A0B6: Rihanna S&M Case Review

At 11:25 on March 10th the music channel WTF TV screened the music video for Rihanna’s song ‘S & M’. They received a complaint stating that the music video was “completely unsuitable for daytime”. OfCom had to consider whether the material raised issues under Rule 1.3 of The Code. Rule 1.3 states that children must be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them. Ofcom acknowledges that freedom of expression in the broadcasting environment is extremely important. They also understand that music videos are an artistic and creative medium, which can and do sometimes contain challenging content which some may find offensive. OfCom is of the opinion that broadcasters of music channels carry a responsibility towards a potential child audience, however viewers should expect there to be a wide range of services available. Some of the concerns about music videos, most of which came from parents, include sexually explicit content such as overtly sexual performances from artists or actors. Another concern is nakedness and naked body parts. Rihanna herself raised an argument against this concern stating that music channels were happy to show the music video for Umbrella in which she was ‘full nude’.   

After looking at the case, I have come to the conclusion that OfCom’s decision was incorrect. One of the main reasons I think this is the fact that parents are the main group of people who are criticising the television channel. I believe that they hold the responsibility to make sure their children do not view material which they deem to be unsuitable. They should realise that music channels are not explicitly aimed at children and therefore will not take as much precaution to control what is shown and when. They could phone up their tv provider and have the music channels blocked. Also they can have restrictions placed on what content is available on the internet, for example YouTube videos. Furthermore this video only contains a softcore representation of sadomasochism and sexual activity. Themes of bondage and sexual domination and corresponding images were presented in a surreal, colourful and somewhat humorous manner and the video does not depict real or even realistic sadomasochistic practices. The broadcaster considered the images to be ‘cartoon-like over-the-top sequences which were artistic and not dark or seedy. In addition, WTF TV did not attract a child audience. Audience figures collected by OfCom showed that for the month of March 2011, the audience share for WTF TV was 0. In my opinion, if a child did see the video they would not understand the sexual connotations of the song and video. 

A0B 6 (Music Press) Regulation

The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is a voluntary regulatory body for British newspapers and magazines. They are self regulated and because of this they are deemed to be toothless. People think that they don't want to 'bite the hand that feeds' meaning that the newspapers pay for the commission. The PCC is funded by the annual levy which it charges newspapers and magazines. The PCC have a Code of Practice and publications agree to meet the standards of this code. If a publication breaches the code, the first step the PCC would take would be adjudication with due prominence which basically means that members of the PCC decide whether the code has been broken and from there suggest appropriate measures of correction to the publication. The PCC has a 'publish and be damned' policy. This means that they publish whatever they think and worry about the consequences later. The most complaint made to the PCC is accuracy. Other possible areas of complaint covered by the code include opportunity to reply, harassment, intrusion into grief and shock, discrimination and witness payments. Editors will sometimes try to get out of the accusations made against them by stating that the articles are in the interests of the public. The PCC does not possess any actual legal power.

AOB 5 (Music Video) Distribution and Ownership

Artists on Minor Labels:

Joy Division - Factory Records
Gary Numan - Cooking Vinyl
Marilyn Manson - Cooking Vinyl
Friendly Fires - XL Recordings



Major Labels

Pros:

- Major labels have much more money than any of the indie labels and therefore they will be able to promote an artist and their album well

- Major Labels will have a wide range of connections within the industry that can help an artist to reach their goals

- A major label will be able to secure good deals on manufacturing and advertising

Cons:

- As a major label will have a large number of artists signed to them, a newly signed artist would find themselves fighting for the attention of the record label and may have an album that is not being promoted well and a record label that won't return their calls.

- An artist will have little creative control over their music

- Many people who work for a major label are only in the business for the money and don't actually care about the music, some artists will not like this sort of attitude.

Independent Labels

Pros:

- An indie label will sign an artist because they like their music and will work hard for the artist because they are passionate about what the artist is doing. There won't be the pressure to 'sell out' for chart success that there would be at a bigger label

- An artist is more likely to have a close relationship with the label.

- An artist is more likely to have creative control over their music

Cons:

-  There will not be as big of a budget available as there would be at a major label
- The informal nature of an indie label means that things can get confusing
- Althought the small size of an idie label means the close relationship and reative control for the artist, it also means that the label does not have much purchasing power and can't pull as many strings with the press.

