Record Label Marketing

Amy Macy is Professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University. She is the recipient of the Distinguished Educator in Distance Learning and the Outstanding Achievement in Instructional Technology. She has worked for labels including MTM, MCA, Sparrow Records, and the RCA Label Group where she marketed Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, and Alabama. Amy was responsible for national retail sales at Walmart, Kmart, Target, and Best Buy, while coordinating marketing strategies nationally with RCA’s distributor Bertelsmann Music Group. She has been an artist in residence at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Clyde Philip Rolston is Professor of Music Business in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University. Prior to joining the faculty at Belmont University he was a Vice President of Marketing at Centaur Records, Inc. While with Centaur Records, Dr. Rolston engineered and produced many projects, including recordings by the Philadelphia Trio and the London Symphony Orchestra. He is an active member of the Music and Entertainment Industry Educators Association. Dr. Rolston received a Ph.D. in Marketing from Temple University and has taught marketing to music business students for twenty years. Paul Allen is Associate Professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University and co-author of Record Label Marketing, also published by Focal Press. He is also a frequent lecturer at other universities on artist management and other music business subjects. His career work has included radio, TV, political management, and the music business. The late Tom Hutchison was a professor of marketing in the Department of Recording Industry at MTSU, but was on leave to serve as the director of the School of Business and Management at Husson University. He worked with a wide range of popular artists including Faith Hill, The Dixie Chicks, The Roots, and Beck. Tom also conducted market research projects for Sony, MCA/Universal, DreamWorks, and Warner Music Group.

INTRODUCTION

What is success in the Music Business?

What creates success?

Music within the Entertainment Industry

Branding

So Who Zooms Who

Record Label Survival Today

The 360 Deal

Music as a Tool

Publishing

2013 Royalty Breakdown

Ticket Sales and Concert Revenue

References






MARKETING CONCEPTS
Selling Recorded Music

What Is Marketing?

The Marketing Mix

Product

Product Life Cycle

Diffusion of Innovations

AIDA

Hedonic responses to music

Price

Cost Base Pricing

Competition Base Pricing

Value-Based Pricing

Crowdfunding

Name Your Own Price

Promotion

Strategies: Push v. Pull

Place

Distribution Systems

Types of Distribution Systems

Retail

Price and Positioning

Are the Four P’s Dead?

Summary

Glossary

References




MARKETING SEGMENTATION
AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Markets and Market Segmentation

Market Segmentation

Market Segments

Geographic Segmentation

Demographic Segmentation

Multivariable Segmentation

Psychographic Segmentation

Personality Segmentation

Behavioral Segmentation

Product Usage Segmentation

Segmentation Based on Benefits

Sought

Brand Loyalty

User Status

The Millennial Generation

Target Markets

Consumer Behavior and Purchasing Decisions

Needs and Motives

Coverting Browsers to Buyers

High and Low-Involvement Decision Making

Decision Making Process

Cognitive vs. Emotional Decisions

Conclusion

Glossary

References






MARKET RESEARCH
Introduction

Research in the Music Industry

Types of Research

Validity and Reliability

The Research Process

Problem Definition

Data Collection Methods

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Syndicated Research

Custom Research Firms

Tracking Consumer Behavior on the Web

Conclusion

Glossary

References




BRANDING IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS
Introduction

History of Branding

Branding Basics

Brand Architecture

Branded House

House of Brands

Endorsed Brands

Sub-Brands

Branding in the Music Business

Successfully Creating an Artist’s Brand

Defining the artist and developing a brand identity

Defining the artist’s audience

Promoting and Building the Brand

Strong brands are authentic and consistent

Strong brands are active

Strong brands develop a deep connection with consumers

Maintaining the Brand

Monitoring what is being said

Protecting the brand

Linking brands to build brand equity

The Role of Corporate Partnerships in the Music Industry

From the Brand’s Perspective

From the Record Label’s Perspective

From the Artist and Manager’s Perspective

Finding the right brand partner

The Importance of Brand Fit

Cause Marketing with a brand

The future of music partnerships

Artist-owned brand opportunities

Product placement in videos

True Partnerships

Conclusion

Glossary






MARKETING PLAN
Introduction

Who Gets The Plan

What’s In the Plan

Sections of the Plan

Timing

The Importance of Street Date

Marketing Strategy

SWOT Analysis

Conclusion

Glossary






INDUSTY NUMBERS



LABEL OPERATIONS
Introduction

Getting Started as an Artist

Business Affaird

Artist & Repertoire: How Labels Pick and Develop Artists

Discovering Artists

Producers as A&R Men

Attorneys and A&R

Publishers and A&R

American Idol, The Voice and Other Reality TV

Fitting In

Repertoire

Artist Development/Relations

Creative Services

Publicity

Radio Promotion

Sales and Marketing

Partnership and Branding

Social Media

Independent Labels

Conclusion




RECORD LABEL FINANCES
Introduction

SRLP

Card Price

Discount

Gross Sales

Distribution Fee

Gross Sales After Fee

Return Provision

Net Sales After Return Reserve

Returns Reserve

Gross Physical Sales

Gross Digital Units/Albums and Singles

Gross Streaming Revenue

Non-Interactive

Interactive

Total Net Sales

Cost of Sales

Gross Margin Before Recording Costs

Recording Costs

Gross Margin

Marketing Costs

Account Advertising

Advertising

Video Production

Artist Promotion

Independent Promotion and Publicity

Media Travel

Album Art

No Charge Records

Contribution to Overhead (Profit)

