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Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
Culminating Experience Reflective Paper:
Jad El Alam
Global Entertainment and Music Business
Class of 2014
1
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
1) Summary of the project
This Culminating Experience was dedicated to the elaboration of a
Business Plan for an online digital music discovery platform that goes by the
name of P(l)ayback. The aim of this platform is to promote unsigned artists
through a web and mobile-based platform in an unprecedented way. Each
artist has his own dedicated page that allows him to showcase all of his
artistic and artist-related material – from music to merchandise, lyric sheets,
tour information etc. – in a platform-standardized but non-generic,
customizable way.
P(l)ayback represents an idea that spoke to me as an independent
artist, but also came along as my interpretation of solving the issue
surrounding artists receiving substantial financial reward from streaming
platforms.
P(l)ayback is not only a streaming platform, it also allows for the
purchase of the content, which therefore gives the customers more ways and
choices as to how he wants to consume the material, and furthermore creates
additional revenue streams for the business itself and in turn, the artist.
Therefore the listeners and music-discoverers are relieved from the hassle of
having to spend countless hours across the Internet in the hopes of finding
their favorite artists’ entire breadth of content. They can achieve that in our
one-stop shop type of platform and access artist-related exclusive additional
content by the means of a subscription fee. Therefore creating a more
immersive, meaningful, and resonating experience for the artists and the fans
alike.
This consolidating platform aims to promote unsigned music directly
from the artists and musicians with the hopes of dis-intermediating the digital
distribution industry. By doing so, we are able to re-distribute 80 percent of the
profits generated directly to the artist without any fees, cuts or loss on the
way.
However, P(l)ayback also aims to have a strong brand identity and
image that allows the company to resonate with its customers and clients.
Therefore it is essential that we follow a process of curation of our catalog in a
2
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
fashion very similar to A&R work. We want to showcase the unsigned talent
which we believe is to become ‘the next big thing’ in order to create a
P(l)ayback seal of approval that consumers can believe and rely on. And
because we believe that a ‘know-it-all’ approach to music discovery hinders
greatly the process itself – and kills cultural enrichment – we offer our
customers the possibility to offer their suggestions as ‘pre-A&R’ talent scouts
if they subscribe to our services.
In order to start the project, we believe that we need to focus our efforts
on a particular music market. We have therefore chosen the United Kingdom
as our initial market for offering, as the consumption trends and culture
surrounding music best aligns what we have the intention of delivering.
2) Summary of the process
The process behind the development of the project P(l)ayback has
been a year-long venture. It was initiated in mid-September 2013 after we had
received our first assignment in the Emerging Entertainment Business Models
class. The objective of the assignment was to deliver a business idea, along
with a business model that applied to the entertainment industry. I pitched a
very rough idea of what I envisioned, and Mikaela pitched a rough idea of an
idea that would fit perfectly in combination with mine. Later after joining our
ideas, we agreed upon developing a joint Business Plan as part of our
Master’s Culminating Experience.
The Emerging Entertainment Business Models class was the perfect
opportunity for us to understand the development of a business model, how to
create revenue streams, how to deliver value to our consumers, and also finetune the skeleton of the business idea. The original skepticisms from
classmates and teachers alike pushed us to think outside the box and believe
in our instinct that this idea had potential.
The justification for choosing the United Kingdom as our specific
market to launch through came with the completion of the International
Marketing and Branding module earlier in the year. The class allowed us to
understand the importance of brand image as a competitive advantage and
key factor for differentiation, as well as the importance of choosing the right
3
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
demographics and therefore the right geographical location to implement a
business. The interaction between all of these elements was what pushed us
to make that decision. The consumption habits of British people with regards
to music, as well as music being prominent in the country’s culture, and the
distinct ‘British sound’ where factors that correlated with one another and our
business intentions.
Our first business venture day at the end of the Fall semester allowed
us to have our first try at pitching our idea to fresh ears. Unfortunately, we
were not successful in this endeavor, but it has allowed us to realize the
importance of failing in making an idea better.
