R&P Post 8: Possible Tracks For The Single

LYRIC ANNOTATIONS

Green Card by Oh Land

Initial thoughts: As soon as heard this song, I fell in love with it and a vision for a music video to it came to me instantaneously. 

My main idea: Performance/narrative. It is about a relationship. The artist is the strong one in the relationship and her partner is the weak one. Essentially, she is trying to convince him of her love for him, which is a good enough reason for him to stay with her. The artist sings and acts. Each verse begins with a narrative e.g. insecure gesture on her on screen partner's part, followed by the artist reassuring him. This would then cut to her performance shots and the love scenes would be placed at the chorus i.e. "Stay with me.."

PROS:

1. The lyrics are beautiful and so it would be an opportunity to make something beautiful, with cute, love scenes.
2. There's opportunity to have a narrative, performance shots and landscape/nature shots. 
3. It is a great song for slow motion which I am obsessed with in music video. 
4. We only need two actors: the main female artist, and a guy.

CONS:

1. Some may find the song repetitive
2. It may not have that defining 'WOW' moment, where the whole song changes and it becomes really exciting.
3. It may be difficult for non-professional actors to act to. 

Porcupine - Iration ft Lincoln Parish

Initial thoughts: I liked the use of instruments in this song and the general, upbeat tone of it. I also had a vision upon the first time of listening to it.
My main idea: Perfomance/narrative. It would be a four piece band and the singer would be the main actor. There would be different scenes such as: 1)The singer would be chasing a girl, the object of his desires, through a forest 2)Band shots - lots of energy, especially from the main singer 3)Bar shot - he sees looking at her 4)Photo shoot shot - she is a model so she is posing; includes wind machine/camera flashes. Essentially its about a girl being to good for a guy. Possibly it could end with the forest scene and the girl's outfit releasing spikes like that of a porcupine.

PROS:

1. The use of live instruments means that we can incorporate band shots
2. The beat and tempo heavily support my idea of a chase as it sounds like one is happening
3. The different shots are all achievable and interesting.
4. We can have narrative and performance.  

CONS:

1. It may not make the video particularly exciting 
2. It may be difficult to film in a forest and to get the desired hand held effects
3. It is a short song so it is harder to get a good sense of progression in the narrative

Dance All Night by Dirty Heads

Intial thoughts: I love the dance-like feel of the song, the beat and the general vibe of the song. It was already a song which I liked.
Main idea: Narrative. It is predominantly dance. It begins with a scene at a dance event and they look at each other. The girl then leave s the dance floor and he follows her. The challenge to dance with her begins. She dances as she moves, it is slightly fantastical as she dances over different landscapes, there are several longshots: across fields/pavements etc, he is always slightly behind her. In the "One last dance part of the song, h finally reaches her, they have their romantic dance, she leaves him and then there is a deja vu moment as we return to the beginning where they are both looking at each other, this time smiling. We are likely to add in performance shots if we develop this idea.

PROS:

1. It would be fun to make a video for the song because it is so upbeat and dance-like
2. It has many romantic aspects which go well with my idea
3. It's got a youth feel to the song, making it easier to use actors of my age

CONS:

1. If we went with my idea, it might be difficult to find a choreographer or choreograph the moves
2. The song might seem a bit repetitive
3. There's almost too much that you could do with the song e.g. big dance scenes, two people dance scenes, performance and you do not want to spoil it by putting too much in 

R&P Post 7: Record Labels of Interest

The Role of Record Labels

• Labels provide you with money so that you can manufacture your record. They cover the expenses of all aspects of an artist's recording process e.g. the studio, the producer.
• Record labels gives the artist a suitable producer to help them create a good album.
• Promotion departments within the label would co-ordinate strategic marketing campaigns for an artist's release regarding press, radio, TV . 
• They are in charge of distribution. Major/big indie labels are likely to use their own distribution services, whereas smaller labels may use outside agencies.

