How Music is Presented Across the Media

By Summer Watson

ONE DIRECTIONOne Direction (commonly abbreviated as 1D) are an English-Irish pop boy-band based in London, composed of Niall Horan,Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously, Zayn Malik until his departure from the band earlier this year. The group signed with Simon Cowell's record label after forming and finishing third in the British televised singing competition The X-Factor in 2010. Propelled to international success by largely social media, One Direction's four albums, Up All Night (2011), Take Me Home (2012), Midnight Memories (2013) and Four (2014) topped charts in most major markets, and generated hit singles.

DEMOGRAPHIC As One Direction have established, so has their primary demographic. For example, when they were first recognized and gaining popularity, their audience was much younger girls than compared to now, as the band portrayed a lot more younger, fun views, likewise to a younger audience. However, with the band now more mature, I believe their fan base has expanded, attracting teenagers, as well as young adults, due to the way in which the band are presented. As the band are also now a worldwide success, it emphasizes that they're demographic contains many different ethnic backgrounds, concluding that they have a diverse fan base, that are all connected through the love of the band. Furthermore, through the use of the gaze theory, the band members typically attract a wider female audience, as fans enjoy to see as well as listen to the band.

Here fans are seen using mainly Apple iPhone, suggesting that these fans are all impacted by social media, as well as suggesting their mainstream image within society.

Displaying various ethnic groups that support the band. Although clearly in a foreign country, the impact of British themes are still visible, through the red, white and blue colours seen.

"WE" Links to Pathos' theory of a community and togetherness, as although these fans don't know one another, they share similar interests about the band; therefore brought together as one.

REPRESENTATION DEVELOPMENT

Upon their first arrival into the pop industry, they were expressed through the media as a fun-loving, enthusiastic, care free boy-band. Before One Direction dominated the world, the media used the fact that the band are British, as the main focal point and selling attraction; thus being significantly featured in articles, interviews and television appearances in styled red, white and blue costumes or themed British sets. This at the time allowed the band to establish their primary demographic of British teenagers, as well as engaging and inviting the British public to follow the band, through the use of these British themes. Supporting this positive image of the band, the media (particularly print) often captured the members laughing, or joking around with each other to suggest to the audience that they're an ordinary group of boys that people can relate to, due to their adolescence. In addition, the bands first few music videos feature the members both linking arms to suggest this newly found friendship, as well as expressing their excitement and enthusiasm through excessive body language.

REPRESENTATION DEVELOPMENT One Direction's initial image soon began to develop into a more mature pop band as their audience expanded; being represented within the media in a completely different form, as well as making their music a lot more realistic and serious, depicting their versatility.When comparing albums, the development of the band is initially conveyed through the extreme use of color, compared to the lack of it featured within the latest album. This represents the bands new, reformed identity in the media, as the before use of bright, bold colours not only connotated to the bands loud image, but also grabbing the teenage demographics audience with the attractive colours displayed. In comparison, the dimly lit and simplified album artwork, suggest that they as a band have matured, and want their audience to recognize the difference in their music over the years. In addition, the British themes slowly become non-existing for the band, as they're now being marketed as a global, not just within Britain; therefore a more neutral, basic approach is used, so that a larger audience are welcomed to listen and enjoy the band, rather than only targeting Britain. The bands maturity was recently depicted through the departure of Zayn Malik leaving One Direction. After his departure, the band was shown within interviews and shoots wearing neutral, clean colours, to suggest to audiences that they're unaffected as a band, and that this is a fresh start as now a four member band.

One Direction's Four Albums: Up All Night, Take Me Home,

Midnight Memories, Four

Here we are presented with an iconic telephone box , with 1D

members surrounding the British symbol; suggesting that One

Direction have taken over Britain with their music .

REPRESENTATION ACROSS PRINT:

MAGAZINES NEWSPAPERSVS.

