My chosen artist

Name: Ryan Mills
Genre: Alternative Rock

My chosen artist (Ryan Mills) considers himself to be “a true artist” as he is not primarily concerned with profit but expressing himself “artistically”. However he realises that sometimes he may have to compromise on his creative vision as he acknowledges “he still has to make a living”.

Ryan creates music with the goal of producing something that his listeners can relate to. This stems from his primary belief that music loses all relevance and hence is not worth making if it fails to emotionally entice his target audience. Ryan is relatively new to the music industry and is looking to establish a unique identity or style which helps him capture the attention of alternative rock music listeners and subsequently separate him from what he describes as a “very competitive” and “overcrowded” music genre.

I feel that Ryan’s desire to establish a unique identity strongly links to Goodwin’s belief that the demands of record labels will often lead to an artist developing stylised motifs that reoccur throughout their music videos which essentially builds a brand to sell. My artist is fully aware that he has to create a recognisable brand in order to generate profit and ultimately “make a living”. However, he is determined to not get “lost” in his brand as he fears he may be reduced to nothing but a caricature where the expectation of his audience would dictate his work.

When discussing visual motifs with my artist I was thrilled to discover that we have a mutual enthusiasm for powerful imagery which we felt was crucial in emphasising the emotional journey of the song.

I plan to use the information I have gained from my discussions with my artist regarding his creative vision and attitude to music to inform my audience research. I will achieve this by including questions relating to why people watch music videos, their preferred conventions of alternative rock music videos and their opinions on the current state of alternative rock music videos.