Music video case studies Flashcards
Who are Blackpink
Blackpink is a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment and consisting of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. Cited as the “biggest girl group in the world”, they are considered the most successful Korean girl group internationally.
The main concept that Blackpink often uses in their songs is “Black” or “girl crush”, taking the black tone as the main color, expressing a strong, individualistic and proactive image However, in some of their songs, the group changes their style when using the “Pink” concept, showing a feminine, youthful and cheerful image
who are Blackpink’s audience?
C - possibly lower - lower middle class, catchy, simple lyrics, aspirers
A - largely teenage girls and young women, also targets a male audience due to voyeurism with revealing costumes in the HYLT music video
G - female audience, all members of group women, empowering video
E - global, largely Korean
S - any, mainly heterosexual
outline the conventions of k-pop and how these relate to the ‘How You Like That’ music video.
bright colours
memorable choreography
how has the k-pop genre changed in the past 20 years?
over the last 20 years, K-pop has become a cultural sensation as groups like BTS and BLACKPINK reached global success
this has led to Korean culture becoming more mainstream in the West
what controversy was there around the ‘How You Like That’ music video?
some audience members complained about the Hindu statue which featured in the original music video, saying it was disrespectful and cultural appropriation
YG immediately edited the video and removed the statue - demonstrates the desire they have to please their audience - did this to control bad publicity; example of self-regulation
YG has also been linked to some scandals around drugs and corruption
What makes Blackpink so successful?
a
A powerful combination of Marketing strategies, including
(1) the use of differentiation through a girl crush concept,
(2) the creation of extremely high-quality, but scarce content,
(3) the focus on personal branding, and of course,
(4) a big Marketing budget.
4
Q
how is social media, particularly Youtube, important for Blackpink?
the music video currently has 1.2 billion views on Youtube
broke the record for ‘most views within 24 hours for a music video’ on Youtube
live streamed a concert on Youtube
Tiktok ‘How You Like That’ dance trend
how successful was the ‘How You Like That’ music video?
very successful
- the music video currently has 1.2 billion views on Youtube
- broke the record for ‘most views within 24 hours for a music video’ on Youtube
how are women presented in the ‘How You Like That’ music video?
powerful female representation
psychographics - each group member presented differently to appeal a broad audience - their individual personalities give the audience an opportunity to identify with whichever group member they feel their own personality aligns with eg. Lisa presented as more strong + aggressive, another member presented as more feminine and delicate
unity - dance break where group members and other female backup dancers are synchronised - suggesting women should unite and embrace themselves, highlighted by the powerful choreography
Q
how does the ‘How You Like That’ music video engage its audience?
entertaining features - bright colours, memorable choreography
how does the ‘How You Like That’ music video target a global audience?
various exotic settings, provide escapism, symbolic of various locations around the world, targets different cultures
hybrid genre - use of k-pop and hip-hop genres appeals to a wider audience - hip-hop typically a Western genre
lyrics sung in both Korean and English - English the most spoken language in the world, targets a wider audience
simple choreography that anyone, regardless of the languages you can speak, could learn - separate dance routine video posted on Youtube that has more views than the actual music video (1.3 billion)
collaborations with Western artists - Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa & have featured at the Grammy’s and on American chat shows
apply Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory to Blackpink’s ‘How You Like That’ music video.
Diversion: music video conventions - performance, fast pace, entertaining, different settings, clearly high-budget
Personal relationships: Fan interaction online through social media is a key element of K-pop’s global success. Fans feel like they ‘know’ the band members - eg. TikTok
Personal identity: K-pop fandom often involves copying the look of band members - learning music video choreography, seeing their own style reflected on screen (HYLT reflects different personalities of women)
Surveillance: Western audiences gain knowledge of Korean music and culture.
how was ‘How You Like That’ marketed and promoted?
A
the video’s release was preceded by a series of teasers on the band’s social media accounts (including posters, photos focusing on individual band members and videos)
- also a reality show (24/365 with Blackpink) - offered audience the ability to become familiar with the group members and build a fan base
Who are Arctic Monkeys Industries
Rock Indie band release ‘IBYLGOTDF’ in 2005 and rode a new wave for digital downloads.
