"TriggerSet is ran by four core members, Al Livingstone, Matt Clarke, Martin Banks and Tim Cowie and are based in Colchester and London. Triggerset create "music videos, animations, video productions and installations". Matt Clarke visited our school on the 10th February, giving us an insight into his company's work and giving us feedback on our own productions.
Our music video has shots of the main vocalist (actor) playing his guitar in different locations so this could relate to the "live" performance/experience. We wanted to present the band as a whole but found it simpler to have one actor (to direct) so opted for a "one-man" performance. The locations in the video are naturalistic, adding to the conventional aspects for establishing the folk/indie genre. Music artists and bands utilize the natural and rural locations have very calm and subtle motifs. Our animation was based on fantastical themes, inspired by fairytale ideas and many different films. I think we could have improved the real life part with more "pretty" locations and shooting when the sun was out. Matt Clarke from Triggerset commented on a few of the productions, including ours, on how we could have developed our grading, to make the aesthetics and appearance of the music video more appealing. We could have altered the colour levels/saturation to enhance the colouring, as well as creating a more atmospheric mood.
Many bands in this current industry rely on their music videos to become noticed. A band's music video can be broadcasted on TV music channels and online channels such as, Viva (new name for TMF) and YouTube. Online websites can be a gateway for many un-signed artists (to become acknowledged by their potential audience and record labels. Even more, signed bands can secure their target audience by having their music accessible. The cost of gig tickets range from as little as £5 to £90, depending on the artist/band, their recognition (through being an un-signed band or signed band with a record label) and whether they are more unique or mainstream artists.
Showing posts with label Research into music industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research into music industry. Show all posts
Monday, 22 February 2010
Triggerset visit
Sunday, 11 October 2009
[M.I.I] Implications for music industry/ Conclusion with mark sheet
My investigation involved exploring whether the online age has affected the pop music genre. I looked at different social networking sites and internet websites which help distribute and promote their music. Having done this research it is easier for me to understand what kind of sites are affecting the way listeners consume music and why.
When considering the amount of pop music artists online, one internet site is easiest to find this. As Myspace keeps a record of their artists in genres, users can see that Pop artists have in total: 723,426 (11/10/09). The genre with the most artists is Hip hop with 2,539,664. My findings tell me that the online age has both improved and damaged the music industry. It is very difficult to pin-point whether Pop music has been directly affected amongst all the other genres. As technologies have advanced, genres and music have become accessible; it has become easier to find music that consumers will enjoy.
One of my earlier posts was focused on looking at two pop artists: Lily Allen's and (La Roux's) Elly Jackson's views on file sharing, which contributes to illegal downloading. This either shows how Pop music is actually being affected (the artists have been affected) or as they are artists themselves and are out-spoken, they can put their point across. The latter possibility is probably more accurate. As they have had to go through the process of becoming an artist and noticed by listeners, they will have had problems with illegal downloading so they know the exact problem and how it is unfair.
"The reasons for wanting CDs include a desire to have sleeve notes, the sound quality and the desire to own a physical object. But 44% of respondents said that one reason for wanting a CD was that it "cannot be deleted", an indication that young people have taken note of the problems that have occurred in the past when access to rights-managed music files has been withdrawn because services have been shut down. Overall, the survey offers no coherent picture of the state of young people's consumption of and attitude to music, perhaps because things are changing so fast and young people are so quick to adapt to new technological realities that there simply is no single coherent model that will explain it all." Bill Thompson, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8197574.stm).
As music formats have changed to not needing it in physical form, this doesn’t mean that we do not buy or want to buy physical forms. Research carried out to find the way consumers obtain music the most is extremely hard to complete and is an ever-changing process.
The advance in technology has helped bands and artists promote their music, through downloading and other means of using the online age. To obtain music, users can go to downloading sites (illegal and legal) whilst also being able to listen to music using sites such as Spotify and Last.fm. By promoting and marketing their music for free, artists can be listened to by listeners who would not usually listen to them. Last.fm has a great way of recommending other artists which are in similar genres to what a user looks at and listens to. Not only technology has improved bands and artists chances of being heard however. Festivals such as Latitude and Glastonbury are great for unsigned bands to advertise their work. Every artist/band would have done some kind of gig too.
Amazon has a new feature on their website the “Bestsellers MP3 Downloads: Pop”, which is impressively updated hourly. Today being the 21st October has Cheryl Cole’s “Fight For This Love” as the most downloaded song, at 69p. Amazon’s downloads are very cheap when comparing them to iTunes, making it another legal downloading competitor.
Advertisements and TV programmes are another interesting way of letting bands and artists promote their music. Some examples are, The Noisettes with "Don't Stop the Rhythm" for a car advert, and many artists were used in the Skins series, such as The Gossip. Mainstream pop artists have more chances of having successful careers than an unsigned artist, which is obvious. Once an unsigned artist becomes noticed by a record label and they have the potential of becoming more a mainstream artist, they will most likely have a better music career. Record labels offer deals, expensive but overall they help an artist "live their dream". To have the opportunity to perform to audiences, from 500 people to 100,000 people, it is a chance for the artist to distribute their music. Audiences will then spread the artists name and music which is a method of promoting their music. Many bands and artists have and still do achieve great things from word-of-mouth.
Having researched different ways of consuming music, I have gained knowledge of how listeners have adjusted and become accustomed to other ways, some legal but unfortunately illegally methods too. The questionnaire samples responses were quite shocking at how ninety percent of my young sample had/do download illegally. On the other hand, with the amount of online users, it is not so surprising, as music is extremely accessible and available. The consequences of downloading illegally are not made aware to young users, maybe this should be improved to try to deter them. Downloading sites and softwares draw users in by using the word, "FREE" and who would not consider looking at what they are about. I remember asking a family friend who is a computer expert about Limewire, he responded that it is a big risk unless you delete the tracks, (or something). I did not bother to look into it further as I did not want the responsibility of damaging the (important word:) family computer.
The investigation I chose to carry out shows how more in-depth research is needed to fully comprehend it. The online age has definitely affected the way we listen to music (like other technologies), but whether or not Pop music has been directly affected is a very difficult topic to explore.
