Secondary Research
For my secondary research I begun by looking at the viewing figures for music videos online. This included looking at the most popular music videos to date, the more popular viewing outlets as well as figures for my chosen band which is Imagine Dragons. By looking at viewing figures for the videos themselves it gave me an idea of what the more successful music videos were like and helped me to begin to think about what kinds of content to include in order to produce a successful music video. For example by finding out that the most viewed music video of all time was Gangnam Style, it helped me to understand that one way to make a successful music video is to have memorable performance and visuals. As well as this, by looking at the statistics for the different viewing outlets, it helped me come to a conclusion of where the best place is to release a music video in order for it to get the most amount of exposure possible. By looking into this I now know that probably the best website to release a music video on is YouTube as a video can be posted and shared on multiple channels as well as different social media sites. Since YouTube also has its own channel specifically for music which has nearly 100 million subscribers this is a very good place to get exposure especially when you have an established audience. Imagine Dragons themselves have 5 million subscribers with over 2 billion overall channel views on YouTube alone so therefore any new music video they release is sure to have an audience. The Quantitive research was useful simply for getting statistics and numbers however despite the fact, viewing figures do only give half of the story and information can only be inferred from this and not actually confirmed. A video can have a lot of views but can also be heavily disliked and just looking at numbers did not give me the entire story.
This is why the second part of my secondary research was so useful. The next piece of secondary research I had to carry out was qualitative research regarding views and opinions on music videos, album artwork, album adverts and fan views on internet forums. I felt that by looking into this research helped me to begin to understand exactly what it was that people felt about a bands accompanying products both in the professional world and from the regular viewing public. Peoples opinions on music videos, album artwork and on internet forums were helpful however I found it slightly harder to find reviews of album adverts as this isn't really something that a regular reader would consciously think about.
For music video research I found various articles online from professional sources discussing some of their favourite music videos, why music videos are important in general as well an article discussing how they felt Gangnam style covered the social, political and economic issues within South Korea. These articles allowed me to get a variety of different opinions into different music videos as well as look at music videos from a new perspective which is something I will be constantly referring to when producing my own music video. This research was useful as it will help when planning what content to put into my music video. A benefit of this was that I found out what did and did not work with music videos however the negative to this is that just because something works for one artist may not work for another and at the same time something has to be done well without copying or plagiarising other peoples work.
Reviews of album artwork was also very useful. By looking into what people liked and disliked about certain album art that has come out over the years as well as seeing what kinds of things people get out of album artwork, it helped me to understand what kinds of things to include in terms of pictures and colours and how to use this in order to create a message and meaning for the audience. Finding out information from an interview online with the artist of certain imagine dragons art was especially helpful in finding out what images he created simply by hearing the song. http://getmusicasia.com/2015/03/09/imagine-dragons-on-the-artworks-of-tim-cantor-the-story-behind-smoke-mirrors-artwork-video-interview/
This was helpful as it gave me an idea of what people do and do not like on album artwork so therefore I will now know what to include and what not to include when making a digipak. One way that this might not have been useful is again just because something does or does not work for another artist, does not mean this would be the same with my chosen artist. Also as these are reviews they are opinion based and this can differ depending on who is reviewing the album.
Looking at internet forums for both of these was especially helpful for the same reasons however the information and opinions being provided here came directly from fans of my chosen artist so therefore I essentially found a more reliable and valid opinion of someone who likes the band rather than someone who is reviewing for the sake of it. Although this opinion would be biased which might not be something that is too helpful, I can now truly understand why the fans feel the way they do about either Imagine Dragons music videos or digipaks.
Research into album adverts within magazines was a lot harder and to be honest not all that useful into my overall project. This is because reviewing an AD within a magazine or newspaper for a music album isn't something all that worth reviewing as it is simply there rather than it being something that is as exciting as a music video or an album cover. When you think of a band in terms of things other than the song, you may think of a music video or the artwork for their songs but an ad within a magazine may not exactly come to mind. The only kind of research I could find for this was students giving their thoughts and opinions on the layout of ads and how they stand out and what the ad saying to the audience. Although this does give me an idea of how an ad will influence readers, it isn't exactly a detailed enough review to show me what was liked and disliked about an ad. I think to improve this type of research, I would probably look into magazine codes and conventions instead and also look at some of the more famous magazine ads of all time rather than looking at responses. A benefit to this method however is that I was able to find what kinds of things unbiased people are seeing and getting from an ad and how this has an impact on them.
Primary Research
I found my quantitative primary research overall to be useful in the fact that I was able to get a mixed variety of responses which actually gave me a lot of information. From this I found out peoples viewing habits and opinions music videos, digipaks and album artwork. Using a google form I created and distributed, I received back 40 responses most of whom were within the age range of 16-20. I found this method of primary research to be useful as I was able to get clear quantitative answers and numbers regarding figures for music videos, digipaks and album adverts and how effective they are in advertising the band/music.
Through my primary research and due to this younger audience age, I found out that the most popular viewing outlet for music videos was YouTube as this is where the majority of people watch. This shows that overall, a younger audience are more likely to view Music Videos online, on YouTube in comparison to other outlets like TV or downloading them from iTunes. This is because YouTube is a free and high quality of video service that is easily accessible.
