Record label research.

Sony Music Entertainment (SonyME) and Finders Keepers Records are two record labels of different calibers as a result of their size. An argument could be made that global institutions like Sony dominate the music industry, but smaller companies often can cater to Niche audiences more effectively through the better understanding of their audience than large global institutions have. I will be examining how models of production, distribution and consumption have changed from the past to the present and the implications of future developments. I will argue that technological convergence has had an effect on the music industry and how illegal downloading has put the industry into decline.

Sony ME is a large multinational global corporation, which is part of an oligopoly. There are 3 other major labels that dominate the music industry these being EMI, Universal and Warner. Song ME attaining 22% of the market Share, placing them 2^nd out of the 4. They are a castle industry and a conglomerate with departments in Electronics, Films and Finance. They are an example of a converged multinational media institution as they control the music production and make the technology e.g. mobile phones, MP3 players and Blu-Ray discs. The audiences that Sony appeal to have a broad commercial appeal thus making Sony profit driven. Through the use of subsidiary labels Sony can appeal to their audience, three examples of subsidiary labels RCA, Columbia and EPIC Records. Each caters to a different target audience to the next. RCA appeals to a young R&B/Urban audience with artists like Shakira and Beyonce. Columbia Records appeal to a younger rock audience and have artist like Kings of Leon and Kassabian, and EPIC Record appeals to an older audience with artists like Michael Jackson.

Sony ME can also achieve Synergy to cross promote different products, the most frequently known example of synergy for Sony is Foo Fighters, a band signed to a subsidiary label of Sony ME, appearing on Guitar Hero, a video game designed for the Sony PlayStation. Sony artists also appear in films created by Sony pictures Will Smith, initially signed to Columbia records, was the star actor of the Men in Black trilogy. In the past Sony ME have merged with other subsidiary labels through horizontal integration A.K.A by buying them out.

A negative side of this approach to growing a record label is that Sony ME were recently sued by previously bought labels as a result have combine their subsidiaries into RCA Records.

The music industry as a whole is losing vast sums of money as a result of the increased rates of illegal downloading

Finders Keepers Records is the smaller record label I have learnt about. It has a staff of 3 people based in Manchester, in comparison to Sony who has thousands. Finders keepers have an advantage to Sony as they can cater to a small specific Niche Market that Sony ME will find hard to as Sony mainly care about the profits achieved, which is different to Finders keepers as their reason for being in the music industry is that they have a penchant in music. They are a re-issue label releasing obscure film soundtrack music, and other types of world music. Record collectors and music producers seem to be their target audience. Like Sony, Finders Keepers too have subsidiary labels and like Sony it allows them to cater for different audiences, Twisted Nerve is their leading subsidiary for local Manchurian bands in particular. Finder Keepers methods of obtaining records as they record little themselves is by finding songs out of the copyright laws, very old songs. Finders keepers often find themselves redesigning the album artwork to reinvent artists to best suite their audience. They realize that their audience prefers physical products (records and CD's) with detailed information of the artists and the songs rather than digital downloads from sources like iTunes. 

Lyric analysis

The first verse of the song introduces the admiration the artist has for his partner, at first it seems as If it is rawly about her beauty ‘When I look into your eyes, It's like watching the night sky, Or a beautiful sunrise, There's so much they hold’ It’s not until the lines ‘I see that you've come so far

To be right where you are’ that we can understand that his admiration to his partner is derived from the journey she has overcome with all the challenges that followed, maybe she had an issue such as a drug addiction or a lack of confidence, but has overcome this through perseverance in which the artist can relate to.

The chorus of the song introduces an issue in the relationship ‘I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough’ which shows his determination to love her. The issue is left to the audience’s imagination to create through the use of the metaphor ‘even if the skies get rough’ I perceived the issue to be either an argument that maybe got heated, or that his partner was found to be seeing someone else. The latter option would reinforce the magnitude of his love for her, as he would be willing to forgive and forget to maintain their relationship.

The second verse, but the third stanza, introduces a tolerance of the artist as it states that he will wait as long as it takes for her to reengage in their relationship of which he is so fond.

The third verse shows the artist’s understanding of the situation ‘even the stars they burn’ this is like saying even the brightest of things have an end. In the third line of this stanza it says ‘we’ve got a lot to learn’ which resorts back to his passion and determination to hold together the relationship, but it also states how there is still a chance to make amends and that their relationship isn’t too far gone.

