Research into Alternative Rock Music

  Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt rock or simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s. Most commonly associated in its heyday with a distorted guitar sound,transgressive lyrics and a nonchalant attitude, its original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style, or simply the independent, D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music. At times, "alternative" has been used as a catch-all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen to be descended from punk rock (including some examples of punk itself, as well as new wave, and post-punk).

Additionally there is also a radio station for Alternative Rock music which also has a website (http://www.last.fm/tag/alternative%20rock) and Alternative Rock fans are able to listen to their music non stop. I believe this helps engage more fans of Rock music into listening to rock and keeping up to date with all the upcoming new music and videos. Furthermore it is also an advantage for rock artists as they have their own music station where their songs can be constantly played. 

Research into a music video director - Alex James

Researching into a director of the song I will be using for my own music video was very beneficial as I gained a wide idea of what all his directing is about. I learnt why Alex James does those storylines and also learnt how he has built up into becoming a director. This has highlighted that doing a music video needs to look as professional as possible and sometimes it is not very hard to make that realistic.

Influences of music style

Having done some research into Rock music has helped me realise why rock music videos are filmed in a very unique way. Furthermore it also helped me understand that not all rock music or rock bands are very loud and use black as their main colour. Kodaline are a rock group however their music videos are very different. This means I am also able to film my music video in a unique way even though it has Rock music style influences.

Analysis of music videos

I decided to analyse Ed Sheeran's - The A Team video as I believe my own video will be very similar to this in the perspective of what the female artist experiences. This has helped me think about the ways in which my music video needs to be filmed and needs to look as professional as possible. Furthermore, having analysed this I now have a very clear idea of what my music video will look like and all the different effects and little story narratives I have to try and fit in. I received some audience feedback from reading my analysis and they were all positive such as "good analysis, clever ideas about how the director has done everything".

Research into existing music labels

A record label is a brand and/or a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Often, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks; coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos; conducts talent scouting and development of new artists and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label" derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information.

Atlantic Records: 

Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz.

CEO: Craig KallmanFounded: 1947, Los Angeles, California, United StatesHeadquarters: New York City, NY, United States of AmericaFounders: Herb Abramson, Ahmet ErtegunAwards: Academy of Country Music Vocal Event of the YearNominations: Academy of Country Music Single Record of the Year,Academy of Country Music Album of the YearOver its first 20 years of operation Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most important American independent recording labels, specializing in jazz, R&B and soul recordings by African-American artists, a position greatly enhanced by its distribution deal with Stax Records.

In 1967 Atlantic became a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, now the Warner Music Group, and expanded into rock and pop music, signing Cream, Led Zeppelin, Yes and Foreigner. In 2004 Atlantic Records and its sister label Elektra Records merged into Atlantic Records Group. Craig Kallman is currently Chairman of Atlantic Records. Label co-founder Ahmet Ertegün served as Founding Chairman until his death on December 14, 2006, at age 83. The label also has a number of deals with previously independent labels such as Must Destroy and VP Records.

Syco

Syco Entertainment, often known simply as Syco, is a global joint venture between Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment focused on the production and marketing of music, television, film and digital content. It employs a staff of more than 50 in offices in London and Los Angeles and manages a string of high-profile television and music brands through partnerships with Sony Music labels and TV production partners, most notably FremantleMedia.

 Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment each own 50% of the business. Charles Garland, the former chief operator of Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment is Global CEO, responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company. Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green, a close friend of Cowell, serves as an advisor to the company. Karren Brady, television personality and vice-chairman of West Ham United F.C., also serves as an advisor to the company.

Research into possible equipment choices

Equipment

This post will show what I will be using in order to create my music video. By doing this post it has helped me think about all the different ways I can make my video look as professional as possible. Furthermore I also received some audience feedback and asked about different types of programmes I should be using in order to make my final video look as realistic as possible, like other videos which are usually shown on MTV and 4 music channel.

Music Channels

Music channels are fully dedicated to music. There are different types of music channels, depeding on the music genre. For example ‘Kerrang’ music channel is purely dedicated to rock music, therefore will only play videos that are by rock artists. Where as ‘Smash Hits’ is more mainstream, pop music.  Music channels also include different interviews with different artists in order to keep the audience informed with the music industry. Music channels will often have programme schedules such as “Top 50 biggest tracks of the year” and so on. Some channels such as Kiss might also have things such as “Drake vs. Will I Am”, which allow audiences to feel as though they are involved in a competition, and will judge the artists for themselves. 

4 Music

4 Music is one of the music channels in the UK. It is the only channel where it has been given permission to be branded under Channel 4 and it is a very popular music channel in the UK. 

4 Music also has a online website (www.4music.com) where fans are able to register and receiver automatic updates about the music industry. This allows the audience and watchers to be more engaged and informed. 
                                                             

MTV 

MTV which originally stood for Music Television, is an American cable television channel based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981.
The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts. Today, MTV primarily broadcasts a variety of reality and scripted television programs targeted at adolescents and young adults.
It also has numerous sister channels in the U.S for example MTV DANCE, MTV ROCKS, MTV CLASSIC and so on. MTV is probably the largest most influencial music video, as it was the first channel to show the first ever music video – video killed the radio star by the buggles. 

The Box

The Box launched in April 1992 with true viewer control in mind.  Music video requests offered dual benefit: business income and brand relevance.  Over time, the channel became well known for its Box Fresh feature for new music videos. Indeed it was this feature that helped to launch The Spice Girls with their first hit, Wannabee. Additionally, The Box’s fame created an unusual trend where artists referenced the channel in their videos. SClub7 went so far as to create a special edition video aired only on The Box. Today, The Box exists as one of the longest running music channels on UK television. It is known for new music (albeit music that skews mainstream in taste). In fact recency has become its key differentiator.

And, whilst playlists are not genre specific, the schedule has come to include music orientated original programming as well as music videos.  For a time also – during the 1990s – a number of compilation albums were released, so extending the brand into the Top 40.

The Box boasts the freshest sounds in the pop, urban and indie scenes, showcasing established artists and featuring some of the finest new acts on the music scene.