Marketing Music 101

HEY Y'ALL!  Welcome or welcome back to my blog!! 😁

Whether it's listening to it while doing homework, dancing to it on TikTok, or just mouthing the lyrics, music is a gift I would never want taken away.  Sometimes when I've had a rough day at school or when I'm feeling anxious or overwhelmed, just taking a minute to listen to one of my favorite songs helps me relax and distract me from those negative thoughts.  

I was assigned a project for my Media Studies class, and I was excited because it was based on music.  We have to pick a song and pretend it will be released for the first time, and then create a marketing campaign.  In this blog post, I will be sharing my brainstorming plans that are completed, are yet to be completed, and I will be providing some feedback and advice for you people that want to make music in the future.  Enough chit-chat.  Let's "listen" in!  (Get it? Haha!)

The Research

This project is very time-consuming and has several components within it, our teacher has laid out a whole plan and process for us.  After introducing myself to my group and getting to know each other, we began the first part of our project: Researching.

First, we had to choose our case studies.  According to verywellmind.com, a case study "is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event."  For some reason, this was the most difficult part of the project when it should've been the easiest.  Although there are many alternative singers and bands, we were still struggling to find people who had "alternative" or "indie" in their genres.  I noticed that several artists were labeled "alternative," but their songs weren't.  We finally chose our (two) companies and (four) case studies!  (It took some time, but we did it!)

Now that we had our case studies, it was time to research...yay.      Our teacher was kind enough to offer us charts to organize the information we would gather.  For efficiency, we divided up the work; since there were four of us, we were each assigned a case study.  I had the task to research Fall Out Boy; one of my group members listed important topics to state including marketing strategies, distribution methods, and audience interaction.  As soon as my group members and I knew what to research, we finished our charts in no time.  

Music Marketing Campaign

Next, we had to create a marketing campaign for our song.  For those of you who were like me and have no idea what marketing campaigns are, they are plans of actions to reach a certain company objective.  Our goals are to promote our song, make it popular, and thus making money.  Here, I will explain the steps that we took/will take to reach these goals.  

The very first step is to find a music singer/band name.  After many suggestions were made, one of my group members said, "How about SparkPlug?"  That's how the name came to be; "SparkPlug" is catchy, which will help us with promotion because it's likely that people will remember it.  Our group made SparkPlug an all-women band with a lead singer; this setup connects to the message of our song, "empowerment," because women tend to be weak in people's eyes.  Our group and song are meant to prove that statement wrong.  

After we decided on the name, my group and I had to choose convenient social media platforms for our band.  The social media accounts that we are choosing to do are:

                        - TikTok- for glow-up transitions and mouthing lyrics; we can pay celebrities to make it go viral

                        - Instagram- for live streams and Q&A's; this will help SparkPlug interact with their fans 

                        - Twitter- for important announcements and updates; this will also help us interact with fans

Designing a logo was our next task.  Here's a picture of our logo:

I love this design; the colors really go well together, and my favorite part of this design is where we added the battery in the back.  This battery in the back symbolizes the "spark" in "SparkPlug."  

Finally, we collaborated with different companies to boost our band's popularity.  The collaborations we did were Vans and Monster.  With Vans, we designed SparkPlug's own shoes.

We made sure that the colors corresponded with our logo and that our shoes contained originality.  I love these shoes, especially because we added the band's name on the shoes; I think this particular inclusion will also help us promote the band.  We also collaborated with Monster and created our own drink.

At first, we weren't sure what color to use since several of them are already taken.  Then we realized we could use a combination of colors, just like the SparkPlug Vans shoes.  My favorite part of this drink is the red lightning bolt in the background; I also like how on the top of the drink, it says "The Man," and this will help to promote our song.  

Lastly, we made SparkPlug merch to hand out in concerts and different functions.  

Future Plans-Presentation

Right now, we are working on the third part of the project: The Presentation.  Last Wednesday, we created the PowerPoint and discussed the necessities to include in our presentation.  Today, we were building on the information we said the previous class and began working on our slides.  This is our outline for what we plan to complete before the deadline:

TODAY

              - Finish filming and editing our music video.  (We also have to create a video for the song)

NEXT CLASS

              - Review the social media accounts.  (Make sure everything is intact and posted)

              - Outline campaign with samples of marketing products.  

              - Create a final statement addressing major selling points of plan

While completing all of this, we will have every-other day discussions on what we think, bringing out old ideas and/or reflecting new ideas.  

Finally, we will review everything together before submitting our work.

CHALLENGES WE FACED

Our project for the most part was smooth sailing; we were able to meet most of the deadlines for our tasks.  We did have some challenges when finding time to brainstorm as a group and gather information for our project.  

