Discuss the
phenomenon of digital media convergence in relation to one of the following:
Advertising & New Media or Music Video Online:
Digital media convergence “is the process whereby new technologies
are accommodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures”
(Dwyer T, 2010). This asserts that the digital media revolution has emerged
from the level of importance placed upon social, cultural and economic factors
of contemporary society. Therefore, as
observers of the forever changing nature of humanity, we can determine that a
range of industries have been subject to this development in their particular
field. This is the case because such companies are conscious of the importance
of meeting consumer demand and maintaining economic as well as cultural
dominance amongst competitors. However, the convergence of digital media has played
its most significant role in the evolving nature of music over time and one of
the key components to contemporary society that has been subject to this
phenomenon is ‘Music Video Online’. This has impacted the course of a variety
of mediums, but none more than YouTube, which is responsible for both the
emergence of the internet as an audio-visual tool as well as the decline in
relevance of prior avenues such as ‘Music Video Television’.
As a result of this we can determine that the establishment and
continual development of convergent media does possess some profound implications
on other platforms for which music was formerly visually distributed. We are all
witnesses to the substantially reduced influence of television presenting
popular music, which is a result of the technologically superior facets of
online media that gives audiences the opportunity to interact more intensely
with the music, artist themselves as well as fellow contributors to such
mediums. The most recognisable victim to this advancement is Music Television
(MTV) that originated in 1981; MTV once was unquestionably considered the
platform for which the music industry was promoted on a vast, international
scale. This phenomenon was driven by its ability to dependably present music
videos that at the time was considered as a key convergent of digital media, on
a similar scale that online avenues are respected today. However, as a result
of further convergence between the music industry and the internet, such
companies as MTV have had to seek alternatives in order to appeal to the
technologically engrossed audiences of today with such concepts as reality
television. Conversely, the influence of contemporary media convergence is not
all of a negative nature, as audiences are provided this prerogative to engage
physically with popular music on a level that was previously unknown.
As used by the United Kingdom’s ‘convergent’ media regulator: ‘[Convergence
is] the ability of consumers to obtain multiple services on a single platform
or device or obtain any given service on multiple platforms or devices’ (Ofcom
2008a: 1). This includes integral elements of the contemporary music industry
that’s driven by an internet-lead approach through such technology as social
media and blogs that account for a diverse range of genres. This is highlighted
in the book ‘Sociology of Health and Illness’ where it is said, “The internet
is a significant source of health for many people” (Nettleton, Burrows & O’Malley
2005) What are effectively being produced are positive outcomes for both the
public that are granted the ability to act as keen contributors as well as artists
themselves on a range of fronts. However, whilst the influence of social media is
effective and the enhanced interaction between artist and audience is only further
galvanized by such developments, the most prominent convergent media enterprise
is YouTube that has single-handedly changed the role of music videos.
Firstly, the most important people to the continued success of the
music industry is the general public, meaning that it is in the best interests
of media populations to foreground the ‘consumer’ when considering policies and
the further development of media convergence (Dwyer T, 2010). It is essential
to consider these factors as it is well documented that fans are early adapters
of new media technology as their fascination with fictional universes often
inspires new forms of cultural production (Jenkins H, 2006). Ultimately, this
is where YouTube has been endorsed by global music trademarks to meet the
prefigured demands and expectations of society through distributing media in a
fashion that seeks to include the audience heavily in the outcome of particular
artists or songs. This is highlighted in the ‘New York Times’ when a market
analyst quoted “YouTube figures out what Google and Yahoo and Microsoft and all
the others in the marketplace didn’t... It’s not about the video. It’s about
creating a community around the video” (Hilderbrand L, 2007). There are far too
many functions of YouTube that can be discussed, yet the most significant of
these surround the notion of peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture where the software
developed has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities (Dwyer T, 2010).
An example of the YouTube 'community' in practice:
Initially, the most profound of these functions is the ability for
people to interact by written communication in a range of domains, to both fellow
enthusiasts of a particular genre or artist as well as the artist themselves. YouTube
has a comment function underneath its videos that is considered to give
audiences the opportunity to write brief evaluations of clips, especially those
of the music industry. Furthermore, it also provides a blog function that
generates healthy as well as elaborate debate over music as it collaborates a blend
of opinions that more stimulated people enjoy intermingling amongst. All these
aspects contribute to the establishment of a common theme that is the reflection
of music video. In comparison, the artist also benefits greatly as a result of
the reception that they receive from the members of the inter-web as they are
able to gain feedback from their most honest critics being the ‘fans’ who take
up their time to contribute in offering thoughts and evaluation. Allot of this
discussion is constructive and is a mechanism that artists have the ability to
use in order to further develop or amend their talent in terms of music video production.
However, we must be aware that not all artists are established ‘household names’
amongst society and with this comes another benefit of YouTube. Through the uploading
of videos and promotionally based posts on other forums, rising musicians put
themselves in place to receive initial recognition in order to emerge as a ‘brand’
in the music industry.
An example of an artist attempting to promote their name on Wiz Khalifa's YouTube Video 'Work Hard, Play Hard' for Atlantic Records:
OutFlowProductions (28/08/2012):
Hey i'm a dedicated rapper from NorCal and i just got my channel up. I'm signing to Atlantic Records soon but they put me on hold until i'm 21 because of legal reasons and i have no money for promotion until then, but i want people to notice me now so i can start touring, peep my music and subscribe or like my page on Facebook and follow me on twitter, i'll have more music and music videos soon but stay tuned and if you don't you'll still hear from me soon anyways bioottch, but google pays me :)
To conclude, the phenomenon of digital media convergence is a
remarkable influence upon the ‘Music Video Online’ industry. All of the aspects
discussed today only account for a slight proportion of all present day capabilities
that include the ‘on-demand’ feature that allows an individual to view music videos
from the past that date as long back as they have been in production. Whilst
there are some victims to the development of the internet as a major figure in
the music video world, no bigger than music television and MTV, the positives
far outweigh the negatives.
By Nicholas Olive
Referencing:
Jenkins, Henry (2006)
"Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars" in Convergence
Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, pp. 131-168.
Hilderbrand, Lucas (2007) “YouTube:
Where Cultural Memory and Copyright Converge” in Film Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 48-57.
Dwyer, Tim (2010) “Introduction”
in Media Convergence, McGraw Hill,
Berkshire, pp. 1-23.
Nettleton S, Burrows R, O’Malley
L (2005) “The lay use of internet health” in Sociology of Health and Illness, Vol. 27, Issue 7, pp. 972-992.
No comments:
Post a Comment