Music Video Analysis 1: 'Mine' by Taylor Swift

For my research into music videos I have needed to look at and analyse professional music videos to get more of a grasp at how they are put together and what conventions they use. I haven't fully decided what song I want to make a video for yet, however I know I want to use a relatively slow/mid speed pop/rock song with a lot of meaning for my project as I want to show a lot of meaning in my video. For my first analysis I have chosen the video to Mine by Taylor Swift and I have chosen this for it's meaning and story telling within the video but also I think Taylor Swift is different as she is very adaptable to the music she plays and in a matter of years has gone from Country to Country/Pop to even including Rock. I have chosen this also because they make a quite a simple video in terms of locations and costumes look very professional. In addition the music video was coveted the Video of the Year Award in the CMT Music Awards 2011.

Synopsis

The video begins with Swift entering the coffee shop. As she sits down, she notices that couple, opposite where she was sitting, was arguing, reminding about Swift's parents arguing when she was very young. Then the waiter (Toby Hemingway) came by to take Swift's order, who looks up and she infatuated him, resulting a romantic relationship between the two. Time passes in the video and he proposed to her, who then cheerfully accepted it. However, the two was seen arguing at that night, resulting Swift running away from the house, like she did when she was young and running away from her parents arguing. The boyfriend found her, and the two reconcile the relationship. Then, the two got married and having two sons. Throughout the video, there are some scenes of Swift singing the verses of the song while walking barefoot on a green pasture amongst photos of her and her family. The photos are hanging on a white string in between two large trees.

Verse 1: The song starts straight away as a mid shot captures a pretty, sweet looking Swift as she walks into what looks like a cabin cafe and sits down at a table before she notices a couple that are arguing at a table near her. The next shot is a flashback to show a young girl watching her parents argue showing that she is comparing the situation. During the song, there are a mixture of different shots where Swift is singing her lyrics bare foot in a forest whilst pictures of her life are hanging from the trees by string, this gives an element of performance alongside a story. The next couple of shots are close ups of the waiter and Swift that comes to ask the order, there eyes meet which establishes some sort of relationship to the audience without it being definite, however when the shot goes back to mid shots of the forests and pictures, there's a focused picture in one of the shots with the waiter and Swift embracing, this definitely establishes the relationship between them which carries on within the song. The star image is also established in this through Swifts costume and location. The pretty summer dresses she wears in the first verse teamed with the small cafe and forest shows her own personality as an artist; shes a fresh, young and her songs are normally stories about her own life but the videos are perhaps what has happened or what she wants to/not happen.

 


Chorus 1: The shots within the chorus are in 2 locations, the forest where Swift sings some of her lyrics and the beach where the waiter and Swift are embracing and laughing together. This looks like a date and is coherent with the lyrics she sings 'Do you remember we were sitting there by the water, you put your arm around me for the first time'. This shows that she is remembering her first date/embrace with the waiter. These beach shots that switch between the 2 locations are very important at it shows the connection between the two of them and the last beach shot is a mid shot of them both sitting on the beach as they lean in to kiss.This helps the audience to grasp the video and connect. The casting for the waiter in this video has been done cleverly to help engage with her main target audience of young/teen/young women. The male in this video doesn't just attract to watching it but it is a believable match with Swift and the storyline.

Verse 2: The next verse shows how their life together continues and they make another step by moving in together. Just like the chorus this part also moves between 2 locations a house/flat of some sort and the forest again. I like this mix up as it is not all narrative and not all performance but combining the both in an equal yet not annoying way is quite effective and something I would think about doing for my project. The shots include mid shots of them bringing in boxes together and a close up of Swift character holding a picture from when she was younger with her parents this then goes back to a shot of her younger self. This showing that she fears her relationship will be like her parents, full of arguments. Unlike other artists Swift maintains to have a relatively normal dress sense in this like she would have in her life, Swift doesn't usually wear costumes like GaGa would do in her videos.

