UK Tribes and Find Your Tribe - Me and My Target Audience

About UK Tribes and Find Your Tribe

UK Tribes was created by Crowd DNA for Channel 4 to discover more about young people in Britain. Nowadays, tribes are much more varied than they once were. For brands and companies it is very important that they know who their target markets are. To get the information, young people across the country were questioned about different aspects of their lives; for media, to aspirations, to their brand preferences. The information was honest and uncensored to create a data bank full of information.
The company UK Tribes was created in 2005 to run a project named TV Glue. The project focused on how TV was part of society. A smaller part of the project focused on how ‘social glues’ affected youth culture, based on music, sport, fashion, technology, etc. This information was regarded as very important by marketing and media people. The research continued and extended its depth, it became more genuine and ‘close-up’ to avoid generalisation. All the information is from young people about themselves.
The research was conducted using two types of questions, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research included online forums, in-depth interviews, vlogs, etc. The quantitative research was made up of an online survey called ‘Find Your Tribe’. The first version, which ran in 2006, gathered data from over 50,000 people and version two, which ran in 2008, gathered 38,000+ people’s data.
The output created from the research was priceless; it allowed media and marketing people to find out about youth culture and what was happening in young people’s worlds.
Since the project started the data has changed, they started off with 23 tribes but gained 4 and lost 2), and it will continue to change as young people and their culture develops. While UK Tribes are recording this information they are building up an invaluable archive of young Britain.  

                                          My Tribe was an Indie Kid 

My Target Audience's Tribe was Indie Scenestar

Alternative and Leading Edge Tribes

What Will Marketers Find Useful From The Information?

The information that has been made available by this project is very useful for the media and marketers. Before the survey there wasn’t really any ‘real’ information about the youth of Britain that was constantly evolving. Now if the information is used it is up to date as possible because as more data comes in from ‘Find Your Tribe’ the data is updated. The breakdown of the segments and tribes allow the information to be specifically tailored to which audience the media and marketers are looking at.  The media information will allow marketers and media personnel to promote their products to their target audience through the right social networks, magazines, TV channels and online sites. For example, if a marketer wanted to promote a new magazine they put adverts on Channel 4 and Channel 5, as they are the channels the target market have said they most watch. The media consumption section shows how much the certain tribe spends on each type of media, again in the case of the tribe for my target market; there would be no point me trying to promote my band using the TV as overall not many people from the target market watch the TV, instead I would use most likely the internet as it is most heavily used by my target market. The section on brands allow the media and marketers to find out what sort of other products the target market likes, for example, the tribe I looked at did lots of online shopping so to create a wider brand for my product I could set up an online shop to sell merchandise. Much like Josh Franchessi from You Me At Six and Jack Barakat from All Time Low has done who have their own or are part of a clothing line, (Down But Not Out and Glamour Kills).

Links to the Websites:

http://www.findyourtribe.co.uk/

http://www.uktribes.com/

Women in The Music Industry

Even now in the 21^st century, the music industry is still male dominated, whether this is on stage or behind the scenes, it has never been seen as a place of work for women.

This is clearly shown in the results of a survey conducted in 2009, 66% of workers behind the scenes in the UK are male, and only 30% of backstage workers in London are female. Another statistic is that 47% of women actually involved in the music industry earn less than £10,000 per year which compared to 35% of men probably explains why there are so few women behind the scenes. The statistics show that there isn’t just a lack of females backstage but also in executive and managerial roles too. Jon Webster, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum has been quoted saying that only around 15% of their members are women and that only 6% of women in the music business earn more than £29,000, where as 22% of men earn more than £29,000.

In the past there have been very few well-known female rock artists. The Runaways, Lee Aaron, Debbie Harry, Evanescence, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Annie Lennox and Heart are all bands with females in them or leading them who have achieved success.

