This document discusses Miley Cyrus' career trajectory and changing image over time. It notes that early in her career with Disney, she targeted kids and teenagers with a wholesome country image. However, she increasingly adopted a more sexualized, party-oriented pop star image with videos promoting wild behavior. This was an effort to appeal to younger audiences and shift away from her Disney roots. The document also contrasts the image-focused strategies of mainstream artists seeking wide appeal versus the music-focused independence of artists appealing to niche audiences.

1. Assignment 6
Vincent Davenport

2. Miley Cyrus
Pop Artist / Disney Actor/
Country Artist

3. Currently Promoted
• Currently, Miley Cyrus is trying
her hardest to stand out and
grab attention. She has
successfully done so due to her
massive change in artist
imagery.
• She is going for the wild,
promiscuous and party girl
look.

4. See You Again
Performance music video. This
was the first song she released as
an artist at the age of 16.
Target audience would approximately
be kids/teenagers. She is only just
getting known from TV show Hannah
Montana therefore focusing on her
voice as a selling point and good
looks.
She is performing to an audience
which focuses on her performance
talent as well as voice. She is being
promoted as a Disney Artist.

5. Party In The USA
• She is now maturing into a
young adult look. Her target
audience would still range
towards teenagers.
• However in the video she is
seen to be doing more dancing
as well as living a party
lifestyle.
• First step towards steering
away from kids/teens.

6. Can’t Be Tamed
• Now she has a much bigger sexual
appeal factor with the use of
revealing clothes, sexual dancing
and the lyrics regarding her non
controllable attitude.
• She has been given more dancing to
do which is trying to focus the
audience on her body language
more as oppose to her singing.

7. Who Owns My Heart
• Main change from this video and
the previous is the features of
Miley.
• They have died her hair blonde,
got rid of that natural cow girl
beauty she initially had as a Disney
Artist.
• More sexual activities in the music
videos. Starting to be a lot more
revealing and a lot of focus on her
body/dancing as oppose to voice.

8. We Can’t Stop
• Dramatic Change. They have
shaved that hair to completely
get away from the Disney Artist
look.
• A lot more focus on being a
party girl with no boundaries.
• Promoting the wild rebellious
image, which this generation of
teenagers aspire to be.

9. Commercial Imperative
• Promote lifestyle of a wild party girl - a lifestyle a younger generation
aspire to have.
• Promiscuous behaviour which is appealing towards the male gender.
• Trying to promote “individualism”. In other words telling people to be
their selves, a big contrast from being a Disney artist to an extreme
opposite : a rebellious, party teenager. This proves her image is
more inverted as oppose to ready made. She used her Disney career
to get herself famous and now decides she wants to change from being
a country girl to a pop star.

10. Difference between Mainstream and
Independent
• Mainstream bands/artists are much more image focused. They give the fans what they want by
inverting their image into what is ideal.
• Independent artists however, focus on their music and the art of their music. Their fans appreciate
them for their unique taste in music and their attitude towards the music industry. This meaning a
leftwing view, where a mainstream artist would be chasing money and fame.
• A mainstream artist/bands is represented as right wing on the political spectrum.An independent
band/artist would be represented as left wing on the political spectrum.
• Mainstream artists/bands are often represented so they are what the majority of the people aspire to
be, dress and look like. Independent artists/bands often look or dress like what is known to be called
“hipsters” or indie. Their taste in music outlines their personality, they all tend to be artistic or
urban.
• Mainstream artists/bands have big promotion budgets, usually by advertised by more well known
radio stations such as Kiss 100-, Capital etc. Independent artists/bands are advertised by more
underground stations which usually categorised by their genre. Stations like BBC for example have
subsidiary stations which specifically target unsigned artists/band and trying to promote them.

11. Stormzy- Unsigned Artist
• Upcoming Grime Artist. Young, new but has a
flow of which not many have.
• What sets him aside from other grime artists is
his ability to create a rhymes on the spot,
whilst using literary techniques to verbally
abuse opponents.
• The majority of grime artists image are
common. They all want to look like the
roughest, toughest nut.
• Stormzy is different, he has a sense of
humour in most of his lyrics, and isn't afraid to
diversify (Sing).
• People appreciate him for his humble attitude
as oppose to an angry threatening rapper.
His smart wit and humble background has
helped him stand out from the rest.