P1: Music Industry

Wednesday 30th October 2019

30.10.19

The Music Industry

Learning Objective: to identify and explain different music genres.

Music Genres:

• Rock
• Country
• Classic
• Rap
• Pop
• Ballads
• K-pop
• Instrumental
• Jazz
• Hip Hop
• Theme tunes
• Reggae
• Kids music
• Heavy metal
• R n B
• Folk
• Musical theatre
• Dark Wave
• Blues
• Rock and Roll
• Drill
• Orchestral
• Black metal
• Thrash metal
• Death metal
• Trip pop
• Dubstep
• Acapella
• J-pop
• Choral
• Opera
• Indie
• Electronic
• Techno
• Grime
• Punk
• Soul

Rock:

What the stars look like - They usually wear dark coloured clothes and have long hair. They are also in a group a lot of the time even though there are some individual artists as well. Jeans, black leather jackets. Stereotypically male.

How do they sound? - Loud, guitar, drums and also fast paced. They also have a lot of vocals and keyboard. Quite heavy drums and electric guitars etc.

What ideas/themes do they sing about? - They sing a lot about love, social and political problems and also a lot of rebellion. 

Pop:

What the stars look like - Their clothes are more brightly coloured and they wear a lot of makeup and very up to date with fashion and depending on age then their clothes will be more revealing if their audience is older and the opposite for younger audiences. If they are female it would be a lot of hair and styled hair, feminine clothing. Male pop stars would have shorter hair compared and they are quite stylised as well.

How do they sound? - They have more electronic instruments and also have a lot of vocals. Slower than rock and they commonly use vocals, keyboards, drums.

What ideas/themes do they sing about? - They sing about relationships, things going on in the world and also how they feel and things.

Music Magazines

Learning Objective: to explore the terminology and genres of popular music magazines.

Typography - the font, style and shape of printed letters, numbers and symbols,
Layout - the way visual elements on the page are laid out and arranged
Lexis - the choice of words used
Colour palette - the full range of colours and choice of main colours used
Mise-en-scene - the setting and arrangement of props, light and costume


Genre Conventions

POP:

• Colour palette - bright colours that stand out, mainly pink, blue, green, yellow etc
• Image content & shot type - normally full body or most of their body and their clothes are also bright colours.
• Typography - the font is usually quite big and obvious, it is also bright colours. It is also quite bold and blocky, sans serif and upper and lower case mixture
• Lexis - they use words that get your attention and contain quite a bit of information in a small space.
• Layout - it usually has the main image of the person in the middle and then the text surrounding them and the title behind and in front of the main image

ROCK:

• Colour palette - they use quite dark colours mainly but they also add splashes of bright colours into it too, mainly reds and blues and greens.
• Image content & shot type - they usually have mid shots like pop and they are also central.
• Typography - the font is usually really bold and black but also with some brightly coloured for parts to stand out more, mixture of serif and sans serif fonts but all block caps.
• Lexis - they also use words that relate to the genre and also describe things easily
• Layout - they have big text for the titles and the main title is behind or above the main image with small parts of writing explaining the magazine is spread down the sides.

Didn't get to do hiphop.

Wednesday 6th November 2019

6.11.19

Music Magazines & Audiences

Learning Objective: to identify and analyse a target audience using demographics and psychographics.

Vanity Fair Magazine:

• The target audience is both men and women
• Age range is for 20-30 year olds
• For people with good jobs and are quite wealthy
• The interest is for people that like clothes and makeup and accessories etc

Vanity Fair Demographics:

• The race is mixed but mostly white
• The age is for 20-30 year olds and both genders
• Their location would be in cities and places where there are more wealthy people
• They would have good and well paid jobs and have quite a lot of money and quite a high disposable income
• Targeted at A/B groups 

Vanity Fair Psychographics:

• Young & Rubicam - The aspirer
• 
  

Identifying the audience:

• Age
• Gender
• Interest
• Occupation
• Class
• ReligionExisting or new audience
• Where they live
• Income
• Interests
• Mass or niche - mass is a very large group or people and niche means a small group of people.
• Values/ideology
• Personality

Psychographics:
Young & Rubicam - 

Lifestyle categories:
















VALs:













































Demographics:

• It is aimed at teenagers or young adults
• They are mixed race usually
• Their location would usually be in cities but also towns too
• They would have normal paying jobs

Psychographics:

• Any part of the Young & Rubicam, there isn't a specific one for this magazine
• It could be for groupies or trendies mainly but it could also be anyone
• Contented conformers, strivers and self actualisers mainly

Wednesday 13th November 2019

13/11/19

Genre & Target Audience

Learning Objective: to identify target audiences for a variety of music magazines genres and link to genre codes.


