6/15/2019

Disrupción
Records
Culminating
Experience
How to Create & Manage
Successful Promotions &
Events for a Record Label

Alexjandria Edwards
DISRUPCIÓN RECORDS – PROMOTIONS&EVENTS MANAGER

Alexjandria Edwards
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Disrupción Records Culminating Experience: How to Create & Manage Successful
Promotions & Events for a Record Label

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Table of Contents
I.

Cover Page

II.

Table of Contents

III.

Project Summary

IV.

Project Summary

V.

Project Summary

VI.

Project Summary

VII.

Project Summary

VIII. Project Summary
IX.

Project Summary

X.

Project Objectives

XI.

Project Objectives

XII.

Resources

XIII. Resources
XIV. Tasks
XV.

Tasks

XVI. Tasks
XVII. GANTT Chart
XVIII. GANTT Chart
XIX. GANTT Chart
XX.

Risks / Project Outcomes

XXI. Project Outcomes
XXII. Project Outcomes/ Conclusion
XXIII. References

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Project Summary:
Over the course of the 2018/2019 school year I served as the Promotions and Events
Manager for Disrupción Records (see figure 1). Disrupción Records is an independent record
label based in Valencia, Spain founded in 2014 as a result of a culminating experience project
from previous Master’s students at Berklee Valencia. As the Promotions and Events manager, I
co-managed the Marketing department for Disrupción Records with the Marketing & PR
Manager at Disrupción Records. As the Promotions and Events Manager for Disrupción
Records I was responsible for producing and maintaining the social media accounts for
Disrupción Records (figure 2), creating and executing events in order to interact with Berklee
students, staff, the community of Valencia, other countries, present the artists of Disrupción
Records and their art to a more expansive audience, and directly produce materials and events to
honor the fifth-year anniversary of Disrupción Records. These events included: Disrupción
Records Open Mic Nights (see figure 3), Valentine’s Day Sing A Gram Reception (see figure 4)
, Disrupción Records Showcase (see figure 5), and the Disrupción Records Five Year
Anniversary Party(see figure 6). I collaborated with the A&R team of Disrupción Records in
order to create, promote, and maintain the marketing and promotions needed to enhance the
artistic careers of our signed artists (see figure 7).

I also represented Disrupción Records throughout the Berklee Valencia campus and
around the world by seeking and maintaining professional opportunities for potential sponsorship
and collaboration. I was able to represent Disrupción Records through tabling events at
Disrupción Records sponsored Open Mic Nights, present an informational pitch to over 150
undergraduate students participating in the Berklee study abroad program for the undergraduate
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student organizations orientation (see figure 8), The BBC Live Music Introducing Conference in
London, England (see figure 9) , The Disrupción Records Showcase, The Disrupción Records
Five Year Anniversary Party, The Great Escape Conference in Brighton, England , The DIY CD
Baby Conference in Valencia, Spain, The International Music Summit in Ibiza, Spain (see figure
10), and The Midem Conference in Cannes, France (see figure 11). Eight events were planned
for the year and six of those events took place. Overall, the Promotions and Events department
was successful in accomplishing a substantial number of the goals that were laid out in my
original proposal.

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Figure 1. Disrupción Records Newly Introduced Marketing Manager Post. November 22,
2018.

Figure 2. Disrupción Records Instagram Page. June 12, 2019.

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Figure 3. Disrupción Records Open Mic Night. January 13, 2019.

Figure 4. Disrupción Records Open Mic Night. January 13, 2019.
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Figure 5. Disrupción Records Showcase. April 12, 2019.

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Figure 6. Disrupción Records Five Year Anniversary Party. May 3, 2019.

Figure 7. Disrupción Records Instagram Promotion of Retrovyzor. February 18, 2019.

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Figure 8. Disrupción Records Presentation to Berklee Undergraduates. January 15, 2019.

Figure 9. Networking at BBC Live Music Introducing Conference. November 1, 2018.
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Figure 10. Disrupción Records Showcase with LiveXMusic. April 12, 2019.

Project Objectives:

The objectives for my role as Promotions and Events Manager were to increase
the Disrupción Records Instagram page number of followers by ten percent by June 1st, create
engaging and carefully crafted visual content to increase the average number of likes to 30 likes
per post by June 1st, developing and hosting open mic events to provide the A&R department of
Disrupción Records with access to local talent from the community of Valencia and Berklee
Valencia while also providing the locally based artists signed to Disrupción Records with the
ability to be presented to the local community with opportunities for the development of
additional performance opportunities, collaborations, and sponsorship, submit grant applications
on behalf of Disrupción Records in order to receive at least $500 euros of funding to be used for
the planning of events including materials and paid promotion for our events, to host the fiveyear anniversary party for Disrupción Records while highlighting at least 4 Disrupción Records
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artists with a total attendance of at least 100 guests including at least one alumni from Disrupción
Records original staff present.

