Cross Media case study- Jessie J

Jessie j presentation from mollyruby5

By now I have started to realize what type of artist I want to create. I have headed towards a Pop/ Indie genre with a female artist because that is the type of music I think I can relate to most and have a lot of ideas for.

To start looking into female artist from this genre I have done a cross media case study about Jessie J, who is from the Pop genre, to see what elements stand out and are key for artists from this genre. This will give me a starting point when thinking about my own artist as I can start to think about what factors are needed for indie pop female artists. 

Mainstream& Indie artits- (Relating to Adorno and Horkheimer)

Mainstream Artist

A mainstream artist is an artist that is well known by everyone whether they like their music or not because they are constantly publicised for everyone to see. Mainstream artists are usually from the pop/r&b genre and are not very unique with their style or music as they often fall under the “culture industry” a term created by Adorno and Horkheimer meaning mainstream artists are produced in very similar ways as they are often a commodity. Mainstream music is played on popular radio stations and music channels such as MTV.

An example of a mainstream artist is Justin Bieber, a Canadian pop artist that started in 2008 after being signed to Raymond Braun media group. His success has increased continuously throughout the years due to him being such a popular mainstream artist and growing such a huge fan base. Justin Bieber follows Adorno and Horkheimer’s theory of the culture industry as he is an artist that has been produced by his manager and record label purely to make money from his success as they know due to him being a young good looking teenage boy he would become popular especially to young girls/teens. He is an artist like many others for example One Direction, that has been standardized in order to appeal to wide audience and sell records and merchandise.

Indie artists

Indie artists usually come from independent record labels, they are artists that produce their music independently themselves and are not standardized by record labels or their managers. They are more open to producing music they want to and having their own style unlike Justin Bieber and One Direction who basically get told what to do in order to always remain appealing to their target audience. Indie artists do not follow Adorno and Horkheimers theory of the culture industry as they are much more independent and are produced in different ways then mainstream artists.

An example of an indie artist is Rox who is an English soul singer-song writer. She is signed to Rough trade record label after starting in 2008. Rox is an indie artist as she is signed to a minor record label which operates without the funding of the three major record labels. She does not relate to Adorno and Horkheimers theory of the culture industry as she has not been standardized at all as she is an independent artist that writes her own songs and decides herself what she does and her own style. Rox has not been standardized by Rough trade to become someone to appeal to a particular audience.

Record labels

Record labels
A record label is brand associated with the marketing of music. Artists in the music industry have become very reliant on the record label that they are signed with as they help a lot to:
* Promote fund and manage the artist
* deal with marketing and promotion for things such as music videos
* also deal with production, manufacture and distribute records
* broaden their consumer base

There are two main types of records labels major and minor/independent.

Major 
Major record labels are large international media groups and there are three big major record labels which are Sony BMG, Universal music group and Warner music group. They can at any one time represent 75% of the music sold within a year. 

Minor/Independent
Minor record labels are smaller labels that operate without the funding of the big three record labels. Examples of minor labels are Domino (Arctic Monkeys), Rough Trade, 4AD (Bon Iver), Merge and Lost highway. 

The reason I have looked into record labels is to start to consider where my artist I create will fit depending on their genre of music and what type of person I want them to be. By now I am starting to form a clear visual of what type of artist I am going to start to form and what type of record label I want them to be signed to etc. 

History of music video's

I have looked into the history of music videos as I think it will help me get a better understanding of the different styles of music videos there have been over time and how they have adapted. I have done this because I want to be able to understand what type of styles have formed for different genres and what genres they relate to and help reflect so I am able to reflect my chosen genre of music as much as possible.  


Music videos have developed majorly over time due to advances in technology and changes in style. Music videos started happening because of film as they made it possible to combine moving images with sound. Music videos started to be made around the 1920’s but they were very basic and simple as they had no effects, camera movements were very simple and most artists would be singing live in the music video as they didn’t always have access to music studios so the quality wasn’t always great. As TV channels were not around when music videos began to be made, music videos were shown only in cinemas until TV channels were invented. In 1970 Music videos came about as the record industry discovered that TV shows were are good way to promote their artists.

Bob Dylan’s video to Subterranean Homesick Blues that was released in 1965 is one of the oldest music videos that was very popular. The reason so many people liked Bob Dylan’s video was due to the style of it and what occurred during it. He is shown flipping down cards with many different words on them which are lyrics from the song. He shows the words to match with the lyric he is singing so they are in sync. This was the first video to incorporate text in this way which is one of the reasons it became so famous. There are now many artists that include text in their music videos in this style along with using visual effects and editing.

The first music video that was thought to use advanced visual effects was Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen which was released in 1975. This music video marked the beginning of the video era and set the language for the modern music video. Because Queens music video was such a success in the music industry it lead to other record companies to produce promotional videos for artists single releases, which could then be shown on TV without the need for the artist to appear in person. 

Cinematography such as camera angles and movements in music videos are very important  as they help create a certain effect and genre for the video. Cinematography also helps create meaning along with the mis-en-scene used as they can be used to tell the song (Tenacious D-Tribute) or just help emphasise the overall feel of the song. Editing also plays a very important part in music videos as it also helps emphasise the songs meaning depending on what way it is used. Editing can also be used to bring many different clips together to make one video (montage) and things such as changing the pace of the video. 

