Audience
From the questionnaires we gave out we found that
· Our target audience are females aged between 16 and 24
· The favourite music genre was R'n'B
· The majority of our target audience watched music videos on 4Music. This channel is targeted towards a young audience and features regular shows on the genre of R'n'B.
· Our target audience don’t read music magazines and they don’t buy music DVDs.
· Our target audience want to see a story in the music video.
From these results we know that the music genre we should choose is R'n'B. We should aim our music video at a teenage and young adult audience. We can also find out what kinds of things the audience like to see in music videos by watching 4Music.
Institutions
Record Label
We would sign our artist to Def Jam recordings because they are one of the biggest R'n'B record labels. Since 1984, when the label was started, they have been releasing new artists who have gone on to have very successful careers and in some cases gaining multi-platinum-selling records such as Public Enemy and LL Cool J. Jay-Z was announced president and CEO of the record label in 2004 and he has signed many successful R'n'B artists such as Rihanna and Ne-yo and from this we know that our artist would have the best chance of being successful.
Music Channel
From our research we found that commonly watched music videos amongst our target demographic were 4Music, MTV and Kiss. We decided upon promoting our artist through 4Music as it is a new channel that is geared towards 16-25 year olds, our target audience. The channel was launched in 2008 and shows a range of music videos the majority of which are R'n'B, dance and pop. 4music have become one of the most successful and popular music channels because it features celebrity presenters and slots for recognisable artists. The channel has shows dedicated to specific genres of music such as ‘The R'n'B Download Chart’. This would be the perfect place to show our video because our target audience would be watching. Although showcasing our video through television would be successful, we know that media and technology has changed and accessing music videos has become easier. Our target audience now views videos via the Internet, iPods, phones and social networking sites. YouTube is a hugely popular site that attracts millions of people everyday and shows music videos for free. MySpace has specific pages dedicated to new music but generally they are not of the R'n'B genre. On our adverts we are going to feature a ‘download on iTunes’ symbol to appeal to our target demographic and incorporate new forms of technology.
Magazine
R'n'B is a very diverse genre of music and is featured in many music magazines. However King Magazine is targeted towards young African-American, urban men and contains images of R'n'B artists on inside pages, as well as the front cover spread. The magazine is published by Harris Publications and was a spin off of successful magazine XXL. It became known as the Black Maxim, as it was known for its extravagant photo shoots of half naked woman, models, actresses and female rap artists. It championed curvaceous, black women and regularly featured artists Keyshia Cole and Christina Milian. This magazine would be ideal in promoting our artist in print form and appealing to a male audience through glamorous photo shoots.
Generic Codes and Conventions
CD Adverts
As a group we have analysed 24 CD adverts and found that the generic codes and conventions are…
· The male artist’s costumes are modern and quite smart. For example Ne-Yo’s advert for ‘Year of the gentleman’ shows him wearing a smart suit and a hat. These clothes indicate the artists’ power and status, reinforcing ideas of male stereotypes.
· The female artists’ costumes are also modern but appear to be dressed more glamorous for example Estelle’s advert for ‘Shine’ shows her wearing a smart coat but the audience can see that the clothes being worn underneath are quite low cut indicating that she is going out which challenges female stereotypes of women being house wives. However her costume also reinforces female stereotypes of women being seen as sex objects.
· The majority of the photographs the artists are centralised in the frame. This enables the audience to see the artists’ facial expressions and costume which helps them to relate to the artists and get a sense of what the album is about.
· In half of our adverts the backgrounds were plain either black or white which makes the text stand out more and makes it easier to read. Whereas the other half have the backgrounds of being set in everyday settings for example using Estelle’s album again it looks as if there is a car driving past lights at fast speed. This could indicate a bit about the artist’s life, personality and what kind of music there will be on the album.
· All of the adverts are either the album cover or include the album cover within the advert. For example the advert for ‘Year of the gentlemen’ is the actual album cover with bold, white text in the foreground telling the audience the album is available to buy. It also has a grey glow around the font to stop it blending in with the background enabling it to stand out. The advert for ‘Evolver’ by John Legend includes a small photograph of the album cover but has a bigger photo of the artist himself as the main feature; this enables the audience to associate the new album with the artist.