My personal objectives for my role as Promotions and Events Manager for Disrupción
Records were to develop sustainable time management by establishing a routine in attendance of
weekly meetings, maintaining the social media pages of Disrupción Records, flying and
executing the talent showcase events in collaboration with the A&R department of Disrupción
Records, recruiting volunteers, and seeking additional branding opportunities on behalf of
Disrupción Records, to learn transferable social media management, marketing and branding
skills by regularly conducting all social media operations on behalf of Disrupción Records while
also establishing a visible and tangible social media profile to aid me in the process of applying
to marketing and social media management jobs in the future and to learn the importance of
working with a team that has both concrete and fluid responsibilities dependent on specific
events and circumstances and to establish the confidence and real world work experience needed
in order to positively contribute to a working record label.

Resources:

Initially I anticipated that I would merely need financial support of $1000 in order to
execute a successful Fifth Year Anniversary Event for Disrupción Records, purchase a
Disrupción Records domain for professional email usage for the label, marketing operations
for the Disrupción Records artists, the production of merchandise that will be sold at the
Disrupción Records 5th Year Anniversary Event, and for potential sponsorship to attend
industry related conferences or events that require travel for the Disrupción Records team.
Over the course of the last year the resources that I initially requested and anticipated heavily
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differed from the resources that I needed in order to complete the tasks associated with my
position as Promotions and Events Manager. The largest resource that I used in order to
complete my role as Promotions and Events Manager was financial support.

The first two events held were the Disrupción Records Open Mic Nights. The first
portion of this event required financial support to purchase a table cloth to add a professional
aesthetic to our information table, which was used to create greater awareness of Disrupción
Records amongst the undergraduate student population, candy to serve as incentives for
students to sign up for our email list, promotional event flyers were created through a free
Canva subscription and were printed on the Berklee Valencia campus to minimize costs.
These flyers were posted on the Berklee Valencia campus community Facebook pages in
order to create awareness for the event since the Open Mic night was announced during the
Winter break. Musical backline equipment was used in order to properly produce the live
sound for the event including cables, speakers, microphones, and monitors. The second
largest resource that I used in order to complete my role as Promotions and Events Manager
was live music production equipment. Musical instruments were provided by the musicians
that performed during the Open Mic Night, which included: electric guitars, acoustic guitars,
bass, keyboard, midi keyboard, and harmonica.

The resources that I needed more of were additional staff support, additional financial
support and established partnerships with local Valencian organizations. Additional staff
support would help to spread the influence of Disrupción Records throughout the city of
Valencia, and the rest of the world. If greater staff support were provided, I would be able to
manage the event order of show, while an additional staff member could manage the
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information table, and an additional staff member could document the event through the
collection of photos and videos. Due to limitations in this resource I took the responsibility of
taking charge of all of these aspects. Additional financial support was needed in order to
create greater opportunities for branding. The idea of commemorative staff t shirts was
developed however due to a lack of financial support we were unable to carry out this
project. An increase in financial resources would have provided us with the opportunity to
provide our artists with individualized photo shoots in order increase their artist branding and
further develop each our social media page Additional financial resources would have also
aided our ability to submit each of our artists profiles for blog placement. Overall the lack of
financial resources encouraged me to discover more economically feasible alternatives in
order to be mindful of the constraints of the budget. I also found it rewarding to execute
successful events considering the lack of financial resources provided.

Tasks:

Prior to executing the project, I anticipated maintaining frequent, and consistent
communication with the entire Disrupción Records team, and sponsor, Pete Dyson, regularly
updating my Google Calendar and personal planner in order to maintain organization and
timeliness while reminding myself of the tasks that I must complete for the week, month,
updating and maintaining the social media accounts of Disrupción Records by purposefully and
intentionally selecting content that will positively reflect Disrupción Records, and engaging with
our audience and followers, selecting volunteers to ensure that I properly delegate the tasks
needed to be completed in order to execute and secure a successful and professional events,
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maintaining a frequent and professional channel of communication with the Office of Student
Affairs and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in order to ensure that we seek out all
sponsorship and collaboration opportunities for the label and for our artists, attending all
meetings required for Disrupción Records, creating solutions and respectfully worded
suggestions to my fellow Disrupción Records employees, respecting the varying opinions of my
label mates at Disrupción Records, and maintaining open and honest channels of communication
with my label mates at Disrupción Records.

