Record Label
Record labels are responsible for the marketing of music recordings and music videos.
Record labels used to play a vital part in kick-starting an artists career. However through the proliferation of sites such as Youtube and Spotify many artists are able to showcase their musical talent without the reliance on record labels for marketing and financial backing.
Universal Music Group: UMG is the worlds leading music company. Founded in 1934 and currently owned by Lucian grainge, UMG accounts for 80% of all the worlds music. Through horizontal integration they own labels such as Island Records, Capital Records and Virgin EMI records. Artists associated with them include Sam Smith, Jessi J, Nicki Minaj and Maroon 5. Despite Universal having an overwhelming influence on the success of artists, they may not be an appropriate institution to promote Isla Gold. We envisioned her as an independent artist solely dedicated to the music, therefore we want to steer away from the dominant record labels who create a fantasised image of the artist and focus more on generating money than good music. Also our target audience would prefer an artist emerging from an independent record label as they would be more relatable and inspirational.
Cherry Red Records: This independent record company has over 35 years of experience and has signed a wide range of artists including Hawk Wind, The Fall and Suzi Quatro. Cherry Red would be an appropriate company for Isla to be signed to as they are a British company based in London. This is an advantage as Isla is a British artist herself, therefore she could have lots of meetings with the label and consolidate a good relationship. This relationship would prove helpful in her career as they would get to know her personality and preferences ensuring she is marketed in the best possible way.They also have more alternative artists on their books which is the genre of music Isla creates.
Rough Trade Records: This is another independent record label founded in 1978. Rough Trade is based in West London and has offices in London and New York. Similarly to Cherry Red Records, a decent relationship could be established with Isla and the record label due to their offices in London. Rough Trade have artists such as Palma violets, SOAK, and Warpaint. All of these artists create alternative music, similar to Isla, therefore Rough Trade would be experienced in marketing non-mainstream artists and would know how to attract the correct target audience. Rough Trade is also a record store , therefore Isla's music could be sold in the shop in the form of records helping to publicise her music.
The impact of technology on the distribution and exhibition of Isla
The proliferation of technology in recent years has led to a growth in sites such as Youtube and Spotify. Youtube is a key method of increasing Isla's fan base as it is easily accessible globally and free of charge. Sites such as Spotify have resulted in less people buying CD's and records as the music is available to them on the internet. Therefore we need to utilise the internet to market and distribute Isla by creating a website solely dedicated to promoting Islas music and image. The website would also be a good opportunity to sell merchandise and tour tickets, ensuring synergy is created. The website could also have links to her Instagram, twitter, and Facebook which makes her easily accessible to her fans.
Planning: Artist Name
We came up with the name of our artist today. We collectively agreed our artist needed to have a unique name that hints the genre of music the artist sings. Names such as Aria, Fleur and Adriana were discussed however after some debate we came up with the name Isla. Initially we thought having a one word name sounded better and more memorable.
We thought Isla Grey however sounded rather striking. After googling the name we realised it was the name of a famous writer, therefore we settled for Isla Gold which we felt was equally as good. Gold symbolises prosperity and success, therefore giving positive connotations for the artist. We also learnt that Isla Golds are flowers that grow in the sides of ditches and railroads, this means the name is symbolic as it shows how the artist, Isla Gold, is growing and blossoming like the flower. The yellow buds of the flower visually indicate Islas beauty despite the heartbreak and sense of abandoment she speaks of in the song Lost.
We then discussed the name of Islas album. Chloe immediately suggested "Gold Dust". We all loved this name due to it matching the name of the artist herself. It also suggests the songs on the album are beauiful, or as the name of the album suggests 'gold dust'.
Planning: Artist name
Creating a name for the artist was vital in order to build a clearer image of her in our minds. Whilst looking at other artists such as Birdy, Nina Nesbbitt and Gabrielle Aplin i noticed they all have rather whimsical, unique names. Personally I find Birdy's name has a large impact due to it being singular and relatively short. Therfore I would love my artist to have a not have a common name but a name more individual.
As a group we were finding it difficult to envision the artist of the music video. Therefore we did a quick exercise where I fired questions at Chloe such as "brunette or blonde", "rural and urban" and she had to pick one answer without pausing.
Results
BRUNETTE, YOUNG, FLOWERS, BOOTS, SKIRT, MINIMAL MAKEUP, JEWELLERY, SAD, BOYFRIEND, LONG JACKET, CASUAL, CLOUDS, FEILD, WINTER, RURAL
By the end we had a clearer vision of the personality/appearance of our artist. We agreed the girl should be naturally pretty with minimal makeup, we also want to base the video in winter in order to create the gloomy atmosphere. This exercise means we are now ready to commence our search for the actor in the video.
Leanne
Leanne is a classic example of who our artists needs to cater for. Leanne is an individual who is exposed to the work of up-and-coming indie artists and thus would have different expectations of music videos than that of a fan of the RnB genre
This is Leanne. She is 18 years old and lives in suburban London with her parents and younger sister. Her parents are office workers and she is currently a full time student.
