Initial Research, Influences And Ideas - Genres Of Interest

Indie
Walk The Moon (Indie Pop)
In the early Walk The Moon videos, they tended to have one shot for the entire song, such as in Shiver Shiver:

Shiver Shiver - Walk The Moon (2012)

Unofficial music videos (part of the "7in7" series), hand-made, band-made by WALK THE MOON without a film crew or a budget.

In this video, the band only appear at the end, and don't have any instruments. The lead singer appears first (around 2:10), and lip syncs with the lead, and the rest of the band joins at around 3:02. However, their video for Tightrope isn't a one shot, breaking their trend in music videos. It was also shot with a budget in a studio, rather than shot by the band with no budget.

Tightrope - Walk The Moon (2012)

Directed by Ari Costa

All their videos are narrative and/or conceptual, with little to no performance apart from lip syncing. Also, their music is mostly voice, guitars, bass, drums and synthesizers, which is common in the indie pop genre.

Everything Everything (Indie Pop)

Once again, the music videos for Everything Everything songs are mainly conceptual, with some performance and narrative, with lip syncing. For example, in the Cough Cough video, the oil is representing money, and difficulties with money, such as "compromising yourself when you have to make a living", and in the Kemosabe video, the band is performing in the woods.

From these videos, and others that I have watched, I have found that most indie videos are mainly conceptual and or/narrative, with some performance, which may just be lip syncing, or entire band set ups with instruments and other equipment like microphones. Also, lesser known indie artists tend to have little to no budgets for their music videos, and those who are more well known have more professional videos. Both tackle more complex themes in their lyrics and videos, sometimes using key images in the videos to convey the themes (such as the oil in the Cough Cough video).

Pop

To contrast with indie music videos, pop videos tend to be simpler in terms of what themes they explore, and are more performance and narrative based than conceptual, so as to appeal more universally. Pop videos are also much more professional looking, as they have higher budgets due to the mainstream stars that are making them, such as:

Jessie J - Wild

This video is entirely studio based, meaning the conditions can be completely controlled to get the exact look they want, therefore they have complete control over the image of the stars, such as portraying Jessie J as a powerful woman (for example at 4:00 where she is standing over Big Sean). There are no complex concepts in the video, as it is entirely focused on 

One Direction - Kiss You

This video is another example of the difference between pop and indie videos - this has a loose narrative, with lip syncing throughout the video - in this case the lip syncing is performance as the band don't play any instruments. The band is being portrayed as 'quirky' and 'fun', and the narrative of the video is that they are making a video (such as the 'behind the scenes' shots like the photoshoot scenes at 2:01). There are reoccurring scenes ensuring the narrative is easy to follow for the audience, which contrasts with some indie videos where a concept may only be explored once in the video.

Folk

I would also be interested in creating a music video for a song by Passenger, for example, or similar artists, as the lyrics can be interpreted in many ways, and give many ideas for key images and themes.  The songs also tend to explore complex themes, or more serious themes than those explored by pop songs. For example, Passenger said Hearts On Fire "is a nostalgic song. It's about when the timing with someone isn't right, even thought the person might be. And although you're not with the person at the time, there may be a moment in the future where the relationship makes more sense."

Initial Research, Influences And Ideas - Audiences

As shown by the surveys, different ages and genders of audience tend to have different tastes in music, such as the 19 year old female liking electric dance music compared to the 56 year old female who prefers more gentle folk music. However, there is also some similar taste, such as the 56 year old female liking a more modern band (Walk The Moon), which the 17 year old female also likes, suggesting that certain genres (more gentle indie pop in this case) appeal to more than one generation. However, there is also variation within the same age range, shown by the three 17 year olds - one male likes rap, whereas the other likes more indie music (such as Kanye West compared to Vampire Weekend).  The surveys also show that younger people are less willing to spend money on music, and mainly torrent rather than pay for it. On the other hand, older generations are more likely to buy CDs (or vinyls when they were younger). It is also apparent that younger people listen to music more often using portable devices such as i-pods, compared to the older generations who listen to music less frequently, and on the radio.

Initial Research, Influences and Ideas - Record Labels

A record label is a brand associated with the marketing of a musical artist, their music records and their music videos. A label may also coordinate production, distribution and marketing of the artists, as well as enforcing copyright on their music records and videos. A label may also scout new taletns and develop new artists, and may have contracts with the artists and their managers.

