Music & News

Music News
Q1-1 mark Q6-1 mark
Q2- 4 marks Q7- 4 marks
Q3- 10 marks Q8- 5 marks
Q4- 5 marks Q9- 15 marks
Q5- 15 marks Q10- 10 marks
 Question 1- Music
An knowledge question.
Could be on radio, magazines or music video.

1) Identify the owner of Mojo Magazine

2) Identify the regulator for radio
3) Identify the regulator for magazines in the UK
4) Identify the owner of Radio 2
5) The owner of Mojo Magazine also owns radio stations. Identify the term
for branching out into other areas of business
6) Bauer Media owns magazines and radio stations. Identify the term used
to describe such a company.
 Question 1- 1 mark
An knowledge question.
1) Identify the owner of Mojo Magazine
Bauer publishing
1) Identify the regulator for radio
Ofcom
1) Identify the regulator for magazines in the UK
IPSO or IMPRESS
1) Identify the owner of Radio 1
BBC, a public corporation established by a Royal Charter
1) The owner of Mojo Magazine also owns radio stations. Identify the term for
branching out into other areas of business
Diversification
1) Bauer Media owns magazines and radio stations. Identify the term used to
describe such a company.
Conglomerate
 Question 2- 4 marks
• An explain question
• Can cover radio, magazines or music video including
audiences and industries.
• Spend 4 minutes (a mark per minute)
• Knowledge and understanding

Explain one way that music videos use media language to differ from one
another. Refer to one example of contrasting language in two music videos
you have studied (4 marks)

Explain one advantage for audiences of each of the following:

Listening to live radio
Accessing radio content online (4 marks)
 Question 3- 10 marks
• An explain question
• 10 marker
• Can cover radio, magazines or music video or
anything else from theoretical framework such as
industries and audiences.
• Knowledge and understanding

“Explain how and why producers of radio programmes target different

audiences. Refer to the Radio 1 Live Lounge to support your answer.
(10 marks)

‘Explain how and why music videos use stereotypes. Refer to the two
set music videos you have studied in your answer (10 marks)
 Question 4- 5 marks
• 5 marker
• Analysis of either an extract from Mojo
Magazine or music videos
• Must use media language
‘Analyse the representation of musicians in the extract
from Mojo Magazine’ ( 5 marks)

Analyse the representation of Jamaican Reggae music and

musicians such as Bob Marley in this MOJO fron cover (5
marks)
 Question 5- 15 marks
• Analysis that compares the media language in extracts of the two
magazines (one being Mojo)
“How far is media language used differently in the extracts from Mojo and We
Love Pop magazine to reflect genre conventions? In your answer you must:
- Analyse examples of how media language is used differently in the extracts
from Mojo and We Love Pop magazines
- Make judgements and conclusions about whether there are more similarities
due to genre conventions than differences in the extract. (15 marks)
Music Videos
 Music Videos use media language to do
the following….
• Convey meaning of the song e.g. use of
monochrome in IFWAB is used to convey the
sad, emotive meaning
• Promote the artist online and on music
television by encouraging replays
• Promote the producer
 IIWAB- Media Language
Uses real American urban locations with intertextuality using ‘the street’ as seen in other films,
music videos and TV shows. A narrative and performance based video dominated by a
soundtrack.
A monochrome filter has been added to show the sadness
and frustration themes of the song.

Media language such as the police

costume is used to connote
seriousness of the issue- the
Begins with diegetic
police costume represents the
sound- helps encourage power and authority often
the narrative and the associated with men.
themes of heartbreak.
Shallow depth of field keeps attention on
Beyonce to show her
dominance/significance in comparison to
other characters.

Editing follows a linear narrative- immersing the audience in

the narrative through use of cross- cutting. Often use of Use of handheld camerawork connotes
long takes to achieve this. realism with a documentary style.
 UF- Media Language
Dominated by non-diegetic sound throughout. Uses real American urban locations with
intertextuality using ‘the street’ as seen in other films, music videos and TV shows. A
performance based video dominated by a soundtrack.
Non-diegetic sound throughout (upbeat
tempo and fast pace) to convey pleasure Consistently uses low angle shots
and entertainment. to connote performance to
encourage form of power and
It has been edited using wide shots for the group dances.
saturation to enhance the Tracking is often used to
colours to create the ‘pop’ emphasise the movement of the
upbeat entertaining video. camera.
Humour is encouraged by performance
(stylised dancing), costume (bold
unordinary colours) and props (use of UF uses editing to
the hair curlers). Creates a humorous fun emphasise the
loving video. moments in the music.
Such as jump cuts (to
different locations),
cutting to the beat, slow
motion and digital
rotation.
 IIWAB- Representation
IIWAB tries to represent a serious message about gender relations-
how men treat women unfairly.