The following semester we decided to integrate P(l)ayback into the
Entrepreneurship & Innovation class as part of our innovation project. This
time around, we were able to run interviews among our classmates to
determine who we thought would best fit the entrepreneurial spirit common to
Mikaela and I. After successfully pulling a great team together, and
accomplishing great work throughout the semester on the basis of weekly
Sunday meetings, we were able to further the project to great measures. We
were able to conduct market analyses, target the right demographic groups,
and further develop and consolidate the Business Plan.
The Economics of Entertainments class allowed me to conduct a brief
financial analysis that allowed us to set a few key figures as our starting
milestones. In the end, it allowed us to realize that the project isn’t financially
unrealistic, as opposed to what colleagues might have put forth in the earlier
semester. It also allowed us to determine what the next steps were going to
be if we were to further our research and bring the project to life.
Outside of the realm of classes, our supervisor Alexandre Perrin was
tremendously helpful in boiling down the essence of what we considered
P(l)ayback to be. Exchanges via e-mail and meetings with him allowed us to
come to the conclusion that every decision we would make for P(l)ayback was
in the aims of strengthening the brand image of the service; as it had come
clearly apparent by then that it would be a key success factor for this
enterprise. Additionally, having guest lecturers by the likes of Benji Rogers
come inform us about music aficionados and their consumption and spending
habits was greatly informative and encouraging in our work. It allowed us to
4
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
come to the realization that consumers respond to choice positively and are
willing to spend if you present them with the right spending options.
The final business venture day, which ended the Entrepreneurship &
Innovation class, marked the paroxysm to the learning experience of
entrepreneurial skills. Throughout this second module, we were able to
accelerate the process of developing the business model into something more
concrete than just an exercise. And much to the difference of the first module,
we (and the development of the project) benefitted greatly from having a
strong team of members aligned in work ethics and focused on a common
objective.
3) Results: How the project did or did not align with the expectations
There are a few ways the project did not align with our expectations,
concerning primarily the project and time management side of the process.
As part of the first deliverables, our proposal included a Gantt chart of
how we planned the project to move along as the year progressed. We also
had to deliver a timeline reflecting how we intended on implementing the
project once the business plan was complete and the academic year was
over. Unfortunately, our timeline projections were inaccurate for multiple
reasons.
Firstly, we had not envisioned applying our culminating experience
project to the exercise of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Mikaela and I were
expecting to continue working on our Business Plan aside from the classes,
and thusly had projected accordingly over the course of the year. We
benefitted greatly from having a great team working on the project and as a
result were able to fit the work that would have extended over two semesters,
into one. As a result, we were unable to align with our Gantt chart projections.
Secondly, we thought we would be able to start developing the actual
company straight out of school by applying for loans and opening company
account by the beginning of August. As it has turns out, this project still
requires maturing for some time and we will therefore, not be able to commit
fully to our future timeline either.
5
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
While Gantt charts are a useful way to turn ideas into actions, I feel
strongly that they are bound to be inaccurate by nature as they are highly
formulaic and engrained into theory.
4) Next Step
The future for P(l)ayback does not end with the school year. On the
contrary, we believe that the intention with which we delved into the project is
genuine, that the path and area of activities is one that speaks to our minds as
future professionals in the industry, and that the research we have done was
highly conclusive. However, we will let the project ‘simmer down’, so to speak.
We will let the idea develop organically, benchmarking it over time with the
parallel ongoing trends of the sector and make adjustments and changes over
the course of time if it is required.
As mentioned previously, the intention is to release the service in the
United Kingdom, therefore one of the first items on the agenda to pursue
P(l)ayback is to move to England and start working there in the industry. This
will allow me to gain experience and knowledge of the industry on a
professional level, as well as work within the UK market and understand the
consumer trends more fully. It will also allow me to be build-up a starting
capital through savings and invest it into the realization of the project.
