Question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary tasks?

My products utilise both traditional and new media which means that I am able to reach a broader audience. Currently my music video has been distributed on YouTube which is new media. I decided to post my video on YouTube because it’s the most widely used video sharing platform and most people would discover new music through YouTube. After the initial release on YouTube, depending on how many views the video has garnered it could be distributed for purchase or streaming on different services like iTunes or the Apple Music subscription service. By distributing the video on more platforms it generates more revenue which means that there is more money to be used in future advertising. 

If the video/song ever became exceptionally popular it may be shown on traditional media such as TV music channels like 4Music or MTV because of their mainstream music coverage, however this wouldn’t provide any inherent benefits due to the dramatic decrease in music channel views over the past decade. One form of traditional media that may prove beneficial to my music promo is magazine publication. Many people still read magazines as they can be purchased either as a paper based product or digital for viewing on devices such as tablets. This means that by publishing my advert in various different magazines such as Q, NME and BBC Music magazine it will reach a wide audience who read both traditional and new digital prints.

 It was important to include some important information on the EP release and tour dates on the magazine advert because it doesn’t allow the reader to hear the song. The magazine advert may also be published online on websites such as Facebook and Tumblr. These type of online adverts may have a hyperlink that takes the audience direct to the artist’s website where they can purchase a digital or hard copy of the EP or even purchase the music video. The digipak doesn’t really advertise the music promo because it’s only available to the audience after they have purchased it, however it will be available both in print and digital forms. Music is available to be purchased in various different ways, such as a physical disk, vinyl, digital purchase and online streaming. It’s important that the artist’s creativity and passion is visually displayed on whatever form of music the audience buys. My digipak has elements from both the magazine advert and video, and there is space for a disk or vinyl if it’s purchased as a hard copy.

On a whole all of the products I have created are very effective but there are a few negatives with all of them. The music video may be downloaded illegally from the internet which means that the artist isn’t getting paid for their work and then the work may be illegally distributed elsewhere. This does provide more advertisement for the artist but it means they aren’t getting what they deserve for their product. The magazine advert’s only inherent disadvantage is how it may not reach a wide enough audience for it to prove cost effective. Many people tend to ignore adverts on websites such as Facebook and YouTube, and people even skip adverts which are displayed before YouTube videos. It’s also an issue that many people don’t actually read magazines often, with most news and gossip being spread online via social networking. It would prove more beneficial to create a product that specifically targets these platforms. The magazine advert may also be considered a bit vague, as it’s hard to advertise audio visually as the audience can’t actually hear what the artist sounds like. Finally, the digipak may prove to be a bit useless in advertising the product because the audience won’t actually see it until they have purchased the EP- which defeats the object of advertising. As a product for advertising the digipak may also prove to be too complicated because of the distinctly different six panels. I believe that the digipak is best suited as an after-purchase product that the audience is able to enjoy after they have seen the magazine advert and music video.

I believe that all of my products could work very well individually because they all provide a good amount of information and some link to the artist’s style. The music video provides the most comprehensive preview into the content because it’s the visual and audio representation of the product. The audience is able to see how the artist wants their product to be portrayed and the artist is able to show their emotions during their performance of the song. The music video also sets the whole style/theme of the promo and upcoming EP from the artist. The initial single would typically introduce a style that the artist will use for the whole of the EP/album release so that all of their products are easily identifiable. This shot from the music video shows the typography that is used throughout the whole promotion, and it introduces the artist’s name and song title at the start of the video. This basic information allows the audience to find out more about the artist and even find other songs they have done just from watching the music video, which is advertisement all by itself. The rest of the music video shows different shots of locations and objects which give an indication of what the rest of the artist’s songs may be about and what kind of narrative to expect. The objects focused upon in the video are mainly decorative items around the house and jewellery, especially the amber ring- which links to the song title of “Gem”.

This is the magazine advert which shares many similarities with the music video in terms of styling. As a stand-alone product this is probably the weakest of the three because it can’t display as much detail as the other two. The close up shot of the actress is in black and white because I wanted there to be a clear visual que to my 1950s inspiration. I decided to keep the lips red because they stand out and it’s also reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe and Lana Del Rey, which are two of the inspirations for this promotion. I have blurred the images around the edges and added a slight vignette so that the information at the top and bottom is more prominent. The typography again is exactly the same as on the music video, which ties the two products together. I decided to make all of the company logos and information white to match the typography, and I feel that it makes the overall image look more clean and sophisticated. I believe that there is a good amount of detail on the advert, as it displays the artist’s name, song title, release date and brief information on the upcoming tour. It also displays the record label and the various different online services that allow the audience to either purchase or stream the song. I believe that the advert has displayed the theme of the promo in a simplistic but clear way, focusing on the artist and not overcomplicating the image. I think that it’s very easy for the audience to see the important information and I have also included the artist’s website URL down the bottom between the logos. If this advert was displayed online a hyperlink could be embedded so that the audience could quickly navigate to the artist’s website or another site that distributes the rest of the promo.

This is the digipak for my music promo and I believe that it includes the most information out of the three products. If the audience were to purchase this as a physical product they would have a folded pamphlet that had a physical CD or vinyl included. This would contain the song and even the music video on a CD. I believe that the theme on this product really ties the whole promotion together because it has shots from both of the primary locations and a close up shot of the artist, which mimics that of the magazine advert. I have included the logos for the record label and other online retailers and streaming services that could distribute the song. There is also a page dedicated to the lyrics for the audience so they can understand what the song is about. I feel that the digipak shows the theme of the promotion really well and there are design ques taken from the 50s in the form of the red lipstick and antique decorations. The disk is also red which links to the lipstick and adds an infusion of colour into the digipak which really emphasises it. Underneath the disk is a close up shot of the amber ring, which is a big focus in the music video as it links in directly with the song title “Gem” and it personifies the artist’s emotions and how her boyfriend just discarded her and used her whenever he wanted.