The fourth verse is the climax of the song; again it is left open for the audience to fill in the blanks. I perceived the verse to be his acceptance of the break up by saying, ‘And in the end, you're still my friend’ which leads me to see that he is of the mind set that despite the fact the love may not be there anymore they can still maintain some kind of relationship even if it isn’t romantic. This stanza is also my favorite stanza as it talks about the journey and the lessons he has learnt from the woman he loves, ‘I had to learn what I’ve got and what I’m not and who I am.’ With this verse he also portrays the arguments and the break ups in a positive manor which adds to the idea he is ever hopeful, ‘our differences they do a lot to teach us how to use the tools and gifts we got’ and finally what makes this the most expressive verse for me is the two lines ‘ I don’t wanna be someone who walks away so easily I’m here to stay and make the differences that I can make.’ For me this is nice because he outlines his intentions it is as if he is talking to her and it is therefore inclusive for the audience.

After this stanza the chorus is repeated three times in which suggests that his pursuit of recovery is not over and that he will attempt to continue to try to improve their relationship.


Lyrics of a music video in general can also be used as tools to improve or create relationships with the target audience. For instance in the song 'Rehab' from the artist Amy Winehouse she talks about her troubles referring to drug abuse and alcoholism 

Planning of the costume.

Costumes help create the image for the artist in which the audience will re create and copy. It is also a place in which the artist can attempt to relate to their fans. I will break this planning of Justin Oakley’s costume down into body parts and the clothing we could use.

For his head we could use a trilby hat, a wooly hat or sunglasses, or even a combination of the three. The trilby hat is often related to sunshine and hot places. By Justin using this the audience could perceive Justin to be in a hot country and spend time in hot countries. The wooly hat would have the same effects but it would be for colder climates instead; also it could connote coziness as hats keep people warm. Sunglasses would best compliment the trilby in connotations of warmth and travel could be combined with the hat. They could even be used as a singular piece of the costume as they are a strong enough piece of iconography.

For his torso we would want him to wear a jumper or a t-shirt, as this is similar to what his audience will be wearing, also a shirt is more casual which could connote that he is laid back to the audience and potentially they could relate to him. The jumper would be used to add diversity to his costumes, thus removing his outfits to become repetitive, it can also allow for us to maintain the image of Justin staying relevant to trends in clothing.

His lower body clothing will consist of Jeans or Chinos. The reason for this is that they are popular today amongst a wide range of people; teens, adolescence and young adults this therefore could broaden our target audience in which will consume our product. Jeans are also hard wearing and connotes hard work, which can suggest to the audience that Justin is hardworking and determined to provide a good product and therefore worthy of their support.

With the issue of his footwear we decided we didn’t want him to look casual to the extent of wearing sports wear. Instead, we decided to use canvas shoes made by vans as they can look smart but still maintain the theme of being laidback and casual.

Also the colours we used we often hopeful colours, we used a lot of reds to connote love ad passion to music and the partner his song was intended for, we used whites and beiges to connote his clear set mission of resolving the issue in his relationship. We tended to avoid the other use of darker colours as they usually have negative connotations and we didn’t want the connotations of Justin to ever be dark and hopeless as it was not the direction we wanted to take Justin within this music video. 

Planning of camera shots.

Camera shots are tools that first and foremost create the video; they then have the role of keeping the flow of the story/ performance. For a music video to be successful it must have a range of shots, this will keep the audience interested and enjoy the video more.

The first shot we are inclined to use will be an Establishing shot. This will introduce the setting and location for the audience. This shot is pivotal as it suggests to the audience the direction the music video will go in and allow the audience to evaluate whether they will enjoy the product. An example we could use are the International flags at Marble Arch tube station, as it will set the scene to be in London, a built up area.

Another shot we may want to use is a Long shot. This can introduce the artist to the audience as a whole rather than pinpointing on a few characteristics. This will enable the audience to see the clothing and props of the artist all at once to give a clearer image of the artist. It is from this clear image that we can expect the audience to first form an attachment to the artist, whether it be by wearing jeans that they like or carrying a guitar in which they play etc. an example of a long shot we could use for this purpose is Ryan/’Justin Oakley’ walking in Hyde park or walking up the stairs from Marble Arch tube station.

