Blog #7: Transmedia, remixing and the "so what?" of it all.

The de Bourgoing piece was basically discussing how hip-hop artists are using this idea of transmedia to promote their music. The article basically outlines the 7 laws of transmedia. The first discusses the importance of spreading your brand as an artist. This is done through different outlets; from Twitter (or previously, MySpace), to Tumblr, to music videos on YouTube. The idea is that an artist needs to give the audience a place to go after their performance to keep their interest. The second law is saying an artist needs to have their own personal feel and appearance, yet that appearance needs to be marketable. She uses the example of Run DMC and Adidas (who doesn't love to  listen to My Adidas??). The third law is to be the change you want to see. So de Bourgoing is saying that an artist needs to believe in what they're saying and others will follow - the idea of uniting fans for "something bigger than yourself." The fourth law says that an artist must collaborate. This helps artists to reach fans of another artist and spread their brand to people who would have no reason to care about that artist otherwise. The fifth law is to be a story teller. The passion put into something personal is felt by the audience and gives them a reason to connect with the artist. The sixth law is saying that your music must appeal accross the board - both men and women - in order to "make it." The seventh and final law is basically saying to respect those who came before you. In that respect, you can connect with fans and are more likely to be respected by others. Don't forget that someone came before you and someone inspired you to do what you're doing.


There are all kinds of connections between de Bourgoing's piece and our previous readings! For one, the idea that you need to use more than one outlet to get your message out there. The idea that the web is where people are getting their information. Without a web presence, it is hard to connect with your audience. Also, I think this whole idea of transmedia is essentially what we're doing with EVERYTHING on the web. Especially on Facebook and Twitter, we're able to share ideas in an instant  and get feedback just as quickly. It's like what Jenkins says about media content being heavily dependent on consumers participation. Music without listeners makes it pointless. It won't go anywhere if you don't give your listeners a way to connect. Just as a website cannot succeed if it does not engage its users, an artist cannot succeed without engaging its listeners.


It seemed to me that Miller was basically saying saying that music is not unlike writing. It is our voice, in a sense. He is saying that we connect with music because it connects us to the past, and it recycles ideas and thoughts. I liked the quote where he says "today, the voice you speak with may not be your own." I know this quote has it's own page so it seems like an obvious quote to choose, but I love it because it's SO incredibly true and relevant. Shortly after that, Miller says "We are witnessing and listening to the complete integration of and simultaneous representation of the human world as a single conscious entity based on the implosion of geographic distance or cartographic failure" (page 72).  So, basically he is saying that today's society is constantly integrating the old to create the new. We are entering the age where it is rare that we are completely creating something which has never been done. Miller stresses that the past works, but we must do something to change it and make it something new.


I think the main ideas both Miller and de Bourgoing have in common is that the past is important to our success now. We learn from the past and we are inspired by the past. But we must do something different with that. Through the use of today's technologies we can spread ideas so quickly, and we can spread the words of our past. Things don't change, we simply change the way we interpret them. We remix our past to make it important in the now and in the future. Another connection (it might be a stretch, but it's a connection nevertheless) is tagging. We tag our information, but we also tag songs. Say you grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and you know the song Pasttime Paradise. Then one day you hear Gangsta's Paradise on the radio. You tag that song in your mind as a Stevie Wonder re-make. You tag that beat, and that tag applies to more than one song now, and then you hear the Weird Al's Amish Paradise and you tag that as well. In a way it's also related to the third order of order because these songs are in no way connected as far as meaning goes, but they all share a beat and you can lump them together in one category, but they also exist in many other categories with many other tags.