· Some of the adverts have a box with the apple logo and ‘available in iTunes’ written inside. This is because artists have to sell their music in different places today because new developments in technology enable audiences to listen to music in new ways such as an iPod or on mobile phones.
Music videos
From watching R&B music videos our group found that the generic codes and conventions are...
Narrative Structure
· The majority of the videos had a narrative structure. Todorov’s Narrative Theory is used in some of these videos. For example in Ne-Yo’s music video ‘Mad’, the equilibrium is when the couple is arguing; the disruption is when he dies; the recognition of the disruption is the woman grieving while his ghost watches and the new equilibrium is when she walks away and he disappears, showing that she is moving on.
· The artist always appears to be the main character in the videos, this helps the audience identify who the artist is.
· Propp’s theory is also featured within music videos, with the artist representing the hero/heroine character. This is especially common within female artists’ videos
Mise en Scene
· Costumes in the videos are always modern and mostly casual. For example Chris Brown’s video ‘With You’, he wears jeans, a T-shirt and a hoody with him wearing his hood up. These clothes show him to be an average person, which the audience can relate to. Wearing his hood up on the bus reinforces stereotypes of teenage boys. The artist also has a tattoo on his neck again reinforcing stereotypes of teenagers. We will be reinforcing stereotypes of teenagers in our video.
· Settings in the videos are every day settings. For example John Legends video ‘Save Room’ starts of in his apartment and moves throughout the city of New York. It will be easy for us to find everyday settings for our music video as we are surrounded by them for example, houses, schools and parks. We also live in a big city so have the option of filming in the city centre.
· Throughout the music videos every day props are used such as mobile phones, which creates verisimilitude. It will be easy for us to find some props such as mobile phones as we can use the ones we own, but it could be difficult to find other props such as emergency service vehicles, which a lot of R&B videos use for example Ne-Yo Mad.
· In the majority of videos lighting appears to be high key to create verisimilitude. The Ne-Yo video ‘Mad’ is filmed in black and white, which challenges conventions of R&B videos because they are mostly filmed in colour, making them modern.
Camera Shots/Edits
· Most of the edits are straight cuts, which creates realism and makes the audience feel part of what is going on. In some of the videos they use fade in and fade out edits at the beginning or end. For example Rihanna’s ‘Unfaithful’ video has a number of fade in and out edits to show the changing of partners and time.
· Camera shots used appeared to be medium shots and close ups so that the audience can relate to the artists’ expressions and understands their feelings.
CD covers
From our analysis we found that the generic codes and conventions of R&B CD covers are…
Mise en scene
· Image is a major part of the R&B industry and costume is important in portraying that. Females commonly dress provocatively and glamorous with a young edgy feel. For example on Rihannas ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ album cover she is wearing a tight dress that shows off her figure while posing seductively towards the camera. This connotes power and status which challenges female stereotypes in other media forms.
· Male costumes consisted of modern casual clothing such as leather jackets, loose fitting jeans and trainers. This is portrayed in John Legends album ‘Evolver’. The audience can relate to the artist as our target audience wears similar clothes.
· The backgrounds on the album covers are usually simple. They are either a coloured background that puts more focus on the artist or an every day backdrop to create verisimilitude, allowing the audience to relate to them.
· The artists’ name is a major focus of the cover as this is what is needed to sell the album. The fonts are simple and bold and are usually a different colour to the background enabling it to stand out even more. For example Jennifer Hudson’s self-titled album is metallic pink writing against a white background.
· The use of props is minimal but when used they are everyday items. For example in Usher’s album ‘Here I Stand’ he is positioned behind a car which also connotes power and wealth.
· High key lighting is the main lighting used through out R&B albums to create verisimilitude for example this is used in Ne-Yo’s album ‘Year of the Gentlemen’.
· The artists are positioned in the forefront of the frame at a medium close up range. This highlights gesture, costume and facial expressions creating an instant bond with the audience. This also connotes the artist’s power and reinforces that the album is all about them.
We are going to conform to these codes and conventions because we know that they are a successful way of selling the artist.
