GANTT Chart

Graded Unit 2 Plan

Starry-Eyed Records

What I have chosen to do for my Graded Unit 2 is the running of my own record company. I have chosen to do this as I feel that what I have learned over the last year and this year so far is enough information to showcase my skills in running my own record company successfully. After the end of my further education in Music Business I would love to get into a job like this so I feel like by showing all of my knowledge in HNC/HND Music Business in a topic like this will benefit me for the future when it comes to gaining a place in the music industry. The 14 core units have vital information that is used on a daily basis in the music industry so I also felt like this was beneficial to show the information I have picked up which will pick out my strengths and weaknesses, this means I can improve before I get into the industry to show full potential in the future.

Approach Statement

When it comes to actually running a record company, you have to take charge with the amount of tasks that head your way. With my graded unit I am going to try to show how I can manage to get through all the tasks and issues that I come across. With the presentation I will link everything as smoothly as possible and with sections that need a portfolio piece I will try to clearly state how everything links together. As being the head of a record company they have to get all information across clearly and simply for everyone to understand so this is the main task I will try to achieve well with the presentation.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

I have successfully achieved my HNC Music Business- Gained an A in my Graded Unit 1

I am still working on my HND Music Business – Successfully passed everything to date

I am good as working as part of a team as well as handling tasks myself- This is because in job interviews and work experience I have had to deal with both which feedback has stated I am good at.

Through YouTube I have gained some contacts of music industry people- Due to being a singer on YouTube I constantly pass people in the music industry and I try to create a relationship with everyone that comes my way

I have never failed in any music business subject – This is as I work really hard at everything I do

I have a real passion for music so I put 100% into everything I do

Weaknesses

I haven’t done much work in the music industry to date- This may be due to my shyness

Although I finish everything I start, I can be stressed when it comes to big tasks- Being stressed with things is as I want to do everything perfectly so I can get the job done well

I lack in music industry interview experience- Even though I have lots of retail interview experience it’s not similar to experience in the music industry

I have not used PowerPoint much in the past so I may struggle with that

I have not fully learned all of the core units yet due to the timetable this year so this could be a problem with work being rushed etc

Opportunities

As I am young I feel like I have time to show people what I can do

By using the presentation I am able to showcase all of my knowledge to important people in the industry

By being on YouTube I already have a platform and fan-base for people that will buy the records I release

Also on YouTube I am constantly talking to music industry workers so this gives me an opportunity to get word spread about my record releases within the industry

Threats

When it comes to the interview I may become nervous as it means a lot to me to do well

Trying to get all my point across well so that the funders will know how I will deal with arising issues

Trying to fill my time in the interview well and not say irrelevant points

With the issues of downloading illegal music I will have to have answers for how I will prevent that

Preparing for unknown questions will be hard to do

Personal Strengths

I feel like when it comes to my main strengths I feel like that fact that being a part of the music industry is something I’ve wanted to do all my life so I have a real passion for anything I try to achieve in the music business. I work so well as part of a team and I am willing to meet new people to work with them and network with others in the music industry. I may be shy under pressure but when it really matters I can shine to show people that I am serious about working in this industry and my success so far in everything I have achieved I think is enough to show people what I am ready to achieve which is a career in the music industry.

Portfolio Pieces

Music Law 1 – For this portfolio piece I will be going through all of the important things that are involved when it comes to a Record Contract. I will choose one to show how I would sign an artist for my label.

Music Law 2- For this I will display my knowledge for when an artist that I have signed has to get a merchandise agreement and how they would go about ensuring they know all the clauses and what they entail.

Creative Industries Infrastructure –For this I will clearly state the process for applying to be a member of the MCPS and PRS.

Working In The Creative Industry – For this I will show CVs and PDP for potential employees to come into my business etc and show what makes a good CV and what doesn’t.

Marketing 1- When it comes to the portfolio piece for this I will show my knowledge on how to create a good marketing strategy for one of the artists on my label.

Marketing 2- For this I will show my knowledge on a communications plan and show what it entails.

E-Commerce- I will display my knowledge of the key technologies used to help the music industry on a daily basis.

Management 1- I will show a negotiation plan between myself and a potential artist to join my label.

Management 2- For this I will show how to negotiate properly and strategies used throughout this.

Touring- I will try to explain the different sources of finance used when it comes to the financial side of touring and things that must be included in the funds I collect for the tour.

Financial Management- I will provide two budgets for this portfolio piece. One being for a tour and the other for a recording session. They will show my knowledge of what has to be included in both of these areas.

Music industry Finance- I will showcase my knowledge of the key participants in the music industry when it comes to finance and analyse them.

Promotions- For this portfolio piece I will demonstrate how to put together a press pack and how to ensure it stands out from the rest that are in the music industry.

