Music Channels (changes made)

Music channels

Objective: to be able to show an understanding of how music channels appeal to an audience

 Starter: Make a list of all the music channels that you know

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_video#Music_video_stations

Kiss is a music channel that plays well known music either in the charts currently or hits by mainstream artists i.e. Beyonce, Rihanna, and Justin Timberlake etc. It is one of the radio stations that provides the latest chart positions and therefore gives the target audience an incentive as they are able to know the top 40 when it is first established. Therefore they attract a mass target audience that majorly consists of young adults as this is the generation who are most interested in the current charts. The name ‘Kiss’ itself is very young, as it the logo. The connotations of blue portray a very cool, laid back but fresh feel for the music channel appealing to the younger generation rather than the older. Also, the font is very simple; the use of capital letters makes the name clear without being too overwhelming for the target audience and therefore also contributes to its laid back and fresh message.

Scuzz music channel is known to play both heavy rock and metal music; their target audience consisting of those who enjoy this type of music as it appeals to a niche sector within the music industry (rather than Kiss who play mainstream artists and therefore appeal to a mass audience). Artists who regularly feature on this music channel in particular consist of Mudhoney, Fossils and Dry Rise. The logo is specifically constructed to appeal to its target audience through the use of colour connoting metal, which ironically is the type of music they play. Also, the font of the logo connotes the outline of the edge of a knife suggesting that the music they play is aggressive rather than soothing, appealing to the target audience as this is obviously the type of music they enjoy.

     

 Magic is a music channel that plays less current songs, often from previous decades. Artists that frequently feature on this particular music channel are U2, Take That, and Whitney Houston. These types of artists are very popular with the older generation as they are more familiar with them, giving Magic a clear target audience. The slogan ‘More Music – Less Talk’ will also attract the target audience as this lets them know in advance that the music channel is music based rather than providing the audience with current gossip regarding the artists being played. Music channels such as 4music do this as their target audience consists of a younger generation and therefore they would be interested in such gossip. The balance of both blue and green connotes nature and therefore creates a soothing atmosphere, attracting the older target audience as they will assume the channel is calm and relaxing as is nature.

                             

 Channel Aka is a music channel that focuses on the genre of Hip Hop, artists frequently featuring consisting of Drake, Lil Wayne and Lethal Bizzle. The target audience is mainly the younger generation who enjoy hip hop and street music as this the focus of the channel. The logo features a person stereotypically presented as someone into hip hop music as they are leaning against a wall to convey a legitimacy that artists within the genre include in their music. Also they are dressed in baggy clothes and a snapback to attract the target audience as this is typically what they would be wearing. The size and use of capital letters for ‘AKA’ connotes slight arrogance and confidence in which the artists of hip hop represent themselves to normally have and therefore will attract the target audience.

Questions: 

• Why do you think MTV is broken down into different channels (base, hits, dance, rocks, classic?)

Although different channels, all of these are owned by MTV. By having a different channel for the different styles of music, this attracts a larger audience in total as their demand regarding style of music wanted will be individually met, rather than having one channel playing all genres of music and therefore being dissatisfied with the channel. The individual channels cater to the demand of the target audience, making them feel included and therefore improves MTV’s image as being a credible music distributor. For example, if the channels were not divided according to target audience preference, an individual who enjoys rock music would also have to listen to rap music as the channel is not divided. In turn, the individual no longer watches the channel as it does not meet his specific demands and therefore he searches for a new alternative source to listen to rock music. A similar circumstance is relevant to other individuals and therefore the channel becomes unpopular and unwatched as it has no viewer-ship. However, if there were to be a specific channel in which only plays rock, the individual will be content with the music channel and continue watching it. By having a variety of channels under one distributor, this creates a sense of unified popularity on a large scale however still meets individual demand, increasing MTV's image as stated before.

• Why do you music channels are important in appealing to a target audience?

If a music channel fails to appeal to the target audience, the audience will then decide to not watch the music channel and therefore will not listen to the artists on that channel. For example, if an individual seeks a music channel that plays rock music videos but the channel itself is called 'Flowers and Fairies' the image of the channel does not conform to the generic conventions and therefore lacks coherence in their appeal as they fail to be consistent in their image. As a result, the individual does not find the channel appealing and continues to look for another that meets his demand. Furthermore, the artists being played on such music channel are not only not being watched by their target audience but also are now associated with an unpopular music channel amongst their target audience. This could ultimately affect the artist’s image as they heavily rely on subsidiaries within the media to attract the target audience in order to encourage their success; their image no longer is what their target audience want, as they are associated with a music channel that is not appealing. Consequently this artist will no longer choose to feature on the music channel and therefore the channel will become a failure as not only does it fail to appeal to its target audience, but in turn becomes unpopular within the eyes of both audience and artists.

• Why do you think there are a variety of music channels?

A variety of music channels provides a variety of genres of be listened to and artists to be watched. It is uncommon for people to show a massive interest in all types of genres in music and therefore music channels provide a specified channel for the genre in which they have an interest in. For example if you liked rock you would listen to Scuzz, if you enjoyed 80's music you would listen to Magic etc etc. As a result of having a variety of music channels, this provides individuals with current and popular songs by artists they enjoy and therefore their interest/demand is being effectively met. If there was just one channel that played all genres of music, there couldn’t be a specified target audience and therefore this wouldn’t appeal to them as the channel was not specified enough to their needs in order to appeal to them. They may not be kept up to date with events involving the artists, latest music released etc and therefore be unhappy with the music channel and turn to another form of distribution such as YouTube.

• What have you learnt from analysing music channels and how will it help you with your own production?

Although obvious, I have learnt the importance of channels' features in order to appeal to their required target audience. For example, if Scuzz were to change their logo to a bunch of flowers, this would no longer appeal to heavy rockers that listen to it as it doesn’t coincide with the image of rock and heavy metal. It is the rocker image that Scuzz portrays in it's logo alone that orignally appeals to the target audience and therefore provide a coherent rock image that appeals to its target audience.According to the genre and song I choose to make my music video to, I will have to make sure the content within the video agrees with the track as this increases the chance of appealing to my target audience. E.g. if I were to choose a dance track, I could create a party scene in which people were dancing. Also, the song would feature on a channel such as MTV dance rather than Kerrang as this is where my target audience will be. If such song were to feature on Kerrang, not only will my video not be watched by my target audience but viewers of Kerrang will be discontent with the irrelevancy of my video being on such channel as it disturbs to holistic image the channel provides in order to appeal to their target audience.



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