Main Task - Stage 3 - Who would like this artist?

Based on the things I have learnt about Dan Wilkie, I think that his music would be apreciated by those who understand the importance of melody and the art of it's creation and manages to balance it all out with laid back and meaningful humorous inco-orporations. The genres of his music are pop and dance, although he refers to it as 'Baroque Pop'

So what other album covers can be classified to be portraying the genres? Why?  As the cover below shows, it needs to be colourful, fun and the imge portrays a powerful, motivated person, just like when you dance as a form of exercise, and in the case of Madonna, there is a much more obvious link to the dance genre as it is typically associated with shine/glitter.

Some 'Baroque Pop' artists are How To Dress Well and Alt J.... And what i understand from this genre is that the overall genre values melody over lyrics. The album art below reflects this as there is no immediate associations with lyrics and hidden manigs/values of the music.

Here are their music:

Alt J - Something Good

How To Dress Well - Cold Nites

Main Task - Stage 2 - Finding an Artist

Via the internet I found different websites to find un-signed artists. The best website to use was unsigned.com. From this website I specified what genre I wanted my artist to be, and coincidently the first artist I clicked on (Dan Wilkie) was the one I liked the most out of the 4 artists I emailed, as i enjoyed his laid back, meaningful tone an upbeat music and thankfully he eventually emailed me back so I could use his music without breaking copy right laws.

 His initial reaction was 'yes, that is fine with me!' and then he said ' You can use it however you want' with some initial questions about which song I will be using. I then suggested collaboration so the products will not end up as something he doesn't like, which he agreed to.

I then asked him how he would like to be portrayed as an artist, both his image and his personal beliefs, what he believes his music would be classified as and some background information about his music. Unexpectedly, I was astonished how much detail he went into for me so I could visualize what he wants.

 Within a short time of our communication I have learnt that Dan Wilkie  has been writing music for 6 years, according to him it was quite  heavy music-   ‘’ I sounded more like a Nirvana/Foo Fighters tribute band’’  while his biggest inspiration came when he  started listening to The Beatles and The Kinks. Here Dan says –

 ‘’I'd known their songs from when I was a kid and it was their music that inspired me to write the kind of melodic music I do now’’.

 He believes that melody has been rather overlooked over the past decade  and people seem to have forgotten the importance of it, in effect , it's why the "classics" are remembered and still loved just as much today, because they had incredibly creative melodies and colourful hooks, and it's also why a lot of today's music will most likely be forgotten in 10 years time.  

According to Dan, most songs nowadays revolve around 2 or 3 notes, whereas a song like Penny Lane by The Beatles shows just how sophisticated the  melodies used to be in the 60's/70's, not to mention the inventive and classical-tinged arrangements which influenced him just as much in his own personal music.

He also says ‘’Paul McCartney in particular is my biggest influence, even down to the way he plays the bass, with just as much melody as the vocals! But I also like artists such as Frank Sinatra, Mozart and surprisingly, Nirvana and Billy Talent’’

 The songs that I’ve listened to (Show You The Light" etc...) are actually songs that he  wrote intended for other people to record, as they're much more modern in sound and aren't really the style he'd use for his own music, says Dan.  He was inspired to write after he spent a while looking for a publishing deal so he could write songs for other artists to earn a bit of money, he had a fair amount of interest from producers but unfortunately a deal never quite surfaced so now he has decided to go back and start all over again, writing and recording his own songs again: ‘’ which are much more experimental and fun, if I were to put a genre to them, I'd call them something like "Baroque Pop"!’’

 When I asked him to explain what kind of  artist he is, Dan answered:

‘‘ As an artist, I’m very casual and laid-back, I like songs that don't take themselves too seriously and I prefer things to have a good dollop of humour, warmth, colour and fun to them. I basically like anything creative’’. I currently plan to start recording my own music again + a LOT of covers of 60's/70's songs which I'll put on Youtube around Christmas time onwards, I'll also be trying to earn some money writing music for adverts too. My own music will be on Stereofame, Myspace, Unsigned.com and possibly Reverbnation, all in due time’’

Main Task - Stage 1 - General Audience Feedback on CD's

Who buys CD's?
Why do they buy them?

