DIGITAL MEDIA CONVERGENCE
and its Effect on
MUSIC VIDEO
 |
| Digital media convergence: music video's killer or saviour? |
But what exactly is digital media convergence? And what does this phenomenon mean for the music video industry and the media form of music video itself?
 | |||
| Digital media convergence in a nutshell Source:
http://www.invisiblepr.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/DidYouKnow2009.jpg
|
Digital media convergence is, according to Tim Dwyer, “a processes embedded within the networked informational economy” (Dwyer, 2010 pp. 20) whereby media types are breaking free from their traditional platforms and converging onto other platforms, newspaper content, radio content and indeed music video, are no longer solely available on their traditional platforms, be they the newspaper, the radio or the television, but are now available on a whole range of platforms and this is all due to the process of digital media convergence (Keith, 2012).
For a more academic definition, Tim Dwyer (2010, pp. 2) describes digital media convergence as, “the process whereby new technologies are accommodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures.” Similarly and more simply, Henry Jenkins (2006, pp. 2) describes media convergence as “the flow of content across multiple media platforms”.
As aforementioned with the example of newspaper and radio content, digital media convergence, whilst influencing some media types more than others, has had a noticeable impact on all types of media. Music video is most certainly no exception, with several changes to the media type being brought about by digital media convergence.
In previous years, where music video was constrained to the medium of
broadcast television, there were only a few programs that played music video
and this meant that consumers were forced to watch these programs in hope that
a particular video was going to be aired and with very little, if any, way of
knowing whether that video would be aired (Giuffre, 2012). This of course was a
problem for artists too, as this model created a culture focused only on the
most popular videos, making it very hard for aspiring musicians to get a start
(Meikle & Young, 2012, pp. 111). Digital media convergence has assisted consumers
and artists in overcoming these issues as “in a convergent media environment,
it becomes possible to cater for limitless niches” (ibid, pp. 111).
A classic example of the increased
accessibility for consumers and exposure for artists granted by a convergent
environment is the music video for OK Go’s infamous hit ‘Here It Goes Again’.
The video, featuring the band dancing on a set of treadmills, became one of the most watched clips on YouTube and propelled the band to infamy (Hilderbrand, 2012). Clearly however, the video would have not have been anywhere near as successful in a non-convergent model, simply because the clip would not have been as accessible, it wouldn’t have been readily and freely available online and therefore would not have been watched nearly as much, therefore giving the band much less exposure as well. Clearly, due the increased accessibility of music video in a convergent environment and the subsequent increase in exposure this grants artists, digital media convergence has been beneficial to music video in some regard.
The video, featuring the band dancing on a set of treadmills, became one of the most watched clips on YouTube and propelled the band to infamy (Hilderbrand, 2012). Clearly however, the video would have not have been anywhere near as successful in a non-convergent model, simply because the clip would not have been as accessible, it wouldn’t have been readily and freely available online and therefore would not have been watched nearly as much, therefore giving the band much less exposure as well. Clearly, due the increased accessibility of music video in a convergent environment and the subsequent increase in exposure this grants artists, digital media convergence has been beneficial to music video in some regard.
Unfortunately however, some of the effects digital media convergence has had on music video have been largely detrimental to the music video industry, the artists involved and hence the media type itself. Perhaps the most detrimental effect of digital media convergence on music videos, as well as several other forms of media that have converged onto internet accessing devices, is the severe weakening of the capacity of copyright law to protect media producers from piracy.
 |
| Access denied: Sights like this are becoming more common as YouTube cracks down on copyright infringement. |
With the aforementioned increase in accessibility,
issues as to whether certain online music videos constitute copyright
infringement have arisen, creating unhealthy tension between copyright holders
(the artists and their record labels) and their customers (Meikle & Young,
2012). The unfortunate truth is, in the age of digital media convergence, the
recording industry has made financial losses in the billions every year due to
piracy and, whilst most of this can be attributed to downloading plain music
files, the widespread availability of music video, particularly live music
video that may have been ripped from a commercially released DVD, online has
contributed to these heavy losses, which of course subsequently hurts the
artists involved (Gopal et al. 2004). These losses have even raised doubts as
to the viability of music video itself as a media type (Giuffre, 2012).
Clearly, the weakening of copyright law’s ability to protect media consumers
has been a detrimental effect of digital media convergence.
It is quite clear that overall the process of digital media convergence has resulted in a vast array of changes to both the music video industry and the media of music video itself. Whilst some of these changes have been for the better, such as the much greater degree of accessibility music videos have on the online medium, some of these changes, such as the reduced capacity of copyright law to protect media creators, have undoubtedly been for the worse. Because of this, it remains unclear as to whether digital media convergence’s effect on music video has been a smooth, positive progression; indeed, it is very possible that the true effects of convergence on this media type are still yet to be felt.
Sources
Dwyer, T. (2010) Media Convergence, Berkshire: McGraw Hill, pp. 1-23
Giuffre, L. (2012) Music Video, lecture given at Macquarie University, NSW, August 15.
Gopal R., G. Lawrence Sanders, S. Bhattacharjee, M.
Agrawal & S. C. Wagner (2004): A Behavioral Model of Digital Music Piracy,
Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Vol. 14:2, pp.
89-105.
Hilderbrand, L. (2007) 'YouTube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright
Converge', Film Quarterly, Vol. 61, pp. 48-57
Jenkins, H. (2006) Convergence Culture, New York: New York University Press, pp. 1-24.
Keith, S. (2012) ‘Digital Convergence’, lecture given at Macquarie University, NSW, August 8.
Meikle, G. & Young, S. (2012) Media Convergence: Networked Digital Media in Everyday Life, New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
No comments:
Post a Comment