A NATIONWIDE BATTLE OF THE BANDS
CREATIVE BRIEF
INTRODUCTION .
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PHASE 1: WEBSITE
BACKGROUND .
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WEBSITE OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 COMPETITOR SITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 AUDIENCE .
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UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 BRAND CHARACTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 SITE FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 SITE MAP .
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PHASE 2: FESTIVALS
BACKGROUND .
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BREAKDOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 DELIVERABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
PHASE 3: CONCERTS
BACKGROUND .
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BREAKDOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
CLOSING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
INTRODUCTION Through various sources, I often discover incredibly talented local and underground musical artists that deserve much greater recognition. The reality is that millions of acts exist and the possibility of one receiving national attention is slim to none. Since it is incredibly unfortunate for so much talent to go unheard, I would like to create a festival that allows many the ability to extend their audiences.
CRESCENDO (adapted from the musical term for increase in loudness) is a nation-wide battle of the bands competition. It allows bands and musicians from across the United States to share their music while pursuing a momentous prize.
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PHASE 1 WEBSITE
BACKGROUND The Internet is the most effective means of spreading information and sharing content. Therefore, Crescendo begins on and is mainly facilitated through a website. Musicians enter the battle and post content online, allowing site visitors to vote for talented acts and discover new music. While there are only a few winners, Crescendo hopes to spread the music of all participants in the competition process.
STATS: • Over 435,000 composers, song-writers, and music publishers at ASCAP; over 500,000 at BMI • Live Nation produces over 20,000 shows annually • Bureau of Labor Statistics: 42,530 musicians and singers, 48,321 independent individuals primarily engaged in artistic performances • CD Baby music from over 300,000 artists, Next Big Sound data from over 700,000 artists WITH NUMBERS LIKE THE ABOVE, HOW CAN AN ARTIST MAKE IT BIG?
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WEBSITE OBJECTIVES The principal goal of the host website is to help local artists from across the country grow their audiences with the end objective of selecting several of the most talented artists to participate in live performances. The site needs to succesfully direct users to musicians that they are not familiar with. A listener may originally visit the site via one local band that he or she supports, but Crescendo’s website features must prompt users to investigate other deserving musicians based on genre, overall rating, or similiary to their local artists.
Equally important, the website must prompt enough interest that users will participate in Crescendo’s offline platforms. This includes purchasing merchandise and attending the festival shows, thus
• AUDIENCE GROWTH FOR MUSICIANS • MUSIC DISCOVERY FOR LISTENERS • INTEREST IN FESTIVAL’S OFFLINE PLATFORMS • NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR SEVERAL MUSICAL ACTS
collecting revenue for Crescendo.
Ultimately, exposure to new music acts as an incentive for users to purchase tickets to live events.
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COMPETITOR SITES Crescendo’s competition lies in two categories: music discovery websites and battle of the bands websites.
MUSIC DISCOVERY
Crescendo and its website promote music discovery, as do sites such as Spotify, Pandora, and SoundCloud. These sites are widely recognized for providing new music, Spotify and Pandora based on personal preference. They host popular, published music, as opposed to undiscovered artists.