IIWAB uses attractive actors in their prime age- here this puts a
‘glamourous gloss’ on a serious message arguably to appeal to a mass
audience. Represents attractive people as young, thin and able-bodied.

Represents the US city as ethnically mixed- a place of energy,

opportunity and drama.

IIWAB represents women in a powerful way originally when she is the

police officer which is a countertype in comparison to usual
representation (before the progression of post-modernism). However
after the twist in the linear narrative, it shows that women are still
weaker than men and that there are double standards.

IIWAB uses stereotypes of masculine power and feminine victimhood,

but inverts these in the first part of the narrative to get across her
point in the narrative.

Represents men as sexual predators and assume a heterosexual love

and attraction.
 UF- Representation
UF assume the heterosexual love and
attraction- at the beginning when we see a
women walking past the group of men
being watched and the camera
dismembering her, showing her as an
object. Men shown as sexual predators.
Represents the US city as ethnically
mixed- a place of energy,
opportunity and drama.
Represents stereotypically attractive
people as young, thin and able-bodied.

UF presents stereotypical images of

masculine culture (e.g. interest in cars,
women, wealth etc. ) undercut by less
stereotypical images of men in curlers.

Self parody of masculine bragging by

exaggeration.
Different types of actors of different
ages.
Explain how music videos use media language to
create difference (10 marks)
You must: know the purpose/message of both videos
You two or more in depth examples (2/3 paragraphs) and explain why it is done with
specific examples.

Uptown Funk and If I Were a Boy have different messages which is why the media
language differs. One being a solely performance video (Uptown Funk) and one being a
hybrid of performance and narrative style (If I Were a Boy). Uptown Funk’s purpose is to
entertain the audience. Whereas If I Were a Boy’s message is raise awareness of the
double standards between two genders; that men seem to bypass due to their gender
which Beyonce is expressing is unfair and wrong.

A key difference is through sound. UF uses non-diegetic sound entirely. This is of an

upbeat tempo and a fast pace. As seen when they are dancing in the streets. This has
been done as…… Whereas IIWAB uses…… this is shown when….. This has been done as….

Their purposes have also been shown through the difference of costume. Bruno Mars
wears….. This is shown for example in the scene where….. This has been done as……
Whereas IIWAB Beyonce is seen wearing….. when….. This has been done as…….

The edit in UF includes a fast pace of cutting to the beat and saturated colours. This can
be seen when…. This has been done as…. Whereas IIWAB uses…. This can be seen when….
This has been done as…
Radio
 Key Terms
• Diversification- when institutions branch out
into other industries to limit risk.

• Conglomerate- a large organisation which

owns a number of smaller organisations

• Niche- small audience

• Mass- large audience
 Types of Radio
Commercial
Includes national, regional and local stations.
Bauer Media, the owner of Mojo Magazine runs national stations such
as Kiss FM as well as on-line only and local stations.

This diversification into radio and publishing (Mojo magazine) makes

Bauer Media a conglomerate.

Commercial radio targets:

- Attract advertisers into a niche market (particular station)
- Find a new audience by filling an unfilled niche market (e.g. a radio
station was made in 2017 for builders)
- Attract a mass audience to bring in mass advertising
 BBC Radio
• Public Service Broadcasting
• Role was to raise the cultural standards of the nation
• Before Radio 1, popular music was always mixed with
music which was considered more ‘culturally
significant’ – i.e. classical
• Now, commercially successful music is considered less
important by media producers than music aimed at a
specialised audience.
• Classical music is considered more artistic than pop.
• Live music is considered more culturally significant
than simply playing records and it is much more
expensive.
 Radio 1- politics
There have been political debates whether Radio 1 should be seen as a PSB
channel as politicians believe that mainstream popular music is not culturally
important- so it is not ‘informing or educating’ audiences.

