STAR THEORY.

The star theory is constructed by RICHARD DYER, a man who believes that artists are constructed through artificial images such as the advertising for films, magazines and music. He also claims that audiences and consumers prefer the artists to convey their true emotions and not be groomed by record labels to create false images and a 'real artist' can use this as their unique selling point.

Dyer also believes that stars are manufactured to make money for their record labels by appealing to target audiences and as a result record labels have to cater different artists for certain target audiences. Examples of record labels doing this can be seen through Mirror branding, both Rage against the Machine and Joe McElderry are signed to sony music.

Another one of Dyers beliefs within the star theory is that artists become trendsetters and audience members will imitate hairstyles and artists clothing styles.

An example of this is Rihanna's red hair. When she dyed her hair red, a lot of teenage girls began mimicking this and dyeing their hair red.

Another example of this is when Madonna first launched her career and everybody began wearing similar clothing which was neon colors and long sleeves.



Dyer also believed that artists may have certain religious beliefs and cultural values which audiences would pick up on if shared by the artist.
The internet has meant that audiences now have greater access to the 'personal' lives of stars. For example there are a countless amount of forums you can join to have conversations with random people about their opinions on celebrities and to see photographs of them of things they may not wish to be released.

A prime example is this website, which also has access to the lives of a star. We see a photograph of Cheryl Cole smoking and the headline underneath says 'Cheryl Cole tries to hide behind a wall to have a quick puff, but we see her!' also demonstrating that this was something Cheryl did not want put out there and spoken about. 

Synergy.

Synergy.

There is a complex relationship with the music industry and a number of different media including radio, TV, print media, film and new media which includes the internet, mobile phones, twitter, facebook and many more. The music video is only one way in which a song is promoted and synergy is the crossing of different media's to promote something to the public, in this case music. This works for the benefit of both companies.

For examples Mcdonalds toys promote new films which come out.

  This is an image showing the Despicable Me toys which came in happy meal boxes to promote the new film Despicable Me 2. This is an example of Synergy across the company for the film and the company of Mcdonalds. 

Another example of synergy is when a music video is created to promote a film but can be successful in its own right. For example the official video for the James Bond 'Casino Royal' 2006 film called 'You know my name' sung by Chris Cornell. As a very successful film, it increased the sales and success of the song and allows the artist to widen their audience.

Songs vs Video.

SONGS VS VIDEO.

Many people log onto youtube and watch a music video. This is sometimes nothing to do with the song, which many viewers don't even take notice of when watching a video. This is because we are more attracted to the image of artists and most viewers of a music promo video are visual audiences. The differences between good videos and bad videos really show the quality of the artist/band.

Miley Cyrus and Adele.

For example Miley Cyrus' video for 'We cant stop' is very popular, not because of the song but because of the image she is portraying in the video. She dances around in hardly any clothing and acts out very sexual movements, which attracts male viewers and also the gossip of teenagers around the globe. This is especially because she is maturing and changing from a young Disney Pop Princess who would target young girls, and now she has changed into a Diva. 

These photos show Miley before and Miley now.

 This image shows Miley dancing very inappropriately to entertain the fans. This is how she entertains her fans with songs that are not very good.

In contrast, Adele does not care about her image and does not have to use dancing and music videos to entertain her fans. Her music promo video for 'Someone Like You' is just her walking along in Paris, in Black and White, and there are no events that happen and no other people included in the video. The video comes across as quite boring however it really shows off her voice and people are listening to the actual song. This would have been a low budget video.

Lady GaGa and Coldplay.

Lady GaGa is another example of someone who uses music videos to entertain her fans and the public. Because her music videos, costumes and props are very strange then many people watch her videos even if they don't like her music. 

These images show some of her strange outfits she wears to attract the attention of the media and the public. This is something which is always spoken about in magazines and online websites, which shows how she achieved her success.

This is a long video made as a story which shows how GaGa puts lots of effort into her videos to appeal to fans. Without this she may not have a career because nobody would listen to her music as much as they do.

Coldplay are a group who are organic and they are similar to Adele in that they are not bothered about their image but are more bothered about their music.











This video shows Chris just walking backwards through events that have happened, similar to Adele's music video. It does seem a little more upbeat and storytelling, however it may be considered as boring. This however just makes us listen to the song rather than watch the video.

Purpose of a music video.

Types of music.

There are different types of music and they are divided into two clear categories.

Organic.

'Organic' is used to describe artists where music comes first. They make the music they want to make and then record labels try to sell this music to the market. This often appeals to certain people but can appeal to a wide audience also. This includes artists such as Ed Sheeran, who used to write his own music and busk with his guitar in the streets, and Adele.

Synthetic.

'Synthetic' is used to describe artists where music comes second after appearance. The band or artist is either put together or given a certain look to attract the public and given music to perform. This includes shows such as X Factor and The Voice. Examples of artists like this is JLS, One Direction and Alexandra Burke.

The artist I will be making a music video for is organic because she is unsigned.

Record Labels.

Major record labels.

These are the dominant companies of the music industry and are referred to as the 'majors'. They are backed by conglomerates and are sometimes included in other industries such as film TV and electronics.
The four multi national corporations are:

Universal
Sony Music
Warner Brothers
EMI

Major Independents.

These are independent record labels which are smaller companies owned or licensed by a 'major'. These allow the 'majors' to reach different kinds of audiences for different genres.
These major-independents include:

Columbia
Island
Syco (Simon Cowell)
RCA
Virgin

Independents.


There are many small companies with very little or even no financial connection to the majors. These often concentrate on a small number of acts and are specialized within the industry. An example is 'Domino Records'. It is very often that record labels begin as independents and are then bought by a major, making them major-independents.