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VH1
Lesson for Music Classes, Grades 7-12
True Spin
VH1 Music Studio
Cable in the Classroom
Lesson 3 - Marketing of Pop Music |
Objectives
- Students will gain an understanding of concepts of marketing and
promotion in popular music.
- Students will recognize the affect of marketing and promotion on popular opinion of artists and their music
Note to Teachers: The programs viewed in conjunction with these lesson plans may include references, consistent with the eras portrayed, to substance abuse, violent acts, and topics of a sexual and/or political nature. Because this may be considered inappropriate for classroom use in some communities, you are encouraged to review the programs before presenting them to your students, and if necessary, choose those sections that enhance your lesson and are acceptable for use in your classroom
National Standards for Music Education
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Materials
- VHS VCR Player
- Television
- Audio playback equipment
- VH1’s True Spin
- Web-based lesson materials
- Pencils/pens and paper (students)
- Original music video for some of the following songs (optional):
- Born in the USA – Bruce Springsteen
- Losing My Religion – REM
- Back in Black – AC/DC
- Ray of Light – Madonna
- Rio – Duran Duran
- Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Every Breathe You Take – Police
- Safety Dance – Men without Hats
- In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins
- Walk Like an Egyptian – Bangles
Prior Knowledge:
Students have experience discussing various musical styles.
Procedures
1. Explain to students that they are to put themselves in the position
of employee in a recording label’s promotion department. How would
they go about promoting a particular artist? What decisions, moral and
financial, might they be forced to make?
2. Assign students into “promotion development teams,” with
the task of promoting an artist, album, or single. Teams may select
any artist they agree upon, past or present, and any song/album (as
long as it is appropriate for class). Their plan should be in contrast
to the marketing applied in “real life” to that particular
artist. Students may also decide to promote a fellow student(s) and
their music. The teams should discuss the following issues:
- Values Decisions: How do they want to market this artist or group?
Who are they trying to reach (generation, demographics, etc.)? How do
they want the artist to be perceived by the consumer and why?
- Marketing Venues: Should there be a TV/ Video/Concert Tour? What type
of TV (Oprah? David Letterman? TRL?)? What song is to be used for the
first video, and how should the video be constructed (what images)?
Students should relate these questions to item one above.
3. If resources permit, have each team create a video based upon their
selected song and artist, reflecting their “new” marketing
strategy.
4. Have the promotion teams present their marketing strategies, with justification,
to the class in business model (“the pitch”). Ask the class
to offer critique of the marketing plan. Does it reflect the artist’s
intent? If not, why not? Does it reach the appropriate audience? Have
the class discuss the plan’s potential for success.
National
Standards for Music Education
1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire
of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines
outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
These standards-based materials are provided through
a partnership with MENC: The National Association for Music Education.
This lesson plan was created by MENC member David J. Greennagel,
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland,
VA.
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