Why Piracy is perpetuating plastic pop - Helienne Lindvall

Lars Ulrich and Metallica sued napster for online piracy, the myth was created that only wealthy/greedy rock stars were upset by piracy.

Lilly Allen lashed out at older artist who declared their opposition to online copyright enforcement. As she claims that it was easy for them to say this after they had made there money, during times when digital piracy was not around, leading to her receiving thousands of abusive messages

“Massive attacks 3d” told the BBC how freighting it was to see the total amount of downloads on unlicensed sites, as this is how thousands of people make there money. He is worried that free downloads will cheapen music eventually

Noel Gallagher is annoyed that people can download music for free as he states “it costs me a quarter of a million pounds to make it” so refuses to give it away for nothing, especially as records get more expensive to make.

Billy corgan states “that trade begins at the point where people are happy to pay for something” he believes that the fact that is so easy to download something for free makes it seem like a big decision to pay to download something.

I could use the notion of the article when producing my own products by encouraging my star to speak out against piracy to try to stop music from cheapening or encouraging them to group up with some other artists to set up an anti piracy scheme.

A blog of Jamal Edwards from the Guardian

  Jamal Edwards-founderer of SBTV

Jamal Edwards He suggests that to be successful you have to be creative and look for gaps in the market for an artist genre eg the space for an online e channel dedicated to grime music was wide open

Edwards filmed rappers preforming on backstreets, straight to the camera witch are raw, without studio gloss to create thrilling results, and however Edwards didn’t want to be restricted to this genre only. 

 - SBTV has been highly successful; it has had a total of 39million views, with over 50,000 subscribers and makes money from advertising

He signed a deal with Sony RCA to create his own imprint within the label 

He advises other young people to "chase your dream" ad don’t look at what other people are doing as this could "cloud your vision" and make it more difficult for you in the long run.

Jamal indicates that you should be a “rebel” and experiment and try out different options and be creative in location choices

I may make use of this notion when producing my own products through looking for a gap in the market for certain genres for example I may i feel there is a lack of female singer songwriters or I may select an interesting genre such as country.

I may also encourage my artist to be signed with or played on an internet channel rather than the TV as Jamal suggested. In this way, the songs can be marketed directly to its target audience, as well as being more cost effective.

Richard Dyers Star Theory applied to Pop Stars

Pop performer= someone who merely sings pop, and will probably be forgotten by all but there most avid fans within a few years.

Pop star= musicians who have an identity or persona which is not restricted solely to there musicianship. They have a lasting significance and brand awareness in a wider audience, making both sociological and cultural impacts

Dyer believes that a distinction between the two terms needs to be made, stating that pop performers are often quickly promoted to the status of a pop stars by there management, using tactics such as stories placed in magazines.

Stars= constructed, artificial images created out of a range of materials eg through characteristics created through styling eg Bono’s “fly” sunglasses. They have an advantage over film stars as there image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and not dependent on the creative input of others. They are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose of making money that responds to various elements of a star persona by buying records and becoming fans. Stars are shaped and nurtured by their record company to create an image that they think audiences want. Resulting in multiple artists trying to create the same image

 

The industry generally tries to produce artists who belong to a variety of genres to cater for the different age groups in a population. This is done by constantly mutating genres of music, or by creating a star with long lasting appeal.

 However a healthy music industry will develop both types of talent, as younger fans cannot identify with older, long lasting artists.

 Ideology and culture

 With similar cultural values and attitudes, promoting the same ideology whilst audience interest enhances their star quality. Through the rise of social media, now more than ever stars personal opinions are conveyed and establish their own values.

Character and personality

The star begins as a “real” human gender and race characteristic, however they tend to develop into a generalisation of a particular generation, providing the focus for ideas of what people are supposed to look like. Eg by either conforming or going against cultural hegemony. Eg displaying the women to be slim and beautiful or providing a difference eg being fat but still loveable. In other words stars are representations or persons, which reinforce legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human in society.

 

I could use this article when producing my own products by choosing stars that either conform or go against cultural hegemony of how a human should be, whilst giving the star a key feature which they can be associated with, which fans an try out to keep themselves engaged.

Ed Sheeran - Organic Act

Katy parry - synthetic act

Enrique Iglesias Hero music video

Enrique Iglesias hero music video from annabelhales

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