SPOTIFY
LIKEABLE FEATURES • Uses declarative statements: “Music for everyone,” “Music brings us together,” “All your music is here” • Minimal, seemingly bland color palatte (black and white), but pops
USEFUL FUNCTIONS • Simple and clear, clean icons (A) • Overall dark, sleek, subdued color palette, pops of color to draw attention to important features (B)
of green for important highlights • Homepage uses deep scroll to relay all necessary info; no clicking to pages for about, membership, etc. • Parallax scrolling, transparent boxes; elegant • Simple, straightforward icons
• Partners with range of notable brands, festivals, and non-profits, including Sprint, Sennheiser, Bonnaroo, and MTV
• Explanations of features very short to not lose viewer’s attention
• Has access to music from all major record labels
• Where menus do exist, they only include a few options; easy to
• Allows user to follow other users if he or she likes their music playlists
digest, not too much to sort through
DISLIKEABLE FEATURES • Seems inconsistent in design in community forum; all usernames not the same color, page overall uses clunky icons, page seems disconnected from the header and the rest of the site • Haphazard mashup of album covers; breaks page in strange and not very smooth way 8
SUCCESS FACTORS
A
B
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PANDORA
LIKEABLE FEATURES • Homepage has one feature (to input an artist); very easy for user to figure out what to do • Descriptive genre profiling: “...we’ll play a song that...features
USEFUL FUNCTIONS • Lists information about artist playing, as well as similar artists (C) • Navigation through ads; displays several ads at once without being overpowering (D)
basic rock song structures, a subtle use of vocal harmony, repetitive melodic phrasing, extensive vamping and acoustic rhythm piano;” puts words to the type of music the listener is drawn to
• Uses the Music Genome Project to assign characteristics to songs,
• Noticeable yet unobnoxious ad placement; ads placed in corner
creating a scientific approach to categorizing music
and displayed as slideshow; very noticeable but still feel like
• Allows songs to be more specifically catered to listener
purposeful pieces of the page
• Allows users to follow other users based on stations
DISLIKEABLE FEATURES • Too monochromatic; blue is calming but also depressing; could benefit from another color, a brighter color, or a contrasting color • Slightly embossed type and buttons, large buttons with gradients; makes some features seem dated • Very large, distracting ads seem slapped on carelessly • Full background ads; after some refreshes, entire page background becomes ad and is very off-putting
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SUCCESS FACTORS
C
D
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SOUNDCLOUD
LIKEABLE FEATURES • Declarative statements make it sound like joining SoundCloud will
USEFUL FUNCTIONS • Bright, fun, clear buttons (E)
benefit you: “Get On SoundCloud, make careers happen,” “Get On
• Allows users to pin comments in songs, advocating for artists (F)
SoundCloud, make fans happen”
• Hierarchy on informational pages; bold, clever headlines draw user
• Devoted to users; word choice speaks to users, words aim to appreciate users and cater to users: “...we launched our brand new iPhone app, and we want to say thanks to all of you who’ve
in, custom icons draw attention to important areas, different columns and proportions for different information to avoid redundance (G) • Links to all artists’ social media platforms (H)
downloaded it, tried it out, and let us know what you think. It’s been great hearing from everyone...We hear you,” “today, our all-new iPhone app is ready for you,” “Congratulations to our finalists...” “share your thoughts with us...really help us improve” • Featured song on homepage changes upon refresh; introduces users to new music, helps promote artists that utilize the site
SUCCESS FACTORS • Provides artists with a free platform for uploading music with the option to make it available for download, thus promoting to a broader audience • Allows users to collect songs they like, creating their own playlists
DISLIKEABLE FEATURES • “Who to follow” feature is random when logging in, as opposed to custom based on music preferences; custom suggestions would make user more apt to check them out
To meet the demands of established music providers, Crescendo’s website needs to include a system of directing users to new music based on what they already like. Perhaps a login through Facebook can assist by accessing users’ “liked” artists. A handy feature may be to allow users to tag bands with other large musicians they deem them similar to, drawing attention to them by means of “big names.”
Fortunately, in addition to these features, the concept of aiding local artists may alone serve as a huge drive for users. A sense of hometown pride incites the initial visit, and a thirst for undiscovered music retains the user’s interest. While large platforms like Spotify and Pandora provide satisfying playlists, they cannot match fulfillment from participation in the rise of truly undiscovered talent, or the excitement of rooting for a local band’s success.
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E
F
G
H
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BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITIONS
Nationally recognized battles such as BattleOfTheBands.com, Gorilla Music, and Buffalo Trace Saloon present competition.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
BattleOfTheBands.com hosts competitions for already national touring festivals.
LIKEABLE FEATURES • “Sneak peeks” of all main information provided on home page;
USEFUL FUNCTIONS • Hierarchical grids (A)
participating festivals and bands shown immediately with option
• Band statistics (B)
to load more or click for more information
• Sponsors switch from grey to color upon mouse over (C)
• Very photograph-heavy; stresses importance of participating acts
• Band sorting system (D) • Option to view bands as grid or list (E)
DISLIKEABLE FEATURES • Tone of information is too formal and serious
• Judge profiles (F) • Image system for rules rather than text-only (G)
• Clicking on different festivals reveals information about each one, but there is no “master about page” describing the purpose of Battle OfTheBands.com itself (rules page sort of serves as about page)
SUCCESS FACTORS • BattleOfTheBands is sponsored by respectable music industry brands • Main music festivals look to site to host their competitions through • Opportunities for small scale and large scale prizes
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A
E
B
F
C
G
D
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GORILLA MUSIC
LIKEABLE FEATURES • Provides statistics to back up its success: “A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau,” “has booked about 50,000 bands,”
USEFUL FUNCTIONS • I admire this website for the strength and thorough detail of its content but think that it lacks beneficial organization
“runs shows in over 65 cities and works with over 100 clubs” • Lists reasons artists should use the company: “We do not require bands to sell tickets....reward them for selling tickets,” “...our shows attract huge crowds,” “We have an amazing management program where any band that wants our help can get it;” portray the company as a huge asset to artists striving for success
DISLIKEABLE FEATURES • Many site features flash or use many text effects, giving them an advertisement feeling • Too much information falls under an endless scroll as opposed to columns or separate pages • Team members offer inconsistent information: some use Gmail email addresses, others use @gorilla.com; some provide phone numbers, others do not; not all are represented by photographs • Photo gallery last updated in 2013; should be to date or removed • Testimonial page is too text heavy with too much scrolling; could benefit from separate links or “read more” drop-downs
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SUCCESS FACTORS • Gorilla Music has the ability to book in many cities and venues across the United States
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BUFFALO TRACE SALOON
Buffalo Trace Saloon is a United States restaurant bar chain. Its competition offers cash prizes.
