Group Magazine

Harry Chicks

Before we all started to create our magazine adverts we decided to share some ideas and different designs between us. We discussed different aspects of an alternative pop artist and analyzed a series of different magazine adverts from different artists of the same genre. This gave us a clearer perspective on what we would want and need our advert to look like.

The first magazine design follows the conventions of alternative pp music. It has a large photo of the artist at the top which has been used commonly in magazine adverts from artists like Jason Mraz and Ed Sheeran. It uses a unique typography which helps convey the originality of the artists style of music. In the advert i like the way the artist is positioned and looking out of the frame. I think that the text size and colour could be changed to create a more recognizable contrast with the background.

Olivia Smith

To the right is Olivias magazine advert draft. In the advert i like how she has made the artists face have a big contrast between him and the background making it look more professional. I also like the typography she has used and how the 'Oakley' is a larger size than the artists first name 'Justin'. I think that the structuring of the magazine could be re arranged better. Their is loads of blank white spaces towards the bottom of the magazine advert making it look less professional. The magazine does follow the common conventions of an alternative pop artist when compared to other artists of the same music genre. This conveys how we are going in the right way to creating the perfect magazine advert.

Ryan Hall

To the left is my draft of an magazine advert. I really like how i used typography to emphasize the name of the artist making it stand out much more to the reader. The black and white background and the colour picture in the middle is too connote the difference between past and present which is what we want to convey in our music video. I think that the magazine advert is conventional to the music genre as it uses trees and grass in the background which compares to a lot of alternative pop music videos which usually contain visuals of nature and natural things. I think that the typography at the bottom of the advert could be improved to be more clear and stand out more to the reader.

Adam taylor

In this magazine advert i believe that it doesnt follow any of the conventuions displayed by a generic alternative pop music artist. The typography is all over the place which makes it look a lot less profesional. The magazine advert has a series of places where it can and should be improved. The layout of the magazine makes it look unorganised and that information has just been put in random positions. However i do think that the placing of the artist was good.





For our groups final magazine advert we decided to use olivia's. We thought that hers looked much more proffesional due to the seriesw of different tools she used on photoshop. We also believed that it conveyed the generic conventions of an alternative pop artist. Olivias magazine advert also uses a good typography as it is clear and makes the magazine advert look real and proffessional. Also the contrast between the artist and the background through the use of the tools on photoshop made it easier to choose what magazine advert we wanted.  

Research Into Chosen Artist

My chosen artist is Jason Mraz and his songs are in the alternative music genre. I decided to make a music video for jason Mraz as i enjoy his type of music. I believe that alternative is better as it allows the artist to perform their own style of music and their own lyrics whereas record labels usually tend to steer their artists in the direction that has the best target audience for bigger profits. Alternative artists like Jason Mraz have a better style about them and perceive the ideal lifestyle that i would want to live. As the song is alternative i think that the lyrics tend to be much more clever and relatable then other mainstream artists.

Jason Thomas Mraz an american singer song write who is currently 35 year olds. He is currently signed to Atlantic record label but between 2002-2005 he was signed to Elektra label. He has had a very successful career in the music industry. His album "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things" reached number three on the billboard top 200 and the first single of the album reached number 1 on the AAA radio charts in the US. He has also won two grammy awards his songs "Make It Mine" and "Lucky". Shown below is a table displaying where Jason Mraz's most recent album "Love Is A Four Letter Word".

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Australian Albums Chart	23
Austrian Albums Chart	6
Belgian Albums Chart	22
Belgian Albums Chart	24
Canadian Albums Chart	1
Dutch Albums Chart	2
Irish Albums Chart	19
New Zealand Albums Chart	25
Norwegian Albums Chart	29
Scottish Albums Chart	5
Swiss Albums Chart	4
UK Albums Chart	2
US Billboard 200	2
US Billboard Rock Albums	1
US Billboard Digital Albums	1

Source: Wikipedia
Based on the results of the where Jason Mraz's album got too you can see that the artist is extremely successful within the music industry. His album hit number one in the US Billboard rock albums and number 1 in the US Billboard Digital Albums.

