Weekly Production Diary

This week I looked at the record industry, videos that I could possibly recreate and also I analysed Taylor Swift's music video of shake it off.

Shake It Off - Video Analysis

In this video she is trying to show that she doesn't care about what the haters have to say and she just wants to do her own thing, throughout the video she is making a joke of other artists music videos such as Lady Gaga when she is dressed up in the gold clothes. Throughout this song Taylor is laughing about herself and not caring about any negativity that is being thrown at her, there is a line of the song where she says "I'm dancing on my own, I make the moves up as I go" which is why during the video she is purposely dancing terribly. She's making a joke on herself saying that no matter what happens whether it be shade, negativity or something else she will just "shake it off".

Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze applies to this music video as throughout the video the camera is focused on showing off the bodies of the females within the video which attracts the attention of males to watch the video. Taylor is using the male gaze to parody other music videos as throughout the video that is what she is impersonating, such as daft punk, R&B and pop videos.

Richard Dyer's theory states that pop stars are constructed and manufactured by their record labels in order to make money. To make money they usually have USPs (Unique selling points) which allow the labels to advertise the artist to a certain audience or group, it also means that people can relate certain events or styles to certain artists, for instance Taylor Swift's iconography is that she has been known for having a bad experience with her relationships and is constantly switching partners, this is something a lot of teenage girls also go through (despite the fact that Taylor is 24) and that is why they can relate to her so much. In the video Taylor sings "I go on too many dates, but I can't make them stay, at least that's what people say" by saying that she is suggesting that although people say that is what she does it may not be.

Simon Firth's theory is that "Music videos may be characterised by three broad typolgies: performance, narrative and conceptual." (1988), I believe this video to be a conceptual video as there isn't a narrative within the video, but there are also aspects of performance as she is singing into the camera directly addressing the audience.

5 Videos that I Could Recreate

I have chosen these videos because they are simple and don't contain any intricate dance routines or anything like that, these videos or their style are something that I feel I could recreate.

The Record Business

These are the 4 major companies which dominate the record industry and own the most market share. Together they make up 81.87% of the record industry, independent labels (ones which are not bound by the contracts of the major ones) make up the remaining 18.13% of the industries market share.

The independent labels are ones where everything is done by itself, they don't rely on other factors to produce their content and they usually specialise in certain genres of music which have a niche audience. Artists may choose to go with an independent label rather than a major label since major label's main interest is to make money, whereas musicians interests are with making music. These incentives can sometimes conflict and result in difficulties between the two parties.

Convergence is something that happens within the industry and means that music can be promoted across multiple platforms, such as film, TV, magazines, games, etc. This can beneficial for both the music artist and the platform which it's being promoted on as both of them gain promotion from the convergence.

Weekly Production Diary

Most Expensive Music Videos

Michael Jackson - Black or White ($6.9 Million)

Madonna - Bedtime Story ($7.7 Million)

Madonna - Die Another Day ($7.9 Million)

Madonna - Express Yourself ($9.4 Million)

Michael Jackson - Scream ($10.7 Million)