2. THE PRODUCTION
OF MUSIC VIDEOS

3. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF AN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER?
The role of a executive producer is to supervise the work of the producer to
benefit the studio, the financiers or the distributors. They have to make sure
the music video is completed on time, it is within budget, also to agree artistic
and technical standards. The term often applies to a producer who has raised a
large amount of the videos finance. Often, executive producers are not
involved in the videos technical area of the filming process, instead they
played an important part on the music videos financial or creative side, so they
are to make sure the video goes into production.
The executive producer has several responsibilities. Development, packaging,
financing and production. These are all crucial responsibilities.

4. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A MUSIC
PRODUCER?
A music producer or record producer has many roles. Music producers were
traditionally responsible for editing songs in recording sessions, which later
got turned into a finished product that you hear on the radio. Although this is
still one of their roles, over the years producers are becoming more
accountable for the overall production. Nowadays the music producer has a
role of the creative director for an entire album. Two other main roles is that
they coach musicians and manage overseas recording sessions. Another
important responsibility is that they manage the budget set by the recording
company, and is responsible for scheduling during the recording process.
However, some music producers don‟t work for companies, they may want to
work independently. This could mean that they want to gain experience before
they go onto a big record company.

5. WHAT HAS TO BE CONSIDERED
DURING THE PREPRODUCTION
STAGE?
For the pre-production stage in the music industry, the recording artist spends
a lot of time on refining and creating their ideas. The artist then produces the
songs demo recording and rough draft. This is in order to make sure
everything is running well and up to date. This could also save the cost of
using expensive recording studios. The aim is to go into a recording phase of
production with the basic and best ideas which have been already established.
Another way to explain pre-production is the tasks that need to be completed
before the actual production can begin. There are many tasks that need to be
achieved before the shooting can begin, such as meeting the client,
storyboarding, research, location, planning and more. This may be used by the
small music video production companies.

6. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A LARGE,
SUCCESSFUL MUSIC VIDEO
PRODUCTION COMPANY.

7. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A MORE
INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION
COMPANY.
• Ep!k music videos is one example of an independent company. Although
they may not be located in the UK, they have a lot of experience in the
music industry. On their website they show various music videos they have
worked on.
• Brodie Films is another independent company who is based in London. It
was established in 2006 by Tasha Bertram and Thomas Brodie Sangster.
The main objective of the company is to create opportunities in the film
industry, however, they have produced three music videos.
• Another example of an independent production company is coffee films
which were first established in 1996 by a group of friends, artists and
musicians living around Kent. At the start of their career they
experimented with zero-budget projects which has led up to them now
producing music for un-signed artists.

8. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A
DIRECTOR?
The most obvious role of a music video director is to direct the crew involved
with making the music video. The director also controls the artistic and
creative side of the video, along with the technical crew. You can see the
director also is in charge of overseeing creative aspects of the music video.
As mentioned earlier, the director is important in the post-production area
too. The director works along side the editors to make sure everything is how
it should be. For example they make sure that they have the right camera
shots, Mise-en-scene, editing and also to ensure that the narrative fits well to
suit the video. The director also works with the sound to ensure everything is
right. You will also see the director working closely with the crew and cast to
make sure they get all the practise they need.

9. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE
LABEL?
The label is a big responsibility in the music industry. The label does five
things, in order they are; 1. Production 2) Manufacturing 3)Distribution 4)
Promotion 5) Copyright Enforcement. Each one of these mean different
things, Production means recording and mixing the software, Manufacturing is
the costs of CD‟s, Distribution is the help of getting it on iTunes (distributing
it) Promotion means promoting the product, this could be on any website for
example YouTube, My Space, Facebook or radio stations etc., The Copyright
Enforcement is when they require copyright laws.
The label also signs acts into long-term contracts. For example Madonna still
has another album on her contract.

10. COMMISSIONING THE VIDEO
What people are not aware of is that the music business changes all the time,
but one part that doesn‟t change is the record labels responsibility is to its
artists music production and subsequently to the marketing and sales of the
music. Famous artists who attract a big audience will benefit them as the label
will sell a lot of music, they also help the artists to get the highest possible
sales in many ways, such as radio, internet and television. They can then sell
their songs in various ways such as iTunes and ringtones. A lot has changed
from the 1990s as back then the labels didn‟t get involved as much as they do
now. However nowadays, they negotiate deals that involve merchandising and
touring.

