2. Band Profile
Name: The Big Channel
Age: 20-24
Album: Start with Typewriters
Previous releases: What was Chaos, Behind the Words, Not the Cause, the Sharp
Tongue of a good Friend
Genre: Pop Punk
Style: Skinny jeans, slogan/jokey shirts, vans/converse, intricate hairstyles (colourful,
unique), modern punk style, music is generally upbeat with heavy guitar rifts and drum
solos, band members are cocky but humorous, adored by their fans, friendly, very
casual etc.
Contemporaries: All Time Low, All American Rejects, Bowling for Soup, Chunk! No,
Captain Chunk!, The Dead Milkmen, Elliot Minor, Fall out Boy, Green Day, Mayday
Parade, My Chemical Romance, New Found Glory, The offspring, Simple Plan, Taking
Back Sunday, Wheatus and so on.
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3. Objectives
What are the objectives for this project?
The objective of this project is to create the new face of Pop Punk music everywhere! I want the band to
collaborate with other big Pop Punk bands/musicians and sell the most super unique music the pop punk
world has ever seen! Also need to ensure the band get at least nationally globally recognised! I’d like to
see this happen within at least a year.
Who do you want to target?
I intend to target predominantly females from ages 16+, the music can be used to help them get over a
break up, cheer them up or just generally make them feel jolly and better or more passionate about the
music. It can apply to males too.
How many records do you want to sell?
At a minimum I’d like to sell 95,000 and at a maximum 100,000 in the first month – this is quite a low target
to reach, but as Pop Punk isn’t usually featured on mainstream radio it’d be harder for the records to sell
as opposed to something like pop culture music, it is more common than rock and metal, however.
What would make this a successful exercise?
Play as many small scale or large gigs as possible to get the band more nationally recognised, I’d like this
done over the first few months, post video clips and live recordings of gigs on places like YouTube as
constantly as possible to gain new followers from possibly different countries and even catch the attention
of a recording company who would sign them on and get them bigger, maybe even get them nationally
recognised. I’d also create accounts on social media sites and post content on there for it to be recognised
by other bands who could potentially promote the band I’d like this to be created when the band is first
recognized, also create as many events as possible: involve them in charity events (playing free gigs all
throughout the year etc.), let them go busking to gain local attention or something like Selby Fun Day
which includes various local bands playing live for their community, it can be paid or free.
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4. Audience
Who is the audience for this band?
The audience for this band is adolescents and young adults. Also because the band is made up of young, all male members, it’s more predominantly
females that will take an interest although males are welcome to like it too. It’s more common that they are not religious as most of the lyrics and song
meanings are quite fruity and mischievous, with an array of innuendo’s and hidden meanings twisted in to the mix. When looking at the chosen
demographic for bands like: All Time Low, Panic! At the Disco, All American Rejects, Bowling for Soup and Chunk! No Captain, Chunk! It’s generally
young females who attend their shows, events and buy their merchandise the most – as The Big Channel is very close in comparison to these bands,
I believe they will have the same sort of demographic following them.
What age are they?
I think the chosen demographic would be anywhere between 16 – 25 year olds, this is due to the general aura of the band. Pop punk bands are known
to be boisterous, silly, womanizers which is exactly why this age group would find them the most appealing, it’s during a time of self discovery and
new beginnings and this is where most people turn to music to comfort them or effectively ‘show them the way’, or because it’s predominantly females
fawning over a male band, new obsessions and celebrity crushes.
What do they look like?
Although these fans seem quite uncomfortable, it is without a doubt that they are in the presence of their favourite pop punk band and the looks of
desperation are actually faces of awe and enjoyment! They generally wear dark or bright clothing (there is no in between or it’s a mixture of both), their
clothes are either made up of skinny jeans, vans and makeup consisting of dark, winged eyeliner or baggy clothes, including band merch and a variety
of different band bracelets aligning their wrists! As we can observe here, there is a mixture of males and females – yet the females seem to be more in
numbers. Their hair is generally dark and spiky, each style unique and differing from the other. In retrospect, they dress a lot like the band members
do.
