Visual arts and the music industry: the resurgence of the physical and its relevance in a digital world Artists are increasingly being drawn to becoming independent because of the creative control it offers them with minimal invasions from another party. Artists such as Prince and Tom Petty have wagered legal battles against major labels to regain control of their content. Shaughnessy states that ‘modern bands and musicians have carefully-tended brand identities, just like chocolate bars and soft drinks’ (2003, p.4) so perhaps this oppositional stance to the mainstream is a reaction to the money-oriented nature of the industry. Independent artists can be responsible for managing all areas of their output, from recording, to social media, touring and merchandise. This attitude echoes the ideals of punk music in the late 1970s, which resulted in the creation and growth of many bands and independent record labels. Clif Stoltze claims that some of these labels, particularly Factory and 4AD became ‘as renowned and influential for their visual output as they were for the music of their artists’ (2008), demonstrating that music and art are intrinsically linked. Iconic album art often becomes synonymous with the music itself. The meaning of ‘indie’ has shifted since the 1980s with mainstream bands like The Kooks and Snow Patrol being branded as such but some are still intent on upholding the original values of indie culture. The punk ethos of the late 1970s is still alive today through independent bands such as Eagulls and Hookworms, whose existence is reliant on the notion of DIY. Although now signed to Domino and reluctant to brand themselves DIY, Hookworms is a band that epitomises this self-sufficiency: one band member designs the record sleeves while vocalist MJ produces the music from his own studio. This resourcefulness is extremely valuable in being an independent band – ‘being in a band is now like running a small business’ (Gibsone, 2017). Teleman tour manage themselves, organise their own social media and design (and sometimes make) their own merchandise. The band claims that their hands-on approach to merchandise makes their fans ‘excited’ and that ‘people really respond to that so well’. However, while Potter and Heath (2004) believe that ‘truly authentic things are made by hand’, they also state that ‘one of the crucial tests of authenticity is the absence of commodification’. It is clear that the band is using this handcrafting to their advantage but it could be argued that they are trying to capitalise on this ethos, claiming that they’re ‘doubling their [sic] income’, perhaps making their practice lack authenticity. For Gareth Paisey of Los Campesinos!, bands doing their own merchandising should be as much about making money as it is about interacting with their audience. He takes pride in the fact that the band doesn’t hire a company to sell their merchandise, stating ‘I always sell our merch myself at gigs and it’s so nice to meet the people who come and buy a t-shirt…’ Paisey values this ‘experience of being in a band’ as much as devoted fans appreciate that they can access and interact with their favourite bands first-hand. Whether that is through social media or at the merch stand, this is something that simply cannot be matched by inaccessible, corporate bands (Paisey, 2014). The do-it-yourself attitude to music and merchandise production was mimicked in the lo-fi aesthetics of 70s punk graphics. Jamie Reid’s artwork for the Sex Pistols’ album ‘Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols’ and single ‘God Save The Queen’ (fig.1) embody this subversive ethos that rejects the record industry traditions of packaging and is characterised by the collaged appropriation of imagery and lack of technical ability. This anti-design approach was then mirrored by 1980s underground US bands like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, who designed their own record sleeves, producing knowingly un-commercial images. The ‘absence of a graphic designer’ and disregard for conventions is the main trait of these artworks, almost acting as a protest to ‘the continuing process of consumerisation that characterises the music industry’ (Shaughnessy, 2003, pg. 7). Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay
Fig. 1 (Jamie Reid n.d.)
Alanna McArdle of Joanna Gruesome describes the traditional side of the music industry as “shallow and profit-driven” (Mumford, 2014). The essence of DIY relies upon the notion of not being dependent on income, of ‘commerce coming a distant second to art [sic]’ (Mumford, 2014). For many independent artists, day jobs are necessary to support their creative endeavours as being in a band isn’t always financially viable. It’s an unavoidable issue that it’s more difficult to make money in the digital age with free streaming and the availability of illegal downloads posing a threat to the music industry. Young adults growing up in an online age don’t know a world without free music; Rob O-Connor of graphic design studio Stylorouge says ‘The culture of the internet has led people to believe that things should be cheap or free…’ However, instead of dismissing the medium that has altered the landscape of the music industry, ironically, artists are using the internet as a tool to peddle their work. Social media can be utilised to engage with fans on a more personal level, connect with other artists and promote themselves. Albums can be uploaded and streamed courtesy of websites like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, as well as services such as Spotify and Apple Music, providing consumers with easy access to music and therefore gaining artists the exposure they need (for free). The exposure they are afforded comes at a price, though. Most artists receive little revenue from Spotify and the ilk. A number of factors come into play in regards to how much artists earn from streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, dependent upon the artist’s contract with the label, the label’s contract with the service, as well as how much of the revenue the service retains. Sears (2016) claims that ‘the amount an artist makes is directly tied to each month’s performance. Not just of that artist, but of their publisher and the entire streaming service as a whole’, while Plaugic (2015) writes that ‘Spotify admits the average "per stream" payout to rights holders lands somewhere between $0.006 and $0.0084.’ Artists have to weigh up the pros and cons of free streaming; should they sacrifice the exposure it will provide them with to give their work exclusively to those who pay? Can they rely on the power of their music and the devotion of their fans to make listeners want to pay for their releases? Perhaps the solution is to use the internet as a platform to garner attention and make money through other outlets, such as touring and merchandise.
Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay
Some artists are able to rely on a dedicated fanbase to purchase their merchandise or fund their releases. Often, artists offer limited edition items to entice listeners. This could be viewed as elitist, only giving some fans access to certain content or products but it is a clever way for artists to make money, enabling them to charge faithful fans a higher price for this ‘limited edition’ status. Although according to Potter and Heath, this focus on money makes the artists’ craft inauthentic, Benjamin argues that the unique quality of a work of art gives it its ‘aura’. His theory that ‘the presence of the original is the prerequisite to the concept of authenticity’ (1935) could be applied to limited edition, one-off items; reproducing them removes this authenticity. Baudrillard states that the joy of possession ‘derives from the value that objects can have for others and from the fact of depriving them thereof’, meaning that collectors revel in the exclusivity of an item and find its worth in the fact that others don’t, or can’t, possess it (1968, p. 11).
Fig. 2 (Tall Ships n.d.) Baudrillard further states that ‘gratification flows from the fact that possession depends on the absolute singularity of each item’ (1968, p. 3), indicating that the opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind acts as further attraction for potential buyers and collectors. The band Tall Ships have repeatedly satisfied consumer desire for unique items, most recently by offering limited-edition screen prints as part of their album bundle (fig. 2), acting as an incentive for fans to favour purchasing the physical over just digital. Previous releases were designed by Harriet Bridgwater, who says ‘we screen printed our first 250 EP covers together, then cut, glued and hand numbered every single one’ (2012). Bridgwater also hand-marbled 500 7” vinyl covers with the help of the band. Although different in aesthetic, the band’s involvement in the creation of the artwork resembles the DIY ethos that was at the core of 70s punk graphics. The process of screen-printing and hand-marbling makes each cover a distinctive one-off, while still adhering to the original design. According to Sky News, UK vinyl sales reached a ’25-year high’ in 2016, with 3.2 million records being sold and David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’ being the most popular (Garrido, 2017). This popularity could be attributed to Bowie’s death 2 days after the album release but there are several hidden features of the vinyl which could have swayed consumers into purchasing. Jonathan Barnbrook designed the package, stating that he ‘wanted to make it very much a physical object’ and ‘the craft and tactile quality of [vinyl] is everything’ (2015). Barnbrook left it up to the fans to discover the secret features. It was later discovered that starfield imagery emerges from the packaging when it is exposed to light, and holding it under a blacklight makes Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay
the cutout star on the front glow luminous blue (see fig. 3). This encouraged fans to interact and engage with the packaging.
