Tuesday 25 October 2011

Snow patrol Album covers


Snow Patrol Final Straw Album Cover | Snow Patrol Album Covers


This is Snow patrols first album cover. It contained hits called spitting games and run which went on to be re-released by Leona Lewis. The release of Final Straw in the United States in 2004 saw the album sell more than 250,000 copies and become the 26th most popular album in the UK of that year. In mid-2005, during their tour to support Final Straw, the band toured with U2 as an opening act on U2's Vertigo Tour in Europe.







Snow Patrol Eyes Open Album Cover | Snow Patrol Album Covers




This is Snow Patrols second album this artwork is more advanced and more thought provoking. On 26 November 2006, Eyes Open had become the UK's best-selling album of the year, overtaking previous leader Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys. Despite very strong sales for Take That's comeback album Beautiful WorldEyes Openmarginally earned the title of the UK's best-selling album of 2006, with 1.6 million in sales. The album reached platinum certification in the US as well, selling over 1,000,000 copies, and it maintained a spot in the upper quarter of the Billboard 200 list for over fifteen weeks, on the heels of the popularity of "Chasing Cars". The band also holds the distinction of having one of iTunes' top downloaded albums and songs of 2006. Ahead of the band's February tour, Eyes Open topped the Australian charts some eight months after its release on 22 January 2006. Back home in Ireland, Eyes Open became one of the best selling albums of all time, staying at the top of the charts from the end of 2006 to early–mid 2007, and remaining in the charts to the present.




James Gildea

Ideas for the video

We are trying to get ideas for our music video. We have chosen Cold Play- Fix you as our song and have studied the lyrics and their meaning. We will be trying to come up with a main theme for our video and construct a series of moving images in order to give the audience a feel for it. I feel that the main theme this song potrays is that of loss and rehabilitation. I feel that this song will suit a video that has a depressing and powerful start but as the tempo of the song increases the mood of the video also increases. I recently watched a movie staring Benicio del Toro called Things we lost in the fire. The movie is about A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss. Del Toro is a recovering heroin addict who has just lost his best friend. He moves in with his friends widow to try and support the family. It is a storying of his relapsing and trying to fix himself again. The themes of this movie could inspire us in our persuits. 






James Gildea


Music Videos


music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Although the origins of music videos date back much further, they came into prominence in the 1980s, when MTVbased their format around the medium.
Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Many music videos do not interpret images from the song's lyrics, making it less literal than expected.

Monday 24 October 2011

Coldplay all things to all people?

Viva really, truly sounds like a band trying to be all things to all people — but when you're a band as massive as Coldplay, that's just covering your bases since, you know, "all people" is your core demographic.

Who's going to like Coldplay's new record? Everyone who liked their previous records, which is to say pretty much everyone on the planet. Blog snobs? Yes (they'll admit to liking Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head). Sorority girls? Yes (huge fans of "Fix You," think Chris Martin is hot). Business guys who love to cut loose on the weekend? Count them in (saw band at rock-radio fest, own iPod because of "Viva la Vida" commercial). 

The Coldplay army is massive and loyal. They will follow you to the ends of the earth. And buy, buy, buy — no matter what.

A Marketing Lesson From Coldplay


[Courtesy of Bob Hutchins buzz squared.com]
I took my 16 year old son to see Coldplay Saturday in Nashville. It was an incredible show. It was the first time I have seen them live. I have to say, that it rivaled some U2 shows I have been to. We were about 25 feet from the stage, so that made it all the better. I’ll try to post some iphone photos shortly.
But what struck me almost as much as the show itself, was the crowd that was there. In front of us were some crazy 30 and 40 somethings, behind us were two african american women in their 60′s, and all around was a mix of all ages and colors. I expect this from a band that has been around for a while and has fans from different generations, but this was Coldplay. They only formed as a band in 1998, and their first record was out in 2000. Their popularity has only reached the masses in the past 5 or 6 years. So how do they do it?
Yes, they have good music that is accessible to a larger audience. But I saw something more Saturday night. I saw passion, I saw thoughfulness, and I saw excellence. It reminded me of something that happens with professional athletes. When you are the best at what you do, and are passionate about it, it draws in everyone. Even if you are not a basketball fan, you stopped to watch Michael Jordan fly through the air. And while I don’t play much golf, I am mesmerized when Tiger Woods makes that impossible shot that miraculously goes in the hole.
Coldplay is doing that with their music, and it is a lesson we all can apply to what ever business you are in or product you are marketing. Do it with excellence, be purposeful and thoughtful, and most of all do it with passion. You will find that your audience and customers will grow exponentially beyond your target demographic.

