R+P Post 9: Music Videos that have inspired and influenced my ideas

We were inspired by many music videos, all of which were in the R&B genre. Goodwin's theory refers to music videos representing the genre of music and so we tried to look for the typical features of R&B videos that were repeated. One of our biggest inspirations was Ne-Yo's music video for Miss Independent.

Below is what we liked from the video:

• The mix between narrative and performance - we'd want our video to be both narrative and performance based as well
• Most of the time it cuts to the beat - I would really like our video to cut to the beat as it matches the visuals to the audio and so they work together.
• Matching the lyrics to the video. E.g "She walks like a boss" with a shot of the female dancers (dressed like working women with briefcases) walking into frame.
• Ne-Yo's fashion style, in particular the hat - we would like something similar as a noticeable fashion item for our artist.
• The stylised lighting in the performance/dance shots - we would like this kind of lighting or even something with more back lighting to make the dancers appear almost like silhouettes
• The V-formation in the dance breaks - this is structured formation of dancers and appears very sleek and professional and we would like to use this in our dance breaks. 

Other Ne-Yo videos that inspired us were Closer and Let Me Love You. Below are some screen shots from the music video of Closer showing which aspects were the most influential.

We liked the lighting from this video, especially the strobe lighting and the spotlight. Additionally we like the screen work they had of Ne-Yo and a girl and would like to try something similar for our video as it looks classy and artistic. 

From Let Me Love You we were really inspired by the dance breaks. Not only from the choreography but also how the shots cut between each other in a sequences to vary the angle and keep things interesting. Dance sequences are an R&B convention so we would need to include it in our video, however finding enough people to participate for it to look effective might be difficult.

We have also been inspired by Beyonce's If I Were A Boy music video. Even though our music video won't be completely narrative focused, this video's narrative has been inspiring to us as it has helped us to realise that our narrative doesn't need to give all the details away but still easy enough to understand. According to Vernallis' theory, a fragmented narrative is typical of music videos and so our video should be the same. In addition to this there are some shots from the video that we particularly liked such as the moment Beyonce turned her phone off as well as the repeated shots when the roles become reversed.

Repeated shots but with the gender roles reversed

We came to realise that lighting was a major part of our video as we all really like the stylised, bold lighting seen in other videos. Additionally lighting inspiration came from James Arthur's Can I Be Him video and also from Gabrielle's Dreams video. 

Lighting from 'Can I Be Him'

Overall, I believe that we will be able to create an effective R&B music video as we have looked at a range of music videos within the genre and have chosen what works best from each of them. 

R+P Post 8: Possible Tracks for the single

To choose our track, we each came up with a selection of potential songs for the project. As a group we then sat down together and listened to all of the songs and tried to narrow the list down to a few songs that we all liked and were inspired by. 

The songs on our shortlist were:

• Cry Me a River by Justin Timberlake
• Let Me Love You by Mario
• No Scrubs by TLC
• Survivor by Destiny's Child

Once we had a smaller group of songs we listened to each song again without the music video (so that we would not be influenced by the existing video) and tried to note ideas that came to mind when we heard the songs.

Below is a table with our shortlisted songs and our initial ideas for each as well as potential problems.

From looking at each song in more detail we realised that it was much easier to come up with ideas for some over others. I believe we found it easier when looking at a narrative based song over performance. In addition to this, our main potential problem was regarding external actors and so we will have to consider this when picking our song. However, through creating a shortlist of potential songs, we have decided that our track will be in the R&B genre and so can look more into conventions of music videos in this genre.

R+P Post 7: Record Labels of interest

A record company is responsible for the marketing of music recordings and videos. Additionally they help to promote the artist across a variety of platforms including radio, TV and online. There are three major record labels globally and these are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. Those not controlled by these three major labels are considered to be independent record labels.

Three Major Record Labels

Many of the major record labels are parent companies and have sub-labels - subsidiary recording labels owned by the major labels. An example of this is Atlantic Records which is owned by the Warner Music Group. Atlantic Records itself has many sub-labels including Grand Hustle Music, First Priority Music, LaSalle Records and 1017 Records (also known as 1017 Brick Squad Records). 

Many of Atlantic Records sub-labels are founded by artists themselves. LaSalle Records for example was founded by musician Travis Barker and 1017 Records was founded by rapper Gucci Mane. Below is a visual representation of some of Warner Music Groups sub-labels and their subsidiary companies. 

Personally I think that this would be a good model to use for our record label as we could have it as a subsidiary company from one of the sub-labels of one of the three major labels. A good way for our new artist to be recruited is to be discovered by an existing recording artist who has just created a new label.

