Soul Jazz Records

What kind of music do Soul Jazz Records produce?
Soul Jazz Records produce a range of different styles of music. The genre of music they produce is mainly black music such as reggae, soul, dubstep, funk/soul, jazz and hip hop. It's obvious that the music they produce is niche rather than mainstream chart/pop, and may only appeal to certain audiences.

What strategies do they use to promote and distribute their music?
The number one strategy Soul Jazz Records use to promote and distribute their music is via their website, which is used as an online store for each artist that is on the label. The website gives them the opportunity to promote music by constant updates through the news section for up and coming tracks from previous artists, or new artists breaking through. They also offer previews of the tracks before a customer chooses to purchase the music. It also offers different ways of purchasing the music through different formats, as they have CD's, Vinyl's and digital downloads. It targets a wider range of audience to suit their demands. The website also uses multimedia platforms, as it advertises 'coming soon' DVDs with tracks on it from artists on their label.

Who is the audience?
There's not a particular audience for Soul Jazz Records as it offers such a wide and diverse range of genres which essentially targets a wider range of audience. As everyone listens to different types of music there are always going to be different niche audiences for the different genres that Soul Jazz Records have to offer. Soul Jazz Records also have sister labels on their website, such as Universal Sound, which once again offers an even further range of genre again reaching a wider audience.

What is the relationship between Soul Jazz Records and the mainstream music industry?
There's no clear relationship between Soul Jazz Records and the mainstream music industry, because Soul Jazz Records targets their distribution at niche audiences rather than the mainstream audiences. Their website allows you to sample the music before you actually purchase it, whereas a 'Big 4' label such as Universal wouldn't. An example of Soul Jazz Records not targeting the mainstream would be their decision not to use social networking sites, but instead having their own blog through the website. This could be a disadvantage as they aren't reaching mass audiences when they have the ability to. However, one similarity between the mainstream and Soul Jazz Records is that they are keeping up with technology and allowing digital downloads to be purchased, which is just to keep up with modern trends.

Key Terms

Production: Production is the recording and making of the music.
Distribution: Promoting and getting the music out into shops, radios and online.
Marketing: Like distribution only deals with the interest of the media product to get people to want to buy it.
Consumption: How people buy and listen to music i.e. buying CDs, downloading, buying concert tickets, listening to music via Youtube and radio.
The Music Industry: The organisation of various activities such as; selling compositions, recordings and performances of music, and distributing it.
File Sharing: Uploading music online for others to download and listen to without having to pay for it.
Vertical Integration: A media company that profits and benefits from all areas of production, distribution and consumption. An example of this would be Apple because they control their processor, hardware, software and services together.
Synergy: Marketing and distribution of a range of related media products across various different sectors and platforms. An example of this would be Pop Idol as they combined different areas of the media industry i.e music, TV, magazine.
Technological Convergence: The hardware and software of different products come together as one product i.e. the iPhone - hardware and software of a phone, iPod, camera and computer.
Copyright: Owned rights of a creative or intellectual property i.e a song.
Conventions: The rules and process of how things are done.
Demographic: A portion of a population at who you target your product at. Considers age, gender and  culture.
Download: The practice of selecting and receiving digital information from an online source on a computer, as opposed to sending it by upload.
Hardware: The physical parts of a computer and related devices. Internal hardware devices include motherboards, hard drives, and RAM. External hardware devices include monitors, keyboards, mice, printers, and scanners.
Independent: A media organisation or activity that is not connected to a major company.
Subsidiary: A record label owned by another larger label or music group.
Horizontal Integration: The process of two companies coming together through merging. An example of this would be when in 1998 PolyGram merged with Seagram to become Universal Music Group.
The Big 3: The 3 MAJOR music labels: Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Formally 'The Big Four', became 3 after EMI's merger with Universal in November 2011.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SME): Companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.

