This blog will look at the market research I have already conducted and the results. These results have significantly impacted the development of Atlas Music (impacting almost every decision made in the previous several posts). Specifically, this post will look at the results of Focus Group and Interviews. Competitors, Potential Client Industries and The Customer Journey have been covered within previous blog posts. I am still currently researching Industry Reports and conducting Questionnaires for use in the final business plan for Atlas Music.
Focus Group
Whilst I had a limited timeframe when it came to questionnaire dissemination, I managed to have 3 local musicians take part in a brief focus group to find out their thoughts and the viability of Atlas Music; one comment in particular was interesting:
“You have to be very careful with image. A lot of bands won’t want to have their music featured in a product or video where the producer is some big faceless company”
This is true – a punk band won’t want their music featured in an overly (or even partially) corporate-style video; it just won’t happen. Luckily, the music that is likely to have an issue with the corporate image is easily identified using generic labels – punk, metal and indie music are the most likely to have issues (many have a ‘rage against the machine’ mentality. Of course, this can be combated by only putting them forward for businesses that don’t carry that corporate image – i.e. independent shops, independent wrestling companies.
In particular, one participant who is in a local pop-punk band felt that the idea could work, but that:
“You have to be able to prove the service will be good for them if you’re wanting to sign away one of their songs. Bands like to retain control so the reason has to be really, really solid”
Whilst we have addressed this concern from the client’s perspective in a previous blog post, we haven’t yet addressed it from the band’s, which is a very prudent point. We need the local musicians for our service to work – if they aren’t willing to sign away the rights to a song, our business would fail. To combat this, we would have to use modified contracts initially (most likely whilst running our service for free as a trial) that would allow the band an escape clause to retain the rights to their recording in the event they aren’t happy with the service. We would only do this for as long as necessary – the escape clause makes the contract and by extension the service too volatile and dependent on an artists whims to run successfully.
Overall, the majority of the focus group’s comments were very complimentary – aspects that were praised particularly strongly include:
- The social enterprise aspect
- The branding and name
- The fact that the musicians only need to put up one of their songs, rather than a full EP or album.
The final point is one I had not previously considered incorporating into the marketing strategy (on the musician side of the business). It is certainly an interesting point and our company is unique in the sense being spoken of – almost all record labels require a commitment to write and record several releases’ worth of material, rather than just one song.
Interviews
I interviewed an employee of an events venue to ask their opinions on the idea and if/what they would use the service for. They wanted to retain anonymity.
“This idea is really good for showreels and maybe we could find a decent live band to open one of our trade shows or something like that but honestly from a venue perspective there isn’t too much else we could use you for”
I asked which companies they would recommend contacting based on what we are offering:
“Video production companies are always looking for music, that’s why I mentioned showreels usually it’s crappy stock music”
This comment correlates perfectly with previous market research I have conducted – stock music isn’t low quality but it is boring and generic. Brand identity is more important now than ever before due to so many industries being over-saturated – every creative decision has to count and stock music simply isn’t going to help any company stand out from the crowd.
I next moved the conversation to price and cost:
“It would really depend on the quality – a fixed cost isn’t going to work with this. If you have a range you generally aim for that’s fine but negotiation is going to be a thing for every transaction. If you can get the perfect music for a company then you’re set to earn a lot potentially”
This is interesting and something I hadn’t thought of previously. In terms of cost and price structure, it would have to depend on the company and quality of music. A small video production company looking for music for a showreel won’t be able to pay the same as an independent shop in the city centre, or a wrestling promotion based in Selly Oak. The setting of a general price range may be the best way to deal with this issue.
Whilst I am still in the process of conducting questionnaires and researching industry reports, I believe between the information within this post and previous market research-based posts, I have proven the viability of Atlas Music in terms of service, branding and market. The business plan itself will have a comprehensive marketing strategy within it (including social media strategy) based on the results of the full range of market research I am currently conducting.
Alex Orr Professional Blog 