Star Theory in Music Videos

What is star theory?

In modern culture the terms "Pop Star" and "Pop Performer" are now used interchangeably with performers of all status now labelled Pop Stars. However strictly speaking the two terms do not refer to the same thing or the same conventions. Richard Dyer put forth a theory to explain how Pop Stars are constructed for financial gains and given this new-found status by their management to suit a particular target audience. Therefore, this theory is stating, celebrity 'pop stars' are not personable in their own right but rather a product built and marketed by record labels to benefit the music industry as a whole.

The theory is split into 3 section; Audience and Institution, Constructions, Hegemony.

Audience and Institution - Stars are constructed so an audience can relate to them and thus buy into them. They need to sell albums, merchandise, tickets, and products to make music institutions money. Audiences want to buy into what they believe is their ideal. This could be a female who all girls want to be like, a female who all males want to be with and vice versa for a male artist. Making money is the primary aim of the 'Pop Star' and therefore how they are presented to the audience is vital.

Constructions - As well as constructing stars to meet the audiences ideals, different stars are constructed in different ways in order for the audience to be able to make distinctions between them and to decide which 'ideal' they prefer. This is evident looking at the artist range under different music conglomerates as they will have a range of different artists to suit different audiences to ensure they can make the most money.

Prime examples of these unique constructions are artists such as Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj. While both of their music follow the conventions of the genre's which they follow and really can be enjoyed by all, the characters which have been constructed are outrageous and flamboyant. This is to help differentiate them from other artists. In 2008 when Lady Gaga began to find fame, there were no other female artists who were pushing the boundaries, particularly in fashion. This made her name more known as people waited for what she would do next to surprise, consequently this built up a media storm and accelerated her into 'Pop Star' status. Typically artists who have no unique character traits and do not differentiate themselves to get media attention, tend to struggle to build a fanbase and to reach pop star status.

Hegemony - Hegemony is a concept noted by sociologist Gramsci but can be applied to media theory. It is defined as leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over another.

As previously stated, audiences look for their ideal in a pop star thus leading to admiration for the pop star and eventually idolisation. At this point the artist has dominance over the audience and they become a leader for their fanbase with a certain level of social control over these people. For the institution this is a positive as the fans will inevitably buy into whatever the 'star' promotes, be that music, merchandise or other advertising campaigns. However, for others this can be seen as a negative with fans replicating the behaviours of the artists, not all of which are good character traits.

An example of this is Miley Cyrus who in the early years of her career developed a young fanbase who idolised her as 'the girl next door' character. However, following her exit from the Disney channel contract, she became known for her outlandish behaviour such as drastically changing her image, turning to partying and drugs, and manipulating the media. As a result of the idolisation built up at the start of her career, these fans will either replicate this behaviour or normalise it.

Performer vs Popstar

A performer is thought to be a musically talented individual whose main goal is to make and perform music. They may not necessarily be famous but will still be promoted by their management to build a fan base to enable the making of music to be possible. They usually perform at a smaller venues such as O2 academy's around the UK or individual venues such as the Institute in Birmingham or Sound Control in Manchester. They often have a niche audience rather than a mass audience but are still successful in their own right. An example of a performer is Jack Garrett; an up and coming artist who is musically talented in all means with his performances featuring him playing guitars, keyboards, and DJ equipment. He does however have a very niche audience despite his indescribable talent. The youtube clip below is evidence of this.

On the other hand, Pop Stars are globally recognised and appeals to mass audiences. Dyer may argue that true Pop Stars have lasting significance, extending their career by using synergy to their advantage and building a global brand alongside their music. For example Beyonce, while her level of success in music has remained constant over the past few years, she has promoted her own perfumes, clothing lines, and even her own music institution in conjunction with husband JayZ. Talent shows such as the X Factor also produce and construct Pop Stars with the most significant example being One Direction. They turned their talent as performers on the show into a global brand, building hegemony all over the world and a brand that drew a revenue of millions. While their fans may argue they are still personable performers, their brand and representation was carefully constructed to create the 'boy next door' image. The music video below for their single History projects some of the success of their career.

Further Explanation of Star Theory:

To sumarrise the theory:

• Stars are constructed to meet the audience' ideal and so the audience can relate to them. This enables them to make the institution money. They are thus not a real person but a created character.
• It helps if the artist has a unique selling point to differentiate them from the rest of the industry and helps them get attention and create a media storm. 
• Dyer states "A star is an image not a real person that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising magazines) - 1979
• The star is groomed to meet the expectations of the audience. This can link to Mulvey's male gaze theory.

Expectations:

Because a star is constructed,  expectations and stereotypes have been formed. This ensures artists have the same ideologies and images for the audience to consume over and over again. 

Boybands --> Attractive, Good-Style, Masculine/Boyish (For example, One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer, The Vamps)

Girl bands --> Skinny, Pretty, Kind (For example, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony)

Solo Female Artist --> Skinny, Pretty, Fashionable (For Example Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Demi Lovato)

Solo Male Artist --> Attractive, Fashionable, Well-Groomed (For Example, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, Charlie Puth)

Ideology and Culture:

Stars that support a particular ideology or have certain beliefs may be replicated by their fans. For example Demi Lovato stands up for LGBT rights and therefore her fans may begin to support and work for the same cause. Similarly Justin Bieber preaches of everyone having a purpose which as a result causes his fans to follow the same belief. This links to the hegemony theory.

An artist can also influence their fans through the culture, in particular any trends or fashion choices they choose to follow. For example, Kylie Jenner while not a
music figure still had a significant effect on popular culture causing fans to use methods of lip-plumping, waist trainers and even wearing wigs to resemble and replicate their so-called idol. Another example is Ariana Grande who introduced wearing cat-ears at her shows, which quickly caused her fans to copy and wear cat-ears to her show and this consequently formed a fashion trend which was normalised in normal culture.

Therefore stars both in and out of the 'Pop-Star' world have huge influence in shaping society and influencing culture and ideology. Therefore it is important that they are constructed to cause a positive influence.

Branding/ Artist control:

While it is important they are constructed to cause a positive influence, the stars themselves have little control over their branding and artist control in many instances. Their marketing strategies are created by the label thus forming their image, their costumes and clothing are usually sent by brands and chosen by their management, and even their music is to some extent scrutinised and manipulated to suit what the management wants. This therefore is supporting the idea that the pop star is not personable but rather characterised.

Relation to my Music Video:

The song for my music video - Pretty Hurts - is a power ballad and the initial perception of the artist from the song is a strong, independent female. This is what my artist will be based on. Therefore through the creation of my media products I must try to represent the artist as a so-called Star, constructing a character just as Dyer stated in his theory. It is crucial however that this character doesn't stray too far away from reality as the audience needs to be able to relate to her in order to buy into the ultimate product. Therefore, in the music video I plan to portray my artist in a normal, homely environment and struggling with issues that every one has to deal with.

Bibliography:

Richard Dyer's Star Theory - SlideShare
Richard Dyer's Star Theory applied to Pop Stars - Mediaknowall
https://prezi.com/opzcmlhj2ws5/richard-dyer-star-theory/