Independent Record Labels 

They range from being as large as some of the smaller corporate record labels to as small as one or two people. Some advantages and disadvantages of them: 

POLYDOR RECORDS

• This is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It works closwely with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States, while Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom.
• It has a successful history. Founded in 1924 in Germany, Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. It began as an export label in 1924. Polydor became a popular music label in 1946. Throughout the 1970s, Polydor became a major rock label, notably with the signing of Slade, who was their biggest source of income in the early 70s.  The Who and the Jam also belonged to Polydor.
• On top of this previous success, the UK Polydor still remains one of the strongest labels in the country. Here are some of its artists today:

 Bright Eyes

 Kate Nash

Take That

Kaiser Chiefs

James Morrison 

Ellie Goulding

As you can see, this label has a wide variety of artists that cover many genres. It ranges from pop band Take That to indie rock artist Kate Nash. We must consider if our record label would have this approach or not and considering ours is an independent one, it is less likely.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

This is an independent record label. National Anthem specialise in limited edition vinyl releases pressed on high quality 7″, 10″ or 12″ vinyl.

Artists:

The Orwells

CHVRCHES

HAIM

This is a small record label but it has some good quality artists. Furthermore, the music genres of the artists are predominantly electronic, pop rock and rock, which are similar to the ones that I have been considering.  It is important to think about whether or not our record label should specialise in particular genres. This is more likely to be the case with independent labels.

R=P Post 6: Current Trends in Popular Music

Top 10 songs of the week 10/10/15 - UK BBC Chart

House and electronica genres dominates the charts. The second most popular is pop and finally the third most popular is R&B.

iTunes Top 20 Songs October 2015

iTunes Top 20 Albums October 2015

The top five albums are: 'Now 91,' 'Ministry of Sound,' '1989' by Ryan Adams, 'Keep Calm and Unwind' and 'I Cry When I Laugh' by Jess Glynne. Therefore, the most common albums are compilation albums with various artists. The main genres of these albums are pop and electronica/house, with the exception of Ryan Adams' album, as he is a rock singer.

Number Ones of the week from 6th September-
4th October 2015 (Vodafone Big Top 40)

The Trends:

• As the trend goes, the most popular music that has been dominating the scene consist of the pop, electro-pop, EDM and house music genres. 
• Secondary genres would be R&B and rap. 
• Popular artists who seem to nearly always be in the top 5 of recent weeks are: Justin Bieber, Sam Smith, Sigala

Methods of consumption:

• 41 million paid for music subscription services in 2014, which shows how popular the Internet is in music consumption. Probably millions more download illegally. Spotify has 15 million paying monthly users and 60 million active users. These sights have taken off due to people's desire to discover new music. 

R+P Post 5: The Kind of Music Video That I Would Like to Make

My two favourite types of music video are performance and narrative and pure narrative.

Why I Like Narrative Music Videos

In these, stories are essentially being told, which have the potential to evoke emotion within the audience. I want to create powerful and relatable stories, conveying a mixture of emotions and portraying everyday life, so that the audience can relate. As I am obsessed with natural landscape scenes within music videos, I particularly like ones that feature this. I believe they offer utter escapism. A perfect example is 'Atlantis' by Seafret below. I could not have imagined a better video to a song I really like. It captures scenery beautifully; it is almost cinematic. 

Atlantis by Seafret

Oceans by Seafret

The music video to 'Oceans' also by Seafret is symbolic and the themes of strength, passion and being yourself are all expressed in it. The acting by professional actress Maisie Williams is phenomenal and we can all sympathise with her character. This is an example of a music video that tells a powerful and moving story. 

The GIFS below are from different parts of the 'Apollo' music video by Hardwell. The story idea is simple yet powerful: a boy wants to escape from his difficult home life into the beautiful and peaceful world outside. 

Why I Like Performance and Narrative Music Videos
Performance shots are essential in promoting our debut artist and his/her brand. The video and artist may also perhaps be more memorable if the artist is in it themselves. Most importantly, performances shots can display the charisma and personality of the artist in a positive light; a good method for attracting fans. I like the idea of performance scenes being accompanied with narrative scenes. I believe the narrative parts can give more meaning to the lyrics and compliment the song. It also makes it more interesting to watch.