MAGAZINE To coincide with the fun, young image that the band promotes, they're typically featured within teenage magazines such as Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Bliss etc. to target their primary audience of teenage girls.Usually bright, bold colours are used to encourage readers to pick the magazine up, as they're eye-catching; therefore attracting readers to this magazine, compared to others. In addition, when the band feature on covers of girly magazines, often the page is full of poofs, giving readers lots of stuff to focus and look forward to, particularly the bands latest gossip, as fans want to be as close to the members as possible. Furthermore, lots of activities are usually included, to appeal to the young demographic, as typically they're much more of an active audience rather than passive; therefore interactions will appeal more. Significantly within these magazines band-member Harry Styles is usually positioned at the front of the frame. This implies to readers that he's considered a favorite member of the band. Additionally this could coincide to the gaze theory, that he is the reason girls are drawn to reading an article, as he's a large feature. In addition to published articles on the band, magazines also often feature their perfume and makeup products within advertisements as these will appeal to the teenage readers. This goes on to coincide with the theory of Flow, as readers won't loose interest in the magazine after finishing the article on the band, as they'll be featured on other pages too. Additionally the bands products usually only feature in print platforms, due to the band mainly being seen in magazines rather than audio visual, as they're too busy trying to gain global success.

The bands own lipstick brand; each one named after a band

member.

1D's first and second perfume: clearly shows

the development of their representation.

Linking to synergy, the band also have many more varied products that they sell, ranging from bedroom decorations i.e bedding, posters etc. stationary equipment, jewelry and many more, all in which appear in home/ lifestyle catalogues like Argos, in which display the items with bright colours, as well as having young children or teens displayed using the products appearing very happy, implying to parents (these are the consumers, as well as readers) that they too should buy these products if they want their children to be as happy.

Slang words allows the teenage demographic to be

confirmed.

Exploding page makes readers not know where to look, as there's so much crammed

information. This encourages readers to buy the magazine

so they can take it all in in their own time.

Bright, eye-catching colours to attract readers eyes.

Their dark dress code creates a stark contrast against the

hectic page layout, allowing them to stand out and still be

the main focus.

Direct eye-contact from all band members, making the

viewer feel more of a personal connection. Additionally all members of the band are smiling, creating a warm,

friendly feel. " 100%" Suggests that this edition of the magazine

concentrates solely on the band.

Synergy through giving away posters of the band for fans to

keep. Encouraging younger

audiences to take part in interactive activities

Lack of text suggest that it's a an easy read and will mainly

be images of the band.

NEWSPAPERSUnlike One Direction's innocence that's often portrayed within teen based magazines, the papers display a much more serious, controversial side to the band, with sex scandals, drug rumors and cheating allegations all making popular papers front covers (The Sun, Daily Star and The Daily Mirror). Assumingly these stories won't be seen by the bands targeted demographic of young girls, as stereotypically they won't read the papers; therefore fans will still be under the influence that '1D' are the perfect role models to follow. However, due to the lack of colour and images featured within these newspaper articles ,it suggests that adults aged 30+ are the targeted demographic of these stories, as well as suggesting to readers that these stories are much more serious and possibly true, due to the basic layout and abrupt headlines. I believe these articles are published within papers rather than magazines, so that not only are children protected from these controversial stories about their idols, but also as parents are the main consumers of the bands products it's their opinions that truly count, as they wont purchase or encourage their children to like the band once hearing such shocking stories.As previously mentioned, papers such as The Sun and The Daily Mail are the main papers in which publish the bands scandals on their front covers; thus allowing One Directions socio-economic to be established, as primary consumers of these papers are at working class status, suggesting that most fans and consumers of the band are at social-class level D. Furthermore promoting this idea is the comparison of these papers to The Guardian in which has a primary audience at a high economic level, and predominantly doesn't feature celebrity issues on their front page.

BROADCASTINGUpon their first arrival within the pop industry the band often appeared on radio stations like Capital or Radio One, as these typically have young audiences listening, as well as playing modern chart music, which coincides to the bands. From this, it allowed One Direction to become much more popular and well known. Often when the band are interviewed, the main focus is usually their personal life rather than their music, as I believe fans not only want to know the members more personal, but also that the fans are more interested in the members of One Direction, rather than the music they produce.Once the band had become recognized within the pop world, the members, as well as their music began to be featured on radio stations a lot more, with the band even doing "take overs" where they would either be continuously playing their greatest hits, are even revealing the 'Top Hit 40' each week, as they were soon becoming a huge influence within the charts. Again coinciding with the Flow theory, often during broadcasts where the band were featured, advertisements would be shown telling audiences about their tour dates, or usually how to download their latest album or singles. This allows listeners to still keep tuned during adverts, as well as creating revenue for the band, as young audiences will typically prefer to download their album, then buy it on CD.

