Marketing Recorded Music

Tammy Donham is Associate Professor of Recording Industry Studies at Middle Tennessee State University. She frequently teaches online courses and was the recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Achievement in Instructional Technology Award. Donham is a graduate of Leadership Music (class of 2012), as well as a member of the Country Music Association. Amy Sue Macy, Professor in the Department of Recording Industry at Middle Tennessee State University, received both her undergraduate degree in music education and her master's degree in business administration from Belmont University. For 15 years, she worked for various labels, including MTM, MCA, Sparrow Records, and the RCA Label Group. 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 the Vice President of Marketing at Centaur Records, Inc., where he also engineered and produced many projects, including recordings by the Philadelphia Trio and the London Symphony Orchestra.

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Contributors

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1 Introduction

Why Sign to a Record Label

Revenue Streams

Music Everywhere

The New Deal

Publishing

Touring and Merchandise

Chapter 2 Marketing Concepts

Selling Recorded Music

What is Marketing

The Marketing Mix

Product

Product Positioning

The Product Lifecycle

The Diffusion in Innovations and Adopter Categories

Influences on Adoption

Hedonic Responses to Music

Pricing Strategies

Chapter 3 Segmentation and Consumer Behavior

Markets and Market Segmentation

Segmentation Criteria

Market Segments

Geographic Segmentation

Demographic Segmentation

Multivariable Segmentation

Psychographic Segmentation

Personality Segmentation

Behavioral Segmentation

Product Usage

Benefits Sought

Brand Loyalty

User Status

The Millenial Generation

Target Markets

Consumer Behavior and Purchasing Decisions

Needs and Motives

Converting Browsers to Buyers

High and Low Involvement Decision Making

Decision Making Process

Cognitive vs Emotional Decisions

Chapter 4 Research

Introduction

Research and the Music Industry

Types of Research

Overarching Research Issues: Validity and Reliability

The Research Process

Online Survey Tools

Disadvantages of Online Surveys

Syndicated Research

Custom Research Firms

Chapter 5 Branding

Branding Basics

Successfully Building a Strong Brand

Successfully Leveraging the Artist’s Brand

Finding the Right Brand Partner

Chapter 6 U.S. Industry Numbers

Sales Trends

Sales Trends and Configurations

Annual Sales Trends

Genre Trends

Demographic Trends

Age

Gender

Market Share of the Majors and Indies

Comparison of All and Current and Catalog Albums

Catalog Sales

Chapter 7 Label Operations

Label Operations

Getting Started as an Artist

Business Affairs

Artist and Repertoire: How Labels Pick and Develop Artists

Discovering Artist

Producers and A&R Scouts

Attorneys and A&R

Publishers and A&R

Reality TV

How Artist get on the A&R Radar

Build a Social Media Presence

Perform Perform Perform

Give Away Free Music

Make Professional Connections

Fitting In

Repertoire - A&R After The Signing

Production Manager / Artist Development

Creative Services

Publicity

Radio Promotion

Sales and Marketing

Digital Media / Marketing

Independent Labels

Chapter 8 The Marketing Plan

Who Get the Plan

The Classic Business School Marketing Plan

What’s in the Record Company Marketing Plan

Sections of the Plan

Timing

The Importance of Street Date

Chapter 9 Distribution and Sales

Introduction

Traditional Distribution

The "Big 3" Consolidation and Competition

Vertical Integration

Major Distribution Organizations

Independent Distributors - The Aggregators

Music Supply to Retailers

Retail Store Profiles

Role of Physical Distribution

How the Money Flows

Forecasting

Top 10 Revenue Generators

Metadata

Timeline

Retail Considerations

Inventory Management

Retail Promotion

Trade Association

Chapter 10 Streaming

The Business of Streaming

Market Share

The Business Model

How Playlists Work

Spotify

Apple Music

Pandora

Amazon

Chapter 11 Radio

The State of Radio

The Value of Radio

The Business

The Radio Broadcasting Industry

Radio Station Staffing

Format Clock

Radio Audiences

Radio Formats

Targets of Radio Formats

What is Important to Programmers

Ratings, Research and Terminology

Radio Programming Research

Satellite Radio

HD Radio

Internet Radio

Getting Airplay

Promotion and Airplay

Radio Promotion

History of Payola

Getting a Song on the Radio

Radio Promotion

Satellite Radio Promotion

Chapter 12 The Charts and Music Connect

The History of Trade Magazines

The Importance of Charts

Creating the Charts

Understanding the Billboard Charts

MediaBase

Spotify Charts

YouTube

iTunes

Apple Music

Amazon

Other Charts that Measure Popularity

Additional Sources to Track Music

A Deeper Dive into Nielsen

History

Industry Terms

A Look at Music Connect Data - The Charts

The Billboard Top 200

The Billboard Top 200 Song Consumption

Distribution Market Share

Genre Percentage

DMA Percentage of Business

Overall Sales by Format, Store Strata, and Product Configuration by Time Period

Dashboard Look at Artist Single

Dashboard Look at Artist Album

Top Performing Markets by Album Rank

Chapter 13 Publicity

Publicity Defined

History

Label vs. Indie Publicist

Tools of the Publicist

The Press Kit and EPK

Photos and Videos

Press Release

The Biography

Press Clippings

Publicity and Branding

The Publicity Plan

Budgets for Money and Time

Outlets for Publicity

What to send

Where to send it

Television Appearances

Charities and Public Services

Bad Publicity

Chapter 14 Digital Marketing

Social Media - connecting with fans

Social Media vs. Social Media Marketing

Social Media Strategy

Social Media Best Practices

Best Practices by Platform

How Social Media Algorithms Work

Live Streaming

Social Media Management and Listening Tools

Popular Social Media Management Tools

Content Marketing

SEO

Mobile / Texting

Blogging

Email Marketing

Chapter 15 Paid Media

Paid Media Basics

Consumer Media

Target Audience

Media Strategy

Media Options

Digital

Radio

Additional Paid Media Opportunities

Television

Print

OOH

Billboards

Direct Mail

Mobile/Texting

Trade Advertising

How Advertising Effectiveness is Measured

Advertising Purchase

Chapter 16 Artist Support and Tour Sponsorship

Artist Income

Tour Support

Tour Sponsorship

Festival Sponsorship

Products in the Music

The Benefits

Soundtracks and Compilations

Product Extensions and Retail Exclusives

Artists in the Virtual World

Chapter 17 Merchandise

Who, What, and When Merch Sells

Why Does Tour Merchandise Sell

Designing Merch That Sells

What Fans Want….that we can make

Merchandise Decisions that Impact Sales

Designing Great Merch

Event Merchandise Operations

Decisions that Impact Profit and Sustainability

Inventory management

Forecast Demand and Revenue

Merchandise Sales on Tour

What Else Makes a Difference On Tour

Selling Merchandise Online

Increasing Average Order Size / Order Volume

Leveraging Offer

Pre-order Campaigns

VIP Packages

Protecting Brand Equity - Knock-offs and Unofficial Merchandise

Index