The Strength of British Music

Did you know that from 23rd July 2011 - 1st October 2011 there was a British artist at number one in the singles chart. (here & here). 2011 has been a massive year for music in Britain. This year we've seen so many artists 'break through' and finally get recognised. There's been Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Wretch 32 and Katy B to name a few. Not only have we had loads of new music this year but we've had some of our 'more established' artists come back stronger than ever, for example Coldplay headlined Glasto and T in the Park and the Arctic Monkeys headlined Oxegen and V and of course Adele came back and owned the charts for 18 weeks overall. 

via; here.

The shape of the music industry has changed as well, I think we've finally accepted Girls Aloud aren't going to re-form and the only girl band that are massive right now are The Saturdays who are releasing their new album in November. Wonderland have appeared this year though and been nominated for a DMA for break through. Whereas, we've gone from no boy bands to several. I remember watching JLS audition for the X Factor in 2009 and thinking that they've got a really good chance of getting somewhere, not only because of their talent but also because there was a gap in the market for a boy band. Take That were quiet in 2009. Mcfly were touring a little but weren't at the top like they had been before. So there was a JLS shaped gap that they were ready to fill. 

Two years on and there definitely isn't a gap anymore. JLS are releasing their third album, Jukebox, in November of this year. Mcfly are stronger than ever, and writing their sixth album (and of course Tom got engaged). The Wanted exploded on to the scene with All Time Low and now have a massive fan base and continued hits. Their new release Lightning looks as though it is set for number one this weekend as well.Take That got Robbie back and went on tour after releasing their album Progress which became the fastest selling album of the century. Also, as  I am incredibly sure you will know, One Direction graduated X Factor in 3rd place and now have a number one and an album on the way and of course an inZAYNly (I'm sorry I had to) massive fan base.  

Our solo artists are massive right this year as well. Professor Green is releasing his second album which includes the amazing single Read All About it which features up and coming Emeli Sande. Ed Sheeran has become massive and is on tour now, Example has had another strong year so far playing a crazy amount of festivals and his third album was released in September and went to number one. Dappy went solo and to number one. Jessie J won 4 mobo's and has kept going even through her broken foot. We've also got Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, Devlin, Pixie Lott and Chipmunk going strong among many others.

SB.TV(also here) has contributed massively to British music by finding up and coming artists and giving them a platform to be heard and recognised. SB.TV has also finally had proper recognition this year by being nominated for awards, the Google Chrome advert about SB.TV founder Jamal Edwards and being given their own show Inside SB.TV: From bedroom to boardroom. They also have their own label now and signed Maxta. 

Get ready because this is going to sound corny, but I'm pretty proud of British music right now. There is so much talent and we've got a bit of everything right now. The strength and quality of British music right now is amazing. 

What do you think?

Victoria x

all images other than captioned found via google search. 

Making Practical Fashionable.

It's getting significantly colder lately, seriously my toes are constantly freezing, and so all the coats are out in the shops. I've tried on several (only one that wasn't red) until I found mine (red). This got me thinking about the practicality of some coats. If I'm honest I wasn't basing the majority of my choice on how water resistant or warm it is, it was mainly on the fit and colour. 

Being at school, it's easy to see which trends are about because all of a sudden everyone has it, literally you are walking in a sea of Pauls Boutique bags or Hollister hoodies. Last year saw the Superdry coat come along. 

Superdry - £59.99

This is called the 'Technical Windcheater'. (Before I go any further, that name is purely amazing. Technical WIND CHEATER. It cheats the wind. Hello selling point.) This spread through school practically overnight, everyone had one. Boys, girls and probably some of the teachers. If I'm honest I didn't think that they were that lovely to look at, don't get me wrong it's not one of the worst but it just always seemed a little boxy and robotic to be, but it kept people dry (they don't actually market it as water resistant though) and also kept them warm. This coat is practical but I don't think on it's own it is that 'fashionable' and to be completely honest I don't think this is why most people in my school were buying this coat, I think they were buying it because it was Superdry. They wanted the brand and not the coat. 