The dark colours connote that that the magazine is aimed at a (mainly male) older TA. The cover talks about the past that only older people would know about. The target audience may be more wealthy and have better jobs and highly educated. They are also mainly strivers as it is about coming back and reinventing yourself and being the best. Apart from the minor image of the woman in the corner, there is a dominance of males on the cover. They use capital and sans serif letters to apply to the audience by making it seem strong and what would stand out to the teenagers and adults. The design shows the main image which will appeal to the TA and the cover also shows that it is for innovators as well as it is quite different from other covers.


On this cover, the colours are brighter which would appeal to younger and also older audiences than what an ordinary pop magazine would be aimed at. For business leaders and people that want to get involved with the pop music industry. It connotes that the magazine is for pop and upbeat music and that helps it to appeal as well. There is a mix of capitals and lowercase and serif and sans serif and serious font which suggests an older target audience and the writing is in a lot of detail. The production values are quite high and a studio shoot for the cover and overall it is quite stylish. It makes the title stand out and lets people know easily what is in the magazine. The style of the cover is quite different and that would appeal to trendsetters and aspirers as they like style and for things to be up to date.


The cover has mainly dark colours and also a mix of bright which shows that it is mainly rock as they are usually those colours. This would appeal to adults or older teens that are interested in the genre of rock. The text is in capital sans serif which appeals to the audience more and it makes all the titles stand out more. This also appeals to trendsetters and aspirers. It is for people who have a higher education or don't, higher paying jobs or maybe not etc. The colours are mainly males as there is the block capitals and dark colours. The language in the cover lines is quite simple compared to some other magazines and could show that it is for people that also don't have a higher education. It is also aimed at rebels and shows a lot of rebellion in it like the text etc.


It is aimed at mainly males because of the cover style and it is all male in terms of the content and also the dark colours. His race would reflect the audience and more African American people would buy it. The audience is for more mature and older people, this is shown because the magazine also has lifestyle things within it.

Friday 15th November 2019

15.11.19

The Magazine Industry 

Learning Objective: to explore the magazine industry ownership, regulation & revenue.

Conglomerate: a thing consisting of a number of different and distinct parts or items that are grouped together. (a company made up of multiple businesses)

Globalised: develop or be developed so as to make international influence or operation possible. (reaches worldwide and not one country)

Diversify: make or become more diverse or varied. (expand target audience by making a different product)

Regulation: a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority. (rules that media companies have to follow, who sets guidelines/rules that media companies have to follow)

Revenue: income, especially when of an organisation and of a substantial nature. (money and profit)

Circulation: movement to and fro or around something, especially that of fluid in a closed system. (number of copies that newspapers and magazines make)

Who publishes these magazines:

• What's on TV - TI Media
• Radio Times - BBC Magazines
• TV Choice  - Bauer
• Take a Break - Bauer
• Good Housekeeping - Hearst
• Cosmopolitan - Hearst
• BBC Gardeners' World - Immediate Media 

Bauer Media: Research

How many magazines does Bauer own?

600 magazines worldwide

What two UK music magazines does it publish?

MOJO and Q

How have they diversified the MOJO brand?

They have diversified the MOJO brand by creating mojoformusic.com

What other types of media companies does Bauer own?

Radio stations, websites, TV channels, postal services.


Which angencies regulate magazines?
IPSO and Impress

Which one one has Bauer joined<?
IPSO

Magazines receive revenue from which FOUR sources?

• Sell advertising space (in MOJO, mostly live or recorded music with some fashion advertising, some mass advertising - e.g Specsavers - and some cross promotion for other Bauer brands, such as Empire)
• Circulation (cover price - £5.25 for MOJO in 2017)
• Sponsored content and product placement, for example 'MOJO listens to all its music on Roksan equipment
• Events e.g Vogue runs fashion events, GQ runs comedy events

Bauer Media Group is a diversified media conglomerate because they have made mojoformusic.com and also use events as not many people read magazines anymore. They also print media and radio stations, websites and TV channels which diversified Bauer as well and people will see it more.

Wednesday 20th November 2019

20.11.19

MOJO Magazine

Learning Objective: to explore & define the magazine's target audience

Brand image:

Our award-winning editorial team prides itself in delivering a magazine that is packed with insight, passion, and revelatory encounters with the greatest musicians of all-time, be they established or emerging musicians.

The magazine is loved by its readers and artists alike because it engages them on the subject they love the most: music itself.

