2. WhyIchosethis
subject.
I listen to a lot of music in my spare time, of all levels of popularity and notoriety, and something that I've
noticed over time is how many of them have spoken out against their corrupt record labels. It's something that
plagues so many different artists, even artists like Kanye West have spoken out against his record label, even
going as far as to leak his entire contract with them just to show how scummy and corrupt they are. However,
it's the smaller artists that gets the worse of it from what I've noticed.
One of my personal favourtie band 'Waterparks' used to be with a record label that was trying to overwork
them, as well as not paying them the amount of money they should have been. They aren't a massive band so
the label probably thought they could get away with it, they couldn't. Lucky for the band, the lead singer is
very outspoken and strong willed, and he wasn't going to take anything laying down, so he sued them, got out
of their contract, and went with a much better record label, that's much fairer. They've since relesed
songs calling out the label with lyrics like: "Got nothing from our label,
B*tch, pay me what you owe me,
If you play guitar you can't want things"
This is an example that ended well, but hearing this song got me down a path of looking for examples that still
haven't ended, there's so many smaller artists that get screwed over from their record labels, and they don't
have enough money, or a big enough audience to fight the labels, so they're stuck in an unfair contract. I've
also found out there's a lot of racism and sexism from these same record labels, which is also something that's
never spoken about in the mainstream music industry, which is awful, so many more people need to be more
aware of these issues, instead of going on like they don't care.
So I decided I wanted to look as in depth on this subject as possible for my FMP, in the form of a journalistic
video documentary essay. Which is why I've researched not just music journalists, but also someone that
makes video essays, so I can try and set an early foundation for how I should approach this project.
So to tackle this project, I'm going to do research on the most infamous examples of record label corruption,
compile them all into one, and then break down what parts of each one I should include in the essay. Then I'm
going to look at examples of labels specifically mistreating people of colour, women, and anyone in
the LGBTQI+ community. Then to close it off I'll include some examples that aren't as well known, that I
think more people should be talking about. It won't be rushed, with examples like these, I'll have to take my
time and make sure everything I talk about is 100% true.
3. NickMessitte
Nick Messitte is a musician who wrote journalistic pieces for the news website 'Forbes'
all his articles were about music, and the industry. He has a particular piece that
caught my attention quite quickly, one about the corrupt side of the industry, the big
record labels that treat artists like puppets.
It's easy to write an article like this, though, anyone could make up what they want
about any record label, right? It's easy to have that mindset until you do more research
on Nick himself and realise, he has VERY close ties to the music industry. Nick is
a writer/composer/engineer/multi-instrumentalist that hails from New York.
He's leant his musical talents to a magnitude of different entertainment products
including: 'Edfringe's Get Got', 'the Secret Theatre's Antigone', and a reasonable amount
of TV pilots (such as: Manahatta, Dropouts, The Minnesotan).
He's also engineered for musical theatre productions like, 'Get Got', and 'Voiceless'. As
well as some indie rock, and jazz acts like, 'Empire State Express' and 'Learning Curve's
Gift'. As well as many more.
On top of all that he's a guitarist, pianist, bassist, and drummer, that has played
alongside people like, Josh Gorban, well known and respected song writers
like Hawksley Workman, and famous Jazz acts like 'Sam Rivers'. As well as fronting the
band 'Adult Situations' in the early 2000's.
So it makes sense that someone like THIS would have something to say about
the complete corrupt side of the industry, as his music journalistic articles are very well
written, researched, and explained, even the more light-hearted and educational ones.
Some of his articles include: "Thom Yorke, Radiohead, And 3 Ways To Stay Successfully
Weird" "Fender Releases New Electric Guitar Series -- Will It Help?" "How Adele
Rendered Her Critics Irrelevant With '25'" and "Five Truly Terrible Record Deals
Compiled For Your Convenience" which has some of the most well-known and notable
and infamous record deals/companies of all time.
4. So it's apparent he's very passionate about the field that he works in, otherwise he
wouldn't have dedicated his entire career, to not just living it, but writing about it too. He
wants to see it thrive and prosper and be without as much corruption as possible, because
as a smaller artist in the industry, who's name isn't as well known, he knows what it's like
to be taken advantage of by higher ups that just want to use your talents for their own
gain. It's something that he talked about on twitter a while back.
A few other things to note is he has a YouTube channel where he uploads tutorials to help
people with some of the more complicated parts of the music making process (for example:
"When it comes to EQs, it *IS* What You Use!")
On his twitter he promotes a SoundCloud project that he worked on
called 'Salmon's Run' which is a 2 part story, both parts are around 20 minutes to half
an hour. The story follows someone that accidently set off a bomb and now everyone of
note is chasing after him. Listening to both parts is very interesting and unique, as a lot
of the story is not told just through dialogue, but music too.