Close ups can prove to be equally important in music videos. They allow for the audience to see emotions clearly and refined details of the character or narrative. This could lead to a relationship being formed as the audience could relate to the emotion shown by the artist. For instance Ryan could be on a plain background i.e. a brick wall and he could be smiling if we wanted the audience to relate to his happiness.

Mid shots in my eyes are least vital but still needed. I intend to use them as fillers when necessary. The use of a mid shot is used to maintain the frame but draw attention to the object desired, we want the audience to react to the mid shots like connectives in a book, and example of this could be Ryan sitting on a bench playing guitar.

Two other shots that I am considering using are the over the shoulder shot and an eye line match. Both shots will provide the audience with an insight into the perspective of the artist and could put the audience in position with the artist, encouraging a relationship to be formed, an example of this could be seen in the argument scene of Ryan and Olivia in the kitchen.

Diversity of a Music video.

Two music videos that stand out to be diverse are Madonna-frozen and Aphex Twins-window licker. We looked at these videos in class and both demonstrate within the video to be unconventional and break expectations of the industry and are therefore diverse. Chris Cunningham created both of these music videos. He is a music video director that uses diversity as part of his work to enhance sales for the product and make the audience re-watch the videos. He also was nominated for a Grammy in the best short form music video.

Madonna’s song Frozen is slow and connotes loss and despair, which is a harsh opposite to the connotations of happiness and fun found within her other songs, Holiday and Material girl to name a few which have demonstrated the success of Madonna throughout her fans and the industry. The first characteristic that is diverse in this video is the sound. Her singing and the melody of the song has an eerie feel to it, similar to spectral and ghost like sounds within a Hollywood movie. The video is also diverse, as it is comprised of a collection of shots with Madonna singing in an isolated Desert making the video fully performance based. This is an indication to Madonna following Goodwin’s theory of star image motifs, as she is the only character the audience can see an therefore likely o form a better connection and relationship to her. This method also follows Dyer’s theory, paradox two. This is so as she is ever present throughout the music video enhancing her stance with the audience, This could show that whilst Madonna is taking her music into another direction she is still following theories and formulas and therefore not making Madonna as diverse as it first appeared. By Madonna appearing gothically styled within frozen, it is an attempt to attract other audiences from other genres into her music, Madonna’s prominence within the industry allowed this as she knows that she can attempt things like this and still maintain her existing audience, where as a newer artist like ours ‘Justin Oakley’ would not be able to do this. Conventions of Madonna that are diverse to her other songs are that she has black hair in frozen where as she would usually have blonde/brown hair, she wears dark clothes with is contrast to her trendsetting image in other videos and finally the sound of the song is ultimately more gothic compared to the usual pop feel within her songs.

Window licker by Aphex twins is another diverse music video although it is not unconventional to their music genre. I would place them into the alternative category of genre, which enabled the artist, more freedom in their style of music video. Aphex twins, like Madonna, provide a series of diverse music videos an example of this, is their song ‘come to daddy’ which makes me believe that Aphex twins use diverse videos to be their unique selling point. Window licker has the audience in little exposure to the artist, which in other genres will reduce the chance of a relationship being formed, however I believe that it does the opposite and instead of forming a relationship with the artist they form a relationship with the song/band name. As far as limited exposure to the artist I believe that the Aphex twins exploit paradox two of Dyer’s theory well by themselves being often absent making their time on screen more valuable to the audience. Through being diverse and alternative, Aphex twins wouldn’t have only one type of fan/target audience, which makes the potential size of their audience unlimited in theory. This music video again differences itself from frozen as it displayed to be mostly concept based with the imagery connoting break downs in society, e.g. poorer classes – two street gangsters in a car, the girls attracted to money/wealth in the limo and the singular guy in the limo of wealth.  Also another problematic issue connoted within this video could be when the girls take on the face of the guy in the car; this connotes societies susceptibility to internalizing ideas and being controlled. The face in this instant represents the controlling idea.

Being diverse can allow high levels of popularity and fame as the artist becomes unique, this attracts audiences that are tired of consuming products of their genre that are created and not real. But diversity can also lead to negativity, being diverse can also repel audiences as it can be far too extreme for their liking and can be detrimental to the success of an artist.

One could say that being diverse can be used efficiently in big artists such as Madonna and to some extent Aphex twins. However for a new artist like ours is unlikely they would succeed in establishing themselves as an artist, although diverse videos through being excitable and challenging to the audience increase the chance of the audience to re watch the video as they can pick up on elements they may have missed first time round.