Primary Research:

For my primary research I have conducted online questionnaires with four different musicians that I feel would benefit from my service. Below are the online questions I asked and the replies I received. 

The first person I interviewed was from a new band called Van Laun, they are based in Portsmouth:

I will ask many different musicians questions on their aims of success. By filling in this questionnaire you are agreeing that I may use this information in my degree project.

I plan on create a music agency that focuses on promoting new music artists and bands. For musicians that aren’t yet with a record label, I can help the transition to this. Through photo-shoots and music events, I will help get your music known and recognised, I want to work alongside you and give you success. If you think this agency could benefit you then please fill in my questionnaire, thank you.

Name of artist/ band: Van Laun

When did you realise you wanted to become a musician? And why?

I’ve always been interested in music but I first really wanted to learn to play guitar when listening to ‘Don’t Look Back Into The Sun’ by The Libertines. I never really had any intentions of being in a band until I taught my brother to play guitar and we started writing songs.

What are your thoughts on the music industry?

I’m not really a fan of the state of music at the moment or the music industry itself. I rarely find any new music that I like and believe there’s too much importance put on boy/girl bands. If a band or musician does manage to break into the charts it seems they’re not given enough time to be successful, often being dropped from their label after 1 or 2 albums. I know the music industry is a business which needs to make a profit but that’s all they seem to care about, too much focus on money rather than music.

How do you promote yourself/ band so that people know about your music?

We promote ourselves the way most other bands do, through the use of social media using twitter, facebook etc. But I think the most effective way is to gig as much as you can and get people listening to your music.

I plan on creating a music agency that focuses on promotion. While you concentrate on the music, I will create and organise photo-shoots, music events and styling. Do you think this could benefit you and why?

I think this could be a massive help for bands/artists as it will give more time for writing songs and practicing. Also promoting our band and organising gigs are the things I dislike and would rather just stick to making and playing music. 

What do you think a record label helps you with?

I think they help you with getting your music made and getting it heard.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time musically?

In 5 years time I would like to be headlining Glastonbury but whatever happens I’ll still be playing and writing music.

I have then asked Chris Priest to do my questionnaire, he was in a band called On The Spot but now he is producing his own music while at University in Leeds:

I plan to create a music agency that focuses on promoting new music artists and bands. For musicians that aren’t yet with a record label, I can help the transition to this. Through photo-shoots and music events, I will help get your music known and recognised, I want to work alongside you and give you success. If you think this agency could benefit you then please fill in my questionnaire, thank you.

Name of artist/ band: Chris J Priest

When did you realise you wanted to become a musician? And why?

When I was 13, because I’d been playing music since I was 7 and listening to music for as long as I could remember.

What are your thoughts on the music industry?

It’s temperamental. I think anyone who reaches a certain level of skill will attract an audience, but the promotion and development of young, up and coming talent is a lot less consistent.

How do you promote yourself/ band so that people know about your music?

I currently focus more on creating music than promoting it. I release music on my facebook, soundcloud and youtube accounts, but my long term plan is to wait until I have finished my album before focusing on a large scale promotional campaign.

I plan on creating a music agency that focuses on promotion. While you concentrate on the music, I will create and organise photo-shoots, music events and styling. Do you think this could benefit you and why?

Yes, because finding time to promote a product whilst still creating music. I stopped focusing on self promotion as it causes me to sacrifice creativity, so having the promotional aspects dealt with by a third party would be massively helpful.

What do you think a record label helps you with?

Given the rise of resources that have come with the internet generation, I think of a record label as more of a marketing  department and less of a record label in a conventional sense, as most music revenue no longer comes from “record sales”. Distributing music online and in shops is now very cheap and easy, through tunecore, cd baby and band camp, however reaching a mass market is much more difficult.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time musically?

I aim to have established my own studio to serve as a base for my solo albums, freelance production projects and art based music projects. I aim to have reached a point where my music can be my sole income, allowing me to focus entirely on creativity.

If there are any services you think would benefit you or your band, please state them here:

Marketing services, such as:

Social media marketing campaigns

Press releases

Articles in magazines

Radio play/interviews

Bookings for festivals

Brand and image development

Anything to raise general brand awareness

Music videos

Promo photography

My third questionnaire was sent to Dave, he is part of a DJ group called, Sly-One Constant. He has had huge success, Djing all around the world so I thought it would be interesting to see how someone has done it for themselves. I am not sure however, that I will be aiming my service at DJ's but it was really interesting to get his feedback:

I plan on create a music agency that focuses on promoting new music artists and bands. For musicians that aren’t yet with a record label, I can help the transition to this. Through photo-shoots and music events, I will help get your music known and recognised, I want to work alongside you and give you success. If you think this agency could benefit you then please fill in my questionnaire, thank you.