Nick has a lot of experience and a lot of talent, so it's safe to say he's extremely well
versed with the music industry as well as the creative and unique way he goes about
projects, he tackles projects head on and hasn't really seemed to slow down, every few
weeks he comes out with something new, if it isn't music then it’s a YouTube video, if it
isn't that then it’s a news article, if not that then he could be working on something
completely different like a musically based story. He knows what he's talking about and is
very much his own person in the industry, and the fact that he's worked with so many
other people, only solidifies his experiences. He works to better his own skill, but also to
educate and inform other people in the same field, through music, articles, and social
media. So taking inspiration, not just form his work, but from his words is going to be
very important.
5. Patrick(H)Willems
Patrick Willems is someone that makes a living by making Video Essays on YouTube, so his creative process is
something to take note on. He has 341 videos, the earliest dating back to 9 years ago, where he made small
sketches, it seems he only got into video essays around 4 years ago, but 4 years is a lot of time to grow and
improve in that genre. (He still makes narrative based videos/sketches, but he needs a whole team for those
and they can sometimes take longer to make)
Growing and improving is exactly what he did, and a few years ago he made a video entitles 'On Making Video
Essays' where he lets us in on his work ethic and his creative process. While the subject of his videos aren't in
line with my own, that isn't what I'm focusing on here, I'm strictly looking to see how he gets into the creative
mindset of making his essays.
Some of the key things I took away from his video are:
When he gets an idea he keeps it in his head and lets it sit there for weeks, thinking of the best way to go
about formatting and scripting the video. When he feels confident enough he'll make a first draft of a script,
make improvements to it, on a printed out version, and will go on making better and better drafts from there,
until he has a complete one that he's happy with.
For the research side, he'll watch movies, read books, watch YouTube videos, read articles and take notes from
all of those.
Sometimes he'll use talking head footage when he wants to get a specific point across.
Editing can sometimes take days for him to finish, he uses Premiere Pro for a lot of it, but if he wants any
kinds of special effects then he'll go over to After Effects and do them on that.
He compresses his vocals and puts some light filters on them to make them sound richer.
6. Patrick really enjoys the work that he does, and he always goes into a new
project knowing there is going to be room for improvement all the time,
which only pushes him to make even more content, so he can always
improve.
He started making video essays as a way to improve his own craft of
making movies (or short films) they are a good way for him to criticise
other products while taking notes of the best examples for him to take
inspiration from. He also wants his video essays to stand out because they
have become so oversaturated on the YouTube landscape these days.
His work is clearly very important to him, and he's very knowledgeable
about the field that he works in, he takes risk in changing an
oversaturated format, he takes care to make sure his scripts are as good as
possible.
The presentation of his videos are what he believes in the most, that
shows when looking at his channel, it's all very neat and very tidy, Patrick
doesn't just say something with nothing to back it up, he'll say it then
show you.
He's been very passionate about the centre of his essays for a very long
time, it's all his channel has been focused on since he uploaded his first
video 9 years ago.
He's also very interactive with his fanbase doing Q&A's, the most recent
one being titled, "The 2020 Christmas Q&A" where he shares some of
the personal sides of his life with his fans, as well as how they can better
create their own videos/films.
All of his videos have points that loop back into one another and come
back into play later on, he doesn't put any filler into his content,
everything is said to either prove a point, or provide context, sometimes
it's both.
He makes these videos for 2 key reasons, to entertain, and educate people
while doing it. That's why there's so many different drafts of the final
script, it has to be as accurate as possible, while still being entertaining
and carrying a good pace to last an entire video.
7. Jessica Hopper
Jessica Hopper is an American music journalist that was born on the 5th
September 1976. She's been interested in journalism from a very young age, her
mother was a newspaper editor, her father was a journalist, she's gone on record
to describe her parents professions as "fuelling her interest in journalism and
investment in finding the truth more generally."
When she was a teenager she began writing criticism that never held back, she let
her thoughts known, the first instance of this is when a magazine had
misunderstood one of her favourite bands. So she's a fighter for the truth and
wants people to understand lies and misinterpretations that get published by
much bigger musical media outlets.
At 16 she began freelancing for alternative weekly City Pages. From there her
journalistic career has only gone up and improved, when writing for the website
'Pitchfork' her work was included in 5 best writing awards from, 2004, 2005,
2007, 2010, and 2011. She's also written multiple books, her fist one, A Girls
Guide To Rocking' was named one of 2009’s 'Notable Books for Young Readers' by
the American Library Association.
She's very open with her thoughts and opinions, and will say her mind regardless
of what the public thinks about her, in an interview with The Creative
Independent, she stated, "I feel like with critical opinion… we’re just at a time
where generally there’s so much risk and baggage, and there can be such a toll for
having an opinion, even in a semi-public way." She isn't blind to what the reality
is, and she calls it out.
She knows A LOT about the field that she works in, in the same interview she
can list off other critics and journalists off the top of her head, as well as their
culture, and the publications that they write for. "Where does the good writing go?
