Media

Cameron Mcdade

Ed Sheeran • Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-

songwriter and occasional actor. Born in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he moved to London in 2008 to pursue his music career on the Artist Development course at Access to Music.

• His debut album, +, containing the singles "The A Team" and "Lego House", was certified 6× Platinum in the UK. In 2012, Sheeran won two Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. "The A Team" won the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically

how is artist's image currently promoted? Why?

• Ed Sheeran’s image as an artist is viewed as being quite funny, being a nice guy and he is also seen to be quite quiet and out of the limelight compared to some of the other artists and celebrities.

• He is promoted like this to appeal to a wider demographic as his music is made for multiple types of listeners and different age groups.

• He is also promoted to be a down to earth and normal guy, for example he is always seen wearing jeans, trainer and a T-Shirt with his guitar. This is to promote his image as a normal person.

How has the artist's image changed over time?

How has the artists image changed over time? And why?• When Ed Sheeran first became big his image was still quite indie and not really mainstream or popular.• A good example of this image is the A team video, the video is filmed with a normal camera and it is not

particularly a professional quality film. It looks more like its been done by Ed himself.• However now Ed’s image is quite mainstream and pop related. A good example for this is Sing which is

sung by Ed and Pharrell Williams. Although Ed still portrays the same image of him in jeans and a T-shirt holding a guitar, the video is quite high budget, colourful and obviously contains famous artists like Pharrell Williams.

• So this shows that overtime as Ed has got big, he has collaborated with big artists more often and his videos are much more colourful, high budget and interesting.

What is the commercial imperative? – How does the video sell?

Ed Sheeran Himself – Quite a lot of Ed Sheeran’s videos are performance and show Ed Sheeran playing his guitar and singing. This is because fans come and watch the video to see him and Ed is one of the main selling points.Collaborations – A good example of this would be the ‘Sing’ video again, this video shows Ed and Pharrell preforming, this is a selling point because fans will like to see Ed collaborating with big artists. It will also get fans of Pharrells to come and watch Ed so it could get him to gain fans and followers to reach a wider audience.MEC and setting – In the ‘Sing’ especially the colours, lighting and setting are all really interesting. There is a puppet of Ed Sheeran going out partying so its almost comical and funny o it would be fun to watch.

Is the artist's image invented or ready made?

• I think that the idea of having an artist that is presented to be quite down to earth and normal is already made and invented.

• However the presentation of Ed Sheeran especially in the modern age of music and celebrities is quite new and un heard of. Usually singers are presented to be classy and wear the nicest and most expensive clothes but Ed is usually seen in jeans and a T shirt.