Research into music channels - Miss Georgiou

Research into music channels

The purpose of having a variety of music television channels are to provide an audience an alternative way of watching music videos or listening to music if a radio or mobile phone is unavailable to them. It also means that they are able to enjoy watching new music videos from the comfort of their homes. Examples of music television channels include MTV, VIVA, and 4Music.

MTV

The target audience for the music television channel MTV consists of teenagers, specifically those between the ages of 13-21. The type of music that the MTV music channel usually plays usually are songs that are part of the top charts, the UK top 40; current hits and popular music that will appeal to their target audience, which is arguable how MTV have remained so successful over the years. For example, songs by artists including Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris and Beyoncé will usually feature of the MTV music channel. Taylor Swift is well known for releasing songs that are about her own life and life experiences, the most common being break ups. She often sings about situations that her fans may find themselves in, making her music relatable and more interesting. A prime example of this is her song 'We Are Never Getting Back Together'. Beyoncé, similar to Taylor Swift is well known for her catchy, relationship, woman empowerment themed songs. For example, 'If I were a boy'. On the other hand, Calvin Harris is a well known DJ that produces upbeat, club type songs that are good to dance to. He often collaborates with other famous music artists from different music genres in order to create a different style of popular music. For example, his song 'Outside' featured the pop indie artist Ellie Goulding. All three are examples of popular music artists that are always releasing new songs to help keep their audience interested and their music fresh. The MTV music channel is owned by and is part of the Viacom Media Networks. Other well known television channels that are part of the Viacom Networks are Comedy Central, home to the popular American TV sitcom 'Friends', Nickelodeon, and NickTeens.

These are just a few examples of music and television programmes that currently and regularly air on the MTV channel:

One direction are a current, successful worldwide band. They are known for creating cheesy pop songs that appeal to their huge, teenage girl fan base. The fan base that the MTV channel have are similar to that of One Direction, therefore it is likely that they will purposely watch the channel in order to listen to their music.

The television programme 16 and pregnant features a group of knocked up teenagers who are around the same age as the target audience of MTV. Teenage pregnancy affects a lot more teenagers nowadays, especially in the US and UK, therefore the audience can relate to the cast. Also, the growth of social networks means the audience can now reach out to the cast and crew on the show which helps them to build more of a relationship. The show airs at 4 in the afternoon which is a prime time as the target audience for the show would either have just finished school or just gotten home from school, therefore 4 is a suitable time for them to be able to watch the programme.

The official UK download chart plays the 20 most popular songs that individuals have downloaded that week. This type of music will appeal to the MTV target audience as it is likely that they are the ones who have downloaded the music and at 6 the older members of the MTV target audience will be finishing work or university, or they may have a drive home during which they will be able to listen to the music as they go.

The letter M is bold and black, while the letters TV are written in a white, graffiti style. The use of contrasting colours helps the letter 'TV' to stand out, possibly to remind the audience that MTV is a television channel - more than just music. Also, the use of graffiti style writing helps the channel to appeal to their target audience of 13-21 year olds as graffiti typically connotes the idea of being cool and rebellious.

CMT

CMT stands for country music television. When it was first aired in 1983, the channel would play country music videos and taped concerts of famous country music artists, but as the channel has developed, similar to MTV, it now plays reality programmes and films. The channel does still show music videos but they usually air in the late evening or early hours of the morning. The target audience for the music channel CMT are young adults, specifically those between the ages of 18-28. The type of music that the CMT music channel plays is country which includes artists such as Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves and Little Big Town. Carrie Underwood, who rose to fame in 2005 after she won American Idol, is arguably one of the most well known country singers. Some examples of her songs include 'Before He Cheats' and 'All-American Girl'. A common trait that country music will have is simple harmonies and the use of string instruments. Also, country music singers will often have a twang to their voices which helps to give their music an edge. A prime example of a song that has all of these traits is 'Biscuits' which is sung by Kacey Musgraves.

Examples of some of the reality TV programmes that the CMT channel now plays are The Josh Wolf show and Party Down South 2. The Josh Wolf show was CMT's first late-night television programme, which will appeal to CMT's target audience who will most likely have day jobs and will therefore not have the time to watch daytime programmes. The Josh Wolf show provides them with a programme that they can watch and relax to after work. Also, the host, Josh Wolf is an American comedian, therefore the audience can expect a light hearted, entertainment show.



CMT, like MTV is also owned by Viacom Music Network, which emphasises how big a range of music and music channels the Network has. The use of a blue background for the CMT logo helps the white lettering of the 'CMT' to stand out. The use of the colours blue and white, which are both quite plain and relaxing emphasises the calmness that country music typically has. It is a simple logo for a soft and simple music genre.

Kerrang!

Kerrang! is one of the most well known rock music stations that plays songs from the likes of Nirvana, Green Day and You Me at Six. On Monday nights the channel allows the audience to take over and decide which artists and songs they want to listen to, they also allow different bands to takeover, which is known as 'The Hijack'. By doing this, Kerrang! will appeal to a wider audience as they will have the freedom to listen to the songs that they want to listen to. The target audience for the music channel Kerrang! are people between the ages of 17-30, this is due to rock bands ranging and appealing to different ages.

The Kerrang! music channel works closely alongside the other Kerrang! channels, such as the Kerrang! magazine, both of which are used to give exposure to upcoming rock artists. On the Kerrang! television channel, audiences can watch some of the rock music videos for the songs that are played on the radio station. The variety of channels and ways in which the audience can interact with Kerrang! will appeal to the target audience as, not only can they listen to music, but they can also watch the music videos on the Kerrang! television channel and find out information regarding the music artists through reading the magazine.


