Task 6
- 1. Marketing and PR Presentation
- 2. Band Profile Name: Rev. Dr. Elbert Age: 33 Album: Yourself Up There Previous releases: Change The World, Always Tell Me, Blame Someone Else Genre: House Style: Clerical collar, white and black suit, comb over/slicked back, deep house music, smart but not overly formal. Contemporaries: Aviici, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, Eric Prydz, Fatboy Slim, Kiesza, Martin Garrix, Duke Dumont, Skrillex, Steve Angello, Swedish House Mafia. 2
- 3. Objectives What are the objectives for this project? Create a fresh vibe for house music, become global in America, compete and overtake with the big names, collaborate with big names, become an independent big name with awards and records. Perform at Madison Square Gardens on New Year’s Eve. Who do you want to target? The intended target market is 18 and over, both males and females that enjoy clubbing. How many records do you want to sell? For the first album I think that half a million records would be a realistic target, in the two months of the album being released. House music is fast becoming popular and is entering the top UK Charts which therefore has a bigger market with faster selling records. What would make this a successful exercise? DJ at events/nightclubs, release EP’s after every nightclub slot, use of soundcloud and YouTube, weekly videos and demos. Mainly the nightclubs on a Saturday night would be the biggest and best option in getting known, if people like your mixes etc. they will remember you and want your music. 3
- 4. Audience Who is the audience for this band? The audience for my DJ is young people that like to party and go to nightclubs often. I would like to put across the DJ for males and females however I feel like males would be the realistic audience as the type of music they stereotypically listen to on a night out. Although the DJ isn’t around the demographic age, he will still appeal to this audience because of the type of music he is producing. The audience for the DJ is also students or working young people, who can relate to the music more and can listen to the music outside of the nightclub etc. What age are they? The age of my audience is 18 and over but mainly stopping around age 28 or 29 when typically people tend to get settled down and not party to that type of music every other weekend. With house music appearing in the charts it seems sensible to have a young age demographic which understands the artists and the genres of music really well. What do they look like? Typically, these are the types of fans you would see at festivals, young males and females partying. The picture is focusing on the women with the worded t-shirts however you can see that there is quite a lot of males in the picture fitting my audience demographic. Who else do they like? I want my music to be better than some of the big bands like Aviici, but I also want to incorporate the house music bands that have been around for quite a long time e.g. Swedish House Mafia, I think my audience is more lenient to Swedish House Mafia, Fatboy Slim and Steve Angello as there has been new remixes of their songs in the last few years and are still popular in today’s music.
- 5. Media What media will you use and why? Be specific about the platforms you will use. The main type of media that I will use is the music channels on TV, music channels are one of the first to play new releases and because of this the music will get played more and become recognised, some music channels also feature short chats with music artists and play some of their music too, this is a good platform as you get to learn about the artist as well as listen to their new songs. The second type of media I will use is social, most of the fans and the surrounding demographic will use Facebook and Twitter this is one of the biggest influences of media because it is deemed as a big thing if their favourite music artist tweets them back, friends are also made through this network – it can lead on to meeting up at festivals or on nights out, for this I think it applies more to Twitter, Facebook will be a good way of marketing because fans can get involved with competitions and read each others views and comments on the artist. Because of the digital era the audience is in social media will not overpower the platform of TV but will be one of the biggest dominators for the audience. The other platform I will be using is radio, radio like to get their listeners to enjoy the best music possible so that includes new music and new artists, similar to TV, radio will invite the artist down to talk about their new single and the more air play the single gets the faster the singles will sell, it also helps if the DJ on the radio station likes the music first as there is potential that he/she will speak about the song or album in between the set list they are playing. What magazines might they get in to? The biggest magazine for DJ’s is DJ magazine, featuring artists such as Swedish House Mafia. The magazine is actually based in the United Kingdom and this is the perfect magazine because more UK artists will get a chance to feature. The magazine has won IDMA Best Music Publication for 10 years running since 2003 although the magazine started publishing in 1991. The magazine’s hot topics are usually dance music although Steve Angello has featured many times as “Highest House DJ’ in the top 100 DJ’s in 