Q

The relationship between visual media and music has changed over time due to the shift in demand of physical products in favour of digital. There are a multiple factors that contribute to the change in the market and industry such as what is easiest to access, how much profit the product could potentially make and also what the image the music moguls are trying to create for their client. All of these aspects were present in the previous generations of music however the digital age has greatly decreased the need for visual media and therefore has affected the relationship with other areas of the creative industry such as illustrators.

 

Firstly, society is currently living in ‘the digital age’ where everything is streamed or downloaded meaning technically the person behind the screen does not have ownership over the product but is paying for the right to listen or view the subject. This, compared to half a century ago during the 1950’s where the landline was just being introduced, the audience had limited access to music through the likes of the radio, record players and vinyls. This allowed not only a personal collection of a physical products to be created but also an opportunity for visual media to take off and create jobs. The rise of the vinyl, with the product dating back to late 19th century, is documented in Hipgnosis and Dean’s ‘Album Cover Album’ book which explores the progression of cover art over the years and how this affected the culture at the time.  In 1940, ‘The designs, like those on the early paper sleeves, were evidently produced in most cases by freelance designers.’ (Dean 2008) They were commissioned to express an image to be sold to the audience that would often involve an illustration of the artist, vibrant typography and an eye catching palette. The music and visual world would often collaborate right through to the 60’s and 70’s where ‘the worlds of fashion, advertising, fine art and popular music became inextricably involved with each other.’ (Dean 2008) Due to different areas of the creative industry now crossing paths and collaborating, album artwork now held even more opportunity for visuals, an example of which being the now iconic vinyl cover of The Velvet Underground paired with pop artists Andy Warhol’s imagery, combined and brought to the audience’s attention. The mix of industries during these eras also saw famous musicians such as The Beatles collaborate with old friends to design their album artwork, ‘many members of the English bands that emerged in the 60’s, including The Stone Roses and Pink Floyd had art school connections, they began to commission their friends and contemporaries to design their covers.’ (Dean 2008)

 

The market for music and visual media was booming in the 1950’s and 60’s as vinyls were widely popular and the influence of musicians was substantial to adoring teenage fans, whatever the stars were doing, the audience would follow suit. It was all about creating a style, an image that made them stand out from the crowd therefore their relating visuals were vital in self promotion so a lot of time, thought and energy went into them. ‘The teenage cult of the 1950’s was largely a product of consumerism. Big business was quick to recognise a growing market.’ (Dean 2008) The teenage appeal of self image and following the next big thing was huge so when, for example, Elvis came along with his controversial style and music, the youth of the time loved what their parents frowned upon, further projecting the musicians appeal.  Cover art was used as a tool to communicate this message with Elvis’s ‘50,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong’ cover, the designers created imagery of the singer multiplied all over the sleeve as if to say to the parents, he’s here to stay. The visuals were not only attracting a younger audience but also more creative practitioners who were interested in creating such artwork, ‘An interest in music and its associated imagery was likely to attract a young designer to work in the music industry rather than, say, advertising... simultaneously, art directors in record companies were becoming more sensitive to the possibilities of the album cover medium.’ (Dean 2008) A slight vanity has always been present in visual media where music is concerned as often in self promotion the main concept is about selling the musician and their sex appeal so often covers include a portrait, posed or of them in action and that has continued into present day.

 

