EH - Institutions

Solo Task - Emma Hall 9162

Photograph of House of the Old Boat

‘The House of the Old Boat’ has no representation currently, and gives away their music for free on the website ‘Jamendo’ or a “pay what you like” deal through their website on bandcamp.com. Although they have an official website through the means of a Tumblr blog, and a Twitter and Facebook account – their self-promotion is very limited. Being comprised of one man, Jo Lion, who collaborates with several different artists to play his songs live, most notably Catherine Mason, there is not a strong image for the band, as it comprises of different people at different times. The only image released by the band officially depicts a very casual scene: a cup of tea and a man wearing a plaid shirt (which is very much in the acoustic style) – a very British scene. As the brand image of the artist is not very well developed, a new image will need to be constructed for the purpose of promotion.

House of the Old Boat Twitter

My historical research showed that there is a trend in recent years of artists leaning more towards internet promotion, so my artist will need to have an online presence. Already he has Facebook and Twitter set up, but these can be developed to include more official photographs, to increase their artistic power, instead of just using photos taken at gigs by fans. An official website could also do with developing, adding links to a shop where physical CDs could be bought, such as Amazon.

Glassnote's logo

In order to produce physical CDs of a high quality, the band will also need a record label. One possibility is Glassnote Records. They are an independent company, meaning they will be more likely to take on smaller, more unknown bands than a big label. They typically take up indie-rock and alternative-rock bands, with some folk and hip-hop on the side. As ‘The House of the Old Boat’ produce music that varies between acoustic, alternative, folk, indie and rock (as described on their website), they fit into the bracket Glassnote are used to working with. However, as they have not done as much folk, there should be space for The House of the Old Boat in their roster as something a bit different. Although independent, Glassnote have had previous success with ‘Mumford and Sons’, which are of a similar style to my artist, so should be experienced enough to know how to handle this genre.

Glassnote work primarily in the US, but it was announced in June this year that they are opening a UK office. As my artist is a London-based artist, this may be a good opportunity for the new UK Glassnote to sign a local talent to start their new branch going. Being an international company would be a great asset, though, if the band grew in popularity and started to want to reach out oversees. The new head of the UK office, Sam Rumney, is moving over from his position as producer of Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show, meaning the company will have pre-existing connections with the BBC and specifically the BBC Radio, which would be useful when needing to promote the band, for arranging interviews or exclusive first plays’ of a song. Glassnote also do in-house marketing, publicity and promotions, meaning any posters or CD design will be handled by people who already understand the music’s aim and themes, allowing for good synergy across the promotion.

RED distribution's logo

Glassnote have all their music distributed for them by RED distribution, a Sony Music Entertainment owned company. RED distribute for many different independent records, meaning they are also well experienced, and being a subsidiary of a large umbrella company like Sony means that the music is assured to get out to as many people as possible. This is important, as ‘The House of the Old Boat’, being a mixture of genres, appeals to a wide audience – though mostly a young one. With a young audience comes also the importance of incorporating technology into the promotion. Music TV channels are less popular now than they have been, with many shutting down in recent years. Aside from perhaps a First Play of a video on ‘The Box’ (which is most notable for promoting new songs), the band is better utilising the increasingly popular modern technology like iPads and smartphones. Having songs available on iTunes is an important first step as it is becoming the first stop for people looking to download music. Placing music videos onto iTunes is also a good idea, as I found in my similar product research. I think the most important factor in trying to promote the image of my band, however, is staying current, as technologies are moving so quickly that to stay in touch with the right audience means moving as quickly alongside them.