AOB 5 Distribution and Ownership (Music Press)

NME is owned and distributed by IPC Media, which is in turn owned by Time Inc. At the top of the chain is Time Warner which owns all of these companies. As of mid-2010, Time Warner was the second biggest media and entertainment conglomerate and the worlds largest media conglomerate. Time Warner has many subsidiaries such as New Line Cinema, Time Inc., HBO, Turner Broadcasting System, The CW Television Network, TheWB.com, Warner Bros., Kids' WB, Cartoon Network,Boomerang, Adult Swim, CNN, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios and Castle Rock Entertainment. 

Other magazines that IPC publish: 

Amateur Gardening
Rugby World
Golf Monthly
Nuts
What Digital Camera
World Soccer
Yachting Monthly

Handout

- 1991: America Online formed, immediately became one of America's major Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- 1995: bought out CompuServe, later Netscape became a subsidiary of AOL
- Warner Brothers was one of the five major film studios which dominated Hollywood
- As the system began to collapse, Warner expanded into music and television to create a corporation known as Warner Communications
- 1989: Waner Communication merged with Time Incorporated 
- 1996 - Time Warner underwent another merger with Turner Broadcasting which owned CNN and TCM. 
- AOL's merger with Time Warner was seen as the ideal combination of technology (AOL) and content (Time Warner)

BBC News

- Together AOL and Time Warner would form "The world's first fully integrated media and communications company for the internet century" 
- It was supposedly a merger of equals, however Steve Case of AOL was clearly the senior partner as he embraced Gerald Levin, chairman of Gerald Levin, in front of crowds of excited reporters.
- AOL may have built a large audience of internet users but they proved to be fickle as the years went by
- Time Warner had a collection of old media companies but they struggled to adapt to the online world
- It was Google, not AOL, which changed the world


Why would the audience buy the NME when they could just look at the NME website?

The website requires an internet connection and not everybody has a smartphone to look at the website on the go and some may not even have internet connection at home. Also some people simply prefer to read a standard magazine than a computer or phone screen. The magazine and the website cater to different needs. This is because, unlike magazines like Grazia, there is very little crossover between people who buy the magazine and look at the website.

A0B4: Stephen Gately Article

A0B4: Beyonce Representation

How and why is Beyonce represented in her music videos?

I have looked at four of Beyonce’s music videos and I have noticed that Beyonce takes on different personas for each of her music videos, which are chosen depending on the theme of the song. In Single Ladies, her persona is confident and saucy. This is because the song is essentially her saying ‘look what you could have had’ to an ex. This is strengthened by the simplicity of the video. Because there is nothing in the background, the focus is entirely on Beyonce and to a lesser degree the backing dancers. This would appeal to her fans because it is likely that they are watching the video just to see Beyonce. On the other hand, in Halo Beyonce is portrayed as being innocent and gentle. This reflects the theme of the song which is being in love. The video is a lot slower-paced than some of the other videos and it portrays Beyonce as very elegant and well-cultured. In Crazy in Love she has a promiscuous and seductive persona. Again, this reflects the theme of the song. In this case the theme is a woman being so in love that she acts out of character. In Telephone Beyonce’s persona was probably chosen for her so she would be more like Lady Gaga, who has a very unique style. She also creates different personas for her videos but they often have similarities i.e most of them wear abnormal clothing and dance sexually in the videos. Lady Gaga creates this personas in order to differentiate herself from other artists and to appeal to as many people as she can across the world. Just like Lady Gaga, and many other artists, by taking on a variety of different personas in her videos Beyonce appeals to a wide range of people. It also grants them some kind of longevity. Other artists have also used this technique, such as Madonna who has often taken on radical changes to her persona. Another way in which Beyonce represents herself is through her alter-ego ‘Sasha Fierce’ who was ‘born’ when Beyonce did Crazy in Love. When the car explodes with Beyonce inside and then she appears next to Jay-Z, it is meant to be the ‘death’ of beyonce and the ‘birth’ of Sasha Fierce. According to Beyonce, Sasha Fierce is the more fun, sexual and aggressive side of her. By having a alter-ego, Beyonce is able to act sexy and seductive when on stage and in her music videos to appeal to her fans but can leave all of that behind when she goes home. It also means that Beyonce can ‘kill’ off Sasha Fierce or any of the other personas she has created and still be left with ‘Beyonce’.