2014. The magazine also has its own social media accounts with 287K followers on Twitter. The magazine is also produced monthly which will be good for my artist because it gives time for him to become independent in the industry and start on the ladder of selling records. What TV channels would they be on? The biggest music channel my artist can be shown on is Clubland TV, a 24/7 music channel that plays non stop dance and house music. The other music channels feature chart hits too so there is a variety of music channels to boost the ratings. This specific music channel also targets our audience because of the music they play, older artists are remixed and newer artists get their first plays. We would like to think that the biggest ratings for this music channel comes on a Saturday night before people go out. There is a specific target market we are trying to reach and this music channel ticks all the boxes for the demographic of both male and female and also the age range. Which radio stations would play their music? As mentioned earlier, some of the mainstream radio stations are starting to play the house and dance music on an evening as part of their set. For specific radio stations I can think of Capital, Kiss FM and Radio 1 Xtra – these radio stations play a mixture of house music throughout the day and by using these to promote my artist he will get more airplay across all the stations which in turn could interest more fans and other artists if they listen to the radio. Who would they give interviews to? I think the pretty obvious answer is to go with presenters at music festivals as it could air on TV and on the radio, secondly in different parts of the magazine there will be editors for house music, dance music and so on. The interviews will mainly take place in magazines however a live interview would suit the audience more as there is no precaution of twisted words and it is more personal as you can see their facial expressions and how they respond to the questions. Magazines such as the one mentioned earlier will end up wanting to interview my artist, especially when he becomes one of the best selling artists in the country, different types of press may also want to interview him as he may be considered as one of the older artists around, this will not hinder his chance at being interviewed less but it will be interesting to see what types of magazine approach him, possibly if it is niche or modern. 5
- 6. Media Which forms of social media would you use and how would you use social media? The only two forms of social media that I will be using are Twitter and Facebook. In the latter I think that Twitter will be the biggest influence because other celebrities tend to use this more often to update their feed for fans. For this instance I feel that Twitter will be the more personal form of social media with the artist replying to tweets and looking at fans pictures from festivals and other music events. For Facebook I would like it to be used for competitions and similar ways in entertaining the fans with home videos. In relation to the audience the earlier start of the demographic (18) will be interested in Twitter more e.g. trying to get a reply and seeing how many other fans there are out there, for Facebook this is more of the same as other fans can set up fan pages to create their own network. For audience interest I think the main competition will also be on Facebook for having giveaways of a signed pair of headphones he has used or tickets to a festival he is playing at. So for the two types of social media I would like to see the artist use Twitter for more personal reasons i.e. telling the fans about his day to day life and using Facebook for general updates on his music and the competitions. A small media strategy that Avicii used to promote their latest album was to use a hash tag on Twitter, the hash tag’s acted as votes to which the album would be revealed to 92,000 followers, the album was then offered to them on Itunes and smashed the sales. With engaging the fans in a small partnership of using a hash tag whenever they tweet the artist, can raise awareness of the music and the artist globally, even to followers that aren’t fully involved with the artist. As the fans continue to grow excited about the artist and demanding more music, sneak previews will be followed through on Facebook as part of the home videos and demos and then using Twitter for previews of pictures which includes the day to day life of the artist. 6
- 7. Merchandise What merchandise would you use to promote this band? Firstly if the artist is playing in his own music event the merchandise I would sell is t-shirts and pullovers, As Avicii is a bigger band now, their merchandise is simple in the design yet people would wear it. The t-shirt and pullover design would either have the name of one of the albums or the logo of artist. Here are a few examples of existing merchandise. When the artist gets big enough to have an independent tour the merchandise will have the tour dates on the back, typically this is what most artists sell to remember the dates and to remember a memorable tour. I think the quirky merchandise might also be a seller too, the bobble head figures with the artist’s clothes look could sell in CD stores however this sort of merchandise wouldn’t compete with the t-shirts etc because from personal experience it is not something you would buy at a