Music Video Analysis: Jason Mraz "Lucky"

Jason Mraz music video for his hit song 'Lucky' displays different conventions and stereotypes of an artist of the Alternative music genre. The opening shot in the music video is an establishing shot. The shot shows the audience where the music video was set but then the shot changes to another establishing shot of where the other artist in the song is. The two artists in the song are in different locations hence the reason why their is two establishing shots at the beginning of the music video.

Goodwin's theory doesn't relate to this music video. The music video has a narrative but is mainly performance based due to the amount of attention given to the artists through the use of close up and mid shots. The two different locations are complete opposites. This is too convey the different personalities of the two artists. The female artist "Colbie Collat' is on a bright and sunny beach which connotes hows she's a fun loving person. Whereas the male artists "Jason Mraz" is at a dull busy city which connotes how he's a business man. He is also wearing a suit which conveys the idea of being a business man.

The artist has a positive representation in this music video. Although he is in a dull city he is represented accordingly. He is very smartly dressed wearing a black suit with a white tie. This conveys a very strong and organized man as he is represented so smartly. The target audience to this type of genre is usually mixed as it is a genre which varies with different tempos and the artists personal style. But to this music video i think that the target audience would be people aged between 30-50 due to the historic cities and beaches shown in the song. Also because of the slow tempo which the older aged people will like as it is a nice and chilled song.

The mise en scene is used to widen the viewers eyes. It conveys two very different artists and shows the audience two different types of lifestyles which fits the genre of the two different artists. This is also shown through the mise en scene like setting, costumes and lighting. When jason mraz is in the frame it is very dull but when colbie collat is in the frame it is very bright and sunny. This is to keep the audience attention towards the music video making them more interested in the artists lifestyle.

Throughout the music video there is a series of different camera shots. The main camera shot that is being used throughout the music video is a close up. Close ups are used so that the audience can build a stronger relationship with the artist. Close ups are also to used to help convey the strong emotions behind the artists lyrics and visuals helping the audience understand whether it is a happy or sad song. Another shot that is being constantly used throughout the music video is a long shot. As this music video is shot in exotic locations long shots are key as they show the whole location to the audience promoting the artists lifestyle and wealth.

Jason Mraz-I'm Yours

jason Mraz is an alternative pop artist who is a globally well renowned artist loved everywhere by his fans. His hit song Im Yours getting over 144 million views on youtube conveys the common conventions of an alternatuve pop artist through a series of techniques like mise-en-scene and camera shots. In this music video the artist has a very positive representation therefore gaining a stronger relationship between the artist and his fans/audience.

Goodwins theory of the relationship between the lyrics and visuals isnt present through out the music video. Whereas the relationship between the music and visuals is present through out the music video. There are parts in the music video where the artist will be tapping his foot, dancing or playing the guitar which perfectly matches with the music in the song.

As Jason Mraz is such a popular artist he will have a very broad commercial appeal with a large range in ages when it comes to his target audience. However due to his style of music and lyrics the target audience would be people aged between 20 and 40. These people are more mature when it comes to music they like and are particular about their chosen genre.

The mise-en-scene is used to sell the artists lifestyle to the audience. This will create a bigger bond between the artist and audience therefore selling more records making more money for the artist and record label. Throughout the music video Jason Mraz is wearing the same costume. This is due to it all being in one main location. He is wearing a plain blue t-shirt, shorts and a brown trilby hat. The blue shirt connotes that its a happy song as it is a bright colour.

Planning The Location

The location of our music video is a key aspect to our music video as it will help convey to the audience the strong emotions behind the artist lyrics which will be emphasised through the locations and the cultural differences between cities. The main location of my music video will be london city. London is a big city and is known all over the globe which will give our music video a more proffesional look.

We want to split the locations into two different catergorys. One will be london city which is a noisy and busy place which will try too convey some of the artists lyrics. Also the busy london city will be used to relate to the tempo of the song. As the song starts slow we will want to use a much more calmer location like the artists home, the artists girlfriends home and relaxing places like parks to help convey the tempo of the music. But gradually as the songs tempo starts to get faster will change locations to the busy city of london.   