Consumption

Consumption is when people buy CD's, cassettes, vinyls, download music, pay for live and recorded concerts, and also purchase any relate products. Due to the digital revolution, consuming now no longer just means buying music, it can also be watching and listening to music on YouTube or Spotify.
          Before the technical revolution consumption used to be going to the shops and actually physically buying a physical copy of the music, or paying to see the Artists perform live concerts or gigs. However, this has changed now as one no longer has to leave the comfort of their own home to actually consume music. This can all come down to the digital revolution. What is the digital revolution you may ask? Well, the digital revolution is the change from analog, mechanical and electronic technology to digital technology that has taken place since the 1980's and continues to til now. This means that people can now download music from their laptops, computers, phones, iPods, iPads etc. whether it be by legally downloading it, but actually paying for it from the distributor or illegally obtaining the music via file sharing, where you spend no money and nothing goes towards the artists and those who help with the production and distribution of the music. 
          File sharing is a main topic now a days when discussing the music industry. File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digitally stored information, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents, or electronic books. It may be implemented through a variety of ways. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include manual sharing utilizing removable media, centralized servers on computer networks, World Wide Web-based hyper-linked documents, and the use of distributed peer-to-peer networking.
          Due to the increasing popularity of consuming music online it has become common for artists to use the internet now to make their money. An example of this would be U2 who recently used the website YouTube to post a live stream of their concert where you would simply pay a smaller fee than what you would if you actually went to the concert. You can also pay to see concerts from your house on Sky Box Office. A new thing some artists are doing is that after you actually go to their concert you can buy the footage from that exact concert on a USB memory stick, so that you don't have to go out and buy a DVD of another concert, also this works very affectively due to impulse buying at concerts. 
          Although the digital revolution has meant that more people are consuming their music online through, file sharing, legal downloads, YouTube and other methods, it has also been statically shown that some people still consume music physically as the rising sales of vinyls has actually increased. Also, due to the internet and the constant advertising on websites, concert tickets sales have increased and therefore so too have the prices, meaning the artists etc. receive their fair share through concert sales also. 

Distribution

Distribution is the process of how albums and singles get into shops and online. Distribution companies sign deals with record labels, but also artists in rare occasions, that gives them the right to sell that label's products to record stores that have an account with that distributor. The distributor then takes a cut of income from each album or single sold and then the pay the label the remaining balance.
          Before the digital revolution, distribution used to be promoting the singles and albums to get them into shops and to be played on the radio. Now distribution does not just that, but it also is now the process of getting the product up on the internet to be downloaded, and having it played on YouTube.
          The different ways music is distributed theses day include digital distribution and the physical distribution of albums and singles. Digital distribution puts the music straight online meaning it bypasses the physical distribution. A prime example of a digital distributor would be Apple inc. as they have the iTunes store, and distributors make sure that they get iTunes to sell the music.  
          As for the future of music distribution, it is said that by 2014 the digital music opportunity is predicted to be an $8 billion industry that is growing at an 18 percent CAGR and digital distribution will grow by 16% while physical distribution is predicted to drop by 98 percent. Which is can cause massive layoffs in the music industry. Broadband growth and proliferation of smart phones etc. are expected to continue to drive global growth and penetration of music distribution. 

Production

From the start of the 21st Century, the production in the music industry has changed drastically. We have seen records change into tapes, which have changed into C.D's. The real change in recording labels emerged at the end of the 1980's when we saw the introduction of the "Big 6" in terms of music companies. These were to include; emi. cbs, bmg, PolyGram, wea and mca. Although this "Big 6" was to change in 1987 when Sony Music bought over cbs and then changed it's name officially to Sony Music in 1991. Later in 1998 PolyGram merged with Seagram to become Universal Music Group, thus meaning the "Big 6" became the "Big 5". It was then in 2003 that "iTunes" became available to download music legally from the internet. This was the birth of legal digital downloads and the start of the popular internet music distribution, as in 2009, over a quarter of all recorded music revenues were now coming from the internet. Now this means artists rely heavily on merchandise and live performances to gather the majority of their money for their music, meaning they are now more dependent on music promoters. 
          Another major change in the music industry is the fact that music studios no longer need to be used in order to make music, as people can record using their laptops or iPad's as long as they have the suitable software. A clear example of this would be The Gorillaz, as the front man Damon Albarn told NME that he was planning to record the second album using just his iPad. This means less money is spent on recording and people don't see a need in even finding a record label at all. This then causes problems for music records and recording studios as they are no longer needed in the production and the Los Angeles Times have reported that half of the recording facilities in the city have failed. This has lead to digital music selling very cheaply, with most songs being under £1 to download. Although, the recording software has started to increase in price, meaning corporations such as Apple receive most of the money.
          Justin Bieber was discovered through producing his own music via Youtube. This can be used as a very good example of how music producers and recording studios are no longer needed to be used in the production of music. Justin simply posted a few videos of himself onto Youtube and as he did he increased in views, until Usher and Justin Timberlake both wanted to sign him. Justin Bieber then chose to sign with Usher and now has become an international popstar sensation. The fact that music producers and studios no longer are needed it means that the music is more raw and therefore aren't as auto tuned, and instead sell their music based not heir music and not just try to sell the person as a product like many artists today. However, this does mean that more people are less "airbrushed" and anyone can be an artist if they want to be now.
         Although, despite all the negativity advanced technology gets from the music industry, it is due to these technological advantages, such as iPod's, mp3 players, phones etc. that people are now listening to music more frequently and it become apart of their lives. The lack of a power a record company now has means artists find it easier to directly market their music and communicate with the public about it. However, it is a fact that from every c.d or single bought or downloaded, 40 are "stolen" or shared illegally. Another way in which the internet has actually benefited the music industry is people are able to sample different genres and artists they normally wouldn't and it also gives them the opportunity to check out the other songs on their albums and end up becoming a fan of the artist, which you normally wouldn't have done. It is also a good way for fans to communicate with each other. This means they can recommend similar artists and songs to people, therefore getting even more artists recognition. 
          

