Pre-Production Analysing an Artist (Part 1)

Justin Bieber

Pre-Production History of Music videos

"There has been lots of change in the sounds. There have also been new singers with different voices bringing in different sounds. The instruments have changed as well, example over 50 years back acoustic were much more popular but then trends changed and electric guitars became the 'new thing'. Music will continue changing with new instruments and new talent." Music videos have been the ultimate growing trend in the media world, they have evolved from being a way of simply viewing singers and stars, to being a source of fashion and trend.

The 1950's

Released in april 1957

Due to the analogue and undeveloped technology music videos were shot in black and white, controversy has always been around but this was the begining. As a result of television being introduced in the 1950's, the studios and companies decided it was time to fill the gap in the market and start creating visuals for music created by popular artists.

The 1960's

Released August 1963

The beatles were a popular trend during the 1960's and performed numerous live gigs. At the time flashy music videos couldn't be created due to the absence of technology. However audience reactions were shown to emphasise the popularity of The Beatles, through doing this people were influenced at home by the editing style without realising it.

The 1970's

Released in 1976

Convergence of culture began to appear in the music industry as well as a new form of presenting music video. Many videos began to provide a narrative or some sort of montage of clips relating to a certain topic. In this particular video the audience was provided extra entertainment, something to grab their attention with. The trend of television was growing and the demand for music videos shot up.

http://youtu.be/fsDpznl8eIs

Song title: High way to hell 

By: AC/DC

Released in 1979

Controversy has increased over time, and this particular band had bad publicity due to the types of fans they attracted. The video is not performed live, it was recorded in a studio, meaning this was made solely for the 'people at home'. Almost to create an easily accessible way to rebel against what was expected of you

The 1980's

Released in 1981

Sexual reference and content started to become more regular and body image was highlighted, especially for women. Demand for funk and disco grew eventually leading to young 'hip-hop' artists. Todays labels have taken influence from the past and there have been a large number of sexually charged videos in recent times.

Released in 1984

Madonna offered fans consistent and controversial music videos, the video makes use of mis-en-scene and includes drinking alcohol as well as hints of sexual behaviour which at first would have been shocking. Women were begining to dress in more revealing clothes and had more freedom to self express themselves.

The 1990's

Released in 1990

Music videos became a method for artists and labels to create trends, i.e. 'MC Hammer Pants' became a trending style. Women are used in the video for visual appeal and in this particular video when the women appear, the editing suggests what the lyrics say "you can't touch this", partly influencing sexual behaviour. The video also sets a trend for dance moves- a style many modern artists chose to adapt with, modern examples would be, Soulja Boy and the Cali Swag District have used in 2010.

There was always heavy controversy surrounding Micheal Jackson, but by creating this music video he encouraged interratial relations and multi cultural behaviour. The 90's were a liberating time where cultures began to mix more and people came together. The World Wide Web was born in 1992, changing the way we communicate, changing the type of social groups we're used to speaking to. People became more customed to being around different ethnicities.

The 2000's

OK GO created a new fresh visually appealing technique of spreading word of mouth about their music as many artists have done over this past decade, such as Jessie J. By using clever choreography they were able to capture the essence of our generations creativity. People were able to connect with the artists due to the fact that they used simple and common machines to dance with.

The 2010's

There are heavy uses of effects and mise-en-scene, there is also a clear indication of multi cultural attitudes in the video above. The videos made from over 50 years ago were only viewable on television, now because of the development in technology, people all over the world are able to view any type of music video they wish, be it a band which is not very well known with an independant label or a mainstream artist with a major label.



Between the 2000's and the 2010's so far, there has been a large jump for the image of women. There have been large feminist movements through music, the above is a perfect example of what role women play in todays society and how world has socially adapted to gender roles reversing.

Pre-production Applying Marketing Strategies

Artists name: 4Cubed

Genre: Indie Rock

Type of Label: None 

 There are five different marketing stratagies used by artists or labels:

-Merchandising

-Synergy

-Print

-Broadcating

-New Media Technology

 Our target audience are a younger generation of teenagers who are more internet based, so it would be wise to use the stratagies in a way where we can market mainly online.

