INDUSTRY research : contemporary context of music videos

   CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT  

Who are the major players in this industry?  

Major record labels are usually owned by Multinational media conglomerates (MNC; these are large and powerful businesses that sell products or services in different countries). The major labels are known as the ‘Big Four’: 

• EMI 

• Sony BMG  

• Universal Music Group 

• Warner Music Group 

Other labels are called independents. Sometimes large conglomerates create subsidiary which are smaller companies that will be considered as ‘independent’.  

 

 

How do companies finance, distribute and exchange their products? 

FINANCE – Companies first starting can get financing from start-up loans, art grants, sponsorships or crowd funding. Once established, record labels would usually make money from artists’ release cycle where they gain profit from sales or marketing (EG merchandise). 

• Artists who are signed to a record label will have their music video financed by them. Major record labels usually invest 20% of the total amount into promotion whilst independent labels may only invest 10%.  

DISTRIBUTION – Music videos can be distributed easily through different social platforms such as YouTube or can be distributed by an official company such as Vevo, Apple music of Tidal. Music in general can be distributed by the record label and a distributor agreeing to a contract which allows the distributor to have rights to the products. However, the music industry has been ehavily impacted with the introduction of downloading and easily accessible platforms which differ from the before-used cassettes, CDs and physical albums. Platforms such as Spotify and iTunes have warped the structure of music distribution and revenue.  

 

How do audiences access these products? 

Audiences can access music videos from many sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. Successful music videos, however, also incorporate other mediums to increase the exposure and engagements audiences have with the music video release. This can take the form of social media (Instagram, Twitter etc) promotion, countdowns to the release, pre-release pictures/teasers etc. Music videos are easily accessible and usually free viewing as well as having features that allow audiences to directly interact with the content: such as likes, comments and sharing.  

INDUSTRY research : history of music videos

  INDUSTRIAL CONTEXT 

1920s	The first ‘music video’ was The Jazz Singer (1927) which was one of the first synced audio to image moving picture that allowed you to see performances which weren’t live.
1930s	Crying for Caroline by Spooney Melody was the first to mix live-action footage to the artist’s performance. These were much rather considered short films than music videos, but nonetheless meet the requirements of a music video today.
1950s	The Scoptione was a gadget first introduced that is said to have influenced videos being shown on small screens today – such as mobile phones. It was during the rise of jukeboxes when inventor Serge Gainsbourg invested a small 16mm film screen into the jukebox that allowed film to be synced with audio.   Since the size of the screen was much smaller and not to the high quality that we are technologically capable of today, the videos mostly consisted of close-ups and medium shots of artists to fit this small frame.
1960s	With the rise of 16mm film and a new wave of pop culture consisting of broadcast television and artist promotions (such as The Beatles), music videos were becoming increasingly popular and frequent. The Beatles 1965 music video ‘We Can Work It Out’ is considered the first music video to feature on broadcast television, attempting to ‘blend in’ with other content at the time.   In 1966, Bob Dylan made a music video for his popular song ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ which consists of the lyrics being presented on cardboard, shown in time with the music. This adheres to Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory of emphasising the lyrics through visual components and has suggestively influenced lyric videos seen today.
1968-1974; Experimental film	One of the most interesting and vast eras to explore, music artists were taking advantage of previous technological advancements, experimenting with film. Artists such as David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd were at the forefront of this innovation.
1970s, 1980s	The introduction of MTV (said to have been influenced by the Queen music video Bohemian Rhapsody) allowed an interactive platform between artists and fans to engage in music videos- severely impacting the music industry.   Music video ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles was one of the first music videos to be aired on MTV. The movement proposed a new way for artists to gain recognition from their music videos wherein the artist can have more freedom of expression.
1990s	With technological still rampaging through new evolutions, directors took to the scene, incorporating creativity and feature-film components into music videos. Despite this, some of the most iconic music videos of the time did not have an expansive budget. 1994 music video ‘Sabotage’ by The Beastie Boys (directed by Spike Joze) was incredibly influential and iconic of its time.
2000s	The growth of music videos is constantly at its peak with moving image ranging from animation to narrative pieces to humorous videos and preformative arts, there is a range of genres and subcategories to choose from and engage with than ever before.