When considering the amount of pop music artists online, one internet site is easiest to find this. As Myspace keeps a record of their artists in genres, users can see that Pop artists have in total: 723,426 (11/10/09). The genre with the most artists is Hip hop with 2,539,664. My findings tell me that the online age has both improved and damaged the music industry. It is very difficult to pin-point whether Pop music has been directly affected amongst all the other genres. As technologies have advanced, genres and music have become accessible; it has become easier to find music that consumers will enjoy.
One of my earlier posts was focused on looking at two pop artists: Lily Allen's and (La Roux's) Elly Jackson's views on file sharing, which contributes to illegal downloading. This either shows how Pop music is actually being affected (the artists have been affected) or as they are artists themselves and are out-spoken, they can put their point across. The latter possibility is probably more accurate. As they have had to go through the process of becoming an artist and noticed by listeners, they will have had problems with illegal downloading so they know the exact problem and how it is unfair.
"The reasons for wanting CDs include a desire to have sleeve notes, the sound quality and the desire to own a physical object. But 44% of respondents said that one reason for wanting a CD was that it "cannot be deleted", an indication that young people have taken note of the problems that have occurred in the past when access to rights-managed music files has been withdrawn because services have been shut down. Overall, the survey offers no coherent picture of the state of young people's consumption of and attitude to music, perhaps because things are changing so fast and young people are so quick to adapt to new technological realities that there simply is no single coherent model that will explain it all." Bill Thompson, (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8197574.stm).
As music formats have changed to not needing it in physical form, this doesn’t mean that we do not buy or want to buy physical forms. Research carried out to find the way consumers obtain music the most is extremely hard to complete and is an ever-changing process.
The advance in technology has helped bands and artists promote their music, through downloading and other means of using the online age. To obtain music, users can go to downloading sites (illegal and legal) whilst also being able to listen to music using sites such as Spotify and Last.fm. By promoting and marketing their music for free, artists can be listened to by listeners who would not usually listen to them. Last.fm has a great way of recommending other artists which are in similar genres to what a user looks at and listens to. Not only technology has improved bands and artists chances of being heard however. Festivals such as Latitude and Glastonbury are great for unsigned bands to advertise their work. Every artist/band would have done some kind of gig too.
Amazon has a new feature on their website the “Bestsellers MP3 Downloads: Pop”, which is impressively updated hourly. Today being the 21st October has Cheryl Cole’s “Fight For This Love” as the most downloaded song, at 69p. Amazon’s downloads are very cheap when comparing them to iTunes, making it another legal downloading competitor.Advertisements and TV programmes are another interesting way of letting bands and artists promote their music. Some examples are, The Noisettes with "Don't Stop the Rhythm" for a car advert, and many artists were used in the Skins series, such as The Gossip. Mainstream pop artists have more chances of having successful careers than an unsigned artist, which is obvious. Once an unsigned artist becomes noticed by a record label and they have the potential of becoming more a mainstream artist, they will most likely have a better music career. Record labels offer deals, expensive but overall they help an artist "live their dream". To have the opportunity to perform to audiences, from 500 people to 100,000 people, it is a chance for the artist to distribute their music. Audiences will then spread the artists name and music which is a method of promoting their music. Many bands and artists have and still do achieve great things from word-of-mouth.
Having researched different ways of consuming music, I have gained knowledge of how listeners have adjusted and become accustomed to other ways, some legal but unfortunately illegally methods too. The questionnaire samples responses were quite shocking at how ninety percent of my young sample had/do download illegally. On the other hand, with the amount of online users, it is not so surprising, as music is extremely accessible and available. The consequences of downloading illegally are not made aware to young users, maybe this should be improved to try to deter them. Downloading sites and softwares draw users in by using the word, "FREE" and who would not consider looking at what they are about. I remember asking a family friend who is a computer expert about Limewire, he responded that it is a big risk unless you delete the tracks, (or something). I did not bother to look into it further as I did not want the responsibility of damaging the (important word:) family computer.
The investigation I chose to carry out shows how more in-depth research is needed to fully comprehend it. The online age has definitely affected the way we listen to music (like other technologies), but whether or not Pop music has been directly affected is a very difficult topic to explore.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
[M.I.I] Pop music artists
I researched three music artists/bands to get an idea of what record label they belonged to.
By gaining knowledge of the record labels and other artists I will be able to see what kind of music and artists the record label find. For example, Polydor has a mixture of artists in genres, from Pop to Soul which could imply how they want to vary music to have better profits/business.
Britney Spears:
American
626473 members on her Myspace page (recorded 8th Oct)Label: Jive records (since 1998). Zomba Label Group is a record label group and division of Sony Music Entertainment which distributes different labels including Jive Records (Wiki)
Other artists on label: Jordin Sparks, Usher, Cage The Elephant, Bullet For My Valentine...
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zomba_Label_Group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Records#List_of_Sony_Music_Entertainment_labels
Lily Allen:
British
422706 Myspace members (recorded 8th Oct)
Parlophone/ Regal records
“Parlophone Records is Britain’s most famous record label and part of the EMI group, one of the biggest and most prestigious music companies in the world. Home to many of the most influential artists of all time – from The Beatles to Blur, Radiohead to Kylie – Parlophone has established itself over the years as a cutting-edge yet hugely successful label. That tradition continues today with a dynamic and vibrant roster of artists that represent the best of every genre, bringing a broad range of artistic and commercial variety to the EMI family.
Current talent includes Coldplay, Gorillaz, Lily Allen, Sigur Ros, Bat For Lashes, Babyshambles, Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, and we’re always on the look out for the next exciting, life-changing, creative artists to work with. Embracing the past yet firmly focussed on the future, Parlophone Records continues to push boundaries and develop talent, bringing you the best music in the world.”*
Other artists on label: Like above, Bat For Lashes, Babyshambles, Coldplay and some others, Chemical Brothers and Kylie Minogue.
