Music Marketing Project (#2)

So, we did it. We shot our first music video AND created a marketing plan for our new band. People really don't appreciate how much work goes into brainstorming, filming, and editing videos. It's a lot. Also, you might love the people in your band but not everyone rows the boat in the same direction. I've come around to believing the following: Group projects are like a roller coaster. You get strapped in with no escape, and you are just hoping everyone else will pull their weight.

Yet somehow, we made it!

Our journey started with research and quickly grew into a million ideas (some good, some not so good). We ended up with a project we're proud of. Everything from brainstorming to final edit was ours. Surprisingly, one of our biggest roadblocks was finding a place to film our video. Weston is beautiful but much of it is not quite the "look" for a heavy metal music video. We settled into a shot behind the AMC, as that's where Julio worked, and it actually turned out to be the perfect spot, along with some shots at the school. It was a wild ride but that's how we get better for the next project.

Enjoy our behind the scenes video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7auS17Wclp8

Music Marketing Project (#1)

Davis Rop, P4, 12/8/2024:

Our research and planning process for our music marketing project has been intense. Our final project will consist of a detailed marketing project plan (with the music video included) which will lay out our overall strategy to develop our band, get followers, and jump start our band, which consists of myself, Alessandra, Justin, and Julio, also known as DeathFly.

First things first, we had to come up with a few basics such as a name and logo for our heavy metal band. After going a few rounds, Alessandra came up with DeathFly. My first reaction was - “Really? Is that the best we can do?” Everyone else loved it. After a few minutes, I agreed to it and am happy to report that it has grown on me, and I am now a proud DeathFly member.

The logo was next. We sat around Canva and asked it to create a logo for us based on some key words. We definitely felt that a “fly” should be in there – we picked the one we like best and then chose the font that gave our band name the edginess we were going for. We added some fire and made everything black and red. Who knew a fly could be so rock ‘n roll? I can definitely envision this on merch or even tattoos.

At our core, and as you will soon see from our first single and video, DeathFly isn’t just going to be a band, it will be a movement for anyone who feels trapped and wants to break free. We want this single to serve as an anthem for those feeling trapped or disconnected. They get to express these feelings through us and our music. We offer an outlet for everyone’s inner rebel. Our song is about personal struggle and our line "Are you ready?" will lead to a great tagline, which we’re still working on.

Our target audience are teens and young adults, ages 15-35. They feel rebellious and are frustrated with the “rules” and gravitate toward heavy metal music. Essentially, they are looking for an outlet to bring out their inner rebel.

With these elements decided, we could then move on to discuss exactly who we are and what our plan is: to take over the world (musically speaking, obviously). To do this, we researched some of the great bands that came before us:

• Metallica: Unlike most bands, Metallica doesn't have a specific target audience, causing them to surge in popularity. In addition, their promotions of their music, like when one of their songs was used in the show Stranger Things, giving Metallica more publicity with people who weren't as familiar with their music.

• Green Day: What makes Green Day special is their reliance on old, traditional platforms to promote their music along with their activism for LGBTQ+ rights and environmental causes. 

• Deftones: Deftones' unique sound and exclusive merchandise at their shows make their band's songs and tours a smash hit. Deftones highly relies on tours and collaborates with numerous artists and designers.

• Ghost: Ghost filming and posting their behind-the-scenes content helps them establish a deeper and closer relationship with their fanbase. Ghost also comes up with super creative sets for their many tours, causing people to flock to their performances even if they aren't familiar with the band's music.

We also know that we need to address a few more ideas. We're currently working on a final plan regarding the following:

• Genre marketing
• Distribution trends (digital platforms, vinyl records for those who still collect them, and other collector items & limited edition merchandise) 
• Brainstorming how to use social media to our advantage

The following consists of the tasks that each of us have to do along with our deadlines for every major part of the project:

Davis Rop, Justin Swafford, Julio Gonzalez, Alessandra Perez, P4, 12/2/2024:

12/2/2024:

• Finalize & submit music research project

• Inform absent group members of assignment

12/4/2024:

• Start planning project

• Start storyboard

12/6/2024:

• Finish storyboard & submit

12/7/2024-12/8/2024:

• Film video from storyboard

12/9/2024-12/13/2024:

• Finish filming

• Start editing

• Start/finish merch

• Start/finish blog

12/14/2024-12/15/2024:

• Finish editing project

TASKS:

Davis:

• Character in video

• Storyboard constructor

• Edit video

• Working on blog

Justin:

• Cameraman for video

• Storyboard constructor

• Create the merch

• Working on blog

Julio:

• Character in video

• Storyboard constructor

• Create the merch

• Working on blog

Alessandra: 

• Character in video

• Storyboard constructor

• Edit video

• Working on blog