Abstract In this article, the writer notes that in our consumerist society, music is one of the most important money-spinners. The writer points out that as noted by Julie L. Andsager and Kimberly Roe, musicvideos are very important in this industry as they play an important role in launching the careers of artists. Moreover, the writer describes that musicvideos enjoy an enormous following among teenagers, which means that they likely play an important role in forming their opinions about important issues such as gender roles. This research paper investigates the key issue of how musicvideos portray women. The writer maintains that as musicvideos have the potential to impact the lives of so many women, and to form the opinions of so many young people of all genders, the portrayal of women in musicvideos is clearly a matter of great importance.
From the Paper "Clearly there exist destructive music videos which encourage sexism and the objectifying of women. This is cause for great concern as such music videos clearly have the potential to encourage men to treat women as mere sex objects. Even more troubling is the fact that some music videos seem to actively encourage and promote violence against women. For example, Van Horn found that more than half of the music videos he examined contained violence, and that all too often this was violence against women. An Eminem song, Kim, illustrates this chillingly well. The following is not the entire song, but merely excerpts, but it should be kept in mind that the entire song is sickeningly violent, not only these excerpts."
Abstract The music industry spends enormous amounts of money to create musicvideos that will make a profit, and the one ingredient they have consistently found that helps sell their products is violence; this violence is usually directed toward women. The AAP notes that there is a paucity of research concerning the impact of such gratuitous violence on children and adolescents. To this end, this paper demonstrates this relationship through a critical review of the literature, followed by a summary of the research and recommendations in the conclusion.
From the Paper "The definitions concerning what constitutes entertainment and what is protected by the 1st Amendment do not necessarily address the underlying problems of violence in the media and sometimes only serve to merely contribute to the statistical haze that surrounds an already complex situation. The recent appearance of national leaders on MTV attests to the importance and power of music videos in shaping the nation's conscience. Further, while many non-black observers feel that rap music is just ?so much noise generated by angry black youths,? rap music or simply ?rap,? is in actuality a reflection of the current affairs within the communities in which it is performed. Rap is a "genre of rhythm-and-blues music that consists of rhythmic vocals declaimed over musical accompaniment. The accompaniment generally consists of electronic drum beats combined with samples (digitally isolated sound bites) from other musical recordings" (Bowman, 2003). From this perspective, rap is an extension of the Black Power movement of the 1960s, and has embodied the essence of the young black culture. The first rap recording was made in 1979 and the genre rose to prominence in the United States in the mid-1980s. Although the term rap is often used interchangeably with hip-hop, the latter term encompasses the subculture that rap music is simply one part of. The term hip-hop derives from one of the earliest phrases used in rap, and can be found on the seminal recording "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by Sugarhill Gang. In addition to rap music, the hip-hop subculture also comprises other forms of expression, including dance methodologies, art, vocabulary (in the form of slang) and fashion affectations. Despite these contributions to the popular culture, many observers suggest a connection between the music and personification of violence evinced in music videos and rap as a factor contributing to the incidence of violence by young people in the United State today."
This paper discusses the censoring of musicvideos by state and federal legislators by passing laws to make selling minors musicvideos with objectionable language, violence or sexual nature, without parental consent, a crime advisories.
Abstract This paper explains that the censoring of musicvideos is similar to tactics with movies and video games that failed. The paper points out the reasons for this failure are the same for musicvideos: Freedom of speech, the questionable validity of studies that warn about harmful affects of violence and sexual content on children and the responsibility of parents versus store owners in supervising youth's actions. The author believes that this indeed makes the United States a better country for everyone.
From the Paper "Naturally, those who take the other point of view can point to their own studies, which say that music videos alter sexual views. However, where such studies fall short is that they cannot be conducted in a vacuum. Today's kids are assailed with sexual imagery -- in magazines, ads, movie trailers, and posters. At home, more than half of all television programs -- 56 percent -- contain some sexual material, according to a recent study by the Parents Television Council, a nonpartisan advocacy group. In the last decade, the frequency of sexual interactions more than tripled during primetime viewing hours."