Project Efficiency and Effectiveness

Return Percentage

SoundScan and Sell Off

Percentage of Marketing Costs

As a Predictor Equation

Break-Even Point

A Look at Real P&L Statements




PUBLICITY
Introduction

Publicity Defined

History

Label vs. Indie Publicist

Tools of the Publicist

The Press Kit an EPK

Photos and Videos

Press Release

Anatomy of a Press Release

The Biography

Press Clippings

Publicity and Branding

The Publicity Plan

Budgets for Money and Time

Outlets for Publicity

Internet

Television Appearances

Award Shows

Charity Shows

Bad Publicity

Conclusion

Glossary














SOCIAL MEDIA
The Concept of Tribes

Your Website Is Your Front Door

Nine Steps To A Great Home Page

Newsletters

Greeting: Make It Personal

Guts: The Body of the Newsletter

Getting: Putting Readers Into Action

Facebook

Facebook Questions That Always Get Asked

Personal Page AND Fan Page

Facebooks New Reality

Facebook Analytics

Facebook Fan Page Setup

Facebook Takeaways

YouTube

A Social Network

Optimizing you YouTube Channel

Official Youtube Playbook for Musicians

Youtube Takeaways

Twitter

Artist’s Handle

Twitter How To’s

Increasing Twitter Followers

Twitter Analytics

Twitter Takeaways

Instagram

App Synopsis

Pinterest

App Synopsis

Pinterest takeaways

Blogs

Reasons to do it

Top Seven Reasons

Blogging Takeaways

Conclusion
















THE BUSINESS OF RADIO
Introduction

The Business

The Radio Broadcasting Industry

Radio Station Staffing

Radio Audiences

Radio Formats

Targets of Radio Formats

The Format Clock

What is important to programmers

Ratings Research and Terminology

Radio Programming Research

The Changing Face of Radio

Satellite Radio

HD Radio

Internet Radio

Getting Airplay

Glossary




PROMOTION, AIRPLAY AND THE CHARTS
Introduction

Radio Promotion

Promotion

Promotion

History

Getting a recording on the radio

Big Data Application

Label Record Promotion and Independent Promoters

Satellite Radio Promotion

The Charts

The History of Trade Magazines

The Importance of Charts

Creating the Airplay Charts

Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) and Billboard Charts

Understanding the Billboard Charts

MediaBase

Other Charts

CMJ

iTunes

Amazon

YouTube

Other sources to track music popularity

Glossary








MUSIC VIDEO
Video Production and Promotions

History of the Music Video

The Music Video Today

Budgeting and Producing the Music Video

Uses for the Music Video

The Importance of Video in Viral Marketing

Sales and Licensing

Video Streaming as a Source of Income

Programming

Label Staffing

Beyond the Music Video

Video is Everywhere

Glossary




DISTRIBUTION AND RETAIL
Introduction

The Big 3 and more

Vertical Integration

Music Supply to Retailers

Role of Distribution

National Structure

Timeline

One Sheet: The Solicitation Page

Consolidation and Market Share

Digital Distribution – waiting on 2014 year end data….

Digital Revenue

Future Trends

Distribution Value

The Music Retail Environment

Marketing and the Music Retail Environment

Music Business Association

Retail Consideration

Purchasing Music for the Store

Inventory Management

Turns and Returns

Promotion

Top 10 Accounts and Forecasting

Digital and Digital Aggregators

Pricing

Margin and Markup

Where the Money Goes

Store Target Market

Indie Music Retailers

Chain Stores

Electronic superstores

Mass Merchants

Internet Marketing and Sales

Glossary












TECHNOLOGY
Introduction

Big Data

Entertainment and Big Data

Nielsen

Terminology

Billboard and SoundScan

SoundScan Data

The Charts

Top 200

Year To Date

Hot 100

Hot Digital Tracks

Marketing Reports

Label Share Report

DMA / Genre Report

National Sales Summary

Border City Media’s BuzzAngle Music

Introduction

Data Suppliers

The Data and Charts

Album Project Ranking

Dashboards by Artist

Industry Data

Seasonality

Lifecycles

DMAs and Market Efficiencies

Other Tools within the Industry

Analytics

Next Big Sound

Big Champagne

Direct-to-Consumer

TopSpin

BandCamp

ReverbNation

Charts

iTunes

Lastfm

Appendix to Chapter 16

Glossary




TOUR SUPPORT AND SPONSORSHIP
Introduction

Tour Support

Tour Sponsorship

Products in the Music

Branded Music

Lifestyle

The Benefits

Soundtracks and Compilations

Enhancing Careers

Product Extensions and Retail Exclusives

Brand Partnerships

Glossary




GRASSROOTS
Grassroots Marketing

The power of the word-of-mouth

Forms of word-of-mouth marketing

Street Teams

Guerilla Marketing

Online "guerilla" tactics

Tools for street teams

Guerilla Tactics

Glossary




ADVERTISING

Basics of Advertising

Consumer Advertising: The Media Buy

Comparison of Media Options for Advertising

Television Advertising

Print Advertising

Newspapers

Radio Advertising

Out-of-Home Advertising

Direct Mail

Mobile Advertising

Online or Digital Advertising

Search Engine Advertising

Contextual Advertising

Media Planning

How Advertising Effectiveness is Measured

Coordinating with Other Departments

Glossary