8/16/2019 Life of an Unsigned Musician Investigation Proposal

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Life of an unsigned musician Proposal

In my write up I will be researching, discussing and explaining the ways in which recordlabels can have an impact on an artists career and what it is like to be an independentunsigned musician. I will also be comparing the positives and negatives of having a recordlabel behind you as an artist or producer to see whether or not it is really worth being

signed to a record label. As well as this, I will look at the future for the music industry andhow it could affect musicians in terms of the success of their career.

I feel this is a relevant topic to discuss as in modern times in the music industryindependent artists are starting to self-promote their music a lot more on social media suchas Twitter and Facebook and there are a lot more opportunities out there for independentmusicians. This is a controversial topic that can be widely discussed and opinions can bedivided.

I want to find out more information to broaden my knowledge on the topic. I feel this will bevaluable to me as a producer as I can get an insight into how the industry works, how therecord labels control the industry and what the future holds for the music industry. Thiscould potentially aid my success as a producer

To carry out my research for this write up I will be listening to/watching radio and televisioninterviews from signed and unsigned artists in which they speak about their opinions onthe record labels and the power they have in the music industry. I will also be looking atsome music blogs such as https://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/tag/record-labels/ aswell as personally asking some independent artists that I know their own opinions ofrecording labels.

An example radio interview that I will use for my research is an interview with 4i forpulse88 Radio which contains some elements on his experience as an independent artistwithout the backing of a record label himself:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koViyQmRejI

I intend to contact two unsigned musicians (EastGreen & 4I) through social media and getan interview with both of them, asking questions about their opinions of record labels in themusic industry and where they think they will progress. This will be beneficial to thisinvestigation as they know exactly what the industry is like and they are experiencedindependent musicians that have been doing it for many years.

I will also research different feuds or conflicts in the industry caused by record labels and‘big names’ in the industry. This is mentioned in the timeline and will be completed byJanuary. This will be taken from many websites including the website for mainstream radiostation Capital FM http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/one-direction/zayn-malik/news/no-type-solo-cover/.

This will also give me a good idea of the problems record labels cause in the industry andwhy being an unsigned artist has both positives and negatives, this being a negative side.

How will this help me in the industry?

All of this information can help me as a producer learning about the different avenues andways into the industry and how to be successful, while seeing is it worth getting signed bya record label or not and going independent. This will also give me a good idea of the

http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/one-direction/zayn-malik/news/no-type-solo-cover/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koViyQmRejIhttps://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com/tag/record-labels/

8/16/2019 Life of an Unsigned Musician Investigation Proposal

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problems record labels cause in the industry and why being an unsigned artist has bothpositives and negatives, this being a negative side.

Timeline:

Sources:

http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/one-direction/zayn-malik/news/no-type-solo-cover/.

www.forbes.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koViyQmRejI

Interview/Questionnaire with EastGreen & 4I

What does the future hold for the music industry? I intend to find this out as part ofthis investigation.

November December January February

Make questionnaire forinterview withindependent artists.Contact EastGreen and4I to arrange aninterview well in advanceso they can both takepart, whether it is onseparate dates or at thesame time, it will have tobe organised.

Interview with EastGreenand 4I answeringquestions frompreviously writtenquestionnaire. I will writedown or record whatthey say so that I haveall the information readyto write down into thepower point.

Research on recordlabels, the ’famous feud’between Mic Righteous,Naughty Boy and ZaynMalik. Research onfuture for music industry.By this stage I will makesure all the information iscollected and ready toput into the powerpoint. Iwill also research the

future of the musicindustry using an articleon www.forbes.com

By February thepowerpoint will bestarted and completedwithin the same month. Ifeel this is achievable.The interview wouldhave already been donelast month so all I wouldhave to do is write in intothe powerpoint. The lastthing I will do is justify

my research andproducer down alogbook that shouldcorrespond with thistimeline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koViyQmRejIhttp://www.forbes.com/http://www.capitalfm.com/artists/one-direction/zayn-malik/news/no-type-solo-cover/http://www.forbes.com/