These are the results from the online survey we conducted last week to find out information about which audiences we attract and what they like. Our results were mainly from the male genre which shows that the males are more interested in this kind of music. We also asked their age range which 16-18 and 19-25 dominated showing that we appeal to a young audience. From this we asked different questions such as 'what genre would you relate to our band name- Rogues Gallery' of which the results were mostly indie rock and rock genre. Also we asked the audience about our music video as we asked them to listen to the song and imagine what the music video would be like which most said about an action scene or a fight scene which we will take into consideration and may apply to our ideas. Finally we asked more questions about our appearance which most said skinny jeans and leather jackets which we were thinking of anyway as it is the stereotypical indie rock band appearance.
From the feedback we was given we have chosen to change our previous logo. This is because the logo reminded the audience to much of the grime/rap genre due to the prison bars and knuckles which you can argue to be stereotypical of that genre. Therefore, I researched more examples of Indie Rock band logos as seen below. I found that they use simple fonts and have a black and white theme throughout all of them.
Therefore, I am going to use http://www.dafont.com/ to choose a selection of fonts that fit the Indie Rock genre. Then either as a group come tom a decision on which font to use or conduct some audience research on which font they prefer.
Record Labels A record label is a brandaffiliated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. A record label usually provides everything, including start up money. They provide studio time, audio engineers, mass marketing of product, advertising, basically everything but the artist themselves. If you sign on as just a singer without a band, they will also provide a studio band. Major record labels Nowadays, artists have become very dependent on their record label as the artist will get more publicity, from a major label, than from being unsigned or on a small/indie label. Also the artist will get better distribution, meaning that a major label will get your CD's put into shops in the U.S, U.K, Japan, Europe etc. There are three major labels these are Sony BMG, Universal Music and Warner Music Group. These three labels represent 75% of the music sold within a year therefore this shows how much influence they have over the industry. The advantages of being signed to a major label is: 1. Money: Even with major label music sales declining and the industry as a whole struggling to keep up with changes in the way people purchase and listen to music, major labels still have a huge financial advantage over just about every indie label. When your label has a lot of money, that means they'll be able to spend a lot of money promoting the artist's record It also means they may be able to offer the artist a large advance and invest a lot in recording, touring, video shoots and other opportunities. 2. Connections: Money helps open a lot of doors, and when a major label comes knocking, most media outlets are ready to let them in meaning that major labels are able to get in contact with the right people for an artist to be successful. Therefore, most major labels have been in the business for decades and have long established connections that help you reach your music career goals 3. Size: Major labels are behind the vast majority of music sold, and this scale of operations can bring many advantages. First, they can get the best deals on manufacturing, advertising and other expenses since they do business in such enormous bulk - they have way more purchasing power than indie labels. However Major labels do have many disadvantages as well. these are:
A lot of major labels tend to sign a lot of musicians and throw out a lot of music, just to see what will stick. This means a new signing, except in very special circumstances, is likely to find that he/she will be fighting for attention from the label. Therefore, it is easy to for an artist to get lost and lose attention form the label and the public as new artists are being signed everyday.
Many major labels want to sign artist for multi album deals that offer them very little flexibility and that hand over a lot of creative control to the label. They know all of the loopholes, they want a piece of everything. Therefore, the artist has no room to be creative and the record labels will dominate all important decisions. Therefore, this is why some artists prefer Minor labels as they will have more freedom to write and create their own music.
Many dedicated music lovers work on the major label side of the music industry. However not everyone who works at major labels love music. You'll find a higher concentration of people who are in the business strictly for the money in major labels than you will at indie labels, and that often ends up effecting the artists in a bad way.
Minor Labels/ Independent
Minor record labels are smaller labels as their capital isn't as big as a major label. Also they do not have as good production and marketing facilities and connections as a major label would have. However, people argue that the minor labels have more heart and care more about the music rather the the money making side of things. Examples of Minor labels are domino, of which The Arctic Monkeys are signed to, Rough Trade and 4AD. Even though these are minor labels they are still very successful for example Arcade Fire are signed to Rough Trade and have won numerous awards including the 2011 Grammy award. Artists prefer to be signed with a Minor label because they have more power over decisions and what music they release. Also they are able to write and create their own music without being influenced as much as a major label would have to cater for audiences.
Minor label- Advantages
Minor labels generally have the freedom to work with whoever they like. There isn't the pressure that there is at major labels to sacrifice your tastes in favour of seeking out chart success, so when you get signed to an Minor label, in almost every instance it is because the label is a big fan of your music. That means that they'll be working extra hard for you because they believe in what you're doing.
Minor labels have smaller staffs and smaller rosters, meaning it's easier for musicians to develop a close relationship with the people working on their record. Also the artists signed to a minor label will not be fighting for attention as much as there are less artists on the label meaning an artist will be getting more time spent on them.
Some larger Minor labels have relatively complex contracts, however smaller Minor labels often do business are more straight forward with their contracts and usually have a profit split agreement. You rarely see Minor labels demanding any measure of creative control over their artists, and most Minors don't lock their artists into long term, multi album contracts.