Originally, I assigned myself the diurnal task of maintaining a regular social media
schedule. The schedule was as follows: On Mondays I was scheduled to post on the Disrupción
Records Instagram page with a photo and or video focusing on a piece of motivational music, or
a motivational lyric or quote from an artist, group or music business professional. I will interact
with the Disrupción Records followers via an Instagram story and by responding to followers’
requests, etc. On Tuesdays I was scheduled to post on the Disrupción Records Instagram page
with a photo and or video focusing on a piece of the “top 5 songs” that our Marketing Team has
selected across a variety of genres. I will interact with the Disrupción Records followers via an
Instagram story and by responding to followers’ requests, etc. On Wednesdays I was scheduled
to post on the Disrupción Records Instagram page with a photo and or video focusing on a
woman or group of women that have made major contributions to the music industry. I will
interact with the Disrupción Records followers via an Instagram story and by responding to
followers’ requests, etc. On Thursdays I was scheduled to post on the Disrupción Records
Instagram page with a photo and or video focusing on a piece of art or an artist/ music business
professional from the past. I will interact with the Disrupción Records followers via an Instagram
story and by responding to followers’ requests, etc. On Fridays I was scheduled to post on the
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Disrupción Records Instagram page with a photo and or video focusing on new music released
through major distribution platforms across a variety of genres. I will interact with the
Disrupción Records followers via an Instagram story and by responding to followers’ requests,
etc. On Saturdays I was schedules to post on the Disrupción Records Instagram page with a
photo and or video focusing on a piece of information highlighted in the Disrupción Records
Blog. I will interact with the Disrupción Records followers via an Instagram story and by
responding to followers’ requests, etc.

Additional tasks included completing funding proposal applications on behalf of
Disrupción Records, managing the talent showcase and managing the Five-Year Anniversary
Party. In association with the completion of funding proposal applications I anticipated
completing and submitting all of the documents required in order to obtain financial support
from cultural grants, and event grants via the Berklee Student Affairs department, while also
seeking additional funding opportunities from outside sources. In relation to the Disrupción
Records Showcase Full planning, flyering and coordination for planning associated with the
Disrupción Showcase, recruitment of volunteers and the required events on the day of the
showcases. Additional requirements included outsourcing with Call & Play, a local Valencian
instrumental rental company which provided the backline for the event. I also outsourced for a
drum set since the free drum set provided by Berklee Valencia was unavailable. The final event
for the year, The Five-Year Anniversary Party tasks included: Full planning, flyering and
coordination for planning associated with the 5th year anniversary event, recruitment of
volunteers and the required events on the day of the event.

GANNT Chart:
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Risks:

Overall there were few risks associated with the initial planning of promotions strategies
and events, and the execution of these aforementioned events. Risks of low event attendance
encouraged me to reassess my marketing strategies, and provide adjustments to the dates and
times that events were held in order to increase attendance. An additional risk incurred was the
missing of key instruments (drums, bass) due to an unexpected lack of availability for a drum set
and bass amp during our Disrupción Showcase. An additional risk incurred derived from a lack
of availability for students to engineer our Five-Year Anniversary Party. In relation to this risk a
lack of technically savvy student engineers created difficulties for the Open Mic Nights,
Disrupción Showcase, and Disrupción Five Year Anniversary Party this caused me to outsource
to MPTI students, whom set up musical equipment and stage equipment.

Project Outcomes:

Although the management team set initial goals for the team as a collective and each
position generated a different set of targets that they would achieve during the year, the actual
results show the commitment and focus of the team as well as the individual motivation of the
Marketing & PR manager who wore more than just that hat during the academic year. All digital
platforms were created or rescued from scratch since there was no useful content for the future
direction that management had for the label. Also, a whole new structure was developed by both
the Marketing Manager and the Label Manager who created four different imprints dedicated to
different types of projects. This was a strategic move to allow for each department (from A&R,
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to Marketing, to Sync) to understand their level of involvement according to the categorization
of every artists. For example, if an artist was signed to Disrupción, they would get all the benefits
from the A&R and Marketing team, but if they were signed to EVLVE (artist development
division), they would have gotten way more assistance from the A&R department. This not only
allowed the label to create a more efficient work system but it also helped with the management
of expectations from one act to another since the imprints would represent different benefits for
the artists. Using this system, the label signed 6 Berklee acts for distribution and marketing and 2
“third party” artists with management teams for an average licensing contract of about a year.

Because the label licenses projects and artists brands, the number of releases is higher
than double the number of artists which is an incredible success story for Disrupción but it also
represented a challenge for the manager in charge of creating the campaigns since many of them
overlapped. After creating an efficient system and allocating resources to each act, everything
came together, however, every release campaign remained extremely personal and artistorientated. Combined, all campaigns had an approximate spending of $300 (due to the reduced
budget of the student project) which averages at approximately $17 per campaign. The average
exposure was between 80,000 and 120,000 fans on different social media platforms while the
average of blog and radio features was 3 per project released. These efforts generated an average
growth of 27% in monthly listeners on Spotify per artist. In addition, copious numbers of
additional events and projects were organized by the label or the artists themselves with guidance
and assistance from Disrupción.
Example of these are Venezuelan artist RETROVYZOR’s international tour in which the
label had a hand approaching different vendors and finding sponsorships, and Dominican artist
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Mayani Swave who was brought to Spain to perform at MUSAICO festival for over 7,000
people who then converted towards active fans and helped grow his socials and plays. The most
successful artist released through the label so far is Dominican artist SNENiE who not only
debuted as #1 in the Apple charts in Dominican Republic with her second single “Papel”,
released through Disrupción, but she was also picked up by a UMPG mentorship program at
MIDEM and has had multiple sync offers thanks to the combined efforts of her management and
the label.