One of the first ever well known female rock artists was Janis Joplin, she was born in Texas in 1943, and her music career started in 1962. Probably her most famous song is “Me and Bobby McGee”. Her albums, including “Cheap Thrill” and “Pearl” were multi-platinum. She helped bring females in the music industry in front of the public eye and in 2004 Janis was ranked 46^th in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

A band who became very popular in the 70s and 80s was Heart; they combined the genres of rock and folk to create a unique sound. Over the decades the band has split and reformed a few times but sisters Anne and Nancy Wilson have always been part of the band. They have released 12 studio albums, some have gone platinum, and sold more than 30 million albums across the globe.

Debbie Harry is well known in the music industry now but when Blondie first formed they didn’t have many fans, possibly because of being a female fronted band. Critics at the time said they would never be famous or find much success but when they released the album “Parallel Lines” in 1978 they took off and became very famous. Today, when you look back at the 70s and 80s Blondie is one of the bands that stand out the most and their music has stood the test of time.

Joan Jett has probably done the most for females in the rock music industry, since she was 15 she has been an active part of the business. Her first band The Runaways weren’t very popular but has since become known for breaking into the male dominated rock music scene. In 2010 a film was released about the band and it showed just how hard it was for females in the music industry during the 70s and 80s. After leaving The Runaways Joan has had 9 top 40 hits, 9 platinum and gold albums and set up her own record label: Blackheart Records. Some of her most famous songs include “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Crimson and Clover”, they both show her edgy, rock style. Rolling Stone Magazine has listed her one of the 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time, on this list there is only one other female guitarist.

Another famous female from the 80s was Lee Aaron; she is Canadian and was born in 1962. When she released her album “Metal Queen” she was put under the spotlight. After this she has since released multi-platinum albums, nominated for various prestigious awards and became known as ‘The Metal Queen’. Her songs such as “Whatcha Do to My Body” and “Sex with Love” are today metal anthems that are still well known. Although today she still performs some of her rock hits, she is working on her Jazz music.

Evanescence are one of the best female fronted rock bands of today even though they have only released 2 albums, which have sold over 20 million copies across the globe. Amy Lee, the front woman, formed the band in 1994. In 2003 they released their debut album “Fallen”. It spent 43 weeks in the top 10 in the US and sold more than 15 million copies. They were one of the first female fronted rock bands to use music videos as a way of promoting their music. The way Amy Lee is portrayed and the ideas used within the video have shown the potential effect that a female fronted rock band could have on the music industry.

Like Lee Aaron, Avril Lavigne was a big female rock star to come from Canada. When she was 17, her debut album “Let It Go” sold over 16 million copies. Her song “Sk8er Boi” from the album “Let It Go” catapulted her into the spotlight. She has in total sold over 30 million copies of her albums and has also appeared on TV, as well as in films such as “The Flock”. Although her music is a mixture of pop and rock they also have a punk/grunge twist. As one of the youngest females to be signed to a record label, she will stay in the spotlight for a while to come.

All of these female artists mentioned above have already broken through the male-based music business which is why they are better known. The Hype Theory are today, facing just as tough a battle as bands such as The Runaways, as the rock chart is still dominated by male bands, even though there are rock bands with females in them, such as Scarlet's Wake and Rhode Island Red, trying to achieve success. This is shown when you look at the number of female to males in the ‘iTunes Top 10 Rock Albums’ chart. Only one of the bands featured in the chart, Mazzy Star, actually feature a female. All the others are completely male bands. You Me at Six who are 2^nd in the chart are a band that have been an influence for The Hype Theory and are a similar band with similar audiences.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazzy_Star
http://www.scarletswake.co.uk/News.htm
http://www.apple.com/euro/itunes/charts/top10rockalbums.html
http://www.rhodeislandred.co.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Runaways

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/where-are-the-women-to-rock-the-music-industry-2009515.html

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/womeninrockpart1.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/may/07/behind-the-music-gender-gap

http://afeministresponsetopopculture.blogspot.com/2010/03/women-in-alternative-music.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/jul/23/behind-music-female-a-rs

http://www.cracked.com/funny-2354-the-top-female-rock-icons-all-time/

http://www.squidoo.com/Ten-Best-Female-Rock-Bands

Applying Goodwin's Theory to 'Monster' by Paramore

Throughout the video of Monster the six main points of Goodwin's theory are shown and represented very clearly but there are also some other factors that relate to the band that are shown too.