Every month MOJO brings you a definitive cover feature on an iconic act; a bespoke CD (especially compiled by the editorial team or a major musician in MOJO’s world); and our famous reviews section, the Filter, which brings you 30 pages-plus of the best of that month’s music, both classic and contemporary.

MOJO is the WORLD’S LARGEST UK MUSIC MAGAZINE, delivering a monthly dose of world class journalism and iconic photography to an audience of extremely passionate music consumers. If you’re featured in MOJO, you matter.

MOJO is the brand for those truly OBSESSED with music

MOJO is THE MUSIC EXPERT – a magazine of high brand values and integrity. A carefully crafted musical archive covering the very best of music across genres. From classic and modern rock, folk, soul, country to reggae, electronic and experimental. It prefers to celebrate quality over popularity – music that will stand the test of time.

MOJO has (in 2016-17) a fairly small circulation of about 68,000 and a readership of about 138,000. Its audience is more niche than those for Take a Break or Cosmopolitan which each have readerships of well over 1 million.

68% male

Mean age is 42

ABC1 profile 49%

• Passionate about music since he was a teenager
• Loves older rock bands
• Status is important
• Passionate and discerning 
• Loves the good things in life (strivers maybe)
• Seeks out the best in modern music 
• Good job - high disposable income
• Likes live music and goes to gigs/festivals regularly 
• Mostly listens to music on vinyls and CDs or streams his music
• Will pay for his music
• Fan of classic rock
• Wants to learn about good new music too
• Likes a mix of genres
• Well read/educated
• Likes to be the one who discovers 'new'  music first and recommends to friends
• Explorer/succeeder (Y&R)
• Striver/experiencer (VALs)

Wednesday 27th November 2019

27/11/19

MOJI: Uses & Gratifications

Learning Objective: to identify what audiences get out of music magazines

Personal Identity:

• Fandom - reinforces the reader's sense of being a fan of a particular genre or artist.
• MOJO magazine addresses educated lovers of 'authentic' music and so might serve to reinforce that identity.
• Offers aspirational role models - musical stars - with whom their readers may identify.
• MOJO magazine features a 'legendary' musician on the cover every month.
• MOJO magazine values popular music in the seriousness with which it is discussed and celebrates the 'classic rock' values of authenticity and passion.

Social Interaction:

• Music magazines offer news and gossip that might form the basis of real-life conversations
• Music magazines usually follow a familiar format and offer regular features and sections. This familiarity might provide a substitute for real life interaction.

Entertainment:

• Offer a range of entertainment pleasures, such as comedy, gossip, CDs and other free gifts, striking visuals and attractive stars.
• MOJO magazine offers escape from everyday life into the affairs pf bands and artists.

Surveillance: 

• Music magazines give you information about music.
• MOJO magazine offers: what goes on, answers to reader's questions and filter which includes reviews.

Cover Analysis

Learning Objective: to analyse the cover of a magazine, linking it to genre and audience.

Babyboomer generation - term used to describe a person who was born between 1946 and 1964 and the years following WW2.

Diversification - the action of diversifying something or the fact of becoming more diverse.
Audience address - The audience at a play, concert, film, or public meeting is the group of people watching or listening to it, how the text speaks to the audience.
Discerning - having or showing good judgement.
House style - a company's preferred manner of presentation and layout of written material.



Shot type - Mid shot
Star vehicle - Dave Grohl
Colour palette - White, blue, black, red and yellow
Bands/artists mentioned - Dave Grohl, David Gilmour, Ian Dury, Nirvana, Cat Stevens and Elvis.
Masthead style - Background
Main cover line style - Yellow & white sans serif
Minor cover line style - Yellow & white serif
Puff - Free CD and stamp on other corner
USP (Freebies) - Free CD
Placement of text - Middle, sides, top and down the right side

