Digital Media Convergence

Digital Media Convergence 

The Online Music Video

By: Andrew Gillin

Media convergence, according to the article by Ander C(ed 2007), is the process by which modern and advanced technologies are accommodated by existing media and communication industries and cultures. 

The transformation of the music video to online broadcasts, social networks, and smart phones holistically demonstrates the phenomenon of digital media convergence. Since the Internet was introduced to the general public it has had a dramatic impact on different mediums and on media convergence.  

The power and importance that the Internet has over its’ consumers initiated the convergence of numerous forms of media. Furthermore, the desire for consumers to obtain multiple services on a single platform on devices like a laptop or iPhone has further prompted this integration of media. 

The transformation of the music video to online media was made inevitable with the continuous change to the media environment. The ever-increasing demand and attractiveness of online broadcasts had forced music videos to implement some changes in order to attend to the masses of online media, and to the continuing demands of technology.

With society being engulfed by a multi level convergent media world, the way we interact with each other has been modified. Even the way we consume, purchase, learn or communicate with each other has been adapted. Convergence therefore marks a shift in culture because consumers are persuaded to gather new information and make connections among disperse media content (Jenkins 2006).

Music videos originated in the 1960’s, with the Beatles’ mocumentary Hard Days Night and became increasingly dominant on the successful music program MTV, which has directed the market for music videos. However, in the 1990’s, MTV shifted its primary programming from music videos to reality TV, Animations, and even Game Shows (Austerlitz 2007). This shift was extremely detrimental to the music video industry, and caused the business to decrease, as it was no longer a committable investment for record labels. According to Austerlitz (2007), this is what made the Internet the new host for music videos. 

Also, the transformation in digital media and the relocation of the music video to the Internet has increased the opportunity for independent artists to promote themselves. Artists could upload their own music videos and display them on the Internet for a broad market all over the world. Formerly, the TV music stations would play particular genres of music for their consumer base to engage; BET would play hip-hop and MTV would play Pop music. 

Nowadays, online media has created the opportunity for consumers to engage in music forms from all over the world. With that in mind, online media as a form of sharing has brought forth the most powerful tool in social media, the ‘viral effect’.

The ‘viral video’ is shared through; video sharing websites such as YouTube, social media forms like Facebook, and email hosts (Nikol 2006). It is a concept by which ideas, news and music is spread between individuals and it has gained significant attention, as it is part of the foundation of an online culture.

The transfer of music videos to the online medium has encouraged a participatory culture (Jenkins 2006). The participatory culture is a culture that considers the consumers of media as contributors or producers rather than merely a customer. Recent advances in technologies, particularly computers and the Internet has enabled a link between media industries and consumers (Burgess and green 2009). In this day, anyone can make a music video that will reach a worldwide audience (Barker 2010). The circulation of this content across different media systems and especially the Internet depends heavily on the active participation of consumers (Jenkins 2006). In the digital age music videos have become so universal that sites like YouTube have allowed the opportunity for videos to be shared amongst others, through codes, and has permitted consumers to respond via comments, webisodes, or video response.

The participatory culture is immensely active especially in viral videos. You will find that most individual artists have founded their career from the viral video. With that being mentioned, when the youth are given the opportunity to express their thoughts on music videos it is noticed that they respond to things that they find humiliating or surprising to their music culture. Take for example Rebecca Black, who went from 4000 views to over 4 million views in a weekend on YouTube, due to the fact that consumers found her ‘talent’ very superficial (Talaricco 2011). Rebecca Black’s song Friday has been marked the ‘worst song ever’, and even still she continues to launch into international stardom (Talaricco 2011).  Even so, consumers continue to participate by creating parodies and remixes such as the death metal version of Rebecca Black’s Friday, which has more views than the original video. As the media expands and continues to develop, the online community has encompassed the music video culture and has provided great opportunities for artists and entertainment.

Bands, artists, and business have become increasingly creative with their music videos, and have benefited in many ways from what digital media convergence has to offer. Ok Go is one of the many bands that have innovatively made a name for themselves through their viral music video ‘Here it goes again’. Furthermore, the video Last Leaf was created with the Samsung NX100 and was a collection and formation of hundreds of photos (imaginginsider 2010). The photos were intertwined and formatted to create a music video clip out of an arrangement of images and hand drawn animations, which was further demonstrating the NX100’s technical capabilities and creative versatility, which exemplifies the lead in media and digital convergence. However, the more contemporary video by Ok Go and the Muppets, which did in fact go viral, substantiates the power that convergent media possesses and also proves that artists do not need to rely on record labels and/ or other companies to create a career on their behalf (chola 2011).

The Muppets were a childhood favorite and struck immense popularity up until the 1990’s, when they were replaced by more contemporary animations and cartoons, and therefore can be considered old media. However, due to the Ok Go collaborative project and YouTube as a sharing device, they have returned with the OK GO rendition of The Muppet show theme song (Chola 2011). As a result, the combination of the old media being the Muppets, the advertising of the Muppet show, and the new media, it is unmistakably proof of the contemporary convergence culture (imaging insider 2010).

Conclusively, it is extensively evident that as the media forms continue to develop and grow, music videos will continue to shape and revolutionize the online culture. The shift of the televised music video to an online medium has created a significant opportunity for artists to deliver their music and for fans to receive it, and thus has created a great potential for music videos to advance.

References

1. ·      Melissa Nikol (2006) Available from: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=viral+video
2.      Anderson C (2007) “Geekpedia” in Wired, Macquarie University Mas 110 introduction to digital media production
3.      Jenkins, H (2006) Convergence Culture: Where New and Old Media Collide, New York University Press, pp 1-24
4.       Austerlitz, (2007), Money for Nothing: A history of the music video from the beatles to the White stripes, New York, London: continuum pp 182-227
5.       Burgess J and Green J (2009) “Youtube and the Mainstream Media in YouTube: Digital Media and society series, polity press, Cambridge pp 15-37
6.      Barker D (2010) Internet saved the video star: the renaissance of the music video, in metro magazine Vol 160 pp 140-144
7.       Brittany Talarico (2011) available from: http://www.okmagazine.com/2011/03/rebecca-blacks-youtube-video-do-you-understand-the-friday-hype/
8.       Imagine insider (2010) Available from: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:WbwpO2DJiboJ:www.imaginginsider.com/%3Fp%3D108206+media+convergence+%2B+ok+go&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au&client=safari&source=www.google.com.au
9.        Enio Chola (2011) Available from: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/post/146626-ok-go-vs.-the-muppets/