Firstly, the video demonstrates its genre, rock/pop/punk, by showing performance scenes of the band in the video. All of the band members are performing in separate rooms, Hayley is singing and Taylor and Jeremy are playing their instruments, at the end of the video they all end up in the same room with their equipment which shows their bond within the band. This is very typical of Paramore style and representation of their genre; only one of their music videos has not got a performance element to it (Brick by Boring Brick), it also typical of similar bands such as All Time Low (from America), and You Me At Six (from United Kingdom). Both of these bands music videos are very dependent on performance scenes and almost every single one of their videos includes a performance.

Performance Shot

The next point of Goodwin's theory that is recognizable is the link between the visuals and the lyrics. The first verse of the song references water. "You were my conscience, So solid now you're like water, We started drowning, not like we'd sink any further, But I let my heart go, It's somewhere down at the bottom". While these lyrics are being sung there are images of the band laying in water and shots of their faces in reflections to make them look as though they are under water, thus the lyrics are amplified. Also, the shot of the band laying in the water has quite a religious theme, kind of like a baptism, this is because of the bands Chrisitian belfiefs and has been reflected very subtly into the video.

Laying in the Water

As Paramore are part of a record label, Fueled By Ramen, there are demands for a variety of shots and angles to be used in the video. From looking at some of Paramore the main visual style seems to be close ups of Hayley, the lead singer, as she is the main focus of many of the videos, with her band members providing a support role. But there are many close ups of all the band members during performance scenes. Another part of the band's visual style is their use of colour, in Monster much of the colour is provided from the clothes the band are wearing, such as such as their tops and trousers, and Hayley's hair. The use of Hayley's hair colour is very recognizable for fan fans of the band.

Hayley's Iconic Hair Colour

There is a noticeable link between music and visuals, such as when Hayley is laying in the water and singing, the water around her is moving with the music creating a dream-like ripple effect. Also, as the chorus starts there is a use of pyrotechnics which are in time with the music. This creates a sense of performance and theatre and really makes the chorus stand out. Another link between the music and visuals is when the band start hitting and banging on the walls of the rooms they are in with their hands and feet but also their instruments. It’s a slight reference to rock artists who smash up their equipment and reckless antics of the rock genre, such as Pete Townshend of The Who and Jimi Hendrix.  This is, I would say, the strongest link between music and visuals throughout the video, as it is in time with the drum beats and feels very significant when watching the video.

Hitting the Walls

During the video, it’s difficult to spot any immediate inter-textual references like in some videos. Although, the location used for the majority of the video, the abandoned hospital, is similar to the opening location of the film 28 Days Later. In 28 days Later the main character is shown wandering bewildered through an abandoned hospital much like when Paramore are running through the corridors of the abandoned hospital in their video.



Hospital Scene in 'Monster'

Opening Scene of '28 Days Later'

Paramore’s target audience are mainly 14-25 year old males and females. The majority of fan are based in America but there are also a lot of fans in the UK too, these following points are based around UK fans. Their income is fairly low as many are still in education but they are most likely to shop at places such as Vans, H&M and Schuh this is because although these shops are alternative they are a mainstream alternative. Other bands they might listen to include All Time Low, Blink 182, You Me At Six and Muse. This is because these bands all make music in the same genre, also because some of them are bands that have influenced the members of Paramore or bands that have been influenced by Paramore. The target market would also be people that love to go to gigs and see bands live. Fans are a very important point of how well a band does as its those people who buys the music, gig tickets, merchandise etc. 

Paramore Fans

Finally, throughout the video there are references to looking and watching. This is best shown when the video is panning around the hospital and you can see into different rooms, it’s like you are looking into their private space. There is also a use of TVs which reference the notion of looking and watching, especially when Taylor is sitting in a reception area watching TV and we are looking at him watching TV. 

Taylor Watching TV

Link to the Video: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=PoTEnaAI9Fo&feature=player_embedded