Album artwork for the genre:

From the electro-pop album covers that I have looked at it is clear that it is quite generic for them to feature some form of image of the artist. They do all however vary in terms of the different styles. Some of them for example the 'Reputation' album cover by Taylor Swift features a large image of Taylor but also has print text behind and in front of the image. In addition to this, her logo is a lot smaller in comparison to album covers like Charli xcx 'sucker'

A lot of them have bright background colours with some form of collaged image that are very juxtaposed such as Santigold's 99€ albums and they're all very experimental with the artwork and the approach that they have took Therefore, it is difficult to gain a clear understanding of the type of album artwork to use. However, from this I have took that it should be quite artsy and outgoing and when deciding on the album artwork i should refer back to Santigolds previous albums since they are conventional and the design would work for our artist genre.

Digipak Research:

Digipak- style packaging is usually used for CD singles or albums, they usually consist of gatefold paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays holding a CD. This is an example of a digipak template:

A successful digipak can be achieved by making sure these points have been referred to:

- Unification, does it portray the content and message that you wish?

With this connection, the audience can feel a sense of belonging to the artist, forming a relationship. This cam be said to be stronger with females (known as fangirls), but it can be formed with anyone if the branding directs the audience directly.

- Is there an information and visual hierarchy?
The main image is the first thing that the audience will focus on, therefore it should be impactful. After this has attracted the attention of the audience member, they will look over the rest of the graphic and take in the connotations and feelings portrayed by the artist.

- Does the design have graphic impact?
The graphic design is important as it needs to have an impact. This is because the CD will need to be able to compete alongside many other CDs, and ours will need to have something special and original to make it stand out so other music labels will take an interest in your music and style.

- Is it appropriate for when you want to attract an audience and the environment in which it will be presented?
Not reaching your target audience will mean that sale targets and recognition will not be achieved.

An example of an iconic logo that stands out is the Rolling Stones' logo, which became one of the most recognisable symbols of the rock genre. It captures the brands rebellious attitude in pushing both sexual and social norms in both their lyrics and off stage antics. It was a key piece of iconography which allowed the brand to be recognised with out their name on their albums.

The Golden Era of cover art design begun in the early 1960s and lasted until the 1980s. During this time the major format for music was the 12 inch play disc or LP. Cover art became a part of the musical culture of the time, Often used to express graphically the musician's artistic intent, it helped connect and communicated to listeners the message or underlying theme of the album. 

 

Codes and conventions of Electro-Pop:

Codes and conventions of Electro-pop from Kelly Loi

Artists relation to the 'Culture Theory'

One Direction:

One Direction conform to the Adorno and Horkeimer culture theory since they were a mainstream band that was formed on the X-Factor. The band was sculpted by the show in order to fit the music industry and appeal to the public. Their music style is similar to the likes of 5 Seconds Of Summer, The vamps and Union J. Therefore, they lack in individuality and a unique sound since their songs and albums were created to fit into the current popular sound within the industry and to sell to a wide audience. 

Eminem:

Eminem doesn't conform to the theory since his music cannot be easily replicated by other artists, despite there being other rappers and musicians that have similar style none of them share the same qualities and attributes as Eminem does. Eminem didn't have the same support as artists that are discovered through talent competitions. Therefore, he had a lot more freedom to explore his own sound and he had to work a lot harder to get into the successful position that he's in today.

The Culture industry:

The culture industry:

Adorno and Horkeimer adopted the term 'culture industry' to argue that the way in which cultural items were being produced was analogous to how the industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods.
Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the culture industry exhibited an 'assembly line' character which could be observed in the synthetic planned method of turning out its products.

The X-Factor machine:

-Adorno and Horkeimer linked the idea of the 'culture industry' to a model of 'mass culture' in which cultural production had become a routine , standardised repetitive operation that produced undemanding cultural commodities which in turn resulted in a type of consumption that was also standardised, distracted and passive.