Well, right now, there are some really great cultural critics" "Doreen St. Felix and
Jia Tolentino certainly come to mind, as well as a few other folks that I think are
still employed."
In total she's written 3 books, all of them are focused around music criticism,
however 2 of them also focus strongly on women's rights, and sexism within the
music industry, and how women can often be overlooked within certain genres, as
well as how much harder it is for women to have their voices be heard in the
industry.
8. She has a twitter account where she shares not just her musical beliefs, but her political
ones too, on top of that she uses her platform to spread and support other journalists, as
well as smaller musical artists. She's always involved with something and is constantly
keeping her mind busy.
Having previously worked at MTV she knows the musical side of the industry very well,
and has gone on record more than a few times to voice her opinions on the side of it that
aren't so pleasant, things like sexism, racism, and corruption. She tackles those
issues head on and doesn't sugar coat anything, this is an approach that is extremely
admirable, and is something that I will take note on in my own project.
She's said that working in the/with music industry can be tough and daunting, with so
many different opinions all going around at once, it can feel hostile when you have a voice
that doesn't back down, but educating a few people on the truth that others will actively
ignore is worth it to her.
9. Documentary
Theory
Documentary Theory is basically everything that a bare minimum documentary should
feature, as well as how a succesful documentary should be structured from beginning to
end. In 1926 John Grierson defined the term documentary as, "creative treatment of
actuality".
It states that the main focus when constructing a documentary is the topic being adressed.
(this can be anything from a person, a movement, a theme etc) You can then build the
structure of the documentary around the chosen topic, so that the viewers get satisfaction
from watching, and come away from the product with more knowledge and new opinons on
the subject you covered.
According to John Corner's 'five central elements of documentary' theory, documentaires
feature: Observation, Mise En Scene, Interviews, Dramatisation, Exposition.
Another Theory was devised in 1970 that stated there are 4 main reasons people watch
documentaries:
Identify: To recognise a product or person, such as role models or aspirations, which reflect
similar aspirations and goals as you.
Educate: To acquire information, knowledge or understanding.
Entertain: To gain enjoyment and escapism from our worries and stresses temporarily.
Interact: To take a topic of conversation away from the media, and spark debates and
discussions outside of the media within social groups.
Other theories that can be applied to documentaires inlcude: Disneyfication, The
Hypodermic Syringe Theory, The Two Step Flow Theory, and The Uses and Gratifications
Theory.
10. DocumentaryTheory(the
5centreal
elementsofdocumentaries)
Observation- placing the camera in a scene and acting as if it
weren’t there, which gives the audience a 'god-like' perspective on
the situation.
Mise En Scene- People that make documentaries will often create
frames with specific Mise En Scene, to commnicate specific moods
and messages to the audience.
Interviews- The interviewee is framed in the shot, normally as a
close up, and the interviewer will ask questions about the subject
of the documentary. Many different kinds of documentaries rely on
this format for the sake of balancing out an argument.
Dramatisation- Most documentaries use a sense of drama
throughout their run time, through observation,
this builds arguments and conflicts which will often upport or
contrast the upport or contrast the documentary filmmaker’s
agenda of the filmmaker’s.
Exposition- Exposition refers to scenes where the theme of the
documentary is being disscussed, either through interviews, or
narration and commentary.
11. Bibliography
Els Kenney. (2018). Documentary Theories. Available: https://medium.com/@elskenney/documentary-theories-c1da1ae74b56. Last
accessed 08/01/2021.
Jessica Hopper (2009). The Girls' Guide to Rocking: How to Start a Band, Book Gigs, and Get Rolling to Rock Stardom Jessica
Hopper. Midwest: Workman Publishing Company. 288.
Jessica Hopper (2015). The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic. Midwest: Featherproof Books. 201.
Jessica Hopper. (2012). 'Staff'. Available: https://pitchfork.com/staff/jessica-hopper/. Last accessed 07/01/2021.
Nick Messitte. (2015). 'About' . Available: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/?sh=3acbb5db749c. Last accessed 05/01/2021.
Nick Messitte. (2015). Five Truly Terrible Record Deals Compiled For Your Convenience. Available:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/2015/04/30/five-truly-terrible-record-deals-compiled-for-your-
convenience/?sh=67b9a3485a35. Last accessed 05/01/2021.
Nick Messitte. (2018). Salmon's Run. Available: https://soundcloud.com/nicholas-messitte/sets/salmons-run-satirical-podcast. Last
accessed 05/01/2021.
Nick Messitte. (2020). When it comes to EQs, it *IS* What You Use!. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlp2bkCtTic&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel=nickmessitte. Last accessed 05/01/2021.
Patrick (H) Willems . (2018). On Making Video Essays. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H13yrUgQT4A&t=346s&ab_channel=Patrick%28H%29Willems. Last accessed 05/01/2021.
Yasi Salek. (2019). On the value of good music journalism. Available: https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/writer-jessica-
hopper-on-the-value-of-good-music-journalism/. Last accessed 07/01/2021.
