Music Posters

The majority of music posters promoting a concert/tour or album/single have the following features, but all vary depending on the genre:

· Name of Artist

· Name of album/song

· Typography

· Reflects genre

· Mise-en-scene

· Layout

· Main image of artist

· Release date of album/tour

· Record label

· Place  you can buy album/tickets

· Reviews

· Price

· Features

· Website

· Age certificate

Rock

This poster is promoting a Jimi Hendrix Experience concert at The Astoria and features an image of the artist, thus adhering to convention. The typography used is very large and bold, creating a imposing effect. The red used in the text further connotes this. The poster as a whole has quite an intimidating demeanour, which is often associated with the genre. In terms of the poster's features, there are many common conventions that are missing. These include a price, a record label and reviews. Another that is missing is a website, although as the performance was in 1967, it was before the time that the internet was available.  
  

Pop

The next poster is from the pop genre, and promotes Katy Perry's 'Prismatic' world tour. As is consistent with many posters of this genre, the colours used are very bright and eye-catching. This is also more likely to attract the main target audience that is dominated by younger females. It also features the dates and location of each show of the tour, as well as the website where tickets are available for purchase. Furthermore, the album that is being toured is advertised, alongside Katy Perry's website.    

Alternative/Indie

This Mumford & Sons poster promotes one of the shows on the 'Four "Gentlemen of the Road"' tour. The poster features the name of the band, the name of the tour, a main image of the band, as well as the names of the individual band members. The style of the poster clearly represents the genre of indie/folk through the use of typical 'country' mise-en-scene and the image of a horse-drawn carriage.



 Hip/Hop

The main image of this poster creates images such as violence, theft and 'bling' that are often associated with the hip/hop genre. The typography and colours further reinforce this aggressive image. The poster follows convention with the inclusion of the dates and locations of shows, as well as a record label. 





Cutting to the Beat

P Money - My Lingo

Real talk, that's my lingo
Real talk, that's my lingo / (P)
If you can't talk like this, bro / (S)
Then I ain't really hearing shit, bro / (P)
See, there's a lot of man out there with this knowledge
But they ain't educating like this, bro
But they'll tell 'em 'bout whips / (P)

and tricks, though (C)
Nothing else going on, is that it, / (C) bro?

Real talk, that's my lingo / (C)
Real talk, that's my lingo /

If you can't talk like this, bro /
Then I ain't really hearing shit, bro

See, there's a lot of man out there / (P) with this knowledge
But they ain't educating like this, bro
But they'll tell 'em 'bout whips and tricks, / though
Nothing else going on, is that it, / bro?

I was chatting to a yute, having a verbal spar / (S)
He said P, I rate you, you've really gone far (Y)
I wanna / go far too
This year, I'm going hard, / (C) I want a hundred large /
I said a hundred large? (P) / What you splashing that on?
Man / said a car
Brudda, where's your drive? / (S) Brudda, where's your yard? (P)
F that car / (P)
You're acting like you're a boss / (C)
But you ain't in charge /
Wining, dining, all these girls you don't know
And you can't even dance / (Y)
You're dumb, you spent your money in the / brass
Brudda, where's your mum? Brudda, where's your aunt?
Wait, stop this deck
Brudda, where's your besties? Where's your dargs?
You find that interesting, / (P) I find it depressing
Excuse my aggression, / but you blame the oppression
Bro, / that ain't oppression, you know what that is? /
You and your dickhead bredrins, / gassed up on a next ting
None of you's real, your mind's based off a film /
Where you're just acting real, trust me /

Key:

P - P Money

S - Squad

B - Building

C - Camera

H -  Shop

R - Road

K - Sky

Y - Yute (slang for 'youth')

O - House

The main shots from the extract have been identified and analysed below:

This low angled close up of P Money presents him in an urban area . The camera is looking up at him, making him seem more powerful.

A mid shot of P Money and 3 others, again in an urban area, represents the common stereotype of young people being intimidating.

This is another low angle shot (also known as a 'worms eye' shot) of the stairwell of what seems to be a block of flats, thus further establishing the urban location of the video.

This shot shows a close up of some CCTV cameras, implying that there is crime in the area or at least a risk. This could connote associations such as deprivation and poverty.

Yet another low angle shot shows a run down corner shop appearing to have its windows boarded up. This could also imply that the area is deprived.

 
This shot is an example of illustration, as it presents a 'yute' (which is urban slang for 'youth') when the lyric 'I was chatting to a yute, having a verbal spar' is heard.   

Finally, this is another shot of P Money, but in a different location (which is seemingly urban again). It is also an example of an over the shoulder shot. 

Music Promos

Narratives - Linear or non-linear, closed or open ended, circular, singular and multi-stranded 

• Linear - everything takes place in chronological order.
• Non-linear - flashbacks, montages, etc.
• Closed - narrative concludes and has a clear ending.
• Open ended – Finishes on a cliff-hanger.
• Circular – Narrative finishes where it began.
• Singular Stranded – One storyline.
• Multi-Stranded – Multiple storylines.

Todorov’s Theory of Narrative (Equilibrium and Disequilibrium)

Synaesthesia – A condition in which one type of simulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualisation of colour.

Andrew Goodwin – Music promos can interpret/use the meanings created in the song lyric in different ways:

• Illustration – the promo basically illustrates the ideas/narrative in the song lyrics.

In this video, the images created lyrics are clearly illustrated and no further meanings are portrayed. There is no narrative as such, but the events that take place could be classed as linear as it is chronological.  

• Amplification – uses a key idea/image from the lyrics and develops it into a concept within the promo. A link remains between the lyric and the promo.

This video, on the other hand, explores a much deeper meaning. The aggressive lyrics of the track are exploited to help create a video that explores the on-going issue of racially motivated violence in the US. The fact that the two characters in the video are seemingly exhausted from the outset highlights the futility of the violence and suggests the issue has been going on for a long period of time. The narrative of this video is circular, as it finishes where it began.  

• Disjuncture – the promo bears no resemblance to the lyric or its meaning (abstract, often seen as ‘arty’ videos). 

Finally, the images in this video appear to have no link to the lyrics of the song whatsoever, although the title (‘Can’t Stop’) could possibly link to some kind of mental instability - thus explaining the random images that are portrayed. As with the first video, there is no clear narrative but it could also be classed as multi-stranded and linear.