Who else do they like?
They mostly like bands who are very similar to The Big Channel, they like bands like: You Me at Six, All Time Low, All American Rejects, New Found
Glory, Bowling for Soup and other bands which mix humorous songs with beautiful lyrics and crazy drum and guitar solos.
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5. Media
What media will you use and why? Be specific about the platforms you will use.
I would use a mixture of media, this includes interesting, aesthetically pleasing posters of the band with the bands name plastered at the top of the
page, these could be posters for venues, gigs and events – if it’s bright and colourful, it will definitely draw the attention of many, including consumers
from a completely different demographic.
I’d also feature their stuff on YouTube so that fans can get extra ‘freebies’ from the band, including exclusive content like behind the scenes to creating
the music, creating the music videos and back stage filming. This could also include interviews or a video with a bunch of videos all rolled in to one to
create an advertisement type of thing so more people would see the band and what their like and potentially take interest.
What magazines might they get in to?
The type of magazines that The Big Channel would get in to would generally be aimed at the same market they’re going for, 16-25 year old females
and males who are more in to alternative bands as opposed to the pop culture, therefore the band would be featured in magazines such as: Kerrang!
Which is solely based on providing the UK with events, interviews, information, gigs, venues and celebrity biographies/stories. This is the perfect type
of magazine for my band to go in to. There is also Rocksound TV, Alternative Press (AP) and Rock One which all aim at very similar audience to
Kerrang! Which is exactly what my band needs, these magazines can promote the band for the national/global success they desire, they can also
promote their other music or let the audience find out a little bit more about their favourite band.
What TV channels would they be on?
There aren’t many alternative music TV channels and there are very limited mainstream TV/Music channels that would feature this type of music on
their air time. The channels that are solely focused on releasing alternative music is: Kerrang! TV and Scuzz which feature metal, pop punk/skate
punk rock, old rock and alternative music. The only other times pop punk might be featured on mainstream TV is when there is a documentary on
history/present day pop punk or if a member of a band has done a nefarious act and is in a lot of trouble from the police and so on.
Which radio stations would play their music?
There are a few radio stations that would play pop punk/alternative music, these include: Alternative Pop-Punk Internet radio, idobi.com,
rockradio.com, Last.fm, Kerrang! Radio, XFM, 1.FM and so on. These particular radio stations focus completely on rock music, whether old or new
and all of the different types of alternative music. It’s rare but it happens, sometimes mainstream radio stations like: Capital or Radio one will feature
this kind of music, especially if it was in a recently released movie, such as: Linkin Park’s ‘What I’ve Done’ was played on mainstream radio after the
release of the new Transformers movie.
Who would they give interviews to?
I think it’s quite obvious that the kind of people the band would get interviewed by would be: presenters on music channels or radio stations who are
keen to learn more about the band, promote their music and let the fans/music lovers find out a little more about the band. Other people could include:
interviewers at rock festivals or gigs, these could also include journalists who see the opportunity to write an article about the band or do a Q&A sort of
thing for the fans/music lovers to read in their magazines.
6. Media
Which forms of social media would you use and how would you use social media?
The age range I’ve chosen to aim at are generally the ones who spend most of their time on a range of social media, so to gain the most attention
from fans/potential fans/music lovers etc. I’ve chosen to aim at a range of social media, this should generate a lot more productivity and more interest
from a wider range of demographic.
Facebook: where exclusive photographs, videos and behind the scene action can be accessed by fans. I’d also include contests and giveaways so
that fans take a keener interest, especially if they are obsessed with the band. They could release competitions for fans to take part in which as a prize
option could be: meeting the band, attending a concert for free with a ticket or two spare for friends, band merchandise and so on.