LIKEABLE FEATURES • Style of site matches theme of saloon; provides unified style for battle features • Minimal color palette, not too distracting
USEFUL FUNCTIONS • Instead of star ratings, users give bands “shots;” unique take on voting system (A) • Band statistics, links, and info easily viewable (B) • Ability to select genre and sorting (C)
DISLIKEABLE FEATURES • One winner each month from January until August, then com-
• Score sheet (D) • Ability to log in through Facebook (E)
petition between winners in September; seems to drawn out
SUCCESS FACTORS • As a successful chain restaurant, Buffalo Trace Saloon can afford generous cash prizes
Crescendo needs to maintain fans’ interest once their local bands are eliminated and spark fans’ interest in the bands outside of their hometowns. Perhaps an incentive could include voting for other artists for a chance to win a ticket to the closet regional festival.
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A
D
B
E
C
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AUDIENCE PERSONA 1: ONLY INTERESTED IN ARTISTS FROM HIS HOMETOWN John is a 17-year-old high school senior in a small town in Pennsylvania. He is a fan of hard rock and heavy metal music. He was never able to pursue proper music lessons, but his desire to fit in with a musical crowd keeps him avidly following local bands. He attends many of their local shows and enthusiastically advocates for them on social media. When he finds out that several of his town’s bands are entering Crescendo, he throws all of his support at them, voting for every musician from his hometown and prompting everyone he knows to vote.
WILL ENJOY: • Recommendations based on location • Social media links and sharing options • Photos, videos, music
NEEDS TO FIND: SIMILAR PERSONAS:
LOOKING FOR:
• Young music lovers
• Means of voting
• High school students
• Benefits of voting
• Those involved in local music, i.e.
• Means of sharing artists
• Direction towards artists outside of hometown by means of genre, age, etc. • Draw to new music from unfamiliar artists
promoters, managers, venue owners
PERSONA 2: LOVE OF UNDISCOVERED MUSICIANS Kate is a 20-year-old music business major at a large university in New York. For years she has been very interested in unexplored genres and bands rather than widely recognized acts. In high school, she maintained many friendships with local artists and worked with them to achieve greater success in their areas. She aspires to aid musicians in growth, beginning at the starting stages and fostering them to success. Searching for underground talent, she came across Crescendo and was overwhelmed at the number of musicians involved.
SIMILAR PERSONAS:
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LOOKING FOR:
• Young music lovers
• Variety of talented bands
• Music industry students
• Benefits of voting
• Local music supporters
• Means of sharing artists
WILL ENJOY: • Recommendations based on location • Social media links and sharing options • Photos, videos, music
NEEDS TO FIND: • Incentive to vote • Direction towards artists outside of hometown
PERSONA 3: MAINSTREAM MUSIC FAN, VISITS SITE VIA COUSIN’S BAND Jennifer, a 23-year-old barista from Maryland, enjoys spending time with large groups of friends at clubs and bars, often updating her Facebook check-ins. She discovers music through friends and radio stations. She recived a message through Facebook from her cousin in North Carolina. His band is competing in Crescendo and he is asking her to help him out by voting through Crescendo’s website. A fan of folk music, Jennifer is interested to see that the battle will be sponsoring a The Head and the Heart concert at the end of the event.