R+P Post 6: Current Trends in Popular Music

The digital music economy has grown massively over the last few years due to the increased use of streaming services such as YouTube, Spotify and iTunes. According to a report by UK Music, these  services have increased in value from £168 million in 2014 to £251 million in 2015. Additionally the report contains a graph showing the percentage of people aged 15+ years old who are using different platforms to listen to music.

This graph shows that in 2016, YouTube was a bigger platform than physical CDs, proving just how relevant digital music consumption is. Most of the platforms are digital and I expect that the number streaming services will increase in the future. 

Below is the Live iTunes chart on Sunday 15th October 2017. I have added annotations to show the genre of each of the songs in the top 10 to see if there is a trend. 

By finding out the genres of each of the songs, I noticed that most of the tracks are in the Pop genre. The top 2 songs are both in the Latin genre, a genre that has become more popular in recent months due to the massive success of the song Despacito by Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee. Justin Beiber's remix helped the song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, a first for a primarily Spanish song since 1996. Since this, many more remixes of Spanish songs or partially Spanish songs have featured in the charts. 

From this research I have learnt that online services and digital media are an important part of music marketing and distribution. Additionally, from looking at current genre trends, there are many options we can look at for our project. For instance we could look at doing a pop or hip hop song as they are featured in the charts and therefore there is an audience for these genres. Alternatively we could look at other genres such as contemporary R&B or Rock as there is a gap in the market for these genres. 

R+P Post 5: The kind of video I would like to make

The video I would like to make would be very stylised and would have a very strong colour scheme and lighting choices. For example, I would like to have either a monochromatic colour scheme or really unsaturated video with a blue/grey tint. Below I have gathered screenshots of music videos with the grading that I would like to have.

These screenshots are from a variety of genres including electronic/house, pop, R&B and alternative/indie songs. Therefore this grading style could be possible for any genre we end up choosing. Also I feel that the colours help to reflect the meaning behind the song.

Another aspect I would like to have is bold lighting choices, such as strobe lighting, glares and back lighting (to create silhouettes). Below are some gifs to help illustrate my ideas. 

I would like my video to have a narrative that audiences can connect with and that moves them. Below are a few of the videos that contain narrative which I find to be emotionally touching and they make me feel something when I watch them.

Overall, I would like to make a video that conveys the meaning and emotion behind the music and the lyrics as to me that is the most important aspect of a song. I would like to do this through the use of grading, lighting and narrative.

R+P Post 4: Audience groups of interest

I feel that the biggest audience group of music consumers are teenagers/young adults. According to a research survey from 2016, 82% of 13-15 year olds agree that music is important to them as well as 72% of 16-24 year olds. There isn't a big difference between the ages of 24-64 year olds, suggesting that music is listened to by all ages but the genre of music may vary by age.

Additionally, due to the development of technology, most people now access music via the internet, through sites such as YouTube, or streaming services like Spotify. Below is a bar chart from the survey showing the percentage of people in different age groups who use YouTube for music consumption. 

YouTube usage for music bar chart

This chart shows that nearly all 16-24 year olds use YouTube to listen to music, making it a massive platform for releasing music. This age demographic seems to be the most accessible and also the most interested in music (along with younger teenagers).

I asked people aged 16-34 about what genre of music they listen to most. Below is a pie chart showing the results.

From my audience feedback I can see that Hip Hop is the most popular genre, closely followed by RnB and Pop. Therefore these would be good options for our track as they would target the largest demographic of music consumers.

R+P Post 3: Music genres that interest me

The genres of music that appeal to me the most are Pop (e.g Ed Sheeran, Kelly Clarkson), Rock (e.g All Time Low, Fall Out Boy) and Hip Hop (e.g Eminem, Logic, Ludacris). Each of these genres have a really distinct sound and style to them. For example, hip hop is usually characterised by rapping and a very strong rhythmic element. Hip hop songs are typically quite fast paced and upbeat which is good for breakdancing - a feature also associated with hip hop.  Pop music is quite varied. It is more mainstream and tends to be the genre of music featured on the charts. Additionally it's commonly combined with other genres to create sub-genres such as pop rock or pop folk.

Below are some mood boards and bullet points to show the stylistic elements from each of the genres I like. 

Pop

• Bright colours
• High key lighting
• Bold costumes/clothing and props
• Partying, music and drinking
• Most songs about love/relationships

Rock

• Darker, grungier colours
• Live performance
• Big focus on instruments and playing them in videos
• Casual, every day clothing

Hip Hop

• Quite unsaturated, low key lighting
• Idea of gangs and brotherhood
• Urban streets, estates, underground car parks, clubs
• Big flashy jewellery
• Hoodies, hats/caps, sunglasses

I believe that these we would be able to use these genres for our project as they are widely recognised  and well-liked genres. Additionally I feel like a dancing element could be included in these genres which appeals to me as I like dancing so it would be nice to include it in our video in some way.