Chorus 2: This is another part of the video where you see their life progress more and near the end of this section, both of them in a row boat where the male proposes to Swift who accepts happily. As well as the shots of Swift singing the lyrics in the forest, the other shots that are providing the story are in this section mainly close ups or mid shots. These are used to establish more of a serious relationship growing by showing their close proximities to each other. When it gets to this part of the video, we can now tell that they're trying to show that time is passing and they're getting older by the change in costumes. Swift was wearing more summery dresses being portrayed as a young women however now in these scenes, she tends to wear more mature clothing. This is the same for the male. This is clearly trying to make the lyrics match with the story as she is talking about remembering times in their life together and these times need to portrayed correctly.

Third Verse/Bridge: This is the section of the video where they have a fight and each image matches with the lyrics as they fight the song says 'And I remember that fight, 2.30am'. This follows Goodwins theories and this helps the audience still engage with the story. The same flash back of the close up of her as a young child with her parents arguing then another flashback of her running out of her home when she was younger from her parents. These shots could be showing her thought track whilst she is running out of her home from her fiancee. She runs away like she did when she was younger. However the man runs out after her and holds her as the lyrics say 'You took me by surprise, you said I'll never leave you alone'.

Final Chorus and Ending: The start of this section shows the both of them in close up shots from the video sharing eye contact whilst being very close to each other. In a way showing how their relationship gets stronger as the shots after this is a montage of relatively fast shots showing how their life pans out, such as the both of them getting married, having 2 baby boys and celebrating their boys birthdays. Time is again shown that it is passing by with the costume getting more mature as they turn into parenthood. In this last section there's more shots of Swift in the forest due to the climax of the song and these shots turn to shots of the story again where the family is having a great time on the beach. The last 2 shots is in the cafe again, where the both of them met before it fades after one more shot of Swift singing the last line 'I can see it now'.

This song has a lot of meaning to it. The literal meaning is that she was raised by watching her parents argue and their relationship fall apart in from of her, so she was lead to believe that all relationships would end like that. Then she met a boy in a cafe who understood her and then fell in love with him, in the video he asks her to marry her. The part of the song wear she sings "you saw me start to believe for the first time" is the part of the song where she starts to realize that not all relationships have to end up badly. Overall I really love this video as it tells a story whilst featuring performance at the same time which is something that I might like to explore. I like videos that have acting and a story in it also as it keeps the fully engaged, especially with a love story, it attracts Swifts young female audiences because stereotypically we are more emotional and connect to these story lines.

Music Video Analysis 2: 'A Team' by Ed Sheeran

The second video I want to analyse for my research is the video for 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran. I chose this because it was the song that made Sheeran more known to the public as this was his debut single when he was signed. Also Sheerans style of music is what I would like to work with; an artist or group that ooze originality so I could show this within a music video. This music video was posted on YouTube in early 2010 and cost only £20 to make. This really opened my eyes to what someone can create with such a unique yet simple idea and the video itself may not have won any awards as of yet however still make it look as professional as music videos that have had hundreds and hundreds of pounds towards them.

Story/Synopsis: The song was written by Sheeran following a last minute performance at an event for the homeless and tells the story of a heroin-addicted prostitute. It narrates the story of a young woman (Selina MacDonald) living on the streets of London and how she has to sell herself to keep up her life, however in the video it seems like she believes her life isn't worth living and has a drug overdose.

Pre-song Material: The song doesn't start straight away but what can be heard is the sound of peaceful morning birds. The first shot is a close up of a woman looking down with her hand over her mouth, crying as we hear this indicating that she's looking at something upsetting then the shot cuts to a mid shot where we can see what the woman is looking at and it is a woman who is lying down lifeless whilst the woman that overlooks wipes away tears. The shot cuts to a close up of the lifeless womans face, where we can see she wasn't in the best state as her makeup around her eyes are smudged and her eyes look as if she was crying. This is the last shot before it fades to a blackout and the song begins. This pre-song material is the last few shots of the end of the video and this makes an audience questions such as 'What has happened to her and why?' and the video answers these.

