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Edited Text
Alexjandria Edwards
6/15/2019
Disrupción
Records
Culminating
Experience
How to Manage Successful
Promotions & Events for a
Record Label
Alexjandria Edwards
DISRUPCIÓN RECORDS – PROMOTIONS&EVENTS MANAGER
Table of Contents
I.
Cover Page
II.
Table of Contents
III.
Project Summary
IV.
Results
V.
Process
VI.
Process/Next Step
VII.
Contribution to the discipline and profession
VIII. Impact on the student completing the work:
IX.
References
1
Project Summary:
Over the course of the 2018/2019 school year I served as the Promotions and Events
Manager for Disrupción Records. 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, 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, Valentine’s
Day Sing A Gram Reception, Disrupción Records Showcase, and the Disrupción Records Five
Year Anniversary Party. 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.
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
student organizations orientation, The BBC Live Music Introducing Conference in London,
2
England, 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, and The Midem Conference in
Cannes, France. 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.
Results:
Overall the Promotions & Events Department for Disrupción Records was incredibly
successful. Each of the social media platforms that represent Disrupción Records were newly
created or rebranded due to a lack of previously existing content in alignment with the newly
developed Disrupción Records brand. A renaissance also took place within the structure of the
label as a whole while led to the creation of four new imprints. This change in structure allowed
for each department (from A&R, to Marketing, to Sync) to develop a greater sense of
understanding and involvement according to the categorization of each artist. Because of this
change in structure a more efficient work system was created. This shift in structure also helped
the Disrupción Records staff to further understand their expectations for each of the artists
varying across the imprints. Through this system, Disrupción Records was able to sign six acts
from Berklee Valencia for distribution, marketing and two “third party” artists with management
teams for an average licensing contract of one year.
Due to the licensing nature of Disrupción Records projects and artists branding, the
number of releases is higher than double story the number of artists. This attributes to the success
of the Disrupción Records team. This also reveals a challenge for the campaign development
3
manager due to the fact that several of the artist campaigns overlapped in release dates. After
developing a new working label structure as well as allocating financial resources to each act we
were able to release successful content. 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.
Our most successful social media page was Instagram. Our page began with a total
number of 394 followers, however after optimization, newly created and established marketing
campaigns and implemented social media strategies we now have 524 followers. Out of the 6
events held by Disrupción Records 5 of the events were extremely successful. Across these 6
events there was a total of 65 attendees for our Open Mic nights, 100 guests in attendance to our
Disrupción Records Showcase, and 75 guests in attendance of our Five-Year Anniversary Party.
In relation to the our Disrupción Records Showcase we were especially successful in the
execution of this event because we were able to create with LiveXMusic, and we were the first
Berklee Valencia affiliated organization to host an event at a newly created Valencian venue.
Process:
When I first discovered Berklee Valencia’s Global Entertainment & Music Business
program I decided that I wanted to pursue the Record Practicum. This also led me to discover
Disrupción Records. I immediately fell in love with the idea of having the unique opportunity of
4
being signed to this label as an artist. However, after being accepted to Berklee Valencia,
beginning the rebranding process for myself as an artist and arriving to the Berklee Valencia
campus, I was able to develop a greater appreciation for understanding the internal function and
structure of an independent record label. Once the Disrupción Records CE job was presented and
the application was released I wasn’t quite sure which department I wanted to work in however I
did know that I wanted and needed the experience of working in a record label. After carefully
reading the brief descriptions of each of the job openings I realized that based upon my previous
work experience that my greatest assets would be a greater fit for the Marketing Manager role. I
originally believed that I would be the sole manager for this department. Once accepted I was
made aware that this role would be in alignment with the newly developed structure for the
record label. I am incredibly greatly that I was able to co-manage the Marketing department for
the label with Nicole Otero because we were able to support each other and rely upon each other.
I expected for Berklee Valencia to be extremely financially supportive of Disrupción
Records however this was not the case due to the limited budget available for marketing budgets
and event budgets. I also expected the label managers to be fully prepared to freely support the
Promotions and Events department with time and digital media releases however more often than
not it was a very difficult process. Each of the departments focused on their projects rather than
aiding other departments in mass. Because the label is indeed an independent, and incredibly low
in staff, I assumed that the staff would be more understanding of the need for support. At most
events held I was forced to outsource to my personally established relationships in order to set up
the event, obtain participants, release information about the event, set up the event and break
down the event. In addition, the other departments did not attend the events of the label. A
greater sense of the unification of the label needs to be established in order to have more positive
5
interactions amongst the staff. I believe that this early realization of the autonomy in my
department allowed me to manage my expectations for the last event of the year.
Next Step:
The next step for the Promotions and Events department of Disrupción Records is to
invest time into greater financial support and financial investments in order to increase our
access to financial resources in order to further explore the ideas that we were unable to allow to
come to fruition due to restrictions in budget. This would also alleviate the stress for the
Promotions and Events Manager during the reimbursement process for each of the events held. I
also believe that greater responsibility should be placed upon Disrupción Records Events
volunteers in order to ensure that they contribute to the execution of the label events. The next
Promotions and Events Manager should also ensure that they establish a cross departmental
event. This would also allow for Disrupción Records to benefit from the financial resources of
other organizations without completely minimizing our financial resources. In the beginning of
assignment, the new Promotions and Events Manager should establish a report with the Musaico
team in order to develop opportunities for our newly signed artists to perform in a live music
festival and perform in front of such a large audience.
