Thursday, 25 June 2009

Leeching off other forms of media

Convergence in the music industry is a very regular occurrence - Universal Pictures use Universal Music Group music in their films, Sony Pictures use Sony Music Entertainment music in their films, and Warner Bros. use Warner Music Group music in their films. These are all examples of how companies use cross-media convergence to promote both music and film. However, what is much rarer, and also much more relevant, is when an artist uses footage, old and new, from a film where the track is played for the song's official video. In this case, I am thinking of the appalling band "Paramore", and the equally appalling film, "Twilight". 
TWILIGHT - Paramore Music Video

This video uses shots from the film, cut into shots of the band, shot in a way to appear as if the members are part of the film. Therefore, the video is obviously appealing to the people who enjoyed the film, and on the flip side, people who enjoyed the song will likely watch the video, which serves as a form of advertising. Given that "Twilight" is a film aimed at teenage girls, Paramore must want to be seen primarily as a band that appeals to the same demographic. That the lead singer of the band is a woman, this seems likely, as this connects the audience to the band to the film.

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