Lily Allen simply had some songs and a Myspace profile. Tens of thousands of people listened to them, she signed a record deal and her first album, released when she was 21, sold more than a million copies in the UK alone. (MSN website)
*http://www.parlophone.co.uk/2008/07/about/
Take That:
British
60498 Myspace members
Labels: (Years active) 1990–1996 = Sony Music 2005–present = Polydor
Polydor was founded in Germany in 1946 but established the UK division ten years after. “Few labels can boast as long, prestigious and varied a musical history as Polydor Records. From the 60s 'beat boom' onwards, through the eras of progressive rock, disco and punk, the label has been in the vanguard of every significant new musical development, while today the likes of the Scissor Sisters, Snow Patrol and The Hives maintain Polydor's enviable cutting-edge reputation.”
Other artists: ABBA, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Girls Aloud, Lady Gaga, Daniel Beddingfield, Duffy, Snow Patrol. Mostly pop and rock music artists and bands. Developed an American connection which generated some r’n’b and soul talent (Aretha Franklin, James Brown...)
Source: http://www.polydor.co.uk/history.php
By gaining knowledge of the record labels and other artists I will be able to see what kind of music and artists the record label find. For example, Polydor has a mixture of artists in genres, from Pop to Soul which could imply how they want to vary music to have better profits/business.
Britney Spears:
American
626473 members on her Myspace page (recorded 8th Oct)Label: Jive records (since 1998). Zomba Label Group is a record label group and division of Sony Music Entertainment which distributes different labels including Jive Records (Wiki)
Other artists on label: Jordin Sparks, Usher, Cage The Elephant, Bullet For My Valentine...
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zomba_Label_Group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Records#List_of_Sony_Music_Entertainment_labels
Lily Allen:
British
422706 Myspace members (recorded 8th Oct)
Parlophone/ Regal records
“Parlophone Records is Britain’s most famous record label and part of the EMI group, one of the biggest and most prestigious music companies in the world. Home to many of the most influential artists of all time – from The Beatles to Blur, Radiohead to Kylie – Parlophone has established itself over the years as a cutting-edge yet hugely successful label. That tradition continues today with a dynamic and vibrant roster of artists that represent the best of every genre, bringing a broad range of artistic and commercial variety to the EMI family.
Current talent includes Coldplay, Gorillaz, Lily Allen, Sigur Ros, Bat For Lashes, Babyshambles, Hot Chip and LCD Soundsystem, and we’re always on the look out for the next exciting, life-changing, creative artists to work with. Embracing the past yet firmly focussed on the future, Parlophone Records continues to push boundaries and develop talent, bringing you the best music in the world.”*
Other artists on label: Like above, Bat For Lashes, Babyshambles, Coldplay and some others, Chemical Brothers and Kylie Minogue.
Lily Allen simply had some songs and a Myspace profile. Tens of thousands of people listened to them, she signed a record deal and her first album, released when she was 21, sold more than a million copies in the UK alone. (MSN website)
*http://www.parlophone.co.uk/2008/07/about/
Take That:
British
60498 Myspace members
Labels: (Years active) 1990–1996 = Sony Music 2005–present = Polydor
Polydor was founded in Germany in 1946 but established the UK division ten years after. “Few labels can boast as long, prestigious and varied a musical history as Polydor Records. From the 60s 'beat boom' onwards, through the eras of progressive rock, disco and punk, the label has been in the vanguard of every significant new musical development, while today the likes of the Scissor Sisters, Snow Patrol and The Hives maintain Polydor's enviable cutting-edge reputation.”
Other artists: ABBA, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Girls Aloud, Lady Gaga, Daniel Beddingfield, Duffy, Snow Patrol. Mostly pop and rock music artists and bands. Developed an American connection which generated some r’n’b and soul talent (Aretha Franklin, James Brown...)
Source: http://www.polydor.co.uk/history.php
Saturday, 3 October 2009
[M.I.I] File sharing- Lily Allen's and Elly Jackson's views
I was looking at La Roux's Myspace page when I noticed that the singer, Elly had posted something about file sharing. Elly wrote about Lily Allen's reaction (on 14th Sept) to an article whilst also giving her opinion. The article from The Times website is focused on how file sharing has affected the music industry. This is extremely interesting and relevant to my project as two pop artists have spoken about the problems with the advancing online technology.
Both Lily and Elly seemed offended by the similar comments made by members of the bands in Radiohead, Blur and Pink Floyd. Basically the band members think that file sharing actually helps the music industry, as it almost markets their music and also promotional things, including tours and music products. I do agree with Lily and Elly with how richer artists and bands can afford to have their fans downloading illegally. Newcomers have to rely on their record label to generate their fame first to become noticed and liked by their audience. It is an extremely expensive process and the artists/bands easily have a heavy debt to pay afterwards. On the other hand, many popular and well known, rich artists/bands would have been in the same position when first becoming noticed by listeners. It seems a continuous cycle that music artists are going to face unless they have lots of money to start their careers.
Radiohead's guitarist Ed O’Brien said: “My generation grew up with the point of view that you pay for your music. Every generation has a different method. File sharing is like a sampler, like taping your mate’s music. You go, ‘I like that, I’ll go and buy the album’. Or, ‘you know what, I’ll go and see them live’. This is a fair point but then some artists can't let their music be given away like this, it costs them greatly. However by listening consuming their music they will probably consume more of their music and buy their merchandise.
I wanted to see what some of the public wanted to say in response to Lily's Myspace blog post. Avner Peled thought, "fighting against file sharing is next to impossible. There are just too many people and the internet is too big, accessible and free (which is ultimately a good thing)." This is very true as the amount of websites the internet allows us to access is crazy. He then goes on to say how the music industry "should adapt, like it has already started doing, making payed downloading cheaper and easier". I think the process of eliminating these problems is going to take a very long time as illegal downloading sites and softwares are accessible and available to lots of people. Even more, some don't understand the damage they cause to the artists and also in a way to themselves. Some users receive viruses and some may have had or will have their internet connections cut. This topic is one with many pro's and con's and it is difficult to weigh them out as there are so many! Some artists benefit and some don't because they can either afford to lose profits or not.
