Post based on research conclusions

The research conclusions were as follows:

·         More people are influenced to buy music by the track’s video than those who aren’t.

This shows the importance a music video has in a song’s success. Whilst the aim of my promo is not actually to promote a song and try and garner chart success, what must remain a focus is to try and add another dimension to a song, through visual aspects, in a way that makes the song more connective/accessible to the viewer.

·         Pop is the most popular genre of music amongst 17-18 year olds, followed closely by R&B.

This was obvious from the offset really, as the popularity of pop music is even reflected in its title. I was always going to produce a pop music promo, however, as I feel that in line with typical music video promos, pop music often offers the greatest outlet for creative work.

·         17-18 year olds prefer music videos which follow a concept-based narrative to those that are performance based.

This, again, was a predictable result in that 17-18 year olds are more inclined to prefer the eye catching spectacle of a concept based narrative than a more simple, stripped back performance video. This was my intention all along and now my promo will definitely follow a concept-based narrative.

·         Around half of the people who participated watch music videos on a daily basis.

This will not necessarily directly influence my promo, but it, once again, works to show the importance of music videos and how influential they are amongst my target audience of 17-18 year olds.

·         ‘Fun’ was the most popular word used to describe pop music.

Although it is wrong to group all pop music within this light, as a lot of popular music is not reflective of this high-energy, campy persona (e.g. the success of Adele’s music) my promo will most likely be light-hearted and coincide with an up-tempo song.

·         Out of the ten music videos provided, when asked to name their favourite, 2 80s videos were chosen, 5 00s videos were chosen and 3 videos from 2010 onwards.

This goes to show that unlike the often fickle taste of 17-18 year olds in music, the perception of a good music video is something which lasts, highlighted by the inclusion of the iconic Thriller and Like a Prayer videos.

·         When asked to name a video that the participant feels most embodies the ideals of pop music videos , Rihanna was the most popular artists with 3/10 participants choosing her videos (S&M, Unfaithful, Only Girl)

This may highlight the fact that people’s perception of what is a good music video is often reflective of the most popular music. Rihanna is arguably the most popular act, in music, amongst 17-18 year olds, and whilst the videos themselves are very good, it is a testament to the fact that the promos which gain the most attention/praise from this demographic are those which accompany the most successful pop acts.

·         Here was no clear conclusion when asking if people were influences by magazine advertisements as the votes were split evenly.

·         The inclusion of “Hits featured on the album” was voted the most persuasive method on magazine advertisements.

This shows the importance of individual songs in influencing people to buy albums , which in turn are influences by music videos, once again highlighting the importance of a good video in the album sales of an artist. This also shows how essential it is that I stick to all of the conventions of magazines.

·         60% of the participants are persuaded to purchase music based on the album cover.

This, again, highlights the importance of said aspect and the need to make a successful cover which both follows the conventions of pop album covers whilst reflecting the content of the album successfully, also.

·         ‘Face Shots’ and ‘Provocative poses’ were the most popular types of album cover.

Obviously, this indicates that the type of album cover I should produce is a simply face-shot cover, in line with those typically seen with female popstars (which is the video/artist I shall be using, for my promo).

·         Of the 10 given ‘Album covers participants enjoyed’ 2 were 80s covers, 1 was a 00s cover and the remaining seven covers were from 2010 onwards.

This suggests that it is far harder for album covers to make the lasting impression, amongst  17 – 18 year olds, and that there is less importance towards a record’s success with album covers, than there is with music videos and that it is harder for an album cover to gain iconic status. The album covers present, are not in line with the other results in that only one "face shot" is present, in comparison to the numerous eye catching and colourful covers, that were otherwise chosen.

Secondary audience research

"A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos date back much further, they came into prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium."