Some politicians called for Radio 1 to be sold to a commercial sector and to

be paid for by advertisements.
The BBC criticise this as:

- They have made Radio 1 more appealing for younger audiences (used to
be dominated by middle aged) to cater all audiences and reflect diversity
- By reducing the age of the Radio 1 audience by deliberately not appealing
to older audiences which makes it different from commercial mass market
stations
- Introducing programmes such as Live Lounge to bring in ‘distinctive’
content
 Radio 1 fits with a PSB as:
• Different channels targeting different audiences:
• Radio 1- 15-29 year olds
• Radio 1Xtra- urban audience
• Radio 2
• Radio 3
• Radio 4
• Radio 5 Live- News & Sports
• BBC 6 Music
• BBC Asian- Asian audience
 Convergence
• Convergence- the merging of previously separate
media forms in one entity e.g. smartphones to
stream music
Live Lounge:
• Played on radio
• Broadcasted on BBC 4 TV
• CDs
• BBC iPlayer
• BBC Radio 1 on YouTube
 Facts
• PSB- service licence
• Not a commercial radio station e.g. Capital- often
owned by conglomerates such as Bauer Media-
Kiss FM.
PSB requirements:
• Diversity (genres, multiculturalism- Clara Amfo,
diversification)
• 40% of content has to be UK originated (Radio 1)
• Ethos- inform, educate and entertain
 Uses & Gratifications- Radio
• Personal Identity
Identifying with the artists- through informal conversations and songs that may be
played. Interest in live music and musicianship.
Live Lounge- sense of fan of authentic live performance
BBC Asian- sense of community and culture to Asians in the UK
• Information
Learning more about the artist through conversation, music releases, further insight
into the skills of the artist (musicianship). Being in contact with the world.
• Entertainment
Performance (digital convergence), live music, the artist singing different songs from
other artists (1 of their 3 songs they sing). The unpredictability of the artists singing
live and originality of the performer.
• Social Interaction
Through online media- Twitter, YouTube, sharing content through social and
participatory media.
Radio is often used as a background to other activites at home, in a car or at work- can
offer a sense of companionship to people in isolated homes
Magazines
 Ownership
• Magazine industry is mostly dominated by
publishing companies rather than large
conglomerates. This might be because the
industry is struggling and best managed by
owners who specialise in print.
• Bauer Media are still primarily print publishers
even though they are associated with
television and radio.
 Key Term
• Globalisation- the process by which institutions increasingly operate
on a worldwide scale.
• There are only a few international companies (globalisation).

• Bauer Media is a German conglomerate which does magazines,

radio and music television
• They make magazines such as Take a Break (lifestyle), Mojo (music)
and TV Choice (television).
• They own more than 600 magazines.
• They use diversification by having an online magazine as well as a
printed Mojo magazine.
• The company is diversifed by owning different media (radio, music
and magazines). This helps protect the company from declining
audiences for magazines.
 Revenue
Mojo magazine receives revenue (money) from the
following:
• Circulation- £5.25
• Advertising- some fashion, some mass (Specsavers)
• Sponsors and product placement (when an advert Is
advertised to the audience by being places in a
product)
• Events (Vogue runs fashion events)

Lots of magazines are suffering and going online only so

they need to diversify as much as possible.
 Quality Monthly Magazines
The most successful magaiznes are on the quality end-
the biggest brand such as Vogue.
They create this ‘lean back moment’ to give a sense of
relaxation while they sink into the glamourous world of
their favourite glossy magazines.

Mojo Magazine has some aspects of quality monthly- but

only is semi-glossy and uses lighter- weight paper.
However it retains enough quality to enable it to survive
as a paid-for-print product, which the cheaper weekly
music magazines live NME have had to go online.
 Mojo Audience
• Middle class and working class readers
• 4 times more likely to be read by men than
women
• Adult
• Greater amount of older readers (35+)

It has a relatively small circulation of around

68,000 and a readership of 138,000.
 Uses & Gratifications
Personal Identity
Fandom interest- fans of people in Mojo magazines or interested in Music. Aspirations
trough their favourite musician- often Mojo uses aspirational tone through their
‘legendary’ musician of the month. Magazines can reinforce the reader’s values e.g.
Mojo celebrating passion of music and its themes of the genres.
Information
Music magazines give a sense of contact in the world- giving information of popular
music. Mojo has a ‘What goes on’ section about news in music and rising stars.
Entertainment
Music magazines hve themes of comedy gossip, CDs and other free gifts. Attractive
stars and visuals in the magazines. They can offer escape into the world of the stars,
celebrities.
Social Interaction
Mojo contains news and gossip that could be discussed in real conversation.
Magazines also have a specific format which could encourage interest in particular
areas and could provide a substitute for real life interaction in which the magazine is
seen by the readers as a good friend.