concert. The other merchandise I would like to sell to the fans is tour posters and general picture posters of the artist, although taking into consideration the actual age of the audience this wouldn’t be a realistic product because they wouldn’t be put up anywhere in the house or used by other fans, maybe if there was younger siblings this would be ideal however they wouldn’t like this type of music this is why I have chosen this age range. For these types of music artists there isn’t much merchandise other than t-shirts already existing so it would be hard to break the mould of selling different products to the same sort of existing market already out there for house music and EDM. When looking at the typical fan this type of merchandise isn’t appealing to the specific audience especially if they are a lot older and going to the festivals for the alcohol and party. I would prefer for the merchandise branding to be in black and white, like the Avicci t-shirt as it looks more unisex and also might appeal to more people in casual wear. The other big merchandise that will definitely sell is album bundles, this could include keyrings, signed pictures and the album these could be send out to subscribed fans on the website and or as giveaways on social media. 7
- 8. Manage the message What is the message you want to communicate about this band? The main message that I want to communicate about my artist is that he will produce consistently good music and tracks that do not get boring over time. The other message is that he will always have time for fans and appear at events on time and also do a good job of being the DJ by not responding to an unwanted crowd or causing trouble through alcohol. “He supplies the whizzing synths and stolid dance beats” the critic Phillip Sherburne uses these words to put out our own message of keeping consistently good music and supplying the audience with the music they want to hear. The dance beats and the fans are at the heart of my artist and will combine the two to have regular releases, and to cement himself as one of the best DJ’s in the land. With reviews from critics usually being bad we want to experience having them on our side by turning them into appreciate the music he produces and giving the album a high rating. If the fans are enjoying the music after a long period of time that he will continue making the music at the same level of work ethos. What is the main selling point of the band and the album? When appealing to mainly males the selling point of the DJ first of all is having an artist that they can relate to in the terms of him being a normal guy, doing normal things like playing football and going out for drinks with friends and associates from future collaborations these can be female singers or male artists. From the album point of view starting with the design, males around the intended age range don’t associate house music with explicit images but the design will feature an image that is related to one of the songs off the album, this is usually the one that has had the biggest sales when released in the charts. For a single cover or an EP I want the artist to feature on it behind the decks and showing off his talent or likewise having a picture in front of the crowd at a gig. Although males are the selling point of my artist, females are also included in the demographic and usually females like to look for the attractiveness in male artists, when he has a good appearance for events and looks after himself for music videos, there will be more attention from female fans and thus creates a circle of more sales. 8
- 9. Hyperbole Every marketing and PR campaign uses hyperbole. Its role is to make things seem better than they really are by using exaggeration and emotive words or imagery. Best-seller, record breaking, from here to eternity, eminent, passionate, respective pleasures, lose faith in the music, exuberant, intense sounds, contemporary, thriving, high intensity to party hard, heaven has sent you real music, his house music is a virtue, exclusive and unique new sounds, your new religion is house music. 9
- 10. Events What events would you put on as part of the promotion of this band and album? The most frequent events that I would put on for my act is in nightclubs, having him as their main DJ for a few weekends, this ultimately raises awareness as well as bringing in a profit and figuring out the intended market and how to carry that on. Linking the events in with the audience I think the best option is to stick with DJ’ing at nightclubs, as his music wouldn’t appeal to people in a pub or at a small party, he needs to be on a bigger ladder which starts at looking at the audience in the environment that would eventually lead to a world stage like Martin Garrix or Avicci. As a PR I would look at putting him into small festivals to start with, ones that can get a lot of air play or are sponsored by radio stations to get publication, it could even be televised like the Capital Summertime Ball which features house DJ Calvin Harris and occasionally David Guetta. If MTV Live asked my act to play on TV I would jump at the chance to have him there, a lot of big acts have worked with MTV, although I want him to have a big opportunity I feel that a regular TV chat show like Graham Norton or The One Show wouldn’t do him justice, he needs to be in a place where you can really feel his music and the effect it has. The biggest objective for my act is to go on world stages and world tours so it includes arenas and stadiums, Avicci have done incredible all over the world and to recognise their success would be a dream for him and aspiring house DJ’s as it becomes more and more popular. Another happening that could be credential to my act is being a support act for one of the bigger artists, at the minute Martin Garrix is one of the biggest solo house DJ’s so in effect my act would be shadowing his success, this would raise public awareness even more as the audience will think that because Garrix has chosen him, they should like him too. 10
