Arctic Monkeys

The band I have chosen for my music video is Arctic Monkeys. 

Arctic Monkeys is an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Matt Helders (drums, vocals), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), and Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals).

They have released six studio albums, their debut album is the fastest-selling debut album by a band in UK chart history, and in 2013, Rolling Stone ranked it the 30th-greatest debut album. The band has won seven Brit Awards – winning both Best British Group and Best British Album three times and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards. They also won the Mercury Prize in 2006 for their debut album, in addition to receiving nominations in 2007, 2013 and 2018. The band have headlined at the Glastonbury Festival twice, in 2007 and again in 2013.

Arctic Monkeys were heralded as one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet, with commentators suggesting they represented the possibility of a change in the way in which new bands are promoted and marketed. Their online presence is in no way outdated, they have their own website and music videos on youtube for the majority of their tracks, some of which boasting more than 900 million views.

I have chosen a track from the bands first studio album, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. The track now has over 52 million plays on youtube, though no released music video. 

Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, its a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded in 1887, evolving from the American Graphophone Company, the successor to the Volta Graphophone Company. Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in the recorded sound business, and the second major company to produce records. From 1961 to 1990, Columbia recordings were released outside North America under the name CBS Records to avoid confusion with EMI's Columbia Graphophone Company. Columbia is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels, alongside former longtime rival RCA Records, as well as Arista Records and Epic Recods.

Some of the label's best known artists; 

AC/DC, Adele, Aerosmith, Louis Armstrong, Tony Bennett, Beyoncé, Blind Willie Johnson, Blue Öyster Cult, Dave Brubeck, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, Mariah Carey, The Clash, Miles Davis, Rosemary Clooney, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, Earth, Wind & Fire, Duke Ellington, 50 Cent, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman, Adelaide Hall, Billy Joel, Janis Joplin, John Mayer, George Michael, Billy Murray, New York Philharmonic, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Santana, Frank Sinatra, Simon and Garfunkel, Bessie Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, System of a Down, Bonnie Tyler, Paul Whiteman, Andy Williams, Pharrell Williams, Paul McCartney and Wings, Bill Withers, and Joe Zawinul.

Peace: Website Advertising

This site also enlists a simplistic design with a single page to scroll through as the primary interface. The colour scheme reflects the simplicity of the website design whilst also matching the albums cover-art nicely. The most recent album title ‘Kindness is the new rock and roll’ is in the largest and most defined typeface. The beneath catchphrase ‘you don’t walk away from love’ is the single’s title. The bottom end of the website is less interesting and offers little for the intrigued reader. Tour dates are available alongside a mailing list but the use of space is wasteful and the colours are not particularly attention grabbing, despite its similarities to the single’s cover art.

Easy Life: Website Advertising

Easy Life are an English alternative band formed in 2017 from Leicester. In 2018 Easy Life signed to Island Records. The multiple alternative album covers are displayed on the centre of the band’s website. The colour them of the site change in relation to the album’s covers. Each album cover also acts as a direct link to the album itself via Spotify, Apple Music or Youtube

There is an additional feature also accessible from the homepage that allows users to see the dates, venues and locations of up coming tour dates. Through this page you can also buy the tickets directly. The site also offers quick and easy access to a newsletter sign-up, this allows users to follow the band’s work through one of two social sites or via email.

A merchandise page is typical of any band website, in this instance the band is promoting its most recent album release with Vinyl and CD versions of the album as well as themed clothing. The band name is written in the biggest font on the page reinforcing the brand identity. All of the merch on this page as well as the website design itself follows a similar colour and thematic pattern, allowing for clearly defined brand identity.

            Lewis Del Mar                        Loudy

Columbia Records

Lewis Del Mar is an American Experimental pop duo from Rockaway Beach, New York City. Consisting of singer and guitarist Danny Miller, and drummer and producer Max Harwood, the group first received attention in early 2015 when their debut single Loud(y) was featured in the number one spot on Hype Machine. They released their debut EP in January 2016, which peaked at number 7 on Billboard Emerging Artists. Their self-titled debut album was released on October 7, 2016 through Columbia Records.