Intertextuality/ Analysis of Tenacious D music video (tribute) referring to Andrew Goodwin

 Intertextuality

Within different music videos intertextuality may be used, this means that things such as other music videos, TV programmes and films are referred to within another music video. This is used in music videos often to create an illustration for the video turning the song into a story almost, giving it a visual. Also to draw more attention from different audiences as they are interested in seeing how the reference has been used and why it has been used. This can cause people to be drawn to a particular music video as it causes contradictory views as it is bringing different media products together.
An example of a music video that uses intertextuality is Tenacious D- Tribute as within the video lead singer of Foo Fighters Dave Grohl is shown playing a character of a devil. This is intertextuality because Dave Grohl is a singer himself from a very famous band so by him being in another music video, shown also playing the guitar which he does in his own band, is referring to other bands. Also towards the end of the video the actor Ben Stiller is breifly shown walking across the screen. This is another example of where intertextuality is shown in this music video as it is referring to other famous people such as actors drawing more attention to the video by a variety of audiences. This is an example of one of the points Andrew Goodwin made about music videos as he said that there is often intertextual references to things such as other music and films in mucis videos, this is proven here by two very famous people being shown in another artists video.

Andrew Goodwin also made many other points about music videos that can relate to Tenacious D's music video along with intertextuality. One other point Goodwin made was that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, this is shown in this video as Jack black and Kyle Gass are singing and telling a narrative of what is happening in the music video as the song goes along, it is as if they are telling a story. For example they are singing about a "demon" which is shown through out the video which they constantly refer to and as they do the demon is shown doing/saying what they are singing he is doing. This shows evidence for Goodwins point that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals as what the two singers are saying and singing about is being shown in the video therefore there is a relationship between the two in this video.

Andrew Goodwin also made the point that in music videos there is a relationship between music and visuals aswell as the lyrics. This is shown in this video also as the type of music that is being played relates well with what is being shown in the video. The genre of music Tenacious D play is Rock, in this video the music tone is quite dark but upbeat as there is a lot of talking through out. The pitch of the music varies throughout the song which goes with what is being shown in the video as when the story line dies down slightly such as when they are in the booth the music dies down with it, as when they are shown with the "demon" the pitch and tone of the music builds up and it gets a lot louder and more dramatic to emphasise the story line.

This video however does not relate to all of Andrew Goodwins points about music videos. For example another point he made was that "there is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body" and in this music video no women are shown throughout apart from briefly walking past the music booth where they are fully clothed and not presented in that kind of way. Also another point Goodwin made that does not relate to this video is "the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist" although there are several close ups of Jack Black and Kyle Gass through out the video, this has not been done because of demands as they are not the type of artists that care greatly about their appearance and what they look like as they are more about the music and the story then their own looks. Although the point Goodwin made also metioned "the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work" which can be seen as true and relate to Tenacious D as all their music is simular in the sense that all their songs are comical with comical videos to go with them.

link of Tenacoius D- Tribute video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lK4cX5xGiQ&safe=active

Andrew Goodwin analysis of LadyGaga music video

I decided to do an Andrew Goodwin analysis on Lady Gaga’s music video “paparazzi” because I want to start looking into artists from a genre I am interested in creating my artist from which is a pop/ indie genre. I chose Lady Gaga because she is from a Pop genre and I am interested in female pop artists and their style of music and how they reflect their music through their music videos.

I related this video to Andrew Goodwin’s analysis to see how many points relate  to start seeing whether they are true, which most points do relate. 

Andrew Goodwins thoughts on music videos

Over time the ways in which music videos are produced and look have become very different. This has been due to changes in style, technology and generally what is appealing to different audiences. Music videos are made to go alongside a piece of music or a song which usually relate and often help present the song in a more visual way to people, helping them understand the meaning and purpose.



Andrew Goodwin- thoughts of music videos:

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

There is a relationship between music and visuals

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)

There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

There is often inter textual reference to films, TV programmes and other music video etc. which may illustrate, amplify or contradict.

The culture industry- Adorno and Horkheimer

The culture industry is a term created by Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. This term was made to show cultural items, such as singing artists, are all produced in very similar ways if not the same. This is due to artists being under a commodity meaning they have no control over what type of person they will become. 
Adorno and Horkheimer believe that production has become a routine, run by capitalists and hegemonies to produce artists that would appeal to consumers mainly to make money. According to Adorno and Horkheimer the culture industry operates in the same way as other manufacturing industries, all producing products in the same routine way. The production of artists have become the same as capitalists all want to make money and therefore produce artists that will become very popular and successful, this is done by forming them into something they know an audience would be interested in and purchase things such as their music and merchandise. 
This has led to a lot of artists being subsumed into the culture industry meaning they have been formed into something that hegemonies want them to be so that they are successful. Very few artists in modern culture are unique and stand out hugely from other artists this is a result of standardization meaning that all produced products by the culture industry are the same but because of this are usually successful.  

I decided to look at the culture industry, as it is something important to consider when creating my artist. This is because I may want to create an artist that fits into the culture industry that have been standardized in order to make money and have almost no say as to what artist they are (mainstream artist.) Or I may decided to create an artist that is the complete opposite to this that has not been standardized or formed by the culture industry and are very unique independent artists. It allows me to see what type of artists there are in the music industry and he difference between them.  

In Media this year I am creating a music video, a digipak and an advertisement for an artist that I am going to create myself. In order to do this I am going to research into music videos and digipaks and many different artists and music genres to help me form my own artist.