If the ‘Effects Theory’ is to be believed then girls around the world would dress and act like Beyonce does in her music videos. Her videos also appeal to the needs mentioned in the ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory’. As lots of people listen to her music, personal relationships can be formed by talking about her music and lifestyle. Similarly to the ‘Effects Theory’ people may try replicate Beyonce’s dancing and the personas which she shows in her videos in order to form their own personal identity. Also, as Beyonce is an attractive women, people may watch her videos as a means of diversion.

AOB 3 (Music Press) Creating meaning

A0B3: Treatment

AOB 2 (Music Press) Structure

The magazine starts with a contents page and then it has the main news and any new events. The reason for this is that they are the main thing that readers will be interested in so they want to see this at the start of the magazine and not have to search through the magazine in order to find it. The middle of the magazine contains mainly reviews and adverts, which is the convention of most modern magazines. This is done to keep the readers interest because if they put the interesting stuff at the back of the magazine, people might get bored and stop reading The adverts in the middle of the magazine are often full page or even double-page adverts. Towards the end of the magazine there are gig guides and some coupons. They are placed here because lots of people will not read the whole magazine so the less interesting stuff is put towards the back. Also the adverts at the back of the magazine are smaller because less people are likely to see them. These adverts will be much cheaper than the adverts at the front and middle of the magazine.

A0B1: History of NME

General Magazines
The first gentlemans magazine was published in 1731. Due to the lack of technology at the time, all the images in the magazine were hand-drawn. It was not until 1955 Marilyn was published, this was the first magazine aimed entirely at teenagers. In the 1960’s a magazine titles Nova was published. While these magazines were very far from their modern counterparts, the conventions of Vogue in 1895 were very similar to the conventions that the magazine has nowadays, for example ladies (however they were drawn and not digital images) and articles on royalty. Also women still had the same role in society. In 1955, Marylyn was published. It contained photos of celebrity and articles for women on how to get a man. Later, in the 1960’s there was a change in womens lives and their role in society. At this time, mens magazines were usually niche magazines such as car or football magazines. In 1986, Arena magazine was published. Arena was a general lifestyle magazine for men. To begin with, men were featured on the cover but later the publisher realised that women on the front covers would generate more sales. It was very rare to see a person of an ethnic minority on the cover of a magazine. The women on the cover would typically be white, slim and young with perfect skin and teeth. This changed in 1996 when Naomi Campbell became the first black woman to appear on the cover of Vogue. However, health and fitness magazines had been featuring black models before.

NME
When NME (New Musical Express) was first published it was owned by IPC and had a non-glossy, tabloid format. Journalists for NME would write about pop music and be kind towards artists and bands. Morris Kin was the first editor of NME, which was the first magazine to feature the singles chart. NME was still massive in the 60’s and retained a cosy relationship with bands. In 1969, the audience for NME had changed with soft drug turning into hard drugs and ‘peace and love’ turning to violence. NME was able to win back its readers with a spiky attitude and harsh writing. Later, Alan Smith joined as editor and by 1973 NME had a 300,000 circulation. At this time gonzo journalism was standard. Nick Kent stated that he wanted to write like Lester Bangs. He also said that he once wrote copy on toilet paper in order to get it in on time. Charles Shaar Murray wrote for OZ before moving to NMW. He was part of a influx of writers that wrote in a similar style to Rolling Stone magazine i.e loud, fast and funny. A new uncluttered cover was brought in by Nick Logan, who began as an editor aged 26. He also made the paper more ‘hip’ and a questioning proposition. Large images were used because the paper was printed on rubbish paper but bigger images worked well on it. In 1976 Punk came around, which led to an advert for ‘two young, hip gunslingers’ to cover the Punk scene. This role was taken on by journalists Julie Birchill and Tony Parsons, who changed the direction and tone of the paper. When interviewing a band, they would either highly praise them or be highly critical. The NME was the only place to find out about punk, it couldn’t be seen in other papers, on the tv or even live performances. The paper also gained a odd Politically Correct attitude, The Stranglers song Peaches on the Beaches didn’t impress Birchill and Generation X were perceived as being too clean. Later, Neil Spencer redesigned the paper and Tony Parsons and Julie Birchill moved out but were still just about writing for the paper. When Kent, McDonald, Birchill and Parsons left new talent needed to be brought in. Editor Nick Logan left to create Smash Hits and later the Face magazine. Smash Hits covered pop music while the Face covered the new romantic scene. This left the NME bemused and not knowing who they were speaking to any more. There was a decline in NME readers. Paul Morley wrote about Manchester Fall, Buzzcockss and New Order. Morley and Penman were a new double act, like Kent and Charles Shaar Murray, and Burchill and Parsons before them. The NME had become deeply political and intellectual. The form and the writing style of what was written was deemed very important. Also, philosophy and culture was covered. There was an article about youth suicide which was very daring and audacious. Although it was only aimed at a small audience, it meant a lot to the small audience. No other magazine or newspaper which was aimed at a youth market could do this. In the mid 80’s there was Thatcher’s yuppie and laddy culture. The NME supported red wedge and labour movements. IPC were very unhappy about the political content. After he had been there for 7 years, Spencer left NME. Hip-Hop wars started at the NME, many people believed that hip-hop was just a fad and thought that there shouldn’t be black artist on the front cover when NME was aimed at a white audience