Twitter: I could use this to create a sort of Q&A where the band can reply to fans, obviously there would be quite a few questions coming in at once,
so it’d only be an event on a few occasions, most of the content posted here would also be posted on Facebook too – the good thing about the Q&A is
that bands rarely do this, most of the time they are just on these social media sites to get more followers or media attention, but this way, it grabs the
attention and gets more followers because the band actually engage with the audience.
Tumblr: Tumblr is a place where the band can release photographs, answer questions and share interests with their followers, they do this by
blogging about their own interests and desires and fans can pick up on it and follow the same kind of stuff too, this would make the fans feel closer to
the band and it could effectively be used as a Q&A type of thing too, the questions gathered by the band can then be used to answer during a video on
YouTube or Vine, Facebook or Twitter. However, Tumblr is very easy to get in trouble on so they’d have to be very careful!
Vine: Vine is a good way to release short videos of gigs, band + fans meeting or just showing the band goofing off which is quite important to the fans
as it shows they’re just as silly and less intimidating than what the typical stereotype of a famous person usually is.
Instagram: Is a good place for fans of the band to go and look at exclusive pictures, this can be of the band members individually or the group as a
whole, it also gives the band the opportunity to respond to their fans, it’s also a good place for the band to promote themselves and get a lot of
potential new fans or viewers.
Snapchat: Is a lot like Vine and Instagram combined, it’s a place where videos and pictures of the band can be shared with fans and music lovers, it’s
also a bit more personal and there is less damage limitation on these kind of apps, so the band members are free to post whatever they like on their
‘stories’ which fans can view if they’ve chosen to add them – the accounts would most likely be each members personal one, rather than a shared
account which would be quite important to fans who have ‘picked’ a favourite member of the band. This also makes puts the message across that the
band are just as normal and goofy as the next person, which would make the audience even fonder of them.
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7. Merchandise
What merchandise would you use to promote this band?
Each piece of merchandise is different to the next, whether it’s for one band or many different ones! There are several types of merchandise for sale
for hundreds of different types of bands, for example: One Direction decided to manufacture and sell dolls of themselves, which younger fans all
around the world revelled about.
As The Big Channel is more of a national band rather than a global one, I think keeping merchandise nice and simple will be more appealing to their
fans rather than pushing the boat out to create very weird, very unique merchandise products like: dolls or condoms like JLS decided to use as a
marketing tool to promote themselves.
The merchandise would be sold on official band pages and online alternative clothing stores like: EMP, Attitude Clothing, Four Leaf Clothing and so
on.
I think the best, most bought type of merchandising is clothing. The band should produce a large range of shirts, jumpers, sweatshirts, jackets,
hoodies (zip up and pullovers), jeans, skirts, dresses, shorts, socks and other clothing types with their band logo, pictures of the band, quotes, lyrics,
gimmicks like: Mrs. ‘last name of band member’ and album covers from EP’s, their latest album and other albums. As this is the most common type of
merchandising, a lot of fans would take a keen interest and be willing to pay for it! Which brings me to price, when it comes to shirts and upper body
clothing, it can range from £15 -18 for each, for lower body clothing it can range from: £15 - £20, the smaller stuff like socks can go from £5 - £10
where things like dresses can go for £20 - £25.
Just keeping it based on clothing would be pretty boring and not generate a lot of interest! Selling albums, EP’s, bags, jewellery, wrist bands, patches,
posters, plaques, key rings, stickers, badges, lanyards, skateboard decks, picks and so on. All of these would be for quite low prices, the bags, EP’s,
albums and plaques would probably be in and around the £15 - £30 area whereas the rest would most likely be under £5.
Another thing they could do was create merchandise bundles, where they put a random array of merchandise in to a box, about 5-10 pieces of merch
in each, the fans/audience pay for it collectively for about £15 - £20 and they receive a new bundle in the mail every time a new album is released or
instead of that, once every 8 months.
This merchandising strategy is used by a wide variety of alternative and pop punk bands, this includes: All Time Low, Linkin Park and many more. The
merchandise for sale is sold by almost every type of band that’s been around for a while, as The Big Channel have been.
