Indie artist (1B)

Image

An example of an indie rock band is The Decemberists. Since they are owned by an indie record label called Hush Records. Their image is unchanged because they have the freedom to express their art since indie labels are more artist friendly meaning that their music can be aimed at a specific audience in order for the people to listen and purchase their music. However, the artist isn't seen in the track called Down by the water. Meaning that indies are free to challenge the essential conventions of a music video.

Budget

In terms of the budget I would say that it is a high budget because the had to pay for the location and permission to use the train and most of the money was put towards the camera crew, editing, and the food needed to feed the actors. 

There was no synergy nor product placement in this music video.

Audience

The audience they are aiming at a more mature audience (23-40) since the visuals are not engaging enough to entice teenagers and encourage them to keep on watching and another reason as to why it is aimed at a more mature audience is because the visuals are in black and white to create a sense of nostalgia and make people think about the olden days. Whereas teenagers don't want to think given their short attention span and they only want to see colour.

Gimmicks used to promote

The Decemberists used a gimmick in the video towards the end when there was snow and it normally snows in the winter and the month December is in the winter season.

Monetisation of outlets 

This music video would be monetised through YouTube. The artist is paid $2 per 1000 views. Meaning 13,675/1000 x 2 would equal $27.35 but the artist gets 10% of the ad revenue which would be $2.73.

Conclusion

Compared to majors, indie artists tend to be more articulate in their music videos because they are signed to an indie label and that means they are free to express their art without having to change their image because they are targeting a specific audience where as majors would have to change their image over time to suit the audience's preferences. The advantages of being an indie artist is if your video gets a lot of views on YouTube, the indie artist receives a greater share of the ad revenue because you are not paying any money to any company. Another advantage is that they are free to express their art to the targeted audience. The disadvantage of being an indie artist is that you have to spend your own money on producing your own music.