Fig. 3 (Twitter user: RobboRobson21, 2016)
This interactivity echoes the artwork of Beck’s 2006 album ‘The Information’, which consisted of an almost blank canvas, accompanied by stickers to allow the fans to make their own cover. Effects like this just can’t be recreated digitally, making the record into a multi-sensory experience forces the viewer to acknowledge and appreciate the qualities of the physical. Additionally, putting the artwork in the hands of the audience democratised the process, rendering the creation of art accessible and egalitarian. It is important to acknowledge that album art is not just a functional piece of design. In fact, the vinyl sleeve acts as a ‘jacket [sic] of myth, fantasy, energy and exhilaration’, making the record inside an ‘object [sic] of desire’ (Pettit, 2008, pg.16). The sleeve or packaging renders the record as an object, a piece of art, something to be showcased. Shaughnessy argues that album covers don’t hold as much relevance any more – they used to act as ‘markers or rallying points for sub-cultural activity’ and be ‘fetishistically studied’, being most people’s first exposure to ‘radical imagery’ that represented themes of ‘style, drugs, rebellion, gender, sex, race and politics’ (2003, p. 5). O’Connor agrees with Shaughnessy, stating that ‘the physical package is still the foundation from which everything else should emanate, but it does not hold quite the same magic any more’ (2007, p.166), while Gerard Saint, co-founder of design studio Big Active, believes that while the packaging is ‘integral to the experience of physically owning the album, then the idea of a physical format is still relevant’ (2007. P.6) Baudrillard claims that placing an object in a collection abstracts it from its intended use, taking on ‘a strictly subjective status’ (1968, p.2), suggesting that a record in a collection isn’t always intended to be listened to, but rather to just be displayed. In possessing records and making them part of a collection, they become symbols of culture, removed from their function. Both Baudrillard and Moist claim that collecting objects causes them to be removed from regular use. Baudrillard states that possessing an object abstracts it from its function, taking on ‘a strictly subjective status: it becomes part of a collection’ (1968, p.2), suggesting that objects are collected in order to be displayed, rather than used as they were intended to. This theory can be applied to the physical record; when purchased, they act as objects, symbols of culture, used to signify communities of people and the identity of the consumer. However, Moist disputes this by citing Shuker – ‘records by necessity "retain a strong element of use value - people will play them," because that is the only way to experience their contents.’ On the other hand, Eisenberg supports Baudrillard’s theory, claiming that ‘the desire to buy does not always coincide with the desire to hear music’. While Baudrillard claims that people ‘sequester’ their collected objects, in order to ‘be the only one to enjoy it’ (1968, p.11), suggesting that they keep their collections private, Eisenberg believes that collecting Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay
‘cultural objects’ satisfies ‘the need to impress others, or oneself’ (2005, p.16). By producing physical records and accompanying products, artists are providing consumers with the means to showcase their collections, perhaps alongside their cultural integrity, which Eisenberg suggests could be ‘snobbery’ (2005, p.16). This can’t quite be achieved with MP3’s; Boon calls into question the legitimacy of digital files as a collection, he states that his hard drive of music files ‘neither feels like [his] nor like a substantial object.’ (2013). This is perhaps why designers, artists, and labels in the digital age have been attempting to make digital releases as exciting as the physical. The gradual shift from a 12” canvas to ‘postage stamp-sized images on MP3 players and websites’ has posed a new challenge for designers – attempting to make album art ‘retain [visual] presence’ in a small and digital format (Stoltze, 2008, pg.7). Childish Gambino’s ‘Because The Internet’ 2013 album cover is an animated GIF, making use of the digital format in which it will be primarily viewed. However, Gavin Lucas adds ‘Who wants to look at an alphabetized list on a screen and say “this is my music collection”?’, claiming that it’s ‘meaningless’ (2008, p.133). Whether it’s from a nostalgic standpoint or a novelty for millennials who haven’t experienced physical releases properly, this is evidently something that consumers are longing for. Benjamin claims that it is 'the desire of contemporary masses to bring things 'closer' spatially and humanly’, which can only be fulfilled in the physicality of objects (1936, p.5). The visual journal has acted as a physical means to respond to research and express personal interpretations of findings. It has been utilised as a space to visually convey quotes, ideas, and themes evident in the research conducted, all of which have greatly influenced and formed the basis of the outcomes. By developing the visual journal imagery in the format of a square, it mimics the limitations of the album cover frame. Given this restriction, imagery had to be reduced to shape-oriented designs, using visual motifs to communicate the subject matter. The images produced also consider the shift from the large canvas of a 12” record to the much smaller square of the digital format. Bearing in mind the importance of this, designs had to be bold and understandable when reduced in size. The consistent format of the images unifies them, making them into a set - or a collection - of their own. Designs were produced using analogue media to convey the qualities of the handmade, as well as the uniqueness or individuality of an original work of art. The use of paint