He believed that the viewers perception on film/music video is influenced directly by the perception of those who star in it. The term 'Pop performer' and 'Pop star' was not seen as the same thing in Dyer's eyes as he believed 'Pop stars' have a higher significance and have 'brand awareness'.
Richard Dyer believes Pop stars are constructed as artificial images instead of being represented as 'real people'. It helps if a Pop star has a USP as in the music video they can be copied or parodied because of it. As a result pop stars have an advantage as they have a constructed image which is consistently the same over a period of time so they don't need to be dependent on creative input of others.
Richard Dyer even stated this by saying "Star is an image not a real person this is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is).
However the construction process is neither automatic nor fully understood. Record companies think they know about it - but witness the number of failures on their books. TV programmes such as The X Factor show us the supposed construction process of how an ordinary person is groomed and coached to fulfilling a record company and market expectations.
Industry and Audience
Stars are manufactured by the music industry to serve a purpose to make money out of audiences who respond to various elements of a star persona by buying records and becoming fans. The stars are the cogs in which record companies shape them as we have seen in TV talent shows. They tend to manufacture what they think audiences want. Pop stars, whatever their nature, are quite clearly the product of their record company - and they must be sold.
Richard Dyer said "Stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings"
Historically, the industry has provided us with a range of commodities all with different appeal. One way to achieve this is by producing new stars of different types playing constantly mutating genres of music.
The other way is to produce a star with a long lasting appeal so once they're brand is established they can attract audiences for years and years such as the way U2 have done it. However, these methods are oppositional. The 'convey belt' approach to stars means that talent is developed and that the stars may be very short-lived (such as only two albums or two years).
If there's too much focus on the 'old generation' this could lead to younger fans not being able to identify with stars as they see them belong more to their parents generations and is not relatable. That's why the industry develops both types of talent and ensures it has a diverse range of stars so it's relatable to different audience segments.
Ideology and Culture
Stars are represented in shared cultural values and attitudes and promote a certain ideology which then the interest of these values enhances their 'star quality'.
Star could initiate a fashion trend which then this can be copied by their fans such as their hairstyle and clothing. The increase of social media gives the stars the opportunity to establish their views out of music which can increase their interaction with fans such as Lady Gaga on social media when she talks about LGBT issues can relate to some fans.
Character and Personality
As stars are portrayed begins as a 'real' human, possessing gender and race characteristics, and existing against a socio-historic background. The star transformation process turns them into a construct but the construct has a foundation in the real. We tend to read them as not entirely fictional as are very much of their time and culture.
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