Marvin Gaye - Charlie Puth ft Megan Trainor

I like how the narrative and performance take place in the same setting in this video; it is clever. The narrative is essentially people dancing and it really ties in with the lyrics. The narrative makes the video fun and interesting to watch, whereas the performance promotes the artist and what they can do. For example, Charlie Puth is an upcoming singer and we have found out that he can play the piano. 

Rachel Platten - Fight Song

I like the various locations where the performance shots take place, particularly the ones in scenic locations. I really like parts of the narrative where different people are shown, with different ethinicities and how the all represent the same idea of having strength. It is a very positive song, driven by both the narrative and the artist.

In 'What If' by Jason Derulo, I like how the artist himself is in narrative with his on screen partner. I have a real soft spot for cute love type scenes and I do not think it would be difficult to get an artist to act out these type of scenes. Furthermore, it is easy to understand these scenes in relation to the song as the key message is how much he loves her. Here are example clips of narrative and performance shots in the video:

Genre

Indie Genres: I would particularly like to make a video to an indie genre as I love the sound and feel of the songs, and how there is a lot that you could do with the songs.For example, as there are often instruments, it means we can add band shots but as there are also normally quite deep lyrics, it means we can have a narrative as well.

Example - Arbella by Arctic Monkeys

There is a lot going on here and the handheld camera adds to this busy atmosphere. I mainly like the way the video goes from the narrative to the performance shots of the band. I also like the close ups of the instrument.

R&B: I like the emotion portrayed in these videos and the fact that they are often simple but also powerful because of the themes of love. I also like the beat to these songs, which often leads to dancing in the music video.

Example -  Burn by Usher

The strong emotion conveyed by the lyrics is clearly represented through the fire imagery. Also the narrative demonstrates the passion of the artist. The dancing is also a good aspect as it adds to the idea of releasing emotions and compliments the beat and vibe of the song.

R&P Post 4: Audience Groups of Interest

Due to the teenagers' reaction in this video, one could say that 90s music is something that some teenagers listen to but not on a regular basis. They seem to have heard songs across a wide range of genres. Some really liked the rock songs, whereas others preferred Hip-Hop. Others appreciated a variety of genres. Surely then, the overall conclusion from this is that teenagers are extremely varied in their music taste and listen to older music as well as modern. 

I interviewed a few of my friends about what music they listened to and why:

Amber, 17
"I like (rock bands such as Nothing But Thieves, Foals, Cage The Elephant, Royal Blood, Dahlia, Neck Deep. At gigs the bands I see always have passionate fans - there's a high octane, amazing atmosphere. I've always liked guitar and so I learned to play it. I guess listening to guitar based music from an early age got me into these genres."

Amy, 17
"I like Indie/rock because it's upbeat and there good instruments especially in rock music. It also helps you to take your your anger in a way by listening to angry songs. But indie music can also be calming and relaxing."

Beverly, 17
"I'm into different kinds of music, I could listen to a lot of RnB, grime, or drum and bass. MCR, Beyoncé, Drake - it varies. I was exposed to different kinds of music when I was growing up, so when I was in primary school most of my friends were into Beyoncé and Rihanna and I liked it so I spent more time listening to that. Then when I got a computer I spent more time on YouTube and exploring different music types I wasn't very aware of e.g rock and screamo, so I gained more of an insight to lyrical structure and it was a change from a song about love. Therefore, it was something new and I liked it. Grime and rap was more recent, at first I was more into it because of my friends and also the popularity of it being played at parties. I never really liked it at first but then for the sake of knowing the songs I would listen to it at home and eventually it grew on me!"


This suggests that female teenagers of 16+ have perhaps one or two music genres that they really like, for various reasons but they also listen  to other genres.

For our music video
If we choose to do an indie genre, I think we should target older teenagers and young adults. I would say from 16 and over because I believe that this is the age when people are likely to start moving away from mainstream music and discovering themselves and what they love. They are more likely to explore alternative genres. This was the case with me. I think we should also target 21-30 year olds because these ages tend to dominate audience music festivals.  Glastonbury's average age is even older - 36 years old. At these type of festivals, indie music is highly popular and the artists are often on main stages. Therefore, if we decide to have an indie artist, this group is important. We will target both genders but would expect our music to appeal more to girls if our artist is female and more to boys if our artist is male.

