Music videos have always broken boundaries, from the horror flick-cum-dance spectacular of “Thriller” to the quirky treadmill routine of US band Ok Go. With technology permeating ever deeper into the social fabric, the music industry is adapting to keep pushing the envelope in a world that's increasingly difficult to impress.
This move sees musicians leveraging mobile, Web and digital technologies to inject new life into videos, and boost fan interaction in novel and engaging ways. French electric group Cassius, for example, created an iPhone app for its “I love you so” single that lets users pick a set of lips - ranging from glam to gap-toothed framed - which they can hold up to friends' faces to sing the song. Another interactive video from US band Au Revoir Simone turns the screen into a colouring page, so viewers can paint the scene using a custom palette while the music plays in the background.
Preston Thomas, technical director at local digital agency Pixel Project, says the music industry is constantly reinventing itself, and trying to find new ways for people to experience music. A huge number of music videos are now being accessed on YouTube, and Thomas notes the popularity of these kinds of content-sharing platforms is shaking up the traditional production model.
“Music used to be controlled by people who didn't actually make the music - producers and record companies who distributed content through specific channels. Then the Internet exploded and YouTube exploded, and people were able to share music and experiences more widely.”
Local rap group Die Antwoord, for example, got its big break on YouTube when it released its first single Enter the Ninja, in February 2010. DieAntwoord.com racked up 41 million hits in that month alone, and the band shot to fame which would otherwise have been unlikely due to its gritty, in-your-face image.
The big is question is how to get an audience to pay.
Preston Thomas, Pixel Project
Yet, while the Web has removed many boundaries to music access, Thomas notes it has also made a large part of the audience invisible.
“Before, a musician would record music on a vinyl and people would buy the album in a store and listen to it. These days, artists make music and it's uploaded to a Web site and they don't even know who has it. They could sell 1 000 albums but have 100 000 copies downloaded, without knowing who or where those listeners are.”
Thomas says producers have realised they need to get on these platforms, and the industry is going where others are going - YouTube, Facebook and even prominent blogs.
SoundCloud, for example, is a platform where people can upload music and see feedback from friends and fans, generating conversations around the music. “It allows users to download sounds and songs, creating a community of people listening to, creating and producing music,” says Thomas.
He believes sites like SoundCloud can be seen as modern-day record companies, acting as a cyber producer of sorts. “Instead of producers relying on what they think sounds good, and risking whether people like it or not, you go to SoundCloud and people choose what they want to listen to. As artists get more well-known, they get more traffic.”
Musicians are using the growing number of virtual collaboration spaces to engage more actively with fans, to create a more authentic sense of community. American band The Dandy Warhols, for example, uses its Facebook page to talk directly to fans, rather than just broadcasting news at them. Other groups get fans to participate in and contribute to music videos.
Ok Go paraded the streets of Los Angeles with fans, friends, and fellow musicians using location tracking technology to spell out the words 'Ok go' across a 14km route. The band invited fans to embark on a similar journey across their own city, document it, and send it to Ok Go, which it would use in a final project. Local band Wrestlerish got fans involved in the promotion of an album by asking them to send a photo of their favourite thing about their town to the band's Web site. Wrestlerish selected its top 12 images and included them in the final CD.
“It's really a great way to get fans involved and make them feel part of the experience,” says Thomas. “These are all symptoms of the music industry thinking about breaking new barriers, and trying to find new ways of using technology.”
Singing for supper
While a lot of innovation is happening, widespread access means artists are struggling to get compensated for their music. “The big is question is how to get an audience to pay. A musician could have 500 000 people watching them, but these people aren't paying for the music, and artists still have to sell records at the end of the day,” says Thomas.
“The music industry needs to adapt and change to entice users to pay for content. It's a difficult place for producers because they can't monetise products.”
He adds that iTunes and the App Store have changed way people purchase things, and that clever musicians are using these avenues for both experimentation and to generate income.
The Gorillaz iPad music mixer app, for example, contains samples and sounds from the band's latest album, and allows users to remix the notes and sequences. ”It allows various ways to play a track, instead of just listening to it from A to B. It's also a really good way of making people listen to the same song 10 times.”