Abstract This paper discusses how the musicvideo is a very influential, arguably the most influential, tool used in presenting artist image to the modern record buying public and how it is vital to the sales success of many pop records. It maps the evolution of the popular musicvideo and MTV (Music Television). It also touches on technological issues and business motivations with an emphasis on the sociological implications for the music 'consumer'.
From the Paper "In the late 1970s/early 1980s, there came a point when the record industry was in its first decline for decades. Disco had faded out of fashion and punk was not generating the necessary interest required to keep the industry's bottom line sufficiently high. Inevitably, profits fell . The record companies needed a new way to market, and sell, mass quantities of records. The solution presented itself in two guises. Firstly, the release of the first Compact Disc in ?Japan on October 1st, 1982?, and secondly, the start of broadcasting by MTV ?at 12.01 am in August 1981?. (Haring 1996 p.33-5) Through some manipulation of the retail sector and the phenomenal but perhaps unpredicted success of MTV, which "many scoffed at when it started" (Haring 1996, p.35), a resurgence was sparked which would lead to the 1980s being the most profitable decade the industry had ever seen."
Abstract This paper looks at whether or not watching violent musicvideos on MTV increases aggression in children. It gives a literature review and describes an experiment done to test this hypothesis. The results of the experiment showed that watching violent musicvideos did increase violence in children.
From the Paper "This research was conducted to examine the effects of watching violent music on MTV on aggression in children. Ten boys between the ages of..."
Abstract This paper presents an examination of the entertainer Madonna's videos and their statement about the societal role of women. It discusses the evolution of females in society over the years through the changes in Madonna's released videos and focuses on her empowerment of women through her music and videos. It looks at how Madonna spent two decades tearing down preconceived notions of what women were expected to do and how she worked to re-instate the ability to be feminine and proved to the world it does not mean giving up the ability to compete in business.
From the Paper "It has been said that music is the universal language. It is alleged to have the ability to calm savage beasts, make couples fall in love, and incite violence. Throughout the years music has also had a significant influence on the evolvement of women. The women's rights movement of the 1960's started the ball rolling toward equality but when it came to issues such as sexuality and the freedom of females to express themselves there was still a stigma about what "kind" of woman expressed her sexuality. The entire issue of sexual openness and women in the music industry was taken by the horns and challenged by Madonna. The sexuality of women was not the only area in which Madonna broke through the glass barriers."
Abstract The paper describes and analyzes the role of contemporary musicvideos in influencing children and their behaviors. It describes the history of musicvideos, their origins, modern music stars and the dangers of the themes in musicvideos. Specifically, the paper discusses musicvideo stars as role models and the power of videos to sell and promote products.
From the Paper ""A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song" (Wikipedia).
The power of audio and visual media in collaboration is a force which can't be denied. The origin of music videos itself was born as a means of promotion. Music videos were originally dubbed "promos," because of the nature of their intent to advertise an artist, a brand, or both. The manufacture of music videos was a result of economic necessity when bands from the UK and Australia wanted to reach an audience in the United States; in an effort to maximize exposure and minimize expense they began sending pop clips to the Western world. The pop clips or mini-movies were a creative strategy for marketing and gaining recognition. "David Bowie was the first artist to combine all the elements of a modern music video with his promotional clip for the song The Jean Genie in 1972" (Wikipedia)."
Tags: adolescent, drugs, impact, psychology, rock, teenage
Abstract This paper examines the allegations that the media is to blame for various random acts of violence. But is the media really to blame? The paper investigates this question, as well as the question of whether we can expect to see more females committing violent crimes, now that there has been an upsurge of media depictions of violent women. It gives examples of violence in film, on the television, in video games and in music and musicvideos.