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8. Manage the message
What is the message you want to communicate about this band?
"…make an album that we felt reflected the best aspects of our previous releases.” is the message that The Big Channel set out to do and completely
achieved by a landslide! A lot of bands say this when they release a new album, however, The Big Channel ensured that their musical brilliance and
innovative lyrics smacked viewers in the face with realistic issues and standards whilst maintaining their unique, silly attitude. I feel like the biggest
selling point, however, is actually the band members themselves. The idea of the new album, ‘Start With Typewriters’ was to let their beloved fans get
to know them better, it was also to let them know that they will consistently produce good music, they wanted the audience to know that as a band and
as role models to some fans; they will do their best to involve them in everything, not drastically change and keep their work consistent in style and
sound but change it up enough that new albums, tracks and EP’s have their own, unique selling point.
When fans/music lovers look at the bands videos, photographs or personal posts on social networking sites, their unique styles and silly, humorous
attitude to life makes them more appealing and loveable than they already are. The idea of the new album was not just for the audience to get to know
the band and relate to them in a way only few fans can to their favorite bands, but to re-visit old styles that gained them the initial success in old EP’s
and Album’s like, ‘Behind the words’ and, ‘The sharp tongue of a good friend’.
‘Bringing back sounds of Behind the Words whilst maintaining a new, fresh music style’ – Absolutepunk.net
‘From a purely musical standpoint, there’s no question that this is The Big Channel’s best work to date.’ – Alternative Press
‘The Big Channel swallowed their pride, rededicated themselves, and ended up making the best record yet’ – All Music Guide
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9. Hyperbole
What are the words you will use? What words will help you sell and will
appeal to your audience?
‘I’ve listened to the songs a thousand times and it never gets old!’
‘It doesn’t get any better than this’
Best seller
Record breaking
Like silk to the ears
A lot better than your average pop track
Unique and inspirational
So good even grandma listens to it
One of the greatest albums of all time
Musical masterpiece
Lyrical genius
This years biggest track
A million times better than their previous work
Warning: Includes songs that really play with your heart strings
Leaves your head spinning
These songs will rock your world!
Intense new sounds from the worlds best pop punk artists!
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10. Events
What events would you put on as part of the promotion of this band and
album?
As The Big Channel is a band that’s been around for a little bit, I feel like small gigs all over the country would be a great way to raise awareness, if
the gigs are small they would generally be low cost which makes it a lot easier for fans to gain access and the more small gigs played in every
accessible venue throughout the country will also make it a lot easier for fans to make it and see the band live, this also shows initiative and could
potentially get the band more fans as it shows they are willing to do as many shows as possible, big or small so that the fans can attend, wherever
they live. It’s only until they have a considerable amount of fans and gigs that they can think about touring in another country or going on a huge arena
tour.
Another idea is to be a headlining act to a more widely known pop punk band, for example: All American Rejects, The Dead Milkmen, All Time Low,
Bowling for Soup and so on. This not only get the band promoted to the similar bands demographic, but it also gets recognition from their managers
who might pass on information to record companies which might offer The Big Channel an a amazing opportunity. Doing this a lot will ensure success,
especially in gaining more fans who, when thinking about the bigger band, will also think about The Big Channel.
They could also appear in record stores locally and nationally, this will give their fans the opportunity to meet them in person and get a piece of
merchandise signed by a band member which would increase the value of the object. This is very good because it shows the fans that they’re thought
of and involved in the bands life and road to success, this can be very important for fans who have turned to the bands music for personal reasons, if
they feel the band has helped them with their music and they meet them in person, even a photograph could be worth millions to them. This would
definitely promote the band and get them more fans, maybe even some media coverage like a news story or an article in a local newspaper, a blog or
on a news website which is still very good.
