By the end of this project I aim to have gained knowledge and experience for working within the music industry. I will gain the knowledge that I need to excel in the Final Major Project (FMP) from my extensive research of each aspect that will be happening from my plan. I will gain my experience by implementing my plans and using my research while working with my artists. 

 

One of my main sub-projects within the FMP is going to be a series of podcasts that I will be making for artists and the general public who wish to work within this industry. I plan to record an 8 part series with the potential for additional episodes. Each episode will discuss a different feature of advertising, whether it is promoting yourself or an artist that you are working with, there will be discussion of how to do both. I have chosen to do this because I have found, without the proper information being given to those pursuing a career in the music industry, it can be challenging and stressful attempting to establish the correct procedure for navigating the way through the industry. My intention is to provide a guide for those beginning their career in the industry.

I have planned 8 episodes to be recorded and released on Spotify using `Anchor` - an aggregator for Spotify podcasts - these are:

1. How to create a brand for yourself or your artist

2. How to use social media effectively for promotion

3. The necessity of a press kit and selection of suitable organisations 

4. How to write a press kit - this will be split into 3 parts so that it is clear 

   1. How to write a musician’s biography and its importance

   2. Why official promo photos and videos are essential

   3. Why including music reviews, press, awards and your social media/ contact information are essential

5. Why having an artist website is important

6. How to network with people and write emails to those you’re networking with  

 

One of my main tasks to complete for my artists is writing a professional press kit for them and sending it out to places that are best suited to their needs as well as their music. It is important to consider the appearance of the press pack as it needs to be professional in addition to enticing an organisation to select the artist to be featured in either a blog that will provide a music review or for it to be featured on a radio broadcast. The press kit will appear on the artist’s official site to provide a direct source for the organisations to keep up to date with the artist, and to have a wider variety of official promotional pictures or videos to choose from. 

Included in the press kit will be:

• A Musician’s Biography 

  • This ranges between a few sentences to several paragraphs, dependent on where you are sending the press kit. It includes details about the artist and their music and is a way of introducing your artist to the world and the organisation. It should include the artist's career highlights and achievements, quotes from the media that has promoted them and it should be kept up to date with information on the current affairs of the artist’s career.

• Promotional Photos and Videos

  • These should be official promotional photos and videos and should contain a good variety. Each photo or video should be individually unique, including different locations, colour or black and white photos, what the artist is doing or whether the items are portrait or landscape.

• Music 

  • The artist's music is probably the most important part of the press kit. This allows you to promote their music and their sound. Choose tracks which are the best representation of the artist and are best suited to where the press kit will be sent.

• Highlights and Achievements

  • Using career highlights and achievements, such as award nominations, creates a positive outlook on the artist’s music. It proves to the organisation that people enjoy the music and are willing to show their support.

• Press and Reviews

  • Similar to the highlights and achievements portion of the press kit, press and reviews add to the positive context for the music. Using any ‘hype’ there has been over the music from the press demonstrates there is a worthy story behind the music. Reviews are incredibly important because they provide authenticity and they also provide the organisation with hope for a hit story about the artist. 

• Social Media Links and Contact Information

  • This section should include links to all of the artist’s social media, such as, Instagram, Facebook, Soundcloud, Spotify and their official website. This provides organisations with a central point of contact so that they can begin networking with the artist and possibly booking them to play at events. 

 

I will select a group of organisations to send my artists press kits to. In order to choose the organisations correctly, I will be compiling a criteria list to compare the organisations to to ensure they meet the needs of my artists. The types of organisations I will look at are: 

• Blogs

  • A blog is a great way to get your artists' music out into the world. They provide music reviews, interviews with artists, promotion of the music and they also increase the likelihood of your artists being discovered which gives them the opportunity to work with labels and other big organisations.

  • When selecting blogs to send a press kit to, you should compile a criteria list. A basic criteria list should include:

    • Posts of the artists genre 

    • Appear fun but professional

    • Have good web traffic (people should be using this site and interacting with it a lot)

    • Have interviews with artists 

    • Contain a section that tells you what they are about 

    • Have artists from more than one platform, not only featuring artists on Spotify but also including artists on Soundcloud/ other platforms

  • Using a guide like this for selecting places to send a press kit is valuable and makes it easier to select the most appropriate, they do not have to meet every standard 100% but you should try and make sure that they meet most of your criteria so that you know they are a good company to work with.

•  Radio Stations

  • Selecting appropriate radio stations can be challenging and thorough research needs to be undertaken before sending the press kit over. They are a good way of enabling the artist’s music to be broadcast to a wide audience across the country. It is worth noting instant success is unlikely, patience, persistence and determination are needed. 

  • A simpler criteria is required for radio stations due to the difficulty of obtaining air time for the artist. A basic criteria list should include:

    • Does the radio station play music from the same genre as your artist's genre?

    • Where are they based and who do they reach? - always start off with smaller and more local stations 

    • What shows do they do? - although it is good to have a permanent music based radio show it is also good to have some chat shows on there as well so that there is a possibility of extra promotion by doing interviews

    • You should also make sure that the radio station has something that will benefit your artist, don't just send it to as many as possible, really think about what your artist can gain

• Booking agents 

  • Working with a booking agent is a good opportunity though it may be difficult to find vacancies in the current circumstances. My criteria for this is:

    • Have they worked with similar artists?

    • Do they have a good reputation? - It isn’t essential but could be handy, also remember that you are starting your career so give a little bit of help to others starting their career 

    • What events have they booked people for? 

