Mouzon,+C.+Final+Report+Proposal

Mouzon, C

TO: Proximity Music Team FROM: Carl Mouzon SUBJECT: Proposal for Product Placement and Endorsement by Artists DATE: April 7, 2010

The music industry has been anticipating the decline in digital music sales for the last decade. From iTunes to Rhapsody, with the relative ease consumers have to download music, paying for music to Generation-Y is akin to 'throwing money away.' A new business strategy needs to be developed to make profit for the artists as well as the music labels behind them. I propose to write a report on the effect product placement in musician's music videos and concerts could have in replacing the revenue lost from illegal downloading.


 * Need**

Illegal downloading has changed the market in digital media for the worst in terms of making profit and the only places that are fairing are those overseas where internet piracy is taken more seriously than in the U.S. It is important to remember the following regarding the changing market of digital media:


 * Digital media is becoming easier to obtain without paying for it in the U.S. In other countries, government intervention has stricter policies against illegal downloading, causing digital media sales as well as CDs sales to be higher than in places with little restrictions.


 * Product placement has been used in television, movies, and music for years and it is time the music industry embraces its ability to advertise and reach a consumer that now has the option to bypass ads online and on television with relative ease.


 * Advertising agencies are having a difficult time with so much technology available to a consumer that does not want to spend even 15-30 seconds to hear about a product, and they choose many times to close or fast-forward past the ad to get to their entertainment.


 * Music has been shown to influence trends in culture and fashion throughout the years in the form of fashion (from jewelry to name brand clothes) and technology (watches, cars, television, etc.).

If music videos and concerts that promote the artist's songs or videos can also promote Coca-Cola or Virgin Mobile, then the target audience is reached and influenced to buy a product used by artists they admire. Generation-Y may not be likely to buy digital media but they are likely to buy detergent, shop at certain stores, and eat certain foods. These markets can be a resource for the music industry to tap into as other companies have to reach Generation-Y as well. Basically, by exploiting other markets that are in the same situation that the music industry is in, the music industry can make profit from those companies instead of Generation-Y.

**Topics**

The proposed report: "From Cell Phones to Mayonnaise: Product Placement as a Revenue Generator" will deal with the following topics:


 * The decline of digital media sales and it's effect on the entertainment industry globally


 * Product placement in movies and television


 * Product placement in music videos and its effect upon culture


 * The advertising market and its need for new avenues of ad transmission


 * Sources**

The following items are key resources for this report. Information is still being collected on the history of Ad placement in music videos and concerts.

Advertising Age. (2010.) //How Miracle Whip, Plenty of Fish Tapped Lady Gaga's Telephone//. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from [].

Hamp and York describe the effects of gratuitous product placement has had for companies that were featured in Lady Gaga's music video, "Telephone". Companies that were featured have had major sales increases since the video premiered.

As We Zoom Past Commercials, Ads Go to Movies. (2009, June 25). //States News Service.// Retrieved April 6, 2010 from Lexis/Nexis Academic Database. The author examines the effect of consumer’s ability to past ads has had in sales of products. The author then explains recent product placements in movies and how it has affected their companies’ revenue given the release of the movies they were featured in.

Singing a Different Tune. (2009, November 14.) //The Economist.// Retrieved April 6, 2010 from Lexis/Nexis Academic Database. The author examines different methods the music industry has taken to curb illegal downloading in different countries. The author also admits that it is believed that illegal downloading accounts for 95% of all downloaded items online. The author also hints at a similar business model of packaging digital media with other items to make sales.

Free but Legal. (2009, August 1.) //The Economist.// Retrieve April 6, 2010 from Lexis/Nexis Academic Database. The author examines successful methods of selling digital media in other countries outside of the U.S. and Britain. It is still possible to sell CDs and digital media where there are places with government sanctions, an the authors analyzes how ‘Spotify’, a media-streaming software, has done so even in a market where 95% of downloads are illegal.

En Breve. (2010, January 30.) Billbord.com. Retrieved April 6, 2010 from Lexis/Nexis Academic Database. The author examines the long battle it has taken the Spanish government to intervene and to help put an end to illegal downloading.

The report proposal looks pretty good, for some reason I tried to highlight some grammatical and spelling errors in green and red but every time I did so, the sentence would go to the next line. You said akin in your first paragraph and I was not sure what you were trying to say there. Other than that your paper and idea are very good. TH