We will be starting off by making the purchase of domain names in
order to secure the name of our website as well as those of similar websites.
Mikaela is in charge of developing a basic prototype of a functioning website,
and I am reading-up and educating myself on the subject of coding. The
domain name we are going to acquire is ‘playbacknw.co.uk’, along with similar
ones such as playbacknw.info, or playbacknw.net and playbacknw.org.
This area of the industry, namely the digital distribution sector, is a
branch both Mikaela and I believe will have an integral part in the future of the
music industry. This is why we intend on keeping the idea of P(l)ayback alive
and keep developing the project.
6
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
5) Contribution to the discipline and profession
The research conducted throughout this project allowed us to
contribute positively to the discipline and profession in a few ways.
Firstly, we were able to highlight consumer trends specific to the UK
market that are highly encouraging to domain of digital music sales. With the
help of past studies from Nielsen & Midem (2011), and IPSOS Media CT
(2013), we were able to determine that our target customers, namely the
music aficionados or lean-forward music discoverers, still believed in
purchasing music and music-related goods as a means of consumption. As a
matter of fact, a reasonable majority believed in ownership of music over
ubiquitous access to music as a preferred method of consumption. Moreover,
by undergoing an analysis of our market and our competitors, we were able to
see that a few concepts similar to that of P(l)ayback were slowly arising. This
allows for the understanding that we are not the only ones thinking in this
direction; competitors who have undergone market analyses themselves are
deciding to put their business plans into action. This is comforting in the idea
that there is room for a product or service like P(l)ayback in the industry. This
is particularly interesting to discipline and myself as I have previously
dedicated a dissertation paper, entitled An evaluation of the effects of the
Internet on the music industry; case study of iTunes Store, by the end of
which research was suggesting that mobile and ubiquitous access to music
was to take over content ownership. We are therefore able to conclude that
there are a number of consumption methods that haven’t faded out despite
what the general trends tend to indicate. It all depends on the target segment,
obviously, but also the choice of ways in which to consume a product as well
as the experience that comes along with the products or services.
In addition to contributing to the discipline in a theoretical sense,
P(l)ayback also contributes positively to the development and betterment of
the truly independent arts. It allows us to act as patrons of artists that we think
deserve recognition, as well as a living out of what they enjoy doing and have
a gift for. The professional contribution that we envision P(l)ayback to be, is to
trigger a response in the realm of unsigned musicians. We want to encourage
and allow them to distribute their content digitally without any intermediaries
7
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
so that they can get substantial financial returns for the work they have put in.
When the idea first came to mind, we were aiming that through the concept
making its marks and showing success, we would convince slightly bigger
artists to abide by this philosophy of disintermediation and drop their
distribution agreements with their labels. Instead of receiving a meager 10
percent of what a stream generates, P(l)back offers the idea that an artist can
directly retrieve eight times that amount by not relying on corporate models of
distribution.
P(l)ayback also aims to fill a long-dating gap in the digital distribution
sector where no consolidation of content discover has ever taken place. All of
the different types of media have existed separately on different platforms.
However, the model of our platform relies on the aggregation of these
different types of media, in the attempt of delivering a fuller, more immersive
experience. We believe that the reason why this has never been achieved
before is because of the lack of brand image and philosophy behind the
concept of just having a consolidating service. By adding the P(l)ayback
mentality and ethos to such a service, we are able to ensure that we prevent
competitors from simply copying our model. This, in turn, acts as a perfect
example of the importance of brand identity for future or current
entrepreneurs.
6) Impact on the student completing the work
Having undertaken the year-long task of developing the project jointly
with a colleague has been a learning experience with tremendous leaps.
Being assigned a work-group in the framework of the Emerging Entertainment
Business Models class was somewhat of a cumbersome process. However, it
allowed both Mikaela and myself to learn a great deal about how to work with
others who might, but most importantly might not share the same business
mind. Our group of four was completely diverse culturally; learning about
cross-cultural business practices was already a challenge in itself.