Minor label- Disadvantages
Some Minor labels are good financially , but most small Minors are struggling to keep going. That means they don't have the money to fund a lot of marketing like the Majors and that they often have to get creative with promotion ideas. They also can't afford big advances, fancy packaging, large recording budgets, tour support and other things a major can throw at you. With Minor labels, you're usually going to have to remain financially invested in your own music career.
Although the size of Minor labels have their advantages it is the smaller size that makes them more accessible to their artists - there is also a downside. They don't have the purchasing power of major labels, and because they have a small roster, they have fewer strings to pull with the press. This means they find it harder to promote their artists and let them be heard meaning they will find it hard to have chart success.
Music videos changed dramatically because of the invention of film and
cinema, which gave artists the possibility to combine music with film. Also
another huge factor of why music videos have changed is because of the advances
in technology. New technologies allow artists to be more unique and have turned
the music video into what it is today.
However,
unexpectedly music videos have been around since the 1920s as there was a boom
in the entertainment sector in America and jazz became very popular. Artists
such as Bessie Smith made short films to accompany her music and in 1929 Bessie smith featured in a short film- St. Louis Blues (see video below).
Also people argue that the first modern music
video was in 1965 by Bob Dylan Films- ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’. The song was
used in what became one of the first "modern" promotional film clips,
of which later became known as the music video. In the video Bob Dylan is staring at the camera, he flips the cards as the song plays. There are intentional misspellings and puns throughout the clip: for instance, when the song's lyrics say "eleven dollar bills" the poster says "20 dollar bills".
In the 1970s music videos started to change again as the music industry discovers TV-Shows of which they used to promote their artists and music. Artists would produce short 'promos' which again were early music videos. The TV show would play the promos instead of a live performance of the artist on the TV stage, an example is below.
Another highly credited music video is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen as
it marked a new era for the music video as it is considered one of the first to
use advanced visual effects. However, all of the special effects were achieved during the recording, rather than editing. The visual effect of Mercury's face cascading away was accomplished by pointing the camera at a monitor, giving a visual effect.. The video was edited within five hours because it was due to be broadcast the same week in which it was taped.
I have done extra research into rock bands to get a detailed idea of key conventions and backgrounds to a indie rock band. This is because I can then apply it to my ideas to create an indie rock band. Below is the information I found on the bands:
Mainstream Vs. Indie artists Mainstream The definition of mainstream is the ideas, attitudes, or activities that are shared by most people and regarded as normal or conventional. Therefore, this can be related to the music industry in different ways. For example, mainstream artists are the artists which are usually more publicised than indie artists therefore more people would listen to them. Not always but usually mainstream artists would dominate the charts which is supported by the fact that the X factor winner would normally top the Christmas charts regardless if the song is better than any other in the chart but the fact that it was most publicised on Television. Also you can argue that there is mainstream genre which is Pop/ RnB as most people enjoy this genre therefore becoming a normality or a convention. Mainstream music would be more regularly played on bigger radio stations such as Kiss or capital than in die music therefore adding to the ides that the media controls what we listen to meaning they control what mainstream is. This is linked the Adorno and Horkheimer's theory of 'the Culture Industry' which meant that the music industry turns and changes artists to make them more mainstream which means they can sell more records and make more money. A good example of a mainstream artists is pop band One direction. This is because they came from the talent show The X factor meaning they were already in the public eye. Also their image is seen as mainstream they are five young good looking boys which would appeal to young girls and teens which would make them very popular. One Direction have been standardised and changed to be more mainstream so they can sell more records and merchandise as more of an image rather than focusing on their music. Indie Artists
On the other hand, Indie artists are directed at a more niche market therefore not being as publicised. For example you do not see Indie artists on the front cover of the Billboard magazine but on NME magazine. Indie artists are usual signed to minor record labels as again they are focused on more of a niche market. Most indie artists prefer this anyway as they have more control over their music and their image and believe that the label really care about the music rather than just the money. Indie artists do not follow Adorno and Horkheimer theory as they do not change their music or image to appeal to the wider audience to be able to sell their music and products. An example of an indie rock band would be Arcade Fire as they are signed to Rough Trade which is an indie label therefore they are not always in the public eye. However, they have won many awards such as a Grammy for album of the year. Also they have not changed their image to appeal to anyone to sell themselves more therefore do not follow Adorno and Horkheimer's theory of the culture industry.
The Culture Industry
The Culture Industry is a theory made by Adorno and Horkheimer and is the idea that Music companies tell us what is good music. Also from this it makes forces artists to make certain types of music therefore cannot be original. Furthermore, due to these hegemonic capitalist practises artists are limited and determines whether they are going to be successful in the industry. Also the theory compares the music industry to a machine in which the input is the original artists and the output are the hegemonic artists which have been changed by the main companies. This takes the true talent out of the artists as they are just seen as commodities to the companies and they would do anything to get the most money out of them.
