Thursday 9 May 2013
Mock Exam
Digital advertisement has drastically effected the way that music is being sold, and the way audiences buy the music. This is due to the visualisation of music which i believe devalues the music, however this initially due to piracy.
Sony has evolved as a major record label, that distributes their music digitally. Sony uses their subsidiary Syco, to market their future music, in a new visualised way. For example Syco market One Direction on X factor, by using synergy they were able to show the audience One Directions Music on Tv which became very successful to then create a film about them. The way Sony visualised One Direction, gave a way to the audiences to Consume One Directions music differently, an hour after Xfactor One Direction song was put on itunes ready to buy, also audiences can interact with Xfactor, which also decides the fate the band, which leads on to creating a relationship with the audience. Digital Distribution has drastically affected the way Sony markets their music in a new interactive manor, and is totally consume digitally via itunes or Youtube. This new type of way of marketing their music, because of piracy and how Major Record labels have to make money any way they can. I believe this devalues the Music Industry because its totally visualised and its all about image and what the public want certain artists like One Direction to be, which has cause marketing overall to be visualised and interactive due to the era of piracy.
However Indie record labels have also benefited a massive amount by Digital Distribution as it allows indie records labels and unsigned artists to get their work out, for free! Which has seen Indie's as a whole grow and develop due to digital distribution. It has affected the way they market there work as Youtube and itunes will sell all types of music, which allows Indie Record label to constantly grown. Also has seen Indie Artists create a relationship with normally a very niche audience, this audience has their own image which they relate to their Artists. This allows Indie Artist to by pass piracy, due to the fact that they fact such a strong relationship with the audience, otherwise Indie Artist would be an even smaller minority in the music industry. This is different from Major labels because they don't have the money to produce all of these tv shows and interactive games that get there money, Indies have to rely on creating a relationship the audience. Digital Distribution has drastically affected the way Indie labels market their work, so that they can create a strong relationship with the audience on social networks so that their niche audience consumes their work legally via itunes and Independent stores.
Digital Distribution has also effected audience as due to piracy and consumer have turn into prosumers.
An example of prosumer is Madeon, which use the back catalogue, to re-use the songs and upload to Youtube to market his work. By using literally no money, Madeon was able to market his work on Youtube and get millions of video views which would create money. Prosumers are new minority to the music industry and heavily dependent on Digital Distribution as it is the only way that they can successfully market their work freely online and audiences are able to consumer their work. I believe that digital distribution has drastically affected the prosumers can market their, as the would be non-existent because they steal other songs to then mash up and re-use to create something different.
Digital distribution has drastically affected across the whole of the music industry. They need to consider in marketing the new and attractive way of visualising the music, like SyCo and Xfactor. Also how Indie labels market their work on social networking sites to create a strong relationship the audience. Overall this de-values music in the new post modern era.
Mock exam - Ellie
Digital distribution has had a huge effect on marketing and consumption of the music industry. This is because music is now more accessible online, major companies have had to adapt to this, and others have easier and cheaper access to production, distribution and marketing.
Independent labels have used digital distribution to their advantage, by using sites such as Youtube and Spotify they are able to distribute their artists very easily, worldwide and gain views from this. For example, XL records is a independent label that has signed artists such as Adele and Giggs, both currently two successful artists. Indie labels can market their artists on social networking sites of which then can gain followers, likes and feedback. By doing this the audience is also building a relationship with the artists. Consumption of the music is much easier too, streaming is easily accessible, promoting and getting their music out their straight away. Indie labels target a smaller niche audience by marketing on social netwrking sites which helps gain a relationship, and fan base of a certain genre.
In contrast to Indie labels, major labels, such as the conglomerate Sony has had to adapt to the change within digital distribution. HMV went bust as a result of digital distribution therefore the effects are costing them money. An example of this is X-Factor a TV show from the record label SYCO, from the conglomerate Sony, uses visualisation of the artists to gain an audience. One direction, a good looking boy band that attracts attention of young insecure girls. By creating them, the conglomerates can have a festival the fans will attend to to see the band, not for their bland and stale music, but for the image they have, and that is where conglomerates can make money. Therefore this is showing how conglomerates have had to adapt to digital distribution as comsumers are no longer purchasing the music, as it can be illegally downloaded. Major labels can also use synergy to market their music and distribute through itunes by releasing the films tracks.
