Course # / Title:

MBU 3620: Marketing of Recorded Music

Semester:

Spring 2008

Instructor:

Clyde Philip Rolston, Ph.D.

Instructor Contacts:

460-5436(O) 400-5372(C)  rolstonc@mail.belmont.edu 

Instructor Office Hours:

M-R 9:00 – 10:00; M/W 1:00 – 3:00; R 3:30-5:00

Course Credit:

3

Class Location:

MC 209A

Meeting Time(s):

6:30  – 9:15 R

Final Exam:

Thursday, December 11, 2008

 

Course Description:  Prerequisites: MBU 1110, MKT 3210 or permission of instructor. A study of the theories and techniques used in the marketing of recorded music by major and independent labels and artists to consumers. Topics include market structure and analysis, distribution methods, promotional strategies, charts, airplay, pricing, research and legal issues specific to entertainment marketing. Gen. Ed. Designation: EL (C – Community Based Research).

 

Learning Outcomes:  After successfully completing this course the student will have an in depth understanding of how recorded music is marketed by record companies to the consumer. Both independent and major record label systems will be discussed. The student will be able to create and present a marketing plan for recorded music. This will be accomplished through discussion, lecture, and the group project.

Course Outcomes: Students will be able to

ú         Explain the marketing functions that record companies provide to artists and consumers

ú         Discuss how music, as an entertainment product, competes with other entertainment products for the consumer’s dollars

ú         Demonstrate how public relations, the Internet, radio, advertising, video and distribution work together to move music from the studio to the consumer

ú         Illustrate the impact of the Internet and viral marketing on music marketing

ú         Describe how radio and retail and their corresponding charts interact

ú         Explain the economic model that drives radio and how that model impacts the music played on radio

ú         Set up and execute basic marketing research to determine consumer preference and target market characteristics

ú         Classify and evaluate different pricing strategies

ú         Identify and locate resources for executing the marketing plan

ú         Evaluate advertising media for cost, reach and effectiveness

ú         Evaluate effective retail environments

ú         Demonstrate an intermediate level of business writing

ú         Demonstrate an intermediate level of public speaking

ú         Create a basic marketing plan for a recorded music project.

Performance Criteria: Identify and describe basic marketing terms, functions and concepts as they apply to marketing of music.

ú         Analyze the retail environment of a particular music retailer or department and submit a written report on the retailer’s use of marketing materials and support provided by the labels.

ú         Conduct a focus group or depth interviews for the client label and present a written report of the results.

ú         Demonstrate how the different marketing elements, including publicity, radio, Internet, advertising, video and distribution, work together to successfully motivate the consumer to purchase music by creating an effective marketing plan, using a variety of sources of information.

ú         Demonstrate an understanding of marketing inputs and their costs by creating a budget for the marketing plan.

ú         Demonstrate public speaking skills and marketing knowledge by presenting the marketing plan to the client label.

 

Honor Code:  It is the responsibility of each student to abide by the Belmont University Honor Code.  “In affirmation of the Belmont University Statement of Values, I pledge that I will not give or receive aid during examinations; I will not give or receive false or impermissible aid in course work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other type of work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of my grade; I will not engage in any form of academic fraud. Furthermore, I will uphold my responsibility to see to it that others abide by the spirit and letter of this Honor Pledge.”

 

Accommodation of Disabilities:  In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Belmont University will provide reasonable accommodation of all medically documented disabilities.  If you have a disability and would like the university to provide reasonable accommodations of the disability during this course, please notify the Office of the Dean of Students located in Beaman Student Life Center (460-6407) as soon as possible.

 

Course Requirements:

 

1.     Attendance:  "Belmont University is committed to the idea that regular class attendance is essential to successful scholastic achievement. Absence is permitted only in cases of illness or other legitimate causes. Attendance is checked from the first class meeting... When the number of absences for any reason exceeds four times the number of scheduled class meetings per week (that’s 8 classes for you), the student is involuntarily dropped from the course with a grade of "WF". Appeal is to the Provost." - Belmont University Catalog. Due to the nature of this class and the project you are expected to attend every class and every group meeting. Role will be taken at each class.  Tardiness and leaving class early will reduce the quality of your learning and your contribution to the group’s efforts and will be counted as an absence for the day. If you cannot commit to attending every class and arriving on time you should consider taking the course at a later date.