Sharing the weight of the work with a fellow student and friend has
been extremely helpful. However, I was quite reluctant at first. I have always
had doubts in sharing leadership within the realization of a project.
8
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
Nevertheless, finding that Mikaela and I had the same expectations for this
project as the year went by, eased me into thinking that co-leadership can be
beneficial depending on the task at hand. I have also learnt to trust others with
an idea of my own. Despite the first semester not being very conclusive in
terms of group work, the second team we worked with really allowed me to
ease into the idea that other people might be equally as motivated as I am for
a project that is not theirs.
Being able to believe in an idea from its inception, constantly work back
and forth in re-designing its model and the way it works, and push through
despite evident skepticisms from teachers and colleagues alike has given me
the ability to look at a project on a greater scheme. Having tackled some of
the entrepreneurial issues faced throughout the year acts as a great lesson of
humility, objectivity and professionalism.
Some of the more tangible skills that have resulted out of this
experience were my ability to formulate an idea and communicate it in a clear
and eloquent way. The use of the canvas model was the turning point in my
understanding of how to develop a business model, and how to express an
idea in a concise and efficient manner. It allowed me to put down all of the
components of our business idea, trace interactions between each one of
them, and present it to my peers adequately.
Overall, being able to take theoretical concepts that I have learnt about
in my previous studies and apply them to a project with concrete elements
has been helpful in acquiring new skills, but also in identifying what I want out
of this industry and the remaining skills I need to do so. And the remainder of
the skillset I need can only be acquired through working rather than studying.
This project has allowed me to gradually bridge the two worlds and make me
realize that what I need resides in the professional world.
7) Bibliography
Nielsen & MIDEM, 2011, The hyper-fragmented world of music: Marketing
considerations and revenue maximization, p.5
IPSOS Media CT, 2013, Digital Music Consumer – A Global Perspective, p.6
9
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
Culminating Experience Reflective Paper:
Jad El Alam
Global Entertainment and Music Business
Class of 2014
1
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
1) Summary of the project
This Culminating Experience was dedicated to the elaboration of a
Business Plan for an online digital music discovery platform that goes by the
name of P(l)ayback. The aim of this platform is to promote unsigned artists
through a web and mobile-based platform in an unprecedented way. Each
artist has his own dedicated page that allows him to showcase all of his
artistic and artist-related material – from music to merchandise, lyric sheets,
tour information etc. – in a platform-standardized but non-generic,
customizable way.
P(l)ayback represents an idea that spoke to me as an independent
artist, but also came along as my interpretation of solving the issue
surrounding artists receiving substantial financial reward from streaming
platforms.
P(l)ayback is not only a streaming platform, it also allows for the
purchase of the content, which therefore gives the customers more ways and
choices as to how he wants to consume the material, and furthermore creates
additional revenue streams for the business itself and in turn, the artist.
Therefore the listeners and music-discoverers are relieved from the hassle of
having to spend countless hours across the Internet in the hopes of finding
their favorite artists’ entire breadth of content. They can achieve that in our
one-stop shop type of platform and access artist-related exclusive additional
content by the means of a subscription fee. Therefore creating a more
immersive, meaningful, and resonating experience for the artists and the fans
alike.
This consolidating platform aims to promote unsigned music directly
from the artists and musicians with the hopes of dis-intermediating the digital
distribution industry. By doing so, we are able to re-distribute 80 percent of the
profits generated directly to the artist without any fees, cuts or loss on the
way.
However, P(l)ayback also aims to have a strong brand identity and
image that allows the company to resonate with its customers and clients.
Therefore it is essential that we follow a process of curation of our catalog in a
2
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
fashion very similar to A&R work. We want to showcase the unsigned talent
which we believe is to become ‘the next big thing’ in order to create a
P(l)ayback seal of approval that consumers can believe and rely on. And
because we believe that a ‘know-it-all’ approach to music discovery hinders
greatly the process itself – and kills cultural enrichment – we offer our
customers the possibility to offer their suggestions as ‘pre-A&R’ talent scouts
if they subscribe to our services.