Users who download illegally often are not aware of their actions or rather don't fully understand what they are doing. Others live off the fact that they can create music of their own, creating mash-ups and remixes, ignoring the copy-right issues. Further more, what is the point in having Spotify and other websites which allow you to listen to music when many users just listen to tracks then delete them? Another commenter on Lily's page (Michelle Granelli) mentioned how they "couldn't afford to spend huge amounts on albums, taking the risk that they were any good. So I'd download a few tracks and if I liked what I heard I bought the album. If not I deleted the files." This suggests how users like Michelle Granelli just listened to the music but through illegal methods. I am aware that Spotify is relatively new but Myspace has been around for years. Spotify is a really encouraging method for music listeners to consume music. It does the job like illegal downloading but it isn't illegal.
The same commenter also said:
"I think file sharing should just be used for things like concert recordings where the artist/band encourages fans to record shows and share them out....it's advertising for them without having to do it themselves!". An interesting and good point.
The main dilemma with this issue is how there are so many underlying levels that it seems impossible to stop. Creators of illegal downloading sites and softwares will continue to find new ways of getting around the bans. What worries me the most is how well-known artists and people are saying that downloading illegally is all dandy, but it's illegal and they are not setting a very good example to the public.
"People respected and loved music, they valued it far more back then." KaH, Myspace commenter.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6828262.ece
Both Lily and Elly seemed offended by the similar comments made by members of the bands in Radiohead, Blur and Pink Floyd. Basically the band members think that file sharing actually helps the music industry, as it almost markets their music and also promotional things, including tours and music products. I do agree with Lily and Elly with how richer artists and bands can afford to have their fans downloading illegally. Newcomers have to rely on their record label to generate their fame first to become noticed and liked by their audience. It is an extremely expensive process and the artists/bands easily have a heavy debt to pay afterwards. On the other hand, many popular and well known, rich artists/bands would have been in the same position when first becoming noticed by listeners. It seems a continuous cycle that music artists are going to face unless they have lots of money to start their careers.
Radiohead's guitarist Ed O’Brien said: “My generation grew up with the point of view that you pay for your music. Every generation has a different method. File sharing is like a sampler, like taping your mate’s music. You go, ‘I like that, I’ll go and buy the album’. Or, ‘you know what, I’ll go and see them live’. This is a fair point but then some artists can't let their music be given away like this, it costs them greatly. However by listening consuming their music they will probably consume more of their music and buy their merchandise.
I wanted to see what some of the public wanted to say in response to Lily's Myspace blog post. Avner Peled thought, "fighting against file sharing is next to impossible. There are just too many people and the internet is too big, accessible and free (which is ultimately a good thing)." This is very true as the amount of websites the internet allows us to access is crazy. He then goes on to say how the music industry "should adapt, like it has already started doing, making payed downloading cheaper and easier". I think the process of eliminating these problems is going to take a very long time as illegal downloading sites and softwares are accessible and available to lots of people. Even more, some don't understand the damage they cause to the artists and also in a way to themselves. Some users receive viruses and some may have had or will have their internet connections cut. This topic is one with many pro's and con's and it is difficult to weigh them out as there are so many! Some artists benefit and some don't because they can either afford to lose profits or not.
Users who download illegally often are not aware of their actions or rather don't fully understand what they are doing. Others live off the fact that they can create music of their own, creating mash-ups and remixes, ignoring the copy-right issues. Further more, what is the point in having Spotify and other websites which allow you to listen to music when many users just listen to tracks then delete them? Another commenter on Lily's page (Michelle Granelli) mentioned how they "couldn't afford to spend huge amounts on albums, taking the risk that they were any good. So I'd download a few tracks and if I liked what I heard I bought the album. If not I deleted the files." This suggests how users like Michelle Granelli just listened to the music but through illegal methods. I am aware that Spotify is relatively new but Myspace has been around for years. Spotify is a really encouraging method for music listeners to consume music. It does the job like illegal downloading but it isn't illegal.
The same commenter also said:
"I think file sharing should just be used for things like concert recordings where the artist/band encourages fans to record shows and share them out....it's advertising for them without having to do it themselves!". An interesting and good point.
The main dilemma with this issue is how there are so many underlying levels that it seems impossible to stop. Creators of illegal downloading sites and softwares will continue to find new ways of getting around the bans. What worries me the most is how well-known artists and people are saying that downloading illegally is all dandy, but it's illegal and they are not setting a very good example to the public.
"People respected and loved music, they valued it far more back then." KaH, Myspace commenter.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6828262.ece
[M.I.I] YouTube and Limewire research
Having evaluated my research, I found that the sample used YouTube to listen to music (with twenty percent) so I wanted to explore it further. Limewire, with sixty percent is used the most by my sample to download music which I thought would be interesting to look into, as I haven't used it before.
YouTube
YouTube is "the world's most popular online video site" (1) allowing users to watch any video uploaded by users. It is owned by Google inc; was founded and launched in 2005. It has a logan of "Broadcast Yourself" which means users can upload their own videos onto the website as long as they have registered.
Like social networking sites, users can comment on pages, can join certain channels and subscribers. Similarly to Myspace, YouTube has helped some users get noticed for their home-made videos. For instance, American Chris Crocker, is very passionate in broadcasting his thoughts- about Britney Spears (Leave Britney Alone!) and homosexuality. Leave Britney Alone! was nominated in the Commentary category in 2007s YouTube Awards. Tay Zonday is another example, with his first song "Chocolate Rain" (released in 2007). He was nominated for People's Voice Award, won a YouTube Award and a Webby-Award, with 60 million video views on YouTube.
Robson's article mentioned how "Many teenagers use YouTube to watch videos (usually anime which cannot be watched anywhere else) and some use it as a music player by having a video with the music they want to listen to playing in the background." I think this is accurate in what users use YouTube as I asked four participants what they used YouTube for the most. Their responses were:
"Mostly music and for comedy videos",
"Music, although some of the videos are rubbish quality",
"Allsorts, I often find myself clicking on random ones that look good and funny",
"I like listening to the music videos, it has so many to choose".
