Music Marketing Blog #2

Marketing Presentation   

The start of the project we had to conduct some research on "Bluegrass," a musical genre that incorporates blues, folk, soul, jazz, country and some other unique sounds that are used interchangeably. 

Music Research 

It's a very niche specific genre so we knew that we had to dig for a lot of information that may not be provided on the surface. We were able to gather research that touched on several aspects of marketing artists including the history, merchandise, distributes, the social media market, target audience, and even color palette. 

We researched several articles using key words such as "origins of bluegrass" "bluegrass artists" and "record labels upholding the bluegrass genre." Then from reading those articles and ensuring whether we trust the sources or not, we continued to search for key points that we wanted more elaboration on for further research. 

  One of the factors that made the Marketing Project process so efficient was allotting certain chunks of the work to each of our group members and setting deadlines. We started off with a clean outline of the project, so that way we had the ability to distribute work amongst our group members and tackle down the project into bits and pieces.

Music Video

Pre-Production

As for the concept of the music video, the idea the song was trying to convey was difficult to grasp, as its true meaning was mitigated by several analogies and metaphors that masked the message of the song and made it less conspicuous. The storyboard underwent several processes until finally, we created a rough draft that would become our reference in the filming process.

                                               Final Draft of Storyboard

Some of these shots had to be altered a bit due to difficulties with editing softwares but it came around and was reimagined very similarly to what is on the storyboard above!

Storyline

The more we listened to the song, the more we wondered if we were interpreting it correctly. We had to break down each verse to understand the breadth of the message, what story the artist was trying to tell, and what that means to him as well as how he would want it communicated to the target audience visually. 

After evaluating the lyrics and looking for substantiated evidence to prove what it was really about, we came to the conclusion that the song was conveying the story of someone who wants to go out and chase their dreams no matter what other path people are taking, they're gonna take the risks to go out and get what they want. 

Production

The music video was filmed over the span of 2 days, and we were fortunate enough to work with an experienced actor who fit the description of the role and approached the task professionally. The first day we made sure to knock out all the shots that included him and then any scenic shots were filmed the next day.  The storyboard was a great reference and the pacing of the movie wasn't much different from what was drafted on paper, but some minor changes had to occur. 

This section of the music video displays the character doing some financial paperwork but then turns to his script and becomes engulfed in his artistry. This close up shot gives context and helps the viewer understand that he's keeping himself financially stable as he continues to chase after his dreams.

Many of the images consisted of our actor being in front of a green screen reciting lines for an audition, indicating that he is in search of greater opportunities. 

The match cut to this shot with the key light marking the side of his face, acts as a spotlight illuminating his right side to make the image appear more intimate, and give off the impression that he is truly enjoying his work and will reach great heights if he continues to pursue his dream with that passion.

The shot of him on the stage was from a prior production that I was fortunate enough to capture and repurpose for this music video. The shot is displayed while the lyric "but one of these days it's gonna be right soon you'll, find your legs and go, and stay gone..." 

The character was displayed with a suit, and this served in showing that he was gonna go out and get a gig, and he's gonna shine bright.

Post-Production

The last stage of the music video was editing the piece and stringing it all together. Once again, the storyboard was followed sequentially and therefore saved time in the line edit draft. 

We wanted to make sure the message was clear and comprehensible for the target audience to do little work in the analyzing. In the marketing sphere, much of the work comes from viewing an art piece through the lens of its target audience. Artistic techniques such as the flashes and transitions were placed in order to further the message of the song rather than misconstrue it. 

                                            

This video displays several editing techniques, including some jump cuts at the audition scene to demonstrate the passage of time. 

The difficulties came with the ambitious ideas adjacent to the line edit which we unfortunately could not 100% go through with due to time. As shown in this image, an editing technique had to be left out due to the software being slow at operating. 

Marketing Campaign

Outline

  This is an example of our outline from the beginning, we made sure to add some important details that serves as the backbone of our presentation so that way we could distribute the work evenly and dive into the Presentation with an idea in mind.

Target Audience 

The marketing portion of the presentation determines meticulous choices made in the music video

I can only speak for myself when I say I felt that this song truly resonated with me.  However, I knew it would be unprofessional to view a music video through my own lens, since I am not the conventional target audience, and the true audience has disparate values from mine. Good marketing practice is ensuring that a piece is created with close consideration of the target audience, which has its own distinct taste when discovering music and envisioning the visuals that correspond with it (music video).

Although not every individual may go through these stages unanimously, there may be a younger audience that resonates with the message as well, so we adjusted the age range to include 18 to as old as 30. The genre may not appeal to younger audiences but the content of the lyrics may, and emerging artists may look to the song and become inspired with the message.

The primary target audience in terms of gender is male. To this day, we are still living in a male-dominated society. There are several factors that may support this statement but the most relevant distinction would be their dominance in the workplace. Traditional values picture men as the independent figure, providing for their families by contributing financial stability. Although this stereotype has been attenuated in the modern day, the Bluegrass genre's target audience encompasses individuals with conservative views, so the artist may approach with caution when it comes to rebelling against that notion.

It's true that the artists authenticity should not be undermined, but the community of fans with pre-established taste must be considered in order to be successful and profitable. Both can be achieved if one is open enough to compromise.