Audience feedback shows that those with disposable income for example- teenagers, are the main audience to buy cd's and the main reason they buy cd's is because they would like a solid copy of the music they like and also this would be useful in portable devives on the go, for example a walkman or a cd player in a car.

Another type of audience who buy cd's are of course collectors who tend to buy all the albums of the artist, and cross-media synergy related products come into play a big role for the artist in terms of popularity as the audience would be able to share the music.

music videos that support/ challenge Mulvey's theories

A video that supports Mulvey's theory of women being voyueristically objectified is:

Eric Prydz - Call On Me

This is because all the women are exercising and they do not know they are being objectified as the only man in the class is able to watch multiple women exercing at once and enjoy it while he does the moves too. Also, there is a lot of 'zoning' into the pelvic area in this video. This dehumanises the women. 

and a video that that supports her theory that men can narcissistically identify with the artist is:

Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You

This is because men can identify with the artist and tend to aspire to have the wealth (through clothes, cars, style)  that the artist has, and may believe wealth is the key to successful sexual relationships.

A video that challenges Mulvey's theory of women being voyueristically objectified is:

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black

This is because although she wears feminine clothing, it does not exploit her. She is a victim of grief rather than male desire.

and a video that that challenges her theory that men can narcissistically identify with the artist is:

Will Young - Who Am I

This is because events are usually considered to be  feminine roles/ behaviour of society, (for example cooking, knitting, painting and caring for animals), and therefore most men can't identify with the artist.

Berger's and Mulvey's theories on sex and gender

John Berger

Berger's theory: 'Ways of Seeing'

Historical Context

17^th/18^th century - rise of the middle classes – merchants, bankers, land-owners who had made money themselves (as opposed to aristocracy who inherit money)

Very rich men wanted to show off what they owned. They held lavish dinner parties to show off their wealth. This would often be paintings of their houses, horses and estates.

Men and Women in 17^th-19^th century

Women had a very low social status at this time, even in middle class culture. Often after social dinner events, women would retire to a female-only room to gossip and do needle-craft. Men, on the other hand, would retire to the ‘drawing room’ to smoke, drink and talk about ‘serious’ topics like business, politics and wars.

Women as property

Often the drawing rooms would contain the paintings that showed off the owner’s wealth and women were often portrayed as just another object to be owned.

Ownership is thought to create sexual excitement: even in the language of romance we still use today… “She surrendered to him”, “He took her in his arms”, “We belong to each other”. Power for the owner is erotic.

Paintings and Pornography

Often the paintings would depict the woman as helpless, exposed and vulnerable, and typical poses would be laid back, arms aloft, distracted by something.  They were portrayed as passive.  Seeing gives the illusion of ownership and power. This excites both the spectator’s Libido (gives them the power to take sexually) and Thanatos (the power to destroy)

That’s supposedly why teenagers put pictures of their favourite stars on their bedroom walls. Being able to gaze at the object of their desire, whenever they want to, creates a feeling of power over the objects. Pornographic images offer the same audience a pleasure, the object of desire is naked, and usually spread-eagled so every part of them can be seen. Berger said this itself is sexually exciting, the act of gazing.

Feminist art critics view this kind of art as a misrepresentation of women, portraying women as not thinking, feeling individual human beings, instead they are dehumanised and objectified – treated as an object that belongs to someone.

Therefore, the danger of sexist art show that it is very disempowering for women to see themselves this way and it encourages girls to be passive and to present themselves as sex objects. It has a negative effect on men too - it encourages them to disrespect and objectify women in real life, and this is why many women object to pornography or eroticised images of women.

Mulvey's theory:

Laura Mulvey analysed the way mainstream films ‘construct an ideal viewer’, i.e. she analysed the way men and women were represented in films, and speculated about how this would appeal to a spectator. She mixed psychoanalytic film theory (the ideas of Freud and Lacan) for a ‘politically feminist’ end. She said that ‘spectatorship’ and the act of looking itself provided a form of sexual gratification.

