MBU 3620: Marketing of Recorded Music
Prerequisites: MBU 1110, MKT 3210
Course Credit: 3 hours
Instructor:
Phone:
460-5436 Email: rolstonc@mail.belmont.edu
Web Site:
HTTP://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/ AIM: DrMuzzBuzz
Office Hours: T/
R
Meeting Location: Sect. 09 MBC 110
IMPORTANT DATES: NO CLASS DAYS: January 17 , MLK Day; March 7
– 11,Spring Break; March 24
– 25, Easter Break; May 4, Academic Preparation Day .
FINAL EXAM:
(.01) Friday, May 6,
Honor Code: The Belmont community values personal integrity and academic honesty as
the foundation of university life and the cornerstone of a premiere educational
experience. Our community believes trust
among its members is essential for both scholarship and effective interactions
and operations of the University. As members of the
“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 the Honor Pledge.”
Accommodation of Disabilities: In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act,
Course Description:A study of the movement of the recorded and printed product from the studio to the ultimate consumer. Includes market structure and analysis, distribution patterns, promotional strategies, charts, airplay, pricing, and legal aspects.
Course Objectives:After completing this course the student should have an in depth understanding of how recorded music is marketed by record companies to the consumer using advertising, publicity, and radio promotions, and the channels of distribution through which the product flows. Both independent and major record label systems will be discussed. The student will be able to develop and present a marketing plan for recorded music. This will be accomplished through discussion, lecture, and the group project.
Texts: Required: BUSINESS OF MUSIC MARKETING & PROMOTION, vol. 2,
Lathrop. Billboard Books;
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.
Course Requirements:
1. Attendance and Participation: "
2. Materials:
See texts listed above. Students must do in class assignments (e.g. quizzes) on
loose leaf paper. You may need both pencil and pen on exam days. In addition,
students may want to have a calculator. Each student is required to obtain a
working E-mail 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
3. Marketing Plan: The class will be divided 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
3a. The Written Plan:
The written plan will be turned in by
sections: Focus Group (100 points); Radio (10 points); Video (10 points );
Advertising (10 points); Publicity (10 points); P.O.P and Retailing (10
points); Internet (10 Points); and Completed Plan (150). Each sub-section will
be due ONE WEEK after the material is covered in class. 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. The
completed plan will be due on April 21.
3b. 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.
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.
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 30,000 other CDs 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.
3c.
Printing and Copying Reports:
The “First Draft” that you turn
in on April 21 should be a single, black and white, stapled version that
includes the entire report. This will be
the first time I’ll see some of the sections of your report and the
report in its entirety. While you are
preparing for your presentation I will read your report and give you feedback
and suggestions that you should adopt for the final draft.
DO NOT DUPLICATE THE FINAL DRAFT OF THEREPORT
FOR THE CLIENT BEFORE YOUR GROUP'S CLASS PRESENTATION. On the due
date, turn in a single copy of the finished report that is identical (e.g.
color) to what you plan to give the client EXCEPT, instead of spiral bound your
report may be stapled in the upper left corner. The printed marketing
plan is worth 200 points.
All printing and reproduction of the
report must be done at the class workstation located in my office or at the
groups’ expense. You will NOT be reimbursed for any copy or computer
costs except for final copies made through the campus copy service. You WILL be expected to have finished copies bound
with a spiral wire binding. Your client will tell you how many copies
you must prepare for them. The only other expense you should incur is for the
focus groups, discussed below. YOU WILL NOT BE REIMBURSED FOR ANY EXPENSES
OVER THE BUDGET. ALL REQUESTS FOR REIMBURSEMENT MUST BE SUBMITTED ON THE
APPROPRIATE FORM AND BE TURNED IN TO ME NO LATER THAN THE DAY OF THE FINAL
(CLIENT) PRESENTATION. RECEIPTS MUST BE STAPLED TO THE REIMBURSEMENT FORM.
IF YOU FAIL TO FOLLOW THESE DIRECTIONS YOU WILL NOT BE REIMBURSED. PERIOD!
4. 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 group will lose one point from their final project grade.
5. Focus group: The first step in developing your marketing plan will
be to conduct a focus group. The purpose of the focus group is to analyze
the 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 focus group will help you understand how the consumer is
likely to respond to your artist's project. I will moderate the focus
group in class on September 16. Your focus group report is due March 15
at the beginning of class. For more information on grading
expectations and how to conduct a focus group go to http://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/mktresearch.html.