Major Record Labels
Sony Music Entertainment is a music corporation owned and operated by Sony Corporation of America, which is a branch of the Japanese Sony Corporation. Sony Music Entertainment owns three major record labels: Colombia Records, Epic Records and RCA Records. Colombia Label Group distributes artists outside of the US, including in the UK, and is part of the UK branch of Sony Music. Syco Entertainment, or Syco, is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and marketing of music, television, film and digital content. It is also another UK branch, and Syco Music is one of the UK distributed labels of Sony Music. The corporation signs a variety of genres of artists, including One Direction (pop, signed to Syco), Daft Punk (french house , signed to Colombia Records), Beyoncé (pop, signed to Colombia Records) and Foo Fighters (alternative rock, signed to Colombia Records).

Independent Record Labels
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, originally funded by Beggars Banquet Records. Artists are also distributed by Beggars Group. Genres on this label include alternative rock, indie rock, post-punk and gothic rock, and artists signed to this label include Daughter (indie folk), Bon Iver (indie folk) and Iron & Wine (folk). 

FatCat Records is an independent label based in Brighton, England. The genres they produce includes electronica, post rock, indie, punk-pop and some pop. They are also located in New York, America.

Domino Recording Company, generally known as Domino, is an independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, NY that handles releases in the United States. It produces indie pop and indie rock artists, such as Arctic Monkeys (indie rock), Franz Ferdinand (indie rock) and Hot Chip (synthpop).

Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England. Originally active from 1976 to 1985, the label was reactivated in 2007. The label produces artists of the pub rock, punk rock and new wave genres, such as Elvis Costello (pub rock), Pink Fairies (punk rock) and Madness (new wave). 




Unsigned Artists
An unsigned artist is not under a contract with a record label, and they release their own material. UK unsigned artists are able to use services such as The Unsigned Guide to access music industry contacts, as well as information on how to get signed to a record label or how to market music independently. The Unsigned Guide is an online contacts directory and careers guide for the UK music industry. It was founded in 2003, as is produced specifically for emerging musical artists and managers and the UK music industry. It contains information covering all aspects of the music industry such as record labels, PR companies, gig promoters, venues and music distribution. For example, Ed Sheeran's earlier EPS (Loose Change, for instance) were self-released before he was signed to Atlantic Records. Marie Naffah is a London born singer-songwriter, and was named MTV's Unsigned Artist Of 2014.
A lot of unsigned artists use the internet to distribute their music, such as posting videos on YouTube, like 5 Seconds Of Summer or Justin Bieber before they get scouted and signed, or other sites like SoundCloud, where artists like Royal Blood post their original music. Artists also play gigs in order to try and become noticed in the music industry, and try to gain a reputation through word-of-mouth, or they are support acts for larger artists to again try and gain some fans and reputation - examples of this include Ed Sheeran, who played hundreds of small gigs before he reached number 2 on the i-tunes chart in 2011 with his independent EP No. 5 Collaborations Project, which featured a number of grim artists including Wiley. This led to him being signed to Atlantic Records. Royal Blood are another example - whilst they are now signed to Warner Bros. Records and Black Mammoth Records, were unsigned when they formed in 2013. After it was announced that they would open for Arctic Monkeys for their two Finsbury Park shows (May 2014), the band was signed to Warner Bros in December 2013. They were nominated for the BBC Sound Of 2014, and their debut album 'Royal Blood' is currently number two in the UK, followed by Ed Sheeran's 'x', as shown below.

Initial Research, Influences and Ideas - Gaps In The Market

Currently the top three selling albums are by male artists, with Sam Smith at number one, followed by Royal Blood and Ed Sheeran. This suggests that whilst male artists sell well, there is a gap for female solo artists and bands.

Once again, the chart is dominated by male artists, with only three female artists in the i-tunes top singles. Once again, I think this implies that there could be a gap for female artists, of mainly rock, pop or dance genre - for example, Taylor Swift's sing 'Shake It Off' is of the pop genre, whereas Iggy Azalea's single 'Black Widow' is rap. Both singles were relatively successful, suggesting that there is a gap for more female artists in the charts. The i-tunes top albums chart further implies this, as there are no female artists in the top five, and it is dominated by all male bands or male solo artists. Whilst this does show the trend that male artists are currently more successful, it also shows that there could be a chance for a female solo artist or band to become successful. Also, all the albums are either rock or pop, implying that these genres are currently trending, but also suggesting that there could be a gap for different genres, such as rap or indie.