HOW IS THE REPRESENTATION OF CLASS AND STATUS CONSTRUCTED IN THIS CLIP FROM MERLIN?

By Ceára Thornton

Throughout this clip from Merlin there is a very obvious and stereotypical view on class and status. This seems to result in the higher class being more dominating and superior over the lower class.

From the very onset we see a long shot of Merlin in the castle. Due to this camera shot we see the surroundings he is in and can see that he straightaway looks nervous and at unease. This suggests to the audience that Merlin is out of his comfort zone here as he isn't used to this environment. This theme of Merlin being out of his comfort zone due to him being in a wealthier atmosphere is then carried on when there is a track of the room he enters. This suggests that Merlin finds this room very different to the one he is used to as it is decorated with a range of valuable items. This is added to by the non-digetic sounds and the low key lighting which gives an ominous feel to the scene, and really displays to the audience that Merlin is out of his comfort zone in this prosperous environment seeing as he is of lower class. Although, this feel changes when an eye line match is used to show how Merlin spots a spell book and a magical straw person. These items are made more poignant as there is depth of field used and shallow focus is used which draws the audience’s attention to the book and tells us that Merlin is interested in these things as they are seen to belong more in Merlin's lower class and common environment rather than this upper class castle room he finds himself in. Just as Merlin discovers these items more non-digetic music plays in the background and is coupled with parallel editing to show a woman who appears to have a connection to these items. It is obvious by the costumes shown that the woman is superior in terms of class as she is wearing a vibrant silk purple dress with a gold belt. The colours gold and purple are significant here as they’re usually the colours which represent royalty and wealth. Then if we look at Merlin’s clothes we see he is wearing light linen t-shirt and jacket, and a ragged scarf. Merlin’s t-shirt is red, which is quite poignant as red is associated with danger and as he is lower class he is stereotypically seen as more cheeky and up to no good. Ambient sound is used as we the audience and Merlin hear this woman in the purple dress open the door to enter the room. Pan and tilt camera movements are used here which shows Merlin panic and put the items back in their original places in frenzy due to hearing the door. From this we see that Merlin is inferior to the woman walking into the room and is frightened in case he is caught by someone because he is touching things that aren’t his, and things which belong to people who are superior and in charge of him.

            Later in the extract we hear the ambient sound of the town such as the sound of goats, people talking and working which shows the loud, brass commonness of the area and it is a huge contrast to the castle where it is quiet and refined, like the people who inhabit them. Therefore, this fit the clichéd view that lower class people are rude and common, whilst the higher class are sophisticated and mannerly. This idea is reinforced by the mid shot used to show Merlin walking through the town. As he continues to walk a tracking movement is used and the mid shot turns into a wide shot. I believe this is used because it shows how Merlin is now comfortable and secure in his own environment in comparison to how he was in the castle, as well as showing off the filth and grime the lower class people live in. The high key lighting used draws up a contrast between the town and the castle room. To me this insinuates that the lower class people have nothing to hide and what you see is what you get with them, whilst the higher class have secrets and things they would prefer was hidden from others as it could taint the power they have over people.