Coldplay Demographic

49%Male
51%Female
23%Under 18
40%18-34
26%35-49
12%50+
75%Cauc.
3%Afr. Am.
7%Asian
14%Hisp.
1%Other
Internet Average




INDEX
51%No Kids
49%Has Kids
17%$0-30k
25%$30-60k
30%$60-100k
28%$100k+
41%No College
46%College
13%Grad. Sch.
Internet Average

Coldplay Background Information


Formed:

1997 London, U.K.

Members:

Guy Berryman - Bass
Jonny Buckland - Guitar
Will Champion - Drums
Chris Martin - Guitars, Piano, Vocals

Quote From Vocalist Chris Martin:

"We're trying to get to the very highest level. We want to be better than Mozart. That doesn't mean we are, but that's what we're trying for. To me, there's no point in trying for anything less."



Coldplay is a British alternative rock band, formed in London, United Kingdom in 1997. The band comprises vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion.
Similar Artists:
  • Snow Patrol
  • Keane
  • Kings of Leon
  • Travis
  • The Killers
  • The Fray

Tuesday 18 October 2011

Viva La Vida - Album Artwork & Graphic Design


The artwork for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was designed by Coldplay and Tappin Gofton; the latter designed the X&Y cover three years earlier. The design style for the album took months to be completed; it was initially developed from a set of large-scale sketches and paintings of expressive typo. Lyrics and song titles were boldly painted across old maps, books, copies of old paintings, newspapers and various sorts of second-hand things. The final work was photographed and later some additional typography was added by computer.
Almost all tracks from the album and the Prospekt's March EP have one or more graphic images. On the album's booklet there are nine paintings made by the band. The first is a blue map of Brazil that includes part of the lyrics from "Glass of Water" painted in white. However, the image was later reworked and used as the artwork for the "Lost!" single cover. The second painting on the booklet illustrates the song "42". The image consists of part of the song's composition written in a red background, with a black stripe covering the center. The design for "Cemeteries of London" contains an illustration of London, the song's title and a messy violet background. A portion of the lyrics is used on the top of it. The visual design for "Reign of Love" has its lyrics drawn on a green background. In the middle of the booklet, most of the lyrics of the album are shown amidst an unrecognizable object. The artwork for "Yes" consists of a ripped heart, and a line from the song, "Lord lead me not into temptation". The painting next to the song's artwork contains lyrics from "Viva la Vida". The artwork for "Death and All His Friends" was made with scissors and paper. Lyrics for the song appear in the design. The last page in the booklet is simple: a roman numeral of the number 7 painted in red and green on a yellow background. Some of the paintings were shown on a screen during the Viva La Vida world tour, or used on big balloons inside of the venues.

Coldplays online marketing

http://www.coldplay.com/

Coldplays website is a fun and interactive site that will engage with fans and musical consumers of all ages. The website has many different features and functions for example:

Live videos of the band
Recorded interviews with the band members
Opportunity to buy tickets to up and comeing concerts
online shop for memorabelia

Viva La Vida



Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida is the fourth studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life". Lyrically, the album contains references to love, life, death, and war.


Musically, Viva la Vida contrasts with their previous albums. The title track uses an orchestra, while "Lovers in Japan" features a honky-tonk piano. "Lost!" is influenced by tribal music, whereas "Strawberry Swing" incorporates Afropop music. Martin described Viva la Vida as a new direction for Coldplay: a change from their past three albums, which they have referred to as a "trilogy". He said the album featured lessfalsetto as he allowed his voice's lower register to take precedence. Some songs, such as "Violet Hill", contain distorted guitar riffs and bluesy undertones.
The album contains an array of different themes such as love, war, and revolutions. Unlike their previous releases it has a more universal approach, it deals less with personal problems and more with problems of humanity. Songs like an instrumental version of "Life in Technicolor II" (which didn't make it to the final tracklist) "Violet Hill" and "Death and All His Friends" talk about war and politics. Martin stated the lyrics of "Violet Hill" were a commentary on Fox News. "Violet Hill" also is considered the first anti-war protest song from the band. Other songs, such as the double track "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" and "Yes" are about love and desire.
Revolutionary themes are also an important part of the album and its promotion. Coldplay used customized French revolutionary costumes through the Viva La Vida Tour and on the videos produced for the album's singles. Chris Martin said on an interview for The Sun "some say this album is brave - I just see us as being very lucky".