Verse: The verse starts and theres a long shot of the woman that lies lifeless at the very beginning is wrapped up in a camping duvet as she sleeps on a park bench, she wakes up as the shot changes to a mid shot of the back of her wrapped in the duvet. The shot changes again to a mid close up of the front of her as she adjusts her eyes to the light and makes sure she is covered with the duvet. The next shots are varied as they follow this woman walking though the park that she has slept in the previous night; she looks up at the trees, uses the duvet to move the birds and walks up the hill that gives a view of the park. The last shot before the chorus is a low angle shot of the woman put her arms up horizontally facing the sky, looking like an angel. This first verse shows the location of the park and how she slept there signals her type of lifestyle.

Chorus 1: The chorus starts with the last shot of the verse and the shot cuts to a mid shot of the womans legs and feet as she walks on a highstreet, we see the duvet in the shot and the womans stocking are also ripped and torn. This shows that the woman is poor and perhaps can't afford to buy any clothes ans her still having her duvet perhaps shows that she doesnt have somewhere to go. The next few shots are high and low angle showing her standing under wooden circular sculpture on a shopping street, it looks like she is facinated by this the way she looks up. The next shots are her on the streets trying to sell issues of 'The Big Issue' which are normally sold by those who really need the money and don't have any other choice. This again is establishing who she is and why she could of ending up like she did. Everyone else walks past her and ignores, however the one person who stops and talks to her aswell as buys one is a character that is played by Ed Sheeran. The next shot is a mid shot of the woman looking at flowers and standing under the sign for 'Angel Station' then theres a shot where a sign with 'Improving the Angel' is seen.

Symbolism: The chorus lyrics of this song says 'It's too cold outside for angels to fly' and already there has been about 4 shots which include symbolism including the shot of her arms and head facing the sky, her standing under this sculpture which looks like a Halo and both the signs. This symbolism has been well used to link to story and lyrics to the video and for me, gained my attention and hooked me more to the story. This symbolism is evident throughout the video.

 

Verse 2: The mid and long shots in this part of the video shows the woman watching the world go by either standing watching traffic or sitting down on the pavement. These shots have been edited because as she stands still everything else such as traffic and people walking past are sped up. Perhaps showing that her life isn't going anywhere and her life has stood still and she is trapped in the life she has at the moment. The last shot is a mid close up of the woman just sitting and leaning against a wall still looking like she did that morning; in this shot we almost get a sense of what she is thinking and would make the audience feel sorry for her.

Chorus 2: The start of the second chorus shows the shot of the woman still sitting on the pavement however she is crying and most likely about the state of her own life. The shot switches to a high angle shot of the woman in front of a mirror putting make up on, not upset anymore and she is wearing a strappy top. Even though she is meant to be sleeping rough, the actor chosen has to be relatively pretty looking for the next part of the video as she sells her body to make money. This is not for certain but when there is a close up of her putting lipstick on and the lyrics say 'Sells love to another man' I as an audience member clicked that she must be dressing up for prostitution to get money. The last few shots we see hear waiting for a car, it pulls up and she provocitively walks up to the passenger window whilst taking her coat off. Theres no dialogue in video so these images are essential for the story to be understood and thats why the lyrics are matched throughout.

Instrutmental/Chrous 3: The instrutmental and chorus 3 starts with the woman getting into the car where the audience starts to wonder where she will be going. Then theres shot of her walking down a corridor of what looks like a hotel, do to the mise en scene of marble floors perhaps conveying the man whos paying the woman to be very rich. Lots of close up shots are used in this section, showing the woman taking money out of the mans shirt pocket and then a male hand stroking the womans legs where we can see the ripped stockings again. The males face is not shown in the video, to focus the video on the woman only and the song which is describing her sort of life. This hotel sequence ends with her turning over in bed where a close up shows her messed up face again, looks like shes crying. Maybe thinking why she had done that. The next shot is an extreme close up of two hands where the money that the woman has just got is exchange for a small packet of pills; this is just when the lyrics say 'Goes mad for a couple grams', this is obvious that the artist is now refering to drugs. The section ends with her rushing into her flat, shaking as she wants to take the drugs.