The london location will use well known popular landmarks that is known all around the world. Our target audience for this type of music video should recognise the loactions within london instantly. Therefore taking the attention away from the background and back onto the artist. Although this will keep attention on the artist it will still look proffesional as of the location. London is key to music video as we need it too look proffesional and convey the strong emotions behind the lyrics.

Another london landmark that is going to be shown in our music video is Buckingham Palace. I believe that the artist singing the lyrics i wont give up whilst sitting in front of this beautiful landmark will convey a strong message to the audience. It will show them the strength and belief that the artist has for his country. This gives the artist a positive representation building a stronger bond between him and his fans.  

Throughout the music video i want the conventions of the artist to be clear and give the audience a chance to understand the artists emotions. the clamer locations i am gonna use are the artists house and his "Girlfriends House". This will connote the calm and peaceful side of the artist as he will be just be relaxing at home on the sofa giving the audience a better chance to relate with the artist as it shows even a famous artist needs time to himself.

Cinematography

When creating my music video i am going to use a series of different shots to help convey to the audience the emotions and conventions of an alternative pop artist. One shot that is going to be used frequently throughout the music video is a close up. The use of close ups will help the artist convey his emotions to the audience giving them a clearer view on whether the lyrics are love or hate related. The use of close ups will be used to help convey the common conventions of a alternative pop artist.

Another shot that i am going to use when creating my music video is a mid shot. A mid shot is commonly used in a lot of music videos of all different music genres. However this will help convey our artists music genre best as it will allow us to add the clothing which is needed and enough space in the background for our locations.

Another shot that we are going to use when making our music video will be an establishing shot. An establishing shot is used to show the audience the location of where the video is being filmed. The constant use of different locations will mean different series of establishing shots which will convey to the audience how the artist has been going on a journey. We need them to convey this same idea to our music video as it relates with our song lyrics.

The final shot that is going to be used throughout the music video is a long shot. A long shot is fronm a distance and usually has the whole artist present in the frame. Were gonna use this in our music video when walking through a busy city and will just be the artist as the main attraction in the frame. The shot will be used to convey the common conventions of an alternbatuive pop artist through the mise en scene as the whole artist will be in the frame during these shots.

Analysis Of Magazine Adverts

Jason Mraz is an extremely successful alternative artist. In this poster advertising one of Jason Mraz tours at harding university the artists is represented very positively.  This poster is used to promote one of the artists shows. The poster will give the viewer all the important details to the show and promote the artist. The long shot of him performing on the stage shows the audience that he is a fun and active artist which makes the potential audience more interested in seeing the artist. The artist is wearing clothes of his own style which conveys to the audience about his originality which will make them more interested in the artist.

The main colors used on the advert are brown and the artists name 'Jason Mraz' is big and in blue. The brown background and the blue text is too make the artists name stand out to catch the magazine readers attention therefore gaining more awareness to the artist and to his shows. The bright yellow spotlights across the top of the advert connote how he is a popular star who has had a successful career in the music industry. The big splash of colours on the board behind the artist is too convey that although a lot of his songs have a slow tempo the artist himself is trying to show that he is a lively artist and can do faster tempo songs.

The design layout of the advert is straight to the point. As the reader of the magazine will be just flicking through the advert needs to be short, snappy and straight to the point so that the reader will quickly read the details without getting bored. The dates of the show are written in black with a white box surrounding it all. This is to make the dates of the show obvious to the reader. The text is in all different sizes due to the importance of that piece of information on the advert. The one image of the artist performing on the strange is too create a bigger connection with the potential customers. The image also shows that the artist is mainly performance based and has the ability to play an instrument live.

The advert is used to promote the artist and his show. The promotion will be funded by the artists record label so that they can sell more tickets and make more money which is their main goal. The advert is used to make the artist look the best he can so that the audience will be more interested in going to his shows. It promotes the music genre as 'Jason Mraz' is holding an acoustic guitar which is a common convention of an alternative pop artist. This conveys to the audience how it is a alternative music genre song. The advert attracts a very specific target audience. The use of colours and the artists positioning is used to attract the target audience. The use of a band behind the artist will attract a specific target audience as it will attract people that like bands and alternative music genre.