Coldplay

We have decided to focus on Coldplay as a brand and look at all different elements of there work including Album covers, Songs, Music videos and websites in order to develop a clear picture of what coldplay are tying to potray through their work.


We have hand picked three songs of coldplays from different albums and different points of their careers.


Viva La Vida





Viva la vida is the fourth studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life". Lyrically, the album contains references to love, life, death, and war. "Viva la Vida" became the band's first song to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 72% from Metacritic. It won Best Rock Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards and was the best selling album of 2008. It was also nominated for Album of the Year. Viva la Vida was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition containing the original album and the Prospekt's March EP. As of 2011 the album has sold over 9 million copies worldwide.


Fix you





The track is built around an organ, that is accompanied by slow tempo drums, and a vocals. It was released on 5 September 2005 as the second single from X&Y and has reached number four in the United Kingdom Singles Chart. The song reached number 18 in the United States Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. Promo singles were released for the UK and US.
"Fix You" received positive reviews. Critics complimented the song's music. It has been widely sampled, with different covers and sounds. The song, itself, was nominated for multiple awards in the categories of Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Anthem of the Summer. The music video was garnered as a tribute to the 7 July 2005 London bombings.




Yellow





The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes (2000). The song's lyrics are a reference to band vocalist Chris Martin's unrequited love, and its musicscape is built on a varied instrumentation.
The song was released in June 2000 as the second single off Parachutes, following "Shiver", and the lead single in the United States. The single reached number four in the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom. Helped by heavy rotation and usage in promotions, the song thrust the band into massive popularity. "Yellow" has since been covered by various recording artists worldwide, and remains one of the band's most popular songs.

Monday 17 October 2011

Gavin DeGraw

The song we have been studying comes from the Album Chariot.  In my view the album is fantastic and highly acclaimed. Many say it to be his best work. The album contains other very meaningful songs full of passion for example belief.

https://www.gavindegraw.com/music/chariot


Gavin de Graw  (born February 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg, New York. His father was a prison guard and his mother was a detox specialist, which he mentions in his song "I Don't Want to Be". He is mostly of Russian and Irish ancestry. DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight. He also has two siblings, both older, named Neeka and Joey (born August 1973). It was at his brother's advice that he began writing his own songs.Joey DeGraw is a musician as well, currently touring to promote his own music.

 https://www.gavindegraw.com/home

Final 5



Gavin de Graws song is a powerful song that I believe can evoke many emotions in a person.
I don�t need to be anything other than a prison guard�s son
I don�t need to be anything other than a specialist�s son 
I don�t have to be anyone other than the birth of two souls in one 
Part of where I�m going is knowing where I�m coming from 



The lyrics's are regarding a person trying to find their own identity and this many can empathise with this especially teenagers who potentially are town between crowds and clicks. This song was the theme tune for One Tree Hill an American Sitcom based on the lives of Tenagers coming form high school right through to adulthood the main themes are  love, friendship, rivalries and betrayal, and explores the reasons behind them.  


I�m surrounded by liars everywhere I turn 
I�m surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn 
I�m surrounded by identity crisis everywhere I turn 
Am I the only one to notice? 
I can�t be the only one who�s learned



I feel that this would be a great choice for our Video as we could develop the different emotions that this song already has via a on screen production.
http://youtu.be/yX-db2bTNBo 



Tuesday 11 October 2011

Adele vs. Gaga branding!