Digital Communications- I will discuss digital marketing strategy and I will also discuss how the music industry has changed in the digital era.

Aims

My main aim for this project as a whole is to ensure I get the best grade possible by showcasing my knowledge of the core units and smoothly linking everything together when it comes to using both portfolio pieces and using PowerPoint. I will try to be as clear as possible during the presentation and ensure that it is only relevant point that I am trying to convey. As being an owner of the Record Company I need to ensure that I know everything to do with the specific goals I have set for myself. I need to ensure my timescale is in order so that everything has its own time for me to create everything to the best of my ability on the day of the presentation. With the use of my GANTT chart I will be able to see what has to be done and when it has to be done for and I will lay everything out well so that I use the same attention to each project  to ensure maximum potential to gaining an ‘A’ in this project. I need to make sure I am not giving myself too much to do before the end of the college year also as this may hinder my performance if I have given myself too much to do.

Music Law 1

My aim for this is to successfully show my knowledge of how to put together a record contract for an artist on my label. I will try to ensure that the contract is a good contract for both the artist and the company. I will take a week maximum to research for this portfolio piece as I know quite a lot about contracts but I will try to perfect that in my week of research. When it comes to researching and putting together this piece I will be using Microsoft Office Word to actually put the piece together as well as putting the main points onto my presentation which I will put together on PowerPoint. For my research I will be using website that I find on Google to find templates to make sure I have all of the important clauses included. I will also read sections of Ann Harrison’s book to ensure I have full knowledge of record contracts. Also I will include some information from the presentations provided by my lecturer and the notes I have taken during my class time.

Music Law 2

What I want to achieve in this is to fully show all of the important clauses in a Merchandising Agreement and what the clauses are there for. I will try to create a link between a portfolio piece as well as the piece on my presentation well to show my full knowledge of this agreement. I will be taking a week of research to gain full knowledge of this type of agreement and write it up in a way that will be clear to show on both Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. I will have to use websites on the internet as well as using Ann Harrison’s book again to get as much information as I can before creating this piece. I have taken quite a bit of notes during class time which I will use as well as the presentation that has been provided by my lecturer.

Creative Industries Infrastructure

My aim for this is to clearly show how to create a membership on the MCPS, PRS and PPL websites. I will trying to show as clear as possible all the steps needed to create each of the memberships. I will need to carry out further research on this as I do not fully understand some of the terms used on the site. I will be going on all of the websites which are www.prsformusic.com and www.ppluk.com. As well as using my notes taken in class time. I will take around a week to complete the whole portfolio piece for this and to create this I will use PowerPoint and Word to screen shot the information and steps needed to fully achieve this piece.

Working In The Creative Industries

The aim I have made for this which is to create a near perfect CV and PDP to show what a company would be looking for when it comes to hiring potential employees. I will showcase different parts of a CV with both a presentation and a piece to hand to the people I will be showing my presentation to. As I have some knowledge already on this I will take a week to create this piece. I will show the main criteria for creating a good CV that employers are looking for as well as creating a PDP to show how to set that out. I have all the notes for this including my own notes and hand outs by my lecturer. I will use both PowerPoint to showcase the important information as well as using Word to create the full CV and PDP documents.

Marketing 1

My aim for this is to fully show my knowledge of a good marketing strategy for an artist. I want to show how to create a marketing strategy which will work and go to plan to create the biggest success for the artist on my label. I will need around a week on this to fully perfect the strategy. I will maybe use the internet but I have a lot of notes from last year on this subject which will be used the most. I will again use both Word to create the actual document as well as PowerPoint to show the most important parts of the strategy.

Marketing 2

My aim for this is to fully understand how to put together a professional and functioning communications plan. As I have not learned this topic yet I will take two weeks so that I can get the information fully in my head so that no mistakes are made. I do not know what sources I can use yet but I will more than likely use the internet for more information on this piece and I will use Word to create the document and PowerPoint to showcase the main points of the creation of a Communications plan.

Promotions

My aim for this is to hopefully create a standout press pack to be used in the music industry when it comes to trying to get the press to write a piece about the artist I am trying to promote. I will take 3 weeks to get all of the pieces together as there are many aspects to this piece and I want to give myself time to give it justice and ensure all the important pieces are done well. I will be using Word to create pieces of this as well as my CD burner to provide a CD of the artist. I will use PowerPoint to showcase the most important pieces of this and to make sure everything is clear.

E-Commerce

For this I will be trying to showcase my knowledge on the key technologies used on a daily basis in the music industry. I want to make sure that all the information that I will provide is going to be clear as well as making sure it is all relevant to the music industry. As we have just finished this topic in class I will only take a week to create this as all the information is fresh in my head. I will use my notes taken in class as well as the presentations that are up on Moodle provided by my lecturer just for further information. I will only use PowerPoint for this as it is relevant and I think that this will help me to showcase my knowledge to the best of my ability and it will show everything the clearest.

