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  • Music Marketing in the Digital Age: Building an Identifiable Personal Brand, Promoting Records and Adapting to Market Demands

Music Marketing in the Digital Age: Building an Identifiable Personal Brand, Promoting Records and Adapting to Market Demands

Student: Borzunov Anton

Supervisor:

Faculty: St.Petersburg School of Economics and Management

Educational Programme: Management (Bachelor)

Final Grade: 10

Year of Graduation: 2020

Technological development brought a significant change in the industry of music, making the need for digital marketing, new promotion strategies and an artist’s strong personal brand more vital than ever. This particular research attempts to answer the following questions: How does an artist build a recognizable and easily identifiable personal brand? How does an artist succeed in promoting their records? How does an artist adapt to market changes? The research is divided into three stages and implements two research methods. First, preferences of Russian music consumers are assessed through an online-distributed survey; second, existing practices in music marketing and branding are explored via in-depth interviews with five representatives of Russian music industry; third, an alignment between consumer preferences and implemented practices is investigated, aiming to suggest the most efficient marketing and branding tools and channels. Throughout the research, it was discovered that unique visual identity of an artist (their logo, the cohesive style of their social media, their merchandise products) and incorporation of both online and offline channels of advertising can boost their local presence, which is the first step to global recognition. This study also suggests that collaborations between several artists are a good tool to strengthen an artist’s presence and grasp new audiences. Finally, the research provides insight into how Russian music artists adapt to changes in the demand for music services evoked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the research can be applied by both professionals in the music industry and independent artists in order to better understand how to adjust their branding and marketing practices so that their efficiency is increased, how to strengthen their personal brand and presence and successfully communicate with their audience both online and offline.

Full text (added May 31, 2020)

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