Technological Convergence

Technological Convergence is the term that best describes how technology has managed to "merge" itself together to fufill similar needs.

For example websites for television programmes such as that of Being Human a programme that is broadcast on BBC Three, also includes the chance for the programme to be watched on their website via the BBC iplayer, it also encorporates new spin off stories that can only be viewed online, meaning that this can be advertised on the television programme or just after it so people can view it online, showing that these two media platforms have converged, in context it means that the gaps between different media platforms are closing.

Perception of the audience has changed, the majority of the public will now see that The internet is now a television and a music souce, whilst in the past the internet would have just been purely for reading, the television would have been purely independant and music was only available on the radio or in shops.

A term that is becoming quite well used is Web 2.0, this term is used to describe how the internet has transformed from a source of information to a mass media service, which includes being able to watch television, purchase and listen to music and share files.

Technological Convergence means that the audience now gets a free choice and an easier access to different media platforms,
Television and Music are converging to make a wider profit and fan base, for example shows like The X Factor, Glee and Brittania High are doing this, by showing music on the television show and then releasing it on the internet via Itunes or in shops.
Music and The Internet have also converged, examples of this are software and websites such as Spotify, We7 and Groove Shark that allow the audience to stream music for free, transforming the internet into a mass media server.

To conclude, Technological Convergence does...

• Closes the gap between the audience and the producer
• Allows artists to promote their work easily
• Free distribution, means that music suppliers do not have to worry about packaging and post
• Allows instant access of the audience to apply their needs to many different media platforms

However Technological Convergence also allows people to steal music by illegal downloading it, it also allows the music and files to be shared via illegal file sharing services.

Subsidiaries

Fascination Records and Island Records are two subsidiaries from the mass Music Label Universal Music Group. The reason for having a subsidiary record label is that it allows the Universal Music Group to encorporate the needs of different genres of music, because Universal Music Group is such a large conglomerate it means that it will find difficulty in being able to make the decisions that please different fans of different genres of music.

The record label Island Records is particularly aiming at music such as reggae, artists such as Bob Marley are attached to this record, the website relates to this particular genre of music by giving it an informal look, it has tropical colours, a rather vintage and "relaxed" theme, this is important because it shows what artists and fans the label are trying to encorporate.
Although the label is trying to encorporate a reggae theme, it also is the label for artists such as Devlin and N-Dubz which are very different from artists such as Bob Marley and Mumford & Sons.
therefore Island Records are trying to appeal to a mass audience, despite the website looking like it only provides for a niche audience.

Fascination Records is under The Universal Music Group label also, it however tries to appeal to a more mainstream audience, by having artists such as Girls Aloud and The Saturdays, this is clear from the layout of the website, by trying to appeal a mass audience they have gone for quite a sleek design that can appeal to a mass audience, since there is no specific theme like there is on Island Records.


The label Island Records was founded in Jamaica by Chris Backwell and Graeme Goodall, the fact that the label was founded in Jamaica, shows that the label has tried to stick to their roots with their main artists and website theme, their logo is of a palm tree, which en corporates the "Island" theme. The label is now based in New York City in America, this shows that despite moving location, the label is still very keen to keep to its "roots".

The label Fascination Records was created in The United Kingdom and has remained there, it mainly has British artists under its name, they are mainstream bands such as Girls Aloud, it has also imported artists such as The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus, they are trying to appeal to a mass audience, I have also noted that most of the artists that Fascination Records try to appeal to are of a female audience, Island Records however are trying to appeal to both genders.

Universal Music Group will benefit from having subsidiaries based in different countries because it allows the subsidiaries to focus on the mass needs of the country they are based in, meaning that Universal Music Group can appeal to a mass audience world wide.

Both labels appear to be separate from Universal Music Group, this is important to note, because it means that the bands and fans can not feel daunted whilst dealing with a mass group, meaning that they can focus on their specific genre. Fascination Records could have promoted the band The Saturdays because they are very similar to Girls Aloud who are also part of the label, this would make fans of Girls Aloud find out more about The Saturdays, featuring them in similar situations and promoting them in similar ways.

Fascination Records has also used Synergy, they have The Skins soundtrack released under their name, this again expresses the mass market appeal they are trying to aim for, because Skins is a mass market Television drama, it was released under their name because they have the specialty in dealing with mass market audiences.

To conclude, both Subsidiaries are used to maximize the chance of gaining potential audiences, specific to genre, the Universal Music Group needs subsidiaries so that it appeal to a more specific group of people, because The Universal Music Group is so large it will not be able to appeal to certain genres without the use of subsidiaries such as Island Records and Fascination Records.