This poster is used to promote the artists new album called 'Plus'. The poster is too create a bigger awareness of the artists newly released album. The poster will be placed in magazines, newspapers and on other places to promote like bus stops etc. The connotations of this advert are that he is the only artists whereas usual conventions of an alternative pop artist is that they have some sort of backing band. The whole poster is only him looking down smiling.

The poster uses very dull colours throughout. Even in the artist is wearing dark and dull clothes. This is too emphasize the typography. The artists name is the biggest out of all the text in white to stand out to the reader. The plus sign which is used to name his album is in orange and the text beneath is in orange too. This is too link the actual album cover together with the poster as they are both orange.

The layout of the poster is very simple. It s very simple to catch the readers attention as they will only be flicking through a magazine. It is a close up shot of the artist filling the whole frame. This is too create a stronger bond between the artist and the audience as they can see the whole artist. Ed Sheeran is also smiling which gives a positive representation as he is just being himself instead of pulling a 'Gangster' face which most conventional rappers will do.

The magazine poster only consists of one photo of the advert which fills the whole frame. As Ed Sheeran is a new artist to the music industry it is key to use a large scale photo of him to keep him a recognized face. In the image of Ed Sheeran he is smiling and looking down. The smiling looking down at the ground conveys to the audience that the artists kinda shy and trying to create the best first impression into the music industry. The typography goes in size order as it shows the importance of the details with the most important being the biggest. The artists name is at the top and is in the biggest text. The albums symbol is then below the upper text.

The style of language is very short and snappy. This is due to it being a magazine advert so has to be short and snappy as the reader of the magazine tend to be flicking through till they see something interesting. The advert only promotes the artists album. The advert doesn't convey any key details which will really promote the artist apart from the image of him and the albums name.
The advert uses guitar coloured backgrounds and clothing which connoted the artists music genre. The advert attracts the target audience through the clothing of the artist and the expression that he is pulling within the magazine advert.

Analysis of Digipaks

Front Cover

Shown to the left is one of the digipaks to one of jason Mraz's albums called 'Live On Earth'. The album was a hit making the artist much more popular and making atlantic records a lot of money. On the front cover the artist is represented in a different way. The illustration of him on the cover conveys how he has a busy and hectic life and is always thinking about stuf that is key to having a happy life in his eyes. This idea is conveyded through the image of his head being open and having loads of things coming out of it like a car, helicopter and plane. However this could just be a connotation of all the things he wants from life. The vast use of colours make the digipak look more inviting and interesting to the audience making them want the CD more than going online and downloading it illegally.

Inner Cover

   The artist has a positive and creative representation through the digipak. The digipak is bright and colourful and also contains lots of images of fun and exciting things. This backs up the artists representation giving him a better perspective from his potential audience. The digipak is trying to promote the

The typography of jason mrazs digipak is very original and doesn't contain a lot of text in till the back cover. The back cover has the track list on in a clear text so that the potential buyer can see what songs he is getting when buying the album. The topography doesn't really follow the normal conventions of an alternative pop artist as it is quite plain writing where alternative pop artist tend to stray away from normal typography and normal conventions of this music genre.

Back Cover

     This digipak does a very good job when it comes to conveying the artists music genre. Alternative pop artists are very cresative with their music and always tend to stray away from mainstream trends and themes. This gives the artist a more unique edge over mainstream artists like drake and beyonce. The different colours and vast use of different images within the digipak connote the originality of the artist as all the images are hand drawn.

The digipak is very appealing to the target audience. This digipak appeals to them through the use of different colours and unique images. As this type of audience tend to not like mainstream themes and conventions. The big use of colours is also very appealing to the audience as it cstches their eye and makes the digipak more interesting to look at.                                        

Planning Artist image

How is your artists going to be represented?

As the alternative genre has a very precise style and lifestyle we wanted the artists in our music video to perceive these types of things that are commonly shown in an alternative music video. We want a positive representation as this will link with the lyrics and title of the song "I Wont Give Up" which conveys a strong type of person as they wont give up. We also want to sell the artists lifestyle to the audience through the use of our costumes and props like the acoustic guitar and iPhone 4s. We also want to show the audience through our music video the positive and negative emotions that the lyrics and visual may show. But with our music video we want to convey both of these emotions to try and convey the ups and downs of everyday life and how you shouldn't give up.

With our costumes we want to follow the conventions of an alternative artists mise en scene to make it more appropriate to our chosen genre. As alternative is all about the artists originality the costumes wasn't hard to choose. We just had to keep away from mainstream brands and the current mainstream fashion trend. The artist is going to wear clothes like chino shorts, shirts and sunglasses. Through research these parts of clothing are shown in most alternative music video.

The target audience will build a relationship with the artist as they will be interested in his lifestyle and build an emotional relationship with him through the lyrics and the visuals. The audience will feel a closer connection to the artist through the emotion we are going to convey using mise en scene and editing. We also will build a bigger relationship through the lyrics as they relate to everyone as everybody has gone through tough times when you shouldn't give up.

Major Record Labels

1.    Who are the major labels in the UK currently?

2.     Who do the major labels manage?

3.    Do the major labels own smaller companies and which artists do they manage?

4.    Are there any links within Media e.g TV/Film/Magazines etc

Definition: Large companies within the music industry that may also own smaller record labels

Sony music entertainment: Also known as Sony Music or just as SME. SME is one of the biggest record labels along with EMI and Universal Music Group. Sony have some very successful artists from all around the globe like JLS from the Uk and Kanye West from America. All of Sonys artists all cater for different target audiences as the artists cater for different music genres. Sony also own a lot of subsidiary labels. A subsidiary label is when a big multinational organization like sony will merge or takeover a smaller record label. An example of some of Sonys subsidiary labels are columbia records and Epic Records. Sony will buy subsidiary label so that they can hit different target markets and maximize profits.

Universal music group is an international music company. Universal is the largest out of the three biggest record labels with the highest market share. Universals large success is partly owned to the very succesful artists that they own. They use their artists to hit different target audiences like their rap artists Kayne West and their punk rock band Blink 182. Universal also have lots of subsidary labels. These include record labels like A&M Records and Decca Records. Decca Records was established in 1929 and specializes in Classical/Jazz. An example of one of their artists is Nicola Benedett. Universdal music group is the music side of the company universal they also have an film department which has made some very famous films like King Kong.

EMI Records are also one of the worlds leading Record Labels. EMI have a series of different Subsidiary labels all catering for different target audiences. Some of these subsidarys include Angel Records which is an Classical music label. EMI also own Narada which is a label that specialises in jazz music. They have very succesful artists signed to them an example of a few are Katy Perry, Professor Green and Coldplay.

Independants

It is very clear that the music industry is dominated by these four major record labels. This is due to the very little market share left for new competitors. I also think that the large budget that these companies has available also influences their actions. As they have such a large budget they feel the need to buy out other independant labels to increse their own turn over. These large multinational companies also use synergy with their artists to increase their artists port folio and reputation. I do believe that it is unfair as the market is now saturated and has no room for competitors.

The big powerful music companies tend to steer their artists in the direction that has the biggest and most profitbale target audience. An example of this is the famous sony artist Lady GaGa. Sony noticed a gap in the music industry for this type of creative and different artist. Through the research and noticing the gap in the market Lady GaGa has become a very popular and profitbale artist. I think that this tends to steer the artist away from what he/she would really sing. They tell the artists what genre they want them to be. This has been shown and noticed by the public and media with some of the most popular modern artists. Chris Brown is an example of this as he used to be a R n B artist. However as the common trends in mainstream music so did his type of music becoming more dance pop. This can be misleading for the consumer as their should be more independant record labels so that the artist can truly express themselves. I do not believe that independant record labels are as succesful as the major record labels because they have the bigger share and much bigger variety of artists however i do believe that independant record labels have much more to offer than the major record labels as the artist would be allowed to express themself accordingly being original which has a target audience.