Music Video Analysis: Ghetto Gospel

The music video that I have chosen to analyse is Ghetto Gospel by 2Pac.

Within the first scene of the music video we see that someone has died in the middle of the street, with what seems like a handheld shot between people's legs.

The shot through the legs suggests that there is a suspicious nature to the death. Someone is trying to peak through and see what has happened suggesting that something criminal may have happened. This is reiterated by the diagetic ambient sound of the sirens and helicopters. The ambulance has already arrived yet there are still sirens in the background, possibly signalling that the police are also involved and this death is a murder. Another factor within this shot is the use of mise-en-scene, in particular the costume of the medic. He is wearing gloves and overalls signalling that he is a medic, showing the fact that this was a medical emergency.

The blur in the shot could be used to show the loss of the video's main character's life, which could be symbolic of his life fading away. However it could also be used to signal the change in time in the video that is about to take place with a flashback about to begin. The mise-en-scene is significant with the dark lighting in the shot. This reiterates the criminal nature of the death. Finally, the fact that the crowd is shown could represent the strong sense of community within ghettos and similar areas. Despite the violent and criminal stereotypes typically attached to them, here they appear to be caring and kind to one another. 

This shot reveals how despite his background he is still a normal person who loves his family. The mid-long shot shows both him and his mum and his performance shows he is looking her in the eyes showing his care for her. This contradicts the mise en scene, particularly his costume. The vest top and bandana represent the gangster aspect of his life. However, this combination of family life and moral values as well as living a gangster lifestyle are things that often go together so in this sense it may just be an accurate representation. This theme of morals and also living a gansgter lifestyle is a wider theme throughout the video. 

The background of this shot helps to set the scene and context of the character's death. The skyline with all of the skyscrapers represents the big city and the ambitions that the person might hold. However in contrast to this we can see the rough area directly in front of him. This could show the poverty of the area and how this affects the culture of the people around him and provide a possible explanation as to why the character is killed. 

The use of mise en scene, particularly costume helps to build the image of the character as someone caught up in gang culture. The hoodie he is wearing is a typical way that gang members are portrayed and this helps to create the representation of the character. 

Another factor is the text on screen. The time '7:49 P.M.' is an update on previous shots showing the time in the same way and in many ways it appears as a countdown to the end of the character's live. Alternately in could be reflective of his life and the way he lives. It could be interpreted as showing this to be a typical day in his life and that the violence concluding the day is not something completely unexpected. Furthermore, the producer of the video may have wanted to build sympathy for the character by showing his life and his relatable qualities, like the above shot with his mum.

Religious imagery is also used within the video. For example, here the character is likened to the statue here, possibly likening his character to him. This ultimately portrays him in a positive light due to the generally positive morals that are attached to religion.  However, in some ways it could also show the naivety of the character in that his lifestyle appears to revolve around crime and could end negatively for the character.Despite this, the character does appear at his own funeral, presumably as an angel or similar, suggesting he has a positive afterlife waiting for him. This ultimately presents the character and his culture in a positive way as it shows that God would be acceptant of their lifestyle. 

In many ways the shot of the character dead on the ground is in some ways a positive representation. The dignifying nature of the shot, with absence of blood or gore which may be expected after a shooting, paints the picture of the character in a positive light as even in death. This is arguably a reflection of the video as a whole. Whilst the nature of the video is criminal it generally paints the character in a positive light through shots with his family and the religious imagery used. 

OFCOM and Regulation

The following quote is from a Guardian article regarding music videos:

"The media watchdog has ordered broadcasters to be more careful about showing sexually explicit music videos before the 9pm watershed.
The regulator, Ofcom, on Friday issued new guidance, focusing on the visual as well as the verbal content of music videos in a bid to tighten the enforcement of existing watershed rules.
Broadcasters have been told to take particular care masking or editing offensive language where possible, in order to protect children."

This shows the extent of power that Ofcom has over music videos being televised. They can restrict videos from being televised before the watershed due to 'verbal' and 'visual' content.

This is a quote from the parental advisory website:

"If a music video is not suitable for broadcast at any time of day, the broadcaster will discuss edits that can be made with the record label. If the edits cannot be agreed, the broadcaster will not broadcast the music video at any time of day."