A0B1: History of Music Video

Music videos have changed dramatically over the years, due to advances in technology such as television and later YouTube. Strawberry Fields by The Beatles was referred to as a ‘promotional film’ at the time of release but it was one of the first examples of what would become known as music videos. It is often credited as being the first music video, however it was only after the success of the Bohemian Rhapsody ‘promotional video’ that record companies would regularly produce ‘promotional videos’ for an artists single releases. The video for Bohemian Rhapsody was created primarily because the song was too difficult for Queen to perform live. An interesting fact is that many of the effects in the video were actually achieved while recording rather than during the editing process. For example, the cascade effect on Freddie Mercurys face was created by pointing the camera at a monitor, which gave visual feedback. Whereas nowadays music videos can have budgets of millions of pounds, the budget for the Bohemian Rhapsody video was less than £5000. Despite the success of this video, many musicians still had negative views towards music videos, rock stars in particular. They believed that music videos deterred from the music itself. On the other hand some artists embraced the opportunities which music videos provided. One of these artists was Madonna. Previously an artist would have to tour to become a worldwide star, but Madonna thought that she could achieve this if she put enough effort into her music videos. Later, in the 90’s many music videos were inspired by films. Some examples include Robbie Williams’ Millenium which was inspired by Sean Connery in the James Bond film series and Queen’s Radio Ga Ga which was inspired by Metropolis. It is popular belief that the concept of Michael Jackson’s Beat It was based on West Side Story, however it was actually based on director Bob Giraldi’s time growing up in Paterson, New Jersey. Another Michael Jackson song, ‘Thriller’, wasn’t a typical music video. It was a short story with a plot and characters. It was the first music video to sell for an affordable price which prompted the creation of home video. Also, ‘Billie Jean’ was the first time a black face had been seen on MTV.

A big changing point in the history of music videos was the creation of MTV which was founded by Michael Nesmith in August 1981.Bob Pittman was the co-founder of MTV. The opportunity for MTV came about because a company had a live feed but nothing to broadcast. The first track that MTV played was Video Killed the Radio Star, which was a ironic choice considering the title of the track. When MTV started, music videos didn’t have to be created just for singles. They could be created for any song and the crazier the videos was, the better. A group called Devo made lots of videos for MTV but they only made videos, not songs. 1985 saw cutting edge computer graphics and animation and also CD’s were available in shops. These new technologies boosted the popularity of the music video because the computer graphics could make music videos even more interesting and because music videos were a good marketing tool for an artist’s songs. 3 years after MTV began, they had to start making money and convince record companies that MTV could sell records. They were able to sell lots of Buggle albums which were only played on MTV, which convinced the record companies. Artists began to use music videos more and more because they saw how successful they could be.
There were also legal and ethical constraints for music videos. Madonna’a ‘Justify My Love’ and The Prodigy’s ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ were both banned. ‘Justify My Love’ was seen as too sexually explicit. The controversy of the song led to it being released as a vdeo-single and become the highest selling video single of all time. ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ was banned because of fierce criticism for misogyny despite the ending of the video.