Translation: Article: Photography and Music: Process, Content, and Dissemination
Photography and Music: Process, Content, and Dissemination
Charlotte Cotton
Translated by: Maryam Asgari, Dariush Asgari
In this article, Charlotte Cotton seeks to explore the philosophy behind the emergence of digital technologies in the realms of photography and music, highlighting the profound changes in the production and presentation of art and the sinking of the analog Titanic—photography and music. She examines the impact of these technologies, as well as the rise of digital and virtual spaces, on these two creative fields, challenging both the positive and negative consequences. By presenting examples, sometimes derived from her own tastes, she conducts a comparative analysis of these two creative areas, assessing post-digital influences and discussing how and with what perspective one might accept and affirm the philosophy behind these changes.
Every generation believes that they are living in the most crucial moments of history, but the truly critical moment in history is when digital technologies begin to influence the creation, storage, and dissemination of music and commercial images. However, I believe my reasons for finding examples in these two creative fields stem from a personal, generational viewpoint and also from a feeling that drives me to create a situation where I can both theoretically validate it for myself and make a valuable and purposeful contribution to my profession. I am currently in my middle age, and my intense passion for music, fashion, and photography blossomed just as I was coming of age. I am the voice of a sensitive and compassionate generation that still wants to be fully adept and proficient in the scene of progress and advancement without constantly saying, “In our day…”
Professionally, I am considered a curator who mostly deals with photography and is not swayed by the idea that “my role in the twenty-first century is to play the violin while the Titanic of analog photography is sinking.” At this moment, we need to take a deep look at our daily lives and experiences in our leisure time, at how ideas communicate visually (precisely our visual literacy and tastes), and how these factors will shape the future of museums.
I do not intend to prove here that the creation, production, and dissemination of pop music is a perfect example to examine what has happened or is happening in commercial image-making. The stark differences between these two industries are evident. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter how creative advertising campaigns are. The production of pop music is culturally far more significant than the production lines of shoes and handbags, sunglasses, and the like. Clearly, music owes its dissemination and popularity to the digital space, while images act as visual supporters for conveying the message. Advertising images simulate their products and introduce them with implicit and narrative references, so they must work harder to persuade our emotions to buy them compared to music images.
Nevertheless, both the music and luxury brand industries have experienced parallel and extensive changes in the 2000s. Both have wrestled with the cultural effects created by large corporations and have always been concerned about who and how will return to work, who will receive their products, who will make the payments, and who will receive salaries and commissions. New tools, including brokers, new market contexts, and theories, exist for creation. It seems that the limitless opportunities the digital world has provided for exploiting existing markets and discovering new markets in both industries have now become akin to the Wild West. Both face the challenge of creating valuable and “authentic” experiences amid a landscape of shifting priorities, technologies, and value systems.
To illustrate the changes in the spectrum of commercial image-making in the 2000s, I believe in two different perspectives. One is what has been created in advertising agencies, mainly to promote luxury brands and mass productions in the glossy pages of contemporary magazines, and the other is the encyclopedic museum perspective, which is a collection of designs, native costumes, textiles, photography, and what I feel should be lent to industrial photography as cultural credit—and not just as high and lofty art production.
Pay-per-Download
In recent years, one of the questions that the music industry posed to the advertising world was whether the iTunes model of pay-per-download would also affect commercial image-making. The question was whether consumers (with their vaguely and ambiguously defined identities—perhaps as “agnostics,” brand lovers, credit cardholders, teenage girls, etc.) would be willing to pay 99 cents to download a brand’s advertisement like Prada—or even some precious old works by a fashion photographer—and whether they would pay a fixed monthly fee for behind-the-scenes clips sent to their mobile phones. The answer to this question was largely negative. This simple question—whether a profitable distribution tool for music could also be applied to photography (imagery)—reflects our inability to predict which infrastructure would be most important to luxury brands and how new contexts would impact the actual form of commercial photography. Another issue was whether it was time for the payment structure for photographers to shift from a “daily wage”—which was gradually declining—to a percentage of indirect (online) sales or whether the impact of web-based imagery and online sales licensing could bring it back to its former peak (traditional sales).
Looking back, it becomes clear that this question has always existed: how can image-makers access the money they need for their productions? Image-makers and their production teams realized that luxury brands were shifting their marketing expenses from analog printing and publication to digital marketing and were not inclined to spend money on exploring and discovering image-makers. This was despite a lot of talk about the dominance of prominent image-makers and their central importance to a brand’s identity, but there was no support from these brands for the creativity and passionate enthusiasm of these star photographers. In fact, no photographer was invited with sufficient pay and based on their talents in a new medium to create an extraordinary advertisement, and there were also realities about the imprecision of the advertising sciences.