Mulvey added to Freud's theory of Scopophilia, where the viwer feels guilt for experiencing sexual pleasure from looking at other people. Mulvey also suggested that cinema was the ideal place to get ‘scopophilic’ pleasure because

a.) the people in the film aren’t aware the spectator is watching (so can’t be made to feel guilty)

b.) no-one else can see the spectator getting pleasure because the theatre is in darkness, plus everyone else is watching the screen, too

Mulvey said the cinema provides voyeuristic pleasure: pleasure achieved through watching others who don’t know they’re being observed.

Mulvey’s Conclusions include:

That most mainstream films are made by male filmmakers for male spectators: so there are active male characters (they are the protagonists i.e. a subject whose actions push the narrative forward; so the audience are encouraged to identify with them), Female characters are usually passive (they are often seen as a ‘prize’, an object of desire that men fight over; don’t act or think for themselves)

Mulvey said that mainstream films appeal to the ‘Male Gaze’, women are presented as ‘spectacle’ – something pleasurable for the male spectator to look at, in her own words, popular films “are obsessively subordinated to the neurotic needs of the male ego”.

Narcissistic Identification

Narcissism = loving your own image

Narcissistic identification = male spectator sees male hero on screen and gets pleasure by both feeling similar to the hero (he’s a man, too, so the screen is like a mirror) and admiring/loving the idealised image of masculinity, for example James Bond – personification of what men wish they were; get pleasure from admiring him and identifying with him, because they aren’t like him in real life.

Voyeuristic objectification

When the male spectator gets pleasure by desiring the female character, and feeling he owns her because she is passive (like an object) and because he can look at her with out guilt (because she doesn’t know she is being watched)

The only issue with Mulvey's theory is that she only based on a psychoanalytic approach and didn't carry out any audience research, questioning the credibility of the theory above.



comparison of contemporary and pre 2007 music videos and the representation of sex and gender

Music videos have changed drastically in regards to sexual content:

Britney Spears - Oops! I Did It Again (1999)

And now we have:

Nicki Minaj - Superbass

So what's the difference?

Well, back in the 90's, they thought that crop tops and  short skirts so whole legs were seenand laying on the floor dacing were being sexual, alongside jumpsuits and minute intimacy beteen a man and a woman the male giving the female a gift.

Now?

Nicki Minaj has taken these ideas to a completely different level, where the clothes are even more revealing and make the artist appear and act like dolls, they're dehumanised. Artists appear to be more materialistic and express wealth too, ( champagne, cars, explicitly show 'stacks of cash') There is more explicit sexual dancing between couples.

changes of gender roles in society

How have perceptions of sex and gender changed over past 100 years?

 

 

Pre -1940: The first wave of feminism had won the landmark right to vote for women (for over 21's). This was significant because it meant that for the first time women's opinions and experiences mattered.

 

World War 11: Start of the first 'Women's culture': As the majority of the men had been sent away to fight, Women were encouraged to take up the job roles they had left behind; during the war years, women in factoriesd, on farms, in the dockyards, and in the offices kept the economy running. For some young women, their first experience of adulthood meant taking on responsibility in a job and earning enough money to live independant lives. When the men returned at the end of the war many women didn't want to give up the independence they had grown used to.

 

50s-60s: Second wave or 'radical' feminism: During the social upheavel that that followed in the wake of WW11, the feminist cause was inextricably tied-up in the birth of the Counter- culture. closely allied to Civil Rights, and anti-Vietnam demonstrations, feminists began to question the role of wome, and the (male) power structures that define them.

In 1960, the birth control pill was introduced in Britain and America, for the first time giving women real control over their own reproduction, and seperating sexual pleasure from procreation.

 

Late 70s: Feminism moves out of the academy and into popular culture: The stereotype of the 'man-hating' feminist arose in this period. Men, in real interviews - and in sitcoms, soaps and movies- confessed to feeling under attack: patriarchal society was accused being responsible for every injustice against women, yet individual men had often done little to oppress anyone deliberately. The priviledged positions in society that they had taken for granted were suddenly being criticised, and men felt caught between tradition and the new expectations placed on them.