 

Bridge/Chorus 4/Ending: The ending to this sad video is a faster pace montage than the rest of the video of her preparing to take these drugs shes just bought. The fast pace changes the mood for the audience as it makes us not just feel sorry but want to tell her to stop. The mise en scene shows that she doesnt have alot of money for nice things and has the bare essentials. We can also tell by her face that she has given up because it looks like she has nothing to live for. Theres many close ups in this last section of her face, her hands and the drugs. She sits on her matress, shaking and starting to smoke the drugs, showing that she is vulnrable and just killing herself. She takes her last breath in and falls onto her back as she dies. This is nearly the same shot as the beginning where she looks lifeless and has died. As soon as it gets to taking the drugs, I knew as an audience member that the start and beginning connected in this way. The very last shot is a establishing shot of rooftops with the sun shining, with an image of her is placed in the sky. My way of analysing this is that this is the only shot that is in colour and the whole video was in black and white, perhaps showing that she is better this way. The image of her in the sky also links to the Angel symbolism. I also got from this end shot meant that because it shows the sun shining that it means that it's not too cold for angels to fly anymore, however I could be looking to into depth.

I love this video for it's meaning and originality, how theres so much meaning that you want to watch it over again. I am fasinated by the fact that it only cost £20 to make because it looks so professional. It makes me realise that I could possibly create a video to this quality if I put my mind to the meaning of the song I will choose and also if I look outside the box with my ideas.

Theories on Music Videos

For my research I have looked at some professionals theories and opinions based on music videos to gain more of an understanding of what a music video needs to be successful.


Goodwin: Goodwin identified 5 key features that define music videos as a form:


1. Particular music genres may have their own music video style and iconography: For example, depending on what type of music the artist or band are producing, the music video has to be coherent with their style e.g. for a pop girl or boy band, they may include dance routines whereas rock/metal artists or bands include stage performances in their video.

• I hope to use a slow rock song so perhaps need to show the artist or actor playing music whilst conveying a story.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals: So if song describes a story or a theme then it would be clear to illustrate that through the music video so it matches.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals: To make sure the camera work, editing, costume, actors, locations and mise en scene work with the tempo and style of the song.
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 (or star iconography) which recur across their work : This is so that the artist creates a star image for themselves and also well represents the record company.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

• This will be hard for me and the type of music I want to use however I could do this in a less obvious and promiscuous way.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).


Dyer: Stars and Stardom


In order to understand the relationship between the music industry and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars . The term ‘star’ refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience.


Some common values of stars in the music industry:

• Youthfulness
• Rebellion
• Sexual Magnetism
• An anti-authoritarian attitude
• Originality
• Creativity/talent
• Aggression/anger
• A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
• Conspicuous consumption, of sex, drugs and material goods
• Success against the odds

Richard Dyer has written about the role of stars in film, TV and music. No matter the medium, stars have some key features in common:

• A star is an image and a created persona, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is out of a range of materials (advertising, magazines as well as films and music)
• Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings
• Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media – magazines, TV, radio, the Internet – in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences.
• The star image is made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences

Negus: The ideologies of the Music Industry


“What I’m looking for is the working act. The real act. The act that can get up on stage and do it. That act will give you a career. I signed Black Sabbath umpteen years ago; they are still making records. These are acts that are career acts…Two years ago I started a dance label…Now that’s not a career orientated label. I mean those records are one-off situations and every now and again maybe you’ll get an artist come out of it.”