In the commercialised business of music, brand association and collaboration is every were. Brands and pop stars are working together with absolutely incredible sums of money passing from brand names to artists for a piece of their fans attention. The current ruler bar none in this arena is Lady Gaga with brands paying rediculous amounts to get her to endorse their brand to her little monsters. Currently Lady Gaga has over 10 million twitter followers and over 35 million facebookers, that’s a lot of people!
Artists are doing deals on perfume, cars, technology, sportswear, drinks, toys, the list is endless. Pop stars earnings through endorsement deals can far surpass their earnings from music sales, they would be silly not to take advantage of this right?
Well not Adele she refuses to “sell out” as she calls it. Adele is currently riding high in the UK an US charts with her new album “21″. Adele states in her recent interview in Q magazine, she will not associate herself with a brand and will not allow her music to be used in commercials, as she puts it, “she doesn’t want to be tainted.” is Adele right and everyone else a bunch of cheap money grabbers with no music morals?
I guess it’s easy to stand on principles like these when you have just paid a tax bill of £4million as it has just been widely reported, but does she have a point? The product placement in TV shows and music videos have become so blatant, artists who really do not use products they promote are just taking the money and influencing their fans consumer choices without conscience.
Every artist must have their own principles and if you stand by them as long as they do not hurt anyone I commend you, but in this climate it is so difficult for artists to make a living , if certain opportunities are presented to you that do not clash with your principles and do not cause your fans harm, could I judge you as a “sell out”, I’m not so sure.
If you want to get technical Adele is attached to a brand, be it a music brand, she has had the fortune of having a company invest a lot of money in the promotion and recording of her album. With the way the scaremongers are predicting artists may only have brands in future to rely on, with the demise of recording companies. I actually commend Adele it’s nice to have an artist live or die by their music, she is talented and produces credible songs, but how do I feel about Gaga?
Years ago a certain artist named Moby was being castigated for having pretty much all of his songs on adverts and making reams of money, I have no particular ill feeling against any artist taking advantage of opportunities, but when I am watching a music video and logos are flashing in front of me left right and center, making me feel like I am being “sold” I have a problem. I think Gaga has reached that cliff edge and is about to fall off. Because she is so over the top in her appearance and her concepts are so strong, I believe people are distracted from the amount of product placement in her videos. I hope she doesn’t turn into a musical shop front, but who am I to tell her what to do.
I would say it’s about your core principles and belief, what do you represent, if you respect your fans then I believe conscience will kick in, but beware when consumers get too much of something they generally after a period of time get tired and reject.

Source: http://trevorfisher.com/gaga-vs-adele-the-branding-argument

U2 Audience


U2 frontman Bono has attributed the lukewarm response to the band’s 2009 single ‘Get On Your Boots‘ to a section of their fans who ‘aren’t groovy enough’.

“Look, sometimes our audience isn’t as groovy as we’d like,” he told Rolling Stone. ‘Get on Your Boots,’ as it was released, is a sort of crossover, half-club, half-indie-rock record. People are not sure about the club side of U2. They want ‘Vertigo’ , and when we did this the last time – with ‘Discotheque‘, from ‘Pop‘, they didn’t like it either.”
Bass player Adam Clayton added he believes the reaction to the song live shows the studio version may have suffered due to the band’s habit of over working new material in the studio.
“Interestingly, it’s going off live,” Clayton remarked. “I think probably what happened was it’s a common U2 problem. I think we probably worked on it and worked on it and worked on it, and instead of executing one idea well, I think we had probably five ideas in the song, and it just confused people. They weren’t sure what they were hearing.”
Earlier this week, U2′s current world tour surpassed The Rolling Stones‘ Bigger Bang Tour to become the highest grossing of all time.





Monday 10 October 2011

u2 in Croke park over the years

2009



2009


2009


1987


1987



1984

Researching videos and analysing them!

I am going to anaylise a few videos, but first i was very interested in cold play's video for 'The Scientist'. 

The audience for this music video would be mainly male dominated who are teenage and in their 20's, who are fans of the soft pop rock music that Coldplay create. The video shows how the band don't aim for massive productions like various other artists and instead try to intrigue the audience with twists in the narrative and unique displays. 


I think the video genre is mainly abstract is because, the band have chose to shoot the entire video so that when the audience watch it, it is in reverse with the end of the narrative at the beginning of the video and the beginning of narrative at the end of the video. I think that this has been used to keep the audiences interest in the video and it also makes it different to other Coldplay music videos however other aspects used still makes it recognisable as a Coldplay music video. The video is also a performance because Chris Martin is lip syncing whilst looking down the camera lens throughout a lot of the video whilst the narrative unravels and the video is also narrative because there is a story which unfolds throughout the video although this only becomes clear at the end of the clip. This is even more impressive when i looked and realised that Chris Martin had to lip sync the song backwards for it to be effective in the video.

