Media Industries

Media Studies: Eduqas GCSE, topic 5.5.5

Intentions - Media Industries

Justin Bieber has remained a major figure in the global pop and digital music industries.

Justin Bieber was born in Canada and discovered on YouTube.
His mother uploaded home videos of him singing.
After a chance meeting with Usher, Bieber was signed to Island Def Jam in 2008 at age 14.
Bieber’s mainstream breakthrough came with Baby (2010), one of the most-viewed videos on YouTube.
By 2013, Bieber had become the youngest artist to achieve five number-one albums on the Billboard 200 chart – at only 19 years old.

Michael D. Ratner directed the 'Intentions' music video.
Ratner also directed the docuseries Justin Bieber: Seasons for YouTube.
Seasons broke the record for most-viewed YouTube Originals premiere, reaching 32 million views in its first week.
The director’s involvement shows strong links between music videos and digital documentary content.

The title 'Intentions' was first revealed in an episode of Justin Bieber: Seasons.
Viewers saw the song title on a board of possible tracks from Changes.
Bieber used social media to build anticipation for the song.
He tweeted “Big announcement tomorrow” on 5 February 2020.
He posted a short teaser trailer on 6 February, one day before the song and video were released.
This demonstrates digital convergence and how artists now rely on social media for global engagement.

MTV’s YouTube channel promoted the video.
The platform released an interview with Bieber and Quavo discussing the meaning behind the song.
This highlights the role of media institutions in boosting visibility across multiple platforms.

Intentions became Quavo’s third top-ten single in the US.
All three of his top-ten entries came from collaborations with Bieber.
This demonstrates how collaborations can expand audiences and benefit multiple artists.

In 2021, the Korean entertainment company Hybe (known for signing BTS) merged with the US company Ithaca.
Ithaca manages major artists including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato.
This merger shows the globalisation of the music industry and growing links between Korean and American pop industries.