In order to start the project, we believe that we need to focus our efforts
on a particular music market. We have therefore chosen the United Kingdom
as our initial market for offering, as the consumption trends and culture
surrounding music best aligns what we have the intention of delivering.
2) Summary of the process
The process behind the development of the project P(l)ayback has
been a year-long venture. It was initiated in mid-September 2013 after we had
received our first assignment in the Emerging Entertainment Business Models
class. The objective of the assignment was to deliver a business idea, along
with a business model that applied to the entertainment industry. I pitched a
very rough idea of what I envisioned, and Mikaela pitched a rough idea of an
idea that would fit perfectly in combination with mine. Later after joining our
ideas, we agreed upon developing a joint Business Plan as part of our
Master’s Culminating Experience.
The Emerging Entertainment Business Models class was the perfect
opportunity for us to understand the development of a business model, how to
create revenue streams, how to deliver value to our consumers, and also finetune the skeleton of the business idea. The original skepticisms from
classmates and teachers alike pushed us to think outside the box and believe
in our instinct that this idea had potential.
The justification for choosing the United Kingdom as our specific
market to launch through came with the completion of the International
Marketing and Branding module earlier in the year. The class allowed us to
understand the importance of brand image as a competitive advantage and
key factor for differentiation, as well as the importance of choosing the right
3
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
demographics and therefore the right geographical location to implement a
business. The interaction between all of these elements was what pushed us
to make that decision. The consumption habits of British people with regards
to music, as well as music being prominent in the country’s culture, and the
distinct ‘British sound’ where factors that correlated with one another and our
business intentions.
Our first business venture day at the end of the Fall semester allowed
us to have our first try at pitching our idea to fresh ears. Unfortunately, we
were not successful in this endeavor, but it has allowed us to realize the
importance of failing in making an idea better.
The following semester we decided to integrate P(l)ayback into the
Entrepreneurship & Innovation class as part of our innovation project. This
time around, we were able to run interviews among our classmates to
determine who we thought would best fit the entrepreneurial spirit common to
Mikaela and I. After successfully pulling a great team together, and
accomplishing great work throughout the semester on the basis of weekly
Sunday meetings, we were able to further the project to great measures. We
were able to conduct market analyses, target the right demographic groups,
and further develop and consolidate the Business Plan.
The Economics of Entertainments class allowed me to conduct a brief
financial analysis that allowed us to set a few key figures as our starting
milestones. In the end, it allowed us to realize that the project isn’t financially
unrealistic, as opposed to what colleagues might have put forth in the earlier
semester. It also allowed us to determine what the next steps were going to
be if we were to further our research and bring the project to life.
Outside of the realm of classes, our supervisor Alexandre Perrin was
tremendously helpful in boiling down the essence of what we considered
P(l)ayback to be. Exchanges via e-mail and meetings with him allowed us to
come to the conclusion that every decision we would make for P(l)ayback was
in the aims of strengthening the brand image of the service; as it had come
clearly apparent by then that it would be a key success factor for this
enterprise. Additionally, having guest lecturers by the likes of Benji Rogers
come inform us about music aficionados and their consumption and spending
habits was greatly informative and encouraging in our work. It allowed us to
4
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
come to the realization that consumers respond to choice positively and are
willing to spend if you present them with the right spending options.
The final business venture day, which ended the Entrepreneurship &
Innovation class, marked the paroxysm to the learning experience of
entrepreneurial skills. Throughout this second module, we were able to
accelerate the process of developing the business model into something more
concrete than just an exercise. And much to the difference of the first module,
we (and the development of the project) benefitted greatly from having a
strong team of members aligned in work ethics and focused on a common
objective.
