown Funk, the lighting and colour is vibrant and pops, which adds to the lively and upbeat feeling of the song to go with it. It focuses the audience onto the colourful gaze of high status and wealth, also the sense of objectification within the video.

Commercial- 

Mass Audience to attract advertisements

Range of music

Local info

PSB- 

Smaller (Niche) audience 

Remit of 15-29yo

License fee money funded

Presenters use popular dialect and slang, laid back etc.

In this MOJO cover, the main image presents an artist in a monochrome palette, looking up. The colour suggests an old fashioned, classic setting/feeling, suggesting a level of novelty and importance. His position (where he is looking) also could be suggesting he is looking up at something import, Gods, heaven, angels etc. This also displays importance.

Yes, they are both different. (Rock/Pop)

We Love Pop demonstrates a much more vibrant choice of colour in their cover, with popping bright colours like pink, blue and yellow featured all over. MOJO is entirely different, with a lifeless monochrome. MOJO aimed at middle age, WLP aimed at young female teenagers.

Lexis- use of words. immature slang used in WLP, Important and significant language in MOJO

Similar in use of rock- serious and dangerous language, magazine conventions, different layout etc.

Personal Identification

Information

Entertainment

Social Interaction