and coloured paper conveys the tactility of the physical object and demonstrates the attraction of one-off pieces of art and the collectors’ desire for limited edition items. The naive, hand-crafted style of the images alludes to the democratic nature of independent artists and of DIY culture. This distinctly analogue aesthetic, in combination with the unconventional placement of type, also draws a link to the anti-design ethos of 1970s punk culture and 1980s underground bands, as a rejection of commercial (and in this case, purely digital) imagery. The aim of the journal has been to respond to research material, reference it with more abstracted interpretations and experiment with tactile mediums that are responsible for the popularity of the physical object. It has been used to make new statements about ideas central to the topics of collecting and control such as function, identity, and nostalgia. Pettit states that collecting records today is ‘making a statement because you’re rejecting the digital download’, which is emphasised by ‘having something rare or special such as a limited-edition record with special packaging’ (2008, no pagination). Although the internet can be used to peddle physical releases and merchandise and despite artists utilising the digital format of new releases through interactive websites and animated album covers, digital media can’t rival the physicality of a collection for dedicated fans. Physical records offer a sense of identity to collectors, symbolising a ‘need to belong’, whether that means belonging to a certain era, or belonging to a subculture or community. Independent artists allow fans Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay
direct contact with them through social media and meetings in person at the merch stand, satisfying this desire to belong. In being independent, artists have to become self-sufficient; there is no guaranteed income so they can’t be reliant upon this, which suggests authenticity and a devotion to their craft, as well as to their fans. In being placed in a collection, records may lose some of their intended use but they gain a new function as symbols of identity and markers of subcultures. Bibliography Barnbrook, J. Interviewed by: Sinclair, M. (2015). Bowie, Barnbrook and the Blackstar artwork - Creative Review. [online] Creative Review. Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/bowie-barnbrook-andblackstar/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2017]. Bridgwater, H. Interviewed by: Smithers, D. (2012). Calculated Craft | Hanging Out with Harriet Bridgwater | Musical Mathematics. [online] Musicalmathematics.co.uk. Available at: http://musicalmathematics.co.uk/calculated-craft-hanging-out-with-harriet- bridgwater/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2017]. Garrido, D. (2017). Vinyl revival: Sales of LPs hit 25-year high. [online] Sky News. Available at: http://news.sky.com/story/vinyl-sales-at-25-year-high-as-david-bowies-blackstar-leads-revival-10716565 [Accessed 26 Jan. 2017]. Gibsone, H. (2016). Teleman's 10-step guide to succeeding as a modern indie band. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jun/03/teleman-modern-indie-band-10-stepguide [Accessed 29 Dec. 2016]. Mumford, G. (2014). Eagulls, Hookworms, Joanna Gruesome: how UK music scenes are going DIY. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/06/hookworms-joannagruesome-uk-diy-music [Accessed 5 Dec. 2016]. Paisey, G. Interviewed by: Isabella, L. (2014). The Interview: Los Campesinos!. [online] HUNGER TV. Available at: http://www.hungertv.com/feature/interview-los-campesinos-2/ [Accessed 24 Jan. 2017]. Plaugic, L. (2015). Spotify's Year in Music shows just how little we pay artists for their music. [online] The Verge. Available at: http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/7/9861372/spotify-year-in-review-artist-paymentroyalties [Accessed 19 Jan. 2017]. Sears, G. (2016). How Much Does The Average Artist Earn Per Play On Spotify?. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/10/25/how-much-does-the-average-artist-earn-per-play-onspotify/#af062266a633 [Accessed 19 Jan. 2017]. Baudrillard, J. (1968) The System of Objects. Translated from French by Benedict, J. 1996. London: Verso. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/baudrillard.collecting.pdf [Accessed 4 Apr. 2017] Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay
Benjamin, W. (1935). The Work of Art in The Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Translated from German by Zohn, H. 1969. New York: Schocken Books. Available at: http://web.mit.edu/allanmc/www/benjamin.pdf [Accessed 7 Apr. 2017] Boon, M., Shuker, R., Moist, K. and Banash, D. (2013). Contemporary Collecting: Objects, Practices, and the Fate of Things. 1st ed. Scarecrow Press. Eisenberg, E. (2005) The Recording Angel. 2nd ed. Yale University Press. Heath, J. and Potter, A. (2005). The Rebel Sell. 1st ed. Chichester: Capstone. Pettit, E., Monem, N. and Vozone, R. (2008). Old Rare New. 1st ed. London: Black Dog Pub. Shaughnessy, A. and House, J. (2003). Radical Album Cover Art. 1st ed. London: Laurence King. Stoltze, C. (2008). 1,000 Music Graphics. 1st ed. Beverly, Mass.: Rockport Publishers. Figure 1 (n.d.). Never Mind the Bollocks layout. [digital photograph] Available at: http://www.jamiereid.org/archive/sex_pistols/never_mind_the_bollocks_layout.html [Accessed 20 Apr. 2017] Figure 2 (n.d.). TALL SHIPS - Impressions - Full Bundle. [digital photograph] Available at: https://www.musicglue.com/tall-ships/products/impressions-full-bundle-cd-deluxe-vinyl-screen-print-andfree-download-of-meditations-on-loss-and-day-by-day/ [Accessed 26 Jan. 2017]. Figure 3 (2016). [digital photograph] Available at: https://twitter.com/RobboRobson21/status/797944999522533376/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw [Accessed 27 Jan. 2017].
Siobhan Spencer - OUIL501 - CoP 2 essay