Lewis Del Mar is one of clolumbias lesser known artists, Loud(y) is their most popular track, boasting 1.2M views on youtube. Their audience however will be one of clumbia's smallest, given their competition of headline aritsts such as Beyonce and AC/DC. This is definitely reflected in their music videos, particularly for Loud(y).

The duo's smaller fanbase has resulted in a smaller budget for their music videos. The videos, in turn, often consist of maticulasly edited collections of hand-held video. The footage sees the two venture around their home town Queens, New york and other parts of western America. Their video's locality is supportive of their fanbase who are likely to have come from similar places across the US. 

Their unique sound and style led to their debut song going viral in 2015, topping Hype Machine's 'popular tracks' aswell as other chart lists. Sony music quickly picked up the 'two ppl', as they describe themselves on their Twitter page, and they released their four track debut EP early months of 2016. By that summer Loud(y) had landed on the Billboard Alternative songs chart, offering an insight not only into the band's potential success but Columbia's alternative style and audience.

A$AP Rocky                     Babushka Boi

RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment

Rakim Athelaston Mayers aka A$AP Rocky, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, model, actor and music video director. He is a member of the hip hop group A$AP Mob.Rocky released his debut mixtape ‘Live. Love. A$AP’ in 2011 to critical acclaim. The success of his mixtape led to a record deal with Polo Grounds Music, RCA Records, and Sony Music Entertainment. Rocky has also directed music videos for himself, Danny Brown, and other A$AP Mob members. He is also a noted record producer, producing under ‘Lord Flacko’.

 The video follows an antagonist, known as the “Babushka Boi” rob a bank and take down the police with the help of his freakish bandits. It draws inspiration from the 1990 stylised gangster flick Dick Tracy, even mirroring some of the film’s characters and scenes. The opening shot of the police van presents the police force as isolated and idle. The rural setting also offers a feeling of isolation, there is little else visible within the surroundings. The complimentary blues of the van and the nights sky creates a relationship between the two. 

The number of police officers crowded into the small van gives their entrance a comedic, clown-like feel. The jumpsuits and handcuffs of the ‘bandits’ have clear character connotations and reflect the supposedly lawless lifestyle of the artist. The following shot pictures the same group but this time they appear in fine suits, each brightly coloured and brandishing weapons on a now urban street corner.  

This change arguably reflects the success of the artist and the change of lifestyle he has experienced as a result of an increased economic gain. In the following shot police officers appear from behind a thin lamppost, repeating th critical/ humourus angle taken. 

Vampire Weekend          Dianne Young

Columbia Records 

Vampire Weekend is an American rock band originating from NYC, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio. The band's first album Vampire Weekend (2008)—which included the singles "Mansard Roof", "A-Punk", "Oxford Comma", "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance"—was acclaimed by critics for its world music influences.

Dianne Young is from the band's third studio album 'Modern Vampires of the City', acompanied by the music video pictured (right and below). The opening shot, which coincides wth the start of the music, mimics Leonardo Da Vinci's famous mural of the last supper. The reflection is likely to appear familiar to all audiences, perhaps this is intentional in order to engage the attention of as many potential viewers as possible. 

Vampire Weekend have an alternative/ indie sound which has been seen to be popular across a range of demographics, the actors positioned around the table are dressed in a variety of different ways reflecting many of the social/ cultural groups that may be watching the music video. - I will consider borrowing the layout of famous artwork in my own music video for audience engagement.  

The seemingly calm gathering pictured in the opening shot quickly descends into the wildness of a party which all the characters appear to participate in. There is obvious drinking and reference to drug taking. This is worth considering for my own music video as whilst for many this will appear exciting and appeal to fantasies of indulgent living, it may also isolate other viewers and make the content relatable or unrealistic. 

Music Video - Research Tasks.

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