Contribution to the discipline and profession:
6
This experience has enlightened me and completely altered my perspective of myself as a
contributor to the music business. Before completing this project, I was unaware of the
possibilities within the Marketing departments of record labels. I also became more aware of my
passion for events, and marketing. This experience also encouraged me to take the Digital
Marketing course, along with the record practicum course in order to develop skills to aid me in
the execution of my Promotions and Events position. This has also aided me in understanding
that my skillset would be useful for marketing departments at organizations which has influenced
my job application process ; moreover, I have only applied to job placements in Marketing
Departments or jobs that focus on the execution of marketing and or event planning related to
music and entertainment focused organizations.
Impact on the student completing the work:
This experience has changed me in several ways. I am now able to have legitimate and
applicable work experience with an independent record label. This has become extremely
beneficial to my confidence, personal and professional. This job helped me to become confident
while applying to jobs, and interacting with music business professionals as I traveled to music
business conferences. This position helped my dream come to a reality in the sense that before I
applied to Berklee Valencia I knew that I wanted to work for Disrupción Records, and that I’ve
always wanted to work for a record label.
This experience has also shaped my perspective on independent labels in general and
understanding their placement within the music business ecosystem. I do not believe that I would
want to work for an underfunded independent record label because of the fact that restrictions of
financial capital for the usage of the label makes it extremely difficult to execute projects across
7
the label with the greatest levels of external impact possible. This experience also showed me
that I am capable of establishing more financially feasible alternatives while still being able to
incur successful results. I also learned the importance of having a sense of unity in the purpose of
the work of the label; moreover, I believe that it is greatly important for me to work for an
organization in the future with a strong brand identity and a strong sense of affinity and belief in
a mission statement. I am eternally grateful for my experience as the Promotions & Events
Manager promotion; moreover, I believe that I am professionally, and personally encouraged and
equipped with a skillset to confidently approach any challenged that I am faced with and still
reign victorious regardless of adversity or limitations.
References
Records, Disrupción. 2019. "Disrupción Records (@Disrupcionrecords) • Instagram Photos And
Videos". Instagram.Com. https://www.instagram.com/disrupcionrecords/.
8
6/15/2019
Disrupción
Records
Culminating
Experience
How to Manage Successful
Promotions & Events for a
Record Label
Alexjandria Edwards
DISRUPCIÓN RECORDS – PROMOTIONS&EVENTS MANAGER
Table of Contents
I.
Cover Page
II.
Table of Contents
III.
Project Summary
IV.
Results
V.
Process
VI.
Process/Next Step
VII.
Contribution to the discipline and profession
VIII. Impact on the student completing the work:
IX.
References
1
Project Summary:
Over the course of the 2018/2019 school year I served as the Promotions and Events
Manager for Disrupción Records. 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, 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, Valentine’s
Day Sing A Gram Reception, Disrupción Records Showcase, and the Disrupción Records Five
Year Anniversary Party. 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.
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
student organizations orientation, The BBC Live Music Introducing Conference in London,
2
England, 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, and The Midem Conference in
Cannes, France. 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.
Results:
Overall the Promotions & Events Department for Disrupción Records was incredibly
successful. Each of the social media platforms that represent Disrupción Records were newly
created or rebranded due to a lack of previously existing content in alignment with the newly
developed Disrupción Records brand. A renaissance also took place within the structure of the
label as a whole while led to the creation of four new imprints. This change in structure allowed
for each department (from A&R, to Marketing, to Sync) to develop a greater sense of
understanding and involvement according to the categorization of each artist. Because of this
change in structure a more efficient work system was created. This shift in structure also helped
the Disrupción Records staff to further understand their expectations for each of the artists
varying across the imprints. Through this system, Disrupción Records was able to sign six acts
from Berklee Valencia for distribution, marketing and two “third party” artists with management
teams for an average licensing contract of one year.
Due to the licensing nature of Disrupción Records projects and artists branding, the
number of releases is higher than double story the number of artists. This attributes to the success
of the Disrupción Records team. This also reveals a challenge for the campaign development
3
manager due to the fact that several of the artist campaigns overlapped in release dates. After
developing a new working label structure as well as allocating financial resources to each act we
were able to release successful content. 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.
Our most successful social media page was Instagram. Our page began with a total
number of 394 followers, however after optimization, newly created and established marketing
campaigns and implemented social media strategies we now have 524 followers. Out of the 6
events held by Disrupción Records 5 of the events were extremely successful. Across these 6
events there was a total of 65 attendees for our Open Mic nights, 100 guests in attendance to our
Disrupción Records Showcase, and 75 guests in attendance of our Five-Year Anniversary Party.
