Friday, August 31, 2012

Digital Media Convergence: Online Music Video

Digital Media Convergence: The Online Music Video Scene


Over the last few years there has been and increased focus on the study of phenomenon of digital media convergence, in particular the relation with online music video. It is this focus that has helped academics; publishers and consumers understand the ways in which digital media convergence affects their day-to-day lives. This phenomenon has expanded exponentially over the last few years as the Internet becomes increasingly available to people across the globe.

Digital Media Convergence is defined as:
"the ability of consumers to obtain multiple services on a single platform or device or obtain any given service on multiple platforms or devices” -Dwyer
Dwyer goes on to say that convergence can be seen in almost every aspect of our day to day lives with mobiles that have the ability to, not only make calls, but also access a number of other features such as radio, internet and video.

Todays Smart phones are a great example of convergence
The phenomenon of the music video stems from the days of MTV and Rage, when the only way to watch music video was to tune into the shows and enjoy the videos on offer. This was favored by musicians as it helped sell records and albums to the viewers due to their catchy songs and memorable videos that served as vital promotion and advertising for their albums and singles.

MTV’s Role in the music industry is shrinking

This way of watching music videos has changed.

Gone are the days of sitting at home waiting for your favorite song to be played, replaced instead by the ability to access these videos on-demand through the Internet. This has lead to websites such as youtube to replace MTV and Rage as the preferred method, due to the ability to watch these clips free of charge and when it suits the consumer. 
"the music video form (a short video between three and four minutes in duration) is one ideally positioned to the new mediascape.” - Munt

This level of accessibility and popularity has also lead to greater exposure for the artist and their publishers, with millions of people viewing their videos. This means that not only can big publishers expose their product to consumers, but also little known artists. Thus meaning more competition and better quality products being made to attract attention 


Believe it or not, this musical travesty as over 38 million views.


This has forced publishers to adapt to the changing market and as consumers move away from traditional advertising they devise new forms of advertising to reach out to their target markets. This is done in a number of different ways, mainly through YouTube advertisements and product placement.

Product Placement is currently becoming a major form of advertising in the music industry due to the popularity of certain celebrities. Product Placement is defined as the strategy of placing branded products in entertainment media, this is effective when aimed at young people as they aim to be like certain role models.


See how many “subtle" products you can spot past 4:00

In conclusion the music industry has changed significantly since the rise of digital media. Not only has the whole industry landscape changed but also the methods for advertising and promoting products to the whole world. Convergence is here. Get familiar with it. 

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