Personally my uses are the same to these responses as I find the music videos are easy to find. It is perhaps unfortunate how there are copyright issues as people upload videos which they think our their own. Copyright issues have been dealt with over the years and last month there was a report on the news.
On 3rd September, the BBC reported how YouTube had lifted the music video block as an agreement over fees has been arranged. In March when the ban begun, many music artists were not receiving fair payment for their songs. PRS for Music (Performing Right Society*) and YouTube agreed that music song-writers would have a fair payment for each time their video was viewed. According to the BBC report, "services such as Pandora.com, MySpace UK and Imeem have also had issues securing licensing deals in the UK in the past 12 months".
It is difficult to say how much pop music is listened to on YouTube but looking at the Top Video pages there are approximately eighteen of Pop music artists, over the five pages and mostly Lady Gaga and JLS.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/pages/default.aspx
(1) YouTube- BBC- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8234125.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7942045.stm
Added note: *PRS- "We exist to collect and pay royalties to our members when their music is exploited in one of a number of ways – when it is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, performed or played in public, broadcast or made publicly available online."
_____________________
Limewire
"Young people's attitudes to music may be too complicated and fast-changing to measure, says Bill Thompson
Peer-to-peer (p2p) download services are still popular with music-loving kids, it seems. The second annual survey of young people's music consumption by pressure group UK Music found among 1,808 respondents aged 18 to 24 that three-fifths of them used p2p services, and four-fifths of those did so at least once a week.
This is almost the same as last year's result, and would seem to indicate that the efforts by the music industry to offer a range of licensed alternatives to Limewire and other p2p services have failed to have any real impact."
LimeWire was initially launched in 2000 and is an example of a free peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P). It is a method for users to illegally download music for free. There are two versions of the program which Lime Wire LLC has developed: the basic version which is free and an enhanced version called LimeWire PRO for $21.95 or $34.95. LimeWire claims "the paid version provides faster download and sixty-six percent better search results". Even more, it uses the Gnutella network –a file sharing network to locate files as well as share files.
"Kids, it seems, like unlicensed services because they are free. But the report also acknowledges their usefulness in finding more obscure music and letting them listen to a band before they buy, so closing them down may actually make it harder for new artists to break through." Thompson makes a good point here, if users do not listen to different and unusual artists, it will be more difficult for them to be found by possible listeners and fans.
LimeWire seems very complicated and I don’t think I will either use it. The technology behind it is hard to understand and I would not be surprised if many young users were not aware of the illegal networks and processes it uses. I asked one participant aged 15, why they used LimeWire and their responses were: “It’s easy to get any song you want. I love it!”.
Source: wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LimeWire
YouTube
YouTube is "the world's most popular online video site" (1) allowing users to watch any video uploaded by users. It is owned by Google inc; was founded and launched in 2005. It has a logan of "Broadcast Yourself" which means users can upload their own videos onto the website as long as they have registered.
Like social networking sites, users can comment on pages, can join certain channels and subscribers. Similarly to Myspace, YouTube has helped some users get noticed for their home-made videos. For instance, American Chris Crocker, is very passionate in broadcasting his thoughts- about Britney Spears (Leave Britney Alone!) and homosexuality. Leave Britney Alone! was nominated in the Commentary category in 2007s YouTube Awards. Tay Zonday is another example, with his first song "Chocolate Rain" (released in 2007). He was nominated for People's Voice Award, won a YouTube Award and a Webby-Award, with 60 million video views on YouTube.
Robson's article mentioned how "Many teenagers use YouTube to watch videos (usually anime which cannot be watched anywhere else) and some use it as a music player by having a video with the music they want to listen to playing in the background." I think this is accurate in what users use YouTube as I asked four participants what they used YouTube for the most. Their responses were:
"Mostly music and for comedy videos",
"Music, although some of the videos are rubbish quality",
"Allsorts, I often find myself clicking on random ones that look good and funny",
"I like listening to the music videos, it has so many to choose".
Personally my uses are the same to these responses as I find the music videos are easy to find. It is perhaps unfortunate how there are copyright issues as people upload videos which they think our their own. Copyright issues have been dealt with over the years and last month there was a report on the news.
On 3rd September, the BBC reported how YouTube had lifted the music video block as an agreement over fees has been arranged. In March when the ban begun, many music artists were not receiving fair payment for their songs. PRS for Music (Performing Right Society*) and YouTube agreed that music song-writers would have a fair payment for each time their video was viewed. According to the BBC report, "services such as Pandora.com, MySpace UK and Imeem have also had issues securing licensing deals in the UK in the past 12 months".
It is difficult to say how much pop music is listened to on YouTube but looking at the Top Video pages there are approximately eighteen of Pop music artists, over the five pages and mostly Lady Gaga and JLS.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube
http://www.prsformusic.com/aboutus/pages/default.aspx
(1) YouTube- BBC- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8234125.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7942045.stm
Added note: *PRS- "We exist to collect and pay royalties to our members when their music is exploited in one of a number of ways – when it is recorded onto any format and distributed to the public, performed or played in public, broadcast or made publicly available online."
_____________________
Limewire
"Young people's attitudes to music may be too complicated and fast-changing to measure, says Bill Thompson
Peer-to-peer (p2p) download services are still popular with music-loving kids, it seems. The second annual survey of young people's music consumption by pressure group UK Music found among 1,808 respondents aged 18 to 24 that three-fifths of them used p2p services, and four-fifths of those did so at least once a week.
This is almost the same as last year's result, and would seem to indicate that the efforts by the music industry to offer a range of licensed alternatives to Limewire and other p2p services have failed to have any real impact."
LimeWire was initially launched in 2000 and is an example of a free peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P). It is a method for users to illegally download music for free. There are two versions of the program which Lime Wire LLC has developed: the basic version which is free and an enhanced version called LimeWire PRO for $21.95 or $34.95. LimeWire claims "the paid version provides faster download and sixty-six percent better search results". Even more, it uses the Gnutella network –a file sharing network to locate files as well as share files.
