Statistically, who are some of the current artists who're seen as the biggest stars in the music industry?
- Adele
- Justin Bieber
- Beyonce
- Ed Sheeran
- Bruno Mars
What do they all have in common?
- Young (or were when they began to gain an audience)
- Rebellious
- Sexual magnetism
- Anti- authoritarian attitude
- Originality
- Creativity/ talent
- Aggression/anger
- A disregard for social values relating to drugs, sex and polite behaviour
- Conspicuous consumption of sex, drugs and material goods
- Success against the odds
- Single artists
- Huge fan base
- Multiple albums
- The engage with the audience - rebellious
- Sponsors and management
For the most part, these traits reflect that of teenagers, the largest consumer category. They tend to express an exaggerated image of you. Consciously or subconsciously these features echo our own.
The term ‘star’ refers to the semi-mythological set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a larger and loyal audiences. Although we may not know these artists personally, we feel a connection to them because we have common attributes.
This connection helps sell the artist, tickets for concerts and merchandise. This star image attracts you to this big events and to buy the stars clothing. Big concerts are important to artists and record labels because so many people gain access to music illegally that concerts are important.
Richard Dyer’s Theory:
- Dyer has written extensively about the role of starts in film, TV and music.
- Irrespective of the medium, stars have some key features in common:
- A star in an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g videos, artwork, performances, media appearances.
- Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings.
- Stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media- magazines, TV, radio, the internet- in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to their target audiences.
- The star image in made up of a range of meanings which are attractive to the target audiences.
- Every star has their selling point and that’s what the industry/media push.
USP: Music star VS Film star
It helps if their image contains a USP- they can be copied and/or parodied because o it. Their representation ay be metonymic- Madonna’s conical bra in the early 1990s, Bono’s ‘Fly’ sunglasses, Britney’s tummy, Justin Bieber’s hair.
Pop stars have the advantage over film stars in that their constructed image may be much more consistent over a period of time, and is not dependant on the creative input of others (e.g. screenwriters writing their lines).
Film stars are often seen with musicians in the media because arguably, musicians have bigger and stringer fan bases due to their consistent image whereas an actor is constantly being represented in various ways through their character.
1. The star as a construction
The images of the artists that we are shown through advertising, television, magazines ext have been created by their management. For example, Miley Cyrus’ image changed significantly from her Hannah Montana to her more recent style. This change refuelled her image and enabled her to regain the media converge she needed to become a star. It’s argued as to whether Miley really wanted to make such a significant change and if it was the label that made her do it.
2. The star as a commodity
The star has been constructed by their record label to appeal to their target audiences. Certain music magazines feature bands or artists on the front cover as they image becomes the commodity that will attracts the target audience to buy the music magazine. Artists such as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have refused many record deals as they don’t want their image to be controlled. Therefore all their success in theirs
3. The star as an ideology
This is what the bend or artists represents and believe in, they could make this fit the target audience to gain a larger audience. The Spice Girls represent girl power and friendship.
Paradoxes of star theory
Fundamentally, the star image is incoherent, that is incomplete and ‘open’. Dyer says that this os because it is based upon two key paradoxes.
- The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer. They have to be original but not so much that consumers cannot relate to them.
- The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer. They are constantly represented in the media and in our lives but they still have some privacy. They’re still normal people.
The Star Image
- The incoherence if the star image ensures that audiences continually strive to ‘complete’ or to ‘make sense of’ the image.
- This is achieved by continued consumption of the star through his or her products.
- In the music industry, performance seems to promise to completion of the image, but it is always ultimately unsatisfying.
- This means that fans will go away determined to continue consuming the star in order to carry on attempting to complete their image.