Republic - £54.99

 

Jack Wills - £98

Hollister - £130

I've noticed quite a few of the Republic coat shown above around this year and of course the Jack Wills gillet will once again be a staple in our school. Once again these coats keeps people warm and dry, good qualities to find in a coat, but if you took away the pheasant and the bird then I'm just saying I think there would be a lot less of these coats around. 

I'm not saying this is a bad thing, that we buy things for the brand that it is. In fact, in this case it's probably a very good thing, especially in schools as the kids can wear something that is on trend and will keep their parents happy because they're going to be warm and dry.

So, these brands making practical fashionable is very good in my eyes when we're talking about coats. Maybe I'm wrong and people just found out there is a coat called Windcheater...

Victoria x

we were in school, listening to grown ups.

 Jacket - £24.99 - H&M

I got this today because I need something to wear to an interview on Tuesday (eeeeeekk). 

I think i'm going to wear my trousers and then the chiffon shirt in the photo. 

This is a little pricey to me, just because I'm not used to spending over £15 for clothes, ha. This will be used again though and I suppose I'm going to need to look professional and smart on other occasions as well. 

It's quite a weird material, it reminded me of grandmas when I first touched it, but I love it. It's cut really nicely  and the shape is lovely. Ah! I love it. 

Hopefully, it will give me some luck on Tuesday. My interview fits in to my free's that day, which is lucky. I'm trying not to get my hopes up though because lots of people have applied for it. If I don't get it, there will always be somewhere else, eh. 

Hope you've had a lovely weekend.

Victoria x

Avon Super Shock Gel Eye Liner

This is only one layer.

Before I begin, I'm going to warn you that I'm not a make-up expert. Seriously, I'm incredibly far from it, I know little bits but nothing big so If you wanted a fancy in depth analysis of the ingredients and pigments and whatnot then this might not work for you but if you want a jargon-free opinion then please carry on. 

I decided to buy Avon Super Shock Eye Liner in Blackened Metal the other week because if you ordered the eye liner and the brush there was a discount I think. Also, I decided to try it as a cheaper alternative to the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel.  

I like the brush, it's cute and it does it's job (I some know people can write a whole post on one brush but I really don't see what else I could say). The first time I used the gel I wasn't really that impressed. It's called Super Shock so I kind of expected something super shocking and I didn't think it was. It took several layers to get it to the colour I wanted. I gave the gel a bit of a mess around with my finger to soften it up a bit and re-tried. It looked better this time, it got to the dark colour quicker but If i'm honest it still isn't 'super shocking'. I actually think I look a bit more 'natural' when I use this liner, however I am comparing to this liquid and the colour isn't claiming to be the jet black i'm used to so maybe the change to a lighter shade takes a little getting used to. Also, It's glittery but not excessively so, just the right amount so you get that odd glisten which I love. Finally, I didn't feel I had to re-apply throughout the day as I didn't think it needed touching up. 

Overall, I do like this product, I have no doubt it will help me achieve a smokey eye very well one day, and I think i'll switch between this and my liquid eye liner. I still feel like I need to try the Maybelline Studio Gel Liner though, so when one of these runs out I think that's where I'll head. 

 Have you tried any gel eye liners?

Victoria x 

Nails (8) Halloween.

I did some Halloween nails, the classic dripping blood - although my red nail varnish is on its very last (probably injured) leg so it was really sticky and gloopy. Then I did some slime of course.

The second lot were just a bit of a mix really. I think the scars look quite cool going off of one side. I also love the ghost and the gravestone. The black kind of splatter was meant to be a bat.. yep go and take a second look and you probably still wont be able to see the resemblance. It didn't go well, it does remind me of a butterfly I drew in year eight art that my teacher said was crap and looked as though it had gone through a shredder. That was a good lesson.

Anyway, what do you think? 

Victoria x

p.s. i know this is the second nails post in a row but ima bit keen.

Nails (7)

This is my attempt at 'comic' nails I suppose you'd call them. 

They aren't amazing but for a first try I'm pretty pleased with them. Ignore the one with two blue squiggles and the one with criss crossing black lines..I don't know what I was doing there.