In relation to the our Disrupción Records Showcase we were especially successful in the
execution of this event because we were able to create with LiveXMusic, and we were the first
Berklee Valencia affiliated organization to host an event at a newly created Valencian venue.
Process:
When I first discovered Berklee Valencia’s Global Entertainment & Music Business
program I decided that I wanted to pursue the Record Practicum. This also led me to discover
Disrupción Records. I immediately fell in love with the idea of having the unique opportunity of
4
being signed to this label as an artist. However, after being accepted to Berklee Valencia,
beginning the rebranding process for myself as an artist and arriving to the Berklee Valencia
campus, I was able to develop a greater appreciation for understanding the internal function and
structure of an independent record label. Once the Disrupción Records CE job was presented and
the application was released I wasn’t quite sure which department I wanted to work in however I
did know that I wanted and needed the experience of working in a record label. After carefully
reading the brief descriptions of each of the job openings I realized that based upon my previous
work experience that my greatest assets would be a greater fit for the Marketing Manager role. I
originally believed that I would be the sole manager for this department. Once accepted I was
made aware that this role would be in alignment with the newly developed structure for the
record label. I am incredibly greatly that I was able to co-manage the Marketing department for
the label with Nicole Otero because we were able to support each other and rely upon each other.
I expected for Berklee Valencia to be extremely financially supportive of Disrupción
Records however this was not the case due to the limited budget available for marketing budgets
and event budgets. I also expected the label managers to be fully prepared to freely support the
Promotions and Events department with time and digital media releases however more often than
not it was a very difficult process. Each of the departments focused on their projects rather than
aiding other departments in mass. Because the label is indeed an independent, and incredibly low
in staff, I assumed that the staff would be more understanding of the need for support. At most
events held I was forced to outsource to my personally established relationships in order to set up
the event, obtain participants, release information about the event, set up the event and break
down the event. In addition, the other departments did not attend the events of the label. A
greater sense of the unification of the label needs to be established in order to have more positive
5
interactions amongst the staff. I believe that this early realization of the autonomy in my
department allowed me to manage my expectations for the last event of the year.
Next Step:
The next step for the Promotions and Events department of Disrupción Records is to
invest time into greater financial support and financial investments in order to increase our
access to financial resources in order to further explore the ideas that we were unable to allow to
come to fruition due to restrictions in budget. This would also alleviate the stress for the
Promotions and Events Manager during the reimbursement process for each of the events held. I
also believe that greater responsibility should be placed upon Disrupción Records Events
volunteers in order to ensure that they contribute to the execution of the label events. The next
Promotions and Events Manager should also ensure that they establish a cross departmental
event. This would also allow for Disrupción Records to benefit from the financial resources of
other organizations without completely minimizing our financial resources. In the beginning of
assignment, the new Promotions and Events Manager should establish a report with the Musaico
team in order to develop opportunities for our newly signed artists to perform in a live music
festival and perform in front of such a large audience.
Contribution to the discipline and profession:
6
This experience has enlightened me and completely altered my perspective of myself as a
contributor to the music business. Before completing this project, I was unaware of the
possibilities within the Marketing departments of record labels. I also became more aware of my
passion for events, and marketing. This experience also encouraged me to take the Digital
Marketing course, along with the record practicum course in order to develop skills to aid me in
the execution of my Promotions and Events position. This has also aided me in understanding
that my skillset would be useful for marketing departments at organizations which has influenced
my job application process ; moreover, I have only applied to job placements in Marketing
Departments or jobs that focus on the execution of marketing and or event planning related to
music and entertainment focused organizations.
Impact on the student completing the work:
This experience has changed me in several ways. I am now able to have legitimate and
applicable work experience with an independent record label. This has become extremely
beneficial to my confidence, personal and professional. This job helped me to become confident
while applying to jobs, and interacting with music business professionals as I traveled to music
business conferences. This position helped my dream come to a reality in the sense that before I
applied to Berklee Valencia I knew that I wanted to work for Disrupción Records, and that I’ve
always wanted to work for a record label.
This experience has also shaped my perspective on independent labels in general and
understanding their placement within the music business ecosystem. I do not believe that I would
want to work for an underfunded independent record label because of the fact that restrictions of
financial capital for the usage of the label makes it extremely difficult to execute projects across
7
the label with the greatest levels of external impact possible. This experience also showed me
that I am capable of establishing more financially feasible alternatives while still being able to
incur successful results. I also learned the importance of having a sense of unity in the purpose of
the work of the label; moreover, I believe that it is greatly important for me to work for an
organization in the future with a strong brand identity and a strong sense of affinity and belief in
a mission statement. I am eternally grateful for my experience as the Promotions & Events
Manager promotion; moreover, I believe that I am professionally, and personally encouraged and
equipped with a skillset to confidently approach any challenged that I am faced with and still
reign victorious regardless of adversity or limitations.
References
Records, Disrupción. 2019. "Disrupción Records (@Disrupcionrecords) • Instagram Photos And
Videos". Instagram.Com. https://www.instagram.com/disrupcionrecords/.
8
Media of
