Independent Research

Today an artist I really like and have listened to for the last three or four years, JME, released a new album called Blam! JME is a grime artist who is well known within his genre and is very successful in what he does, reaching a genre that has quite an underground, niche target market. He co-owns an independent record label with his brother Skepta and has established himself as a big artist in the industry in the last five or six years, having a well known distaste for the big record companies that sign up artists and take their most of their profits. I've found several of the marketing strategies used for the album very interesting and in my opinion they are all valuable points to take on board for this project.

The strategy for releasing the album has played to the strengths of the artist, using free social networking sites to promote his album at no cost to him. JME has a huge twitter fanbase, with over 30,000 people following him online, and he has used this to promote the album since May, creating a massive hype around the album and letting his fans know when they can expect the album. This is definitely something we could take on board when releasing our album as it is extremely cost effective and uses modern technology to promote the album to the correct target audience. He talks in a personal way to his fans online, allowing them to feel as if he is talking directly to them when promoting the album.

Tonight he also presented a live contest where people could enter a competition and get the chance to win signed prizes and merchandise. The contest was streamed via a video link on ustream.com, and there was live voting from people watching; prizes included signed t-shirts, posters and the album, as well as the main prize which was a signed iPad worth £600. The whole competition was very personal and gave the artist a chance to give something back to his fans and show his appreciation for their support. I think the personal touch is very important, especially for less well known artists as they need to show that they really do appreciate their fans for buying their music.

The album cover for Blam! is very eye catching. Bright colours are used and there is an artist's impression of JME on the front, in a cartoon design. This helps the album stand out when it's on the shelves which is also important as it would grab the attention of people who wouldn't necessarily know who JME is.



All of these techniques are really important to our project in my opinion. Although we are making a video for a different genre of music, like JME our artist will not be well known as it is a debut appearance. Therefore it will be important to grab the attention of the audience and also to reward the fans for supporting us. It is also a very clever marketing scheme because although the prizes for the giveaway will have been relatively expensive, the means by which they are given away, and the general hype created around the album itself was all produced through free means like facebook and twitter, meaning all sales of the album will result directly in profit. JME's marketing campaign has definitely been a success as on the first day of release it has managed to reach number 4 on the iTunes album chart - meaning there have been a lot of sales on the first day

Marketing and Distribution

Olly Murs has recently released his debut single 'Please Don't Let Me Go'. The first thing that catches the audience's eye when you click on to his website is the banner at the top of the page - a picture of Olly, his name and the name of the single. There is a link to buy the single directly from the banner and also links to social networking websites YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The font that his name and track is written in is simple and striking, with his name the main focus of the banner - showing that it is to promote him primarily and his debut single as a secondary promotion. The picture of him is typical to his image, wearing a hat and posing naturally - fitting with his 'normal lad' persona. Another thing that strikes me from the strip is that it looks very professional and similar to websites of other artists in the chart, suggesting that he is trying to drop his X Factor persona and create the image of a respectable, professional musician.

The background of the website consists of pictures of Olly wearing normal clothes and posing in a friendly way. The mise-en-scene is pretty neutral, with blues and dark reds, and it promotes a laid back feel to the site. The record labels he is signed to, Syco Music and Epic Music, are incorporated into the strip down the side of the website, almost faded into the backgroud although still obviously there. The website is used to promote Olly as an artist primarily, with a blog, diary and events list on the site as well as links to his personal twitter account. It is also used to promote his debut single 'Please Don't Let Me Go' which reached No.1 in the UK singles chart. There are links promoting it all over the site as well as the oppurtunity to download it from iTunes.

The website it targeted at quite a wide audience - the neutral colour scheme is appealing to both men, women and a younger audience. There are shots of Olly which could be seen as both aspirational for men who like his style and also would be attractive to women. The links to Twitter, YouTube and Facebook target a younger audience as they can relate to these social networking sites. Overall, the site comes across as very personal, inkeeping with Olly's persona from when he was on the X Factor as a 'lad's lad' and he seems like a happy go lucky guy who's enjoying and appreciates his success.  

Typical Album Cover Conventions;

Front;
- Artist Name
- Album Name
- Key Image (Artist/Album related)
- Colour Scheme
- Theme
- Official Warnings (Parental advisory, Explicit lyrics etc.)

Back;
- Track List
- Key Image (Artist/Album related)
- Repeated Colour Scheme
- Repeated Theme
- Barcode
- Copyright Information
- Record Label/Producer

Music Video Research;

Recently, whilst listening to songs, i've trying to think which tracks would be suitable to make a music video for. The tracks listed aren't necessarily songs i'm thinking about using for my music video but they're definite possibilities. Initially, the song has to have a possible video concept in my head for me to consider it but when i've listened to them again they aren't all good choices; whether because my ideas or impractical or there are certain institutional problems such as copyright laws. Another problem is some of the less well known tracks i've shortlisted already have music video's produced so i wouldn't be able to use them. However, these are the sort of song's i've been looking at.