New Media Technology

Firstly to create word of mouth, we would use our resources of 'NMT' such as Digital cameras, iMacs, Youtube and Myspace to spread a range of well constructed, unique videos, for instance, a visual example of the type of viral videos we would want to create would be somewhat a simillar style to 'OKGO'. Their marketing technique proved successful for them as they eventually won a Grammy Award for "Best Short-Form Music Video" in 2007 "Here It Goes Again". If we were able to recreate such gorilla marketing, there would be a higher chance of getting recognised by major record label.

Then to further continue our viral marketing we would make use of blogs and other popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Then by constantly having the stars update their networking sites, fans would be provided with the oppertunity to feel more connected with their favourite 'internet celebrity' as most subscribers would with certain youtubers. There would be no cost in doing the above as everything online is free, in fact we would generate revenue through the partnership programme youtube provides. Also, when using Youtube as a means to present the groups work, other popular youtubers with large fan bases would be willing to colaborate, advertise and market across to their audience in return for copyright free music, allowing us to appeal to a wider niche.

Broadcasting

Once 4Cubed have reached a steady online fan base from the youtube vidoes and online viral marketing the band would then be open to performing at parties and organised gigs for free as well as performing on radio channels such as BBCRadio1 or on morning day time shows such as the 'capital breakfast show', this will further help to communicate as well as build a solid relationship with our desired audience just as an electro band from New Zealand, named 'The Naked and Famous' did. Our niche audience care for music where they can connect with the artist and relate to them, by seeing them perform live and by having 4Cubed entertain for free they are able to gain audience trust; for example, when 'Drake' began his music career he released his first mixtape for absolutely free to gain a sense of trust and loyalty from his fans, which then lead to his peak and current fame.

We would then move on to performing at live paid gigs over a period of time of around 3 months, then using the money earned from the perfomances we would set up something called "Sine of madness" inviting all of the 4Cubed fans, attracting them to the idea of being able to share a venue with other people who share the same musical interest with them."Sine of madness" would be marketed by building suspence and only letting the audience know abslutely vital information such as the time, venue and the fact that there will be a special surprise from 4cubed. This will spread rumours and create a 'buzz' amongst our target audience. "Sine of madness" would appeal to our target because of the clever play on words and as an active audience the witty humour would be admired. A realistic place of choice would be the 'Brompton hall' which is said to be "an intimate event, exhibition and conference venue for up to 2000 people, in West London."

Merchandising

Using the capital earned from youtube and our broadcasting process we would then move on to our 'merchandising phase'. In this section of our marketing plan we would purchase cheap materials and create Outer wear (Hoodies) as well as casual wear (t-shirts). We would release limited edition items, creating few of one design so that demand will be at a constant high. At first supply will be short due to low funding, however this will benefit us as it will create an 'exclusive' feel to our brand. Our target audience is one which cares for trends and items which no one else would have. Once demand shoots up supply will be increased due to high sales, however designs will be constantly changed, then reintroduced later to keep the niche target interested. Our 'sginiture colour' will mostly be neon or bright colours represented in a modern, stylish way.

Synergy

4Cubed can be marketed through synergy by being involved with numerous charity events, promoting the charitys they attend whilst also highlighting and creating a positive image for themselves. The type of organisation 4Cubed would be most likely to help, would be places such as SHELTER as their background story will mention that they were all homeless at one point. Taking the approach of assisting charaties would be the wisest decision as it provides a 'win, win' situation. Positive publicity for our chosen artist as well as a little community support and service.

Print

There will be numerous written online interviews with 4Cubed so the public can find out as much as possible about them. Information about the bands background can be spread around this way, and by having a 'facebook like' button or feature placed on the websites will allow room for more viral marketing. There will also be give aways as the target audience are young and constantly looking for chances to win in competitions and prizes, we would give away stylish hoodies and t-shirts in online competitions and youtube videos. The stars will vlog and 'advertise' their personality, and then at the end of the video they would suggest a give away and to win they would need to favourite, comment or like the video so a 'random generator' can choose a name and then contact them through youtube so that they can claim their prize, example of some youtubers who create music and do this are KevJumba, PhillipDeFranco and RayWilliamJohnson- the pattern in their views changed and increased.