A2 Weekly News Update 11

My story this week comes from the Daily Mail, and highlights the on-going trolling and abuse that model Katie Price's eldest son Harvey receives. Harvey was found to be blind, and as he has  grown up it was also found that he is on the autistic spectrum, has a syndrome called Prader Willi and also struggles to walk. Harvey has very much been in the public eye as he has grown up, and every celebrity will receive hate or backlash at some stage during their time as this is the nature of being so public to people, but Harvey more so experiences this because of the severe needs he has.

This week Katie Price has hit back at one troll, Mark Williams who has targeted Harvey specifically and produced a string of vile tweets and memes mocking Harvey and his disabilities. The troll included a photo of a bag of Haribo Tangfastics and changed the name to 'Harveybo Tangspastics' with a photo of him stuck to the bag. He has also called Harvey a c*** and tweeted he 'hopes he chokes on a bag of sweets'. All of the above tweets are extremely abusive and as Katie Price has spoken out about Harvey's innocence and making it evident that he is unable to protect himself and she has now decided that she wants to take it to Parliament.

Why am I so interested in this article?


The reason this article intrests me so much is because I struggle to comprehend why a troll such as Williams would publicly mock an individual like Harvey when it is very clear that he can't defend himself. But then another part of me then is not surprised that this happens to him, because his mother, being a controversial figure in the media makes a big and public deal (as she should) out of it, meaning the trolls are seeing her crack and will continue to do this.

Explore the Mechanics of the Music Industry

The music industry is a big and scary place, there are millions of people involved within it, and billions is spent every year to keep this ever popular industry alive. The music industry generated 42.93 billion dollars revenue globally in 2015, and in comparison to film generating 38 billion dollars globally and TV which generates a whopping 297 billion dollars, music does play a large part in the entertainment revenue. This is done with the help of the big 3 major record labels, Universal Music Group, Warner Music and Sony Music Entertainment. These 3 record labels have all played their part in the market share for 2015, Universal being worth 27.6% of the total, Sony, making up 20.9% and Warner with 15.2%.Within each label are many more independent record labels but the most successful of artists make it as headliners, which could even be seen as a marketing method for the BIG 3. Some of Sony’s biggest headliners include Michael Jackson, George Michael and Beyonce, for Universal, artists such as Adele, Kanye West and Taylor Swift are at the forefront, and for Warner Music, Madonna, Cold Play and Ed Sheeran are the some of the stand out artists.

In a very compact and fast list: Began with the phonautogaph, then the phonograph, then the first commercial radio broadcast to the first externally powered gramophone meaning microphones were available but sound quality was low. The first portable device, called the Sony Walkman was created, then crowds moved to the Phillips Laserdisk and then to the compact CD and then to the first MP3 which we know music as now. In terms of music in today’s society, it is now a lot more accessible to everyone. Applications such as iTunes, Soundcloud, Spotify and many others mean that music can be downloaded electronically so there has been a significant decrease in the consumption of CD and Vinyl sales. It is a lot easier now for us to access music online and then plug it in to a speaker. Digital was the primary revenue stream making up 45 percent, which came on top of selling of physical formats which made up 39 percent.