Consumers can now be prosumers from the effects of tecnology. They are able to distribute their music for free by using digital tecnology, and gain views and subscibers. An example of this is Madeon, who createcd a mash up of well known songs and put them together to make his own. He then used Youtube to distribute his music, and he gained millions of views. Also social netwroking sites were able to share and market his track to other people. Therefore digital distribution is so easy to do now that it can be done for free and if good enough gain a huge fan base. Another example of how digital distribution has had an effect on the industry is that there are a lot more prosumers. My band FYVE has managed to produce a track by using garageband, then distribute it online. We mangaged to gain over 400 views by doing this. We then marketed our band by using social networking sites, such as, twitter and Instagram, FYVE gained 1500 likes and 300 followers. Therefore a perfect example of why digital distribution has had a huge effect on marketing and the consumption of music.
In contrast Prosumers, some artists use DIY to consume their music. Beck is a great example of this, he created a music piece, however did not play the music and make a soundtrack from it, only releasing the paper copy to a niche audience of prosumers. They then can create their own version and interact with the music. The prosumers ca then send the music back to him by using social networking sites and digital distribution. The audience can then feel involved. The difference however is that by using the distribution Beck did not intend to make money, but to put value to the piece.
Therefore overall, digital distributing has had a huge impact on distribution and marketing as indie labels and prosumers are able to distribute their music for free and very easily due to digital media. Conglomerates are having to market their music by using visualisation and synergy because the music they are producing is bland and stale.
Independent labels have used digital distribution to their advantage, by using sites such as Youtube and Spotify they are able to distribute their artists very easily, worldwide and gain views from this. For example, XL records is a independent label that has signed artists such as Adele and Giggs, both currently two successful artists. Indie labels can market their artists on social networking sites of which then can gain followers, likes and feedback. By doing this the audience is also building a relationship with the artists. Consumption of the music is much easier too, streaming is easily accessible, promoting and getting their music out their straight away. Indie labels target a smaller niche audience by marketing on social netwrking sites which helps gain a relationship, and fan base of a certain genre.
In contrast to Indie labels, major labels, such as the conglomerate Sony has had to adapt to the change within digital distribution. HMV went bust as a result of digital distribution therefore the effects are costing them money. An example of this is X-Factor a TV show from the record label SYCO, from the conglomerate Sony, uses visualisation of the artists to gain an audience. One direction, a good looking boy band that attracts attention of young insecure girls. By creating them, the conglomerates can have a festival the fans will attend to to see the band, not for their bland and stale music, but for the image they have, and that is where conglomerates can make money. Therefore this is showing how conglomerates have had to adapt to digital distribution as comsumers are no longer purchasing the music, as it can be illegally downloaded. Major labels can also use synergy to market their music and distribute through itunes by releasing the films tracks.
Consumers can now be prosumers from the effects of tecnology. They are able to distribute their music for free by using digital tecnology, and gain views and subscibers. An example of this is Madeon, who createcd a mash up of well known songs and put them together to make his own. He then used Youtube to distribute his music, and he gained millions of views. Also social netwroking sites were able to share and market his track to other people. Therefore digital distribution is so easy to do now that it can be done for free and if good enough gain a huge fan base. Another example of how digital distribution has had an effect on the industry is that there are a lot more prosumers. My band FYVE has managed to produce a track by using garageband, then distribute it online. We mangaged to gain over 400 views by doing this. We then marketed our band by using social networking sites, such as, twitter and Instagram, FYVE gained 1500 likes and 300 followers. Therefore a perfect example of why digital distribution has had a huge effect on marketing and the consumption of music.
In contrast Prosumers, some artists use DIY to consume their music. Beck is a great example of this, he created a music piece, however did not play the music and make a soundtrack from it, only releasing the paper copy to a niche audience of prosumers. They then can create their own version and interact with the music. The prosumers ca then send the music back to him by using social networking sites and digital distribution. The audience can then feel involved. The difference however is that by using the distribution Beck did not intend to make money, but to put value to the piece.
Therefore overall, digital distributing has had a huge impact on distribution and marketing as indie labels and prosumers are able to distribute their music for free and very easily due to digital media. Conglomerates are having to market their music by using visualisation and synergy because the music they are producing is bland and stale.
Thursday 2 May 2013
Mock Exam 2
“Cross-media convergence and synergy are vital processes in the successful marketing of media products to audiences.” To what extent to you agree with this statement in relation to your chosen media area?
Re-phrasing the question: To what extent do you agree that synergy is a vital key for music & marketing to be successful (does music need synergy to be successful?)