Record company executive, quoted in Negus (1989)

• Identifies two distinct ways of thinking about potential artists from within the music industry.
• These ideologies shape the way in which the artists’ images and careers are developed, and the way that they are marketed towards specific target audiences
• The organic ideology of creativity and synthetic ideology of creativity

The organic ideology includes a naturalistic approach to artists however the image of the artist has been enhanced by the record company and then they are given time to evolve into that artist and progress. Emphasis is then given to album sales and often aimed at older or more sophisticated consumers whereas the synthetic ideology goes with a combinatorial approach to both artists and material. The image is normally strongly constructed by the record company in terms of their image and style of songs and the artist won't have as much time to prove their success. This gives more emphasis on single sales and first albums and promotes to a younger audience.


Steve Archer: Dancing in the Distraction Factory
Top 5 things to look for in recent music videos.


1. ‘Thought Beats’ also known as seeing the sounds in your head The basis for visualising images comes from a psychological process called synaesthesia, where you picture sounds in your mind’s eye. This idea is very important to understanding music video as they build on visual material to help the audience connect. For this the approach used is to feel the mood of the music and not to analyse the song lyric by lyric otherwise their is no meaning and it's too literal. So for example key phrases or lines (and especially those repeated in the chorus) will have a part to play in the kind of visuals associated with the song.


Generally we can look at key sounds, like the tempo (or speed of the song) and structure of the song in terms of verse and chorus. To give an example of how instruments can create visual associations, the slow twang of the steel guitar could create geographically-based visual associations from the Deep South of the US – a desert plain, a small town, one road out, men chewing tobacco … We all share a memory bank of popular culture imagery (intertextuality), a sense of shared cultural history without which these references would make no sense. Places, people, feelings, situations leading to mini-narratives – all these can be summoned from the sounds of popular music.


2. Narrative and performance The narrative fuzz in songs affects the way stories are used in music video representations of a song’s meaning. So, often we get the suggestion of a story, a hint at some kind of drama unfolding.


Music videos need to have repeatability built in to them. We need to be able to watch them repeatedly in a more casual way, with a looser approach to their storytelling. I’d suggest that more important than narrative is the way that performance is used in video clips. Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-sync close-up and the mimed playing of instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.


3. The star image


The music business relies on the relatively few big name stars to fund its activities; it usually fails to connect with popular audiences – only about one in ten acts put out by the industry actually makes any money. Therefore, what we can describe as the meta-narrative of the star image will have an important part to play in the music video production process. Meta-narrative is a term that describes the development of the star image over time, the stories that surround a particular artist.


4. Three ways in which music videos relate visuals to the song
These are illustration, amplification and disjuncture and useful in attempting to generalise the effects of individual music videos.


• Music videos can illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre, providing a sometimes over literal set of images. Here, then, is the most straightforward technique and the classic example of visualisation, with everything in the music video based on the source of the pop song.


• However, as with all advertising, the most persistent type of video adds to the value of the song. Amplification is seen as the mark of the true music video Auteur, the director as artist, and an increasingly common way to view music video creatives. Crucially, though, and what separates it from disjuncture, is the fact that amplification music videos retain a link with the song and work to enhance or develop ideas, rather than changing them.


• Disjuncture is a term used to describe those music videos that (normally intentionally) seem to work by ignoring the original song and creating a whole new set of meanings. This is quite a radical technique and used by arty bands in order to assert their difference and originality to an audience.

5. Technical aspects of music video


The last really essential aspect of music video to study is technical. This includes camerawork, movement and angle, mise-en-scène, editing, and sound. It is important to remember the more general features of music videos already mentioned when trying to work out the technical effects, especially those which are post-production, effects. Broadly, the technical conventions can be summed up as follows:


1. Speed! Speed is visualised by camera movement, fast editing (montage) and digital effects.
– Camera movement is often motivated by running, dancing and walking performers.
– Fast-cutting and montage editing creates a visually decentred experience necessary for music video consumption, with the images occasionally moving so fast that they are impossible to understand on first viewing and thus need to be viewed several times (repeatability).
– Post-production digital effects – a staple of music video where images can be colorized, multiple split screens appear, and so on, all to complicate and intrigue, providing pleasure again and again.