It seemed- certainly in the pages of Cosmopolitan and modern girl's magazines- that women were empowering themselves with a new set of expectations of men: men who would be sensitive, who would take equal role in domestic responsibilities, who could provide satisfying sex and encourage his partner to pursue a successful career.

 

The 80s- Thatcherism and Economic Change: The Eighties' obsession with material sucess led to traditional masculine values- while still being dismantled by feminism- being championed by women themselves. The 'power-dresing' business woman that we can see in Dynasty, revealed in her masculine traits and her equal status, even dominance over, men. This was personified in Margaret Thatcher: morally conservative ( encouraging traditional 'family values' in the face of a soaring divorce rate), while economically liberal- encouraging everyone to work, to be as successful as they could be.

It was also during this period that the Tory government began to dismantle the traditional industries (the male domain) and shift jobs to offices and IT. widespread unemployment meant that many men were denied the role of 'breadwinner', and began to question their role in society. (The Full Monty would provide a good example of this).  

 

Conclusion: Overall the changes between Gender roles indicate that men and women are now expected to also fulfil the opposite genders role as well as theirs and more equality has taken place since the 1940's.   

 



issues of the contemporary music industry

The changing role of radio

 

 

Legal downloading and streaming

 

- Consumer able to buy favourite music online

- i-tunes

- Amazon

- mp3

 

- Able to access music folder

- don't have to buy full album

 

i-tunes allows audiences to have preview of the song before you buy

- allows you to buy specific songs rather than the whole CD

- artists have their own website where you can buy the song

 

Streaming

- multi media file ;to download

- music can be played back

- differs from previous video downloading

- allows sending/receiving media across the world web

- accessible if you have wi-fi

- music on i-pod - on your phone

 

Social networking

- connect with friends and family

 

Distribution of music through social network

 

- free membership

- unlimited access

- more for your money

 

Disadvantages

- no profit made

- more people buying for free

- quality may be poor

- digital music doesn't have the base

 

Disadvantages for artists

- preview you may like the song.  If preview wasn't there you'd buy the whole track

- songs can't be appreciated in one listen

- the song needs to grow on the person

- don't feel the full hype about the song

- preview only a few seconds

- the full song is 7 - 8 minutes long - don't get the full feel about the whole song in a few seconds by listening to the trailers

- banning

 

Copyright and online piracy

 

- the exclusive legal right given to an originator to print, publish, perform, film or record

- protects music, photography, film, recording , artwork etc.

- noone can copy without owners permission 

- determines who may adapt

- if you  make money from copying you are breeeching the copyright law 

 - IPO provides the right type of  protection

- IP may be a brand, invention, design or song

 

Right to authorise

- reproduce or broadcast

 

Protection

- copyright prevents your work being stolen or misused

 

Income

- mamagement invest a lot of money to make the song.  The full benefit needs to go to the company who made the video/record

- inability to share work

 

Piracy

- illegal and inauthorised patented material

- artists and record company lose a lot of money because of piracy

- people lose their jobs because of piracy.  The producer and distributor lose out

- industry loses 4.2.billion pounds a year

- artists lose

- songwriters lose

- record companies lose 85% of their income becauseit doesn't generate enogh revenue costs

- prices of albums increase to cover costs

- consumer loses - illegally downloaded music drives up the cost of legitimate product for everyone

 

The RIAA  Trade Organisation - (Recording Industry Association of America)

 

- fight for rights of artists

- copyright and piracy are caused by the internet

- piracy has been around before internet was invented

- copy and record and tape from radio

- music piracy has been around for ages but the internet has made things much easier

- file sharing and downloading - disadvantages are people are not paying for it

- people are sharing your music for free, it's good for the artist in the long run.  The artist is becoming popular through free downloaded music.  This then enables the audience to buy clothing or to go and see that artist live