11. THE CREW
The most significant part of the production is hiring the crew for the video.
For each music video, the main people you require are:
• Camera Crew – this role involves helping the director with the photography
• Electric Crew – this role involves functioning the electrics
• Art Department – this involves deciding on the videos imaginative side
• Sound Department – this involves making sure the sound is how it should be
• Specialty Item Operators – he/she is in charge of the crane etc.
• Production assistants – people who help out
• Glam Squad – he/she style the artist, wardrobe, hair and make-up
• Casting Team – involves a casting director and casting assistants

12. CREATING THE BUDGET
The people who generate the budget are the producer, the executive producer
or the head of production. Most times, they will hire a bidder to create the
final budget for the music video. The bidder then researches the costs and
creates the budget, after that, they will send it off to be approved. Not only is
a bidder used for music videos, but they are used for commercial productions
as well. Despite of whether the producer creates the budget, he or she is
round about always drawn in, since it is the producer who will ultimately be
held accountable in the end.

13. THE DISTRIBUTION
OF MUSIC VIDEOS

14. WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS
METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION?
Once the song is released there are many ways in which it can be distributed.
One of which is to distribute online, There are various way in which to do this.
One example is YouTube, YouTube is the biggest site to upload your videos and
get views/comments on them. YouTube is a great way to show your videos as
anyone gets to see them. Another way could be to show them on social
networks such as Facebook, Twitter, My Space etc. These are great examples of
ways to show/mention your videos as your friends/family will get the
opportunity to make them more popular. Another way in which to distribute
your video is by advertising them on big music streaming services such as
iTunes and Spotify. These are ideal for independent artists who are looking to
make it big. Spotify pays the artists song if it is played. From research it is
apparently not that hard to sell your songs on iTunes and other song-selling
sites, surprisingly it can be just as easy to get featured on Spotify as well. Many
of the same companies handling distribution for iTunes are now handling
Spotify distribution. In America the costs are $1 per song and $10 per album
this is a great way to get your music distributed. Another way to distribute your
music is by radio and music channels. To get your music on the radio it is not
straight forward but it is a very competitive game. The major radio stations are
incredibly hard to get into if you are an independent artist. They often look for
the big budget and big movers. Some music channels are Channel AKA, Viva
and MTV. These are ways in which your music will be known nationally and
worldwide.

15. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A LARGE
VIDEO DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
“Entertainment One Distribution is North America's leading independent music and video distribution
company. We offer a one-stop solution for physical and digital distribution for independent record labels
and studios. Our sales team of over twenty sales professionals services all major and independent accounts.
We provide accurate and timely fulfilment from our 100,000 square-foot automated distribution centre in
Port Washington, NY. We offer state-of-the-art reporting through our B2B site. Eone is an international
aggregator for iTunes and other leading digital retailers” http://www.eonedistribution.com/aboutus.aspx
“eOne Distribution is a division of Entertainment One (LSE:ETO), a leading international entertainment
company that specializes in the acquisition, production and distribution of music, film and television
content. The company's comprehensive network extends around the globe including Canada, the U.S., the
UK, Ireland, Benelux, France, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Through established
Entertainment and Distribution divisions, the company provides extensive expertise in film distribution,
television and music production, kids programming and merchandising and licensing. Its current rights
library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 20,000 film and television titles, 2,400
hours of television programming and 45,000 music tracks.”

16. LARGE INDEPENDENT
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
One website that I found was called Proper Distribution. It is the largest independent
distributor in the UK. They have provided top quality distribution services to over 400
labels around the globe. They supply UK retailers and export accounts.
“Proper Music Distribution Ltd is part of the Proper Music Group Ltd. All of the shares
within the group are owned by those participating in the day-to-day business of the
companies. Being the largest independent distributor in the UK means things are a little
more straightforward at Proper Music. We supply the whole UK music market from market
traders, high street stores (major and independent) to internet retailers, supermarkets and all
of the major digital retailers worldwide. We employ dedicated and loyal telesales people who
are not only knowledgeable about our product but are also enthusiastic and friendly too.
No hidden charges for storage or returns means that what you see is what you get. We've
been in business since 1988. We deal with some of the largest independent labels in the
world; we also offer options for artists unknown in the UK. If you are serious about our
market then please get in touch. Recent winners of the Best Distribution Team - Music
Week Awards 2012, we also received this award consecutively in 2009 and 2010” – Proper
Distribution.

17. GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF A
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY THAT
WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR YOU?
The most suitable way to distribute my music video would be with TuneCore.
TuneCore allows you to distribute you music videos on iTunes. On the website
it says that it helps you get new fans, exposure and it will make you money
from your music. TuneCore has distributed music for many artists such as
Ziggy Marley, Daddy Yankee, Cheap Trick, The Civil Wars and Spike Lee etc.
This would be ideal for me as you can do it in the comfort of you own home.
However the costs seem a bit pricey, for example a video which lasts 0-6
minutes will cost you $299.

18. THE EXHIBITION
OF MUSIC VIDEOS

19. HOW CAN MUSIC VIDEOS BE VIEWED
IN TODAY’S MODERN WORLD?
There are many ways in which your music video can be viewed. The most
obvious ones would be YouTube or any social networking site. In order to
show your music video to the public you need a special licence from AVLA or
a record company, the licence only lasts one year. The website says that “This
licence allows you to copy music videos using encryption and compression
into computer hard drives for the purpose of display at events within Canada”
The price of the licence costs $650, however you do benefit a lot from it.

20. CENSORSHIP

21. DISCUSS CENSORSHIP
Wikipedia “Censorship of music is the practice of
restricting free access to musical works.
Censorship in the USA began in the early 1940‟s – 1970‟s by rock and This censorship may stem from a wide variety of
R&B. This was when those genres of music got the attention of motivations, including moral, political, military or
people with lyrics which involved sexual desires, drugs and violence. religious reasons. Censorship can range from the
This lead to people being appalled by rock and R&B as young people complete government-enforced legal prohibition of
would listen and promote bad behaviour. However actual censorship a musical work, to private, voluntary removal of
began in 1955 when over 30 songs were banned. In the early 1970‟s content when a musical work appears in a certain
and 80‟s censorship went from songs to music videos. The genres context. Examples of censorship of music range
which were targeted by moral authorities were heavy metal, rock and from changed or excluded lyrics (this falls into the
rap due to having so much violence. MTV did not allow black artists category of what is known as “radio edit”), to
music videos to be aired on their channel until many complaints restricted cover album artwork, to the banning of
started to come up. „Billie Jean‟ by Michael Jackson was the black artists airing on the radio or television for numerous
artists to have his music played on TV. conflicts, such as moral and racial/religious issues.”
In 1990, the black and white parental advisory logo was born due to the Parents Music Resource
Centre urged the music industry/government to promote a age rating system for music, so parents can
be more aware of what their children can and cannot listen to.

22. DISCUSS CENSORSHIP
Censorship of popular music
The only way you can get your song on the radio or various television programmes is that you make
a clean version of your song. Many labels and artists produce clean versions, either with alternative
lyrics or bleeping. Many radio stations censor them themselves. Some forms of censorship are:
Blanking; when the volume is muted for all or part of the offensive word.
Bleeping; playing a noise, usually a "beep", over all or part of the offensive word.
Re-sampling; using a like-sounding portion of vocals and music to override the offensive word(s).
Re-singing; Replacing the offensive word/phrase with a more appropriate word/phrase.
Backmasking; taking the offensive word(s) and reversing the audio, sometimes the whole audio is reversed
(often because it is a home-made job), but more usually only the vocal track is reversed.
Repeating; repeating the word(s) just said before the explicit word(s) was used.
Skipping; deleting the offensive word(s) from the song without a time delay.
Echo; instead of saying the explicit word(s), it echoes the last word(s) said in the line.
Disc scratching; in Hip-Hop, scratching on the swear word, making it sound like another word, or make the
word said faster or slower.
RoboVoicing; making the word totally non-understandable by overpowering a robotic voice effect (usually
used as a last resort for home-made jobs).
Distorting; Usually in Hip-Hop, less offensive words are distorted. It is usually done by altering the pitch