Analysis
Shot type - The mid shot is unusual as other magazine use close ups. But they use the mid shot so that they can also add in the free CD without it covering the image. It will show the person and their facial expression without it being too close up and covering a lot of the front cover.
Star vehicle - They have a serious facial expression which could show the magazine is serious and important. Also, they are a rock artist so that would show that the magazine includes rock and genres similar to that and they match the theme of the cover. He is an established rock artist and was in one of the most famous bands and also an iconic role model for people that are interested in rock music.
Colour palette - The colours are quite dark which reflects the rock part but it also has a few bright colours like yellow, red and blue which is also normal for a rock magazine cover. The background of the cover is blue which isn't what they usually look like but you can still tell that it is a rock cover. Red could link to danger and love but also strength and domination which could show that the rock genre is being shown as more important than a lot of the others. The yellow could link to happiness but it also really bright which would attract someone to read it and catch their attention and it could possibly mean creativity and enthusiasm. The creativity and enthusiasm could link to the artists themselves being creative and enthusiastic about music. Furthermore, the colour blue has connotations of confidence and intelligence which could be reflecting that rock artists are confident in their music and what they make but also intelligent with how they write it and make music themselves. The darker colours are usually used in rock themed things like album covers and magazines etc.
Bands/artists mentioned - The bands and artists mentioned are all somehow related to rock and also a bit of pop. This shows the main genres they would talk about and some of the artists are less well-known than others which shows their range of artists and bands that they choose, but also shows that they choose specific and successful artists that quite a lot of people would like. They are written in serif which is quite traditional and that could reflect that the artists themselves are traditional. Moreover, this could show that some of the artists are American rock artists as the font is what American rock artists use a lot of the time.
Masthead style - The masthead is bold so that you can see it even if it is behind the image and it is in sans serif which shows that the magazine is modern and stylish. It could also show that the information is up to date. It is also in the top middle which also shows that it is an important part of the cover and will appeal to the audience. All of this could be what a big music fan would like and they will know that the information is up to date and the magazine is modern. The masthead could appeal to the explorers and succeeders (in the Young and Rubicam psychographic model) in the target audience as they like listening to new artists and telling them to their friends as shown in the specific MOJO target audience. 
Main cover line style - The main cover line is smaller than the masthead but it is big enough that you know it is an important part of the cover. The yellow and white are bright compared to the black so that helps it stand out more and appeal to the audience. The colours also very much reflect the genre which could show what the magazine is about and what it includes.
Minor cover line style - The minor cover line is smaller than the main cover line but like the main cover line, it is bright and large enough that the reader would want to read it. The font is sans serif which is different to a lot of the other fonts but separates it from the main cover line. It is also the colours of red, yellow and white which again reflects the rock genre.
USP - The USP free CD could appeal to the target audience because they might by the magazine more if they are also getting a free gift with the magazine. It also provides entertainment for the people buying it which is a big part of music magazines. This could show they have enough viewers to be able to supply with a free CD and possibly know what the viewers like.
Placement of text - The placement of texts mainly in the middle and down the sides and at the top. This would attract the reader's attention and make them read it more. The masthead has been put at the top centre and made to be big so that you read it first. They also have more text in the middle and down the sides and big enough so that it gets the reader's attention.

DIRT (unfinished)
WWW: a very detailed analysis linking the conventions to genre and content DIRT: add in the audience appeal to the specific MOJO target audience on P1: Music Industry

Wednesday 11th December 2019

11/12/19

Representation

Learning Objective: to explore the concept of representation in music magazines

Stereotypes:

• Teenagers - moody, troublemakers, lazy, smokers, don't listen to their parents
• Men - lazy, moody, annoying, angry, materialistic, workout a lot, arrogant
• Americans - loud, annoying, fat, business over family
• Lesbians - short hair, appear strong

Age - On the cover, she is shown to appeal to maybe both teenagers and older audiences.
Gender -Shown as being really feminine and female because she is wearing a dress and has a lot of flowers on her body.
Genre - The genre would be pop as she is wearing bright colours and the whole cover is bright which links more to pop
Personality -

Friday 13th  December 2019

13/12/19

Exam Prep

Learning Objective: to explore the possible exam tasks for music magazines

Paper 2: Music & News
1hr 15mins
70 marks total
Section A: Music

• 35 marks
• 5 questions
• 3 areas: magazines, music videos and radio

Magazine Question Types:

1 mark - identity

4 or 5 mark (x2) - explain/analyse (4 mark = radio)

10 mark - analyse (music videos)

15 mark - analyse/evaluate 

Who publishes MOJO magazine?

• Bauer

Who regulates magazines and newspapers in the UK?

• IPSO or Impress

What genre is MOJO magazine?

• Classic rock

What is the term used to describe a company that branches out into other media areas in order to make more money?

• Diversify or diversification

Possible Magazine Questions (5 marks)

Look at ONE cover

• Analyse the use of STEREOTYPES in Extract 1
• Analyse the REPRESENTATION of (genre/artist/audience) in cover 1

Possible Magazine Question (15 marks)

Looking at BOTH covers

Analyse the use of MEDIA LANGUAGE (10 marks)

• Audience
• Genre

Make a JUDGEMENT & come to a CONCLUSION about the differences (5 marks)

5 Mark Practice

Analyse the use of stereotypes in the representations in Extract 1, the front cover of MOJO magazine.

