Features of a Digipak

I created this mind-map so i could easily known what features i should and will include in my digipak, after discussing what it should include in class.

What is a Digipak?
It is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, they are usually made from cardboard with one or more plastic trays which are capable of holding a CD that is attached inside.

• A CD digipak is a modern and stylish alternative to the standard CD album
• They can be custom printed with customer packaging
• Can hold one or more CDs
• Give a product an expensive,professional look and feel
• Used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums

Things to look out for in Music Artwork :

1. Reflect the artist
2. Have a theme
3. Be striking
4. Cross Promotion
5. Extra features included

Analysis of Jay-Z's '99 Problems' Music Video

In lesson we looked Jay - Z's '99 Problems' music video and looked at 7 categories to look at when watching the video:

Textual Analysis: Music Video

• Summarise denotation - use of performance,narrative and other visual elements
• Genre characteristics - Goodwin's theory
• Cinematography
• Mise-en-Scene
• Editing
• Notion of Looking
• Inter-textual referencing

99 Problems - Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the most financially successful hip-hop artists in America and his smash hit single, '99 Problems' was released in 2004 which really began his career as an artist.

The hip-hop genre that Jay-Z is related is usually seen to be a 'thug life' and this is shown in the music video. The images of graffiti,police,criminals,baseball caps and baggy jeans are all stereotypically items and the way they dressed are all closely associated with rap artists given them their style. In addition, the black and white edit of the video represents a ghetto style like in old New York films, however in this video it is opposing the usual romantic connotation of black and white film because the video is more street based and stereotypically to the Rap genre.

 Moreover the derogatory treatment of women be referred to as, 'bitch' and the close up shots in the video of women dressed in bikinis is typical of a rap video of making women something to be looked at in a sexual way, 'voyeurism'. However the word the 'bitch', can be seen to refer to the dogs in the video, when the dog fighting is taking place.  Also the setting of the video is set in Brooklyn,New York which is known for it to be run down and associated with violence and break/street dancing and this is shown also in the video and in the lyrics Jay - Z raps.

The wide angle and close up shots in the setting of the record shop are repeated throughout the video, it shows the old school music style he might use and his music and the musical integrity in his lyrics and also shows this through the scenes in the video.
In addition the low angle shots of Jay-Z give him power and authority because the viewer is looking up at him to show he has gained this through his music. Also the fast pace editing of music video supports the  beat of the song but also the narrative that he is trying to create of it being a story to tell and a lot has happened for him to be at the position he is now. This can also be seen at the beginning of the video when the camera is from his point of view when he walks up the stairs but never gets there showing his story of how he got to the top.
In the video there is inter-textual referencing to,'Rick Ruben' who is included alongside Jay-Z in the video because he is the founder of Def Jam Records and produced this video. Moreover the recurring use of 'diamonds' seen in jewelery shown in the video is reference to, 'Roc Nation' because he is the found of 'Roc Nation Sports'.

Analysing Digipaks

In today's lesson I looked at 4 digipaks, 3 of them where from a Pop Genre which is the genre me and my group have choose to look at for are artist, and the other one is from the Rock Genre. I have done this so i can see what features are included in digipaks and why and how it is done to promote the artist.

Standardisation/The Culture Industry

The culture industry is a theory by two theorists Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer from the from the chapter, 'The Culture Industry:Enlightenment as Mass Deception' from the book, 'Dialectic of Enlightenment'.The term "Culture Industry" is intended to refer to the commercial marketing of culture, the branch of industry that deals specifically with the production of culture that is in contrast to "authentic culture".

They argued that all products produced by the culture industry exhibited standardised features.Also Adorno and Horkheimer, proposed that popular culture is referable to the production of standardised cultural goods such as:music videos,films,magazines and radio. In addition they both believe that the culture industry allows people to become 'masses' and be easily manipulated by capitalist cooperations and authoritarian governments. Furthermore, there is nothing spontaneous about the process of cultural production: it has become a routine operation that can be carried out,'in an office by the application of specific formulae'. 

Horkheimer and Adorno contend that 'industrially produced culture robs people of their imagination and takes over their thinking for them'. The Culture Industry delivers the "goods" so that the people then only have left over the task of the consuming them. Through mass production, everything becomes homogenised.

Back to Basics : Music Video

Purpose of a music(music promo)?

• tell a visual story
• promote an artist/representation ( brand,genre/artist/record label)
• highlight issues,cultural 
• makes music famous
• to indirectly make money through record labels
• create a buzz
• create a recognisable image that will appeal to the target audience
• marketing tool
• more interest in album

Brainstorm for Music Artist

In todays lesson we began to talk about creating our artist and what genre they would sell. As a group we decided to choose the genre of, 'Pop' as this is a genre of music we all enjoy and listen to which gives us a good starting point on knowing the codes and conventions of this genre. 

