Unit 1 The Music Industry External Exam Learning

Unit 1: The Music Industry (External Exam) Learning Aim A: Understand different types of organisations that make up the music industry Lesson 3: Production & Promotion (5 th October 2016)

Production and Promotion No musician can survive without the support of others. The production and promotion teams are crucial to a successful career in the music industry. Production teams help the musician make and record their music to a high standard. Promotion teams help the musician advertise their music so that people buy it.

Recording companies: These can be big or ‘major’ companies or smaller ‘independent’ companies. These ‘production’ companies are sometimes called ‘Record labels’ and they ‘sign up’ and artist to help them: • Write or improve songs/pieces, • Choose suitable pieces, • Record their music in a professional studio

Music Publishing companies: These can be big companies who make thousands of copies of CDs, DVDs etc. and have factories all over the globe. They charge huge amounts of money for this usually paid for by the Recording company/record label. OR… A musician can go down the ‘self-publishing’ route where they pay to have the CD/DVD made themselves in smaller companies (only making a few copies of a CD/DVD) or even making them in their own home/school.

Promoters: These companies can be big or small and they arrange events for musicians to showcase their music, for example: • Concerts • Clubs • Festivals

Broadcasting companies: These companies can be big or small and they are like promoters, arranging events for musicians to showcase their music, but usually on a bigger scale reaching a bigger audience. Examples of broadcasting companies include: • TV companies • Radio stations • Internet sites

Marketing and Distribution companies: Marketing companies advertise your music in any way they can. This could include: • Posters • TV/Radio/Internet adverts • Websites/Social media • Stunts eg. a flash-mob • Face-to-face chatting to public Distribution companies deliver the music product to the customer. They are usually big companies and have to persuade shops to stock their product and then transport it to the shops. This could be: • High street stores/supermarkets • Online shops (eg, CDs from Amazon or downloads from i. Tunes) • Social media

Task: Design a flow chart to show a piece of music (CD/Album) is created and made available to purchase by consumers.

Production company or Record label Performer g in ish y bl an Pu mp co Successful Artist Distribution companies Marketing companies Promoters and Broadcasting companies