Who's in control

- Adorno and Horkeimer's view of cultural production has with some justification, often been portrayed as the pessimistic lament of 'cultural' lists who were dismayed at what they perceived to be the homogeneity and vulgarity of 'mass' taste, and who were concerned that the potential for artistic creativity in music literature and painting had been co-opted and corrupted by the production methods and administrative regimes of the industrial capitalism.
-The capitalist corporation seems to enjoy an almost omnipotent form of domination and both the consumers and the creative artists are not separate from but are directly connected to this system of production.
-Adorno and Horkheimer stressed the structures of economic ownership and control of the means through which cultural products are produced and argued that this directly shapes the activities of creative artists and consumers.
-They argued that the 'culture industry' operated in the same way as other manufacturing industries.
-The metaphor of the 'assembly line; was used to stress the repetitive and routine character of cultural production. All work had become formalised and products were made according to rationalised organisational procedures that were established for the sole purpose of making money.

Standardization:

-Adorno and Horkeimer argued that all products produced by the culture industry exhibited standardised features.
-The argument here is that 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.
-Adorno noted that songs which became successful often over time were referred to as 'standards' a category that clearly drew attention to their formulaic character. From the 'plan' to the details, songs were based around repetitive sequences and frequently recurring refrains. This was done for quite calculated commercial reasons, so that the song would imprint itself on the mind of the listener and then provoke a purchase for Adorno, the production of brit songs had become a mechanical and manipulative operation motivated purely by commercial gain.

Pseudo individuality:

Adorno and Horkheimer were also critical of what they referred to as pseudo individuality. By this they meant the way that the culture industry assembled products that made claims to 'originality' but which when examined more critically exhibited little more than superficial differences.
- Adorno and Horkeimer evoked the image of the lock and key - an item that is mass produced in millions, whose uniqueness lies in only very minor modification.

Major Vs Independent:

The 4 Major Labels are:


-Sony-BMG
-Universal Music Group
-EMI
-Warner Music Group. 

Sony-BMG subsidiaries:

-Columbia
-Arista
- Epic
-Provident
-RCA

Universal Music Group subsidiaries:

-Interscope records
-Def Jam Recordings
-Republic Records
-Island Records
-Polydor Records
-Mercury Records
-Virgin Records

EMI subsidaries:

-EMI Music Publishing
-Minos EMI
-Gold Typhoon
-EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
-Jobete Music
-Rover Music N.V

Warner Music Group subsidiaries:

-Atlantic Records
-Warner Bros. Records
-Parlophone
-Warner/ Chappell Music
- Rhino Entertainment
-Reprise Records

Independent Record Labels:

-Rhymesayers Entertainment.
-4AD
-Matador Records.
-Mad Decent.
-XL Recordings
-Sub Pop Records
-Jagjaguwar.

Major Labels:

 Major labels have a large budget. Therefore, they can provide the artist with more money then and indie label. This means the artist can have high quality recordings of their songs, lots of money into the production of the music, Major Distribution of the singles and albums, successful well shot Music Videos, Pro-Photography for album covers and magazine shoots, Pro-Advertising of their products and Merchandise.

However, it all comes at a price because When an artists sign onto a major Label, they own that artist for the duration of the contract. They will have complete creative control over the music and the image. They will tell them where and when to be somewhere and if you want to make this work. Furthermore, they will own your music forever or until you or someone else buys the ownership ‘rights’ to your songs. A major label invests all that time and money into  an artist because they believe they could get a bigger return on investment. Which  means that they are in debt to the label.  Having said that, there is money to be made for the artist if they do well. 

Independent Labels:

 Indie labels are usually genuine-honest fans of the bands/artists that they sign. They truly enjoy the music on a personal level and therefore they have more personal passion and drive in promoting the music.  Indie labels usually have smaller amounts of bands/artists means that the artist gets a lot more attention and more communication access with the label to talk and plan Furthermore, because they are smaller, there are benefits that come with a personal close-working business relationship. The artist will have a lot more input into the overall planning stages and so forth and the relationship can be less rigid and more personable.

