On Tape Records Chasing Freedom Music Marketing Dagmar Heijmans Members Yakari Gabriel 1674923 Joep Jansen 1680156 Miquel Pinas 1525105 Niek Geurtsen 1675236 Fain Altenberg 1669709 October 24th, 2017 University of Applied Science, Utrecht Minor Music Marketing and Media Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................. 0 Company Structure .................................................................................................................................2 Our Story ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Our Mission ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Our Vision ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Our Musical Style & Genre ..................................................................................................................... 5 Hip Hop ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Artists ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Value Proposition .................................................................................................................................. 10 Target Audience .................................................................................................................................... 10 Customer Personas ................................................................................................................................ 11 Example 1 ............................................................................................................................................ 11 Persona 2: .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Reaching our Target Audience ............................................................................................................. 13 Competitor Labels ................................................................................................................................. 14 Competitors in the Netherlands ....................................................................................................... 14 Worldwide competitors .................................................................................................................... 14 Marketing Plan ...................................................................................................................................... 15 Finances ................................................................................................................................................. 18 Raising Funds ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Company costs .................................................................................................................................. 18 Promotion costs ................................................................................................................................ 19 Sales and income ............................................................................................................................... 19 Partners .................................................................................................................................................. 21 Distribution ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Brands / Merchandise ........................................................................................................................ 21 Contracts ................................................................................................................................................ 21 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 22 Attachments ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Attachment 1 .................................................................................................................................... 24 Profit Sharing Agreement .................................................................................................................... 24 1 Company Structure Company structure for On Tape: (Main structure based on the company structure shown in the week 2 college decks of Dagmar Heijmans, 2017) On Tape is an independent record label, meaning that we operate without funding from a major record label. Because we are a small company, we want to outsource the legal department and the production. This is because there is not enough work for a full time legal department. We do not have the knowledge and resources to take production into our own hands. The CEO oversees the whole company and is responsible for new business deals. This is because new business deals could change the whole company drastically and he should have the full responsibility for these actions. The HR-department is responsible for hiring new employees and positioning. They should keep good relations with the other companies. The Finance department is responsible for all the finances that come in, and go out. They should also divide the royalties to the artists and employees. They also keep track of the salary and the worked hours. The marketing department is responsible for the main marketing and promotion of our artists, their music, and On Tape itself. They keep track of all the sales and work closely together with the finance, A&R, and Sales department. They also do the advertising, publicity, artworks, video’s, etc. etc. Next to they are responsible for outsourcing the legal 2 work and production. In this case they can find companies that fit our values the best. (Heijmans, 2017) The A&R department are the people who can spot new talent and work together with these artists to make sure they’re making good music which also sells. The Sales department will be the biggest department of our company. They will be responsible for the company’s contracts (in collaboration with the CEO), for the licenses, etc. And they will negotiate the deals. Next to that they will do the sales promotion and work closely together with the Marketing Department to check on the deals with the production company, and the legal work. The Business Model Canvas: 3 Our Story On Tape Records was founded with a simple belief in mind. That is that great artists deserve a great platform to be themselves. Here at On Tape, we believe that artist should not have to sacrifice artistic authenticity for commercial success. The founders of On Tape are not only a group of young and passionate Hip Hop lovers, who enjoy the genre. We actively want to contribute to it as well. We believe that Hip Hop culture is powerful. We have seen how it has brought people from all walks of life together. We have seen it cross boundaries such as age, race, religion and more. We have seen it save people from themselves. To many, Hip Hop is what nurtured us when the world got too harsh for our understanding. It is where we found comfort and joy. From coast to coast, we are continuously in search for innovation and artist to add to our collection of brilliant lyricist. As we carefully find, polish, and create a new wave of artists we invite every single Hip Hop lover in the world to hop on this journey with us. On Tape is from the people to the people, because just like you - we believe in freedom too. Our Mission By mixing old school with modern, On Tape Recordings aims to bring a new refreshed sound to the Hip Hop lovers of the world. Our Vision On Tape Recordings is a community of Hip Hop lovers known all over the world. By constantly innovating and playing with sound On Tape keeps it fresh. We listen to the fans, give them what they want and even what they did not know they wanted. 4 Our Musical Style & Genre Hip Hop The motivation behind the choice for Hip-Hop is that it is a very dominating genre of music within our age group. Hip-Hop culture has taken over mainstream media and it is always rap music that is topping the billboard charts. It is music we sing along to and consume often without even paying too much attention to the lyrics. We consume this music, we idolize these artists, we are in some way very invested in pop-culture. It seems to be governing everything from our language to the way we dress. Words such as “slay”, “on fleek”, “ain’t nobody pressing me” and the use of words as “be” where there should be an “is” are more common than not. Rap music started in the margins of society. Dating back to New York’s South Bronx in the 1960’’s. Rapping is the skill of rhyming over a beat, but along with it came break dancing, graffiti artists, block parties and a certain lifestyle that created “Hip-Hop” culture. Through the commercialization of the genre,