Music Videos:Audience~Music Videos (BM&STY)

Audience

Demographic~ Age, Gender,Race,Ethnicity,Location, Spending Power

Name                                 Target Audience 
Little Mix 'Black Magic'        - Girls age 12-16: UK + America 
Little Mix 'Black Magic        - Mixed ethnicities 
Little Mix 'Black Magic'       - All races 
Little Mix 'Black Magic'       - Parents pay for Album/Merch/ Tour Tickets 
                                             
The Vamps 'Somebody       -Girls age 12-16: UK+America (worldwide due to youtube)
                  To You' 
The Vamps 'Somebody      - White ethnicities 
                  To You' 
The Vamps 'Somebody      - White races : through the representations within the video 
                  To You' 
The Vamps 'Somebody      - Parents pay for Album/Merch/ Tour Tickets 
                  To You' 
The Vamps 'Somebody      - Can access online for free, parents pay for favices 
                  To You' 

Name                                 Social = Cultural differences      --- Audience Interpretation
Little Mix 'Black Magic'       -May want to change fashion choice --- Excluded?
Little Mix 'Black Magic        - Some may have been bullies          ---To stop being                                                                                                                  bullied you have                                                                                                              to dress in a sexual way 
Little Mix 'Black Magic'       - May be in love/fancy someone      ---Negative. You have                                                                                                                    to change  
Little Mix 'Black Magic'       - May be popular                                ----Portrayed as stuck up
Little Mix 'Black Magic       - May be a geek                                  ---Portrayed as weirdos
Little Mix 'Black Magic       -May have a parent who is a teacher   ---Portrayed as boring 

                                             
The Vamps 'Somebody
 To You'                              -People who go to beaches           ---Relate to messages within
                                                                                       the video, agree with messages
The Vamps 'Somebody      
                  To You'          -Girls in bikinis on a beach                 ----Pressure of body image
The Vamps 'Somebody     
                  To You'          - Mixed races, only white in video     -----Excluded as not shown 
The Vamps 'Somebody      
                  To You'          -Girls getting attention of boys      ---Only way to get attention is wearing bikini  

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Think about uses and gratifications

The Reception Theory By Stuart Hall 

Preferred reading: Audiences accept the intended messages from the producer. 
-Audience believe that Little Mix can perform magic and have power to help people. 
-Audiences believe that The Vamps are cool, happy and can get any girl they want to. 

Negotiated reading: Audience partly accept, partly reject message intended by producer. 
-Audiences may not be interested in either celebrity so do not watch the video,but enjoy the music. 

Oppositional: Audience completely reject, the messages intended by the producer.
-Audience may not value Little Mix/The Vamps 

How do audiences use music videos to construct their identity? 

Notes

Little Mix - Directed at 12-16 yr old girls. Inspired by Little Mix. Confidence + power 
Personality: Geek to popular// Change their outfit based on the rep of the regular group 

The Vamps- Having fun
The girls in music video: dress to impress, body image, all heterosexual 

Answer 

The target audience for the videos Little Mix 'Black Magic' (B.M) and The Vamps 'Somebody to you' (S.T.Y) are for girls aged 12-16 who may construct there identity from the  music videos. In B.M the artists are shown as weak, worhtless towards the start of the video which can reflect on 'geeks' in real life and how they are shown in society, however they then use there magic to change to 'popular' characters who are portrayed as having more dominance then the characters before giving them more of a dominant representation showing the audience that the 'popular' girls are better. The personality of the artists dramatically change when the outfits are changed from raggy and dirty to glam and trendy which reflects on the style you have to be to be these types of people giving a message to the audience that thats the best.The artists throughout the video show their own personal identity through the characters they are playing which lets the audience construct their identity from their facial expressions when changing. 

In S.T.Y , The Vamps are portrayed as upbeat, fun boys who enjoy life which is reflected by location, lighting and facial expressions throughout the video. The video shows only white ethnicites which can show to the audience that other races are excluded and are not inclusive of other ethnicities.

How do audiences interpret the representations? 

Answer 

The audience interpret the representations in different ways. Some may interpret these videos Little Mix 'Black Magic' (B.M) and The Vamps 'Somebody to you' (S.T.Y) with a preferred reading (according to the receptionist theory) by accepting the stereotypical messages in B.M and only white ethnicities in S.T.Y. Throughout the B.M video the stereotypical 'geek' and 'popular' representations may give the audience a negative view on the messages behind the video making the audience interpret the video with a oppositional reading. However in S.T.Y the style/genre/artists in the video may not appeal to certain people therefore may interpret the video with a negotiated reading. In B.M the artists embody  to the stereotypical 'geek' character by using clothing to show the audience and give  them understanding of what the artists are trying to portray (the geeks are portrayed as unliked, worthless to other characters in the video) however the girls use the 'magic' to turn into stereotypical 'popular' girls which then have dominance and power.