Live music and tours is another way that the industry revenue can be increased because it brings the global icons to a place where large audiences can gather to watch and enjoy the music and company of these stars that they adore. Adele for example, has a live tour in 2017 coming up and this sold out within a day, including all other format tickets such as VIP ones as well. Adele is currently working under Sony Records with Columbia Records, and is named as Britain’s most successful female artist. She currently sports 27.4 million followers on Twitter, 65 million Facebook likes and 22.2 million followers on Instagram. Meaning that technology now comes into play with the music industry, whereby they don’t have to just connect with the artist through the sound of their music or through their live tours, this is now moved on through social media so they can follow the icons through their lives.  In addition to live music and tours, TV programmes, documentaries or in Amy Winehouse’s case, a film can be made. This then launches a whole new audience and publicity opportunity for these stars and their fans. ‘Amy’ was a documentary about the life and death of the singer-song writer, delving into the issues and problems of the star and the consequences she then took as a result of the influences and pressures she was surrounded by. The documentary was directed by Asif Kapadia in 2015, and as a result of this opened back up the Amy Winehouse music sales and an increase of the CD and single ‘Back to Black’ was prevalent. Marketing such as this brings back popularity to these global stars, for example when Jessie J, a Cornish star who is signed with Universal Republic, was the star of Comic Relief in 2013 when she shaved off her hair for charity, this brought publicity to her, and her CD sales revenue then increased. Additionally to this, Adele had a one off special programme on BBC One called ‘Adele at the BBC’ hosted by Graham Norton on 20^th November 2015. She performed some of her old songs and some of the new ones she was releasing from her new album ‘25’, but again this then increased the popularity of her album as the audiences were given a sneak preview into it.

In conclusion, the modern industry albeit it extremely large, is still growing and developing each day. With artists being able to access their audiences in different ways and different formats, and the ever increasing revenue value being added to by live music tours, meet and greets and merchandise. In my opinion, it seems that the essence of music, which is defined as: vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion, has been lost and it is now becoming an industry of nothing but the importance of money and success. Artists that are living on millions with a mediocre voice and stage presence are hiding those who busk day in day out on the streets, but expose the true talent and beauty music should be about.

How effectively were your three main texts marketed?

My three main texts, being I’m a Celebrity which was first aired in 2002 -2016 (ITV), Gogglebox which was first aired in 2013-2016 (Channel 4) and The Great British Bake Off (GBBO)  which was first aired in 2010-2016 (BBC1) are all extremely popular programs within the reality television genre. This is evident from the viewing figures in 2016 with GBBO’s final episode bowing out on the 26^th October 2016 with a peak of 14.9 million viewers, which is the format’s biggest overnight audience yet. Gogglebox climbed to a series high in 2016, but figures were still halved from the previous series opener however many fans have reacted to this, and said the reason is for the departure of many of the best loved families. I’m A Celebrity’s final however drew in an average of 10.5 million viewers and reached a peak of 11.4 million - making it the most watched final of the show since 2013.

In terms of the campaign for each programme, each one has a few alternatives of the advert they use to put out to the public. With I’m A Celebrity, they are becoming known for their infamous and funny adverts which include Ant and Dec, so this platform uses star power to attract it’s viewers as this presenting duo are extremely popular with all viewers, whether older or younger. The audience of a platform are always reflective of the individuals within the programme itself. So with GBBO, a diverse and wide range of individuals are used so this up takes a bigger audience to watch it.

GBBO displays 12 weeks of new baking styles, and every contestant will come up with a new and creative idea, so of course the audience are going to see at least one or two bakes that they are keen to try themselves, giving the merchandise and marketing team a great opportunity to reach out even further to the fans. An article named ’10 things every Great British Bake Off fan needs now’ was published by the Telegraph, promoting their most successful merchandise products which included a mask of Mary Berry’s face and a set of oven gloves marked with the famous saying ‘On your marks, get set, bake!’. GBBO have geared towards the home appliance merchandise route, which will be popular with audiences as they would be both females and males between the ages of 19-65. With I’m A Celebrity; the programme is now a well-established format so every year viewers look forward to it coming back to the screens. Since the format is different to other reality TV programmes whereby the contestants are sent to the jungle in Australia to live and take on a number of tasks. So the marketing teams need a new approach to this, and within their merchandise they have produced products such as a game show, a series of food and beverage to try and t-shirts well. Furthermore, I’m a Celebrity have an app on Apple and Android, allowing viewers to keep up with news from the jungle, interact in games and vote for free, a feature which would attract many audiences.