              I.        Students that miss more than two classes will have their grade reduced by three percent (3%) for each additional class missed (starting with the third class). 

             II.        Students are expected to come to class prepared to participate. This preparation includes having read any assigned materials and reflected on their relevance to the class. I will not spend time in class repeating what you have already read in the text.  You are, of course, responsible for and may be tested on all assigned readings whether they are discussed in class or not.

            III.        For the safety of the class, the door will be shut when class begins.  DON’T BE LATE.

 

 

2.     Materials:  Texts: Required: Record Label Marketing,  Hutchison, Macy and Allen, Focal Press; Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill.  Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster; Hit Men, Fredrec Dannen. Random House/Vintage.  All three books are available through the campus bookstore. The Underhill and Dannen books are available in paperback and can be ordered online for $3 to $12.

 

Students must do in class assignments (e.g. quizzes) on loose leaf paper. Each student is required to obtain a working email account no later than the second week of class.  [If you prefer to use an outside e-mail provider you should arrange to have your Belmont e-mail account forwarded to your preferred account.] I cannot be responsible for e-mails not received due to spam filters, etc. It is your responsibility to check your email on a daily basis. You should also empty the trash of your Belmont account on a regular basis – deleted emails sitting in the trash folder count against your account’s capacity limits and may cause important emails to be missed. These accounts will be used to exchange information regarding changes in class schedules, deadlines, projects, exams, etc., as well as sending and receiving quizzes and exams. 

 

Any papers, quizzes, exams, sections of the project, over one page must be stapled or they will not be accepted.  Therefore, I strongly recommend that you buy a stapler if you do not already own one.

 

3.     Computer and Cell Phone Policy: Computers will not be permitted in this class except during group work time or by permission of the instructor.  Cell phones must be silenced, not on vibrate, and text messaging during class will be treated as an absence.

 

 

 

Testing and Assignments:

1. Marketing Plan: I will divide the class into groups according to the number of students and the number of projects available. Each group will prepare a complete marketing plan for their client. This will include an appropriate length, bound and printed document. Details of strategies, plans, tactics, and budgets must be included. The primary emphasis of this project is to come up with some CREATIVE MARKETING IDEAS. You must meet the demands of the client and the class within the time constraints and budget given. You must submit a copy of the printed marketing plan to me that is identical to the one presented to the client. For GUIDELINES for the marketing plan go to http://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/marketing_plan.html.  Additional information will be provided throughout the semester.

A.    The Written Plan: The written plan will be turned in by sections: Focus Group (100 points); Publicity (10 points); Internet (20 Points); Radio (30 points); Video (40 points); P.O.P and Retailing (50 points); Advertising (50 points); and Completed Plan (200). Specific deadlines are listed in the schedule below BUT ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. The more complete and accurate the sub-section reports are the higher the grade assigned and the better the feedback you will get. SAVE ALL GRADED MATERIALS!  THEY MUST BE HANDED BACK IN WITH THE REVISED VERSIONS!

♫     What a “GOOD” Section Should Look Like:  A “good” section to the report must contain certain information.  Most of that information will vary depending on the topic.  Here are some of the commonalities: 

A Statement of the Objective – What are you trying to achieve with this part of the plan?  Who are you trying to reach?  Ultimately, we always want to generate sales of the CD, after all, we are the record company, but there are intermediate goals, usually awareness or exposure that must happen first.

Creativity – This is your real challenge – to come up with something new, interesting or clever to bring attention to the artist and CD so that consumers (music listeners) will “have to” own a copy.  Much of what the industry does to market a CD comes from cookie cutter templates. Doing those things is important, but 36,000 other CDs released this year will do the same thing.  What is going to make yours stand out?

Organization – The section should have a heading, followed by the objective, and then flow from there. Most groups, but not all, elect to end each section with the budget information.  It is also important that the paper flow from section to section as well.  Avoid redundancy by referring to information in previous sections when appropriate.  Put long lists in appendices in the back of the report.

Well Written – be sure not only to run spell check, but to actually READ every word of every section.  Spell Czech does knot catch miss steaks all the thyme!  Have several people read it and read it aloud to each other to make sure it reads well.  Papers with typographical errors or poorly written papers will be returned with a grade of zero and will have to be resubmitted the next class day with a grade reduction of ten percent (10%).