Distributed / Marketed through MySpace where users could like and connect.
Arctic Monkeys are self manufactured and did their own marketing.
Arctic Monkeys Mise-en-scene
Video filmed in the style of the ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’, an influential BBC music programme in the 1980s.
Intertextuality reveals the band as ‘real’ and ‘authentic’ to new audiences.
Sense of nostalgia through this filming style creates the idea that music is the most important component in an old location by taking away the glitz and the glamour
Arctic Monkeys - singers
Scruffy teenage associated clothes for teens to identify and familiarise with.
Diegetic sound with lyrics such as ‘dynamite’ creates a sense of rebellion.
apply Young and Rubicam’s theory to the ‘How You Like That’ music video.
Blackpink targets:
- mainstreamers - k-pop genre is a popular genre
- aspirers - younger audience who look up to Blackpink, teenage girls who feel empowered by them
- explorers - k-pop relatively new genre, Western audience members may be interested in it
who are Blackpink’s record label?
A
YG Entertainment - SK record label that has diversified into other areas of the music industry - allows them to produce, market and distribute music (vertically and horizontally integrated) - have many subsidiaries which allows them to make more profit
- invested in by many wealthy tech companies, allows their music videos to have high-budgets
- want to appeal to a global audience to increase revenue
how is the Asian music industry different to the Western music industry?
creation of synthetic artists - aspiring musicians sign up to become YG trainees - k-pop music manufactured through a strict audition process, including 4-6 years training and reality competitions
how are music videos consumed nowadays?
convergence - phones, tablets and YouTube are the primary ways audiences engage with music video
Who are the “Big Four” Label Companies - who are they owned by?
Major music labels are owned by multinational media conglomerates that also produce other media content. They are generally known as ‘the big four’:
EMI
Sony BMG
Universal Music Group
Warner Music Group
All other record labels are considered as independents.
Who are the independent labels.
Who owns them?
Indie labels are much smaller than major labels, but there are many more of them around the word.
Although they are often seen as more fashionable or edgy, some major companies create subsidiary labels that appear to be independents but are actually owned by large conglomerates.
Some independent labels include: Domino, XL, Rough Trade, Fierce Panda
List the key characteristics of Major Record Labels.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of artists signing up to a Major label?
(1) They have big financial resources, and established power and connections in the music industry.
(2) They often have global reach, with offices in most big cities.
(3) They control every step of the production process through their big staffing teams and subsidiary companies; from making the music, distributing the music including to online platforms and social media, and promoting the artists, including organizing concerts, TV interviews and selling merchandise.
Advantages for the artist.
(1) The big labels typically give higher advances to artists (more money upfront) as they have more money.
(2) Greater commercial impact (have ties with other big fashion brands for example, TV + film shows, merchandising).
Disadvantages for the artist
(1) Sometimes artists have less creative control over their material. The labels tell them how to dress, what songs to sing, how they should present themselves in music videos.
(2) Artists don’t own their own music. The artists only get a % of the sales of the music (royalties)
List the main characteristics of Independents
What are the advantages and disadvantages for artists signing up to a Indie label?
(1) Indie labels are typically much smaller than major labels, although there are many more of them, and they tend not to have international reach or a lot of employees.
(2) They are typically not so well funded vs the Major Labels.
(3) They are often specialized. Artists could be from the same geographic area or play in a similar genre of music (hip hop, indie music).
Advantages for the artist.
(1) Artists typically have more creative freedom. Major labels have a reputation for being overly controlling, dictating the direction of an artist’s career and pressuring them to create music that is marketable rather than true to their artistic vision.
(2) Artists can sometimes benefit from more personal attention from a smaller label’s team.
(3) Indie labels are more likely to offer co-publishing deals that allow artists to have more ownership over their produced materials.
Disadvantages for the artist.
(1) Artists typically receive smaller advances (money upfront).
(2) Indie labels often have less commercial influence; less resources to spend on promotion.