She prides herself in her individual nature and discovering new artists and supporting them through till they hit the mainstream. A romantic at heart, Leanne loves a good indie love song among the likes of 'Vance Joy', 'Birdy' and 'Ed Sheeran'.
In her spare time, Leanne enjoys reading novels, attending the theatre to watch musicals and plays as well as going to concerts of the latest bands and artists at the local social club. She is an active member of the online communiy (twitter and tumblr) from which she tweets and blogs about the gigs she attends. Her reviews online are highly regarded by the fan bases of the aritsts as she manages to attend as many gigs and concerts as possible.
She tends to discover new acts through the wonderful world of the internet and specifically through Soundcloud and Youtube. Due to the amateur nature of these newly discovered artists, Leannes access to their music is often restricted to the online and download channel rather than the traditional concept of hard physical CD copy.
Core Audience - 16-19 year olds
Interests/hobbies
Most 16-19 year olds are still in some form of education, whether that be school/college or university. Our core audience is mostly those labelled as 'indie' or 'alternative', those who come under this category often enjoy non-mainstream music and relish in discovering new artists. They enjoy attending gigs and concerts of their favorite artists, often using this as an opportunity to meet new people who have the same interests as themselves.
Media consumption habits
The youth of society are stereotypically obsessed with social media and sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Tweeting comes as second nature to many people of this age and fan behavior is prominent , especially among teenage girls. Social media allows people to keep up to date with their favorite artists and gives them a platform to voice their opinions on a variety of issues.
These are some of the results from the online survey we conducted:
Music tastes
These results show music is an important part of our target audiences daily routine (94%). They generally listen to music through streaming online (56%), therefore we need to ensure our artists music is made available on sites such as Spotify and Youtube. Youtube is specifically important as 44% of those asked stated that's the method they use to discover new artists. The alternative genre also appears to be the most popular amongst those questioned (50%).
Artists
Our target audience appear to like a wide range of music from rap (Wiz Kalifa) to pop (Little Mix) to indie (Lana Del Ray). Their flexibility in terms of music genres is extremely beneficial as this means they will easily accept our artists indie vibe. Most of these artists also appear on the charts so we need to ensure our artist has a wide appeal.
Artists in order of popularity (alternative genre)
1) Ed Sheeran
2) Birdy
3) Gabrielle Aplin
4) Imagine Dragons
5) Frank Turner
6) Coldplay
7) Ben Howard
8) Nina Nesbitt
9) Vance Joy
10) Lorde
11) Diana Vickers
Ordering the artists in terms of popularity is useful as we can gain inspiration for our own artist by looking at the existing artists. We can also research the marketing techniques of these artists and incorporate them into Islas promotion.
Hobbies and Interests
Their responses show that our target audience is mostly outgoing and enjoy a wide range of things inluding music, films, concerts and parties. This suggests that we should market our artist as likeable and fun to give her the relatability factor. Their love of concerts also means our artist should do a concert tour as it gives our audience the opportunity to
see them live.
Our target audience expects to see a wide range of things in a music video. This includes dancers,a strong narrative and a variety of costumes. These responses have reassured us that we must avoid the predictable video of a girl simply singing with a guitar. Despite the song being slow we can still have a fast- cutting rhythm and a number of different locations/costumes.
Universal Music Group: UMG is the worlds leading music company. Founded in 1934 and currently owned by Lucian grainge, UMG accounts for 80% of all the worlds music. Through horizontal integration they own labels such as Island Records, Capital Records and Virgin EMI records. Artists associated with them include Sam Smith, Jessi J, Nicki Minaj and Maroon 5. Despite Universal having an overwhelming influence on the success of artists, they may not be an appropriate institution to promote Isla Gold. We envisioned her as an independent artist solely dedicated to the music, therefore we want to steer away from the dominant record labels who create a fantasised image of the artist and focus more on generating money than good music. Also our target audience would prefer an artist emerging from an independent record label as they would be more relatable and inspirational. 
Cherry Red Records: This independent record company has over 35 years of experience and has signed a wide range of artists including Hawk Wind, The Fall and Suzi Quatro. Cherry Red would be an appropriate company for Isla to be signed to as they are a British company based in London. This is an advantage as Isla is a British artist herself, therefore she could have lots of meetings with the label and consolidate a good relationship. This relationship would prove helpful in her career as they would get to know her personality and preferences ensuring she is marketed in the best possible way.They also have more alternative artists on their books which is the genre of music Isla creates. 
Rough Trade Records: This is another independent record label founded in 1978. Rough Trade is based in West London and has offices in London and New York. Similarly to Cherry Red Records, a decent relationship could be established with Isla and the record label due to their offices in London. Rough Trade have artists such as Palma violets, SOAK, and Warpaint. All of these artists create alternative music, similar to Isla, therefore Rough Trade would be experienced in marketing non-mainstream artists and would know how to attract the correct target audience. Rough Trade is also a record store , therefore Isla's music could be sold in the shop in the form of records helping to publicise her music.
