MTV's Irresistable Rise - BBC

After researching how MTV started and general facts about the company I came across this article from the BBC, it shows exactly how and where MTV began. The information shown here is very useful as it shows key figures of the company's revenue, audience and history. The information here is a large reason to why we would use MTV to promote our music video.

For a generation of music fans, 1 August 1981 was to be defining moment. The sound of the Buggles' cult-hit Video Killed The Radio Star pulsated out from TV screens across the US.

But not only that, the "wacky" antics and personas of the band could also be seen in glorious, absorbing colour.

Welcome to the birth of MTV, the original non-stop pop music video channel.

The Who were among the first to appear on MTV

Its launch marked a new era in the promotion, consumption and power of pop music among the record-buying young, and coined the expression the "MTV generation".

Since its launch, MTV has spread into 342 million homes, branched out from pop and become a multi-million dollar enterprise, owned by Viacom.

However, as August dawned two decades ago, the New Jersey cable outlet, begun by Warner Communications and American Express, had fewer than one million viewers.

Word spread among its target 12-24 year-olds about the star guests and cutting edge style of the channel.

Within a few months, viewership had grown to more than two million. Two years on, the expansion of cable TV took MTV into more than 10 million homes.

Sales

Until MTV, music TV had consisted mainly of the odd, bland appearance of bands on entertainment shows. And the power of multi-channel radio in the US had never been seriously challenged.

But MTV's personal and "on-demand" approach to music wooed the young and, as a result, the industry movers and shakers as well.

Michael Jackson's Thriller video was a ground-breaking piece

In 20 years, there have been numerous landmark events in MTV's history. But all symbolise the channel's irresistible rise and influence.

A year later and New Romantic star Adam Ant became the station's first VJ, or video jockey, between clips.

These high-profile guests highlighted the growing awareness of the music industry of the channel's influence on sales.

Even in those early days, hit UK band Dire Straits was singing about the MTV phenomenon in Money For Nothing.

At its start, most of the artists on MTV were white, which became a point of contention. In 1983, the issue was confronted head-on by Michael Jackson and his 14-minute video for Thriller.

Though Michael Landis' epic was to become MTV's most requested clip, the channel initially refused to air it.

"They said it was too long. So, Jackson threatened to cause a boycott of the channel by his label Epic, which handled many of the industry's major acts," says Simon Warner, pop music lecturer at Leeds University.

Budget

It also led to Jackson's Thriller album selling more than 800,000 copies a week. The MTV effect on sales did not go unnoticed and was to be capitalised on from then on.

"Music fans began to expect songs to have images - glossy ones too - otherwise they would not succeed," said Mr Warner.

Madonna knew how to appeal to the video generation

"So record companies had to start adding at least £50,000 to an artist's marketing budget to make that essential video," he added.

In the early 80s, it was the British New Romantics, such as Adam and the Ants and Duran Duran, who benefited most from MTV.

Many had been producing music videos for a number of years - a legacy of their art college backgrounds.

But, along with Jackson, US artists were soon to catch on. Madonna can be held-up as one of the greatest MTV success stories.

From Holiday through to MTV's first screening of her controversial Like A Prayer video, Madonna was a video creation as much as a singing star.

And in latter years, Britney Spears, Eminem and the Spice Girls have become global superstars through the constant airing of their videos.

Politics

By the end of the 80s, MTV and the pop industry had a mutually dependent relationship.

The creation of the now coveted annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 fuelled the fire. Memorable winners include Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer and Losing My Religion by REM.

Live Aid: One of MTV's first politically-driven broadcasts

In 1985, it broadcast the whole of the Live Aid concert - for famine relief in Ethiopia.

In 1989 it went political, broadcasting live from behind the iron curtain. And in 1992, it carried coverage of the US Presidential election - to encourage the young to vote.

The launch of MTV Europe in 1987 added more than 1.6 million households to MTV's subscription list.

In 1992, its fly-on-the-wall series Real World created "reality TV" - nine years before Big Brother.

It also brought us the inimitable Beavis and Butt-head and Celebrity Deathmatch animations.

Profits

And the growth continues. MTV was the first music channel to launch on the web in 1996.

A year later, it launched MTV UK and Ireland and it has grown into a business and brand in its own right called MTV Networks.

Britney Spears: One of MTV's latest stars

MTV Networks encompasses spin-offs and digital channels such as MTV2, MTV Dance and MTV Base.

In 2000, it made revenues of $3.04bn. But with the growth of digital cable and more channels, MTV could face a tough challenge.

Rival German station Viva is already a competitor in five European countries. AOL Time Warner is discussing launching its a rival music channel.

But MTV, which describes itself as the biggest youth broadcaster in the world, remains jovial. Plans for further expansion have been mooted.

And with analysts forecasting a 10% increase in its cash flow this year, the immediate future looks bright.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1456093.stm

Eminem - Stan

The video for the song "Stan" by Eminem featuring Dido shows how a fan of Eminem loses control after months of trying to contact the rapper and his actions affect many more than just himself. The video is also a fairly long narrative at 8 minutes 10 seconds long.

The start shows a short clip for around a minute which shows a slow moving shot possibly from a crane, it moves from outside the house through the window and into a bedroom. This notion of looking is known as voyeurism, as the audience are watching the couple without them knowing. The use of heavy rain and thunder may show pathetic fallacy as the storm represents the couples relationship, as Stan is always angry and his partner; who is pregnant looks isolated.
The partner then gets out of bed to go to the toilet, and a cross cut is used to show her walking down the hall and Stan dying his hair the same colour as Eminem in the bathroom. There are many close ups of Stan once he has dyed his hair, this shows his facial expression which is more of a deranged look. Whilst the close up shows Stan in focus the viewer can still see the partner in the background with a worried facial expression, this allows the audience to feel worried for her as they don't know what will follow. The on-going use of voyeurism lets the audience see how other people see Stan, as she shows worry and panic after watching him dying his hair to look the same as Eminem.


The next part of the video shows many transitions such as fades, this shows how time has gone by and may also show how Stan writes to Eminem frequently as a fade can represent a change in time. The first chorus sung by Dido shows a slow movement down into the house basement, where Stan is writing to Eminem again, this shows the distance in the house and their relationship. The use of a slow pan around the room allows the audience to see the level of insanity as the room is covered in photos and posters of Eminem which makes his obsession apparent. When Stan is writing to Eminem a cross cut that fades from Stan to Eminem reading the letter makes it apparent that after writing many letters to Eminem one has finally reached him. Stan then goes on to say "my girlfriends pregnant now, i'm about to be a father", the video responds to this by showing the mother of his child sitting alone and looking up, this shows the audience that Stan cares more about being a father because Eminem is and not that his girlfriend is carrying his child. A shot showing Stan looking into a mirror and seeing Eminem adds to the idea of him wanting to be Eminem, as he no longer sees himself which evokes the sense of obsession further. This shot adds to the use of voyeurism as the sense of looking is from the mirror as Stan is looking at himself but seeing Eminem in the reflection.

The video then goes onto show Stan being in the same place as Eminem, which shows him at a concert at the front row and a Point Of View shot shows how Stan is watching him; this is more use of voyeurism. The video then shows how Eminem was taken away from the fans by security but Stan sees it as Eminem ignoring him, a fade then shows Stan's facial expression back in the basement. The fade back into the basement shows the cause of anger was Stan not being able to meet Eminem as he couldn't stay outside the concert. When the audience see that security takes Eminem away they can see how he is not ignoring Stan purposely, and that Stan thinks its a personal act towards him, therefore emphasizing his addiction to Eminem. The lyrics then match the video as it says "I even got a tattoo with the name across the chest", the video then shows him being tattooed which also emphasizes his addiction as a tattoo is permanently on the skin and therefore Stan's addiction to Eminem is also permanent. This therefore corresponds to Andrew Goodwin's theory as he believed lyrics need to either correspond or contradict the video, in this case the shot corresponds to the lyrics of the song.

Stan's partner is then found in the basement looking at all of the Eminem fixations created by Stan. A mid-shot of her in shock at seeing a photo with her covered by Eminem allows the audience to see Stan watching behind her, which shows she is not safe. The video then shows Stan driving in the storm talking into a tape recorder intended for Eminem, the cuts begin to get quicker and shot length also decreases which shows more anger and tension. A shot which shows Stan looking in the car mirror shows voyeurism and emphasizes his anger and insanity, as a picture of Eminem is hanging from the mirror also. The lyrics of this section are mostly censored but it's about Stan tying his girlfriend up and putting her in the boot of the car which shows he has lost all sanity and may result in killing himself along with his girlfriend and child all because he hasn't been contacted by Eminem. As the cuts get quicker the video shows more panic as Stan is losing control of the car and it results in him driving off a bridge. The use of over-cranking when the car hits the water adds drama as the long take symbolizes the death of Stan.

Once the car is submerged the video goes on to show Eminem's reply to Stan, which is unknowingly too late. It recalls his version of events which shows slightly blurred shots which may resemble a struggle of his ability to remember where he has been when Stan was there. The lyrics from Eminem "I hope it reaches you in time, before you hurt yourself" corresponds to the video as it shows emergency services pulling Stan's car out of the lake which shows the tragedy of Eminem reading the letter too late. The mise-en-scene used in this part of the video adds to the tragedy as the flashing lights and yellow uniforms of the firefighters resemble people

being injured and in this case dead. The dark night and heavy rain continues to add to the pathetic fallacy through-out the video, as the horrific weather matches the situation. The close of the video shows a news report of what happened to Stan and as Eminem raps about what he heard it becomes apparent he knows the tape found in the car was to him and Stan has killed himself. The final shot is a medium shot showing Stan's little brother mourning at his gravestone, this shot shows the audience he has dyed his hair the same colour as Stan and may mean he will go onto do the same as Stan. Once again the heavy rain and storm above creates a dark and negative atmosphere which holds in the viewers mind as the last thing they remember is the young boy at his brothers grave. This may show how the brother looked up to Stan the same way he did to Eminem, as the younger brother is trying to base his appearance on his brother.

Andrew Goodwin - Dancing In The Distraction Factory Concept

The use of many close ups of the artist is a demand from the record companies 'Aftermath' and 'Interscope', this is because they want to promote Eminem as much as possible so sales increase. These shots below portray a number of close ups featured within the video, it uses the notion of looking further as the top two close ups show voyeurism, with eminem looking into the crowd after a concert and Stan looking in a bathroom mirror.