Even with the band travelling around the world, radio station Capital, still feature the band

on their homepage.

MUSIC VIDEOS

Although One Direction's videos do differ throughout their development, it's still clear that they're owned by a large, wealthy institute, through the high-budget production that's used. Within each of the bands videos, various costume changes are used, expensive sets, CGI effects, added extras (dancers, actors etc.) and even celebrity guest appearances. In addition, the majority of these videos contain the band acting at the beginning of the video, making the music video into more of a short, typically linear narrative. Coinciding to this, the band are signed to Columbia Records which are owned by the Song Record Label, a mainstream organization, who have signed a range of artists, including: 50 Cent, Pink Floyd, Oasis, Katy Perry and many more successful bands and artists.

Again through their music videos, the bands matured representation is displayed, when comparing their latest videos against their first initial music singles. For example, the bands initial ideology, was much more enthusiastic and fun, with the majority of their videos featuring the band dancing, laughing and jumping around. Furthermore, bright, as well as artificial lighting was used to suggest the high energy of the band and their upbeat music. Again, significant symbols, as well as colours linking to Britain were used, to display the importance of their British routes. However, through the aging of the band and their now global demographic, their image began to evolve into a more neutral, mellow approach, which is represented in their latest videos, in which they're often dressed in smarter attire, as well as featuring more low key lighting to coincide with the seriousness of their music. In addition, they're body language features is more toned down, further implying that they've matured and become experienced in the industry.

Here we are displayed with key themes of Britain. (L) Guest starring British Prime Minister,David Cameron. (R)Featuring The London Eye, as well as low angle to

show the power of the band.

(L)The iconic Hollywood sign is displayed in one of the bands music videos, implying the high budget used, as well as suggesting the band have become popular in America.

(R)Displaying the expense of sets and production used to create the videos.

Some of the bands latest videos, show the simplicity and new image that the band are

creating for themselves, particularly with departure of Zayn.

AUDIO VISUALThe band often appear on various mainstream, pop music channels like MTV or 4Music, where the channel usually either have live performances in the studio, or dedicates the whole day to the band, naming it "One Direction Takeover." Traditionally this will entail numerous of their songs being ranked from least preferable to fans favorites, in addition to seeing glimpses of the band when introducing their music. During this the band members are often seen with natural lighting and basic surroundings, furthermore implying to viewers that the main focus is on them and their music, as well as suggesting that they only need one another. In addition to Takeover days, the band are often involved in competitions within these music channels, where the greatest pop artists compete with one another over who has the best fans. During this, E-media is a large influence to One Direction and their fans, as most are young teenagers, who all have access to at least one of the social media platforms. When appearing on television, the flow theory is displayed during the advertisements, as they usually feature the band or their products. For example, a Pepsi advert in which the band were displayed, showed a short glimpse of each member drinking. This goes on to link to the theory of celebrity endorsement, as once seeing this advert, some viewers may be influenced to buy the advertised product. Also to promote their own product, the bands perfume is usually shown during either talent or reality television shows, as typically One Directions feminism fan base will be viewing, as well as attracting a larger female audience. With the band now being a worldwide success, they now rarely feature on British television, instead largely appearing in interviews within foreign countries in attempt to widen their fan base and become as popular as they are within Britain. Although the band aren't often now interviewed on British television, they still usually feature on the release of a new album, or when they’ve won an award; tending to dedicate their success to their first British fan base.Appealing to their younger demographic of girls, often children's television channels will advertise the bands dolls. The use of scheduling this particular advertisement placement, ensures that the correct, younger One Direction fans purchase the dolls, as well as making them feel included with any other 1D fan, as they too have products they can buy. Additionally, the use of neutral colour schemes in which the dolls are advertised, suggests that these will be available worldwide, as everybody will feel again included, as it's not focusing solely on British colours.

The band featuring within a Pepsi advert, with the tag line "LIVE FOR

NOW " This supports their fun representation, as well as

displaying their enthusiasm through the use of capital letters.