The director has used shots such as panning close ups which lead into establishing shots which emphasise the use of having the action of the video in reverse. The first camera shot of the video is a reverse zoom from a horizontal angle on Chris as he is lying on a mattress in a public area. As the camera zooms out, it reveals the typical mise-en-scene that a director uses to highlight a run down area with the graffiti and boarded up doorways.

The focus of the video is on Chris Martin as he lip syncs whilst the narrative unfolds. Coldplay have chosen to include a band member in the video, however, to tie in with the soft pop-rock tone of the song, the costume department have opted to put Chris in basic clothes with a white long sleeves top and black trousers along with a black jacket when he puts it on later in the video.

Other effects have been used in the video to emphasise the reverse effect, for example, there is a medium shot of Chris standing in a forest with the fallen leaves rising back up to the trees they fell from. Also whilst in the forest there is a sudden change to the time of day as the video is in daylight at the beginning and then it is suddenly night time, this may show that he has spent a night in the wood.

The narrative of the video all ties together at the end as the camera pans past a woman lying on the floor just before Chris gets into a car and the footage rewinds faster as the woman flies back into the car through the windscreen and the audience realise the pair had a crash as the car rolls back up the hill and onto the road.



After watching this video numerous times, i have grown a huge amount of respect for the band and the producers as they have quite literally created a masterpiece. But in terms of our music video project, i feel as if we don't have the technology and time to produce such a video.




U2s Audience

Audience Research

U2 have a mainstream audience, consisting of a massive number of fans whom they have collected up throughout their career in the music industry, spanning just over 30 years now. The ages of their fans therefore range widely from adults of about 40 - 50 years old, who would have become fans when the band first started their career, to young teenagers who have just discovered the band in recent years. I fall into the latter category, having only realised the existence of U2 in 2004, after seeing them on Top Of The Pops performing Vertigo.


U2 know how to interact with their large mainstream audience using all the technology available to them to get their music into the heads of fans and potential fans all over the world. Obviously, not all fans may be able to make it to a live show, so U2 have this year brought their music into the homes of millions. In October 2009, U2 broadcast an entire show from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on their 360° Tour live on YouTube to the world. It is estimated that nearly 10 million people watched the concert online between 188 countries, making the event the largest in YouTube's streaming history. In August 2009, U2's Sheffield concert was played live on the radio as well as the audio been streamed directly from u2.com to listeners all around the world. It is clear that U2 like to do things big to satisfy their ever growing number of fans and these events proved to be extremely successful.


U2's latest song, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, was released in two different music videos. One is a short animated film created by David O'Reilly and the other was filmed live at a 360° show. The animated film tells a short story, including different individual characters and how their lives entwine together one fateful day. The characters include a boy who runs away from home, his worried mother, a girl who has also run away from home, a girl who has lost her dog and a tramp. The tramp finds the dog and the mother rescues the runaway girl whilst looking for her son, who meanwhile is on a train. The train stops and the tramp gets on with the dog and sits opposite him. The boy, looking at the tramp, realises that he doesn't want to end up that way and leaves the train quickly with the dog following him. As they run, the owner of the dog is walking along in the opposite direction and is reunited with her dog. The boy keeps on running and rushes straight past a cafe where his mother and the girl are sat. Seeing him, the mother rushes outside shouting after him and they too are reunited. I think this video is really well done and sends across a good message. It has elements of humour in it as well as anxiety and sadness. I think this video appeals to the mainstream audience because of this. It is clearly not targeted at a specific age group as the messages in it can be read by fans of all ages and overall it is a very appealing and thought provoking video.


The other video for this song features the band performing on their 360° tour in Barcelona, directed by Alex Courtes. The song was not recorded live for the video, the pre-recorded version was used for the audio. I like this video a lot too, because I think it has been directed very well and gives the audience what they want to see - the band. Lots of close ups of the band members are used as well as shots of the crowd and the amazing 360° stage. Filming the video live at the first 360° concert allows fans to see what they will experience themselves when the tour comes to their country. It shows the band interacting with their audience, and this excites fans, making them want to be in that crowd in the video. It also allows potential fans to see what going to a U2 concert would be like. I think the two videos are both very good in their different styles and both definitely appeal to the audience.