There is such a race to get music video jobs that concepts aren't being thought through.
Gideon Furst, Media Film Service
Icelandic singer Bjork's new album, Biophilia, sees each release accompanied by an iPad app capturing the specific theme of the song, with features like lighting sound makers for the “Thunderbolt” single, and various interactive elements highlighting the links between music and the natural world, from crystals to the cosmos.
“Once we get people to interactive level it's not a big step to ask them for 99 cents,” says Thomas. He suggests musicians get creative and learn from the game model, where users can play the first few levels for free but have to pay for power-ups or to use more advanced tools.
This kind of borrowing marks the increasing convergence of the worlds of music, video, Web and gaming.
“Musicians are now hiring developers to create apps and games for their music instead of game companies hiring musicians to produce clips for their games.”
Gaming consoles are even being used to create new kinds of visuals. Microsost's Kinect, for example, was used in Moullinex's Catalina video, using 3D footage captured by the Kinect to produce graphic, eye-catching visuals.
“A lot of musicians are using technology in installations and shows,” notes Thomas, citing Kylie Minogue's use of sound-responsive projection technology in her “Get outta my way” video, which tracks dancers' movements and extends them into images in the background.
The latest video from Ok Go, which is known for creating interactive experiences for fans, is an HTML5-enabled 'human kaleidoscope' that sees dancers perform on a glass floor through which the viewer sees the action. The screen eventually splits into multiple windows to create moving human shapes, and the dancers conclude by spelling out a word, which users can customise.
Thomas adds that while big names such as Bjork, Kylie Minogue, and Lady Gaga are making use of innovative technology, it needs to filter down to smaller players. “It needs to get to all the little bands because while they're small, if they release a good app they can gain traction that way - it's a breakthrough channel they didn't have before, and a great platform for getting noticed.”
Sound advice
When it comes to getting noticed, South African bands have the potential, but often struggle with execution.
Gideon Furst, head of Media Digital at local company Media Film Service, says the main challenges in SA are budgets and skills. “There are a lot of new Afrikaans and English bands, so the demand for videos is high, but the average music video budget is around R35 000, and the quality is lacking.”
He adds that while a lot of young film school graduates are entering the market, they lack the experience to produce top-quality, cutting-edge content. Another problem is that while entrants may have the creative knowledge, they lack the business know-how to succeed in the market.
“The major record companies like Sony and EMI really need to think about this more carefully. There is such a race to get music video jobs that concepts aren't being thought through.”
Furst adds that SA's poor Internet access compounds the issue. “There's lots of creativity and hunger and big ideas, but the infrastructure doesn't support those ideas. It's not as easy to have fans contribute in interactive projects.”
Combining the creative and business requirements is what will ultimately result in SA joining the ranks of top music markets overseas, says Furst. “The skills, tools, and technology infrastructure all work hand in hand. We have to grow that headspace and strengthen capabilities locally.
“There's lots of enthusiasm but we need to bring all the elements together and not depend on international platforms - we need to develop our own platforms and technology.”
Fast forward
In future, Thomas foresees continuing convergence until there's a total overlay of the virtual world onto the real world. He believes this will have a profound effect on the way people interact.
“If you go to a club and spot a bunch of teens, they tend to be looking at their screens more than each other, and it seems as if technology has become a dehumanising force. But music doesn't do that - music tends to make you want to dance and enjoy and share the experience with a group of people.
“As people get more involved in collaborative experiences on their mobiles, it'll bring the humanity back to technology.”
Thomas argues that while staring at a single screen locks one in, if that screen becomes shared as part of the environment as the real and digital worlds interact, it becomes less a case of looking down into one screen, and more one of engaging with one's surroundings and peers.
“If you can get music and technology to play in this space it can help people connect again.
“A lot of young kids are looking back to older music genres - bluegrass and rock and hip hop - as a way of finding something real in the fast-moving digital world. They're trying to find some soul again.”
It's perhaps not surprising that new videos and apps are becoming more organic, as a way to appeal to this generation in search of authentic engagement. Technology then becomes less about flashy graphics and gimmicks, and more about emphasising the essence behind the song. Something Thomas says is captured in one of his favourite quotes: ”Music is what emotions sound like.”
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