Deadlines/Brief

Music videos are so 80s/90s, right? They belong with the era when MTV screened wall-to-wall vids instead of 'reality' TV? Try telling that to the millions who bought Gangnam Style; were they really simply loving the music? 1.6bn (and still climbing) have viewed the video on YT, not to mention the many re-makes (school eg, eg2), viral ads + celeb link-ups (even political protest in Seoul) - and it doesn't matter how legit it is, this nightmare for daydream Beliebers is making a lot of money, even from the parodies + dislikes. All this for a simple dance track that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1990 ... but had a fun vid. This meme itself was soon displaced by the Harlem Shake. Music vids even cause diseases it seems!
This blog explores every aspect of this most postmodern of media formats, including other print-based promo tools used by the industry, its fast-changing nature, + how fans/audiences create/interact. Posts are primarily written with Media students/educators in mind. Please acknowledge the blog author if using any resources from this blog - Mr Dave Burrowes

Friday 31 March 2017

KIDZ BOP Chart-topping teen YouTube channel

Razor sharp example of cutting to the audio (Uptown Funk vid), and exemplar of the continuing insight of the Uses and Gratifications theory

Kidz Bop: 'It's not for everybody' https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/31/kidz-bop-american-preteen-pop-phenomenon?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

HISTORY Landmark SFX timeline

Gimme Gimme Gimmicks: the innovations that changed music videos https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/mar/30/gimme-gimme-gimmicks-the-innovations-that-changed-music-videos?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Thursday 16 March 2017

Muppets MASH-UP old school Bone Thugs

https://youtu.be/fkvgRMf2plc

Tuesday 14 March 2017

VINYL vote by Earache

Disappointing not to see Carcass on there, but my vote goes to Nocturnus' trailblazer The Key...

The latest twist in the analogue comeback, extreme metal label Earache are running a list of back catalogue albums - any that hit 500 pre-orders will be commissioned, burned and posted.

The audience as commissioner, the former audience...

http://teamrock.com/news/2017-03-14/earache-records-launch-on-demand-vinyl-service

Sunday 12 March 2017

INDUSTRY Website only book Testament to diversification

A novel idea, the band book...

Thrash legends Testament (Burnt Offerings, Over the Wall, Souls of Black and many other classics that'll add a sonic boom to any day) are producing a band history which can only be ordered through their website, and comes with a personalised inscription.

Of course, there's a video from the lead singer, the venom vocalled Chuck Billy, to announce/flog the tome...

http://www.metalsucks.net/2017/03/10/testament-are-working-on-a-book-the-official-illustrated-history/

Thursday 9 March 2017

TICKETS EXCLUSIVE through Spotify, e-zines and more

Korn blimey...

Fan club and VIP ticket packages for the upcoming tour will go on sale beginning March 7 at 10:00 a.m. local time at Korn.comCiti cardmembers presale begins that same day at noon local time. For complete Citi pre-sale details visit: www.citiprivatepass.com. Live Nation presale starts on March 8 at 10:00 a.m. local, followed by a Spotify presale beginning March 9 at 10:00 a.m. local and a BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale starting March 9 at 10:00 a.m. local. All presales end March 9 at 10:00 p.m. local timing. Remaining tickets for all dates will go on sale to the general public on March 10 at 10:00 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com.
Read more at http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/korn-announces-the-serenity-of-summer-tour-with-stone-sour/#xbPFxReL5b723QpP.99

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/korn-announces-the-serenity-of-summer-tour-with-stone-sour/

SPOTIFY getting on a playlist key to profit

Also spotted a useful quote from Lily Allen on how it's difficult to make money from music - it's more about branding deals, endorsements.

Lily Allen: ‘We need to fight back against these forces’

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/06/we-need-to-fight-back-against-forces-lily-allen

A useful quote from a veteran UK Indie label boss:
If you get on the right Spotify playlist, it could pay for your album. My friend Ian who runs How Does It Feel to Be Loved has a band call Haiku Salut – they were on a Spotify playlist and it made them a load of money. It’s different from just sending a record to NME. There’s no longer one source that has that single power those magazine had. That’s possibly a good thing, but I feel sorry for a lot of music writers who are expected to provide content for free.





Since posting this I keep seeing more and more references to the same point, the power of the Spotify playlist - as I write (5.4.18) Spotify has just launched on the stock market leading to more analysis of its role, power and future. Like Amazon, its in a race against time to establish such a huge market lead that it has huge power over labels when striking deals over payments/royalties.

I spotted on Facebook that a Marillion/Fish fangroup (All the best freaks are here) had a thread about Fish (singer) pulling all his albums bar one (which he's touring next year) off Spotify, and someone mentioned a Fish Facebook blog I'd forgotten about - so here it is!

...

Sunday 5 March 2017

PLAY ALONG VID No Obituary for vid variety yet

A useful reminder of the versatility of the music video format:
Death metal godfathers Obituary won a synergistic cross-promotion through Guitar World magazine (also a website of course), creating a split-screen video to enable fans to play along with the guitar on their new release. 
They are also booked on a branded tour which will benefit from a major push through the magazine, and offer the chance to attract new fans as the publication has a multi-genre readership. Moreover, it's a neat way for a 1980s band to attract younger fans, kids and teens starting out on developing guitar skills.
So, add this to the lyric video, unwrapping video, album preview/promo video, tour announcement or localised tour shout out, single shot, live performance, fan footage, interactive, 3D, virtual reality (VR), teaser, tie-ins with console games like Guitar Hero ...
It also gets Obituary further publicity through stories on popular e-zines such as MetalSucks.
Good tune to boot, even if not up to the standard of their early classics, Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death!

MERCHANDISING Soot 4 loot NIN style

Another example of the infinite possibilities that exist for merchandising, and a novel way of making the audience feel a connection to the artist

http://www.metalsucks.net/2017/03/02/nine-inch-nails-make-dirt-now/

Wednesday 1 March 2017

WEB 2.0 YouTube channel as label alternative SBTV

SBTV is a useful example of how new digital platforms are disrupting the established business practices of media industries:

When it came to underground artists, SBTV could play a crucial part in an artist’s trajectory. Instead of waiting to get signed by a label or for radio to create the hype, artists could put their freestyle on SBTV, get a manager and a million views on YouTube, then leverage that to get a record deal. In 2017 – with cases such as Stormzy or Boy Better Know – major label backing is no longer essential.

So, at first it gave a platform to underground artists who got zero airplay on mainstream radio, without which it has long been the case that commercial success is difficult to achieve.

Now, however, the revenue from YouTube views exceeds the likely income from record sales for such Indie artists as those featured on SBTV.

The channel itself, now with over 10,000 uploads (just take a moment to think about that - imagine doing 10,000 videos, vodcasts!!!), was also a pioneer of appointment viewing, a spin on linear TV's scheduling. Each week at 5pm subscribers would know a new episode in a series would be uploaded (regular podcasting applies the same strategy...).

10 years of SBTV: the YouTube channel that undercut the music industry https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/feb/28/grime-10-years-sbtv-youtube-channel-music-industry?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger