dms and misfortune events : EP Production

A Project Proposal to Be Submitted to the

School

Meridian International College

McKinley Hill, Taguig City

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Music Business Management

Submitted by:

Rogelio Gregorio S. Alegado

Juan Alfonso G. Teodoro

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS CONCEPT

II PRODUCTS / SERVICES

III MARKET ANALYSIS

IV MARKETING PLAN

V SWOT ANALYSIS

VI COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

VII FINANCIAL STRATEGY

VIII MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS PLAN

I. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS CONCEPT

Early Night is a Hyperpop group that is inspired by the likes of torr, Jasahiah, saoirse

dream, and rouri404. The group’s visuals and aesthetics are inspired by the likes of memes,

Reddit posts, Vaporwave iconography, and the predominant cyberculture that exists within the

confines of the modern web. While the group had only been formed within the last year, the

members individually have a diverse experience in music and production. Such as Rg having

produced for artists like Elevate Exalt, Cid Palma, and Pauline Cueto, and Alfonso being a

former guitarist for local groups like City Skylines, and Rise at Sunset.

The group aims to produce a debut Extended Playlist (EP), consisting of three original

songs that would be written within the lifecycle of the thesis. Alongside this, they will be

producing accompanying visuals and publishing material for the marketing and promotion of

their EP. The EP will be designed to test production capabilities of both individuals in a group

scenario, whilst giving a taste of what their music will sound to consumers and potential fanbase.

The EP will also be self-produced by the group, who will handle most of the recording, mixing,

production, and release to streaming platforms. The EP will also consider featuring a few

collaborators consisting of the personal friends of the group, who will either record for the EP or

will contribute in the publishing materials of the EP.

II. PRODUCTS / SERVICES

The EP will be set to launch in May and would be launched online, with accompanying social

media posts preceding the release of the EP. These posts will serve as a prelude to what the group

will be releasing in May. Publishing materials will include live playthroughs of songs off the EP,

lyric videos, Instagram Reels/Tiktok Videos, and production breakdowns to be released on

Youtube.
 The group’s EP will consist of five original tracks: Early Night (Prologue), Blow Up,

Spellout, 5-Man Stand and The Morning After (Epilogue).

III. MARKET ANALYSIS

A. Target Market

1. Class A: 40%, Class B: 60%

2. 18 - 24 years old: 65%
3. Females: 50%, Males: 50%
4. High school / college student: 60%, young professionals: 40%
5. From urban areas in Metro Manila: 80%
B. Demographics

1. Class B & C

2. Generation Z & Millennials

3. Senior Highschool Students / College Students / Young Professionals

4. All Genders

C. Geographics

1. Local

2. Online

3. Urban/Suburban Area

4. English Speaking Geographic

D. Psychographic & Sociographics

1. Introverts and Extroverts

2. Prefers upbeat, personal music

3. Consumes self-aware entertainment

4. Active on social media

 5. Enjoys consuming short-form media

6. General struggles of being a modern-day student

E. Behaviorals

1. Versatile in music choice and consumption

2. Immediate gratification and impulse buying

3. Repeatedly buys similar products

F. Market Size

When looking at the local market of music streaming specifically, statistics according to

Statista show that the majority of consumers in the Philippines are aged around 18-34 years old.

With other age groups taking up the rest of the market.

 G. Total Available Market

If the music industry is to be taken as a whole, research has shown that in the US alone,

Pop remains the most popular genre amongst the youth (specifically teenagers).

From this chart, one can assert that within the space of Pop, Hyperpop can be inserted as

this particular genre tends to exaggerate the existing sound of current pop music. Following this,

the total available market in the Hyperpop sub-genre of the music industry can be divided into

streams, social media follows, and interactions. As this sub-genre purely exists on the internet

does not requisite a form of physical media; with exceptions to live concerts, merchandise, and

the like.
 According to this chart by Musically, the music industry alone also earns almost entirely

on streaming and subscription-based services like Spotify and Apple Music. While Physical

Media has seen its lowest within the last decade, it has recently surged with the renewed

popularity of Vinyl and Tape Cassettes. Other sources of revenue for the music industry include

Performance Rights licenses, Ad-supported streams, Downloads and other Digital sources, and

Synchronization.

While in general, music revenue has grown to about 18.5% in 2021 compared to the 5

years, peaking to 28.9 billion USD in total revenue. This can be attributed to the COVID-19

Pandemic and the rise of digitally-based artists and music services that would have otherwise

been unprofitable in a pre-pandemic market.

 .

H. Serviceable Available Market

According to a report by We Are Social and social media management platform Hootsuite, in

2019 alone Filipinos have been shown to spend the most time on the internet and social media

websites, averaging at 10 hours and 2 minutes per day.

In the same report, Filipinos were shown to consume the most social media on platforms like

Facebook, Youtube, Tiktok, and other platforms. This report also mentions Filipinos statistics in

the most social media use worldwide.

In another report by Hootsuite and Digital published in 2019, it was found that the Philippines

has the longest average time in consuming music; ranking first with 126 minutes average spent

on music. This is followed by Thailand, India, Mexico, and the United States.

I. Market Share
 K. Market Growth

According to a report done by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry

(IFPI), the global market for music was estimated at a value of $25.9 billion in 2021. Another

thing of note from this report is the growth in streaming subscriptions from 150 million users in
2017 to 500 million users in 2021. This growth in subscribers was accompanied by a growth in

revenue, which is estimated at a value of $16.9 billion.

In a different segment of the same report by the IFPI, it was reported that a total of 523

million subscribers were using paid subscriptions for streaming services. Which coincides with

the growth in overall revenue of streaming services and their respective platforms. Another thing

of note in this segment is the overall growth of global recorded music, which is said to have

grown at about +18.5% since the previous year. It is also estimated to grow further in the

following years.
 Also in the same report, it was mentioned that Asia’s music industry grew by +16.1% in

2021.

V. SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths

a. Production quality can rival mainstream releases and bigger productions.

b. Self-sustaining; duo can produce music, publishing materials, and visuals mostly

by themselves.

c. Received formal training in the following:

- Songwriting

- Music Production

- Audio Engineering

d. Music caters to young adults, youth, and students (current students)

Weaknesses

a. Lack of experience as a group, both have yet to perform together in its current

setup

b. Has no releases as group, no credibility as a duo

c. No experience performing music together

d. Limited audience reach due to lack of portfolio

Opportunities

a. Genre is a relatively new market, not yet saturated

b. Popularity of streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, etc.

c. New music platforms such as Tiktok, Youtube Reels, Instagram Reels, etc.
 d. Music production can lead to networking and future collaborations with other

music acts.

e. Music can be featured/used in other media like vlogs, podcasts, streams, and

movie scores and may add more exposure to the music.

Threats:

a. Relatively new genre implies a lack of fans or popularity locally

b. Saturation in online music platforms

c. Unfamiliar/foreign-sounding music

d. Explicit lyrics

i. Drugs

ii. Explicit Words

iii. Sexual Activity

iv. Gender Negativity/Inequality

VI. COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

A. Competitor Identification

1. kir4

kir4 is a Soundcloud producer and Hyperpop Artist based in the Philippines who

started releasing music in 2021. Not much is known about kir4 besides the fact that they

have released 13 tracks.

2. Tsuyunoshi

Tsuyunoshi is a singer-songwriter, producer, and Pop artist based in the

Philippines. He has worked with Hyperpop labeled acts like Midwxst and Kawai Sprite.

He recently joined the music collective Goreset, majority of their releases being
 Hyperpop and having a huge following outside the Philippines. Tsu, as he’s also called, is

known primarily outside the Philippines despite his working and being based in the

Philippines.

3. saoirse dream

saoirse dream is a Portland-based singer-songwriter, music producer, and pop artist. Her

sound mostly consists of Alt. Pop, Digicore, and Hyperpop. saoirse dream has released 9 singles

and 1 album, published on platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal and the like.

She is also affiliated with the record label “Lauren Records” and the online band “webcage”,

where she composes and does production for.

4. glaive

is a singer, songwriter,and record producer from the United States. He gained a cult

following on SoundCloud by publishing a series of hyperpop songs around the start of the

COVID-19 epidemic. In 2020, he acquired a record deal with Interscope Records and published

Cypress Grove, his debut extended play.

B. Competitor Identification.

In deciding when and whose music people would like to stream, certain factors or criterion

would play in determining what people would listen to:

1. Familiarity of sound. What drives people to listen to niche music like Hyperpop is

finding familiarity in the sounds of different artists. This is especially true when

considering the fact that a lot of Hyperpop tracks share similar sound design

themes, lyrical themes, and even down to the audio samples used in their tracks.
 2. Visual themes. Alongside their music, complimentary visual motifs and themes

play a highly important role in establishing an artist’s branding. Having visual

themes that would augment the musical element would further solidify the

branding of an artist.