In our current generation, technology is at the forefront of day to day life.  According to the Independent online there are ‘officially more mobile devices than people in the world... The world is home to over 7.2 billion gadgets and they’re multiplying five times faster than we are.’ (Boren 2014) Almost all of these phones and tablets will have access to the internet or apps that will allow the user to listen or stream music at the click of a button which is predominately the reason digital has taken over from physical objects in the music industry. It is a much faster way to get products to the consumer and that in turn means a quicker outturn of profit for the companies behind the client. Visual media has taken a hit in comparison to physical products as, although there may be some opportunity for creative practitioners to create imagery for musicians, often the song is just streamed with no media necessary except a title and artist. Often the audience will find a single square image to accompany the track or album which will be stored as a file on apps such as iTunes and Spotify, these more often than not include a close up of the artist calmly looking down the camera lens. This type of visual is common nowadays as due to time and money, the artist is managed to constantly be either making or promoting their material so whatever is quickest to create and sell to the consumer is what is favoured. Visual media within the digital world is present is other areas such as music videos, there is a huge platform for artists to promote their music and image through videos that can be viewed across the world on phones, online and on the TV. This all started with the launch of MTV in August, 1981. ‘In MTV’s early days, it’s programming consisted of basic music videos that were provided for free… as the record companies recognised MTV as a promotional platform, money was put into making creative, cutting edge videos. MTV was instrumental in promoting the careers of Madonna, Prince and Duran Duran whose videos were played on heavy rotation.’ (History 2008) Nowadays, a viewer can find multiple channels on their television dedicated on music videos and what’s popular in the charts, this in turn will boast the musician’s credibility and will also create jobs for other artists in the industry such as choreographers, film makers and costume designers.

 

A collection of music was once part of a person’s image, their social status, it holds a glimpse into the character of the owner and begins conversation. Physical objects allow the opportunity for interaction and sharing with others, it is more socially stimulating in comparison to a digital download that sees the audience put in their earphones and ignore the world. There are, of course, advantages of digital files such as it being with on your person wherever a phone is carried and the privilege of being able to stream any song that comes to mind at any time however the only sense of a collection is through a track list on your phone that is, in theory, invisible. With physical products there is the task of upkeep, the storage and having additional outlets in order to play the music. With exception to portable devices such as cassette players, which in turn is considerably larger than todays mobiles and also have lack of visuals, you can only enjoy vinyls in one place such as your home as a record player is too large and needs to be plugged in to an outlet in order to be played. As the owner looks through their assortment of vinyls, they have so many variations of visuals, each cover holds a unique album artwork that mirrors the type of music inside, each era and genre has a different style that creates a story of its own, it has meaning and therefore gives the listener meaning as it’s a reflection of their style and taste of which they’re able to physically share with others. The vinyl still holds opportunity with creative practitioners with its recent revival in popularity over the past couple of years. Rowland Manthorpe wrote for Wired Magazine ‘7.5 million vinyls will be produced this year… up from 3.8 million in 2013. “The entire world music industry is after vinyl”, says Anouk Rijnders, sales manager at Record Industry.’ (Manthorpe 2015) He concludes by quoting Rijnders once more and his opinion on the rise in demand of records. ‘There’s no emotion to having music on MP3. Music, for some people, is still something they’d like to own.’ (Dean on Rijnders 2015) The increase in record production gives great opportunity for visual media as album artwork and promotion will have to see practitioners being employed to design covers for both old and new artists. Vinyls hold the market of not just rebranding and selling the classic musicians from decades ago but also, companies see the potential of another platform to sell their clients new up and coming music. Retailers recognised quickly the consumers interest in the product, with the main target audience being teenagers and young adults, stores such as Urban Outfitters through to Tesco’s started stocking vinyls on their shelves      selling at around £20 each, this compared to record and charity shops cheap outtake of a couple of pounds, there is much money to be made in this sector of the industry meaning more money can be spared in production.

 