It is here in the town the audience are first introduced to the character of Arthur. As soon as we see Arthur the audience are already made aware that he is not in his own environment. Key factors of this would be Arthur’s clothes, as he is well dressed and wearing chainmail armour, whilst everyone else around him in dressed in shabby clothes similar to Merlin’s. Straight away we see that Arthur fits the stereotypical visual look of a higher class person, as he is dressed to impress and therefore this means Merlin and those surrounding him fit the stereotypical view that lower class people do not have presentable clothes, which is why they wear such scruffy outfits. Also Arthur walks around town extremely confident even though it isn’t his atmosphere. We see that Arthur thinks of himself as being superior to others and the camera composition of the rule of thirds is used here as it shows Arthur exactly in the area where the audience’s eyes are drawn to, whilst if we contrast this to Merlin he is slightly out of the area, so even in terms of camera view, Merlin is seen as being inferior to Arthur due to his class. If we compare this to Merlin we can see that Arthur fits the cliché of a higher class person who is arrogant and full of themselves, thinking that everyone’s eyes are always on them, whilst Merlin kind of breaks the typical view of a lower class person as instead of being confident, loud and outspoken in the castle, he was shy and at unease.  Although this side of Merlin doesn’t last as we see he then jumps into this role of the loud bashful commoner and insults Arthur, “look I told you, you were an ass, I just didn’t realise you were a royal one” and “wow since when have you been training to be a prat.” From this the audience can see that now Merlin is in his own environment he feels like he has some sort of power and fits the stereotypical cheeky lad behaviour lower class men are seen to have. This is reinforced by the slang words he uses such as “ass” and “prat”, which would be seen to be more recognised and used by lower class citizens. Arthur retaliates by choosing to fight using his many weapons. The props used such as the swords and maces show just how normal these items are to Arthur and how being “trained since birth” in how to use them is just an average thing for him, whilst Merlin struggles to know how to even hold one. This shows the difference in the classes as the lower class people as represented as spending their lives working, whilst the higher class are taught things like fighting and using weaponry as they didn’t have to worry about money and going to work. From this we see Arthur has an unfair advantage in the fight that is about to take place, just like he has had the advantage on life simply because of which family he was born into.

As the fight begins non-digetic music starts to play. This music sounds like music you would hear in a battle, which makes us feel already that Arthur will inevitably win as he has been trained in battle since birth; therefore Merlin is inferior once more. There are strong beats that are played when cut-a-ways are used which shows Marlin get his mace stuck. This shows the audience the fear and panic Merlin feels and the inevitably that he is in trouble as he is physically inferior to Arthur even in his own surroundings. This is added to by the handheld camera, therefore adding to the panic Merlin feels and the rapid action taking place. The cut-a-ways not only show the panic and frenzy Merlin is in but it also gives the audience the opportunity to see Arthur in battle. From this we see Arthur is calm and collected which is why his scenes are less short and choppy in comparison to Merlin’s. When Arthur starts to swing his mace to hit Merlin his first throw is repeated three times from different angles. This insinuates that Arthur is significantly stronger and more in control than Merlin, who just barely jumps out of the way and a cut-a-way is shown to show the audience what Arthur hits. What Arthur hits is significant because it shows us that he doesn’t care because he has the money to pay for them, and the fact he hits gold coins, also shows the audience that Arthur sees money as something he can waste, while if that was Merlin or another lower class citizen there, they would gather up that money or at least try to avoid it as much as possible. What’s also significant about this is that no one shouts at Arthur for destroying the place, but we assume that if the roles were reversed and it was Merlin destroying the place, people would shout at him. I believe this is because Arthur is portrayed as their superior and the lower classes don’t want to get in his way, especially as he is armed with a mace. This demonstrating the stereotypical view that the lower class don’t usually speak out against their superiors because if you do, you will end up losing like Merlin is showing us. This is reinforced by the low key lighting in the scene as Arthur is shown as a menacing dark figure about to strike Merlin. Although this is then changed when an extreme close-up of Merlin’s eyes is shown, which is coupled with a visual effect as Merlin’s eye glows and an eye line match is used to show what Merlin has done. From here we see Merlin finally has power over Arthur as he is using his magical powers to defeat Arthur. This doesn’t fit the stereotypical view of the lower class being dominated by the higher class, which tells the audience that Merlin isn’t like the average lower class people he is associated with throughout and is different, which Arthur reinforces when he says, “there’s something about you Merlin.”

The extract finishes with Merlin and an old man in Merlin’s room. Here a shot/ reverse shot is used between the two characters to show they are of equal class and status, so neither of them are superior or inferior to the other. This is effective here because this old man is the only one to know that Merlin is able to use magic and so they are both completely equivalent to each other and there is no power struggle or one trying to outdo the other to make a point. Merlin says, “If I can’t use magic then what have I got? I’m just a no body!” This is very important here as just before we learn that magic is the only thing that sets him apart from the other lower class townspeople and is also the only other reason he almost won his fight against Arthur. So when he says, “If I can’t use magic I might as well die”, the audience literally believe this because without magic, Merlin was inferior to Arthur due to his class and status as Merlin wasn’t trained to fight, but due to magic making him more superior than the ordinary lower class people, he was able to stand a chance against Arthur and impose a power struggle. It is also this magic ability which could be why he fits the stereotypical cheeky loud lower class person because he knows he has magic to help him out of these situations.