The marketing for these big platforms is then continued when the awards season comes around, each programme battles it out for BAFTAS, National TV Awards, TV Quick Awards and many more, but it is the winners that gain that extra slice of media attention. Gogglebox, which was first aired in 2013, has since won a BAFTA in 2014 for best reality and constructed factual show and then went on to win a National TV award for most popular factual entertainment show in 2015 and 2016. Compared to I’m a Celebrity which has now been running for 14 years, they have been extremely successful winning a BAFTA for best entertainment programme/series in 2003 and then a national TV award in 2007 for best entertainment programme, then they retained this title in 2011 and have been the winners all the way up to the present awards. GBBO have been just as successful, winning BAFTAS for Best feature show in 2012, 2013 and 2016, additionally to this, they have won National TV awards for the most popular challenge show in 2015 and 2016.

Spin off shows are also an additional marketing approach, by continuing on the format of the show in a different style in the time period that the main show isn’t running. I’m a Celebrity have a spin off show which runs for an hour straight after the main show called ‘I’m a Celebrity, Extra Camp!’, this year the star power and reference to previous series was put into play as Vicky Pattison, winner in 2015, Stacey Solomon, winner in 2010 and Joe Swash, winner in 2008 and comedian Chris Ramsey presented this, but the programme received backlash with viewers stating ‘They are trying too hard’. Additionally to this, Joe Swash presented a series of countdown shows highlighting some of the best trails, winners and moments throughout the 14 series. Gogglebox went on to produce a spin off show featuring children called ‘Gogglesproggs’, which on its opening episode raked in 4 million viewers, and individuals from the show went on to star in other reality TV programmes such as Dom Parker starred in ‘The Jump’, Scarlett Moffatt then went on to win I’m s Celebrity, which was great programme endorsement as she is known as the star from Gogglebox, so those that watched her become queen of the jungle may then go back to Gogglebox to see what she was like on there.  

To conclude, through a series of trailers, social networking campaigns and TV appearances each text is marketed effectively to draw in their worldwide crowds.

A2 Weekly News Update 10

My story this week comes from the Mirror, and will attract all Spice Girls fans.. but not in a good way! There has been talks for months now about a possible reunion for the spice girls, as Geri Horner, Emma Bunton and Mel B were planning to reunite the group as a three since Mel C and Victoria Beckham gave it the thumbs down. However there's now some more sad news for fans, as Geri has pulled out of the reunion as she is now pregnant with her second child. She already has a 10 year old daughter, Bluebell form a previous relationship and is now expecting a baby later this year with her husband.


A spokesperson for Geri publicly said that 'Geri's priorities have changed. her baby is due later this year and rather than force a reunion, she needs to concentrate on more personal matters'. This of course upset the nation as they were preparing for Britain's biggest girl band to reform, but are they putting themselves in a danger zone trying to reunite after their world wide success all those years ago?

Why does this article interest me?

I am interested by this article because I am a big believer that when a group or a band have major success in the music instury, this should not try and be repeated as the press will be on them and instantly judging them. The article from the Mirror exaggerates the story and speaks of the reunion being 'axed' when it is evident that Geri has pulled out for good and proper reason. 

A2 Weekly News Update 9

THE QUEEN IS BACK!

My story this week comes from the Daily Mail, and shares the fantastic news that the Queen has recovered from her nasty illness after a month indoors.. Yes a month! And she is now back to reporting to her duties, which included a church service at Sandringham Palace on Sunday 8th January where she was joined by Prince Phillip, and William and Kate. 

It is very rare that the Queen does not attend events throughout the year, of course everyone gets ill and this cannot be helped, but as a result of the multiple deaths that occured during 2016, it was no wonder that the public went into meltdown about the Queen's health when 4 weeks went by and she had missed the Christmas Day and New Years Day services. 

Tweets such as this one poured out about the Queen on Christmas Day:
'There's 6 days of 2016 left, someone hold down the Queen and keep her well'

Why did I find this story so interesting?

As this story is from the Daily Mail, it is a reoccurring thing that stories are exaggerated from this newspaper. So this article caught my eye for this reason, and also for the reason that I am a very proud fan of the Queen.