Marketing of Recorded Music

MBU 3620: Marketing of Recorded Music
Prerequisites: MBU 1110, MKT 3210 Course Credit: 3 hours

Instructor: Clyde Philip Rolston, PhD Office: 248B Massey Business Center

Phone: 460-5436(O) 400-5372 (M) Email: clyde.rolston@.belmont.edu

Web Site: HTTP://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/

Office Hours: M-F 9:00 to 9:30 or by appointment

Meeting Location: MC 210

IMPORTANT DATES: Mid-Term Exam June 23; Presentations July 9.

Course Description: MBU 3620. Marketing of Recorded Music (3). 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).

Course Objectives: 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 understand

· the marketing functions that record companies provide to artists and consumers

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

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

· understand the impact of the Internet and viral marketing on music marketing

· understand how radio and retail and their corresponding charts interact

· understand the economic model that drives radio and how that model impacts the music played on radio

Students will be able to

· set up and execute basic marketing research to determine consumer preference and target market characteristics

· classify and evaluate different pricing strategies

· define and apply different public relations techniques

· identify and locate resources for executing the marketing plan

· evaluate advertising media for cost, reach and effectiveness

· evaluate effective retail environments

· demonstrate an intermediate level of business writing

· demonstrate an intermediate level of public speaking

· 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.

· 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.

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

· 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 or sources of information.

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

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

Texts: Required: Record Label Marketing, Hutchison, Macy and Allen, Focal Press; Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, Paco Underhill. Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster; Recommended: 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. General Directions and Requirements: All students should purchase or have access to the following:

ALL OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE TYPED, DOUBLE SPACED WITH A 10 OR 12 POINT FONT. ALL MARGINS SHOULD BE ONE INCH. MULTPLE PAGES MUST BE STAPLED. NO PAPERCLIPS OR DOG-EARED PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED. HANDWRITTEN PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

2. Attendance and Participation: "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 (25% of class meetings during Summer term), 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. Absences, 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. Your internship is NOT an excuse for missing this class. If you cannot commit to attending every meeting and arriving on time you should consider taking the course at a later date. 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 are already have supposed to have 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.

2. Materials: Students must do in class assignments (e.g. quizzes) on loose leaf paper. Each student is required to obtain a working E-mail account no later than the second day 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 E-mail on a daily basis. These accounts may be used to exchange information regarding changes in the class schedule, deadlines, projects, exams, etc., as well as sending and receiving assignments. Any papers, quizzes, exams, sections of the project, etc. handed in to the instructor that are 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. The 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. Additional information will be provided throughout the semester.

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 by 5:00 p.m. each Friday 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. 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 and the course’s Blackboard page. The grade for the research report will be divided between planning and execution of the research (60) and reporting the results (40). This report is worth a total of 100 points.

6. The Marketing Plan: The marketing plan will be turned in by sections: Focus Group (100 points); Publicity (10 points); Radio (20 points); Advertising (30 points); P.O.P and Retailing (40 points); Internet (50 Points); Video (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. Detailed outlines are provided on the course’s Blackboard page. Your own section should NOT be in outline form. Each section of the report must be emailed to me at clyde.rolston@belmont.edu before the beginning of class on the day it is due.

7. What a “GOOD” Section Should Look Like:

Content (30%) – A “good” section to the report must contain certain information. Most of that information will vary depending on the topic. Detailed outlines are provided on the course’s Blackboard page.

In addition to the unique information of each section, all sections should contain:

A Statement of the Objective (10%) – 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, for example, awareness or exposure, that must happen first.

An Itemized Budget (10%) – 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. If you cannot obtain actual numbers then you must set a budget of how much you are willing to spend on the idea.

Creativity (20%) – 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 70,000 other CDs released this year will do the same thing. What is going to make yours stand out?

Organization (10%) – The section should have a heading, followed by the objective, and then flow from there. End each section with the budget information for that section. 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 (20%) – 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%).

8. Printing and Copying Reports: The final report that you turn in to me should be DOUBLE SPACED WITH A 12 POINT FONT FOR THE BODY TEXT. ALL MARGINS SHOULD BE ONE INCH. On the day of the presentations you should turn in a copy of the entire report by email and a print version (You should have a second print version of the report for the client). This will be the first time I’ll see some of the sections of your report and the report in its entirety. The printed marketing plan is worth 200 points and will be graded on the same bases as the sections (see above).