Did anyone watch the Mobos? I need Dappy and Tinchy Stryder presenting together more on television. It was beaut. If you follow me on Twitter you will most likely know about my new found obsession with Ace of Cakes, it starts in eight minutes and I've definitely been looking forward to it all day. Yep. 

Victoria xx

Social Media and The Music Industry

credit: from; here, via; google search.

The music industry has obviously been around for a very long time whereas Social media is relatively new. Recently we have seen social media explode. Everyone and their mothers either use or at least know of the main social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. However, other social media sites are becoming increasingly popular, especially in terms of blogging like Tumblr, Blogger and FlickR for example. There are of course thousands of social media sites, too many to even begin to name. I also believe that recently the advances in social media and the increased use of it has had amazing benefits for the music industry.

The BT Digital Music Awards were on the 29^th September 2011 (aired on ITV2 ON 3^rd October) and these awards are proof that the advances in technology have effected the industry as it is all about the digital side, obviously. We also see this in the download charts, which don’t take into consideration when the music is bought in a hard copy. These awards showed a video as a feauture about social media and the music industry and it relayed to me some thoughts and ideas that I had noticed lately.

One of the main points that was put across in this video and that I think anyone with Twitter will have noticed is that it is easier for artists to support and even promote each other now. I don’t think a day goes by without us seeing several artists tweeting to their fans to go and buy or at least listen to another artist’s music. I don’t believe that this type of support was so easily given before the use of social media as it was just not as easy to do..Twitter is a very simple, quick and effective method of promotion because in a matter of seconds you have sent something that potentially hundreds, thousands or millions of people could see. (For example, Justin Bieber is on over thirteen million followers.) We see twitter used as a promotion tool daily and often it can seem quite corporate when used by companies but when an artist is tweeting from a ‘personal’ account shall we say, I think it gives the industry and the people on the front on the industry a better image. We cannot forget that obviously these artists are in competition with each other, they all want that number one album or single, they want everyone to enjoy listening to their music and watching their videos but as Example said in the video for the DMA’s he see’s it as though if one artist does well then another will. I can see the logic in this, especially with social media because If one artist is very successful and gets a wide following and then tweets or shares an artist with their fan base who will likely take the recommendation and check the artist out and new fans and exposure are bound to be gained.

Social media also closes the gap between the artist and the fans. The use of social media sites now means the artists can give information and communicate directly to fans or upload videos and images themselves making the artist seem more of a person than a brand or business. I think Twitter is the main tool for this but artists can now blog as well for example and their fans can follow for more detailed updates and information. Blogs will once again seem more personal than a news letter sent en mass from someone’s HQ.

Social media is also an amazing platform for success. The story of Jamal Edwards, founder of SBTV, who created a business stemming from his Youtube account. His success through using social media was shown through the recent Google chrome advert. You can see this below.

Ed Sheeran is also an exceptional example of success via social media. His success must not be slimmed down to just being through social media, Ed Sheeran did hundreds of shows and worked tremendously hard to get to where he is, but I think social media definitely helped his success. He said in the video about social media on the DMA’s that by using social media you can create a fan base for yourself. This can be done even when labels aren’t interested. Myspace and especially YouTube are often used for this. The fact that artists can independently build up their fan base is a massive step forward in the music industry and it’s down to social media for providing the ease of communication and sharing of information. I’ve put his Something For The Weekend interview below as he explains how he began in the industry but there are lots of interviews on YouTube.

A lot of these points were put across in the feature on the Digital Music Awards and I’m so glad they were because they’ve been becoming more evident recently in my opinion and I think social media does need to be recognised for the changes it is creating. We mustn’t assume that there are no negatives with social media and the music industry, for example it is now possibly considered easier for people who wish to, to write very mean and sometimes unacceptable things in relation to shared media. However, in this post I did want to focus on the positives but  I wanted to at least address the fact that there are negatives associated.

If you didn’t watch the BT Digital Music Awards you can do so here and If this topic does interest you then It really is worth a watch.

Do you think social media benefits the music industry?
Victoria