I disagree with this statement, the music industry does not need synergy as a vital process of marketing their music to audiences, even though in some areas it can help success, for example, X-factor, synergy is useful.
Independent labels do not need synergy to be successful. Indie labels use new-media technology such as the internet to distribute and market their artists. This is because it is cheaper and still covers a global audience. They are able to distribute their music for free, using websites such as YouTube and Spotify. Indie labels tend to target a niche audience, therefore there is less need in having to use synergy to promote their artists to a wide audience. The audience for the film may not be the right ‘type’ of people that would be interested in the particular genre of music from the independent label, by using the internet they can directly target the niche audience they desire.
However, in contrast to this, X-Factor, owned by the record label SYCO, of the conglomerate Sony, need synergy to enable the success of the show. Sony uses synergy on a regular basis, this is because it is a successful way for major labels to market their products to the audience, as music has become very visualized due to new-media technology.
Prosumers and mash-ups can be successful without the use of synergy. For example, Madeon made a mash-up of mainstream music. He used YouTube and social networking sites to distribute his mash-up. By doing so he managed to gain millions of views and his mash-up became a success. Also mash-ups cannot necessarily be used in synergy because of music ownership issues. If songs in the mash-up are from a conglomerates back-catalogue this may exploit a copyright policy if the mash-up is then used in a film without permission. Similarly, prosumers can also be successful with out the use of synergy, new-media technology has enabled easy access to music from websites like youtube, and using software such as garageband has enabled the consumers to be prosumers. For example, my band ‘FVVE’, have produced a mash up on garageband from already existing music. We then distributed it on YouTube and marketed on social networking sites. We managed to gain over 1,500 likes for our mash-up and over 300 views on Youtube. Therefore being able produce, distribute and market our own track on the internet using YouTube and social networking sites can be successful without the process of synergy.
In conclusion to this, I disagree with the statement that cross-media convergence and synergy is a vital process in the music industry. Synergy can be useful to some areas in the industry, such as the conglomerate Sony. However, there are other areas that do not need it as a vital process to be successful. Indie labels do not use synergy and have control over 24% of the music industry, therefore have managed to have success without it. Prosumers and mash-ups use the internet to distribute and market their products, some have become successful and gained many views, a perfect example being Madeon.
(I timed myself 45 minutes for the essay, and ran out of time to write about the fourth case study D.I.Y - Beck.)
(I timed myself 45 minutes for the essay, and ran out of time to write about the fourth case study D.I.Y - Beck.)
Monday 29 April 2013
600 word - Comparison
Music is now either synthetic or organic. Mainstream music tends to be synthetic and un-original, typically a re-make of an older song from back-catalogue. Music evolves around new-technology and has effected music drastically. Music is now less tangible, available to download and stream on the internet. This has had a negative effect of major record labels. However, had a positive effect on independent labels, as they are able to market and distribute their artists and music through the internet cheaply, also able to reach a wider audience this way.
X-factor targets wide audience to make money by producing synthetic music. X-factor produces mainstream music, the artists they have on the show sing songs that are mainstream and well known by the audience. The songs the artists are required to sing are from back-catalogue, of which then has the potential of taking away the true meaning of the original track. This de-values the music making it blander and staler, the track has been heard before and now being released with a different artist singing it, as the audience then relate the tracks to a new artist, not always the original. The artists that are singing an already existing are given an individual image also. For example One Direction. They are all branded to look a certain way, young and good-looking boys, with certain hairstyles and freshly shaven to look a young as possible, then sing to young girls.
X-factor allows for the audience to interact with the music by voting for their favorite artist. This could be good for the music industry as the audience are directly saying which artist they would listen to and buy. Therefore get an idea of what the audience prefer. Also social networking sights are good for marketing x-factor. On the show there will be hashtags to suggest twitter and instagram. This then gains followers and likes by the audience. By using social networking sites and being a television show, the soundtracks and artists go worldwide and they are targeting a very wide audience. This is a perfect example of how music has been de-valued, as artists sing back-catalogue tracks and reach a worldwide audience. Synthetic music reaches worldwide more so than organic music.
