How to target specific questionsHow do your three main texts use digital technology?

(June 2013)Introduction: Show a) understanding of the question b) overview of the industry

In this case:

• Few media industries have experienced such profound changes due to the rise of digital technology as the music industry.

• The industry has been revolutionised at every level – production, distribution, marketing, consumption.

• The most profound change has been the way in which revenues have been hit by the rise of illegal downloading.

• The industry continues to search for ways to accommodate and ‘use digital technology’ to its advantage, rather than regard it as a threat.

• Each of our three case-studies offers a different perspective on the way digital technology can be used – by audiences and by the institutions who produce and distribute the texts.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

Arctic Monkeys were in the first wave of bands to have been ‘broken’ by the internet – in their case the social networking site Myspace.

The usual path to success for an indie band is relentless touring, building word of mouth through support slots, culminating in positive reviews in publications such as NME and airplay on stations such as XFM and via DJs such as Zane Lowe.

Myspace empowered the audience by giving them the technology to share files – this virtual community of fans brought quick success for the band when they officially released a debut single – it was propelled straight to No.1, a rare occurrence for a band on such a relatively tiny label.

Though the band play down the significance of the Myspace ‘myth’, it is a cornerstone of their discovery narrative and no discussion of music and the internet is complete without a reference to the Monkeys and Myspace.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

The band’s subsequent success can be attributed to more conventional marketing strategies (tours, high-profile festival performances, TV and radio promotion, magazine front-covers, constant reinvention of their look and sound) though even these are all supplemented by the internet (e.g. gigs and other appearances are given longevity via youtube).

However, they have also utilised digital technology to spring the release of new tracks – most notably ‘R U Mine’ which was released via an announcement on twitter and by doing so bypassed some traditional marketing routes (e.g. World Exclusive First Play of the New Generic Indie Band Single Tonight on Zane Lowe!!!)

They have streamed special performances and their album was available to be streamed via itunes a week prior to release. This is an increasingly common strategy intended to stop impatient fans from downloading ‘leaked’ albums, as well as being a ‘try-before-you-buy’ technique.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

As a globally-renowned RnB star signed to one of the most powerful media companies in the world, it could once have been argued that, of our three case-studies, Beyoncé's success owes least to the internet – however this is no longer the case.

Beyonce’s success underlines the importance of the visual in popular music – which usually means the star being presented in a highly sexualised fashion. Music video is the key marketing tool here – and services such as youtube are essential in sending videos rippling around the world instantly.

Videos such as Crazy in Love and Single Ladies have proved viral sensations and construct Beyonce’s star-persona – a heady cocktail of sizzling sexuality given extra fizz by a splash of female-empowerment.

Youtube competes with services such as spotify (in part owned by the major record labels) in being a global jukebox from which the audience can stream tracks. Streaming is a key way in which the industry has tried to fight against a culture of illegal dowloading.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

Though myspace has fallen into obscurity, other social networks play a huge role in marketing and promotion.

Though, unlike contemporaries such as Rihanna, she rarely tweets, Beyoncé is an avid user of instagram and tumblr. Both sites allow her to publish a constant stream of images – many of which present her in seemingly private and unguarded moments. (Though it must be remembered that these are still part of the construction of her star persona.)

These communications establish a direct line of communication between star and audience and foster a strong sense of community. Online fanbases (in Beyonce’s case her Beyhive) are keenly cultivated by all stars. A variety of Uses and Gratifications are satisfied in this way.

In her rare tweets, Beyonc’s often uses her celebrity to promote humanitarian work or make interventions in political issues.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

Those 8 tweets in full.

13.4 million of us wait expectantly for Number 9.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

On 12th December 2013, with no promotional campaign preceding it, Beyoncé released her fifth studio album – known as the Visual album due to the fact each song was accompanied by a video - taking her audience, the music industry, and indeed the whole planet by surprise.

She wasn’t the first to spring such a release, but she was definitely the most high profile, and therefore had the most to lose if the strategy backfired. (It’s common to leak virtually all the songs on an album during the marketing campaign, so that people know what they’re paying for).

The unexpected nature of the release became the marketing campaign as the release swept social media and became a buzz topic for all news outlets.

The album was both a commercial and critical success – becoming the fastest selling album in itunes history and has currently sold over 3 million copies.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

Lane Del Rey’s initial rise to prominence can be attributed to the way in which she was ‘discovered’ by influential blogs such as Pitchfork.com. Such blogs have replaced traditional gatekeepers such as magazines and radio as ways in which the audience are introduced to new acts.

Though signed to a major label (Universal/Polydor) she was initially constructed as an indie artist – (her first single came out on tiny imprint Stranger Records) and the support of blogs like Pitchfork gives credibility and ‘cool’ to the artist.

Her first video was based on a DIY, post-modern aesthetic which upheld values of independence and artistic credibility – values that reflect a world in which the internet has meant the audience can define themselves by the way in which they select elements from the past and the present. (e.g. in their tumblr sites).

Her star-persona – the troubled beauty attracted to the dark side of the American Dream, seeing her reflection in equally doomed icons such as Marilyn Monroe – is a powerful marketing strategy in the age of tumblr.

How do your three main texts use digital technology?

Her ‘overnight success’ prompted an instant backlash – her performances on shows such as ‘Saturday Night Live’ were roundly mocked and parodied- exposing the dark side of viral fame.

Her latest single ‘West Coast’ is currently streaming, accompanied by a gif-style video which highlights the way in which LDR has an instinctive understanding of what online audiences demand.

Del Rey’s second album ‘Ultraviolence’ is due for release soon – its title borrowed from the controversial novel/film ‘A Clockwork Orange’ an intertexual reference that is likely to enhance her appeal to an audience who reject the shallow nature of contemporary pop.