My quantitative primary research was also useful in showing me what the most influential features were both for digipaks and for album adverts. This is useful as it shows me what I will need to focus on when creating these products and also teaches me a bit about buyer behaviour and how to capture peoples attention when advertising a new product.
The next part of my primary research involved gathering qualitative data for the accompanying products for a new song/album in order to do this I carried out a focus group into album adverts within magazines, interviews to find out opinions on digipaks and created an internet forum to find out peoples opinions on Imagine Dragons music videos. I found the internet forum to be a lot more helpful than the interviews and the focus group that I conducted and this because with the forum, the answers that were provided came from Imagine dragons fans who watch imagine dragons videos whereas the interviews for the digipaks and the focus group for the magazine adverts were with people who were either less informed about these products or just simply don't tend to buy them. This meant that the information I received wasn't all that useful in finding out why people like these products. Since the internet forum was more detailed it allowed me to know why people like imagine dragons music videos and which ones are their favourites to look up to in a sense when producing my own video. Should I have to do this research again in future I would most likely try to find people who are more willing and whose views/buyer behaviour is more relevant to my research rather than just finding people who are willing to be interviewed or be a part of a focus group.
Audience Research
The audience research was also very helpful more so in the fact that it helped me to understand the type of people that these products are going to be marketed for and hopefully sold to. Based on the fact that Imagine Dragons are an American Alternative rock band I had to define who the audience were for this genre and the band specifically as well as look into media preferences and buyer behaviour in order to know how to market the products and where the best outlets are for them. As a result of my research I found out that the target audience would be white male students aged 16-25 as this is the target audience who would most relate to the songs and the messages and values of the band. By looking into media preferences and buyer behaviour it also allowed me to discover the best way to sell the products to them. As a result of this research I discovered that the best place to sell a digipak or release a music video is online. This is because of the younger target audience who are less likely to go out and buy a CD from a store and are more likely to spend a lot of time online. For music magazine album adverts, the kinds of magazines it might be smart to look into would be aimed at a younger target audience whether it be in music magazines themselves or even for magazines aimed at teenagers. I found this method of research useful as it will also be helpful when deciding the kind of content to include for the music video, digipak and advert. Because of the age range the content can be more mature and less kid friendly. Rather than show a happy story overall it might be smart to have something either a bit darker or more profound as this could be something an audience that aren't so young can relate to. I feel that looking at a Demographic chart and psychoanalysis chart really helped in me being able to define who the actual demographic and target audience are. It was a different way of looking at things rather than just simply stating the target audience without information to back it up. These charts influenced my findings as they helped to actually break down members of the public into different categories and gave me a clearer understanding of how and why an audience relate to something.
Market Research
By defining who the competition for my chosen artist are, it allowed me to see how different bands are doing similar things and at the same time why their differences have made them more or less successful than one another. At the same time by seeing what the competitors are doing it gives me an idea of how to do things even better. The research that I carried out for this came in two sections- General research into competitors and Research into products for the competitors. The general research into competitors was useful in discovering how they differ and how they are similar to Imagine Dragons. Imagine Dragons competition are also alternative rock/pop bands consisting of only male members. In comparison to their competitors it seems that Imagine Dragons are more successful, they have more award recognition as well as more special effects heavy music videos. I find that by defining who the competition are it has shown me why Imagines Dragons are more successful and how to continue keeping this level of success in terms of their music and their products. This influenced my findings as it showed me what the alternative rock/pop genre is like overall and gave me a better understanding of the genre. This is because of the similarities that there are between the bands.
The second part of the market research was useful in showing me why the competitions successful products have been so and the impression that they give off to the viewing public. By doing textual analysis of products it showed me how the bands use their products to create meaning and tell a story. Alternative rock/pop bands like Imagine Dragons tend to use deeper meaning and be quite profound in their content, usually with a message behind what is being shown. I chose to analyse a music video for one republic, an advert for Kodaline and a digipak from Bastille. The music video is about the mundanity of every day life and that being rebellious and going against the system is actually a good thing. Kodaline's advert for their album is about how having the perfect day or the perfect world doesn't actually need you to have fame or money or a lot of possessions and that there are other ways to be happy. The digipak for bastille was about feeling on top of the world and doing what you love. I feel that this research has shown me that clearly these bands and these audiences like these kinds of products where the narrative being told isn't/wouldn't be too obvious for the average viewer. I feel this is reflected within their songs also and is why these products resonate with the fan base/target audience. With how useful this was and how it influenced my findings, by analysing these products they showed me what kinds of images and colour schemes that this genre tend to use and how this could be applied to my own production of these products.
Production Research
Production research gave me all the relevant information for the different personnel, equipment and facilities that might be needed when making a music video, digipak or magazine album advert. By doing this research it helped as it gave me the relevant information for the specific roles and uses for the equipment as well as how much this would cost. As well as this it helped me come to a conclusion as to what would and would not be viable when going about making these products which is especially important to look at if you are faced with budgeting issues. By looking at what is and isn't viable it allows the producers to know how much they will spend/save as well as the limitations on what can and cannot be done whether this is because something is too dangerous, cannot physically be done or just because of time constraints. I put this information in a table in order to store this information and it influenced my findings as costs varied which meant that whether or not something or someone was viable was dependent on its costs. Production research also helps in figuring out how difficult it may be to do something as well as how many people to work on one project. It allows producers to consider how many people and what resources will be needed in order to complete a product.
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