In comparison to x-factor, Beck allows his audience, prosumers, to interact with his music in a different way. They can be a involved and feel like they are a part of the music. He targets a smaller niche audience of prosumers and is not doing it to make money. This creates meaning and adds value to the music as many people can appreciate the work. The audience can also build a relationship with the music and artists, as a result the audience will be more likely to value the music and buy it, instead of streaming and downloading it illegally. Beck is signed to an independent label XL Recordings, they have also promoted artists such as, Adele, and Giggs. He can distribute his music and market through the internet and social networking sites. New-technology has a positive effect on smaller authentic artists like Beck as they are able to cheaply and easily distribute their music worldwide using the internet. Un-like major labels, where new-technology has had a negative effect on the company. As synthetic music is re-used, de-valued and overplayed, therefore music becomes blander and staler and there is not such as close relationship between the artist and the audience, as a result streaming takes place.
Monday 22 April 2013
Digital Media Technology- Essay
Digital media technology continues to
develop. How is this significant for Media institutions and audience?
Music has changed with the postmodern era;
technology has developed and continues to develop it. Nowadays young adults view and use online websites and social networking sites to market their and others products. Also
audiences have change with technology also, as they to can produce the own
work, and market online for free, these have been given the names prosumers.
Prosumers were the underdogs of the music
industry, however with the improvement of technology, prosumers are taking the
industry by force. YouTube is a online video website which allows prosumers to
watch and listen to music for free, and upload there work for free. A example of is Constant Raid, is our own Mash up group, we posted the mash up and the music video to YouTube and over two weeks we manage to get 320 video views. Another example for prosumers becoming a major part of the Music Industry, is Beck who is an Artists who has a website which he post music motes which allows his very niche audience of musicians make there own interpretation. The way Beck has adapted to the Digital age of the music industry is taking the Prosumers allowing them to make there own music, which he plays at his gigs, which allows him to make a profit. This is
significant for media intuitions as they are losing money and having to adapt
to a new industry.
The media institution has to adapt and change to the advancements in technology. Social Networking sites have become a necessary to bands and Artist to market their work. Media Institutions have gave from this because there able to promotes and gain feedback from audiences, and its for free! This also allows audiences to follow and connect with their favorite artist. This is significant for media intuitions because it allows them to create an identity for there artists followers, and its done globally.
The Music Industry has also developed into a Visual business, from Music Videos to TV shows. Syco is a great example of Synergy where they use all three. X factor advertises Artists to us, it gives the Artists a visual identity which the audience can relate to. Then are able to use the winner or the Semi finalists, for example One Direction: a make Music and a Film from them. A three way process that saves alot of money. This is a development of the Music Industry as it effects the institutions to make their artists more visual and attractive to their audience in order to make them a success.
The Music Industry has also developed into a Visual business, from Music Videos to TV shows. Syco is a great example of Synergy where they use all three. X factor advertises Artists to us, it gives the Artists a visual identity which the audience can relate to. Then are able to use the winner or the Semi finalists, for example One Direction: a make Music and a Film from them. A three way process that saves alot of money. This is a development of the Music Industry as it effects the institutions to make their artists more visual and attractive to their audience in order to make them a success.
Audiences are able to download music of certain websites for free. This has cause a manger problem for Media intuitions as there are losing, a great deal of money. However some institutions were able to use music software like Spotify and iTunes to help win some of that money back. There was one company EMI who went bust because they couldn't adapt quickly enough in this postmodern era. The lost of the EMI means that there are less chances of real talent getting signed, this has been the causes of the new music industry.
Throughout this essay i have stated example of how digital media has changed the music industry. It has given the audience more power and control which means that Media institutions have to adapt to the new music industry.
Saturday 20 April 2013
Mock
As digital media technology continues to develop, it has made a significance on media institutions.
Media has become visualised. Audiences now like to engaje and relate to music. Music videos allow audenices to do this, making music very visualised. Without the music video the soundtrack would not make it, as audenices are not nessacarily interested in a soundtrack that sounds similar to another track as much as the video that goes with it. An example of this is PSL 'Gangnam style'. The actual soundtrack to this song in not authentic and sounds similar to everything else. However, by making a music video that has a dance that everyone will remember and associate the soundtrack with, made the track very successful and resulted in being number 1 in the charts and going global, by the use of youtube.
There is new technology that has enabled consumers to produce their own soundtracks. Software such as garageband and others like it, make it easy to produce mash ups and soundtracks made by anyone. Most music today is synthetic and as a result make its very easy for prosumers to create mash ups of already existing tracks into their own using this software. This has a significant effect on media institutions as it can de-value and lose originality of the soundtracks. In contrast, it can act positively for the audience as they feel a sense of interacting with artists and music, they can also gain a good fan base from doing this as it can cover a range of genres into one track and a wider audience is covered. An example of this is Madeon. He has created a mash up of well known songs and made his own track out of them. This can take away the authenticity of the original songs and de-value them, as it is taking away the meaning. Another example of this, is the band I am in. Five of us have created a band 'fyve', we then extracted music from youtube and by using garageband created a mash up of well known songs. We then made a music video for the track, by doing this we gained 200 views on our track on youtube. This shows the impact tecnology has had on the audience, as now they are able to produce their own music without being signed to a music label.
