the music of artists such as this are re-packaging of music in a similar way ; the music is being re-exploited . Producing films that either centre around an artist ’ s career or simply feature their music is certainly a more re-imagined way of re-packaging music than selling it on vinyl is : it involves a lengthy creative process , adding visual stimulation to the music . However , I would argue that it is still a means of making money from existing label repertoire , the same way that selling a box set with an LP and a T-shirt is , as it is an effective way of capitalising on the consumer attraction a musical artist possesses due to their success .
This leads me to the B2B model music sales begun to adopt ( Tessler , 2020d ) – labels were now interested in trying to sell recorded music to other companies rather than to consumers directly . This meant that labels could sell the rights for the use of music in their own artists ’ back catalogue to a movie production company , often for a sizeable fee . That is , unless , the major label itself was housed in a company that also produces films ( for example , Sony or Warner Bros .). Not only can the sale of the rights to music to a film company be lucrative for a major label , but so can the commercial effect it has on
George Fowles
53 the music of the artist featured . For example , the weeks following the first screenings of the successful film Bohemian Rhapsody ( 2018 ) saw sales of the eponymous Queen single ( 1975 ) return to the UK charts for seven consecutive weeks ( Official Charts , 2020 ), and in the wake of the movie ’ s release , ‘ streams of Queen songs surged by 33 % and 70 % of those listeners were under 35 ’, amply displaying the band ’ s ‘ continued cultural relevance ’ ( Glynn , 2019 ). This resonates with how popular music films are intuitive prospects for record companies because of how their audience is composite , in that part of it is familiar with the music , and the rest of it experiences it for the first time ( Corbella , 2017 ). In essence , the music used in a film promotes the music of the featured artist to audience members by either reigniting interest in the artist in those who are already familiar with them , or by attracting new interest in the artist . It is this exposure to a new audience , like the vast number of people ‘ under 35 ’ attracted to Queen ’ s music pointed out by Glynn ( 2019 ), that heightens the popularity of the artist and increases money made from streams and music sales .
In terms of labels re-exploiting their pre-existing property in the form of artists ’ music , I would argue that