9. 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. 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! See http://campus.belmont.edu/rolstonc/presentation.html for grading standards.

10. 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 it 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.

11. 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 one a local store that sells CDs, for example: Target; K-Mart; Wal-Mart; Grimey’s; or the FYE on West End. 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 demonstrating your understanding of the terms and concepts from the Underhill text by applying them appropriately to the store you visited. Proper use of these terms is 80% of paper’s grade. Those terms include, at a minimum:

THE LANDING OR TRANSITION ZONE
THE IMPORTANCE OF BASKET PLACEMENT
SIGNAGE
AISLE LAYOUT AND TRAFFIC FLOW
AILSE WIDTH;
PRODUCT TESTING (e.g. listening stations)
CONVERSION OR CLOSURE RATE
INTERCEPTION RATE
TIME SPENT 1) IN THE STORE 2) WAITING IN LINE

You must additionally answer, 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 marketing efforts? (4) What should record companies learn from your experience at the store? Are the labels spending their POP money wisely? You must observe, report, and make recommendations on the store’s use of point of purchase materials and marketing as if you were a consultant for a record label. This is 15% of your grade for the project. The remaining 5% of the grade is for grammar, formatting, spelling, etc. 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.

12. Testing: (A) Exam: One exam will be given during the term. The test is a take home, multiple choice exam designed to make sure you are familiar with the marketing terminology of the music industry. The test will be worth 100 points. (B) Quizzes: Approximately ten quizzes of 10 points each will be given during the semester. Your five (5) best quiz grades will determine your quiz grade. NO MAKE UP QUIZZES WILL BE GIVEN! 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. Any quizzes taken in class must be on white loose leaf paper (not torn from a spiral notebook) and written in black or blue ink. Take home quizzes must meet the quality standards listed below.

13. 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 only when appropriate. Multiple page papers that are handed in to the instructor MUST BE STAPLED or they will NOT BE ACCEPTED.

14. Grading Scale: As per CEMB policy, the grade assignment scale for this course is:

Tentative Subject Schedule and Reading Assignments

	DATES	CH.	SUBJECT(S)	Assignments Due
1	June 8	1,21	Overview - What do record co.s do for the artist…
2	June 9	2	Defining the Product: What are we selling? Defining the Target Market: To whom are we selling?
3	June 10	19	MARKET RESEARCH: Focus Groups and Depth Interviews
4	June 11	19	Market Research: The Music Industry
5	June 12		GWD – research projects
6	June 15	9	PUBLICITY/ Traditional Media
7	June 16	9	Publicity
8	June 17	8	RADIO – the charts	Publicity/Media Section Due(10 pts)
9	June 18	7	Radio –getting played: Hit Men/Indie Promo and other current events
10	June 19		GWD – research projects	Research Reports Due by Midnight (100 pts)
11	June 22	10	Advertising – Media. Advertising – Costs	Radio Section Due (20 pts)
12	June 23	11-12	POP – Price and Positioning	Mid-Term Exams Due
13	June 24	13	Retailing: Online and off	Advertising Section Due (30 pts)
14	June 25	14	Non-Traditional Marketing	POP, Sales, & Dist. Due (40 pts)
15	June 26	14	Internet
16	June 29	14	Internet (part 2)
17	June 30	15	VIDEO –History and Terminology	Internet Section Due (50 pts)
18	July 1	15	Video
19	July 2	5	Marketing Budgets	Video Section Due (50 pts)
20	July 6		Price, Profit and Corporate Structures	Individual POP Projects Due (100 pts).
21	July 7		GWD – written projets
22	July 8		Presentation Preparation/GWD	Written Presentations Due (200 pts)
	July 9		PROJECT PRESNTATIONS	PROJECT PRESNTATIONS (200 pts)

Grade	Percent (GPA)
A	94 (4.0)
A-	90 (3.7)
B+	87 (3.3)
B	84 (3.0)
B-	80 (2.7)
C+	77 (2.3)
C	74 (2.0)
C-	70 (1.7)
Final grades below 70 % will not apply to the major.
D+	67
D	64
D-	60
F	< 60