"Kids, it seems, like unlicensed services because they are free. But the report also acknowledges their usefulness in finding more obscure music and letting them listen to a band before they buy, so closing them down may actually make it harder for new artists to break through." Thompson makes a good point here, if users do not listen to different and unusual artists, it will be more difficult for them to be found by possible listeners and fans.
LimeWire seems very complicated and I don’t think I will either use it. The technology behind it is hard to understand and I would not be surprised if many young users were not aware of the illegal networks and processes it uses. I asked one participant aged 15, why they used LimeWire and their responses were: “It’s easy to get any song you want. I love it!”.
Source: wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LimeWire
[M.I.I] Robson's article on media consumption
One of The Guardian's articles written by Matthew Robson in July (this year) explains different technologies used by teenagers to consume media (link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jul/13/teenage-media-habits-morgan-stanley). I want to focus on music. Radio is one which generates many opinions as I think it isn't as unpopular as Robson says. He says how teenagers don't seem to be "regular listeners to radio" because there are other alternatives to listening to music, which he thought was one of the main reasons that they actually listen to it. I asked four participants how often they listened to music, all said "everyday". Alex 17, mentioned how she listens to Radio 4 before going to sleep.
Last.fm is another way to listen to music, with live streams of music that they can choose. This opposes to how some DJs choose the music themselves based on the week's music charts. I know for a fact that this is true in some cases but most stations such as Radio 1, Heart and Kiss allow their listeners to call up or send for a request through texts or e-mails. This allows them to choose a song whereas Last.fm allows them to choose far many more songs. Therefore, I agree with Robson on how some listeners may prefer to choose their music but then a DJ can be like the "shuffle" button choosing the music for them.
Music is now more available than ever, with portable music technology such as Apple's iPod, mobile phones music players, MP3 players and so on. Young adults listen to music a considerably amount whether they are walking, sitting at a computer or with friends. Where the music comes from is the dilemma that is concerning the government. According to Robson's calculations, eight out of ten teenagers are downloading illegally. I think these are reliable results as my own were very close with ninety percent having illegally downloaded. What concerns me is how Robson's research, focusing on teenagers suggests that young audiences are downloading illegally, through file sharing sites. I asked a participant about how they started downloading illegally and he said that he was "encouraged by my mates", suggesting how recommendations lead to more people downloading.
Despite the music being consumed for free, most (illegal) downloads are bad quality. Another participant from my questionnaire sample mentioned how he would download a song and if it was not a good quality then he would buy the song through iTunes. iTunes are good quality but young users are put off my the prices, 79p per track. By using a combination of methods to consume music, young adults are then able to balance their illegal and legal downloading.
There is multiple ways of listening and buying music but as some young adults cannot afford to buy music, illegally downloading seems to be their solution to obtaining music. Most teenager don't realise what they are doing to get music is in fact illegal and they don't know the consequences. Most participants in my sample were aware that it was illegal and are cautious and have been discouraged from using them because of the viruses you receive. Only but two participants mentioned how it was illegal so this led them to not using it anymore so the fact that it is illegal does not seem to be their main concern.
Last.fm is another way to listen to music, with live streams of music that they can choose. This opposes to how some DJs choose the music themselves based on the week's music charts. I know for a fact that this is true in some cases but most stations such as Radio 1, Heart and Kiss allow their listeners to call up or send for a request through texts or e-mails. This allows them to choose a song whereas Last.fm allows them to choose far many more songs. Therefore, I agree with Robson on how some listeners may prefer to choose their music but then a DJ can be like the "shuffle" button choosing the music for them.
Music is now more available than ever, with portable music technology such as Apple's iPod, mobile phones music players, MP3 players and so on. Young adults listen to music a considerably amount whether they are walking, sitting at a computer or with friends. Where the music comes from is the dilemma that is concerning the government. According to Robson's calculations, eight out of ten teenagers are downloading illegally. I think these are reliable results as my own were very close with ninety percent having illegally downloaded. What concerns me is how Robson's research, focusing on teenagers suggests that young audiences are downloading illegally, through file sharing sites. I asked a participant about how they started downloading illegally and he said that he was "encouraged by my mates", suggesting how recommendations lead to more people downloading.
Despite the music being consumed for free, most (illegal) downloads are bad quality. Another participant from my questionnaire sample mentioned how he would download a song and if it was not a good quality then he would buy the song through iTunes. iTunes are good quality but young users are put off my the prices, 79p per track. By using a combination of methods to consume music, young adults are then able to balance their illegal and legal downloading.
There is multiple ways of listening and buying music but as some young adults cannot afford to buy music, illegally downloading seems to be their solution to obtaining music. Most teenager don't realise what they are doing to get music is in fact illegal and they don't know the consequences. Most participants in my sample were aware that it was illegal and are cautious and have been discouraged from using them because of the viruses you receive. Only but two participants mentioned how it was illegal so this led them to not using it anymore so the fact that it is illegal does not seem to be their main concern.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
[M.I.I] Frostwire & Hype machine
FrostWire
-It is a peer-to-peer file sharing programme.
- Project started in 2004.
-Similarly to LimeWire Frostwire is written in Java, so it is capable of supporting multiple platforms.
-Two versions of the programme, free and paid.
-Provides a chatroom.
The Hype Machine
- It is an MP3 blog aggregator created by Anthony Volodkin.
- Created website in 2005 while at "Hunter College".
-Only stream music via Flash Player, not download.
- Lots of links to Amazon and iTunes to get users to buy music legally.
Friday, 18 September 2009
[M.I.I] Myspace
Myspace is an example of a social networking site but has special 
features which make it slightly different to it's competitors, such as Facebook and Bebo. It is based in America, Beverly Hills more precisely, owned by Fox Interactive Media and was founded and launched in 2003. Myspace became extremely popular in the US in 2006 and developed into an international website.
features which make it slightly different to it's competitors, such as Facebook and Bebo. It is based in America, Beverly Hills more precisely, owned by Fox Interactive Media and was founded and launched in 2003. Myspace became extremely popular in the US in 2006 and developed into an international website.Over the six years it has been altered with new designed layouts and new features to improve its purpose. The feature of being able to select an emotion - a cartoon face or object which covers your certain mood was added in July 2007. The picture below shows this:
When you create your profile you can write about yourself in the boxes provided, including, "About you", "Interests", "Who I'd Like to Meet" and so on. It is similar to a blog which you can update but it's like a journal blog. The user can also add a profile picture which can be a realistic picture of oneself or any other picture. Extra security is used for when you want to edit your profile, by having a character (letter and/or number) typing question.