    • Were those events successful?

    • Do you think that this person or company can help you and your artist?

• Record Labels

  • Record labels are a good place to send your press kits, they have the power to sign your artist and really give them a shot at making hit music. They have many benefits to provide artists with, such as studios and funding but it is sometimes difficult to get your artist signed. My criteria for this is:

    • Do they work with similar artists? 

    • How well do the artists do after signing with them? - this is important because you don’t want your artist to be stuck with someone that doesn’t care or help your artist 

    • Do they have anything that stands out to you? - this could be awards or artists that have done well ect.

    • Are there recognisable artists that they have worked with? - not always the most important thing but it gives you slight hope if there are recognisable artists

 

Websites are an incredibly important part of an artists career. It is a place where fans, labels, media and booking agencies can find relevant information needed about the artists. My artists and I will be creating official websites for their careers. The main parts of a website are:

• An about page

  • An about page should include photos that correspond with the information written and there should be photos that represent the artist. 

  • Including an extended version of the musicians biography in the website allows promoters, labels and booking agents to find information about your artist and it gives them an easy way to copy and paste more information onto flyers or other promotional material. 

• Music

  • A musicians website is never complete without their music. It is a good idea to also link the music videos that have been made for your artists music. People love to keep up to date with new releases. 

• Photos and videos page 

  • The photos and videos that are chosen should show your artist's personality. People should relate to the artist not see them as someone who cares only for money. 

• Upcoming shows

  • A calendar is a good way to update fans on what shows are taking place. It will give fans the opportunity to purchase tickets to see the artist

An established artist may include a merchandise page or a community page where they can interact with fans.

 

 During this process I have spoken to my artists about the possibility of shooting a music video. One of my artists was incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunity and we have been discussing the processes. If the music video takes place there will be strict measures to correspond with the covid guidelines. Everyone will be wearing masks while at the shoot except for the artist or the actors in the music video. 

The videos will be discussed between me and the artist in our meetings, things that we will need to discuss are:

• What will be going on in the video

  • Discussing this is one of the most important things, you should create a story for the video that resonates with the video and everything else will be easier to decide.

• Who will be in the video

  • Once you have decided on the story of the video you can then move on to the people who will be in it, if it’s a love story that you’re going to try to choose two people who will play the part of the lovers and choose other people to be extras. 

• Where will the video be shot

  • While deciding where to shoot the music video you should think about the feeling that the locations bring you, if it is a horror type story you should look for run down places and see if there will be an opportunity to film there, just remember you need to consider the travel costs for getting to the places. 

• Will the video be shot in different places or just one place 

  • Deciding this will come with deciding the location of the video, you might want a variety of places to film as there will then be more substance to the video but you need to remember the video needs to flow smoothly and you still need to consider travel costs.

• Are there certain locations that need to be booked

  • You might find that certain locations need to be booked because they are owned by people, you will need to find this out while deciding on locations and you will need to decide whether you can afford the costs of renting the property for a day. 

• Are there certain permits that are needed

  • If you are planning on filming in a public space you might need a permit to be able to film and this means that you need to research into the permits and see what the costs are and what they will allow you to do. 

• Are there any things that the artist specifically wants in the video

  • While planning you should ask your artist if there are any specific requirements they want to be included in the video, this could be a part where they are involved if they aren't already or something else but it is good to understand what your artist wants from the video. 

Photoshoots are a great way to get professional press shots for portfolios, musicians press kits and social media posts. Planning, organisation and execution are the most important parts of a photoshoot, there needs to be a lot of time put into this for it to be successful. The goal is to have photos that reflect the artist as well as reflecting their sound. 

• Planning

  • Ideally the planning should be complete weeks in advance but there is a possibility to complete it only a few days in advance. 

    • The location should be the first port of call for planning due to the possibility of the location needing to be booked, there is also a possibility that money may need to be involved in the booking so there should be talks of finance just in case 

    • A photographer should be professional, they should also have a portfolio that they can show. This isn’t essential but it is wise to have someone who has experience and a variety of photos. The photographer should be experienced in fast paced environments if the photoshoot is going to be of musicians. 

    • There will be a need for a lighting designer if the shoot is in a dark location so there will be a need for good lighting so the photographer can take the most professional photos possible. Lighting should be discussed ahead of time so there will be enough preparation time and there needs to be a discussion about the times in which the lights need to be set up by. 

    • The artists should know when they have to be present at the photoshoot and discussions should be had to make sure they know what is going on and where the location of the shoot will be.

• Organising 

  • Organising will be mostly done on the day, however there are elements that need to be done beforehand.

    • One thing that you need to organise is the time in which everything is going to take place, there needs to be allocated time to each person for the photoshoot as well as there being time allocated for the set up. 

    • A manager will need to organise the artists during the day of the shoot due to there being a need of keeping track of people so time slots will be filled. 

    • The lighting designer will need to have clear instructions on what times they will need to set up by and there is a possibility that the manager/organiser will need to be present for this. 

    • There will be a need to organise the photographer, they will need to know what time to get to the location, they will need to know the artists and when they are going to photograph them, finally they will need to know the location and how they can use the space as best they can. 

• Execution

  • The execution of the photoshoot will be shown through the final photos and this will be what really shows if the shoot was successful. Another way to judge the execution is how enjoyable it was for the artists, they need to have had a good time in order for the manager to gain a good reputation as the artists will then spread the word of how successful the manager organised and planned the event.