Conclusion:

After completing my role as the Promotions and Events Manager for Disrupción Records
I can say confidently that I acquired critical real-life experience for working in a record label,
more specifically as a contributing member of the music business world, and even more
specifically for an internationally based independent record label. This experience provided me
with a wider perspective of my strengths and weakness as a music business professional, both
pre-existing and newly developed awareness. I am very pleased with the outcomes of the events
that I planned and executed this year. The lack of resources provided initially seemed to be a
hindrance however after conducting a year of events and promotions on behalf of Disrupción
Records I am grateful for the experience because now I am more well-versed in developing and
executing projects and events while optimizing budgets, and discovering more cost-efficient
alternatives.

Through my experiences as the Promotions and Events Manager for Disrupción Records
I have been able to directly apply concepts from my Global Entertainment & Music Business
courses. For example concepts from my Music Business Finance course I have been able to
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create a budget for my events and planned marketing promotions which greater intention, my
Contract Management course provided me with awareness on clauses that were more beneficial
for artists and labels which encourage a necessity for paying close attention to the guidelines of
rental equipment contracts, and more recently my Digital Marketing Strategy course which has
influenced the ways that I approach the social media management of our signed artists. Based
upon my experience as the Promotions and Events Manager for Disrupción Records I believe
that I am more properly equipped with a transferable skillset to succeed within a record label ;
moreover, Prior to pursuing this CE project I was unaware of my selected path within the music
industry and after completing this project I believe that Marketing is an area that I intend to use
as the foundation for my newly developing career within the music business.

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References
Edwards, Alexjandria. 2019. "Alexjandria Edwards On Linkedin: "Throwback To The
Disrupción Records 5 Year Anniversary Party Here In Valencia, Spain. #Disrupción
#Records # #Party #Valencia #Anniversary #Musicindustry #Musicbiz
#Events"". Linkedin.Com.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6534756881230028800.
Edwards, Alexjandria. 2019. "Alexjandria Edwards On Linkedin: "Today I Had The Pleasure Of
Speaking To Over 70 Undergraduate Study Abroad And First Year Abroad Berklee
Valencia Students On Behalf Of Disrupción Records 🎶 #Music #Recordlabel
#Berkleevalencia #Berklee #Education #Musicindustry #Musicbusiness #Spain #Global
#Entertainment #Programming"". Linkedin.Com.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6492173949772800000.
Edwards, Alexjandria. 2019. "Alexjandria Edwards On Linkedin: "I Had The Pleasure Of
Hosting My Very First Open Mic Night As The Events & Promotions Manager For
Disrupción Records Here In Valencia, Spain Last Night. We Had Over 14 Student Artists
From Around The World To Perform. Thankful For The Support Of The Berklee Valencia
Student Ambassadors Program. More Events To Come ! 🎶 #Musicbusiness #Musicindustry
#Disrupciónrecords #Recordlabel #Music #Entertainment #Programming"". Linkedin.Com.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6490642021378772992.
Edwards, Alexjandria. 2019. "Alexjandria Edwards On Linkedin: "Having A Wonderful Time
Here In London While Representing Disrupcíon Records Here At The BBC Music
Introducing Conference. #Bbcmusic #Bbcmusicintroducing #Musicbusiness
#Musicindustry"". Linkedin.Com.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6466965717676752896.
Records, Disrupción. 2019. "Disrupción Records (@Disrupcionrecords) • Instagram Photos And
Videos". Instagram.Com. https://www.instagram.com/disrupcionrecords/.
Records, Disrupción. 2019. "Disrupción Records On Instagram: “Check Out @Retrovyzor
Music 👆🏼👆🏼👆🏼 Link In Bio! • • • • • • #Disrupcionrecords #Retrovyzor #Indielabel
#Newartist #Newtalent #Venezuela…”". Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuBp9uHh3gT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
Records, Disrupción. 2019. "Disrupción Records On Instagram: “INTRODUCING ONE OF
OUR NEW MARKETING MANAGERS @Vivalamusiq !!! “As A Vocalist And
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Performer, Music Is My Oldest Friend. Being Raised Near…”". Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BqhwHukh_h5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

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