So, there's my whole plan and everything you need to know about marketing music.  Please tell others about my blog so we can keep enlarging our family :)

Love you guys, and have an arimazing day!

(Screenshots of my planning and group planning)

Research on Action Films

Hi!  I'm  Arianne, and welcome to my blog!

Why a blog?

Why did I create a blog, you ask?
I love watching action films!  The suspense, mystery and drama are everything!  Action films provide a sense of attentiveness that make the viewer glued to their seat, wanting for more.  On the weekends, I enjoy entertaining myself while curling up in a comfy spot on the couch.  Some of my favorite action films are: the outer-space fantasy Guardians of the Galaxy, the successful, women empowerment movie Black Widow, the adventurous film The Avengers, and the action-packed, on-the-edge-of-your-seat, harrowing quest of Iron Man 3.  I created this blog to find out if others felt the same way I do about action films.  I hope to learn new information and expand my knowledge with some feedback I receive.  Someday, I want to become a producer and create my own action films!

Action Films

An action film has a plot that is fast-paced, exciting with the element of an impossible resolution.  There are elements such as exaggerated explosions, stunts, high speed car chases, violent and unrealistic fight scenes.  People enjoy these films not only for their suspense, but also for its mystery, comedy and melodramatic moments.  An important advantage that action movies have is they are always in season; you can view them anytime, anywhere, they have multiple ratings from G to R, which makes them popular for all ages.  

   Content: 

In action films, directors make sure to include a strong hero, revenge plot, training montage, chase and fight scenes, and a final show-down between the main character (s) and the bad guy (s).  The best action movies are fast-paced, unpredictable, have humorous undertone.  This develops the suspense and anticipation for viewers, and this creates the "gluing to their seats."  This is a main element seen in an action movie.  

Examples of fast-paced action-packed Movies:

Suspense is also an common element in action films; without it, the movies will lose it's appeal.  Suspense assist in creating intrigue; the audience remains engaged and is eager to see what will happen next for the duration of of the film.  In suspense films the idea is to maintain the audiences' heighten sense of excitement, anxiety, surprise, and anticipation. Due to all the unexpected twists and turns of the plot makes the audience remain on the edge of their seats as they try to figure what happens next.  A well thought out suspense plot will have cover up of important information, cliffhangers, impossible obstacles for the hero to overcome, as the plot builds up to the climax.  Sound, lighting, and camera angles also play an intricate part in developing suspense and keeping the audience captivated.  A close-up shot makes the scene suspenseful because the audience can not see the full scope of the characters surrounding, add dramatic music and the movie goer is hooked with anticipation of what will happen next.  Put your protagonist in a dimly lit space, gun in hand, walking slowly with his/her back against the wall, and the audience is stressed about whether the hero will be able to complete the assignment. 

Comedy is another popular element for action movies.  In addition to having elements such as suspense, they're often expected to be lighthearted, amusing, and invoke a sense of adventure for the audience.  For instance, in the midst of a fight scene, the hero will poke fun at the antagonist to produce laughter.  Or, during a serious stunt the actor may say a funny one-liner right before falling off a three story building.  There can also be a series of jokes between multiple characters in moments when the plot is at a stand still; this makes the audience focus on what the characters are saying rather than being distracted by the action.  Another type used is situational comedies which put the character(s) in an unfamiliar environment.  They will come across several obstacles that they must get out of in a way that provides amusement for the audience.  

        Production Techniques:

In action films, keeping the shots tight make the visuals more intense.  As the character's face (or anything that you want the audience to focus) is present, the longer the shot is, the more the audience knows its significance.  Extreme-close-ups bring fear, intense and anticipation to the audience as well.  Another technique for action films is contrasting colors; they help the movie look intense and edgy.  Several shadowing and darker lighting  (same colors in lighter and darker hues) helps to add contrast and dramatic ranges to the scenes.  

   

Sound aids in developing the plot of the action movie.  It immerses the audience into the specific scene of the film and tells the story as the movie progresses.  It is used to create emotion and set the tone for certain moments in the film, and it intensifies what the audience is viewing.  For instance, tires screeching, the roaring of an engine, the clashing of one car into another, and the smashing of windows makes the audience feel they're witnesses to the high-speed chase.  

        Marketing: 

Action films range from young males between 16 and 25 years old.  The marketing of a film is an important factor not only for the production, but also for making the public aware when the film will be released.  Advertisements, posts, and trailers are created to entice audiences to want to see the film.  Posters or images representing the film has to capture the audience with an alluring photograph that portrays the actors/actresses in the movie, and it will give a brief synopsis of what the film is about.  For example, Iron Man 3 was described as "Marvel's Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle."