THE PHENOMENON OF DIGITAL MEDIA CONVERGENCE IN RELATION TO ONLINE MUSIC VIDEO
TIEGAN SCULLY
42774012
TIEGAN SCULLY
42774012
As society advances socially, economically and
technologically, an emphasis has been put on the phenomenon of digital media
convergence. This phenomenon describes the conglomeration of various media and
technologies, impacting on the way people obtain and use various information.
Mueller (1999) suggests that ‘convergence is driven by the declining cost of
information processing power’. Historically, analogue types of media and
technology such as telephones and telegraphs had sufficed the needs and uses of
society, but the decrease in cost of information processing has lead to the
introduction of the digital age and the standardisation of many different
processes. The prominence of the internet is one example and how it has acted
as a ‘prototype’ for future convergence media. Mueller (1999) describes the
internet as the ‘immature version of the fully digital media of the future;
representing the future of broadcasting and telecommunications as well as the
future of networked computing’. Thus through the phenomenon of digital media
convergence and the prevailing use of the internet, the uses and access to
media has changed. This has become evident in the use of music videos and how
they can now be accessed online at anytime.
Music videos have ventured predominately into the online
sphere in the twenty first century, by the technological advances of digital
media convergence. This has mainly been seen through the boundless access and connection
to media through mediums such as iPhones, Androids, Tablets and Laptops etc.
The technological development over time has now seen the
ability to access almost anything online through you-tube, social media, blogs
and search engines. Hence, the main focus is on the exceptional ability to
envision clips and music videos on you-tube before they are legally released.
Hilderbrand (2007) identifies the effort-less lengths and the convenience of you-tube
through ‘the specific moments a viewer wants to see, can now be searched and
accessed without the hassles of watching live broadcasts, making recording, or
waiting through exposition and commercial breaks’.
An example of
music video convergence evolving over time is evident through the two pop icons
Madonna and Lady Gaga, who are continuously competing for the throne of ‘Queen
Of Pop’. However, the icons have the
same socioeconomic status they developed through the media in dissimilar ways
due to the differing technological eras. In 1984, when Madonna was reaching her
stardom, the relationship built with her audience was developed through live
performances, magazine and television interviews. Nevertheless, due to digital
media convergence some may conclude that Lady Gaga has the easier era of
communication through different technologies now available. Social icons,
now have the potential to manipulate their audiences through technological
advances in social media, such as twitter and face book. As of August 2012,
Lady gaga has accumulated approximately 2.2 billion views on you-tube, with a
following of approximately 1.6 million subscribers. The use of Youtube has
exposed a vast amount of people to her music videos, thus promoting her image
and stardom.
Wessels (2011) discusses how media convergence ‘concerns
cross-promotional synergy and brand extension’. Music videos can no longer be
obsolete forms of communication i.e. through television, but can embody new
media forms such as interactive campaigns and blogs (wessels, 2011). This in
turn, leads to a greater scope of audience and extension of brand imaging. Madonna’s
era in comparison to Gaga’s reflects one that has been less accessible to
various media mediums which had been segmented to specific markets. Music
videos could only be seen at programmed times through television broadcasts.
For example the ‘Rage’ and ‘Video Hits’ televised programs allowed users of the
television medium access to music videos, with no assumption that their
favourite artists could be viewed. Conversely, digital media convergence and
new channels of media access have allowed society the ability to watch what
they want, and when.
Therefore, the phenomenon of digital media convergence is
evident through the technological advances which have changed the way society
has access to various media such as music videos. The emergence of the internet
and you-tube has changed the way music videos can be accessed and how artists
can deliver their performances to fans. You-tube has pioneered this movement
allowing ‘viral’ and ‘revolutionary’ forms of promotion (Hilderbrand, 2007).
The process of digital media convergence has continually been developed and advanced
throughout the years. Ithiel de Sola Pool’s (1983) proposed a concept whereby ‘a
single integrated common carrier that met all media needs’ has, over time, been
refined and evolved. Thus the phenomenon of digital media convergence has been
influential for media such as music videos.
REFERENCES
Hilderbrand, L. (2007). “YOUTUBE: WHERE CULTURAL MEMORY AND
COPYRIGHT CONVERGE. Film Quarterly. Vol. 61.
Wessels, E. (2011). ‘Where were you when the monster hit?
Media convergence, branded security citizenship, and the trans media phenomenon
of Cloverfield’. Convergence: The international journal of research into new
media technologies. Vol. 17, No.1
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