Matt's workshop - finding tracks and the music industry

Matt discussed how to search for new music with us highlighting some key points: 

• Although sourcing music with low streams can be east, finding tracks that we actually like and will make a good video may be a challenge 
• Generally speaking, there are more unsigned solo artists than bands (because if a band was good enough it would get signed) 
• There are a lot more solo artists in the industry, but they have a team/group behind them (management) 

Bands in this list of the top spotify streaming artists of 2020: 

The majority of the bands on this list are old, classic bands like Queen and The Beatles meaning that not many new bands have gained a lot of popularity. 

Why do these top solo artists have more popularity than those with lower streaming figures? 

• They have links to people high up in the music industry which means money/high budget
• These artists have already been through the process of being unknown 
• They have teams working for them with high experience who help to make, write and organise their careers
• Technology is higher quality due to bigger budgets
• Access to producers, song writers engineers etc. 

If money and budget is the element that helps to create success in the industry, why are there so few bands that gain a huge following? 

• They have the challenge of focusing on a collective band rather than just creating a label for a lone soloist
• In bands, soloists are unlikely to stay with the band for a long period of time and they are the key member which represents the band. This is because all the band members need to create a good image. 
• Bands often also break up due to differences.
• In bands, typically, the personality leads the group (Like Freddie Mercury in Queen)  
• Sponsors need to sponsor every member of the band which requires a lot more energy and time going into the group as more people are included. 

Looking at music festivals and concerts stats: 

Attendance at music festivals compared to concerts: 

Blue - concerts

Black - festivals

• As shown on the graph, music festival are becoming increasingly more popular due to the amount of mainstream popular artists that all perform at the same venue- attracting a larger audience (particularly after COVID-19) 
• Generally, live music is dominated by bands as it sounds bigger as there are more performers on stage; solo artists usually have digital music which will not sound as effective in a live performance. 

The process of creating a music video: 

Matt highlighted how the set up of the music video is the most important and crucial part of creating a successful video.

As a class Matt took us briefly through a few music videos, highlighting some of their key features:

Dua Lipa - Be the one 

No narrative story in the music video - focuses on the artist and her beauty (most of the shots rely on it). Stereotypical female artist that can carry out whole music video on her own. Really colourful, pinky, girly sets. Shots composition looks like pages from magazine covers.

Post Malone - White Iverson 

Overall, the music video seemed distracted, even scary. Looks a bit boring due to similar location changes. However, rap is one of the most popular genres in the industry at the moment. 

Lady Gaga - Just Dance 

Mainly the music video focused on an artist and her standing out personality illustrated with her performance, set up, costumes, make up, locations, hairstyles

Seen from the music video that it is a low budget music video, connoting that the artist carries the videoclip on his own.