Comparing Conventions

Comparing Conventions - The differing conventions of a Pop Rock and RnB music video

One of the major stereotypical differences between rock and R’n’B is the race of the artists that produce the music. In the music industry it is predominately black people who produce R’n’B and white people who produce rock music This association has remained and it seems that the audiences of both of these genres have come to accept these stereotypes. Of course, there will the occassional artist who defies the stereotype such as Eminem and Bloc Party. 

As a result of race differences, each genre conveys a particular style in their music videos. Since R’n’B, is music typically from the lower class black American, this will influence the image that the rap artists tries to portray. In these music videos, more often than not the rap artist is shown as a dominant figure (which is the stereotypical role men play in society) either through wealth, by actually physically seeing money or the use of props, or sexual dominance over women, by either being surrounded by women or having total infatuation from one woman. Through the surveys we carried I ascertained the target audience is predominately females aged 13-20 and therefore this grouping is not the target audience for our song. To attract their target audience, images are used to make the artist seem evocative and to reinforce this it is essential they portray a life style that the target audience will buy in to. In the majority of the videos women are dressed in a promiscuous manner, which also promotes the video to the male target audience due to the sexual pleasure they gain from seeing these attractive women scantily dressed.

A good example would be 50 Cent- In Da Club.

On the surface it seems they are polar opposites, however the underlying principles are the same. A good example to demonstrate these similarities is Arctic Monkeys –Brainstorm. The majority of the footage of the band is mainly focused on the front man Alex Turner, who is considered the best-looking member of the band (which gives pleasure for the viewers). The band promote themselves in a dominant manner, but instead of portraying this dominance through props and lifestyle, they display their superiority by playing their musical instruments in a arrogant manner, as if to say "of course we are this good what else would you expect?". In a similar way to R’n’B music videos, attractive women are dancing around in a half manic manner as if the music has overwhelmed them, which incorporates the Male Gaze Theory. However, the slight difference is that Arctic Monkeys portray a sense of effortless style, whereas 50 Cent seems to constantly want to prove his wealth and riches.

A major difference between the two groups is the promotion of other branded products. The R’n’B industry is highly competitive; not only do they promote the artist but they interject the promotion of current or upcoming products. For example Taio Cruz, Dynamite, actively promotes the new BMW motorbike through close ups of the brand label via mise-en-scene. These products soon become dated, as does the song associated with them. Therefore R’n’B songs have a higher turnover. This may be an issue for the industry as most R’n’B artists are out of fasshion within 3 years. By way of contrast rock only uses the music video to promote the band.

Often rock videos try to incorporate depth and style into their videos through visual metaphors and substantial lyrics, possibly reflecting the target market which is a more mature audience in the 16 to mid 40s age group.