Another feature is MyspaceIM (instant messenger) where users chat online to their friends - similarly to Facebook's IM feature. They both alert users when they receieve new mail, comments and so on too which is useful.
Myspace also has seperate services for their Myspace Music and Videos. Myspace Music is a whole service dedicated to music artists and bands whether they are signed or unsigned. Users can search for an artist or band, for their profile pages, so it is a method for the artist/band to distribute and market their music. Many artists and bands have been discovered through producing and then distributing music across Myspace: Lily Allen, Kate Nash, and The Arctic Monkeys. It is easy to discover new music when it is this accessible and available to anyone. Focusing on the Pop genre, you can see how many artists and bands are in that particular genre, who have profiles on Myspace as it keeps a record of the amount, at the moment it is 723,426.
The Video service is very alike YouTube with different channels, for example, T5M which appears to be focusing on Fashion a
nd design whilst The Hook Up seems to have clips of interviews and the makings of music videos. By signing up to Myspace Video , you can keep a record of your favourite videos because it's easier than searching again. There is a Top Video chart which calculates the amount of users who view particular videos. A user can embed, copy the URL, comment and subscribe to the channel or creator.
nd design whilst The Hook Up seems to have clips of interviews and the makings of music videos. By signing up to Myspace Video , you can keep a record of your favourite videos because it's easier than searching again. There is a Top Video chart which calculates the amount of users who view particular videos. A user can embed, copy the URL, comment and subscribe to the channel or creator. If you are signed up to Myspace, you can find your friends, invite and find new ones through the chat forums and searches. Myspace's forums, like others, has multiple choices of topics which users can choose to participant in or just read other user's opinions.
Myspace is one of the original social networking sites alongside Bebo, but has had competition with Facebook, losing some users (not fully but they concentrate more with others). Personally, I use Facebook the most out of the three mentioned as most of my friends have Facebook accounts. However, when it comes to finding music artists and bands, Myspace is the clear winner for its usefulness.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
[M.I.I] Audience consumption of Pop music (investigation)
Below is the questionnaire which I handed out to my sample of ten participants. The sample is unbias with five males and five females to produce fair results. I asked participants who are young teenagers to young adults (15- 25years) as this is the "young market". My research was carried out during two days and evenings, using open (self-explanatory) and closed ("yes/no") questionnaires. The aim of this questionnaire was to gain knowledge of how popular the Pop genre is amongst young adult markets and how they consume music the most, through the use of old or new technologies. (Click on below images to see closer...)
[M.I.I] Last.fm
Last.fm is a music service with Internet radio and is similar in ways, to a social networking site. The website is UK-based (but can be used in other countries), is owned by CBS Interactive and was founded in 2002.
The website includes music streams on radios, such as 
"Rock Radio" which has different bands and artists in the rock genre. Last.fm has lots of information on artists, music tracks and albums (and those similar to them), charts, statistics and more. Users can read about artists they are interested in, whilst checking out their most popular songs, browse through their albums, listen to their music and watch their videos. Additionally, advertisements and upcoming events are scattered around the website which help market other businesses.
"Rock Radio" which has different bands and artists in the rock genre. Last.fm has lots of information on artists, music tracks and albums (and those similar to them), charts, statistics and more. Users can read about artists they are interested in, whilst checking out their most popular songs, browse through their albums, listen to their music and watch their videos. Additionally, advertisements and upcoming events are scattered around the website which help market other businesses.
"As soon as you start listening to music on Last.fm, or with your media player on your computer – for this you need our free Scrobbler software which you can get here– all this music will get added to your profile and you’ll see what you’ve been listening to so far and get your own artists, tracks and album charts. This is what we call “scrobbling”", Last.fm explains.
The website is also able to keep track of the most popular music searched and listened to. Even more, it has a clever feature as the listeners can easily find bands alike to their favourites and what music they already listen to. The users can create their own profile- writing in blog posts, with their own charts and stats, events calender and can invite and meet new friends through the chat forums. To create your own profile, you have to sign up.
Last.fm seems a good website to use to listen and learn about new music, either through searching yourself or looking on other people's profiles and playlists. It is accessible from any computer and is available for use on mobile phones. It also has a general Top Chart page which shows what artist or band and song has had the most views and listens. For the end of the week of 13th September, it was Muse with Uprising with 134,351 plays and 39,837 listeners.
Again Last.fm is not a downloading site, only a "listening"-site, it does have links to other internet sites which are music retailers and therefore have downloads available.
A disadvantage is how users outside of the US, UK and Germany have to pay after having a free 30-track trial. If they wish to continue listening to the streams, they have to pay ("only") three Euros.
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
[M.I.I] "Spotify launches mobile service"
This Monday, Spotify launched an application for particular mobiles including the Apple iPhone, iPod touch or any mobile that has Google’s Android system (software) or another wireless broadband connection. Now, users can search and listen to the millions of tracks on the database. However, the application can only stream music which means that the user only listens to them and cannot keep the tracks. Unlike on the website which you can listen for free, the mobile application does not have the
adverts popping up but instead you have to pay a premium of £9.99 per month. The adverts are not necessarily a problem for some users however, as they can be paid to be taken off.Radio one asked what John Scott (26, from Leeds) thought: "I like the idea, it's good… I do like to keep all my music so it's alright but I might stick with iTunes instead." This suggests that users prefer to keep the music, whether downloading illegally or legally.David Curly from Acton, said that it would depend on how often you listen to music. “I listen to quite a lot so I reckon it would be worth it". This is a true point, as for some people it would be more beneficial for regular and music lovers than those who do not listen often.It is difficult to say whether it will help combat the problem of illegal downloading. The music industry has claimed that illegal downloading costs millions of pounds every year.He added: "As far as cutting out illegal downloading, with illegal downloading you get to keep the song and so just being able to listen to it isn't good enough."
