Convergent Media in Relation to Music Video Online
Zachary Odgers - 42820014
With the rise of technology in the early 21st
century musicians and record labels had to become creative about how they were
to distribute their new videos. The answer came in the form of online video
sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.
Now in 2012 the music video programs such as RAGE on the ABC, Video Hits
and even MTV have become less popular forms of distribution for digital media
as new, more convenient forms have arisen.
The music video has been around since the early 1930s but
didn’t gain mainstream television airplay until MTV was launched in the 1980s.
MTV was revolutionary as the station played music videos 24 hours a day 7 days
a week. The first song ever broadcast on MTV in America was The Buggles, “Video Killed the Radio Star.” A separate arm was also launched in Europe which was debuted
with the Dire Straits, “Money For Nothing.”
For years the television was the only place to see all the
latest in music video. The birth of YouTube in 2005 changed the way that the
modern age viewed music video. The television stations began broadcasting less
and less music because people could just log onto YouTube and see any video
that they wanted. It began what is known as a viral revolution in the way we
are exposed to media (Hilderbrand 2007, vol. 61, pg. 48). For example on music
television, if you missed the video then you would have to wait for it to come
back around on a loop, whereas YouTube provides videos on demand.
 |
| Fig. 1 |
Vevo is a branch of YouTube that deals specifically in music
videos. It was started in 2009 as a joint venture between YouTube and Universal
Music Group. Vevo is where all the big, popular chart topping musicians post
their new videos first. In December
2009, the month Vevo was launched it was recorded as the most visited site in
the US reaching 34.5 million individual views (Jarboe 2011, pg. Unknown). Vevo
is also used as a marketing agent with artists being able to pay to have their
video featured in the sidebar or a large hyperlinked image shown around the
border of the video you are watching (see fig. 1). Vevo also provides a daily
updated chart of what is the most viewed music video of the day, week or all
time. With the week ending on the 2nd of September 2012, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen is in the number one spot.
YouTube, as a form of merging all types of media has opened
up new area for bands to become more creative with their videos. An example of this approach is the video for
the song “Here It Goes Again” by indie rock band OK Go. This video comprises of the band performing a
routine on a series of treadmills and it is technical, but appears low budget.
The official video has racked up almost 15 million views since first being
uploaded in 2009 making it a viral video (Hilderbrand 2007, vol. 61, pg 51).
The use of a viral styled video is a clever technique that is employed by band
because many millions of people will view the clip, not just fans of the music.
The song becomes commercially successful after people who have watched the
video enjoy the song and download it later without knowing anything about the band
themselves.
Music on YouTube has also been responsible for creating
interesting channels that deal with specialty music. For example, the channel
named watchlistentell. Which tours
around mostly England getting well known indie music bands to perform one of
their big songs acoustically. This channel has received more than 11 million
views over all of their 36 videos. This style of “guerrilla gigging” is become
increasingly popular on YouTube as many fans of these bands like the cross
between live music and the studio recordings.
YouTube also allows everyday people to upload their own
videos of covers or their own original songs. This uploading of videos is
responsible for the launch of the career of names such as Justin Beiber. It
also allows users to share their covers with other people all around the world with
similar musical interests. This is an example of the one of the cover versions
found on YouTube, “Whats Up” by the 4 Non Blondes, sung by a father and
daughter. As mentioned earlier in the paragraph, YouTube allows amateur
musicians that don’t often get recognised or heard to spread their music videos
around for people to see, an example of this is Northern Beaches band, Four
Litre Friday and their debut video “Yes No Maybe”.
In recent times YouTube has begun broadcasting big concert
events live for people to stream on their computers. This has been a huge shift
in the way we see music in video as the viewer was able to attend huge concerts
live from their own home. The big concerts that were broadcast this year so for
were Coachella (USA), Lollapalooza (USA) and Splendour in the Grass
(Australia). In between acts the viewer could stay tuned into one channel to
watch a series of highlights or interviews or they could switch channels to
watch the proceedings on a different stage.
Digital media convergence in the form of online music video
has changed the word in an immense way. It has changed the way receive music;
it’s changed the way bands design music videos. The shift to online
distribution of media and music has allowed also for the careers of musicians
to begin as sites such as YouTube used daily by a large number of people. The internet has been a huge step in music
and it will continue to change well into the future.
Bibliography
DireStraitsVEVO 2010, The Dire Straits - Money For Nothing, online video, viewed 30/8/12, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTP2RUD_cL0&feature=bf_next&list=FLHVR6Nn4NaAHY8-ffw7wvHg
emimusic 2009, OK Go - Here It Goes Again, online video, viewed 30/8/12, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTAAsCNK7RA&feature=bf_next&list=FLHVR6Nn4NaAHY8-ffw7wvHg
fourlitrefriday 2011, Four Litre Friday - Yes No Maybe, online video, viewed 30/8/12, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DolfHRTKho
Hilderbrand, L 2007, 'Youtube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright
Converge', Film Quarterly, vol. 61, pp. 48-57.
Jarboe G 2011, YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day. John Wiley & Sons, viewed 30/8/12, http://books.google.com.au/books?id=GqGTN3LScAoC&dq=Vevo&source=gbs_navlinks_s
realitychangers 2011, What's up (What's Going On)- 4 Non Blondes Acoustic Cover (Jorge and Alexa Narvaez), online video, viewed 30/8/12, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHqFWYYOUAM&list=FLHVR6Nn4NaAHY8-ffw7wvHg&feature=mh_lolz
TheBugglesVEVO 2010, The Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star, online video, viewed 30/8/12, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs&feature=bf_prev&list=FLHVR6Nn4NaAHY8-ffw7wvHg
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