WILL ENJOY: • Pairings with mainstream artists • Recommendations based on genre • Social media links, sharing • Incentives to vote
SIMILAR PERSONAS:
LOOKING FOR:
• Young concertgoers
• Correlation with familiar bands
• College graduates
• Easy means of voting
• Relatives and friends of band members
• Benefits of voting
• Mainstream music fans
• Bands’ music
• People not directly associated with the
NEEDS TO FIND: • Incentive to vote • Incentive to listen to music • Direction towards other artists, new music
music industry
PERSONA 4: BAND MEMBERS Michael, 26, is an acoustic solo artist. He has been performing in local coffee shops and bars for about a year. While he is happy with his sound, he worries that it does not appeal to those from his town that would help spread it around. In high school, Michael was part of a rock band that grew a large fan base and would like to achieve that status again. While searching for ways to spread his new acoustic music online, he finds Crescendo.
SIMILAR PERSONAS:
• Rankings, tips • Audio live stream ability • Professional judges, prize
LOOKING FOR:
• Newly begun acts
• Fan base growth
• Experienced musicians
• Music posting
• Solo artists
• Potential to win
• Members of bands
• Ways to stand out
• Range of musical genres
WILL ENJOY:
• Social media sharing
NEEDS TO FIND: • Incentive to participate • Incentive to stay active on website
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PERSONA FEATURE LIST
SITE FEATURES
Participating band list with sorting features Rankings
AVID MUSIC FANS x
CASUAL MUSIC FANS
BAND MEMBERS
x
x
x
Participating band info. (desciptions, music, photos,
x
x
vidoes, socials) Forums
x
Recommendations
x
Audio live streaming
x
Social media sharing
x
Festival / concert countdown
x
National bands as support
x
Playlist creation
x
Voting Prize offers Festival information
Final concert information
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x x x x
x x
x
x
x
x (once see incentives)
x
x
x
x
x
x
x (depending on sponsors and festival events) x (depending on national bands)
x
x
UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION “WHERE CROSS-COUNTRY CONTENDERS PROGRESS FROM NEIGHBORHOOD NOISE TO SWEEPING SUCCESS.”
• Crescendo encompasses the entire country and is dedicated to growth above all else • While prizes are awarded to some, all participating musicians have the opportunity move past a local standpoint and grow their audiences across the board • Site features ensure that musicians will be recommended to listeners outside of their immediate hometowns
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BRAND CHARACTER: Cresecendo will utilize a positive, relaxed, and joyful tone. As a competition involving many young people, it needs to present itself as welcoming and inviting, a platform where bands feel comfortable creating profiles and where fans feel appreciated for participating. It will use many second person pronouns to speak directly to users and to stress dedication to the bands and the fans, utilizing jargon that emphasizes the importance of bands’ and fans’ efforts. Individulals appreciate the knowledge that they have made a difference, so areas of the site will often express gratitude for fans’ efforts, thanking them for voting, commenting, sharing, etc., and reminding them that they are carrying the site. To show that its services are devoted to bands’ benefits, Crescendo will offer bands reminders to stay active on the site and tips for increasing their audiences. Creating this sense of unity and informing users that they are a direct hand in the success promotes them to continue their activity on the site and to support Cresecendo’s off-site events.
SUCCESS METRICS: • INCREASE IN OVERALL VOTES • INCREASE IN FORUM COMMENTS • INCREASE IN SOCIAL MEDIA SHARES • INCREASE IN BAND REGISTRATION • INCREASE IN FAN REGISTRATION • INCREASE IN USER INTEREST IN BANDS OUTSIDE OF HOMETOWNS
To iterate an enjoyable user experience, Crescendo’s site theme will correspond to a music player. Site features will adapt names from music jargon.