An Itemized Budget – This may be the hardest information to obtain but it is vital that each idea have a price tag attached to it.  Great ideas that cost more than they make should be eliminated unless they can be justified for some other reason.

 Weekly Reports from the Group:  The group leader or their assignee must submit, by email, WEEKLY REPORTS to the instructor on the group’s progress. Failure to submit reports will reduce the group’s opportunity to receive feedback on their progress.  Reports should also be used to communicate problems or concerns with the group’s personal dynamics. Each week that a report is late or missing the entire group will lose one point from their final project grade.

B.    Research Phase:  The first major step in developing your marketing plan will be to conduct research in the form of either depth interviews or a focus group.  The purpose of the research is to determine possible radio singles, identify strengths and weaknesses of your project, and refine your target market and how they might best be reached. The best marketing plan is of no use and doomed to failure if it is aimed at the wrong target market or based on incorrect assumptions.  The research will help you understand how the consumer is likely to respond to your artist's project.  For more information on grading expectations and how to conduct a focus group go to http://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/mktresearch.html.  Possible points will be equally divided between planning and execution of the research (50) and reporting the results (50). This report is worth a total of 100 points.


C. Presentation of the Marketing Plan: Before the last week of class your team must arrange to present the plan to the client. This may involve traveling to their offices or reserving a room on campus. This appointment must be at the mutual convenience of the client, the instructor, and the group. Your presentation to the client must not occur before you have given the presentation to the class. Client presentations must be made no later than 3 days BEFORE the last scheduled final exam in order to receive a grade for the class. ALL GROUP MEMBERS MUST ATTEND THE PRESENTATION. Any group member not participating in either presentation will be given a grade of "0" for that part of the project. DO NOT PLAN ON LEAVING TOWN BEFORE THE PRESENTATION AND CLEAR YOUR WORK SCHEDULE! There will be a graded “dress rehearsal" in class during the last week of classes. See http://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/presentation.html for grading standards.

Both the "dress rehearsal" and the presentation to the client will be graded (100 points each). After your in class presentation I will give you a critique, suggesting ways I think your presentation can be improved.  A second grade will be given based on the presentation to the client and your final presentation grade will be the total of the two grades.  PLEASE NOTE: The purpose of the in class presentation is to correct any problems with the presentation BEFORE you make the presentation to the client. To that end, expect some constructive criticism or comments from the class and the instructor! Each presentation, in class and for the client, will be graded on a 100-point scale and then added to determine the final grade.  Presentation grades will be based on both individual and group performance.

D. Peer Evaluations:  Each group member will evaluate the contributions of every other member of that group to the project. The grade received by the group on the written portion of the project will then be adjusted to account for individual member’s peer evaluation.  The form used for peer evaluations is available at http://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/  You may want to look at the form now so that you have a clear understanding of how your group will be evaluating your contribution to the project... If you give any group member a grade of less than 80 you must justify that grade.  Peer evaluations will be done at mid-term and at the end of the semester.  The mid-term evaluations will be for informational purposes only and will be compiled and sent to each group member so that they may make whatever adjustments necessary to make a positive contribution to the group.  Final peer evaluations will be turned in when the group completes its presentation to the group and may be emailed to the instructor.  Your highest and lowest evaluations will be dropped and the remaining scores averaged to determine the percentage of the group’s grade that you will receive.  Again, you must justify any grade less than 80 and you should be willing to stand behind your evaluation.


2. P.O.P. Retail Analysis: THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL PROJECT!  After you have read “Why We Shop: The Science of Shopping” by Paco Underhill you must visit a Nashville area store that sells CDs, for example: Target; K-Mart; Wal-Mart; Grimey’s; or the Sam Goody’s in Cool Springs Mall.  If you visit one of the mass merchandisers your report should focus on the section of the store that sells CDs, not the entire store except to the extent that it affects the sale of CDs.  After visiting the store, write a report on your experience from the perspective of a retail consultant answering, at a minimum, the following questions:  (1) what did you experience that made you want to shop or not shop there?  (2) Were you drawn to any particular part of the store (CD section) or any particular product?  Why? (3) How could the store improve its CD marketing efforts? (4) What should record companies learn from your experience at the store? Are the labels spending their POP money wisely? 