We then decided that a female pop artist or group would be a good choice as we are an all female group and know how to portray a woman more than a man, also we listen to more female pop artists such as: Beyonce,Katy Perry,Little Mix and Selena Gomez. 

Furthermore we began to start a brainstorm of female pop artists we could relate to and also the songs they have produced which we could use for our artist. In addition from this we chose that doing a solo artist would be easier because one of us in the group could be the artist in the music video and the others could film and direct. Also the availability of using other people to be mainly in the music video would not be a problem with doing this.

Moreover we choose songs that were over 5 year olds by the female artists that were include on chart websites, we found songs such as: Unfaithful - Rihanna, Irreplaceable - Beyonce and T-shirt - Shontelle. We have not refined the song we want to use for the our artist but the top runner song we all have decided at the moment is : T-shirt by Shontelle. 

Music Industry Crisis

Music Collection

• For most of the 20th Century record companies made money by selling a tangible product such as: a vinyl disc or a CD. The majority of the public had a CD collection in their house full of discs they had brought from music stores e.g HMV

Change in Technology

• With the slow development of the internet by the early 21st Century the music industry had to adapt because the amount of CD sales was falling each year 
• The 'product' is now bought online as a single song or album and exists only as an item on an I pod,mobile phone or computer
•  However in August 2014, according to Nielsen SoundScan (USA sales and tracking system) 'even the digital side has been hit hard'
•  Digital album sales are down by 11.7% according to 'Billboard' 
• Illegal downloading has had a massive effect on digital sales lowering them constantly with the easy access to free music to technological devices at a standard quality
•  The most newest way to access music which are, 'legal streaming sites' such as Spotify and Pandora which have eroded overall sales

  

History of the Music Video

The definition of what a music video is : A music video is short film integrating a song and imagery,produced for promotional or artistic purposes.
Modern music videos are mainly made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.

History of the Music Video

The earliest  piece referring to a music video was a 'sound film', which started out in the 1920's which were motion pictures with synchronized songs playing at certain images this was an advancement from the silent film, they were being produced which featured bands in them etc.

In 1929 one of the earliest examples of a music video was created it was, 'St Louis Blues' by Bessie Smith it was included in a short film called, 'Saint Louis Blues' which showed a performance of the popular hit at the time. 

In addition just after this in the 1930's, 'screen songs' were introduced they were animated cartoons which encouraged the audience to sing along to the lyrics at the bottom by following the 'bouncing ball'. At the same time as this the, 'musical film' was being released which is a film genre whereby songs were sung by the characters which related to the narrative yet, such as: 42nd Street, The Wizard of Oz and Singin' in the Rain.
Moreover in the early 1950's Tony Bennett, (American singer of traditional pop, show tunes, and jazz) claimed to have made the first ever music video in Hyde Park when he was filmed walking along the Serpentine in 1956. Also in 1957 the second music video from the American musical film, 'Jailhouse Rock' starring Elvis Presley was another.

 Furthermore in 1964,The Beatles started a new age for the modern music video with the motion picture, 'A Hard Days Night'. In 1981 the TV channel, 'MTV' aired it was and still is a 24 hour broadcaster which meant that music videos were being played around the clock and became a massive role in marketing music. In the 1990's directors of music videos began to rise because of new sound and with this a new form of music videos which more artistic and experimental, directors such as Spike Jonze, Jake Scot and Mary Lambert were credited.The most expensive music video ever made was, Michael Jackson's 'Scream', which cost £7 million to produce in 1995.

In 2005 the two most influential technological creations in the music industry were founded, iTunes firstly allowed people to downloaded music from the internet and YouTube, which has allowed people to watch videos online and has increased the popularity of watching music videos on the internet.

I looked into what the music industry believes what could be in hold in the future for music videos and when researching into this I found an article that was called, ' MTV and the Future of Music Media'. It sad in the article that,'MTV will likely be making music videos that reflect exactly what they've become: A conglomerate-era corporate brand with big pockets,advertising power and star-making potential'. Also another quote i thought was interesting about the future of the music video was, ' they will combine song,celebrity,spectacle, and cross promotion in efforts to produce "super videos" '.

Major vs Independent Record Label

In today's lesson we looked at Record Labels.This is a PowerPoint identifying what a record label is and the difference between a major and independent label.

Moreover when thinking about our female pop artist, i believe they would be signed to a Major Record Label such as, Universal or Sony Music. I believe this because the music they will produce will be mainstream and this is the type of music major record labels produce and support. More specifically i think they would be signed to a division within Universal Music Group which is, 'Interscope Records' because the type of female artist we are aiming for is similar to Pixie Lott and EllieGoulding which are both signed to this label. 

Goodwins's Music Video Analysis

Goodwin wrote a book called, 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' which included his music video analysis.