This shows that often people making music videos have to make changes in order to televise their videos. I feel that this is something that can have a strong effect on the rap genre which we are giving particular focus to. For example, sexual themes and drug use are often prominent within rap videos which are two things which can cause offence. 

Another thing that needs regulating within rap is the use of swearing and explicit language. Any albums or songs that contain swearing require a logo saying 'Parental Advisory: Explicit Content' to be placed on CD cases or advertisements. Furthermore, for when songs are played on the radio, swearing needs to be cut out. This leads to rap artists often making a radio edit for their song, even altering the lyrics to stop the song from sounding too jumpy and unnatural. Sometimes songs can be censored altogether. An extremely prominent example of this is in 2000 when, after the Columbine school shooting, Eminem wanted to release I'm Back with the lyrics: 

"I take seven kids from Columbine, stand 'em all in line... and that's a whole school of bullies shot up all at one time."

This was considered too insensitive and was his label decided to cut the words 'kids' and 'Columbine' even from the explicit version of the album. 


Sources: 
Guardian article: http://www.theguardian.com/media/tvandradioblog/2011/sep/30/ofcom-moves-to-enforce-watershed

Parental Advisory: http://parental-advisory.co.uk/music-on-tv/music-videos-on-tv/

Music Labels

Major music labels

My research has found that there are currently three main music labels in the industry. These are:

• Universal Music Group
• Sony Music Entertainment
• Warner Music Group

Universal Music Group recorded a revenue of $6.552 billion in the year 2013 and are a conglomerate company with other record labels as subsidiary companies. An example of a subsidiary company is Roc-A-Fella founded by Jay-Z and currently has Kanye West signed to it. Their logo is representative of the instantly recognizable universal brand of Universal. 

Sony Music Entertainment recorded a revenue of $4.89 billion in the year 2014. Similarly to Universal Music Group they have many companies as subsidiaries. Artists signed to Sony include Michael Jackson and Outkast. The logo resembles a dash of paint which could perhaps represent the artistic nature of their acts. The colour red could represent action and the nature of their artists. 

Warner Music Group recorded a revenue of $2.87 billion in the year 2013. Again they are a parent company to smaller labels such as Maybach Music founded by Rick Ross. Artists signed to this label include Rick Ross and Meek Mill. Their logo seems modern and minimalist which could perhaps show that they look for innovation within the company.

Aftermath is a smaller record label founded by Dr. Dre with artists such as Eminem signed to it. Universal Music Group are responsible for their distribution worldwide but have no direct ownership over the label. Despite being smaller than the previous three, they are still massive in their own right. They generally focus on having a small number of high profile releases, considering themselves a 'boutique label'. 

Top Dawg Entertainment is a record label that has come to prominence in recent years, with artists such as Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q signed to it helping their rise. As the label that Kendrick Lamar is signed to, any conventions that they have are things that we should be looking to emulate. In 2012, they signed a joint venture deal with Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records.

A general convention within hip-hop and rap is that artists seem to form their own record labels, most famously with Aftermath Entertainment and Dr Dre, and use the worldwide labels such as Sony or Universal as distributors. Acts can also be associated with multiple labels. For example, Kendrick Lamar is associated with both Aftermath and Top Dawg. 

An article from The Guardian has this information about how the average album's royalites are split between the labels, distributors and artists:

This shows that artists actually get a small cut from their album sales. In fact, with the prominence of streaming music, most artists make the majority of their money through tours. This is even more true for independent record labels who would not have same reach as a giant such as Sony to get sales. 

Generally, independent labels go for smaller acts, usually allowing them to create their own image. This is in contrast to mainstream labels who generally only go for big acts with guaranteed profits. These mainstream labels have much bigger budgets allowing for more marketing and generally bringing in more money as a result. 

To summarize, I think that I would try to get signed with an independent label for the music video as it would allow us to have more creative influence over the video itself. A label such as Top Dawg Entertainment would make sense as they have worked with Kendrick Lamar before and would have an understanding of what he wants from a music video.  

Source:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/apr/03/how-much-musicians-make-spotify-itunes-youtube