The types of Indie label contracts can vary greatly. Some contracts resemble Major label contracts on a smaller scale and Some are simply Distribution and Promotion deals. A lot depends on the label and the band/artist and the situation. One advantage for bands/artists is that Indie label contracts usually give the artist most of the creative control concerning their music. There might be some quality-production requirements or some other minimum requirements but the song writing usually stays in the artist’s control. Also, another major plus is that the contracts usually give the artists back the ‘ownership rights’ to their music/album after a short period of time determined in the negations.

Due to the Smaller size of the label it tends to equal smaller budgets which means there are limitations to what an Indie label can do. Therefore the artist is less likely to have high production of their music and much investment into the distribution of it unless they can afford to pay for it themselves. It will be harder for the musician to  make contacts with famous successful producers and other successful artists that they are wanting to collaborate with. In addition to this without the financial support it becomes largely more difficult to get the music noticed.

Music Industry:

Music Collection:

- Fore most of the 20th century record companies made money by selling a tangible product, e.g. a vinyl disc or a CD. Therefore, you owned music by having a disc collection.

Changing technology:

- With the increased use and developement of the internet, the music industry has had to adapt as CD sales are falling each year. The 'product' is now bought online as a single or an album and exists only as an item on an iPod, mobile phone or computer.

HMV Vs Itunes

- Chief executive Simon Fox said that within three years technology would become its single biggest product category ahead of both CD and DVD.

De-commodification:

-A commodification always depends for its status and its value on its relative scarcity; once the reproduction and distribution of that commodity becomes effectively free, then it necessarily loses that value and that status.

Post- Modernism:

The Term "post modern" is used to refer to the period of music history that followed the modern period. Historians argue about when the post modern period originated with some saying it was in the 1930's, Whilst, others argue that it was the 1960's. Post-Modernism in music is a period of time in which a variety of new and creative music emerged into the industry which changed peoples perception of this expressive form of art.

In the 1980's the postmodernism period centred around image as artists wore more extravagant  and bold clothes in order to adhere to their image. Post-modernism was brought into the public eye by 

In the 1980’s postmodernism became a radical movement; everything became a statement with image being everything. This phases of post modernism included music and magazines as the post-punk subculture used cutting edge graphics in music videos. Music brought post-modernism to the public as celebrities such as Grace Jones and David Byrne used exaggeration to fashion their public identities. Grace Jones’ maternity dress created by Jean-Paul Goude and Antonio Lopez celebrated postmodernism with its angular fluorescent design. Other celebrities such as Boy George and Madonna also took ideas from postmodernism.

Postmodern music can be classed as different things such as music of the postmodern era, or music that follows aesthetic and philosophical trends of postmodernism. Postmodernism formed in reaction to the ideals and thoughts of modernism. Because of this, postmodern music is mostly defined in opposition to modernist music. One of the biggest examples of postmodern influence was in classical music in the 1960’s this came along with the advent of musical minimalism. Composers such as Terry Riley, Krzysztof Penderecki, György Ligeti, Henryk Górecki, Bradley Joseph, John Adams, George Crumb, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, and Lou Harrison reacted to the perceived elitism. By producing music with simple textures and relatively consonant harmonies, whilst others, most notably John Cage challenged the narratives of beauty and objectivity common to Modernism. Another significant emergence of postmodern music in popular music occurred in the late 1960s with influences in psychedelic rock and one or more of the later Beatles albums.

Many postmodern pieces of music borrow artistic elements from a multitude of sources. Some musicians can even have goals of redefining the criteria for initially assigning music its artistic value. One piece of postmodern music can be written in several styles from contrasting cultures. It can also have changing major and minor keys as well as unusual lyrics or sound effects. Instruments used for this music genre are quite varied, and postmodern musicians often embrace technology as a medium for their work.

