Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor: Blog Tasks

Audience

1) The main demographics for an Arctic Monkeys audience may include a predominantly white, middle class and reasonably young group of people. They may also fit into either the "reformers" or "explorers" psychographic, although in the light of more recent global success, means that the band was pushed into a wider range of audience; whom are which to be likely made up of those in the "mainstreamers" psychographic.

2) Audience pleasures which are offered by the 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' music video would include diversion, as the song is upbeat and fast-paced. Another would be personal relationships, as fans who followed the band and listened to their music from the earlier days may feel a personal connection to the band members and lastly personal identity, because some young people could probably relate to the lyrics of the song (which revolves around going out to a club and drinking). Older fans would also enjoy a sense of nostalgia from the 1980s-style performance video.

3) 

• 0:09 - this is the beginning of a long and catchy electric guitar riff which captivates the audience and almost immediately draws their complete attention on to the music video and the song in itself.
• 0:53 - this is the start of the first chorus which then repeats later on in the songs. This may appeal to audiences as it is one of the main parts of the song given the fact that there was a shift in tone and because of the repetitiveness, it also includes the title of the song in the lyrics.
• 1:17 - the long shot clearly portrays all four band members and their positions; such as the lead guitarist or the drummer.

4) Back in the early 2000s, social media had began to be introduced, providing the pleasure of chatting to people with similar interests in chatrooms or forums or communicating with friends through AOL and MSN Messenger to talk to friends, send emojis and share pictures and music. In 2003, MySpace was released and became one of the first major social networking sites. It was used by bands and music artists in order to gain fans and popularity without the need to be signed to a record company. Arctic Monkeys' music was shared on P2P sites, and although this wasn’t known by the band or promoted when they found out, it allowed their music to be heard by a much wider audience. The sharing of their music encouraged people to talk about and share their music on a much larger scale, which created a buzz about the band (word-of-mouth). Their fan base moved online, creating online communities where they could share songs and information about the band.

5) The 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' music video was designed to look like a 1980s TV performance, for example Top of the Pops or The Old Grey Whistle Test. It was filmed using old 1980s Ikegami 3-tube colour TV cameras and this was to create a sense of nostalgia for fans and give it an authentic effect. Arctic Monkeys purposefully did this in order to make a sentimental reference to 1980s-style music videos.

Industry

1) Arctic Monkeys first became successful and rose to fame through the power of the internet and their music being shared across social media, bringing a wider audience to the fan base and encouraging others to listen to their songs - eventually resulting in more and more people discovering them.

2) The use of MySpace and P2P file sharing was an unexpected aspect to Arctic Monkeys' early success as it caused them to gain a larger fan base without having to be attached to a record company. Because of this, Arctic Monkeys became more famous over time through their music being shared across a number of different platforms.

3) Arctic Monkeys formed in a way which was much more different to BLACKPINK, who were put together by an entertainment company. The members of Arctic Monkeys were all friends from high school who formed the band in 2002, writing songs based on their lives or what they saw on nights out in Sheffield. They first played in pubs and small venues, in and around Sheffield, and gained many fans online through the use of the social networking site MySpace.

4) Arctic Monkeys got signed to a niche, independent record label called Domino. They sold over 350,000 copies of their debut album 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' which became one of the fastest-selling debut albums in the UK of all time. Though they got many better offers from other record labels, Arctic Monkeys chose that specific independent record label as they took a liking to the owner, Laurence Bell, and were attracted to his work ethic.

5) I think that the internet is a very positive development for record companies and artists across the wider music industry due to the fact that on social media, things spread around and get to other people very quickly which ensures a wider audience and fan base, using word-of-mouth. However, this may also be taken as a negative, because if a piece of music from an artist or band is taken harshly from the audience, it will be known as a bad thing rather than something to spend time engaging with; which is why the internet is such a fundamental factor towards record company development.

Grade 8/9 Extension Tasks:

1) In June of 2004, iTunes had released in the UK and downloads went on to make up 17.9% of that year's singles chart, which later more than doubled to 36.6%, therefore becoming a huge development for the music industry. Singles began to gain more popularity, and so Arctic Monkeys' idea of giving away free music benefitted them greatly.

2) When they were first starting out, Arctic Monkeys would play in pubs and hand out free CD's of their music to small audiences during their gigs. This act further went on to establish a solid fan base which later moved online, creating a community in which fans could share music and information about the band. This fan base was largely on the Arctic Monkeys MySpace page, which allowed them to release music and information online without having to be signed to a record label. The band embraced this online community and revamped their Myspace page with forums, tour information, photos of the band and online streaming of their music - further expanding their fan base and helped them to gain more recognition.

3) This article suggests that the internet is a huge influence towards the band's success and that, major record labels that are attached to mainstream artists, lack the engaging and relatable aspect towards music-lovers as opposed to more independent bands such as Arctic Monkeys. It implies that through the use of the internet which consists of an enormous amount of people from all over the world, sharing and downloading music helps to develop the industry more, without the need to be signed to a major record label company. Arctic Monkeys included on their website: "It dawned on me that there are no leaders in all this or no plan or scheme, other than what's unfolding. People understanding it, relating to it, not relating to it but dancing to it, whatever." which indicates that they didn't have to be assisted and guided by a major record label company, and in fact, it was possible for them to grow as a band within the music industry by themselves without having to be under the control of somebody else; perhaps showing that they care more about their music reaching other people, helping them and giving their fan base something to enjoy rather than making more money (all of which they succeeded independently).