Discuss the phenomenon of digital media convergence in relation to
music video online.
“Convergence culture, where old and new media collide,
where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media
producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways”
(Jenkins 2006, p. 2).
The phenomenon of digital media
convergence can be seen as an ongoing process shaping the current media
landscape. Jenkins defines digital convergence as the “flow of content
across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media
industries, and the migratory behaviour of audiences” (2006, p.2) Dwyer further
states that convergence is not just a technological process, but also has
social, economic and cultural implications (2010, p. 8). In the case of music
video – as creation, distribution and consumption are
brought together in an online environment – industrial, technological, social
and cultural aspects of digital media convergence are prominent.
Music video itself is the
convergence of image and sound, which began with the first talking films in the
1920s. It progressed from there to the spectacle of the musical, which matched a
singer to a specific song, and from there to the music video as we would recognise it today. Music video was revolutionary, as it matched a song to a particular
visual image for the first time, and often these images resonated and remained with the viewer. Originally distributed via television, music videos represent
the convergence of the music and film industries, with television as the mode
of delivery (e.g. MTV channel in the U.S.A, and Rage in Australia).
However in the early-mid 1990s, “commercial interests established a major presence on
the Internet” (Hayward 1995), record companies included. The majority of the
initial music websites were promotional, and from the outset artists' websites
included music video clips. Cayari explains the revolutionary
nature of music video online: that it “reintroduce[d]
a visual aspect back to music that was lost with the emergence of audio only
recordings” (2011). Music video online reached new heights with the launch of YouTube, the user-friendly video sharing
website, in 2005. YouTube became a new platform for the distribution of music
video, replacing television to a great extent.
Music video online is a prime example of
technological convergence. No longer bound by materiality, music videos on
YouTube can be viewed on any device with Internet access- computer, smart
phone, tablet etc., as well as on your television (Cayari 2011). Dwyer (2012) highlights
the previously clear links that existed between traditional media and their
delivery platform (in this case, music video and television), stating that they were
binding and fixed. However he writes that “now proliferating wireline and
wireless network infrastructures … are blurring the distinction between the
service and the platform” (Dwyer 2012, p. 18). This is the case with music
video, which can be accessed anywhere around the world, and at any time. This
means musicians have a potentially greater audience, and also that there is
more varied content available worldwide. YouTube also enables users to watch music
videos for free, which adds to their increased accessibility.
YouTube has also enabled viewing online music video to
become a more interactive experience, representing the social convergence that
occurs on social media websites, as well as the convergence between the roles
of producer and consumer. The comment function on YouTube enables direct
communication between viewers and with the makers of videos, as do the “like”
and “dislike” buttons. However a more significant form of interaction is the
uploading of covers of songs, parodies and other forms of response videos from
users. As Hilderbrand writes, “YouTube and similar sites offer new and
remediating relationships to texts that indicate changes and acceleration of
spectatorial consumption” (2007). An example of this can be seen in the case of
Australian musician Gotye’s successful “Somebody That I Used To Know” music
video. The video was officially released on the Internet on Vimeo and YouTube
on 6th July 2011 (Gotye 2012). As of 28th August 2012 it
had 308,872,289 views (YouTube 2012). The now
iconic video followed the trajectory of many contemporary music videos- it
started online and then progressed to television.
The interaction that YouTube enables can
be seen in the wide variety of videos online relating to Gotye’s original video:
covers by “bedroom
musicians” (Cayari 2011) and other artists and groups, parodies, live footage
of Gotye himself playing the song, dubstep remixes and how-to-play
instructional videos.
 |
| Some Study That I Used to Know- http://www.nihrida.com/2012_06_01_archive.html |
 |
| Walk Off The Earth- http://dailypicksandflicks.com/2012/01/07/five-people-one-guitar-gotye-cover-video/five-people-play-somebody-that-i-used-to-know-cover-on-one-guitar/ |
However the conversational nature of the
medium is highlighted even more, as Gotye himself recently acknowledged the
wide range of responding videos, posting a video remixing various covers of the song- http://gotye.com/#reader/items/somebodies-a-youtube-orchestra-209.html
This participatory cultural convergence has
been enabled due to the blending of the roles of producer/consumer into the “user”, who not only views music videos online, but has the tools and digital
literacy to upload their own videos alongside the more professional, commercial
ones. There is a wide acceptance of the low-fi aesthetic/approach, which also
enables emerging artists to establish themselves. Cayari’s (2011) case study of
teenage musician Wade Johnston is a prime example of how music video online can
enable success for amateur musicians. Johnston posted his first video July
2008, and by the end of the year had thousands of subscribers to his channel
and a million video views (Cayari 2011). He posted not only videos of original
compositions and cover songs, but short documentary videos, and
question-and-answer videos responding to questions submitted by viewers. Once
again the participatory nature of the online music video environment is
highlighted, in this example of social convergence.
Therefore all of Dwyer's (2010) elements of digital
media convergence can be examined in music video online. Industrial convergence
of the film and music industries signalled the beginning of the music video,
with the combination of image and sound. Technological convergence enabled
music video to successfully adapt to the online environment, and social and
cultural convergence can be observed in the participatory nature of online
music video on platforms such as YouTube, as well as the blending of the
producer/consumer into the digitally literate and increasingly interactive
user. Thus music video online is shaping the way music is experienced in the
convergent media landscape, through the phenomenon of digital media
convergence.
Bibliography
Cayari, C 2011, ‘The YouTube Effect: How YouTube Has
Provided New Ways to Consume, Create and Share Music’, International Journal of Education and the Arts, vol. 12, no. 6,
pp. 1-30.
Dwyer, T 2010, Media Convergence, McGraw Hill,
Berkshire.
Hayward, P 1995, ‘Enterprise on the New Frontier:
Music, Industry and the Internet’, Convergence:
The International Journal of Research into Media Technologies, vol. 1, no.
2, pp. 29-44.
Hilderbrand, L 2007, 'Youtube: Where Cultural Memory
and Copyright
Converge', Film Quarterly, vol. 61, pp. 48-57.
Jenkins, H 2006, Convergence Culture, New York,
New York University Press.
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