Name of artist/ band: Sly-One

When did you realise you wanted to become a musician? And why?

I had a go at music back in primary school; started in bands and wanted to play guitar like every kid in school. I sort of fell out of love with being in bands and playing instruments and wanted to try a hand at producing a few years later, when I was roughly in year 11. I got really into and wanted to take it seriously when I hit sixth form as I began to get a real ear for electronic music and could see people my age producing/DJing and seemed to be doing quite well at it. This made me want to take it further as It appeared to be realistic and I began to see potential in myself as an artist and felt I as though I should probably act on it.

What are your thoughts on the music industry?

In regards to a commercial aspect, I personally feel that the chart topping tracks we hear at the moment seem to be 'samey' and some what dull. We appear to be stuck in this meaningless musical aesthetic where by all the tracks share the same narrative, in that all they seem to talk about is money, drinking and clubbing. I think it would be nice to see a change in direction and perhaps begin to see some more organic elements introduced into the scene. However there seems to be a rising from the underground scene, as many electronic producers are combining electronic sounds with 'real' ones. For example 'Disclosure' and 'Bondax'. 

How do you promote yourself/ band so that people know about your music?

As obvious as it sounds; Facebook is a great platform when it comes to promotion. This is because almost everyone has one, and is on it for a large part of the day. We also rely heavily on word of mouth; simply talking to people when you're out and about and letting them know what you do.

I plan on creating a music agency that focuses on promotion. While you concentrate on the music, I will create and organise photo-shoots, music events and styling. Do you think this could benefit you and why?

Yeah of course. I believe that synergy is a great way to promote in the sense that if you help someone, they will be more inclined to help you.

What do you think a record label helps you with?

Well if you are looking to get people take yourself and your music seriously; then getting releases gives you a sense of professionalism as it shows that a label is willing to put money and effort into your music. It's a good look to have releases on record labels and definitely grabs attention from promoters which will get you gigs.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time musically?

Musically; It's hard to tell really as the music industry changes and can change at any time. I like to think we would have progressed in production a great deal, meaning we will be at the forefront of whatever the music industry throws at us.

If there are any services you think would benefit you or your band, please state them here:

Sharing our Facebook page?

My final questionnaire that I conducted was with an inspirational producer, I wanted to get his feedback as he is from another part of the music industry. I will be focusing my brand at bands and solo artists but getting feedback from a range of different artists have helped dramatically.

This questionnaire was filled out by Connor Macfarlane:

I will ask many different musicians questions on their aims of success. By filling in this questionnaire you are agreeing that I may use this information in my degree project.

I plan on create a music agency that focuses on promoting new music artists and bands. For musicians that aren’t yet with a record label, I can help the transition to this. Through photo-shoots and music events, I will help get your music known and recognised, I want to work alongside you and give you success. If you think this agency could benefit you then please fill in my questionnaire, thank you.

Name of artist/ band:  Connor McFarlane

When did you realise you wanted to become a musician? And why? 

When I was around year 9, I love all kinds of music and enjoy being a part of the process that brings a band or artists’ music from them to the public.

What are your thoughts on the music industry?  

I do not like the way labels are using and exploiting upcoming artists to their money gaining advantage. Even shows like X Factor which end up leaving many artists in a debt as they are not aware of the pitfalls they may encounter.

How do you promote yourself/ band so that people know about your music? 

Not at the moment, I am looking to get a decent amount of material together before I put anything out there, so that there is not only one song linked with my name, but many.

I plan on creating a music agency that focuses on promotion. While you concentrate on the music, I will create and organise photo-shoots, music events and styling. Do you think this could benefit you and why? 

Probably not, as I am more interested in the recording, engineering and production of music rather than being an onstage performer. However I strongly agree that this would help many other artists.

What do you think a record label helps you with? 

With getting music published and having your material put in to the public domain. Help with covering expenses with studio allocation and hiring of staff such as sound engineers and track mastering.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years time musically? 

Hoping to be working in ,or being a part of, a studio, or team, somewhere recording and producing bands and solo artists.