Not all camera movement is about speed though and some use slow pace through dissolves or static shots. This kind of editing – like Sinead O’Conner’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ – is striking and effective in setting the song apart from the hustle and bustle of most pop activity.


2. Meat! The meat of most music videos is the cut to the close-up of the singer’s face. This is because the voice is seen as the most important part of pop music.


3. Beats! Often, the video will try and represent the music through the use of the cut to go with the beat or key rhythm.


4. Lighting and colour may also be used to emphasise key moments in the song, using methods from lighting live performances for dramatic effect. Colour may be used to show a development in the song, going from colour to black and white or vice versa when the chorus comes in. Equally, any change in the mise-en-scène or camerawork can signal the same type of thing.


5. Mise-en-scène – obviously the setting for music videos is important, often to guarantee the authenticity of the clip rather than anything else. So mise-en-scène for many music videos is the concert hall or rehearsal room to emphasise the realness of the performance or the grit and practice that goes into attaining star quality. Increasingly, CGI is used, especially for dance songs, which don’t rely so much on being ‘real’ like rock, soul and rap acts.

Music Industry Research

When artists make it into the music industry, it normally means that they've been signed to a record label. A record label is a brand and a trademark that is responsible and associated with of music recording and the music videos that go with them. Also a record label manages other brands that coordinate the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotions. They also take charge of the enforcement of copyright protection of their sound recordings and music videos, conduct talent scouting and development of new artists and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers.

In the music industry most artists that have been signed with a contract have become increasingly reliant upon record labels to broaden their audience, market their albums, and heard on radio, television with publicists that assist performers in positive media reports to market their merchandise, and make it available via stores such as HMV. The Internet has increasingly been a way that some artists avoid costs and gain new audiences via YouTube to sell their products.

Major Record Labels

In the music industry, the 4 record labels that are mentioned below have been recognised as the 4 major record labels and known as 'The Big Four'

Sony Music Entertainment- http://www.sonymusic.com/

Sony Music Entertainment is a global recorded music company with a roster that includes a broad array of both local artists and international superstars. The company has a vast catalog that comprises some of the most important recordings in history. Also it is home to premiere record label representing music from every genre. This record company is just one part of the whole 'Sony' enterprise. They manage major record labels such as Columbia Records and Epic Label Group.

Artists signed to SME include: Avril Lavigne, Britney Spears, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Duran Duran, Dido, Good Charlotte, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Ke$ha, Leona Lewis, Will Young, Kings Of Leon and Beyonce.

EMI Music- http://www.emimusic.com/

EMI Music is one of the world’s leading music companies and home to some of the best known recording artists of all time. Through their companies and network of licensees, they're able to provide for artists from all parts of the world. EMI Music aims to bring artists and fans together by creating value wherever music is experienced. Their record labels include Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Latin, Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Records Nashville, Manhattan, Parlophone, Virgin Classics and Virgin Records.

Artists signed to EMI include: Lily Allen, The Beatles, Coldplay, David Guetta, Norah Jones, Katy Perry, Tinie Tempah, Robbie Williams and Thirty Seconds To Mars.

Warner Music Group- http://www.wmg.com/

Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Asylum, Atlantic, Cordless, East West, Elektra, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Roadrunner, Rykodisc, Sire and Warner Bros.

Artists signed to WMG include: A-ha, Bruno Mars, Michael Buble, Cee Lo Green, The Darkness, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day, Josh Groban, Madonna, Muse, Linkin Park and Paramore

Universal Music Group- http://www.universalmusic.com

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world’s largest music content company. Their recorded music business discovers and develops recording artists and then markets and promotes their music across a wide array of formats and platforms. UMG's music publishing company, Universal Music Publishing Group, discovers and develops songwriters, and owns and administers copyrights to musical compositions for use in recordings, public performances, and related uses, such as films and advertisements. Labels include: A&M/Octone, Barclay, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, ECM, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Machete Music, Mercury Records, Polydor Records, Show Dog–Universal Music.