From the Paper "Certainly, many people believe that the media causes people to act violently. For example, at the trial of Lee Boyd Malvo, one of the two notorious American snipers/serial killers in 2003, it was alleged that his older partner in crime, John Allen Muhammad, had attempted to utlize violent video games - such as Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon and Rainbow 6: Covert Ops - to train Malvo as a sniper (Miller). And after the shootings at the Columbine High School in Colorado in April 1999, in which two school boys killed 13 people, it was found that one of the boys, Eric Harris, had played the violent video game Doom a great deal. (Duin) While it is impossible to know whether the game Doom played a part in encouraging Eric to commit multiple murders, it is certainly a possibility. And given the serious impact of his actions, even a possibility needs to be taken seriously."
Abstract This paper explains that Apple's iTunes Music Store (iTMS) provides both Mac and PC users with a catalogue of over 700,000 tracks for customers to legally find, listen and purchase music online and, on the new video iPod, download and play musicvideos and TV shows. The author stresses that the primary business strategy for Apple is not just about selling music but to use the popularity of iTMS to enhance its brand and increase the sale of iPods. The paper relates that iTMS has met the challenge of reducing the complexity of transferring a song from iTunes into an iPod or music collection by developing a simple one click operation that completes each step in the process from listening to a sample song through the internet to buying it to listening to it in one's own iPod. Table of Contents Introduction iTunes Business Strategy Apple's Strengths Sources
From the Paper "With its growing success, what are some strength that will allow for Apple's continued growth? Foremost, Apple is the market leader. Although the market leader faces the most risks and challenges, iTMS has overcome those challenges and is riding the momentum in the online music market. For others to compete, competitors must produce an iPod/iTMS alternative. Also, they must either offer reduced price to compensate users for the lost functionality, or try to create a digital music store. As others try to catch up to Apple's existing standards, Apple can now look to further increase their popularity with new technology and trends rather than play catch up."
Abstract The paper relates that a positive correlation between violent video game play and aggression has been identified by many individual studies. The paper presents a study to research whether violence and sexual objectification of women in video games increases aggression toward women in college aged men. The paper notes the ethical issues that will exist in the proposed study.
From the Paper "Four groups of young adult men will be selected. Each group will be tested in advance with adjective matching and oral testing from female researchers to identify their attitudes and reactions toward women. The first two groups will play one to two hours of violent and sexually offensive video game play for five days. The third group will include individuals who have limited previous video game exposure and will not play video games during the experiment. Groups one and three will be orally tested by a female researcher following the week of video game play. Groups two and four will be tested by a male researcher. Results will be compared to identify differences between reactions in video game users and non-users."
Abstract The paper discusses how video games and the video game industry have become as ubiquitous as any everyday gadget. The paper examines how many of the higher powered personal computers are purchased by "gamers" who want the fastest equipment, to power the latest cutting-edge games. The paper further examines how modern games are some of the most demanding on PC resources, so the latest hardware is often targeted at the sector that is most likely to purchase and make use of the latest features.
From the Paper "Although the video game actually started with the "boob-tube" or television, it has evolved into a completely rewarding and challenging tool. As a point of reference, video games and its historical innovations have been subdivided into seven generation: "First Generation, 1972 - 1977; Second Generation, 1977 - 1981 (Golden Age); Third Generation, 1981 - 1984 (Dark Ages); Fourth Generation, 1985 - 1989 (Post-Crash - 8-bit era); Fifth Generation, 1989 - 1995 (16-bit era); Sixth Generation, 1995 - Present (32/64-bit era); and Seventh Generation, The Future. " "
Abstract This paper presents an overview of the history of Activision's series of musicvideo games called "Guitar Hero," its main competition and the reasons for its enormous succes. The writer then describes the challenges faced by Activision in expanding its market and keeping competition at bay. Next, Activision's marketing strategy and goals are described in detail, and suggestions are offered for achieving those goals. The writer concludes that as long as the company continues to invest in making the games fresh and new, they should easily be able to stay ahead of the competition. This paper contains photos.