 

You must demonstrate your understanding of the terms and concepts from the Underhill text by applying them appropriately to the store you visited. Those terms include, but are not limited to (10% each): 

 

ú         CONVERSION OR CLOSURE  RATE

ú         THE LANDING OR TRANSITION ZONE

ú         THE IMPORTANCE OF BASKET PLACEMENT

ú         SIGNAGE

ú         AISLE LAYOUT

ú         TRAFFIC FLOW

ú          AILSE WIDTH;

ú         PRODUCT TESTING (e.g. listening stations)

ú          TIME SPENT A) IN THE STORE and B) WAITING IN LINE

 

You must additionally observe, report, and make recommendations on the store’s use of point of purchase materials as if you were a consultant for a record label (10%). 

You paper should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins all around.  Be prepared to discuss your experience in class. The POP project is worth 150 points.

3.  Testing:   (A) Exams: Two exams will be given during the semester – a mid-term and a final during the scheduled exam time. The tests will be worth 100 points each. You must take the final exam in accordance with the final exam schedule (see "Important Dates" above) at the assigned time and place, however you may petition the instructor in advance, by email, to take your final exam with the other section of the class. Please do not plan to leave for the semester before the final exam.


(B) Quizzes:  Five (5) or more quizzes of 10 points each will be given in class during the semester. NO MAKE UP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN! However, you will be permitted to count your five best in class quiz grade(s). In addition to classroom quizzes there will be quizzes on each of the three text books posted on Blackboard.  You must take five quizzes from each of the three books.  You may retake any of the quizzes once.  There will be more than five quizzes for each text to choose from, but once you choose a quiz to take you may not substitute another quiz in its place.  Each of these 15 quizzes is worth 10 points making the total possible points from quizzes 200.  

♫     Quality Standards:  All work done outside of class must be typed on standard, white, 8.5 X 11 inch paper with one inch margins, and a font size of 12 for the main text.  Larger fonts may be used for titles; smaller fonts may be used when appropriate. Multiple page papers MUST BE STAPLED or they will NOT BE ACCEPTED.


Basis of grade evaluation: A= 100 - 93; A- = 92 - 90; B+= 89 - 87; B=86 - 83; B- = 82 - 80; C+= 79 - 77; C=76 - 73; C- = 72 - 70 D+= 69 - 67; D=66 - 63; D- = 62 - 60; F= Below 60. Grades will NOT be curved.  

Quizzes
 
  200  points
 
Mid-term
 
  100  points
 
Final
 
  100  points
 
POP Project Sections
 
  200  points
 
Focus Group Report
 
  100  points
 
Project – written
 
  200  points
 
Project – oral
 
  200  points
 
TOTAL
 
1100  points
 
 

 

 

 

Class Schedule: 

 

 

DATES

CH

SUBJECT(S)

Assignments Due

1

Aug. 28

1,3

Overview - What do record co.s do for the artist…

 

 

Aug. 28

21

Defining the Product: Pt. 1

Q: Do you need music?

2

Sept. 4

2

Defining the Product: Pt. 2 / Defining the Target Market

3

Sept 11

5

Marketing Budgets/ Price, Profit and Corporate Structures

Target Market Definition Due

4

Sept. 18

19

Marketing Research: Depth Interviews and Focus Groups

5

Sept. 25

6

Marketing Research in the Industry

Research Questions Due

6

Oct. 2

9

Publicity

7

Oct. 9

GROUP WORK DAY

Publicity Section Due

8

Oct. 16

14,13

Internet/New Media

Focus Group Reports Due

9

Oct. 23

7,8

 Radio/Hit Men Discussion

Internet Section Due/Hit Men Quizzes Closed

10

Oct. 30

15

Video/Television

Radio Section Due

11

Nov. 6

11,12

POP/Retailing/Why We Buy

Video Section Due/Why We Buy Quizzes Closed

12

Nov. 13

10

Advertising – Print

INDIVIDUAL POP PROJECTS DUE

13

Nov. 20

GWD – PRESENTATION PREP

FIRST DRAFT DUE

Nov. 24 (Monday)

GRADED DRAFTS AVAILABLE FOR PICK UP

AFTER 12:00

Nov. 27

THANKSGIVING

14

Dec. 4

PRESENTATIONS

FINAL DRAFT DUE

15

Dec. 11

FINAL EXAM