Directions for Exercise 7: Publicizing a Band

For this exercise, imagine you have recently formed a band with your friends. You’re excited about the prospect of becoming a rock star, but the first thing you need to do is break into the music business. Chapter 10 discusses the structure of the music industry, the way it is changing, and presents many of the opportunities and challenges an artist might face when entering the recorded music industry. Several of the audio-slide lectures, including those on making money in the music industry, independent authors, and royalties, also contain relevant information. Use this information to answer the questions below. Remember to number your answers appropriately and to credit your sources. As always, we encourage healthy debate–try to find someone who chose different answers and strategies than you and discuss how your and their reasoning resulted in those different decisions.

Questions:
1.   A very important decision is whether or not your band will work with a record label or whether your band will self-produce your music. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of each option and state which your band would choose. Explain the reasons for your choice.
2.   How will you seek to earn money from your music? What sources of revenue do you think would be most lucrative? Which are practically achievable?
3.   How will you promote your music? For example, would you start digitally or with physical CDs? If you’re using physical CDs, how you would use them to promote your band? If you are incorporating digital media into your promotion plan, what sort of platforms would you use and why? (Please keep in mind that your answers to question 2 and 3 should be related. Your promotion efforts should eventually lead people to your revenue streams.)
4.   How would your decision from question 1 (that is, to work with a label or self-produce) influence how your music is promoted and where your revenue will come from? Think of it and explain your answer in terms of control and trends!
5.   There is a chance that your group might have to pay royalties. What kinds of royalties might you encounter and when must you pay them?
6.   One of the primary decisions that musicians have to make today is whether they should try to limit the availability of their music online (like Taylor Swift did when she removed her songs from Spotify), seek to promote online distribution of their music (like Beyoncé did when she released her album exclusively on iTunes), or do something in between. Look over your responses to the previous questions and consider the role that the internet plays in your plans. Overall, have you treated it as a threat to your band’s career and livelihood, a benefit to your career and livelihood, or a combination of both? Explain your answer.