Initial Research, Influences And Ideas - Current Trends In Popular Music

The table on the left shows that in 2011 and 2012, pop was the highest selling genre by album, with rock in a close second. However, in 2013, rock was the highest selling genre by album, with pop as the next highest selling genre. This suggests that both pop and rock are currently the most popular genres of music. Albums of the dance genre are the next highest selling genre, but are about 20% less popular than rock and pop.

 The chart to the right once again shows that pop and rock are the most popular genres, and have been the top selling genres since 2009. Once again, dance is the third top selling genre, 20% behind pop. Rock and pop have been the most popular genres of single sales since 2009, with pop remaining the highest selling genre.

The tables to the left further confirm that rock and pop are the most popular genre, with dance as the third most popular genre.

Initial Research, Influences And Ideas - What Is Selling Well

The table on the left shows the top ten best selling albums of 2013. The most prominent genre appears to be pop music, as 6 out of the 10 albums could be considered pop, such as One Direction's 'Midnight Memories'.

To the right is a table showing the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's 'Global Recording Artist Chart', which shows the popularity of artists across a wider range of channels, including digital downloads, physical format sales and streaming services. Once again, One Direction tops the chart, and pop artists dominate over other genres, again suggesting the pop genre is the best selling genre.

The table to the left shows the top global singles of 2013. The pop genre occurs most, further suggesting that pop is currently the top selling genre. However, the table below of the top three albums sold in the UK in September 2014 show that a pop punk album (Royal Blood's 'Royal Blood') is at the top, with pop albums in second and third place. This suggests that rock is also a high selling genre of music in the UK. Another table, from September 2013, shows that an album of the alternative rock genre (The 1975's 'The 1975') was at the top of the album chart.

Album Chart from September 2014

Album Chart from September 2013

Initial Research, Influences And Ideas - Myself As A Consumer

I tend to listen to music in the morning when I get ready for and walk to school, and when I am at home in the evening, such as when doing my homework, either using my I-pod or my computer. I also attend the gigs of certain artists that I like more, as I think the atmosphere of a live performance enhances the consumption of the music.
I like to share my favourite songs with friends and family, and also like to hear theirs, as it can expand my music collection, and I get to show them what I like as well. I also like to show friends and family songs that I find that may remind me of them, or I think they would enjoy. However, I also like to have music to myself, as something that I can turn to when I feel like being alone or just having some time separate from others.
I enjoy listening to music for a variety of reasons - sometimes I like the melody of the song, or I like it as background noise for when I'm doing another task. In other instances, I may like the message of the lyrics, or relate to the lyrics in some way. I also think music can help to cheer people up, or help them through a difficult time, as some lyrics may reflect something that they may be struggling with, or it may help to make a person happier. I also think music is a good means of escapism, as it can distract you from the outside world (such as if you listen to it using headphones), or it can tell a story or send a message.

A Song From My Childhood - Earl Grant 'House Of Bamboo'

This song reminds me of my childhood, as my sister and I used to listen to it on the vinyl player in the living room for hours. My main influence on my music consumption was my dad, as he used to play us reggae, funk and jazz frequently.

A Song From My Early Teenage Years - Gorillaz 'Dare'

The Gorillaz album 'Demon Days' was the first album my sister and I got that introduced us to more alternative music, and Gorillaz was one of the first bands I saw live. I listened to this album constantly, and this song was my favourite.

A Song That Means Something To Me Now - Passenger 'Heart's On Fire'

This song means something to me now, as Passenger was the first artist that I found that led to me finding more alternative, indie and folk music. This song is also my favourite by him, and is similar to other songs that I listen to, although I also listen to much more upbeat music too. I'm not really influenced by anyone in terms of my musical consumption now, as I tend to just listen to what I like, regardless of what others may think of my music taste. However, I do take the opinions and suggestions of friends and family into account, and can happily listen to most genres of music.