EXAMPLES OF FEATURES • “Turning up the volume” to vote • Votes counted in decibels • “Transmission” as social media feed • 4 “quads” (channels of sound) for 4 genres
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SITE FEATURE LIST HERE IS WHAT I ADMIRE FROM COMPETITOR SITES:
• Deep, one page scroll for most important information; click to other pages for secondary information • Discreet yet noticeable ads that feel like they’re a part of the page design, slideshow ads • Declarative statements and second person pronouns • Interactive / unique means of displaying common features • Sorting by list or grid • Unique names / systems for common features (votes = shots) • Themes • Featured band / song, randomly changing band / song upon refresh
HERE IS WHAT I DO NOT CARE FOR FROM COMPETITOR SITES:
• Not enough community; too distant and matter-of-fact in tone • Not enough interest; no linking to bands user might recognize • Not enough incentive • No live aspects in online voting; musicians’ performances can sound vastly different from recordings
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CRESCENDO SITE FEATURES:
ENTER SITE
HOME PAGE • News article
link to enter site • Logo / identity + USP
read more
• General info about site & festival
related articles
• Participating genres
• Highlighted contest
• What’s in it for bands, fans
• Daily tip for bands • Newest acts
link to sign up
Merchandise
• General festival & concert info link to register / log in link to festival social medias
(Enter site scoll example ) logo / identity Where cross-country contenders progress from neighborhood noise to sweeping success. Crescendo is searching for the greatest local bands, discovering immense hidden talent along the way. Crescendo invites young local musicians to participate in a competition to achieve recognition across the United States, vastly expanding fan bases in the process. We welcome community members to select deserving acts and to discover new music. Here’s a breakdown of the process: Bands enter one of 4 genres:
Fans register, vote for favorites, create playlists, and
Folk description, example
discover hidden talent, helping foster these artists to
Metal description, example
success. Along the way, they have opportunities to
Rock description, example
communicate with artists, attend live performances,
Pop description, example
and win cool prizes.
Select bands are chosen to perform in Crescendo in New York, Memphis, Omaha, and San Francisco -mapand four bands are awarded the opportunity to open live for BAND, BAND, BAND, and BAND. Join the community for participation in voting, communication, and festivals. Bands – register for a chance to perform to a crowd of thousands and to share your music with the country. Fans – register for the opportunity to help your favorite local rise to success and to unearth musical gems across the United States.
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ARTICLE PAGE • News article
BAND SIGN UP Split between several pages
related articles by category
• *Band name
most popular articles
• *Email address • *At least 2 social media links
GENERAL INFORMATION
• *Genre (choose 1 of 4)
Split between several pages
• At least 3 similar national acts (will drop down when start typing)
• How festival works
• *Zip code
• Goals of festival
• *Password
• What’s in it for bands & fans / benefits
• *Upload song
link to sign up
• *Upload photo
• About festival & final concerts
• *Description
• Other festival events
• *Number of members
link to tickets • National bands at final concerts
• *Ages of members (Can add more info after registration)
link to nation bands’ websites • About judges & sponsors link to sponsors’ websites • Frequently asked questions dropdowns for categories
FAN SIGN UP Split between several pages • *Username • *Email address • *Password
SIGN UP • Benefits for bands link to band sign up • Benefits for fans
• *Favorite genre (choose from 4) • *At least 3 favorite national acts (will drop down when start typing) • *Zip code • Option to sign in with Facebook
link to fan sign up
BANDS LIST • Sort by grid or list • Sort bands by genre, location (zip code), age, number of votes, join date, alphabetical links to band profiles
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BAND PROFILES • Band name
register / log in / profile
• About
recommended band for you
• Photos, videos
general info
• Social media links
festival & concert info
• Genre
all bands
link to search more of genre • Hometown link to search more of town • Songs • Similar national acts • Social media feed share on social media • Countdown to band’s regional festival, badge if still participating in competiton (after voting levels) • Number of votes vote
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STATIC LINKS (MENU, ON EVERY PAGE)
festival social media
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Below, each page of Crescendo’s website is cataloged.
SITE MAP
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PHASE 2 FESTIVALS
BACKGROUND One of the most important factors in determining if musical acts are truly deserving of recognition is quality of live performance. Strong stage presence, superior sound caliber, and audience interaction are all aspects that contribute to an artist’s likeability and potential to attract a crowd. Crescendo seeks out musicians that excel at these facets to represent talent, appeal, and diligence.
To discern which musicians best exhibit these characteristics, Crescendo will host four live battle of the bands competition festivals in the United States. Competing bands will be selected by a panel of judges from sponsor organizations, and will be selected by analysis of online listener voting paired with evaluation of provided music and descriptions.
• EXPANSION OF FAN BASES FOR MUSICIANS • DISCOVERY OF NEW MUSIC FOR AUDIENCE • DETERMINATION OF FINAL DESERVING WINNERS
Crescendo’s festivals will be held in cities with great interest in music: San Francisco, California; Omaha,
• PROMOTION OF SPONSORS AND
Nebraska; Memphis, Tennessee; and New York, New York. The competitions will be held over the
APPRECIATION FOR LOCAL MUSIC
course of nine days on the respective 2015 dates: July 9, July 12, July 15, and July 18.
