1. Introduction
Background information
How does Lily promote products
Genetic Conventions
Image and colours
Representations
Convections of an album cover
Analysis of a poster
Interview
Target audience
Conclusion

2. Introduction
Lily Allen is a 24 year old Londoner with an eye for fashion and
a talent at music. She is has been signed to Regal and Capitol
in her music career and in total has released two albums in
total which both contain singles that have reached number
one. Lily also has talents as a talk show host (Lily Allen and
friends). Lily is well known for her wild approach to life and
this is often publicised and some what promoted in magazines
using personal storylines and interviews. Her style and body
language portrays her attitude to life and people which reflect
back to her genre of music, (Pop, pop rock).
www.lilyallenmusic.com
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3. Background information
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English recording artist, talk show host and actress. The
daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, she had a challenging childhood,
without a stable residence and had been a pupil in thirteen different school institutions until the age of
fifteen.
Allen abandoned school and concentrated on improving her performing and composite skills. She, afterwards,
created several demo songs, and near the end of 2005, she made a profile on MySpace where she made
public some of her recordings. A contract was signed with the label Regal Recordings, as the views on
MySpace rose to tens of thousands. In 2006, work began on completing what would be the first studio album
of the singer, and its first mainstream single, titled "Smile", earned the top position on the UK Singles Chart,
while her debut record, Alright, Still, was well received on the international market, selling over 2.6 million
copies and brought Allen a nomination at the Grammy Awards, BRIT Awards and MTV Video Music Awards.
She then began hosting her own talk-show, Lily Allen and Friends on BBC Three.
Her second major release, It's Not Me, It's You, saw a genre shift for her, having more of an electropop feel,
rather than the ska and reggae influences of the first one. The album debuted at the number one position on
the UK Albums Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts and was appreciated by the critics, noting the singer's
musical evolution and maturity. It spawned the hit singles "The Fear" and "Fuck You", popular mostly in
Europe. Allen and Amy Winehouse have been credited with starting a process that led to the media-
proclaimed "year of the women" in 2009 that has seen five female artists making music of "experimentalism
and fearlessness long" nominated for the Mercury Prize
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4. How does Lily
promote products
Lily Allen promotes products on the front page opposite in a
variety of ways depending on the props she is using and also
what she is wearing. For example, in the picture opposite, Lily
is using the props to make her look childish but also to
promote the food she is consuming. Also, the clothes she is
wearing on the picture is usually talked about inside the
magazine (if directed at women) and her wearing the clothes
may promote it further.
The articles inside a magazine may also promote products as
during interviews they may contain information about her
lifestyle, beauty regime, etc and thus promoting products that
she personally uses.
The promotion of her musical products are often moving
image based and are therefore hard to talk about in this
presentation. However, Lily Allen has previously used posters
and advertisements in magazines to promote her new album
or single to the public/consumer. Many of the images in the
posters have references to the song but also the CD jacket
information is often sometimes included.
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5. Generic Conventions
The generic conventions shown by Lily Allen are those that
are often repeatedly shown by other female celebrities. In
print publications, female celebrities in images are expected to
show skin, be sexy, be beautiful and most of all look flawless.
This repetitive image shown by many different female
celebrities has almost become the minimum requirement in
order to be successful to many and may be the start of the
stars downfall. Magazines focused in the publication of articles
which have been interviewed and researched often show
celebrities in an unspoiled way whilst those articles published
in gossip magazines have a purpose to show celebrities in non
perfect ways. For example, Lily Allen is often seen in gossip
magazines flashing cameras and people watching.
Some artists feel that they need to produce and share every
aspect of their life to gain publicity for their music and other
work with their fans and critics through the use of interviews
and stories in magazines. For example, in the front page
opposite, ‘SEXY BEAST LILY ALLEN & HER WICKED, WICKED
WAYS...’ may show Lily Allen as more of a sex kitten than a
person and go into detail about her relationships and actions.
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6. Images and Colours
In the magazine front cover opposite, the colour scheme
is chosen to suit both Lily Allen’s features and dress style,
and the seasonal colour schemes that most magazines
follow. By using the colours red, brown, black, creams and
whites, the editor is able to customize the front page to
suit the issues seasonal release, for example, for these
colours to be used I am suspecting the issue to have been
released in Autumn.
Most of the colour in the page is within the front page
picture which is shown in the clothes she is wearing. The
clothing choice of Lily Allen shows a feminine, sexy
approach as she chooses a corset, underwear and fishnet
tights. This choice suggests Lily Allen is daring, sexy and
her facial expression is mysterious yet inviting. This
particular picture is probably taken for a magazine that is
aimed at males because of the clothing choice and the
use of the image on the page. In magazines aimed at
women, I expect the image of Lily Allen would be more
sensible with less a ‘sexy’ approach.
One of Lily’s signature poses is the hands on hips look
which is shown continuously in many of the different
front pages on this presentation. This makes Lily
identifiable to fans and critics but also gives Lily a chance
to look her best and to perfect her pictures when natural.
