Music Video Online-43055699

MUSIC VIDEO ONLINE

An Insight Into Digital Media Convergence in Relation to Online Music Video

Convergence is the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of the media audience who will go almost anywhere for the content they desire (Jenkins, 2006). Digital media convergence, in the case of music video, acts as a result of technological and cultural determinism which sees the examination of the social context and technological developments through an analysis of the circumstances into which the technology is introduced and diffused through society (Winston 1995). The evolution of music video from broadcast television to online is accredited to a combination of social, economical and cultural factors that influence the way online music video is accessed and distributed.

A Little History

Convergence represents a cultural shift that encourages consumers to seek out new information and make connections with dispersed media content (Jenkins 2006). Before music video was under the guise of digital media convergence, programs like MTV, Rage and Video Hits housed the television broadcasting of music videos for a long time, acting as an advertising vehicle for record sales and artist promotion. MTV particularly, is often credited for the resurgence of the music industry’s fortune in the United States (Wollen 1986). The mid 1990’s saw MTV moving away from music video into more animated television shows, a strategy used to engage their youth target market. Record labels saw the futility of spending money on music video creation, with a sufficient decline in exposure and thus record sales they would now receive. The move online for music video exposure saw advantages on economical, social and technological fronts for both the music industry and consumers alike.

YouTube and Participatory Culture

Participatory culture is one in which fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate and engage with the creation of new content (Jenkins, 2006). The 2005 creation of YouTube saw a way in which not only bands, but also amateur singers, song writers, musicians and aspiring DJ’s could actively made their works heard within the online global community. In 2006 Time magazine designated “you” as Person of the Year, paying tribute to the millions of anonymous web users who dedicate their creative energy to a booming web culture (Van Djick 2010). This participatory nature of online video sharing leads to a shift in power relationships between media industries and consumers (Burgess and Green 2009). In this sense we can see how online users can launch their own careers, which leads me to the most recent and prevalent example in recent history, Justin Bieber.

Audiences are empowered by these new technologies and are demanding the right to participate within the culture (Jenkins 2006). In this case of Justin Bieber we see the convergence of his home video recordings, to new media of the online video sharing that have inevitably catalysed his stardom. Shot on average hand held camera, the videos of a young Justin Bieber hit YouTube for merely for personal use for relatives to engage with what had been happening in his amateur singing competitions. Digital media convergence has made it so Bieber’s videos have reached global audiences, engaged with international subscribers and users and subsequently attracted the attention of music industry professionals. Ironically, it is the low economical value of Bieber's original videos that have led to him to have over 400 million views, over 1.5 million subscribers and an already successful career at 18 years old.

Device Sharing

The immediate gratification for content is a cultural and social norm for today’s technological and browser friendly society (Hilderbrand 2007).Music industry professionals and more specifically music video producers have been able to tap into this cultural shift of preferred online music browsing. As already mentioned sites like Vimeo and YouTube have created a phenomenon of the music video market through the use of embedded codes, playback on demand, viewer comments and data processed video suggestions based upon related video views and interests. The market has boomed to a greater extent due to the convergence of media platforms harbouring these sites on separate devices. Convergence with mobile phones, tablets, applications and other various communicative devices means that music video today is more accessible than ever before, when video links and embedded codes can be easily shared through email or a number of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. However online music video also exemplifies digital media convergence through the introduction hyperlinks to iTunes. Now music videos online have combined with iTunes to make music sharing and purchasing concurrent over a single media platform.

"FILM" Clips

Music has regularly played a part in film, with pre recorded music being the signature song or a part of a movie’s soundtrack. However, the move from broadcast television to online has seen musician converge with film production companies to create music videos or trailers purposefully for film advertising and promotion. An example of this is Flight of The Conchords band member Bret Mckenzie teaming up with pop culture icon Kermit the Frog in a purely online music video promotion for The Muppets Movie. The introductory song for the movie acts as a promotional tool that encapsulates the convergence culture of combining old and new media forms such as film, music video, advertising and distribution in one single video.

Digital Media Convergence has paved the way in which cultural determinism foresees the way we as consumers access new and old media. The culture of convergence has seen the move online for music video from broadcast television to be beneficial in a social and cultural light, in keeping with the online culture of today. This culture also creates economical benefits for the music industry professionals, seeing the rise of participatory culture take the reigns of sharing music video on a global scale through online video sharing sites.

Reference List
Wollen, P 1986, ‘Ways of thinking about music video (and post-modernism)’, Critical Quarterly, 28: 167–170.
Jenkins, H 2006, Convergence Culture, New York University Press.
Burgess, J. & Green, J. 2009. Youtube: Digital Media and Society Series, Cambridge, Polity Press.
Van Djick, J. 2009. Users like you? Theorising agency in user-generated content, Media, Culture and Society.
Dwyer, T 2010, Media Convergence, McGraw Hill, Berkshire, pp 1-23.

   
 
     Image:
      Fact of The Day Blog, 2012, MTV logo, [online image] Available at:
     <http://factofthedayblog.com/files/2012/08/MTV-Logo-300x238.png>, [Accessed 27th August 2012]

    Post Advertising, 2010, YouTube Advertisement, [online image] Available at:
   <http://factofthedayblog.com/files/2012/08/MTV-Logo-300x238.png>, [Accessed 26th August 2012]

   YouTube Downloader Mac, YouTube to Itunes logo, [online image] Available at:
   <http://www.youtubedownloadermac.net/how-to-download-and-convert-youtube-videos-to-itunes-by-mac-youtube-converter.html>, [Accessed 27th August 2012]

   Videos
   kidrauhl, 2008, Cry Me a River- Justin Timberlake- Justin sining (Justin Bieber), [online video], Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJWZSEkCrAM&feature=plcp>, [Accessed 31st August 2012]

   MuppetMusings, 2011, Bret Mckenzie and Kermit the Frog sing "Life's a Happy Song", [online video], Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDnTo2S2BrA>, [Accessed 31st August 2012]