Artists signed to UMG include: Justin Bieber, The Black Eyed Peas, Bon Jovi, Colbie Caillat, Mariah Carey, Eminem, Nelly Furtado, The Killers, Lady Gaga, LMFAO, Jennifer Lopez, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Duffy, Florence + The Machine, Jessie J, Elton John, Mumford & Sons, Snow Patrol and Take That.
Through an arrangement with Hollywood Records, UMG also distributes Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and the Scene, and through an arrangement with Big Machine, Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift.

Independent Labels
Independent Labels in the USA can be linked back to post war times with record labels being attracted to rock and roll artists such as Elvis Presley. However in the UK, independent record labels really struggled to compete with the major labels at that time (EMI and Decca). However the UK independent label scene started to rise and nowadays artists from these labels are well known, maybe not as huge as some international stars but known in the UK and they try to break their talents into the USA scene.
Some UK Independent labels and their artists:

• 4AD: Bon Iver
• Barely Breaking Even: will.i.am
• Beggars Banquet Records: Biffy Clyro
• Cherry Red Records: The Runaways
• Cooking Vinyl: Less Than Jake, Fightstar and Blondie

Many more artists who came from independent background and make it to be signed to the major record labels either based in the UK or in America. The type of music I want to use will be Indie as the target audience is around my age so it will be logical for me as I can relate to others opinions. The artist I will use would be signed to something like these independent labels such as Beggars Banquet Records. However some of these independent records become owned by bigger labels but I can imagine using a piece of music with this style and genre that would fit in a independent label.

Codes and Conventions

Camerawork:

Camera work is essential for the basis of a music video to create the right representation for the artist and the song whilst making sure it builds meaning for the story. In addiction the camera work has a direct impact on the audience engagement with the narrative of the music video making it very important. The camera work is used differently depending on the type of music the video is for; for example pop music videos could have quite simple camera angles but edited to match the music pace. The camerawork is also essential as it makes the video more dynamic and this gets interest by leaving a memory for the audience so whenever they hear the song, an image from the video will be triggered. Therefore the camerawork telling a story is extremely important as it needs to be memorable whilst also fitting with the genre. A range of different camera angles often are used to follow a performer or the actor in a video as they move or interact with others in the video. Long shots are normally used in dance routines in a video which are combined with close ups of certain dancers and the artist themselves whereas close ups of artists can be used to increase the connection between them and an audience which engages them to the video. John Stewart of Oil Factory said that he sees 'the music video as essentially having the aesthetics of the TV commercial, with lots of close ups and lighting being used most prominently for the star’s face'.

Editing:

Even though the most known form of editing in a music video is a fast cut montage normally seen in a pop video, it is important for music videos that have a slower pace to have slower edits and transitions between shots to establish the right mood for the song. This works for artists such as Dido with broad audience appeal.

Star Image:

Richard Dyer has noted: “a star is an image constructed from a range of materials”. For pop music these materials include:

1. The songs and their lyrical themes and musical structures/ genres
2. The record covers- singles and albums display a large part of the image the artist wants to create and present to an audience
3. Media coverage including tabloid gossip and interviews about their career and private life
4. Live performances- the images presented through the costumes, themes and props used in a stage show.
5. Music videos, which may draw upon the image presented in each of the other aspects.

Music videos are now one of the most important parts of a song and an artists career. They create more meaning for the lyrics and something that makes an artists song or the artist themselves more memorable such as Madonna, Lady GaGa or Michael Jackson. Due to Madonnas change in appearance and song style with every album she brought out, her career has spanned over 30 years as people engage with her different styles. Similar to this Lady GaGa (who has been described as the new Madonna) has also taken to a complete change of image from her single 'Just Dance' to 'You and I' or 'Born This Way' and this is what people find intriguing and engage as people now anticipate what level GaGa will go to in her next video in terms of outrageous costume and locations.