Tv programmes, such as the x-factor use the visual aspect of music. SYCO the record label that is behind x-factor is a label of the conglomerate, Sony. As a result of this x-factor is able to use the back catalogue of Sony in their programme. This enables the smaller artists to record their own versions of original songs. This can have a positive effect on the music industry as the original tracks also come back into the charts.
New media technology, such as smart phones and other devices allow audiences easy consumption to streaming and downloading music. This can de-value the music, and prevent a wider range of artists, as the labels are unable to take the risk of funding artists that do not already have a big fan base and the conglomerate EMI went bust. This also causing record shops like HMV to go bust, as the demand for physical copies has gone down due to new media technology.
Social networking sites, such as Twitter, instagram etc. allows a closer interaction between the audience and artists. They have a positive impact on media institutions, as it is free advertising, and promotes artists. Independants artists are also able to promote their music, for example my band 'fyve', have over 1,500 likes on social networking sites, instantly making people aware of our work and distributing it.
Overall, media technology developing has made a significant imoact on the media institution as it is much easier to distribute worldwide. Also marketing is much cheaper. It allows small independent companies to grow, promote and distribute through the internet. However, the negative effect is that illegal downloads and streaming is easily accessible, therefore music labels are having to make their money through festivals and merchandising.
Media has become visualised. Audiences now like to engaje and relate to music. Music videos allow audenices to do this, making music very visualised. Without the music video the soundtrack would not make it, as audenices are not nessacarily interested in a soundtrack that sounds similar to another track as much as the video that goes with it. An example of this is PSL 'Gangnam style'. The actual soundtrack to this song in not authentic and sounds similar to everything else. However, by making a music video that has a dance that everyone will remember and associate the soundtrack with, made the track very successful and resulted in being number 1 in the charts and going global, by the use of youtube.
There is new technology that has enabled consumers to produce their own soundtracks. Software such as garageband and others like it, make it easy to produce mash ups and soundtracks made by anyone. Most music today is synthetic and as a result make its very easy for prosumers to create mash ups of already existing tracks into their own using this software. This has a significant effect on media institutions as it can de-value and lose originality of the soundtracks. In contrast, it can act positively for the audience as they feel a sense of interacting with artists and music, they can also gain a good fan base from doing this as it can cover a range of genres into one track and a wider audience is covered. An example of this is Madeon. He has created a mash up of well known songs and made his own track out of them. This can take away the authenticity of the original songs and de-value them, as it is taking away the meaning. Another example of this, is the band I am in. Five of us have created a band 'fyve', we then extracted music from youtube and by using garageband created a mash up of well known songs. We then made a music video for the track, by doing this we gained 200 views on our track on youtube. This shows the impact tecnology has had on the audience, as now they are able to produce their own music without being signed to a music label.
Tv programmes, such as the x-factor use the visual aspect of music. SYCO the record label that is behind x-factor is a label of the conglomerate, Sony. As a result of this x-factor is able to use the back catalogue of Sony in their programme. This enables the smaller artists to record their own versions of original songs. This can have a positive effect on the music industry as the original tracks also come back into the charts.
New media technology, such as smart phones and other devices allow audiences easy consumption to streaming and downloading music. This can de-value the music, and prevent a wider range of artists, as the labels are unable to take the risk of funding artists that do not already have a big fan base and the conglomerate EMI went bust. This also causing record shops like HMV to go bust, as the demand for physical copies has gone down due to new media technology.
Social networking sites, such as Twitter, instagram etc. allows a closer interaction between the audience and artists. They have a positive impact on media institutions, as it is free advertising, and promotes artists. Independants artists are also able to promote their music, for example my band 'fyve', have over 1,500 likes on social networking sites, instantly making people aware of our work and distributing it.
Overall, media technology developing has made a significant imoact on the media institution as it is much easier to distribute worldwide. Also marketing is much cheaper. It allows small independent companies to grow, promote and distribute through the internet. However, the negative effect is that illegal downloads and streaming is easily accessible, therefore music labels are having to make their money through festivals and merchandising.
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