Therefore throughout this extract the class and status representation of different characters fit the stereotypical view of higher and lower class people, but also broke the clichés due to camera movements, shots, compositions, mise en scene, editing and sound.

Music Industry

The music industry or music business sells compositions, recordings and performances of music. Among the many individuals and organisations that operate within the industry are the musicians who compose and perform the music; the companies and professionals who create and sell recorded music (e.g., music publishers, producers, studios, engineers, record labels, retail and online music stores,performance rights organisations); those that present live music performances (booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew); professionals who assist musicians with their careers (talent managers, business managers, entertainment lawyers); those who broadcast music (satellite and broadcast radio); journalists; educators; musical instrument manufacturers; as well as many others organisations.


For a long time the music industry has been affected by illegal downloads and pirate copies. This means that people are listening to the music of artists without paying to hear the songs, meaning the band or singer doesn't get the money from you listening to their song, and therefore the people involved in making the music don't get the money they should. I for one can say for a while I did download music without paying for it, but now I buy all my music from iTunes. The fact that most teenagers don't buy music is simply because they don't have the money to buy C.D's and singles. The invention of Youtube however, helps the artist now, as Youtube have been placing adverts on, which means the money from the adverts go to the artist, and under the video of the song, there is now a direct link to iTunes where you can download the song. 


Nowadays, music is a big part in people's lives, mainly teenagers, as it is very common when you go out that you will listen to music some point during your day. Whether, it's on the radio in the car, taxi or bus. Maybe on your iPod, phone, iPad or M.P.3 player when you're alone. At home on your computer or laptop as well. The fact is people will always listen to music. People listen to music to calm down, to relax etc. When I'm just in my room on the computer, or doing homework I tend to listen to music on my laptop or on my iPad, but when I go out I'll listen to music on my phone. I either listen to my music privately using my headphones or I'll blast it so all my friends or family can hear it. 


I personally store all my music on iTunes because I buy most of my music from them anyway and therefore it's handier. I always have everything copied to Windows Media Player also just in case anything ever goes wrong with iTunes. I always have my music organised in alphabetical order of artists. This doesn't apply for my C.D collection though. I organise my C.D's in order of which case cover is more aesthetically pleasing. Personally I prefer having Records to C.D's or downloads, although C.D's are a close second. Despite this, I have more downloads than C.D's or records because they are just easier to obtain and cheaper. 


When every I like an artist I always make sure to check them out on Youtube first and if I like their music I will go on iTunes and download some of their work, and if I'm fond of them I'll buy all their other work. I always check if my favourite artists have twitter or Youtube accounts so then I can follow them and check for updates, as in new song releases or tour dates. I also like reading up on the artists to see what they seem to be like personally as well, because I find if the artists are genuinely nice and funny, you like them more. I also prefer it when artists are being themselves. What would really discourage me to buy music from a band is when you can tell they're being fake, also when they seem like they've been put together to make money  and actually have no real interest in the music they make. What always encourages me to buy money from bands is when you can just tell the music is their life and they write all their own songs, because then you can hear everything just comes from the heart and personally it just makes everything sound so much better. 


A lot of my friends and family don't pay for the music they download, but when it comes to artists they love, they make an effort to pay for their albums and merchandise. I used to be like that as well, but recently I've just bought all my music, because I tend to only listen to artists I love anyway. Whenever I think of downloading music online illegally it never really scares me because you just think, sure everyone does it and no one actually cares, so it doesn't actually phase you when you download music, and it generally doesn't bother you after it. My parents know I buy all my music anyway, because they always shout at me for spending all my money for going out on music, so I'm always borrowing more money off of them.


The Music Industry is being affected by illegal downloads, but I think due to the amount of websites out there at the moment where you you can buy your music makes up for it. Although the sales of C.D's and records have declined due to the increase of download sales, but I believe the Music Industry is even stronger now, due to the increase in people listening to music thanks to recent technology advancements for music devices, for example, 10 years ago you wouldn't have the option of downloading music to an iPod or phone, but now you can and therefore you make an effort to music everywhere you go.