Evaluation on Graded Unit 2

For my graded unit 2 I had an objective to reach for each section of the core units. I did however make modifications to my original objectives. I had based my graded unit 2 presentation on the topic of a record label that I had set up to release my own music and other acts, I called my record label Starry-Eyed Records. Within this presentation I had incorporated the 14 core units that we had been taught during the course of the HNC and HND Music Business classes. As far as the objectives that I had set out to achieve, I feel like I did tick all the boxes however there were some modifications made from my plan to my presentation and some of my changes worked better than others. For a start I had to change my original plan of including a PPL membership due to the time scale. The same problem arose for my plan to discuss in depth the funding for touring and also my section including the CVs and PDPs. I also planned to create a merchandising contract but felt that I could give enough information on a slide instead. Apart from those reasons I feel like there were not many modifications made and I reached the objectives of the 14 core units for my presentation. 

Looking back on my graded unit 2 I feel like it is definitely something to be proud of. I feel like I did do enough research and I worked really hard to try and put it together. I would say that a good point of having a plan was that I could look back on it whenever I needed to remember what I was doing. I wrote it in a way that whenever I was unsure about what I was going to be doing next, the information I required was there and easy to see instead of having to search through it.  The SWOT analysis helped me as well as every time I looked at my plan, I would notice the fact that I got an A in last years graded unit so it spurred me on to really try to work hard at this. Also having my weakness there of getting stressed helped to calm me down so I could improve. However in saying this I do not feel like I completed my log book to the extent that I could have. I had internet issues at home which made me have to manually write a logbook and upload it at a later date. I also did not enjoy seeing the ‘Threats’ section of the SWOT analysis as it made them apparent to me and that worried me more. The GANTT chart basically didn’t exist to me, I completely forgot about it has changed massively as you will see in the attached files. The logbook however is a good thing to see how well I was coming along which also spurred me on to finish it. 

I overall am happy with my presentation. I feel like I showed my knowledge of the industry well but my main strength I feel was the marketing figures and market research that I carried out on myself as a YouTube artist. I feel like the figures and facts made it a lot more interesting and made the whole situation roll smoothly and tie together well. In saying this, my figures when it came to my budgets was not so good. I had not put the budgets together at a reasonable amount and it was made very clear to the panel I hadn’t been too careful in creating the budgets. Also another weakness I would say is silly basic knowledge that I by passed about collection societies made it seem as if I hadn’t paid attention and brought the standard of my presentation down a notch.

 In conclusion, I am overall feeling fairly positive about the presentation. I feel like if I had put a bit more time into this it would have been more put together and I would recommend to anyone doing this to go through both their portfolio pieces and presentations with a fine tooth comb to ensure that everything matches up well and no mistakes were made before you actually present your Graded Unit 2 in front of a panel. I would also highly recommend that you should really prepare yourself of every single piece of knowledge possible in relation to your presentation in order for the interview with the panel afterwards to go smoothly as the panel did not let anything wrong pass and there were a lot of questions asked which I was not prepared for. I wish I had spent more time focusing on what questions I could be asked about instead of practising my presentation which I already knew as I really feel like the interview after really let down everything I had been working on over the past months. In saying this I am proud of all the hard work I did put into this presentation and portfolio pieces and I am happy in the way in which my presentation was put across.