3) Results: How the project did or did not align with the expectations
There are a few ways the project did not align with our expectations,
concerning primarily the project and time management side of the process.
As part of the first deliverables, our proposal included a Gantt chart of
how we planned the project to move along as the year progressed. We also
had to deliver a timeline reflecting how we intended on implementing the
project once the business plan was complete and the academic year was
over. Unfortunately, our timeline projections were inaccurate for multiple
reasons.
Firstly, we had not envisioned applying our culminating experience
project to the exercise of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Mikaela and I were
expecting to continue working on our Business Plan aside from the classes,
and thusly had projected accordingly over the course of the year. We
benefitted greatly from having a great team working on the project and as a
result were able to fit the work that would have extended over two semesters,
into one. As a result, we were unable to align with our Gantt chart projections.
Secondly, we thought we would be able to start developing the actual
company straight out of school by applying for loans and opening company
account by the beginning of August. As it has turns out, this project still
requires maturing for some time and we will therefore, not be able to commit
fully to our future timeline either.
5
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
While Gantt charts are a useful way to turn ideas into actions, I feel
strongly that they are bound to be inaccurate by nature as they are highly
formulaic and engrained into theory.
4) Next Step
The future for P(l)ayback does not end with the school year. On the
contrary, we believe that the intention with which we delved into the project is
genuine, that the path and area of activities is one that speaks to our minds as
future professionals in the industry, and that the research we have done was
highly conclusive. However, we will let the project ‘simmer down’, so to speak.
We will let the idea develop organically, benchmarking it over time with the
parallel ongoing trends of the sector and make adjustments and changes over
the course of time if it is required.
As mentioned previously, the intention is to release the service in the
United Kingdom, therefore one of the first items on the agenda to pursue
P(l)ayback is to move to England and start working there in the industry. This
will allow me to gain experience and knowledge of the industry on a
professional level, as well as work within the UK market and understand the
consumer trends more fully. It will also allow me to be build-up a starting
capital through savings and invest it into the realization of the project.
We will be starting off by making the purchase of domain names in
order to secure the name of our website as well as those of similar websites.
Mikaela is in charge of developing a basic prototype of a functioning website,
and I am reading-up and educating myself on the subject of coding. The
domain name we are going to acquire is ‘playbacknw.co.uk’, along with similar
ones such as playbacknw.info, or playbacknw.net and playbacknw.org.
This area of the industry, namely the digital distribution sector, is a
branch both Mikaela and I believe will have an integral part in the future of the
music industry. This is why we intend on keeping the idea of P(l)ayback alive
and keep developing the project.
6
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
5) Contribution to the discipline and profession
The research conducted throughout this project allowed us to
contribute positively to the discipline and profession in a few ways.
Firstly, we were able to highlight consumer trends specific to the UK
market that are highly encouraging to domain of digital music sales. With the
help of past studies from Nielsen & Midem (2011), and IPSOS Media CT
(2013), we were able to determine that our target customers, namely the
music aficionados or lean-forward music discoverers, still believed in
purchasing music and music-related goods as a means of consumption. As a
matter of fact, a reasonable majority believed in ownership of music over
ubiquitous access to music as a preferred method of consumption. Moreover,
by undergoing an analysis of our market and our competitors, we were able to
see that a few concepts similar to that of P(l)ayback were slowly arising. This
allows for the understanding that we are not the only ones thinking in this
direction; competitors who have undergone market analyses themselves are
deciding to put their business plans into action. This is comforting in the idea
that there is room for a product or service like P(l)ayback in the industry. This
is particularly interesting to discipline and myself as I have previously
dedicated a dissertation paper, entitled An evaluation of the effects of the
Internet on the music industry; case study of iTunes Store, by the end of
which research was suggesting that mobile and ubiquitous access to music
was to take over content ownership. We are therefore able to conclude that
there are a number of consumption methods that haven’t faded out despite
what the general trends tend to indicate. It all depends on the target segment,
obviously, but also the choice of ways in which to consume a product as well
as the experience that comes along with the products or services.
