Callum Elsey A2 Media Portfolio

Music channels

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There are two types of music channels nowadays. The first being the typical channel on Sky or freeview that shows a variety of genres,  but most commonly the latest songs and the newest type, the music channels found online on websites such as Youtube. 

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One of the first music channels to be launched on TV was MTV (Music Television). It was first aired

on the 1st August 1981 showing music videos as guided by television personalities known as video

jockeys. The target audience was initially young adults, however it is now aimed at  teenagers,

particularly high school and college students who the latest music is also primarily targeted

towards. However, in recent years the channel has focused more on original reality, comedy and drama programming and some off-network syndicated programs and films.  Music is still shown on the channel, but it is in off-peak times and is usually the top 40 charts. This still makes it appealing for some viewers because they are able to see where their favourite song or artist at that particular time is compared to their other favourites. 

                                         

                                       From the data from www.barb.co.uk I can see that the number of people watching music channels is falling. The data from 1st June 2014, show that 1.12% of the audience watching TV are watching MTV. Compare this to the date from the latest data from 2nd April 2017, only 0.59% of the people watching television are watching MTV. This is mainly down to the increase in cross media convergence and the launch of music channels on Youtube.

 

The majority of MTV's target audience now own or have access to a phone or computer. This enables them to go onto Youtube and search for their favourite song or artist. With the ability to find the song they want to listen to with one click, unlike MTV where you have to wait and hope a song you like comes on. This has made music channels on Youtube very popular. Despite having some playlists already created on Youtube showing and playing a list of the latest

top charted songs, the music channels are very different, in the fact they are based around an artist. For

example you can search for a band or singer and their music channel will show that has a list of all their previous and latest songs. This helps them get some of their unheard songs heard and also increases their popularity. You also have the ability to subscribe to that channel and turn notifications on, so you are the first to hear their new songs.