Convergent Media Essay Rachel Winship 42452422
Discuss the phenomenon of digital media convergence in relation to music video online.
Digital media convergence,
the merging of different media and the way in which we access it, is a
phenomenon that is becoming a widespread and rapidly evolving part of our
everyday life. One such outlet of this media convergence is the move to online
music videos. Originally starting as an entertainment for television, the
introduction of the Internet and its user friendly applications such as YouTube
have given way to the new media of online music videos. Journals such as ‘From
the Long Tail to Madison and Vine”, ‘Convergence, the international Journal of
research into Media Convergence’, and ‘Convergence:
News Production in a Digital Age’
discuss these ideas and issues, and can be used to explore the evolution,
through digital convergence, of the music video.
Media convergence
is something that primarily deals with the merging of different media and the
way we access them. ‘There has been no shortage of activity and change within
media institutions and the journalistic field since the 1970’s. The past thirty
years have been a revolutionary period…’[1]
This revolution that Klinenburg suggests has become apparent with many
different forms of media, such as music, from the gramophone to the iPod, and
now, with the music video, starting out as simply a television event, to the
all-accessible online music video, whether it be made specifically for an
online sharing site such as YouTube, or merely being distributed on such a
site. As Spurgeon claims, there has been
‘rapid growth in new, online, commercial media and entertainment forms.’[2]
As YouTube is becoming more and more ‘portable’, as telephone and internet
devices converge, it becomes a greater and more applicable way for individuals
to access media- rather than simply only accessing music video clips on the television,
they are now available on PC, laptops, tablets and mobile phones. ‘The idea that users will be able to
access TV content and consume it on their private personal screens, in an
environment that for them is most convenient, comfortable and relevant.’[3]
Media convergence has not only
changed the way we view traditional media, such as the music video, but has
even created new media, such as the video blog. These technological advances
have also allowed for consumers to have greater control over interacting and
creating media. One such stream of online music video that has been
specifically created for the Internet would be those of the singer and musician
Alex Day. Convergence has allowed this media of the music video to be
re-written, and adapted to keep up with the way in which we are consuming our
media. Traditional music videos, alongside much other entertainment media
specifically made for television has often been given high budgets and
specifically designed to create a ‘well-polished’ and professional appearance. With
the introduction of online music videos, a greater amount of the population
have been able to access and upload their own videos online, allowing observers
to allow for differences such as quality production or ‘flashy’ effects. This
allows for new and different music videos to be created without the consumer of
such videos to have expectations of high quality productions, in terms of
monetary expenditure. This rougher look is apparent in many of Alex Day’s music
videos, specifically made for his YouTube channel. Although these online music
videos would be met with a negative response if aired on a televised music
video station, the great following Alex Day has online clearly shows that this
media is still popular in its own right. It displays ‘…the idea of mobile TV consumption as a highly
individualistic, personalized and private experience, customized to the
individual’s preferences (the content) and context (time, place and situation).’[4] With the ever-growing idea of
media convergence, independently labelled artists are still able to have their
own fan base online, and be immensely popular without having to be produced for
‘traditional’ media vessels such as the television or the radio. Without the
digital convergence of using the internet to access what used to be singularly
on television, it is highly unlikely that these artists would be as well
recognised, or even be able to produce music videos at all.
Another way in which
digital convergence is changing the face of music videos is the way in which
consumers are able to access them. The internet is available at any time,
allowing consumers unrestricted access to content, whereas there are
limitations to what a individual can watch on the television, in regards to
convenience and content. Well-known popular singers and songwriters such as
Katy Perry are utilising the new media of sites such as YouTube to promote and
share their product with fans. This new platform that digital convergence has
opened up allows for continuous access to music videos, but also extra media
that would largely be lost to an all-television watching audience- items such
as ‘sneak peek’ views of upcoming music videos and ‘behind the scene’ videos. ‘YouTube
has become the go-to website for finding topical and obscure streaming video
clips.’[5]
A platform such as YouTube also allows greater connection and exchange between
fans, as well as fans to the up-loader, creating a slightly more personalised
experience. Embracing the technology that has allowed media convergence has
allowed for better communication, and has slightly evened out the inequality
between provider and consumer.
Media convergence has
opened more possibilities than imagined in regards to online music video and
its production. Music video, once something that was provided solely through
television, has through the evolving technology and the converging of different
medias, been accessible on many different devices through online websites such
as YouTube. Online music video will continue to allow a greater audience to
access, direct, and engage with the subsequent material.
References
Hilderbrand,
L. (2007) YouTube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright Converge. Film
Quarterly, 61 p.48-57.
Klinenberg
, E. (2005) Cultural Production in a Digital Age . Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 597 p.48-64.
Orgad, S.
(2009) Mobile TV: Old and New in the Construction of an Emergent Technology.Convergence:
The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 15
(197), p.1-10.
Spurgeon,
C. (2008) From the 'Long Tail' to 'Madison and Vine', Trends in Advertising and
New Media.Advertising and New Media, p.24-45.
[1] Klinenberg
, E. (2005) Cultural Production in a Digital Age . Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 597 p.50
[2] Spurgeon,
C. (2008) From the 'Long Tail' to 'Madison and Vine', Trends in Advertising and
New Media.Advertising and New Media , p.47
[3] Orgad, S.
(2009) Mobile TV: Old and New in the Construction of an Emergent Technology.Convergence:
The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 15 (197),
p.5
[4] Orgad, S.
(2009) Mobile TV: Old and New in the Construction of an Emergent Technology.Convergence:
The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 15
(197), p 6
[5] Hilderbrand,
L. (2007) YouTube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright Converge. Film
Quarterly, 61 p.48
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