Media Convergence in Music Videos Online

Music Videos Online

Devices around the world are accomplishing more and more tasks as the year’s progress. A mobile isn’t strictly a mobile phone anymore but rather a web browser, mp3 player, television, radio, and planner and pretty much anything someone may need in their work or leisure time. It’s become a phenomenon that has taken control of the media and modern technology. While society doesn’t need a television that’s also a phone and a calendar, advertising can allow it to become something that will be desired. Divergence has allowed for one object to have many purposes. Music videos online are a prominent example of such divergence but not to be shed in a negative light.

Online streaming has, in a way, overshadowed broadcasting, especially in the beginning of this new decade. While the television and radio play a large role in the everyday life of most westernised people, the growing importance of streaming is slowly taking the limelight. YouTube alone has completely changed the way the world views information and shares thoughts, skills and just about anything that can be placed in video format that is legal. It allowed for anything to be spread by the ‘word of mouth’ (Hilderbrand 2007, p. 28) which brings forward the importance of the music video spectrum within online streaming. 

Over the years, music has allowed for musicians with a fan base of a few thousands to shoot to the millions. For example, musicians like OK Go, Sick Puppies and Lucky Date used and/or shot to stardom and recognition by simply abusing the idea that YouTube was a site made and viewed by the people. OK Go’s hit ‘Here It Goes Again’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA) allowed for a video of four adults running on hired treadmills in a fairly choreographed manner. This depicted ways in which music videos were more than just good looking women dancing around musicians lip syncing but rather a way to catch and withhold the audience’s attention either through humour or curiosity. Another example may be Lucky Date. While not entirely well known around mainstream media, he is an electronic producer whom started by simply making YouTube tutorials on how to use a music production software. This caught the attention of thousands of YouTubers as this quickly pushed him to gain recognition within the field of electronic music. One tutorial video alone has gather over 300 000 views (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggsHn-hwph0&feature=plcp). These are only a minor amount of examples to indicate the phenomenon that is online music videos.

Evidently, the internet was not something accessed by people in the eighties and seventies thus preventing music videos to be broadcasted on any other platforms than televisions. One of the most revolutionary steps in the music industry is MTV, a channel that revolved around music videos. It expanded over the music on the radio and dawned a new age in media as it took music to a whole new media form. ‘Video Killer the Radio Star’ by The Buggles, is a world renown song that depicted the change in which music was heading and ‘the ambitions of a company who wanted to significantly influence popular culture’ (Vidyarthi 2010). Skip ahead to around 2004 to 2005 where MySpace and YouTube grew to popularity and the music video industry faced the rising power of convergent media. Streaming is now the norm of spreading music abilities as it allows the audience to choose one’s popularity rather than the mass media industries.

This, on the other hand, does not mean that industries like MTV do not abuse the idea of online music video streaming. YouTube has introduced its own version of MTV by joining with ‘Vevo,’ a music streaming site. By accompanying the internet streaming market, it has gathered 50 million visitors monthly (Vidyarthi 2010). Simply explained, it became a range of YouTube channels dedicated to specific musicians owned by record labels. It also uses its popularity to promote other musicians. For example, http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/401/vevo1.jpg/sr=1 shows the way Nelly Futardo’s song ‘Say it Right’ can be used to advertise Pink’s new song thus simply gathering thousands of more views for their channel. This also correlates well with the idea that videos with a high view count will gather money along the way. YouTube has become a method of self controlled advertising with a monetary reward. When a video gains a certain amount of views, YouTube will give the owner of the video money. This promotes the music video streaming in an impactful way as musicians do not need to rely on record labels to make a living but rather the attention of their fans.

While there are evident positives that can be gathered by the importance of divergent media and how music has revolved around it, there are many noted negatives. The way in which individuals can access media so easily has greatly impacted how broadcasting facilitates. Paul Graham states that television networks have had to respond to the internet’s popularity by grudgingly placing their ‘stuff’ online (2009). While television stations wish to have their audience access their entertainment over a television, it is now necessary for them to accept the idea that the internet is now a ‘primary medium’ (Graham 2009). This has greatly affected channels like MTV as a high percentage of the music is practically accessed online while the channel predominately plays television shows. It’s the irony of having the title ‘Music Television’ when music is such a rarity on the channel. Thus indicating that, while broadcasting won’t die anytime soon, it has to accept the idea that the internet is an instantly accessed, conventional norm of society.

In summation, convergence has been portrayed negatively over the years and while it does have predominant draw backs for the media, it cannot be ignored that it is the future of viewing and obtaining information and entertainment. That being said, it does not mean broadcasting will deplete as ‘old media never die’ (Jenkins 2006) just the way in which we obtain it. The music video industry alone is a dictator of how far convergence has proceeded. Streaming music videos not only have provided a new norm in entertainment but has also reconceptualised in what a music video actually is.  

Reference List

Graham P 2009, Why TV Lost, http://www.paulgraham.com/convergence.html, Accessed 30 August 2012

Hilderbrand, L. (2007) 'Youtube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright
Converge', Film Quarterly, Vol 61, pp 48-57

Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York, New York University Press, pp 1-24.

Vidyarthi N 2010, A Brief History Of MTV, Vevo, YouTube and the Online Music Video - SocialTimes. http://socialtimes.com/mtv-vevo-youtube-online-music-video-history_b23698, Accessed 27 August 2012