MUSI150 Language in Society
was seen to be a pioneer in seeing what music could add to creative industries projects , bringing about Grease and Saturday Night Fever and making millions in the process . Albeit eventually going bankrupt due to a failed musical film venture , Stigwood ’ s multi-media artist management firm , RSO , in many ways mirrors the vertical integration visible in companies like Warner Bros ., who use their musical artists ’ work in cinema ( Tessler , 2020a ).
Additionally , it is important to consider that the construction of musical films would be severely limited were the music ’ s use limited to being diegetic – in other words , used exclusively for narrative purposes , such as in a typical screen adaptation of musical theatre . Therefore , A Hard Day ’ s Night ( 1964 ) is an important precedential film ; Donnelly ( 2001 ) labels it ‘ pivotal ’ for its non-diegetic use of The Beatles ’ music and with respect to the change it caused to the relationship between music and cinema . More recent precedent of successful musical films exists too , using music that is written for the picture especially ( not existing popular music ) – for example La La Land ( 2016 ), which received 14 Oscar nominations ( Alexander , 2017 ) – showing that films featuring music can achieve
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a lot . The other obvious element of precedent is the fact that many acts around whom music biopics or musical films are centred have already had massively successful careers – e . g . Queen , The Beatles , Elton John – so labels and film companies know that not only are they proven sellers , but their previous commercial success has made them somewhat of a brand in themselves . Glynn ( 2013 ) asserts that music films ’ ‘ headlining pop performers ’ are crucial to the identity of a film , and therefore its profile and success , which is crucial in how A Hard Day ’ s Night proved ‘ revolutionary ’ ( Donnelly , 2001 ) for using canonical popular music . The artists chosen are therefore usually hallmarks of popular music history and popular culture , and so are bound to attract many to the cinema should a movie be made about them or featuring their music .
The fundamental reason for the recent increase in the release of musical films , music biopics and music documentaries is major record labels acting out of necessity to save their businesses . They were forced to take action to survive the collapse of recorded music sales , and did so by exploiting what appeared to be the best set of means available to them : the pool of successful artists whose entire