They could also appear on TV chat shows or game shows, this gives the band the opportunity to be themselves and show the public what they’re
really like when they aren’t performing or writing music behind closed doors. Chat and game shows are generally aired during the afternoon when the
age group the band is aiming at is most likely at home, even if they don’t watch TV, clips and articles would be posted to the bands social media sites
where the fans can follow a link and watch the band in action, answering questions (so the fans find out more about individual members or the band
as a whole which is very important to some fans), singing live, making jokes or showing off their skills. Viewers who aren’t fans could potentially
become fans after they watch them during the chat/game show or look more in to the band when the show is over. This would also receive a lot of
media coverage which is very important as it could lead to articles or interviews.
They could also appear at charity events or do a random act of kindness which will receive them a lot of publicity! They could perform at a charity
event and a certain percentage of the donations received would go towards the said charity, this means they could do challenges like: performing for
more than a certain amount of hours, create a song which helps raise awareness for the charity (they could collaborate with other bands or musicians
for this too), pushing themselves to the extreme and go hiking or something exotic to raise money for the charity and so on. Like I said, this would gain
them a large amount of publicity which would lead to more people checking out the band and what they do, it also shows their fans how caring and
considerate they are and they could spread the word.
11. Internal motivation
What is the motivation behind this project?
The motivation behind this project is to receive more publicity for the band so that they can finally expand their horizons and
move on from local and occasional national gigs to global and nationwide tours in large arenas and celebrity events, there is
also the aspect of the fans! As great as the local fans are, it would be great to cater to the fans all around the country and
potentially all around the world, reaching and performing for them would be a great success. Also to work and collaborate
with bigger pop punk bands like the ones who inspired The Big Channel to form their band and start their career. The new
album serves as a starting point for this as it incorporates all of the different styles and musical techniques the band has
experimented with over the past few years they’ve been performing and releasing music, it also gives the opportunity for
fans and non fans alike can get to know the band members as a few of the songs are written by different members of the
band instead of it being written and solely focused on by one.
What is it an important project for you?
It’s an important project for me, personally because it’s my job to help this band reach their goals and fuel their motivation, I
have to make sure I do my job properly and get them the recognition they deserve. I plan to do this by making all of the right
decisions that involves their fans, keeps them up to date and applies to the public which will earn them more fans and more
recognition which would hopefully get them a big break, whether that is performing nationally, globally or having more fans to
release their music to.
Why is it an important project for the band?
It’s an important project for the band because the motivations mentioned earlier are all goals that they intend to reach,
they’ve been dreaming of global fame from the early days of their band forming, it was a giant break through when they
reached success with their first few albums, they really want this one to hit home and get them recognition, publicity,
worldwide fame, a bigger fan base and the opportunity to collaborate with other bands who actually inspired the band to form
and perform in the first place. It’s important for everyone to have a dream, to be able to almost reach it is the luckiest break
in the world and they are so close to it.
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12. Motivation of media
Why would the media be interested in this project?
The media would be interested in this project because it’s a group of inspirational young men trying to make an impact in the music world, as it’s a band
who shows a lot of potential alongside musical talent, the media should be all over it. The only difference to this band in comparison to widely known boy
bands is that they didn’t get famous from showing their talent on a TV show, they’re also a part of a niche genre of music in comparison to pop music and
so on. The media would still be wildly interested in the project though as once they hear about the band making their own events, taking part in others,
performing small gigs all over the country, headlining for bigger acts and taking part in charitable events. There is also the social networking sites,
YouTube videos and other parts of the media they have expanded to, if say one of their videos goes big and gets shared on blogs, various social
networking sites or even online radio’s/magazines then media like: magazines, newspapers, local/national/global radio will pick up on them and become
genuinely interested in their work, it needs to be within their own genre of media, like a magazine that features stories on niche bands or alternative music.
Which parts of the media or media products (be specific) would be interested
in the project?