Management 1

For this I aim to show fully all of the information I have on how to negotiate with an artist. I aim to make everything as clear as possible and to keep the negotiation to a suitable level so that it is not too short nor will it be too lengthy. I feel like by using PowerPoint I will be able to show clearly the negotiation that I will convey through my emails which is through www.gmail.com and I will also use a print screen software that is on my iMac to copy and paste the screen shots onto the presentation to clearly show all the relevant information. I intend to only spend a week on this depending on if the person I am negotiating with replies straight away.

Management 2

For this I will try to combine marketing one and two together to show different types of negotiating. By showing different negotiating strategies I feel as it will show my full knowledge well in this section of the industry which is used on a day to day basis in the music business. I will be using both www.gmail.com as well as my lecturer’s notes and hand-outs to gain full knowledge on everything. I will be using PowerPoint to convey the information well and try to make everything as clear as possible.

Touring

For this I aim to gain full knowledge on the various sources of finance when it comes to putting together a tour. As I have not yet learned this topic yet I plan to take 3 weeks for the information to fully sink in so that if any questions are asked during my presentation, I know how to answer them well. Because I haven’t learned this yet I am still unsure as to the sources I will use but I will use the internet to gain more knowledge of this topic. I will be using PowerPoint to showcase the knowledge I have learned on this subject and I will try to ensure that everything I am trying to show will be as clear as possible as well as ensuring everything is relevant.

Financial Management

For this I aim to show as clear as possible what is involved in each of the budgets for both touring and recording sessions. I will be trying to give as much information as well as still trying to be relevant. I will take around a week to create this piece as I will need to read up on the topic again as it was last year  but I am confident that I will not need any more than a week to produce this piece. I will be using Microsoft Excel to create the budgets on as well as using PowerPoint to show the main and vital points needed for a budget to go to plan.

Music Industry Finance

For this aim I will be to fully show the key participants that are involved when it comes to sources of finance. I have not yet learned this subject so I am unsure fully what this will entail and because of this I will take two weeks so I fully understand this as well as being able to answer any questions that come my way. I will be using sources provided by my lecturer and notes that I will take in class as well as using the internet for further information. Using PowerPoint I will be able to clearly show all information that I need to get across and making sure that it is relevant.

Digital Communications

 For this I aim to ensure that all of my digital marketing plan is clear and precise. I will be researching information on how to create one of these more to refresh my memory from last year. I will also add in some information about the digital era that has happened and its effect on the music industry that it’s had. I will ensure everything is laid out clearly and I will be doing that by creating a Word document for the marketing plan as well as using PowerPoint to show the main parts of the marketing plan. I will also be using PowerPoint to discuss the Digital Era and its effect on the music industry. I will be using my notes that I took last year in class and the presentation that has been provided by my lecturer.

Method Statement

For the creation of my Graded unit 2 I will be using both time in my house as well as college time to make sure that I have used the full time I have been given to create everything. I will try to stick to my GANTT chart as much as possible and when I go off track from it I will ensure that the same amount of time is dedicated at some point during the time I have to create this. After all of the pieces have been created I will ensure that there is time for me to learn my presentation fully to prevent any stutters on the day of the presentation and so that I know all of the answers to any questions I am asked. If I get all this done perfectly and everything goes to plan hopefully I will achieve the highest mark possible.

Materials and Resources

iMac and laptop at home will be used for the creation of the pieces

I will use the iMacs in college as well during class time to create the presentation

I will be using the internet

Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint

My own notes and lecturers hand-outs for information

Lecturers PowerPoint presentations

If possible speaking to people of the music industry

Talking to my lecturers for extra information

Key Stages and Timescales

After the creation of this plan comes the key stage of the development plan. I have 3 months to create everything and present the Graded Unit 2 to a panel of industry people. During all of the creation stages I will be learning the presentation as I go along as well as taking time at the end to learn everything properly. I have taken into consideration that my GANTT chart will not always go to plan but I will have to find the time to get everything done as well as this there will be topics that I have set out over 3 weeks but I may only take 2 weeks so that will be the time when everything will be moved forward so that there is time for anything to be done if I need it to.

Presentation Assessment Criteria

After the completion of my presentation I hope to take with me the knowledge that when it comes to the future and when I go for a job in the music industry that I know enough and that I am able to gain a career in this industry that I love. After great consideration as to how much work I will need to put into this to ensure that everything flows well and is relevant and takes up the allotted time of my presentation I hope that it shows that I am a hard worker and that I know enough about the current music industry to carry on my education so that I will be able to get a career out of this. The challenge for me will be to put my essays from last year into a presentation form and this will show again that I am ready for a challenge and that my hard work will hopefully pay off into me gaining a good grade.