The Kerrang! music channel is owned by and is part of The Box Plus Network. Other channels that are owned by The Box Plus Network includes 4Music, Magic and Kiss TV. The use of the colours red and white for the Kerrang! logo compliment the rock genre as this type of music is typically seen as quite bold and loud, and red and white are bold colours. The font of the logo is quite straight and striking, and the use of an exclamation point helps the logo to stand out and emphasises how the rock genre can be quite in your face.

Clubland TV
The Clubland TV music channel is devoted to playing dance music. The channel features pretty much all of the artists that have been signed by the All Around the World Production. Such artists include Cascada and Charlie Brown. Two of Cascada's most well known songs are 'Everytime We Touch' and 'Evacuate the Dancefloor'. Both of these songs have an upbeat tempo and are good for dancing to. It could be argued that Charlie Brown became a hit following the release of his song 'On My Way'. These types of artists will appeal to Clubland TV's target audience as their songs are entertaining and have catchy lyrics that the audience will be able to sing and dance along to. The target audience for the music channel Clubland TV will be for those between the ages of 18-28. The type of music that Clubland TV plays will be found in a club, therefore the channel will be aimed at those who are old enough to go clubbing. The logo for the channel appeals to this target audience as the use of sparkles suggest a glitter ball or strobe lights which are typically found in a club, and suggest the idea of partying and dancing. The use of a bold font also helps the logo to stand out, and as a whole, this will appeal to the target audience as from the logo they will expect current, dance music that they probably listen to on the regular. The Clubland TV music channel was founded in 2008 and is owned by and is part of the All Around the World Productions, which is a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group. Due to the success of their TV channel Clubland TV, All Around the World Productions introduces another music channel in 2010 called WTF.

AKA

AKA is a British music television channel that plays upcoming urban, grime and hip-hop music artists from the UK that have yet to be discovered. Some of these artists have included Tinie Tempah, Dizzee Rascal and Wretch 32. The fact that the channel aims to help out undiscovered music talent in the UK is one of the main reasons why the listeners remain loyal to the channel, the audience will get to listen to new artists and new songs, and not just the same songs on repeat. The target audience for the music channel AKA are young adults, specifically those between the ages of 18-28. Artists such as Dizzee Rascal, Wretch 32 and Tinie Tempah often write and sing about life experiences, including relationships and partying which their audiences can often relate to. For example, the song '6 Words' by Wretch 32 is about a progressing relationship and how much he cherishes his significant other.
The AKA music channel was originally owned by Mushroom TV, but in 2012 the channel was taken over by the All Around the World Productions, which means AKA is owned by the same company as Clubland TV and this tells us that All Around the World Productions will appeal to a wide range of music listeners. The logo for AKA shows an outline of a person in red, surrounded by red looking smoke. This is due to this genre of music stereotypically being associated with drugs and cigarettes which may appeal to the target audience as the use of drugs often connotes the idea of being cool, which may be what the audience are into. Also, the AKA logo is written in black, bold lettering which stands out against the red smoke and white background.


There are so many different MTV channels due to the wide age range of audiences that they have which means they need to air different TV programmes and music channels that appeal to all of their audiences. Children will want to watch programmes that adults do not. Similarly, different music channels are necessary as not all people listen to the same genre of music or just one genre of music, therefore there needs to be music channels that play different genres of music in order to appeal to all. The main reason why MTV have been so successful is because they have extended beyond just being a music channel and now air a variety of different television programmes, including Teen Mom and Geordie Shore. MTV give their audience more music and television options to chose from allowing them to appeal to a wider audience.

It is key for an artist who wants to be successful to brand themselves or their band. A brand is something that will make an artist stand out or that an audience will use to identify an artist with. The brand is what an audience will remember and associate with an artist. Music videos are becoming much more expensive to produce, therefore an artist will need to find a way to reduce the costs... sponsor the brand, exposure for the brand... an actual product appearing in the music video...helps to promote the product...part of the brand...the audience may buy the product...
In order to sell their music, an artist or band will need to brand themselves. A brand is used by an artist to promote themselves. For example, social media accounts, which is becoming increasingly popular, can be set up under an artists brand name to help their audience to keep up to date with and find out about an artist.

The type of genre that I would like my music video to be is indie. This is because I think it will be much easier to tell the audience a story as most songs within the indie genre are often based on real life experiences that an audience can relate to, which help the audience to build an emotional connection with the song and artist because they feel as though they are getting to know more about them. The indie genre is very quirky, therefore we will be able to set our music video in a variety of locations which will make the video more interesting to watch, but may require the use of a green screen to act as a backdrops, due to the fact that is it unlikely we will be able to go to lots of different places that all look different in the time we have to produce the video. Another genre that I would potentially like my music video to be is pop, which is arguably one of the most popular music genres due to the fact that it is ever changing in order to keep up with the current trends and appeal to the tastes and preferences of the younger generation, for example, nowadays the audience will expect to see female pop artists wearing revealing outfits and tons of makeup, an image that more and more impressionable teenage girls are conforming to. The pop genre is also very competitive because it appeals to almost everyone, therefore artists have the chance of expanding their target audience which could lead to them making more money, the genre is ideal for an artist or a band who is seeking to sell their music to a wider audience.