This report is worth 100 points.
6. 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.
7.
Peer Evaluations: I have tried in the past to avoid internal group
evaluations, but in their absence someone always finds a way to take advantage
of their fellow group members. Therefore, each group member will evaluate the
contributions of each 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. 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.
8. P.O.P. Retail Analysis: After you have read “Why We Shop: The Science
of Shopping” by
9. Testing: (A) Exams: Two exams will be given during the
semester – a mid-term on Wednesday, March 2 (.02) or Thursday, March 3
(.01) 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.
(B) Quizzes: Five (5) or more quizzes of 10 to 20 points each will
be given during the semester. NO MAKE UP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN! However,
you will be permitted to drop your lowest quiz grade(s). No more than 50 points
may be earned from quizzes. However, you may select the combination of
quizzes that gives you the highest point total.
10.
Grading Scale:
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 50 points
Mid-term 100 pointsFinal 100 points
Participation 100 points
Focus Group Report 100 pointsProject - written 200 points
Project - oral 200 points
TOTAL 850 points
Tentative Subject Schedule and Reading Assignments
|
|
DATES |
|
SUBJECT(S) |
Assignments Due |
|
1 |
Jan.13 |
1-3 |
Overview - What do record co.s do for the artist… |
|
|
2 |
Jan.18 |
4,5 |
Defining the Product: Pt. 1 |
Q: Do you need music? |
|
3 |
Jan. 20 |
|
Defining the Product: Pt. 2
What are we selling? |
|
|
4 |
Jan. 25 |
|
Defining the Target Market:
To whom are we selling? |
|
|
5 |
Jan. 27 |
|
Marketing Research: An
introduction |
Q. Product & TGT Market |
|
6 |
Feb. 1 |
|
Marketing Research: The
focus group session |
|
|
7 |
Feb.3 |
|
Marketing Budgets |
Q. Research & Focus Groups |
|
8 |
Feb.8 |
6 |
Price, Profit and Corporate
Structures |
|
|
9 |
Feb. 10 |
|
DISTRIBUTION OF PROJECTS |
Q. Pricing |
|
10 |
Feb. 15 |
10 |
Publicity/Media |
|
|
11 |
Feb. 17 |
|
Publicity/Media |
|
|
12 |
Feb. 22 |
12 |
Hit Men/Indie
Promo and other current events |
Q. Publicity/Media |
|
13 |
Feb. 24 |
|
Radio –getting played |
Publicity/Media
Section Due |
|
14 |
Mar. 1 |
|
Radio – the charts |
|
|
15 |
Mar.3 |
|
MID-TERM |
Radio
Section Due |
|
|
Mar. 7-11 |
|
SPRING BREAK |
|
|
16 |
Mar. 15 |
P191-195 |
Advertising – Costs |
Q. Charts and Radio Focus
Group Reports Due |
|
17 |
Mar. 17 |
|
Advertising - Media |
|
|
18 |
Mar. 22 |
|
GWD |
Q. Advertising |
|
|
Mar. 24 |
|
EASTER BREAK |
|
|
19 |
Mar. 29 |
7,8 |
POP Projects Due “Why we Shop” |
Advertising
Sections Due |
|
20 |
Mar. 31 |
|
POP – Price and
Positioning |
Q. Video History & Terms |
|
21 |
Apr. 5 |
|
Non-Traditional Marketing |
|
|
22 |
Apr. 7 |
9,11 |
Internet |
POP,
Sales, & Dist. Due |
|
23 |
Apr. 12 |
15 |
VIDEO –History and
Terminology |
|
|
24 |
Apr. 14 |
|
VIDEO – Production and
Distribution |
Internet
Sections Due |
|
25 |
Apr 19 |
|
GROUP WORK DAY |
Q. Video |
|
26 |
Apr. 21 |
|
PRESENTATION TIPS/ GWD |
DRAFTS
DUE - |
|
27 |
Apr. 26 |
|
PROJECTS RETURNED/GWD |
|
|
28 |
Apr. 28 |
|
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS |
Final
Drafts Due |
|
29 |
May 3 |
|
PROJECT PRESENTATIONS |
|
|
30 |
May 4 |
ALL |
3620.02 FINAL – |
FINAL
EXAM |
|
|
May 6 |
ALL |
3620.01 FINAL - |
FINAL
EXAM |