A disadvantage of playing music on a mobile is that it is a mobile phone, so the quality won’t be great compared to a proper music player- although- this has been overcome by advancing technology allowing phones to be plugged into speakers.
Even more, the application is only restricted to some mobiles, so other users will not be able to get it on theirs- perhaps Spotify should make it available to other phone companies. Lastly, on some phones and internet connections, it's likely to betime-consuming and have problems with connections.
On the other hand, the user can create a playlist of their favourite or wanted tracks, which is useful for social gatherings and parties.
Is Spotify going to be iTunes competitor?
Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/technology/newsid_10000000/newsid_10001400/10001456.stm
Monday, 7 September 2009
Music Industry Investigation proposal
What was your topic?
My main question is:
In what ways has the online age affected music in the pop genre? (Music and the online age area)
To begin this investigation I have thought what kind of questions I will be asking myself. Firstly, finding how pop music is consumed and by who. I will be aiming my investigation at a specific age range however, from fifteen to twenty five year olds as I think it ranges from young teenagers to young adults. By focusing on young audiences I could investigate how age differences may affect the pop artists' music, whether they produce music to appeal to a certain age range. Hence me asking myself if the artist or band is influenced by the audience.
I thought by looking at what kind of record labels pop artists are signed to I would be able to see how they may influence their music, if it is the artists choice or if the record label pushes them to creating particular music. This may be difficult to research without contacting some record labels but I will see later in the investigation. I will continue to look at how pop artists produce, distribute, market their music (with the lovely help of their record label) and how it is consumed.
I think an important aspect of my investigation and a main theme I should look at is how downloading and file sharing has affected the music industry.
Why have I chosen this topic?
Pop is a genre which I haven’t explored in detail before so it will be interesting to research it in detail. I think that pop music will be affected like all music genres due to online age. As it is ever-advancing and new technology is made it is bound to have some affect. Because of the many genres, it will be interesting to focus on one and see if it has had any major changes and problems. Artists such as Britney Spears and Katy Perry with their major record labels will be the dominating artists in the genre. They will have more experienced music producers and a work team which will have access to money to get the artists music noticed and therefore liked.
The topic I have chosen is relevant to my learning of the music industry because it will allow me to research and gain knowledge about a specific genre. It also seems to have relevance in the music industry as the TV music channel, 4Music, is having a competition of Rimmel's "World's Greatest Pop Stars" which includes ten pop artists (i.e. Beyonce, La Roux, Take That), the result is on the Sunday 29th November. This could suggest how pop music is regularly listened to and enjoyed by audiences.
What have you done so far?
My investigation began with planning what it would include exploring and my main aims for the investigation. One of my aims is to gather a sample of participants to complete my questionnaire. When they have I will analyse and evaluate what their responses could mean and generalize them for the age range. This will include researching technologies and methods the sample use to consume music, whether it is listening or actually buying the music.
A next step could be to research pop music artists and bands to gain knowledge of what the genre is made up of - what kind of artists are in this genre. My prediction is that many artists are mainstream with a major record company supporting them, for example, Britney Spears. Further more, I think many females have more dominance over the pop genre and have done other the years. It would be interesting to research previous pop artists and bands, to look at their success (or failures) at having a pop career.My next step will be to carry out primary research creating a questionnaire. I will read articles, research technologies and internet websites.
My main question is:
In what ways has the online age affected music in the pop genre? (Music and the online age area)
To begin this investigation I have thought what kind of questions I will be asking myself. Firstly, finding how pop music is consumed and by who. I will be aiming my investigation at a specific age range however, from fifteen to twenty five year olds as I think it ranges from young teenagers to young adults. By focusing on young audiences I could investigate how age differences may affect the pop artists' music, whether they produce music to appeal to a certain age range. Hence me asking myself if the artist or band is influenced by the audience.
I thought by looking at what kind of record labels pop artists are signed to I would be able to see how they may influence their music, if it is the artists choice or if the record label pushes them to creating particular music. This may be difficult to research without contacting some record labels but I will see later in the investigation. I will continue to look at how pop artists produce, distribute, market their music (with the lovely help of their record label) and how it is consumed.
I think an important aspect of my investigation and a main theme I should look at is how downloading and file sharing has affected the music industry.
Why have I chosen this topic?
Pop is a genre which I haven’t explored in detail before so it will be interesting to research it in detail. I think that pop music will be affected like all music genres due to online age. As it is ever-advancing and new technology is made it is bound to have some affect. Because of the many genres, it will be interesting to focus on one and see if it has had any major changes and problems. Artists such as Britney Spears and Katy Perry with their major record labels will be the dominating artists in the genre. They will have more experienced music producers and a work team which will have access to money to get the artists music noticed and therefore liked.
The topic I have chosen is relevant to my learning of the music industry because it will allow me to research and gain knowledge about a specific genre. It also seems to have relevance in the music industry as the TV music channel, 4Music, is having a competition of Rimmel's "World's Greatest Pop Stars" which includes ten pop artists (i.e. Beyonce, La Roux, Take That), the result is on the Sunday 29th November. This could suggest how pop music is regularly listened to and enjoyed by audiences.
What have you done so far?
My investigation began with planning what it would include exploring and my main aims for the investigation. One of my aims is to gather a sample of participants to complete my questionnaire. When they have I will analyse and evaluate what their responses could mean and generalize them for the age range. This will include researching technologies and methods the sample use to consume music, whether it is listening or actually buying the music.
A next step could be to research pop music artists and bands to gain knowledge of what the genre is made up of - what kind of artists are in this genre. My prediction is that many artists are mainstream with a major record company supporting them, for example, Britney Spears. Further more, I think many females have more dominance over the pop genre and have done other the years. It would be interesting to research previous pop artists and bands, to look at their success (or failures) at having a pop career.My next step will be to carry out primary research creating a questionnaire. I will read articles, research technologies and internet websites.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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