R+P Post 3: Music Genres That Interest Me

Hip-Hop

Hip-Hop artists I like (Rows left to right: 50 Cent, MC Solaar, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar,
Lauryn Hill, Eve, Jay-Z, Eminem, Snoop Dog)

Jay-Z and Rihanna at Wireless 2013

B2K ft R,Kelly - Girlfriend (Pied Piper Remix)

I have enjoyed listening to Hip-Hop from a very young age, particularly due to the abundance of Hip-Hop CDs in my house. Throughout secondary school, it was one of few genres I listened to but as I have grown older, I listen to other genres as well as this.I like how a lot of the artists above rap about their lives, many have interesting stories to tell. I also like the beats within lots of Hip-Hop tracks, for example in the one above. The genre is great to dance to.

Indie Genres

Indie artists I like (Rows left to right: London Grammar, Bastille, Foals,
First Aid Kit, Alt J, Lana Del Rey)

Providence performed live by Foals, 2013

 For me, this is ultimate relaxation and reflection music. I started listening to this properly in 2015 and I have discovered many artists and songs I like. I like many Indie genres from indie pop to indie rock to indie folk. I also love the use of instruments in some indie songs, for example 'Providence' by Foals above, which I have covered on the drums.

House&Electronica

House/Electronica artists I like: Indie artists I like (Clockwise:Years and Years, Duke Dumont,
Clean Bandit, Disclosure, Shift K3Y, Jess Glynne)

Eye I eye by Claude VonStroke

I first started to properly listen to this at the start of sixth form, so in late 2014. I realised that I enjoyed certain dances to the songs and I loved how it added to the exciting atmosphere of parties. I love the energy and upbeat nature of the songs, all I want to do is cut shapes when I here them. I probably overplayed the above song a bit too much.

R&B

R&B artists I like (Rows left to right: Alicia Keys, R.Kelly, Justin Timberlake,
Rihanna, Ne-yo, Beyoncé, Usher, TLC, The Weeknd)

Pictures from a Beyoncé concert, 2013

R&B is another old favourite of mine. I like how peaceful these songs are; they are perfect for long journeys. I like the deep, romantic lyrics and also the voices of many of the artists that I have mentioned. Beyonce is definitely my favourite artist, and I have loved her music for as long as I can remember.

R+P Post 2: Myself as a Music Consumer

'Let's go fly a kite' from Mary Poppins

This was one of my favourite films in my childhood and whenever I hear this song, which is normally when I actively seek it out to reminisce, I associate it with the happy times of my childhood. I would watch this film on a tiny television, sitting with my brothers a small sofa and although sounds so simple, it gave me the greatest pleasure. Listening to this song reminds me of the days of living a simple, worry free life. The song itself is extremely catchy and contains simple lyrics, which meant it was easy to song along to. It is a happy song that accompanies a vibrant scene in the film, full of colour, which resonated with me; it made me smile, dance and sing - everything a child does! 

Empire State of Mind, Jay Z ft Alicia Keys

This song was one of my favourite songs and probably the most played one throughout the duration of my time at secondary school. I would play it from the time it came out in Year 7 until Year 11. During this period of my life, I did not listen to the variety of music that I do now. It was mainly pop hip-hop and R&B from the charts or from CDs in my house, which explains why I liked this song. I particularly liked the lyrics and beat of it, and I ended up covering the song on the drums. I remember how popular this song was; it was in the charts, on music television channels, on the radio. My family loved it too and there have not been many examples when we have all enthused about a particular song for a lengthy period of time together.

I Was Here, Beyoncé

 This song is by no means new but it will always mean a lot to me and be inspirational. Whenever I am feeling negative or stressed, this is among the songs which I would listen to, in order to calm myself down. It's a song that I will never get bored of hearing. To me, the important message conveyed is that we all matter. One aspect of this, is that we, as individuals are important and we should never feel as if we are any less important than anyone else. The other aspect is generosity and selflessness; there are many less fortunate people in the world, who struggle to live their lives and so we must not forget that they exist and should try and help them because they matter too. This song is extremely powerful and contains values that I and everyone else should seek to have.