In addition to this, musicians are always trying to creatively express themselves and, in present times, use their merchandise and online presence to achieve this. They use both physical and digital attributes to their advantage such as posters, clothing, magazines and albums alongside videos, radio, social media and virtual streaming. An illustrator may be hired to create a certain look or logo that will be used repeated by the musician to make their style recognisable. Take for example Pink Floyds 1973 ‘Dark Side of The Moon’ album cover, designed by Storm Thorgerson, which held the image of a light prism that has become one of the most iconic album covers of all time, that triangle is an instant symbol that the audience knows belongs to Pink Floyd. Musicians nowadays still use a similar style of graphics, type, imagery or palette that are fluent across their album artwork and media profiles which creates their own personal image that relates to their music. Now social media is at the heart of everyday life, apps such as Instagram and Twitter are recognised tools in self promotion and artist visuals. The advantages of being involved in the music industry today is having the power to produce work on both physical and digital outlets, the option was not there fifty years ago as an online presence was not heard of but it is a constant shift in what the consumer is most interested in. Some artists recognise the packaging of the product equally important as the music when it comes to setting the theme and atmosphere. Often the audience will find a thin zine enclosed within the cover of an album, mostly including unseen photographs or lyrics from the soundtrack of which are created with help from creative partners. This method not only creates jobs for the likes of photographers, designers and directors but also keeps the relationship between music and visual media alive and strong in modern times.

 

To conclude, it is important to revisit my original point of view to see how exploring the topic has changed my personal opinions. In the beginning, the assumption was made that the relationship between music and visual media has been affected in a negative manner due to the rise in digital products in comparison to physical. The reasoning behind this was the lack of ownership of an object, digital products were virtual rather than having a product in your hands to experience and share. With the rise of technology, what was once a physical and social activity such as the everyone gathered round the television, dancing to the record player or swapping cassettes was now all found on devices such as mobiles that narrowed it down to be just for a singular person, no sharing necessary. The notion of visiting record stores and sorting through all the covers, finding albums you favoured and providing revenue for local business was being taken over by large corporate companies having ownership over all creative practices such as music, film and television, all of which can now be found without leaving the house. What has become apparent however is people of today still have the need for experience and contact so venture out to still continue to collect physical objects of their own such as the recent revival in vinyl and record players, there is still a desire for identity and an expression of their interests which come from discussing and sharing what they own. A factor that is apparent is, although the market for vinyls has been recognised and therefore companies are selling new material, records mostly consist of artists from previous decades which shows how the audience of today may prefer past times compared to now as music today can seem too mass produced and emotionless which relates to the visual media. Album artwork used to give a glimpse to the music and mood inside the cover with each musician having a distinctive style whereas today it simply just identifies the artist involved. It is important to note the advantages of digital compared to physical though such as being able to have access to music wherever the listener goes and having endless options all in one place. Even though the corporate companies make billions a year off distributing musicians and their material, it can be a cheap alternative to keeping music for the consumer as often, the most popular method is a monthly contract to an app which allows access to any media, any time. Digital outlets do have opportunities for visual media but in different areas opposed to physical products. There will always be the need for album artwork, whatever the file, a cover will always be present and therefore a creative practitioner will be hired to create the statement look that will then be present throughout such as with merchandise and promotional aspects. People will always have the desire to own a collection as the need to have ownership, express ourselves and share with others is what makes us human. As long as there is a product to be sold, there will always be a place for visual media.

 

Dean, R. and Thorgerson, S (2008) Transition. R, Dean. ed, Album Cover Album. New York: HarperCollins, page 9

Dean, R. and Thorgerson, S (2008) Expansion. R, Dean. ed, Album Cover Album. New York: HarperCollins, page 12

Dean, R. and Thorgerson, S (2008) Expansion. R, Dean. ed, Album Cover Album. New York: HarperCollins, page 12

Dean, R. and Thorgerson, S (2008) Transition. R, Dean. ed, Album Cover Album. New York: HarperCollins, page 10

Dean, R. and Thorgerson, S (2008) Expansion. R, Dean. ed, Album Cover Album. New York: HarperCollins, page 12

Independent.co.uk, Zachary Davies Boren. 2014. There are officially more mobile devices than people in the world. ONLINE Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/there-are-officially-more-mobile-devices-than-people-in-the-world-9780518.html. Accessed 12 February 16.

History.com. 2008. MTV launches. ONLINE Available at: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mtv-launches. Accessed 12 February 16.

Wired.com, Rowland Manthorpe. 2015. This factory is leading London’s vinyl revival. ONLINE Available at: http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2016/01/start/vinyl-factory-toolkit. Accessed 12 February 16.