- 11. Internal motivation What is the motivation behind this project? The main motivation behind this project is the fans and the audience, if you can understand your audience then they will respect you in turn and allow you to continue making good music. Also the other motivation for this project is other artists in the industry and how they can inspire you and compete with you, there is always the healthy battle of getting to the top of the charts along with pushing yourself to consistently bring out new tracks that are different to other current artists – this could include a collaboration or a brand new beat. Going back to the fans as the motivation, once you have gathered a fan base they are going to be loyal to you and support you even when sales aren’t particularly great, the motivation of the fans then becomes important as they spur you on to becoming a better artist and a better role model especially when you need a pick up as fans make you feel important and respected. What is it an important project for you? It is an important project for me because I want to see my artist become inspirational to other members of the market and his competitors. It is also important for me because I always want what’s best for my artist, this means getting him more revenue from gigs and small concerts. Aside from dealing with my artist it is important for me to become recognised, by advertising him on the internet etc. there are contact details for me so that I can discover new clients and maybe take on work with them so I can build a bigger profile for myself and then bring in my own money to support what could be a long and successful career. Why is it an important project for the band? As a whole this is an important project for the band because we all want each other to be successful and have long careers in our specific industry. It is also important for my artist because he has waited a long time to build up his profile and become a ‘somebody’ within the music business, it is appropriate that this is an important project for everyone because there is a lot of team work going into the project to get the artist competing with the big names already in the industry. As he is a solo artist rather than in a band there is only one individual to work with, it is an important project for him because he wants to get his ideas across as best as possible, this then translates into getting top hits in the charts and getting recognised globally, this is also one of the motivations for the artist to be recognised as an international star to take his music across the world. 11
- 12. Motivation of media Why would the media be interested in this project? The media would be interested in this project because they normally see young starts coming into the music industry whereas this is someone older who has had no previous collaborations or no contact from or with existing music stars in that genre. The media will also be interested in his fashion style because it is very unique with him representing a religious side to him but expressing house music too. This project is not too big to handle from the media as he is really just a normal person with an ambition of working hard to get where he is now, the media hear stories like this all the time but my artist is representing himself, the media could jump on him because of his age and because he hasn’t had a rough upbringing or something that will attach itself to his career – like a sob story. Which parts of the media or media products (be specific) would be interested in the project? The specific media product that I think would be most interested in this project is DJ magazine or www.djmag.com it focuses on British DJ’s but also up and coming artists too, it also features interviews with almost every artist that has played at least one big festival. Some mainstream papers may also feel the need to be interested in the project if they have a showbiz pullout, this is good publicity because it is mixed in with other celebrity gossip which may catch the eye of a few readers who will then capture his name, his style and the type of music he is producing. One of the other online magazines that would be interested in this project is mixmag it is much like DJ magazine but is more lenient towards EDM their focus is also on showing off new artists on their features page they also crop up on their main page, this is a good thing because with a different face on the site regulars may become intrigued and then start checking him out and finally getting to discover his music and him as an artist. 12
- 13. Promotional Materials Now you have the plans in place, choose some of the following items to produce for your band: • Album packaging • T-shirt design • Tour poster • Web site mock up • Social Media Mock up 13