THROUGH ACTIVITIES
San Francisco, CA Omaha, NE Memphis, TN New York, NY
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• SHOWCASE OF TALENT
BREAKDOWN The festival venues are located across the United States, splitting the country into four regions. The selected bands will compete in the festivals in their respective regions.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
OMAHA, NEBRASKA
July 9, 2015
July 12, 2015
Golden Gate Park
Stinson Park
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
NEW YORK, NY
July 15, 2015
July 18, 2015
Tom Lee Park
Randall’s Island Park
Crescendo’s judges, along with the festival creators, will analyze the musicians with the highest numbers of votes after the online listener voting period ends. For each festival date, they will select five bands from each genre to compete. (Five bands from each genre for four genres amounts to 20 bands per festival, and a total of 80 bands across all four festivals.)
CRESCENDO’S JUDGES:
TOM WHEELER
KEVIN LYMAN
Author of Fender’s Custom Shop
Founder of Vans Warped Tour
DAN AKYROYD
JULIE GREENWALD
Founder of House of Blues
President of Atlantic Records
CRAIGIE ZILDJIAN CEO of Zildjian
Each festival will include four stages (one per genre), and musicians will perform 40-minute sets. Stage acts may overlap slightly to assure no dead time. Crescendo’s judges will observe a portion of each set.
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ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES While the main goal of Crescendo’s festivals is to focus on the artists, showcasing talent and determining winners, Crescendo offers additional activities at each competition to provide variety in the event, and to encourage attendance of music lovers not familiar with the performers and of fans located far from the festival locations.
ACTIVITIES MAY INCLUDE:
SILENT DISCO
LOUDEST CYMBAL CRASH COMPETITION
Sponsored by Beats
Sponsored by Zildjian
30 MINUTE LESSON SESSIONS
BRING BOTTLED WATER
Sponsored by Fender
Sponsored by charity : water
Guitars will be provided and professionals will teach
Guests may receive first priority sign up for one music
short, private or group lessons.
or tip session if they donate a bottle of water upon entering the festival.
TIP SESSIONS Sponsored by Guitar Center
STREAMING SCREEN
Professionals will conduct short sessions advising on
Sponsored by Ustream
music promotion and steps for achieving success.
During the festivals, posts and photos uploaded to Twitter and Instagram with a certain hashtag may be
CONNECTION SPACE Sponsored by Converse
Participants choose either a “band” or a “fan” pin and use the area to promote in person and meet new fans or bands.
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displayed on a large screen at the festivals.
OTHER ASPECTS MAY INCLUDE:
• Merchandise • Food Vendors • Lost and Found • Information / Medical / Security
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DELIVERABLES The following may be produced for use in Crescendo’s competition festivals.
• Tickets • Stage passes for musicians • Schedules for each festival • Posters • Signage wayfinding, stage, festival tents • Food vouchers, coupons • Merchandise 2 shirts, drawstring backpacks, hoodie
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PHASE 3 CONCERTS
BACKGROUND The most effective way to bring recognition to new artists is to pair them with artists that already receive national attention. Crescendo’s grand prizes for the festival competition winners is an opportunity to open live at one performance for a popular band of their respective genres. These performances will be stops on existing planned tours; the winning bands will perform at the tour stops closest to each of their hometowns. Each concert will be at a large venue in front of a crowd of thousands, an opportunity to share music with ample new fans.
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• EXPOSURE TO FANS OF GENRE • DISPLAY OF SKILL • POSITIVE CORRELATION WITH POPULAR MUSICIANS
BREAKDOWN Crescendo’s judges will observe a portion of each set at each festival. After the last festival, they will determine one overall winner from each of the four genres, folk, metal, rock, and pop.
The winners will join the tours of the following bands on the dates and at the locations closest to each of their hometowns:
THE HEAD AND THE HEART
ARCTIC MONKEYS
Folk
Rock
THE AMITY AFFLICTION Metal
CHVRCHES Pop
Crescendo’s winners’ final concert performance dates will be announced with the announcement of the winners.
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CLOSING Through this process, four highly deserving musical acts will receive an opportunity they may never otherwise gain the means to achieve. The aid of these musicians is a truly rewarding experience for all involved, as the path to their success is accomplished by the efforts of bands and fans alike. Furthermore, all musicians involved will spread their music across the country, and listeners will discover music they enjoy that could have been impossible to discover elsewhere. Crescendo unites the country in music and proves that true talent can pay off.
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