Outline:
Executive Summary
Environmental Analysis
The Marketing Environment
Competitive Forces
Economic Forces
Political Forces
Legal and Regulatory Forces
Technological Forces
Socio-cultural Forces
Target Market
Current Marketing Objectives and Performance
SWOT Analysis
Matching Strengths to Opportunities/Converting Weaknesses and Threats
Marketing Objectives
Marketing Strategies
Target Market(s)
Marketing Mix
Marketing Implementation
Marketing Organization
Activities, Responsibilities, and Timetables for Completion
Evaluation and Control
Performance Standards and Financial Controls
Summary
From the Paper "The series has been so successful that they have become extremely popular party games, which lead to them being played at a variety of locales. Bars throughout the United States offer a "Guitar Hero Competition Night" in which customers are given a chance to compete with each other on the game. Several concert tours have added Guitar Hero contests to be played between sets. The game is also responsible for prompting 2.5 million out of 12 million children to begin learning a real instrument after they played the series games. Updates to the newly released Guitar Hero: World Tour make it possible for players of any age or skill level to participate. This is due to the fact that Activision, aside from the original four skill levels: Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert, has added a beginner level. The new update is aimed at younger and less skilled players."
Abstract The paper shows that today, without computers, we would be unable to listen to musicvideos and the radio, play musical instruments, listen to musicians perform, or attend a concert or movie. The paper investigates the major role computers have in the music industry and discusses dialogue, sound effects, and music post production.
From the Paper "In addition to being able to create synthesized effects, preprogrammed sound from libraries designed for specific synthesizer brands and models are available. These collections may be grouped by type of sound effect, such as screams, thunder, punches, or by instrument category, such as drum, string, brass, and keyboard sounds. These libraries come in various formats, such as floppy and hard disk and plug-in memory cartridge."
Abstract This paper explains that the currently diverse trends in Arabic popular music signify that a deep social change is occurring within the Arab world, changing social values, tastes, and even methods of expressing political and social objection and protest, both against the West and against Arab governments. The author points out that Arabic music is becoming increasingly influenced by Western rhythms and forms, and some Arabic musicvideos reflect liberal Western sexual attitudes. The paper also relates that the Arabs are imposing themselves on Western music by using Western rhythms and styles, but sometimes with very Arabic lyrics, which are anti-Western, to protest against American influence over the Arabs.
From the Paper "On the one hand, this has attracted a significant Western audience to Arabic music for the first time ever while, on the other, has aroused religious anger among certain groups in the Arab World. Jim Bessman remarks on this phenomenon in "Arabic Music Moves West." According to his observations, the reason why the United States music market has opened up to Arabic music is that this music has become more familiar to the Western ears in rhythm, beat and singing style. However, in the Arab world the traditional and religious groups in the societies are strongly opposed to the westernization of Arabic music."
Abstract This paper discusses the concern over the effect music lyrics have on youth, due to the explicit messages which are prevalent in many songs of today's popular music. The paper examines the escalation of the problem following the emergence of musicvideos. This issue is analyzed through examples of three song lyrics taken from three prominent artists of today - the band, Coldplay, the rapper Eminem, and John Mayer.
From the Paper "These lyrics in the Coldplay song are a thought-provoking one; it expresses the sentiments of the singer about the life that we lead in this world. "We live in a beautiful world" resounds the positive outlook the singer has to his world, however, the second line saying, ?? we"re sinking like stones"? shows how his positive outlook is clouded over by the negative fact that despite the wonderful world that we live in, the singer sees a negative aspect to it, that whatever we do to make our world a better place to live in, we are inevitably immersed in life's hardships and sufferings, just like the hopeless sinking of the stones the song describes. The last three lines of the song reiterate the fact that whatever positive things we have done in this world, we are again inevitably put in a situation wherein the worst possible things can still happen to us. "Don"t Panic? illustrates the negative aspect of life as seen through the Coldplay band, and this message is extended to the listeners, the youth, who are easily influenced by the song's message because of the band's credibility and charisma as entertainers and performers."