The neutral, light colours create a fresh, clean and feminine feel, creating a

similar expectation for the bands perfume. In addition,

the way in which only Harry is perfecting the bottle, depicts

him as the main focus, suggesting that he is as much

interest as the advertised bottle for viewers.

E-MEDIAWhen searching One Direction online, the initial findings were their Twitter page, which appears before their own official website, suggesting that their social media sites are more frequently accessed than other promotional sites, as their target audience and fans are young teenagers who stereotypically use E-media significantly more. Following this, there are other various social media logos placed like Facebook, Instagram YouTube etc. that allow easy navigation for audiences to follow these links directly to the band's sites. In addition, latest news and images appear, showing just a tag line, to get viewers wanting to read more about the band. When listening to One direction on Spotify not only does the site navigate users by listing "most popular" creating a more easier experience, but also during the advertisements, often their latest album will be promoted, encouraging listeners to download or pre-order it. In addition, both Spotify and Apple Music are both advertised on the bands social media sites to tell fans that they can listen to their music on many platforms. As the band are now a global success, many media platforms and sites- particularly those associated with younger audiences'- are the bands primary source to access and inform their fans of what's happening currently. Although the band feature on a range of sites, most of these are set up similarly to one another, with the same images being shared, along with the promotion of the bands albums and upcoming events, as well as each having the same "bio" which feature the links to buying their new album. Therefore this suggests, that it doesn't matter if you don't follow the band on all of social media, or if you can't access certain site, as if you follow the band on one single social media site, then you're still getting the latest and same news that other fans are too, therefore nobody is missing out; bringing fans closer together. Furthermore, the bands change in representation is displayed, through the difference when comparing their first official website, to their now latest. Cleary their original fun views and care free image, has now developed into a much more mature appearance and considered with significantly more serious ideologies.

Three examples of One Direction's social media

sites. As mentioned, each feature very similar

formats, all portraying their renewed image.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE COMPARRISONBright, bold colours; suggesting

a younger audience as this element will attract this

attention.

Links to their social media sites, for quick and easy navigation. Also mention of Twitter suggests that

this is their more dominant way of interacting with fans.

Both images show the band having fun and joking around with one another, suggesting to their fans, that they have strong friendships, as well as portraying that likewise to their demographic, they too are still ordinary even with all the fame.

Again, Harry is portrayed with more of a hierarchy compared to fellow members, due to the way in which he's framed at the centre of the image, as well as being the only member to be brightly dressed., therefore suggesting his importance.

The background image used appears to be set

out like a map, featuring flight tickets and various

destinations, implying that they are becoming

widely well known within other countries.

Numerous drop-downs, showing users that there's lots of different

things to explore, and again making it easier to navigate.

Eye tracker theory is used here. Fans will first look at 1D logo and

all the various drop-down options, then go onto to see their

advertised album "Take Me Home" encouraging them to buy the

album. They then finally go on to see the link to twitter, as well as their recent news and events, so

fans can find out all about the band.

Although appealing to a worldwide demographic, there are still key themes of Britain being depicted, particularly

through the red, white and blue color schemes being used

throughout.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE COMPARRISON Black and white colours scheme, suggests their maturity, as these

are typically associated with adults, as they're much more mellow than

bright themes.

Equal positioning in both images suggests the now four band members are equal to one another.

The website now has less of a hectic layout in comparison to the band years before, suggesting that as well as the band maturing, so has their audience, as they're now much more passive than interactive, as there's less drop down menus, as well as no links to social media or any activities to play.

No links to social media, suggesting that the band are so well known and popular around the world that they no longer need to display their various sites.

Additionally, the font used on their webpage is much more simple and

almost elegant; again linking to their reformed, mature image.

As their fan base has expanded, the band now dress in much more of a neutral, smart dress code, so that all fans are equal and can relate; where as before, the use of British colours was significantly featured.

The members imply to fans that the band are still in a stable position and aren't fazed by

departure of ex-member Zayn Malik, through their relaxed body

language and sincere smiles. The eye tracker theory, coincides to the bands now matured ideologies that are presented to us through their representation across the media, as the most significant thing audiences will initially see on their webpage are the members faces being at equal positioning to one another This goes on to suggest that with now only four members, all are each as important as one another and are valued equally, with before fans having a clear favourite.