Post based on research conclusions

The research conclusions were as follows:

·         More people are influenced to buy music by the track’s video than those who aren’t.

This shows the importance a music video has in a song’s success. Whilst the aim of my promo is not actually to promote a song and try and garner chart success, what must remain a focus is to try and add another dimension to a song, through visual aspects, in a way that makes the song more connective/accessible to the viewer.

·         Pop is the most popular genre of music amongst 17-18 year olds, followed closely by R&B.

This was obvious from the offset really, as the popularity of pop music is even reflected in its title. I was always going to produce a pop music promo, however, as I feel that in line with typical music video promos, pop music often offers the greatest outlet for creative work.

·         17-18 year olds prefer music videos which follow a concept-based narrative to those that are performance based.

This, again, was a predictable result in that 17-18 year olds are more inclined to prefer the eye catching spectacle of a concept based narrative than a more simple, stripped back performance video. This was my intention all along and now my promo will definitely follow a concept-based narrative.

·         Around half of the people who participated watch music videos on a daily basis.

This will not necessarily directly influence my promo, but it, once again, works to show the importance of music videos and how influential they are amongst my target audience of 17-18 year olds.

·         ‘Fun’ was the most popular word used to describe pop music.

Although it is wrong to group all pop music within this light, as a lot of popular music is not reflective of this high-energy, campy persona (e.g. the success of Adele’s music) my promo will most likely be light-hearted and coincide with an up-tempo song.

·         Out of the ten music videos provided, when asked to name their favourite, 2 80s videos were chosen, 5 00s videos were chosen and 3 videos from 2010 onwards.

This goes to show that unlike the often fickle taste of 17-18 year olds in music, the perception of a good music video is something which lasts, highlighted by the inclusion of the iconic Thriller and Like a Prayer videos.

·         When asked to name a video that the participant feels most embodies the ideals of pop music videos , Rihanna was the most popular artists with 3/10 participants choosing her videos (S&M, Unfaithful, Only Girl)

This may highlight the fact that people’s perception of what is a good music video is often reflective of the most popular music. Rihanna is arguably the most popular act, in music, amongst 17-18 year olds, and whilst the videos themselves are very good, it is a testament to the fact that the promos which gain the most attention/praise from this demographic are those which accompany the most successful pop acts.

·         Here was no clear conclusion when asking if people were influences by magazine advertisements as the votes were split evenly.

·         The inclusion of “Hits featured on the album” was voted the most persuasive method on magazine advertisements.

This shows the importance of individual songs in influencing people to buy albums , which in turn are influences by music videos, once again highlighting the importance of a good video in the album sales of an artist. This also shows how essential it is that I stick to all of the conventions of magazines.

·         60% of the participants are persuaded to purchase music based on the album cover.

This, again, highlights the importance of said aspect and the need to make a successful cover which both follows the conventions of pop album covers whilst reflecting the content of the album successfully, also.

·         ‘Face Shots’ and ‘Provocative poses’ were the most popular types of album cover.

Obviously, this indicates that the type of album cover I should produce is a simply face-shot cover, in line with those typically seen with female popstars (which is the video/artist I shall be using, for my promo).

·         Of the 10 given ‘Album covers participants enjoyed’ 2 were 80s covers, 1 was a 00s cover and the remaining seven covers were from 2010 onwards.

This suggests that it is far harder for album covers to make the lasting impression, amongst  17 – 18 year olds, and that there is less importance towards a record’s success with album covers, than there is with music videos and that it is harder for an album cover to gain iconic status. The album covers present, are not in line with the other results in that only one "face shot" is present, in comparison to the numerous eye catching and colourful covers, that were otherwise chosen.