Air Traffic - Charlotte


Starrfadu - Let It Out


Simple Plan - I'm Just A Kid

Album Cover Analysis;

Deconstruction;
The artist features on both the front and back cover of the album. The album name 'Recovery' is situated on the front cover with the medical sign replacing the 'o'. This connotes that the album has a possible link to health or possibly recovery from an addiction. The parental advisory symbol features to show that the album features explicit content. The album tracks are listed on the back cover in a clear, simple font with the artist's name and name of the album on either spine. There is a barcode and a piracy warning which makes it look official and the name of the producer is also shown - not a conventional feature but one typical of Eminem. The name of the record company and distributor is also shown with small print down the side which can't really be read but contains copyright information.

In my opinion this album cover is really effective; it has a simple picture but a definite message anchored by the album title. Everyone knew that Eminem had had a difficult couple of years with being an addict and losing those he loved, and this album was hailed as his comback. It isn't a glamorous album cover but manages to stand out with it's bleak colour scheme and the epicness of the picture.

The pictures give the audience a feeling of a journey of self-discovery with Eminem looking thoughtful on the back and walking down a long road on his own - suggesting it was a personal journey but he's inviting you along with him. The medical sign in the title really stands out and makes the title more memorable whilst also giving the audience a message. They've used the hype surrounding the album and the message of the artist rather than a particularly eye-catching colour scheme to promote the album - knowing that people will look for it on the shelves. It was obviously a successful strategy as the album was number one in the UK charts for months.

Intertextuality; All The Small Things

Blink-182's 'All The Small Things' video is a parody of many pop music videos of the time. The band are notorious for the sense of humour and this video sums them up. They don't take themselves seriously at all, with scenes in this video of them embarrassing themselves by taking the mickey out of typical boy band cliche's. The whole mise-en-scene is mocking that of artist's such as Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, with direct scene's immitated from their videos.

A direct quote from guitarist Tom DeLonge about the video says "We want to do a video that's like, directly like a boy band video, because we figure we're just as hot and we look good wet and we dance and we can fit in tight clothes just like everyone else, you know" which sums up what the video is about. The bands mocking style is well critically acclaimed, with them winning several awards for the video, showing that the parody was popular at the time.

What Music Means To Me; Reflections

As a research task and to help us learn more about the consumption of music for both ourselves and our class mates, we had to make a presentation about what music means to us; this involved talking about music as a child, as a teenager and now. I found the task really helpful as it brought to my attention patterns of consumption and also gave me a better idea of what was involved in our coursework task. Everyone spoke really personally and, whether the tracks had an emotional link or not, it gave everyone a chance to think more about their own personal consumption of music and also the consumption of others.

When do you listen to music; who with; where; how?
In my opinion, this question is very personal and this came across in people's answers. For me, i listen to music all the time; i love having my iPod in my pocket and my headphones are always hanging from my top, ready to be plugged in at any time. In the morning when i'm getting ready for school, i listen to Chris Moyles on Radio 1 - mainly because the combination of chart music and talking is a good way of waking me up. However, once i've left the house i listen to my iPod all the way to school because i like the escapism of feeling like i'm in my own little world where no-one else can hear or enjoy the songs i love. I listen to my iPod throughout the day, finding myself listening to certain bands at certain times; for instance i'll listen to calm music while i'm working as it's easy to listen to and is good as background noise. From the presentations i learnt that everyone's daily music routine is personalised, however they all seemed to have similar trends like using radio to wake up etc.


Pleasures of listening to music;
Personally, i listen to music for lots of different reasons. Sometimes i use it to complement my mood, or if i'm in a bad mood it can definitely cheer me up. I listen to the charts and download all the songs that i like weekly so i have them on my iPod but i tend to stick to old favourites because they remind me of a particular time or place. I also like to listen to new and quite 'underground' music like dubstep, mainly because this is what i listen to when i go out and if i hear a particular track i like in a club then i like to find out what it is and put it on my iPod. I also really enjoy singing along to songs with my friends, it makes me really happy if i'm in a big group of people or even with just one or two friends and we're all singing along to a good song.

From watching others present their favourite tracks and reasons for listening to thems, i got the impressions that the pleasures i personally get from listening to music seemed to be similarly shared by others. People listen to music to either release certain emotions, to get away from their surrounding or to take them back to a particular memory.