Although postmodernism music generally refers to classical music, it also has shown major influences in popular music and other genres, such artists that show these influences are:

-David Bowie         -Sex Pistols    -Talking Heads     -Jimi Hendrix
-Michael Jackson   -Madonna       -The Beatles

Andrew Goodwins Theory:

Goodwin's Music Video Theory:

Andrew Goodwin writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'. (Routledge, 1992) 

1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics 
2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals 
3) There is a relationship between music and visuals - largely to do with editing
4) The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of artists 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) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
6) There is often an intertextual reference - to films, tv programmes, etc. 

Reference for intertextuality: Orange's advert featuring Snoop Dogg - references the film and music industry


The XX 'On Hold' Music Video:

The music video for 'On Hold' by the xx is conventional to the Goodwin theory to an extent. The video begins by introducing the characters and settings through close ups and wide shots. There is dialogue initially to introduce the narrative and the most obvious meaning of the song which is a phone call being put on hold. There is a pan and then it cuts and the lead singer appears in frame on a pay phone. Throughout the song it cuts between the characters and the actual performers. The performers are not heavily focused on. However, they do still feature a lot within the video. The variation between their age and the characters age allows the audience to identify them as the star image and shows that they are re-capping on past events within their teenage years. The music and visuals are parallel as they work and make sense together. They tell the story of a young relationship that initially appears fun and exciting but eventually ends up breaking down to the point where the people no longer speak.

History of Music Videos:

A music video is a short film or video that goes along with a form of music, generally the song. They are often referred to as promotion videos since they are a form of promotion for the artist. The use of music videos have drastically changed over the years. initially they tended to be either a filmed live performance or a very simplistic music video with low production values. However, as technology has improved, the standards and production values have increased to what it is today.

1965's  Bob Dylan "Subterranean Homesick Blues"

Bob Dylans, Subterranean Homesick Blues is an example of one of the first well known music video. It was filmed as a section for a film 'Don't look back' The music video is shot in black and while and features a young boy with flashcards holding the lyrics on them. The video is shot without cuts. Therefore, being one long take. Moreover, at points the boy falls slow with the flashcards and has to increase his pace of moving them to catch up.

Modern Era of Music Video:

in the 1970's Top Of the Pops became an important form of promotion within the UK. It created an increase in competition between artists and bands as there were limits on the amount of music videos the show could use. Therefore, a good video would increase the sales and viewers would hope to see the video again the following week.

1970's Queens 'Bohemian Rhapsody" 

Queens 'Bohemium Rhapsody started a whole new era for using music videos as promos. It was one of the first music videos that was innovative and more explorative with its use of visual effects and transitions from one shot to another. This music video marked the start of the modern era and influenced many music videos to come inspiring artists to be more experimental and creative with their music promos.

Technical Codes:

Technical codes:

Cinematography -

For majority of music videos, the camera movements tend to follow the performer an example of this would be in the music video for bittersweet symphony by the verve, the lead singer is followed while he is walking. There is also a lot of close up's that feature within the music videos, this is mostly due to the size of the screen However, it helps to connect the audience with the artist and creates a sense of intimacy whilst also associating an image to the artist while they are lip singing to the song. depending on the genre of music the editing and pace varies. fore example house music is very upbeat therefore it is more like to have faster paced cuts where as ballad music would have a slower pace. Generally the artist's choose to feature within their music video. However, some choose a more creative approach and have a character or story played out within the song. An example of this could be 'All I want' by  Kodaline.

Editing  - 

- The most common form of editing associated with the music promo is the fast out montage, rendering many of the images - impossible to grasp on the first viewing, thus ensuring multiple viewing.- There are videos which use slow pace and gentler transitions to establish mood. This is particularly apparent for the walk of many female solo artists; as they have a broader audience appeal.


The Verve- Bittersweet Symphony: