Codes and Conventions of Popular Music

I am now going to look at the codes and conventions of popular music, unlike the other genres i have looked at such as rock and heavy metal, popular music isn't a genre but more of style.

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. Although popular music sometimes is known as "pop music", the two terms are not interchangeable. Popular music is a generic term for music of all ages that appeals to popular tastes, whereas pop music usually refers to a specific musical genre.


Eminem - Without Me

• A performance concept video
• Usually titles and stereotypical references to comics and comic character, they have created a story following two superheroes.
• A lot of shots of Eminem performing
• A lot of male gaze, nearly all the females in the video are not wearing much clothing.
• A lot of comedy in the video to draw in a audience.

Justin Bieber - Eenie Meenie

• Narrative, Performance video
• Mainly following the two singers and a girl who they both try and get with.
• Set at a house party
• Shots of the singers in a different location against a wall singing
• Shots of dancers at the party
• Unlike most other music videos with a similar genre they isn't really any male gaze in this video, this is probably due to the main target audience as the singer is only 16

Dizzee Rascal - Holiday

• Performance video set at a "Pool party?"
• Opening following a women on a phone walking down a empty path to a gate, and she goes through the gate and they is a party.
• Mainly focuses on the singer and other singers who are constantly surrounded all the time around women dressed in bikinis.
• The entire video is just for male gaze. As its mainly appealing to their target audience

One Night Only - Say You Don't Want It

• Set in big city
• Performance and Concept
• The performance is simply the band performing on a roof with the standard codes and conventions for performance videos
• The concept is strangely good. It follows what is signified as a couple who are walking around the city, both are very well dressed. But everyone kind of ignores them or gives them weird looks, at one point the male runs into a shop and gets chased out and at another point a food vendor throws some food at them. At the end of the video it is revealed that they are dogs because later on a car drives past and stops and a women runs out, runs over and picks up a dog (at this point you see them as dogs not as people).
• The video has famous actor Emma Watson which will help it appeal to a large strong UK fanbase and a strong male fanbase.

Alicia Keys & Jay-Z - Empire State of Mind
 

 

• All in black and white until the end
• Simple performance video
• Performance aspect is simply the two singers, with shots of them showing a new york setting behind them
• they is interlink images of new york from the sky and fast quick pictures of the city.
• At the end the two singers come to together and the colour goes to normal.
• The female singer is dressed in a way that makes her appeal more to a male audience.

Conclusion

The codes and conventions of popular music videos is extremely varied. It would be impossible to nail down the codes and conventions.
Two points i can say are that,

1. Appealing to a male audience with male gaze is a huge part of popular music videos
2. It really depends on the audience of artist of what the videos are like