Supporting Reality
A creative team might produce music or a video on a small budget that leads to extraordinary feedback and sales. Lil Wayne often releases his work through YouTube, creating the authenticity and depth of his works through low-budget, no-adventure videos. He released his first album at the age of 17—in 1999. Universal Music released the CD, and his audience downloaded the songs for free from the internet. God knows how long it took for a clever team to dress him in chic clothes, arrange a flashy music video, and revitalize the music of this exceptional singer. He continues this approach in hip-hop, which is a good reason for maintaining a strong and direct relationship with his fans, to the extent that when his album was released last month, over two million copies were sold to an audience that could have downloaded his songs for free. Of course, it must be said that this sale depended on the choice of his audience and not the strength of marketing companies.
Advertising agencies quickly recognized the importance of YouTube. They, who had automotive manufacturers and graphic advertising companies in their hands, launched digital interactions between producer and consumer through YouTube, and customers could follow technological advancements through it. This, of course, allowed them to be more creative in producing their advertisements. For example, in the second Volkswagen Cabrio commercial, model 2000, the advertising company used Nick Drake, an artist with a niche audience, and as a result, that year, sales of Drake’s Pink Moon album jumped from 6,000 to 74,000 copies.
However, a viral video will only be effective for an artist or group if it is sustained; otherwise, that artist will gradually fade into obscurity. For example, Robyn—a recent independent pop artist in Europe—has been highly successful in the culture of music-loving youth and remix demanders. When our current fascination with all things Swedish isn’t enough to ensure that Robyn can become a successful star in the United States, the internet will be a critical factor in showcasing a transparent identity for this artist. YouTube, because of its capability to show moment-by-moment view statistics, allows the artist to understand the feedback among their audience or determine in which cities it would be better to hold their concert tour.
Win-Win-Win
Some pop stars have managed to achieve a stable visual identity for the release of their albums and world tour concerts. One of them, in 2006, convinced the recording company to contract Steven Klein, his trusted image-maker, to release an album. Klein ultimately managed to create a dramatic and coherent image for the album cover. Klein, who was a leading image-maker, photographed the artist for W Magazine, perhaps to create a seductive and effective connection between fashion designers and celebrities. Despite the fact that the publication was doing well and had a suitable budget for photography, Klein and his client, instead of fighting for a daily wage magazine, decided to craft a clever new business model—a new business model that was a combination of celebrity and fashion image-making, with profits shared among them. Thus, photography for W Magazine became a multi-purpose project that produced coherent images for the artist’s album and world tour, yielding relatively good profits for Klein and his agents. As a result, the magazine monopolized the images, and other fashion and lifestyle magazines worldwide had to pay royalties to print those photos. In this way, Klein and his agent earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from this royalty income. Simultaneously, other international publications were also limited in their access to older photos of the group, so they could have the latest and most up-to-date artist photos on their covers, provided they paid the commission for them, something that was not easily possible before. Certainly, with this method, Klein’s income and his agent’s income were much higher than any daily wage rate, and this contract provided clear status and ownership for him, leading to the conclusion that this was a winning project. Thus, both the music and image-making industries experienced significant and minor changes. Efforts by powerful brands, stars, management companies, and media content providers to merge and consolidate their interests in the light of digitalization were among these changes.
Tom Ford is also one of the important examples in the fashion world
who has established this kind of visual identity (through collaboration with major artists). He has realized the importance of digital marketing for the sales of luxury brands. It’s undeniable that his creative genius has made him unique in the luxury market, but his clear and accurate understanding of the roles of brand-related content creators in creating value for high-end brands, fashion, and photography—his collaborative efforts with music video makers, filmmakers, and famous pop stars—has kept him in the market. One of Ford’s key achievements is in how he sees his company as part of a wider and interconnected web of creativity. The way his brand interacts with others, like musicians or filmmakers, or even how it uses social media, has ensured that his brand’s image is not only distinct but also extremely relevant. Digital technology has given him a powerful tool to engage directly with consumers, build a loyal following, and ensure that his brand remains at the forefront of the industry.
Conclusion
Digital technologies have deeply impacted both music and photography, two creative fields that, while different, share similarities in how they navigate the challenges and opportunities of a digital age. As the boundaries between these two art forms blur, both industries have seen shifts in how they create, distribute, and monetize their work. The rise of digital spaces has introduced new tools and platforms for artists to reach their audiences directly, bypassing traditional gatekeepers. However, it has also introduced challenges, such as the devaluation of creative content and the need for new business models. Ultimately, the future of both music and photography lies in how they adapt to these changes, leveraging digital technology to create authentic and valuable experiences for their audiences.