Voyeurism:

This convention means for an female or male artist to look promiscuous or sexy in order to gain sex appeal from an audience that they find pleasurable. Camera angles and editing techniques are sometimes used to emphasise the female artist to enhance their sex appeal and to attract audience who are mainly men, this resulting in them not only being attracted to the video but helps sell albums and merchandise. Nowadays, due to provocative videos of artists such as Kylie, Beyonce and Brittney it has been easier for future female stars to act provocative in their videos as those big artists have set the standard and now it is seen as normal to see dancing or strange but effective camera work in music videos. This is also evident in male artists videos but this time used by their dancers, mainly female, so the sex appeal is still evident for men but also with such artists like Enrique Inglasias, women find him very attractive, leading to sales of merchandise such as posters.

Intertextuality:

Intertextuality is when music videos frequently use existing texts within the videos to recreate particular sequences or styles and to spark recognition in the audience to help them engage. Not everyone instantly remembers and even in some cases fail to make the intertextual link in certain videos. Videos can use images from different films or add them to the lyrics and even certain artists use cinema as a starting point due to their directors studying film or cinema who are new to the industry, for example Madonna's "Material Girl" (Mary Lambert, 1985). This video connected to "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" and Madonna is dressed like Marylin Monroe. Intertexuality draws from perhaps popular films or programmes can make a music video more interesting by using elements and parts of other media.

Narrative and Performance:

"Narrative in songs is rarely complete, more often fragmentary, as in poetry".

This concept keeps the viewers attention and hopefully makes them want to know what happened and perhaps watch it over for to gain more information that they might not have picked up. E.g. I had to watch 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran before I saw all the parts of symbolism connecting to the topic of Angels.

“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip-sync close-up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick it.” (Steve Archer 2004)

Music videos allow an element of acting, such as eye contact and facial expression, this sort of convention is used to establish relationship, leading to the build up of a story. This adds a story to the song which can match the lyrics and also used to explore other perhaps deeper meanings. Including star image this makes the song memorable for an audience and allows connections for the song because if a music video wasn't used, the whole meaning could be completely lost for an audience.

Genres of Music

Pop
Pop music (a term that originally derives from an abbreviation of "popular") is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented towards a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs with lyrics describing themes such as parties, summer, friends, love and having fun. Pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, but as a genre is particularly associated with the rock and roll and later rock style. This type of music normally follows a structure of Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus x2 and by combining catchy lyrics and choruses together with this structure makes this genre as popular as it is, as it makes these songs memorable.

Rock
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and country music. Rock is normally orientated around the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with bass guitar and drums. Typically, rock is song-based music with a 4/4 beat but the genre has become extremely diverse and common musical characteristics are difficult to define as many genres have derived from this such as pop-rock, punk-rock and country-rock.

Classical
Classical music is the art music produced in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, developing in a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times. The central norms of this tradition became between 1550 and 1900. This type of music mainly consisted of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as the piano). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music. The orchestra includes members of the string, woodwind, brass and percussion families. Nowadays electric guitars and other modern day instruments have been used in classical pieces as they produce a fresh sound that wasn't around in the 16th- early 20th century.

Hip Hop/Rap
Hip hop music is an originated American music genre that developed as part of hip hop culture, which is defined by elements such as rapping, DJing and beatboxing. The term rap music is often used with the term hip hop music, but rap vocals are not always required for music to be considered "hip hop". Rappers may write, memorize, or improvise their lyrics and perform their works acappella or to a beat.

Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the South of the USA . From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th century American popular music. In jazz, the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very individual ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same way twice. A jazz musician/performer may also alter melodies, harmonies or time signature at will.

R&B and Soul
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940's. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat" was becoming more popular. Through the years since the 1940's the term R&B has been used to describe lots of types of music such as blues then gospel then funk.

Indie
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie", is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels and an autonomous, 'Do it yourself approach' to recording and publishing. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, a number of indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term. Indie rock and indie pop are the most popular subcultures of this genre and many British bands such as One Night Only describe their music as this.