The history of music videos


Music videos were sparsely used prior to the 1980s, and were known uner various terms such as "promo videos" and "musical film". However, in the 1980s, music videos went mainstream with the beginning of MTV - 24 hour music on demand, celebrating the form of music videos. Michael Jackson's Thriller revolutionised modern music videos, in 1983, becoming the most succcessful and iconic music video of all time, as well as setting new standards in terms of costs and production of music videos. The MTV awards were launched, in the following year; the first of their kind, celebrating the importance of music videos. VH1 launched a few years later, catering to an older audience, and broadening the demographic at which music videos were aimed. During the next 20 years, many music videos would pioneer new techniques of music video production, invloving darker themes, animation, controversial subject matters, celebrity stars and juxtaposition of song and video.


In 2005, the introduction of YouTube and social networking meant that not only was it easier for consumers to access music videos but also made it easier for unknown stars to make their own videos known, with social networking playing a pivotal role in the careers of pop stars such as Lily Allen and Justin Bieber, and YouTube helping to attract worldwide attention towards acts like Ok Go!, as a result of innovative music videos.

Further research

To further my understanding of my target audience and ensure that I recieved results which truly reflected a proper opinion regarding pop music (from people with a fully comprehensive understanding of the subject) I felt it important to use the internet to gather research information from a larger audience. To do this I included the more specifically pop orientated questions of the original survey and used them to make a new survey on http://www.surveymonkey.com/ which allowed me to reach a larger audience. I then posted a link to this survey on the forum of the pop blog (www.popjustice.com/forum) which directed me to the initial song and requested that people (as these people are the type to take the survey more seriously and deliver useful and more thoughtful answers than disinteresting teenagers in a casual setting) take part in the essay. I decided to come back to the survey four days later to see how the response to the question had developed.

The survey itself can be viewed here.

After leaving the survey for four days, I came back to analyse the sixteen responses it had recieved and the following were the useful results, which have bettered my understanding.

1. 9 of the sixteen candidates were aged between 18-23, with a further 4 participants aged under thirty and only 1 aged 32.

This implies that even at a more intermediate level of pop appreciation, the genre is quite age specific and closely associated with younger people. This is an important piece of information in that it allows me to cater for two different demographics (teenagers and hardcore pop fans) in the knowledge that the two do not encroach upon one another.

2. When asked to provide an album cover they enjoyed, 7 of the sixteen candidates stated the cover of Beyonce's '4'.

This was the most pleasing of the results for me in that it shows pop fans having a great level of appreciation for what is essentially an image of a female looking strong and forceful, which is directly the image the protagonist in my video will convey. The results showed previously that 9 of the 16 candidates were men, and so it is telling that the high angle shot of Beyonce looking fiercely out into the distance, with little in the way of actual clothing would be appreciated. This would help me in the construction of my own ancillary products and video, and the way inwhich females would be presented.

3. 15 of the 16 participants stated that they preferred concept based narratives in pop videos,

This displayed the same results as were evident in my own research and so confirmed that, although elements of performance should be evident in the delivery of the song's lyrics, it would be important to maintain a strong narrative and sense of progression throughout the video.

4. When asked to give an example of a contemporary music video the participant enjoyed 25% of the responses pointed towards Lady GaGa's 'Judas' video.

What was most useful about this response was that it showed how pop fans react strongly to a video with multiple set locations, colourised scenes, dance routines and elements of performance from the protagonist, all of which I intend to include, as seen in my original draft of the video.

Apart from the overwhelming responses of these questions which point towards acts such as Beyonce and Lady GaGa, however, the singular responses were incredibly useful in that they pointed towards acts such as Chapel Club, Robyn, Charlie XCX and Cassie all of whom embody the idea of non-mainstream pop with a more cult following which allows for more intense, dark imagery than artists like Britney Spears and Katy Perry who represent ideals such as the 'All American Sweetheart'. Through researching the more unknown artists which the forum users enjoyed I was made aware of the boundaries such acts push in their sound and imagery and why this is embraced by this sort of fan.

Questionnaire Results - Pt. 3

4. What is your preferred type of music video?

The aim of this question was to distinguish if people prefer a story-driven concept or a performance based music video. As one would expect, the conceptual narrative was the favourited type of video, which refelcts the fact that this type of video is commonly associated with pop music and this was voted the most popular tpe of genre.

5. How often do you watch music videos?

The answer to this question reflects how important people feel music videos are and to what degree they enjoy them. The highest proportion of answers indicated that people watch music videos every day, which in hand with the age range of 17-18 year olds, indicates the high levels of relevance music videos have on this group.

6. What is your favourite music video?

The following are the 10 examples of music videos which the participants named as their ten favourites. It is important to note that, despite the fact that 4 out of 10 participants named their preferred type of video as performance based and 4 out of the following ten videos are performance based, their is little individual correlation between those who like performance based videos and those who chose one as their favourite video (and vise-versa), indicating that the music videos which most grab people's attention are often not those which conform to their usual taste.

Madonna - Like A Prayer

OK GO! - Here It Goes Again

Rihanna - Rude Boy

Christina Aguilera - Dirrty (feat. Redman)

Michael Jackson - Thriller

Lady GaGa - Telephone (feat. Beyoncé)

tATu - All The Things She Said

Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

Katy Perry - California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)

Akon - Lonely

7. What 3 words come to mind when you think of pop music?

FUN, FUN, FUN, FUN

COLOURFUL, COLOURFUL

HIP, BOLD, BANGING, RAUNCHY

PERFORMANCE, CATCHY, STARDOM

DRAMATIC, DANCE, GLAMOUR, LIVELY

COOL, POPULAR, SHOCKING, WOW,

CORNY, POWERFUL, CLUB, SWAG

BUBBLY, FAME, GIRLS, HAPPY

 X FACTOR

8. Give an example of a contemporary music video which you feel embodies the ideals of pop music.

The following examples were given, in response to this question.

Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

Taylor Swift - Mean

Rihanna - Unfaithful

Lady GaGa -Poker Face

Rihanna - S&M

Bruno Mars - Grenade

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem

Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude

Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F)

Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

Questionnaire Results - Pt. 2

The following are the ten album covers, which were selected by the participants when asked to "Name an album cover you [they] enjoy".

Questionnaire Results - Pt. 1

General Questions

1. What gender are you?

The first question I asked the participants was what gender they are. This is important, within individual results analysis, in that gender is often linked to genre and personal taste within music. A higher proportion of males to females took part in my questionnaire, with a 60/40 ratio.

2. How old are you?

It was as equally important to my questionnaire to determine the age of the participants as this has equal, if not more, influence in shaping a person's attitude towards music, than gender. The age of a participant often influences musical taset, consumption, and the influence of advertising amongst other things, and with my survey there was an 80:20 ratio of 17 and 18 year olds.

Music Related Questions

1. Does a music video influence you to buy music?

This question was crucial in that it is highly telling of the way inwhich people view music videos. If somebody is aware of the fact that music videos are influencing them to buy music, they look for different things from music videos and may be viewed in relation to their age and gender, e.g. a young girl may be thought to be more susceptible to influence. It is interesting, that a higher proportion of people state that they are influenced to buy music (a 60: 40 ratio in favour), highlighting the importance of music videos on record sales.

2. How do you view music videos?

The way in which people view music videos is a highly important factor to consider. Those who view music videos through YouTube are generally thought to be of a younger generation and are actively seeking out the music they wish to listen to, often diverging their own tastes from what is more popular at the time, and is, as a result, played on rotation upon a number of music channels. Music videos watched on iTunes, are generally, music videos which the participant has enjoyed to a great degree, as despite the music video being widely available for free via. YouTube, they have consciously spent £1.89 to purchase it.

3. What is your preferred genre of music?

The preferred genre of music an audience has is often linked to the type of music they enjoy. For example, one might expect a concept-based, high spectacle video from their favourite pop artist (e.g. the works of popstars such as Lady GaGa, Katy Perry) than they would from Rock artists, who are often inclined to produce live performance videos. From the results, Pop was the most popular genre, followed by R&B, with all other genres, except for Folk, securing 2 votes.

What makes a successful music video?

Whilst it is important to note the typical conventions of music videos, it is even more beneftial, in the process of making a good music video, to see examples of how these conventions have been applied in a setting that deems the video iconic and an all round success. To carry this out, I looked at the Top 15 of Channel 4's Top 50 Greatest Music Videos Ever.

1. Michael Jackson - Thriller

Thriller proved to have a profound effect on popular culture and was named "a watershed moment for the music industry for its unprecedented merging of film making and music. Mixing controversy with a dual 'performance/narrative based' horror-led concept it is cited as the greatest video of all time by almost all. The concept of the video centres around Jackson's transition from man to the undead, inwhich Jackson dances with an entourage of zombies. The key elements of it's success are often cited to be the narrative led intersections, the choreography and the overall development in artistry it displayed in Jackson.

2. Britney Spears - Toxic

Toxic is most famed for being one of "the sexiest music videos of all time" and the iconic fusing of Spears as an air hostess and in a revealing see through outfit. The video centres around a narrative-led concept inwhich Spears plays a secret agent, donning numerous outfits within a number of locations. Many critics cited is as the "most exciting showcasing of female pop since early Madonna" and for embodying the key concepts which make a pop video, in a cinematic manner.

3.Robbie Williams -Rock DJ

Rock DJ is most notable for it's challenging of typical video conventions in it's voyeuristic treatment of the male protagonist, rather than a female. The video, unlike those above, does not focus on a narrative-driven concept and is a performance based video, centering around Robbie Williams stripping for the attention of girls, in the centre of a roller disco. It's winning formula, is arguably, the performance of the artist, and the use of CGI and Special Effects, towards the end of the video.

4. Jamiroquia - Virtual Insanity

What has made the video so revolutionary is the use of a single take , with the whole four minutes being made up of one continuous take. The use of props and setting are also key, mainly with the changing orientation and shape of the objects being the main focus of the video. The fourth wall, is non-existent, throughout the video with band member Jay Kay performing directly for the audience, and the main narrative focusing on the growing disorientation within the room setting.

5. Beyonce - Single Ladies

Analysis of magazine advertisements

3. Noah & The Whale - Last Night on Earth

The advert, itself, is quite inkeeping with the stylings of the band and their music, in that it reflects their brand of non-pretentious folk music, in contrast to the glamorus, attention seeking stylings of the Gwen Stefani pop advert, for example. It utlises the album cover for it's main image, and other conventions which it conforms to include the use of a positive critical commentary and the attention being drawn towards a hit single included on the album.

Typical conventions of music videos and assessment of their use

For the following task, I incorportated the results of my audience feedback. This is through the way inwhich all of my examples come from the person who three (out of ten) of my audience felt 'embodied the essence of the pop video'; Rihanna. The following conventions are all taken from Rihanna videos with assessments, regarding how well and to what extent the convention has been utilised.

The above clip, from 2011 video California King Bed, has a short piece of introduction before the song begins. The thirty second long scene establishes the main locations of the video setting and showcases the performing artist within these different locations, aswell as within diferent outfits (which is espcially attributed to femal pop). It uses a variety of angles and makes use of diegetic sound to establish a proper sense of location.

The above clip is from 2010's Only Girl (In The World). The convention seen in this clip is the relationship between lyrics and visuals. Whilst seeing about a desire to feel like the "only girl in the world" Rihanna is depicted as the only character within the entire video, and effectively pictured against huge open landscapes to heighten the sense of isolation.



The above convention is a voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Hardly suprising given the appearance of the subject in question and the nature of the song, itself, the video for 2009's Rude Boy, features numerous revealing outfits and provocative dancing, as seen in the sample above.

The above convention is a relationship between music and visuals. The final chorus of the song , lyrically, deals with a sense of euphoria during sexual relations, and with love in general, and the final chorus is visually reflected in the quick editing between different shots, as well as the framing of the dance sequence and the red fliter/smoke apparent on screen, in 2010's What's My Name (feat. Drake).

The final convention, above, is the need for lots of close ups of the artist, which comes from 2007's Don't Stop The Music. Throughout the clip, there are several close-ups of Rihanna, from three different environments, all of which see her singing into the camera.

Analysis of magazine advertisements

1. Cee-Lo Green - The Lady Killer

In line with typical convention, the advertisement features a positive critique from an established form publication - "The greatest voice in US soul" from the Sunday Times. It also boasts the achievement of 'Featuting the No. 1 single...' which is another popular convention to attract buyers. The image itself and the colour scheme are in reflective harmony in that they both boast an air of sophistication and maturity in the rich blues and pinks, which also mirrors the title of the album in it's relation to feminity. It is successful in selling the album as a classy, adult contemporary affair.

2. Gwen Stefani - Love. Angel. Music. Baby

This magazine uses the image from the album's front cover and makes it larger, so that the central figure is making a more appealing, direct eye contact with the reader. This advertisement, is store-specific, in that it is exclusive to 'Target'. The advert adopts the same regal, majestic manner as the album cover and heightens this sense with the bigger font, on the artist name. It also utlises the album's hits with by declaring them on the advertisement. A list of producers is also evident, beneath this, to further entice the reader into buying the album. I think it is a moderately successful attempt at conveying the themes evident in the album cover, and furthering them to make the album seem more accessible and unique/kooky.

'How to analyse a music video' by Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin wrote in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' the conventions often used in contemporary music videos. They were...

1) Music videos demonmstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performerance in metal video, dance routine for a boy/grl band).
2) There is a real relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3) There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4) The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
5) There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6) There is often intertextual reference

Analysis of Pop magazine covers

Analysis of Pop Music album covers

The following are three contemporary pop album covers, with analysis of how they conform to or challenge the regular conventions of pop music covers.

1. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

The above image is the cover for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad. It is highly uncommon in female pop releases for an album cover to feature anything other than an attractive shot of the artist, and this follows the convention. The colour pallete used, however, is more unique to this particular album. The title of 'Good Girl Gone Bad' suggests a newfound sense of maturity and character and this is reflected in the colour scheme of the album; pop is often associated with bright colours yet the dark colours here are reflective of the more grown up sensibility suggested in the title of the album itself. The darkness of the album cover also relfects the album title in that black often connotes to the ideas of darkness and mystery, which are central to the idea of "going bad".

2. Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds

The mise-en-scene within the picture shows a correlation between the sterile, yet mature, setting colour of white and grey and the smart clothing of the main figure. The font used, and the colour scheme adopted by this font, is also is harmony with these two factors as it reflects this sense of maturity, rather than that of a zany, outlandish font with vibrant colours; red, black and grey all give off a sophisticated aura. The body language of the central figure does not reflect the conventions of a typical pop cover, however. Justin Timberlake is not making eye contact with the audience and his body language displays aggresion and anger, with typical conventions expecting the figure to simply "look pretty at the camera". The smashing of the disco ball itself however manifests the album title in that it seems to indicate a rejection of musical throwbacks and old fashioned disco pop, which mirrors the reference to the "Future" in the album title.

3. Lady GaGa - The Fame Monster

The dominant colourings of black connotes the the ideas of darkness, death, mystery and evil. All of these ideals are in line with the themes surrounding the word "Monster" in the album title. The colouring of black and the very straightforward, frank font used both suggest, in a similar fashion to the Rihanna cover, a new sense of maturity within the album. The album itself was a step forward from previous album 'The Fame' with the word 'monster' reflecting darker images and themes which the cover, itself, alludes to. The use of the leather clothing also mirrors the idea of the 'monster' themes and the fact that half of GaGa's face is covered by the leather outfit conforms to the sense of mystery, established by both the name of the album and the colour scheme used. The choice of 'the cross' to replace the 'T' in 'monster' also alludes to darker themes within the album, and the idea of a cross relating to Dracula and other monsters.