Patterns of music consumption;
After everyone's presentations, several patterns seemed to emerge. As children, we all seemed to listen to whatever our role models (older siblings, parents, cousins etc) were listening to, with no particular taste of our own. A lot of people said that the music they listened to came from CD's such as 'NOW, that's what i call music', consisting of all the latest chart successes, and from the TV chart show Top Of The Pops. This suggests that as children our musical tastes were strongly influenced by record companies and chart institutes rather than our particular tastes. However, as each person talked about growing up, you could see a clear growth in their musical taste - being able to find and listen to music themselves allowed them to find certain genres or bands that they liked, although in most cases these were still linked with what they had been introduced to by a brother or sister at an early age.

Another influence that was only accessible with age was that of gigs or concerts. My classmates spoke of how gigs they have attended have really shaped their musical taste - the epic atmosphere that can only be achieved at a live gig is definitely something that made our music consumption more enjoyable. There is definitely something special about seeing an early teen favourite live in concert as I, and others, spoke about in our presentations.


How was this task relevant to our coursework project?
The 'What Music Means To Me' task was very useful in allowing us to learn more about audience consumption and how to target an audience when creating a music video. I've learnt that brand image is crucial, especially when targeting young audiences, as if there is a music video or band that particularly stands out, for whatever reason, then it tends to stick in peoples minds. When creating our music video i've realised we'll have to think about more than just creating a well produced visual, this task has helped me learn that for a lot of people the enjoyment goes beyond just a catchy song or video - although of course this varies with age. If i was producing a video aimed at a younger audience, i would create an aspirational artist that kids could look up to, however as the target audience grows with age, so does the complexity of their consumption needs.

What Music Means To Me;

Childhood;
As a child, music didn’t really have any deep meaning to me; I remember watching top of the pops on a Friday night and listening to whatever was playing from the charts, always enjoying a catchy pop song or whatever my older brother and my friends were listening to. I used to always get the ‘NOW that’s what I call music’ CD’s for Christmas as this had all the popular chart music at the time. This meant that I have memories of lots of songs from my childhood but none that really stand out as special to me; however the songs I’ve chosen have silly memories attached to them that now remind me of how happy I was.

One song that I vividly remember as a favourite of mine was ‘Witch Doctor’ by The Cartoons. I remember the song being played on top of the pops and the band where wearing silly outfits. I reckon I liked the song so much because it was aimed at a young audience, despite being successful in the charts and featuring on ‘NOW 42’ which I had at the time. It had a really catchy chorus that I loved singing a long to but looking back at it, the song was rubbish.



Another song that was one of my favourites as a kid was ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’ by Eiffel 65. The song was about a blue world and I remember that I loved imagining everything was blue as the song played. Looking back it seems that I loved listening to songs with a really catchy chorus made up of just noises like “Da Ba Dee, Da Ba Da.” The songs where both typical, gimmicky 90’s songs which wouldn’t really popular if released today, but as a child I thought they were great fun.



Early Teens;
As I hit secondary school, music started to mean a little more to me and I started having favourite bands. I’ve never really had a favourite genre and I like to listen to all sorts of music. I still listen a lot to bands I liked from my early teenage years, and the old albums that I have are some of my most played on my iPhone. Maroon 5, Arctic Monkeys and Blink-182 are some of my favourite bands from when I was twelve or thirteen and I still listen to them a lot.

One of my favourite songs even now is from the Arctic Moneky’s album ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.’ I bought the album on CD after seeing ‘I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ on Top of the Pops and loved all the tracks but one that stood out as my favourite was ‘Mardy Bum.’ The song has really catchy lyrics and it’s a great song to sing a long to with your friends. Arctic Monkeys have been my favourite band since I bought that album although recently they’ve changed their style of music and become a lot more pretentious which I really don’t like.




Blink-182 are another one of my favourite bands, I really like their music and I can listen for their albums on repeat for hours without getting bored. I have a lot of favourite songs of theirs so it’s hard to pick just one but I would probably say ‘Carousel’ is one of my favourites. I saw them at Reading Festival in August and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I was so happy to see them live and they said that it was one of their favourite shows of all time.




Now;
I wanted to choose a song that I currently like and listen to a lot to but also is part of an album that I really like. I download songs a lot more than buying CD’s now but I still download a lot of albums. Before the start of summer I downloaded Eminem’s new album ‘Recovery’ and it’s one of the few albums that I can listen to almost every track and enjoy it. It’s had a lot of chart success with ‘I Love The Way You Lie’ which features Rihanna. I really like this song because it has the variation of rapping and singing and the lyrics are quite deep and meaningful. Eminem is one of my favourite artist’s and I think he’s really talented.