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7. Representation
The representation of Lily Allen changes depending on the
editor’s personal view of Lily and also the target audience of the
magazine. In some magazines, the editor will show her as a
fragile, timid and unruly character (as shown in the front page
opposite) and in some it will show her as privileged, beautiful
and a role model to others. This clear constant difference
between the magazines story choices and how they reflect in
the images chosen to be displayed they are able to reach to
readers and attract readers that have not read the same story
again and again.
The representation of the magazine is also included in the way
that they show their stories. For example, in the front cover
opposite, they use the main image to attract the reader and
invite them to buy the magazine through the text related ‘Lily
Allen’s Most Outrageous Interview Yet’ this signals that the
interview will be good but without giving the whole topic and
story line away to buyers. Readers of the magazine will often
buy the magazine through suggestion and committed readers
that buy every magazine.
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8. Conventions of an album
cover
The purpose is that the
audience are familiar with
the artist logo and hopeful
buy into the product.
The artist name is written in text which suits the style of her
music. The text is then displayed in a bolt of lighting which is a
The album is artistic it uses logo always displayed on the artists albums, this can be
different pictures which recognised by the audience.
look like doodles and
shows features of her
personality and her music. Title of her album is
also displayed in the
background its
The lyric to the song ‘smile’ is reflects the idea of
about love and feeling alone lighting in the logo.
the cover reflects this. The dark
colours show her sadness, the Artist in cover line
rain represents her crying, her (centre of the cover)
doodles each reflect the song. The audience know
The flowers have been crushed who the artist is. Her
so the idea her relationship is body language
over. The legs down the drain illustrates her
shows her partner almost being attitudes and her
thrown away. styles of music (pop
rock, electric pop)
The clothing (dress) features the album title, this
helps the branding my advertising the title of the
album on the artist.
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9. Analysis of a poster
Her hair style also reflects her Her signature pose with her
music (pop rock, electric pop) hands placed on her hips is
she looks reckless and fits into represented in most images
this genre of music. take of Lily this has become
familiar to the audience as
Lily's typical pose.
Her facial expression shows
attitude. It fits with her type of
music and her stereotypical
Her jewellery symbols her
view that Lily gives out. She
music and it has connotations
looks full of attitude.
of her being a ‘chav
portraying the sterotypical
A plain background has image’ , this is reflected in her
been used so the eye music and her personality.
focuses on the main
Her cloths are unique to
image.
her as an individual. Lily
has her own clothing line
The Image has been ‘Lily loves’ so she has
designed so that Lily is selected a similar outfit
positioned central to which can be found in
the poster indicating her clothing line in new
to the audience she is look these cloths will be
the focus point. familiar to her target
audience which is
teenage girls.
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10. Interview
Lily Allen has given a variety of interviews on different chat
shows; Graham Norton, GMTV, the Charlotte church show.
I have found an interview with Jonathan Ross and Lily
Allen.
The reason for the interviews is that Lily has a new album
coming out so she is advertising this by giving an interview
and also performing to showcase her music to the public.
She is also adverting the fact that she is doing concerts in
March.
The interview allows Lily to showcase her music and her as
an individual artist, her fans can learn more about the
artists and her personal life. In the interview with Jonathan
Lily discuss her private life and is questioned about her
partying and drinking ,relationships, Her current tour and
the release of her new album ‘The Fear’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GfRbKQ36yg&feature=related
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11. Lily Allen has a target audience of tweens and teens that like
pop and indie music. Lily Allen has her own style of music
with influences of artists such as T-Rex, the specials and
Happy Mondays. She is also well known for her stylish ways
as the creator of the fashion label Lily Loves which is sold in
The media portray Lily Allen as a bold different Her clothes lineis directed at to the
New Look stores. artist, she is shown a wider,
audience as different this may be because herLily Allen’s musicmixture of different
female audience music is a as adults are also interested
in her clothes.
than her
talk-show Lily Allen and Friends
genres or she is th first artist who introduced its target audience because of the times it was
failed to reach this types of music to the
audience. broadcasted being unsuitable for most viewers that would
watch it.
Magazines that do features on Lily Allen often have the same
if not a bit older audience than Lily Allen’s musical target
audience. However, the features on Lily Allen in magazines
with a higher target audience can and do improve the range
of people who listen to her music and buy her products.
Many of Lily’s fans would buy the magazine if there was a
story on her or simply her picture on the front cover.
The media portray Lily Allen as a bold varies artist, she is
shown to the audience as various this may be because her
music is a mixture of different genres and she was the first
artist who introduced this types of music to the audience.
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12. Conclusion
In conclusion, Lily Allen has a number of different images and
this is shown through each magazine individually as they all
have their own different view and perception of Lily Allen. She
promotes herself as a product as well as her music and fashion
lines by using magazines to draw in and attract new
consumers.
Her lyrics are often about relationships and love her language
The album is artistic it uses different pictures which look like doodlesF***kin'
reflects her attitudes towards them “But you were and
that girl next door”. Lily shows features of her personality in
shows features of her personality andalbum covers as they are all artistic featuring different
her her music.
pictures and doodles.