3. Accessibility of music. Another proponent in people choosing their music is the

accessibility to their catalog. As can be seen in the more popular examples, the

artists with larger followings tend to utilize more platforms to release music.

From social media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram Reels, to music-based

platforms like Spotify and Soundcloud, it is important to capitalize on as much

platform exposure as possible to cater to one’s audience.

4. Overall Production. From music, to branding, to execution of the marketing plan,

and release, the overall production has to be able to attract new listeners and be

able to successfully market the music whilst being able to compliment and stay

true to how the artist intends to brand the music.

VII. Financial Strategy

To minimize expenditures and losses by the proponents involved, as well as allow

potential profit to be made from the music, the following financial strategies will be applied.

Recording, Mixing, and Mastering will be done within the confines of MINT Ortigas’

studio, with select audio work being done in the proponents’ home setups. These productions

will also be handled solely by the proponents and will not involve third-party personnel.

As for the synthesis and fabrication of visuals, marketing materials, and photography for

the EP, the proponents will hire Andro Avila to assist and take photos to be used for the
following. He will be paid an honorarium as compensation for the work he will be doing with the

proponents. The following work including color-grading, photo editing, video editing, and

directorial work for the visuals will be done by the project proponents.

VIII. MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS PLAN

Project Timetable

Tasks Description Duration Output

Presentation/Consulta Consultation for October 17, 2022- Thesis Proposal

tion of Demos Demos and December 10, 2022
Production

Pre-Production of EP Finalization of February 6, 2023 - Tempo Maps, Song

Demos February 10, Maps for Studio
Recording

Recording of EP Recording of February 13, 2023 - Raw Vocal Stems,

Instruments February 17, 2023 Instrument Stems

Post-Production of Mixing, Mastering, February 20, 2023 - Mix and Mastered EP

EP Overdubbing February 27, 2023

Pre-Production of Shooting of March 1, 2023 - Photo/Video Library

Marketing Materials Video/Photo for March 10, 2023 for Visual Production
Release

Production of Editing, March 13, 2023 - Marketing Materials

Marketing Materials Color-grading, March 24, 2023
Rendering, Photo
Composition

Post-Production of Uploading, March 27, 2023 - Pre-scheduled

Marketing Materials Pre-scheduling of April 1, 2023 Uploads
Marketing Materials

Marketing of EP Social media postage, April 3, 2023 - April Social Media

interactions, hyping 27, 2023 Uploads
up for EP.
Release of EP Apr 28, 2023 Release of EP

Post-release of EP Posting of content Apr 29, 2023 - Social Media Posts

related to EP, social onwards
media interactions,
etc.

● Writing of lyrics for the songs using smartphones between November till end of January

● Music production and recording will be done in MINT Ortigas Campus during the month

of February using the proponents’ equipment and potentially, borrowed equipment from

MINT

● Software for production: Ableton Live 11 Suite

○ 3rd-party plugins include select Waves, Neural DSP, Fabfilter, WX Audio, and

Sound Theory plugins.

○ Stock plugins from Ableton will also be utilized

● Software for post-production: REAPER 6 and Izotope RX 9

● Creation of marketing visuals: digital posters, social media posts, EP cover

○ Adobe Photoshop 2020

○ 3rd party photographer

○ DSLR Camera

○ Smartphone Cameras

● Software for video production: Magix Vegas Pro 19

Links:

https://headphonesaddict.com/music-genre-statistics/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/04/music-sales-record-streaming-surge/

https://musically.com/2022/03/22/global-recorded-music-2021-ifpi/

https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1258053/share-of-music-streaming-service-users-by-age-phili

ppines

https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/01/31/19/filipinos-still-worlds-top-social-media-user-study

https://www.midiaresearch.com/blog/music-subscriber-market-shares-q2-2021

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/music-production-software-market-size-to-increase-

by-usd-369-87-million-during-2022-2026--rising-number-of-musicians-and-artists-to-boost-mar

ket-growth----technavio-301585958.html#:~:text=The%20market%20is%20expected%20to,mus

ic%20production%20software%20market%20growth.

https://www.ifpi.org/our-industry/industry-data/

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