Research of Institutions/ Distribution Channels

Universal Music  Group: 

Universal Music is the largest and most powerful major music label in the world, responsible for 29% of the worlds music sales, it was established in 1999 but was supposedly founded in 1934 by Decca Records. It is owned by the  French media conglomerate Vivendi, a mass media company located in Paris which has activities in music, video, film, television and video games. Universal Music has always been a large and rather dominant company as it is a part of Universal pictures, one of the largest film production companies in the entire world. Because of their big status they began to dominate the music market and proceeded to become the biggest record after they purchased EMI, a former British music company, in 2012. Universal Music group currently has over 7,000 employees, with a revenue of over $7 billion and work with some of the biggest A-list artists such as J-Cole, Kanye West  and Ariana Grande. Universal music group also co-developed Vevo,  a site designed for music videos which delivers ad free content and streaming of similar music content. Universal music group currently own a large range of smaller labels such as Island Records and Mercury Records. A record label such as this one generates with a more mainstream and wide demographic targeting all ages as they have signed a number of recognisable names and are a major record company with recognition all over the world. A big competitor for UMG would be Sony Music Corporation as it generates an estimated revenue of $66.5b with over 130,000 employees.

Here are just a few more.

Youtube: 

YouTube is an American video sharing website, it now operates as one of Googles subsidiaries since it was bought by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion. It allows users to share, upload, favourite videos and comment on them which creates a large amount of interaction between audience and creator. The site was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim in 2005. Most content posted to youtube is uploaded by individuals but larger corporations choose to upload content such as BBC and Vevo. Available content includes TV shows, video clips and music videos. As of February last year, at least 400 hours worth of content had been uploaded and over a billion hours of content is watched every day. YouTube allows a place for media corporations to upload and for bands, singers or artists to upload their work in a safe space for free. Here, listeners can listen to their content and enjoy the visuals of a music video at the same time.  More than half of youtube views come from mobile devices, suggesting their most frequent viewers are younger and more technologically able. User Percentage by Age 18-24 – 11%, 25-34 – 23%, 35-44 – 26%, 45-54 – 16%, 50-64 – 8%, 65+ – 3%, unknown age – 14%. YouTubes target market is the broadest of them all with videos on everry category imaginable its impossible to pinpoint a specific targeted audience. This is great for bands posting music videos because it means they are guaranteed to generate listeners and fans.

Job List

Magazine/ Music Video Decision/Research

1. look at what may be missing in the market right now 
2. Find examples of other fashion magazines from Bauer media 
3. look at conventions and codes 
4. research into androgynous, unisex fashion. 
5. how can this be applied to the TA 
6. look at shot types and different magazine issues from different dates ( autumn addition, summer addition) 

There appears to be a gap in the market for more androgynous and convention-breaking fashion magazines. By using a mixture of more indie, androgynous fashion magazines ( such as INDIE)  and high class avant-garde style fashion magazines (STILETTO), i feel we can successfully reach the desired target audience. 

Music Video 

1. find song, create an idea from this 
2.  think about representations/ intertextuality 
3. relate this to TA 
4. look at their websites

My Initial Response to the Briefs

I have decided to choose brief 4, Music Video. For me i feel like i have the most experience with music video and this something i am comfortable with doing. I feel i can meet the requirements and create a successful music video using the dance music genre. It is well known that dance is a wide genre of music so it is very likely that i will be able to find a song that i enjoy very much without it being a stereotypical club dance song. Using a narrative style with conventions of dance music videos and fast paced editing i believe i can develop an intriguing and successful dance music video.

Statement of intent

  My aim is to advertise high heels through the use of female empowerment rather than the use of sexualisation and objectification. I plan to use my image as a humorous role reversal to shift the ideologies put in place for women. By putting a man in the woman's place within this advertisement, although still slightly sexist, it offers men a chance to experience life in this world of offence many women were and still are expected to accept and live in. By being sexualised and walked all over, women have commonly been used in advertisments to appeal to the male demographic; yet by swapping the roles, this may help to question modern day sexism as many still believe a women's place is "in the kitchen.” So how offended and outraged would men be by a sudden turn of events? My ideal target audience is mainly adult females from 20-50 from demographics A-C  and a preferred reader would most likely be a strong feminist such as Bell Hooks. Her ideologies can sometimes be radical but I feel she would agree with my outlook and find humour in my representation as i aim to empower women and give men a taste of women's ongoing oppression, but aim do it all in a stylistic and light hearted manner. I am going to reverse the image by placing a male model in the same positioning as the woman in the advert, bare skin from the top so he is exposed and represented as vulnerable and easy to walk over as is implied from the original advert. Makeup will be used to cover up any blemishes or red patches, I've also decided to fill in the male models’ brows and use blush to over exaggerate the image and add to the humour, representing him in an almost sensitive and feminine manner which is something most men are opposed to. My choice of background is a yellow gradient as this is most like the original image and allows for a range of font colours to be placed in correlation to the change in shades. The darker yellow colour also creates contrast between the models complexions making them stand out more and draw attention to our product. This also appeals to our target audience as yellow is commonly associated with happiness and freshness and as it is a strong and bright colour. This adds to our representation of empowerment. The colour yellow can be used to represent women empowerment and make them feel confident, something I would like to be associated with the brand. Our male model will be wearing a ring on his ring finger to imply he is taken and perhaps even "owned" by the female in the high heels as this was also implied by the representations and symbolism within the original image. I can picture my advert appearing in magazines specifically aimed at women but also on certain social media sites such as facebook or Instagram as a reminder to both men and women that modern day sexism still appears and is relevant for both genders. This may also appear to remind women that heels can symbolise authority, empowerment and seriousness, they don't always have to be sexualised like the women themselves. Hopefully this would prompt my target audience to purchase due to our preaching of women's rights and clever yet humorous ideologies.

Backgrounds for my advert

Background 1: 

This particular background is very similar to the original, it may be useful to create contrast and the gradient allows me to change the colour of font in correlation to the change in yellow shades. The yellow will hopefully centre the focus on our model and product.

Background 2: 

A patterned background may work better to draw attention to the advertisement and create contrast to add focus to the model and product in centre frame. The yellow colour with the vintage pattern is also very close to a 70s aesthetic which will help to recreate the vintage advertisement and embody the 70s style. 

Background 3: 

Background 3 is a 60s style patterned background in a yellow and mustard colour, although this may 

help embody the 70s aesthetic, I feel this particular background may be too distracting and too far from the original background. 

Background 4:

I thought about using textures and real life images to use as a background while still keeping to the. colour  scheme, I feel the use of honey may not be too distracting but the underlying representations 

of sweetness and innocence may not match the ideology of the advert I'm going for. 

Background 5: 

An abstract yellow graduent may work to modernise the advert, the yellow colours may contrast with the models pale skin tone to help the model stand out as well as our product. However, the use of an abstract background seems too distant from the original advert and the different in shades may make it difficult to apply font in certain colours. 

Background 6:

 Another textured background but this time more simplistic. I felt playing around with textures may help bring the advertisement to life, modernise and rejuvenate the image while also keeping to the same yellow colour scheme and gradient seen within the original. However, I feel this may be too simplistic and overall I feel as if I should use the patterned image, first image or yellow gradient image for my background. 

Advert Research 2

Advertisement 2: MARCS 

 This advertisement is fairly modern, the background seems to be an urban area as there is a house number, large window and graffiti on the wall in front of the model. Although simplistic, the feature may be hard to recreate unless a similar background can be found or improvised. The colours and patterns work well as contrast is created between the bright pink hair and white wall/  making the model stand out and attract the readers attention. The font breaks conventions in a way as you would expect the brand to be advertised above an image and be one of the main focuses. However, the model stands out more due to her unique style of clothing and hair colour which allows her individuality to shine through. For me, this advert represents individuality and not being afraid to express yourself as the whole image carries a lot of expression, the models clothes look as if she would have chosen them herself, they look fun and different, her hair represents her as young, rebellious and confident setting a great image for today's modern society and younger generation. It is becoming less taboo to express yourself, dye your hair and dress however you want to. The colournpink is commonly associated with playfulness, innocence and sweetness. Although, the models stern expression completely disagrees with this representation, she seems strong, serious and rebellious as she stands in a neutral stance glaring to camera; this represents her as a strong and independent woman who is breaking conventions and challenging stereotypes by using the colour pink to empower women and change it's meaning. This sets a great message and becomes something we can associate with this brands identity as style and individuality is obviously a big deal to this clothing brand as well as representation of women as they move forward from the typical stereotype of pink being associated with all things cute. The models makeup is quite soft besides a heavy eyeliner look, again associated with the models identity and brand identity as this is another form of expression, this

 makes her look very individual and stylish again representing her as an ideal example of the newer 

generation full of expression and colour.  The font is large and takes up a good majority of the bottom half of the screen, the font is white and creates a brand identity as it is something associated with the brand, it is a very rich looking and almost designer looking font which suits perfectly as the company is in fact a designer clothing company selling designer clothes for a lower retail price.

Advert Research 1

Advertisement 1: Weyenberg Massagic 

The image is very vintage styled as it is from 1974 and in fact, starred in playboy magazine to 

advertise men's footwear. This advert can be seen as extremely sexist implying a women's place is below a man. The woman is seen laying naked, her hair, nails and makeup all made up perfectly and is made to seem as a sex symbol.

 Her placement on the floor next to the shoe implies she is easily walked over by men. The colours are kept rather plain, even her makeup is extremely neutral. However, contrast is created through the use of a bright yellow background, ensuring the main focus is primarily on the woman model and shoe. The font ranges in size, the title is in a large white 70s style font and grabs the attention of the reader and is primarily aimed towards an adult male target audience. The font and increased sexualisation of women has created a brand identity for this company, implying that their main focus is to create shoes for men and help "show a woman her place" although this is only implicit, it doesn't create a very pleasant message for women. The brand identity of this company surely has changed over the years but for an ad such as this, it does not carry a positive identity.  The colours stand out and yellow usually represents loyalty, honesty and enlightenment and in some ways this may be true for the men's perspective as they are represented as seeking a woman who is loyal and easy to walk all over to reach enlightenment. The woman is represented as a sex icon, an object to be walked over as her placement on the floor represents inferiority, something that was commonly referenced and normalised throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s. The brand identity created through tone of voice "keep a woman where she belongs" seems very harsh and quite forward which is something that can perhaps be associated with men. Overall, the brand identity doesn't appear to be created by symbols as such (besides the sexual symbol created by the objectification of the model) but through their male dominated voice. The font styles match the 70s aesthetic and equally add to the brand identity as it is a very individual style that can be associated and matched to the brand.