I have also found that in images taken of Lily Allen she stands
in a certain pose (hand on her hip) this reflects her personality
and shows her attitudes by doing this Lily is promoting herself
as a different individual artist and also her music as her
attitudes fit with her target audience and her genre of music.
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13. Promotional music package
As part of my analysis I have analysed three music videos which range with different artists and genres this is so I can identify some key
conventions which are used which I can later apply to my own music video.
I have started with Lady Gaga ‘poker face’. Lady Gaga is an American artist who creates pop music. I think that the her target audience is
mainly female early teenagers to late 20s, this is shown in her video through the age of people who feature in the video and the types of
clothing worn which all have representations of sex. The video starts with Lady Gaga rising up from the ground dressed in a black leather
cat suit this appears very sexual towards men and it reflects the lyrics ‘I’ll get him hot show him what I got’. The darkness of the
background makes the artist the focal point and so she is presented as the main focus in the video. The artist is shown to the audience
unique and unusual this is shown though her style (hair, make up) I think that this makes her interesting to the audience because she is
different to other artists of this genre. The video shows Lady Gaga as a strong performer, she is made to look more beautiful compared to
the rest of the people in her video though lighting this is because the video is about her and she is the main feature so she needs to stand
out to her audience. Special effects such as smoke and lighting in the background make the video more interesting and the contrasts of the
lighting work with the lyrics to give it an uplifting beat which reflects the strong. The video promotes the artist being different and unique
this is shown to the audience by her style and the way in which she is presented as a power full and dominant woman.
The second music video I looked at was ‘Halo’ by Beyonce. Beyonce is an American artist who creates R&B music. The video features
Beyonce (artist) as the main character telling the story to the audience this is illustrated by the side on view of her overlooking the man
who is in this video (her partner). The lyrics are about love and emotions this is shown by the way the two connect with each other shown
through facial expression and eye contact. Rather than Lady Gaga’s video Beyonce is performing to the man but telling the audience a
story. The white lights reflect the angel theme and give the video the soft and gentle theme of heaven and love. Beyonce looks natural in
this video and the producers have focused on emotions and portraying a love story to the audience. The use of high angle shots which
look down on Beyonce show that the man is the dominant sex and has the high status than Beyonce in the video, it also shows the
audience what he is seeing rather then just focusing on Beyonce. There is also over the shoulder shot focusing on Beyonce because she is
the focus in the video. Special effects such as the sunrise which cuts to the next scene all add to the representation of love. I think that the
target audience for Beyonce and this music video is late teenagers to late twenties I think this because the issues it deals with (emotion
love and romance) I think this age group would relate to it more because they can relate to Beyonces story in this video.
The final video I analysed was ‘The climb’ by Miley Cyrus. Miley Cyrus is a young artist who creates pop and teen rock, this indicates her
target audience being teenagers this is also indicated because the artist is just sixteen years old herself. The video focuses on her and unlike
the other two her music is at the centre of the video. In the video she looks very natural with little make up and casual clothing (jeans and
a t-shirt) the video also contrasts with this and shows natural things to the audience (rose, sky and stars).

14. The video starts with a long path heading to a mountain with the artist stood at the bottom of the path, the video is about her getting to
the end of the mountain which is reflected in the lyrics ‘I can almost see that dream I’m dreaming’ for the target audience the video
portrays hard work and determination and it gives the audience a message that with these things you can reach to the end of your
dreams. As the video goes on different clips are shown to illustrate she has reached to the top of the mountain. The video has been
heavily edited and special effects are used such as rain and the sun coming through the clouds to portray different emotions and break
through’s in the artist’s life. Each scene is cut to another by special effects this is so the audience are kept interacted with the video and so
it appears more interesting to watch.
From analysing three music videos from different artists I have noticed that they use different conventions to attract their target audience.
Lady Gaga used eccentric costume and lighting to show she is unique; she also uses men to illustrate her dominance as a female over the
men. In Beyonces she appeared to be telling a story and even though she was again the focus of the video the relationship between her
and the man was more equal and the lyrics were reflected in the video by the connection between the two. Finally in Miley Cyrus is video
the focused was on her musical talents as her music is for a younger audience. The main ideologies in the video are to chase your dream
so the video was similar to Beyonce in the way it was telling a story and showing her struggles to reach to the top of the mountain.
Overall I have spotted that the artists were the main focus in all three videos however they were all shown in a different ways to support
the music they were promoting.

15. Props Performance
Setting-reflected to the Artist
performance or lyrics
Equipment
• Instruments
Narrative •Leads
•Microphone
•Lighting
•Cameras
Codes and conventions of
Costume-helping the music videos
audience identify the
genre
Sound/effects
dialogue
Dancing
Editing (transitions, lighting,
Lip syncing (singing) non- diegetic/ diegetic sound, effects) Character(s)
The conventions of a music video vary depending on genre of music. The genre can be identified in music videos
through the costume , instruments, effects, narrative, and performance each of these conventions are recognised
and expected of by the audience.