Assignment 1, Convergence Online Music Video
Matthew McAnally, 42850614
Tutor name: Dr. Sarah Keith
Convergence is not only
accountable for the morphing of the Western music video but is directly responsible
for the changing of the music industry over such a short period of time. The
juggernaut video sharing website known as Youtube has changed the foundations
of the music video industry to the point where the effects can no longer be
reversed. Not only did the migration of the music video unshackle the music
market from producer driven formulas but allowed a competitive market to exist
between music icons and amateurs alike. Lastly, the very conventions of the
online music video changed as a result of the media convergence. The results of
convergence are perhaps best demonstrated through the evolution of music within
the past 20 years to the present day.
The convergence of television music videos to video sharing sites,
the biggest known as YouTube, has in turn changed the formulaic industrial
success of producer driven labels. Many music media producers are, if not have
been, overrun by willing en masse users who demand a higher expectation of
personalised watching than the mainstream producers once controlled (Jenkins,
2004: p. 37). While MTV once had a fixed control over the consumer of what was
considered 'good music' of the 1980s, which amounted from the excessive hair
metal bands to the pop idolisation of Michael Jackson and Madonna, the
repetitive exposure of these formulaic creations resulted in a push away into
more alternative music. This was the first time the music video producers had
experienced rejection from a new audience who sought private terminal access to
music. Though Grunge was eventually picked up by MTV and was formulised once
again, MTV had paradoxically formulised itself in the process. Contrastingly, the
iPod's creation (at the end of 2001) capitalized on the expression of privately
consumed music (Dwyer, 2010: p. 8). As music grew within the collection of the individual
(Sodergard, 2003: p. 34-35), so did the market. Eventually, the market converged
to personal portals which include desktops and laptops. The evolution of music
videos which converged to personal Medias is the reason why the majority of the
market has become individualised to personal tastes.
The Merging of music videos to the
realm of Youtube has resultantly created a competitive market. Convergence of both
access to music replication and the internet allowed a form of short portable
television in the form of music video to cross mediums (Orgad, 2009: p. 200-205).
Based upon the duality of watching as well as creating, the struggles for views
between the reputable pop star and an average nobody have converged on the same
platform. While the neo-liberalistic market allowed adaptations to occur as a result
of video access (Appadurai, 1990: p. 323-324), many stars have evolved out of
the websites on principle alone. The most viewed video on Youtube, 'Baby,' is in
fact a music video created by a teenager artist known as Justin Bieber. Ironically,
Bieber was discovered by a music label which had watched his original Youtube videos
he had put up as an amateur. Clearly, this example expresses that "it(s)
about creating a community around the video" in more ways than one (Hilderbrand,
2007: p. 54); Bieber not only capitalised on the individualised market of the
next worshipped girl teen idol but also used a convergent media form in an
attempt to get noticed. Jutin Bieber now sells out entire arenas and is
considered a mainstream performer of pop music.
Lastly, the convergence of media
has changed the form of competitive in the online music videos. What is even more interesting is the discovery
of an entire music genre found by use of the internet originally challenged the
need of a music video. The emerging music genre known as Dubstep became popular
by the postings of an artist known as Skrillex. The music video 'Scary Monsters
and Nice Sprites'
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw)
was posted on Youtube with literally a poster instead of a video in 2010. By time
of writing, this had reached over 100 million views. Evidently, this had occurred
far from how music producers had once thought the internet would be used
(Jenkins, 2006: p.9). Consequently, a famous electronic artist known as Deadma5
signed Skrillex to his record label after viewing these videos (which account
to more like hearings). A symbolic reference in the video 'Skrillex Interview
2011' ironically has Skrillex stating "but I'm not mainstream because I'm
not on MTV," oblivious that the interviewer was actually from MTV,
Skrillex can therefore be seen as an artist
that reflects the trend of a knowledgeable and underground core audience creating
the next mainstream idol based upon the views of a privately accessed but
collectively followed videos on Youtube. Both Justin Bieber and Skrillex have
become main line acts around the world and their videos are played now by the
remaining music channels on television.
Convergence is having an
incredible influence in how we view the world today as much as we view an
online music video. Not only was it a determining factor in the decline of MTV
but it destroyed the producer-controlled market of music. Consequently, this
allowed for a greater freedom to be expressed by the individuals to watch
whatever music video at any time they wanted. With the market driven by the neo-liberalistic
user, it wasn't long before consumers began to experiment within the new
framework, Justin Bieber becoming an outcome of the new system built upon
convergence. the fusion of convergence with the online video clip also produced
new forms of mass appeal, Skrillex's early 'blank' music videos being the
perfect example. Based upon the investigated assumptions in relation to
convergence, it is safe to assume that the expectation of the music video has
changed permanently in the online public sphere.
Bibliography
Jenkins, H (2004), The Cultural
Logic of Media Convergence, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Massachusetts,
p.37
Dwyer, T (2010), Media
Convergence, McGraw Hill, Berkshire, p. 8
Sodergard, C (2003), Mobile
Television: Technology and User Experiences, VTT Publications 506, Helsinki, p.
34-35
Orgad, S (2009), Mobile TV: Old
and New in the Construction of an Emergent Technology, Sage, UK, p. 200-205
Appadurai, A (2000) [1990]
Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy, in Frank Lechner and
John Boli (eds), The Globalisation Reader, Blackwell, Oxford, p.323-324
Hilderbrand, L (2007), Youtube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright
Converge, Film Quarterly, Vol. 61, p. 54
Jenkins, H (2006), Convergence
Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, NY University Press, New York, p. 9
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