MOJO magazine uses stereotypes to show the rock element of the cover. They will use dark colours but also brighter ones which reflects the genre. However, it isn't traditional stereotypes of femininity because they make her have a counter stereotype. Her hair is short and is wearing a lot of black and the colour palette has connotations of not as glamorous as she would usually be expected. Her facial expression is sexualised and that is quite stereotypical for women on magazine covers. This could all link into the "punk" part of the text on the cover. Rock music would link to love and drugs which could represent the text of "Heartache and Heroin" so this would be quite stereotypical for being punk and a rock artist. She is further shown as a rebel which is stereotypical for the artist.

Wednesday 8th January 2019

08/01/19

Music Videos

Music Video Styles:

Learning Objective: to research chosen case studies and how they are represented.

Performance - A music video style that focuses on the performance of an artist.

Narrative - A music video that tells a visual story.

Concept - A music video that focuses on artistic elements and visual style to explore a concept or idea.

Friday 10th January 2020

10/01/20

Music Videos (continued).

Music Videos aim to:

• Promote both album and single sales.
• Promote new artists to an audience and maintain an audience focus on an existing artist.
• Promote an image of an artist or band that is exciting and dynamic.
• Entertain the audience and encourage re-plays of the video.
• Create visual images that convey the meaning and story of the song.

Music videos can feature the artists themselves or actors, and usually follow the codes and conventions of two main styles.

The performance music video
The different components in a performance music video are:

• Footage of the artists performing, singing or playing instruments. The mode of address may be direct so the audience feel the artist performing to them specifically. For example, One Direction's, You and I.
• Clips from concert footage which often shows the crowd and makes the viewer feel part of the concert audience. For example, Justin Timberlake's Take Back the Night.
• Artists and band may perform their songs in unusual places, such as cliff tops or on tropical beaches.
•  Footage of the band in informal situations that illustrate their job, such as casually singing on a tour bus or in their rehearsal room. For example The Vamps video Wild Heart.
• Unless the single or album that is being promoted is a live recording, all the video vocal performances will be lip-synced.

The Narrative music video
A narrative music video will usually:

• Tell the story of the song lyrics through technical codes and how the video is edited. A good example of this is the Olly Murs' video Dear Darlin'.
• Use actors to tell the story of the song, although sometimes the narrative will cut back and forth between the actors playing roles and the music artist performing. This is what happens in the Carly Rae Jepsen video I Really Like You.
• A music video can take the form of a short film to communicate the meaning of the song by using the same narrative techniques as a feature film. Taylor Swift's Blank Space, or Kanye West's Runway - which is an epic 34 minutes - are good examples of this.

15/1/20

😠Music Video's

Music videos use artistic elements to enhance the overall piece. Some videos are purely artistic since they show sequences with no obvious narrative and no singing. They can be described as artistic as they purposefully manipulate images but don't tell any sort of story. Purely artistic videos are more common in electronic or experimental videos. 

An artistic performance video is a performance video which is heavily artistic.

Analysis: Apeshit.

Performance:

Dancing and back-up dancers, lip syncing to camera, performing/singing together.

Camera work-

Zoomed in and out, the camera moves around a lot, low angle and looking up, mid shot, close ups to show power,

Mise-en-scene-

Bright colours, artwork, different lighting in each shot, museum/ art gallery, opulent setting, lost of costumes, rich/royal.

Analysis: This is america

Music Video Style: The story is abstract

Performance- 

Camera work-

All one continuous shot for the whole music video.  

Mise-en-scene-  

Plenary: Using narrative effectively. 

A narrative-based video can be more meaningful than a performance-based video. It can also be easier to film/edit.

Why? To make a performance video interesting for 3-5 minutes, it needs to be extremely varied, achieved through careful choreography, filming techniques editing. 

The stage environment needs to be well designed, lighting needs to be effective... it can be hard to achieve. 

Music video theory.

LO: Explore music video theory in more detail. 

Andrew Goodwin writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' (Routledge 1992) 

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. 

2. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. 

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. 

4. 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).

5. There is a frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. 

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos, etc) which can contribute to the postmodernism of music videos. 

John Stuart describes the must video as "incorporating, raiding and reconstructing" is essentially the essence of intertextuality. 

Using something with which the audience may be familiar to generate both potentially nostalgic associations and new meanings. 

It is perhaps more explicitly evident in the music video that in any other media form, with the possible exception of advertising. 

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