I feel like magazines such as Kerrang would be one of the media products to pick up on the project, in a section of the magazines they introduce a new,
upcoming band every week and tell the readers a little bit about them, I feel like they’d use this space to introduce The Big Channel as their demographic
fits directly. Not only that but Kerrang and other alternative music magazines looks for real, musical talent in niche bands which is exactly what The Big
Channel has to offer, Kerrang, Hammer and so on; are UK magazines therefore it wouldn’t take very long for them to pick up on the band, especially if they
managed to headline for a more famous band, as journalists and researcher’s for these magazines go to these gigs, the band could also be featured in
them that way, by receiving praise during an article on the overall performance. Not only could they feature them but the bands music videos could be
featured on Kerrang TV and their songs on Kerrang radio, this gets the band more fans, money and fame – whilst it gives the magazine more fans, money
and publicity also, especially if the band do very well.
I feel like a lot of online radio dedicated to niche/alternative/rock music will also feature their songs on their stations – because it’s an online radio, it would
be easier for the people running it to find The Big Channel’s music, they could also promote their music and get them more of the attention they deserve,
this brings more fans for the band and for the radio and is overall a win-win situation.
They could be featured on TV chat shows like: Alan Carr Chatty Man where the band would be asked questions on their story to success which would
appeal to some fans, or they could be asked other music related questions which gives actual fans the opportunity to learn more about the artists and their
music. The best thing about the TV show is that it’s uploaded to places like YouTube or the channel in which the TV show is hosted on might have
something like 4OD which allows fans to watch the TV show online later in the day or week. Not only could it be chat shows but it could also be game
shows like: Celebrity Juice where the band or a band member can have a bit of a laugh with other celebrities which gives them the opportunity to form
unique friendships and show off their knowledge and humour skills at the same time.
They could also be featured on mainstream radio, as pop punk is a little more relaxed as opposed to metal or rock music, it’s generally accepted by the
general public and they probably wouldn’t mind much if they were forced away from the same 6 songs to listen to a new pop punk track, especially if it’s
catchy and as good as The Big Channel’s work. Not only could it be featured on mainstream radio but it would definitely be featured on alternative/niche
radio stations that play music within similar genres to pop punk. This receives an influx of listeners, fans and so on. Giving the band the opportunity to ask
questions sent in by fans/listeners will also increase the popularity of the band and the radio station. 12
13. Motivation of media
Which parts of the media or media products (be specific) would be interested
in the project?
They would also receive a lot of interest on social media sites, especially if the content they post is good and frequent enough for fans to have constant
updates on band life, album releases, song progress and events. As long as the content released on the social networking site is good and up to the
standard that the fans require, it will receive a lot of attention, posting things like: videos and photographs/stills from YouTube, Vine, Snapchat, gigs and
behind the scenes action along with cross promoting things like merchandise, other social media sites the band use, gig posters, photo shoot posters, links
to articles they’ve been included in along with reviews and events and so on, this gives fans and non fans alike the opportunity to easily find out information
on the band, the things they do, what they’re like and so on. This brings in a mass influx of fans which in turn brings in more gig and merchandise sales,
more people sharing status’, links etc. which could lead to more popularity which in turn could get the band bigger gigs like arenas or festivals which would
be covered with publicity and so on.
For their charity events, they could be featured in TV commercials which ask the public to send in donations to go to a particular charity. If the band is
sponsoring one, they could produce a song which could be featured in the ad or they, themselves could be featured in it with voice over’s or appearances
which would appeal to their fans, and because they have quite a large fan base, this could mean an increase in donations sent to the chosen charity which
is very helpful to them and very helpful to the band as it could receive publicity.
An advertising agency could take interest in the release of their new album and see it as the ‘next biggest thing’ then produce web advertisements or TV
commercials for the promotion of the bands album, this would bring in quite an array of fans and interest – not only that but it would mean a lot of money
for the advertising agency if the ad’s do well, not to mention it would be very good for the band too.
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14. Promotional Materials
Now you have the plans in place, choose some of the following items to
produce for your band:
• Album packaging
• T-shirt design
• Tour poster
• Web site mock up
• Social Media Mock up
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