In addition to contributing to the discipline in a theoretical sense,
P(l)ayback also contributes positively to the development and betterment of
the truly independent arts. It allows us to act as patrons of artists that we think
deserve recognition, as well as a living out of what they enjoy doing and have
a gift for. The professional contribution that we envision P(l)ayback to be, is to
trigger a response in the realm of unsigned musicians. We want to encourage
and allow them to distribute their content digitally without any intermediaries
7
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
so that they can get substantial financial returns for the work they have put in.
When the idea first came to mind, we were aiming that through the concept
making its marks and showing success, we would convince slightly bigger
artists to abide by this philosophy of disintermediation and drop their
distribution agreements with their labels. Instead of receiving a meager 10
percent of what a stream generates, P(l)back offers the idea that an artist can
directly retrieve eight times that amount by not relying on corporate models of
distribution.
P(l)ayback also aims to fill a long-dating gap in the digital distribution
sector where no consolidation of content discover has ever taken place. All of
the different types of media have existed separately on different platforms.
However, the model of our platform relies on the aggregation of these
different types of media, in the attempt of delivering a fuller, more immersive
experience. We believe that the reason why this has never been achieved
before is because of the lack of brand image and philosophy behind the
concept of just having a consolidating service. By adding the P(l)ayback
mentality and ethos to such a service, we are able to ensure that we prevent
competitors from simply copying our model. This, in turn, acts as a perfect
example of the importance of brand identity for future or current
entrepreneurs.
6) Impact on the student completing the work
Having undertaken the year-long task of developing the project jointly
with a colleague has been a learning experience with tremendous leaps.
Being assigned a work-group in the framework of the Emerging Entertainment
Business Models class was somewhat of a cumbersome process. However, it
allowed both Mikaela and myself to learn a great deal about how to work with
others who might, but most importantly might not share the same business
mind. Our group of four was completely diverse culturally; learning about
cross-cultural business practices was already a challenge in itself.
Sharing the weight of the work with a fellow student and friend has
been extremely helpful. However, I was quite reluctant at first. I have always
had doubts in sharing leadership within the realization of a project.
8
Jad
El
Alam
Student
no.:
0741350
Nevertheless, finding that Mikaela and I had the same expectations for this
project as the year went by, eased me into thinking that co-leadership can be
beneficial depending on the task at hand. I have also learnt to trust others with
an idea of my own. Despite the first semester not being very conclusive in
terms of group work, the second team we worked with really allowed me to
ease into the idea that other people might be equally as motivated as I am for
a project that is not theirs.
Being able to believe in an idea from its inception, constantly work back
and forth in re-designing its model and the way it works, and push through
despite evident skepticisms from teachers and colleagues alike has given me
the ability to look at a project on a greater scheme. Having tackled some of
the entrepreneurial issues faced throughout the year acts as a great lesson of
humility, objectivity and professionalism.
Some of the more tangible skills that have resulted out of this
experience were my ability to formulate an idea and communicate it in a clear
and eloquent way. The use of the canvas model was the turning point in my
understanding of how to develop a business model, and how to express an
idea in a concise and efficient manner. It allowed me to put down all of the
components of our business idea, trace interactions between each one of
them, and present it to my peers adequately.
Overall, being able to take theoretical concepts that I have learnt about
in my previous studies and apply them to a project with concrete elements
has been helpful in acquiring new skills, but also in identifying what I want out
of this industry and the remaining skills I need to do so. And the remainder of
the skillset I need can only be acquired through working rather than studying.
This project has allowed me to gradually bridge the two worlds and make me
realize that what I need resides in the professional world.
7) Bibliography
Nielsen & MIDEM, 2011, The hyper-fragmented world of music: Marketing
considerations and revenue maximization, p.5
IPSOS Media CT, 2013, Digital Music Consumer – A Global Perspective, p.6
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