What is Innovation?

To do 1.4 Challenge.

Chapter 2

Why innovation in the music Industry?

To do 1.5

Chapter 3

How to Innovate

A. To do 3.4

B To do 3.4

Chapter 4

What kind of entrepreneur are you?

Chapter 5

Your team

To do 5.5

Chapter 6

What is your Innovation for?

6.4 to -do

Chapter 7

where is your customer consumer located

To -do 7.4

Chapter 8

The power of collaboration

8.4 to do collaborators

Chapter 9

Funding and finances

A. To-do Know your numbers 9.4

Funding mechanisms.

Chapter 10

Articulation your craft, artistry, brand and or product services.

10.4 To do create yours

Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com (2016). Forget it John, George Martin pushed 1960s technology to forge the Beatles’ sound | DW | 09.03.2016. [online] DW.COM. Available at: https://www.dw.com/en/forget-it-john-george-martin-pushed-1960s-technology-to-forge-the-beatles-sound/a-19104169.

Freiman, S. (2016). 15 Bands Following In The Beatles’ Footsteps. [online] Culture Sonar. Available at: https://www.culturesonar.com/beatlesque-bands/.

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Jazz Messengers. (2024). The Influences Behind the Beatles - Jazz Messengers. [online] Available at: https://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/86274/various-artists/the-influences-behind-the-beatles#:~:text=and%20many%20more [Accessed 23 Sep. 2024].

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Tingen, P. (2023). The Abbey Road Story – A History Of Recording Innovation - Produce Like A Pro. [online] producelikeapro.com. Available at: https://producelikeapro.com/blog/the-story-of-abbey-road/.

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1 Bartee's Strange "This D.C. transplant is crashing indie rock’s party with a big voice and an even bigger vision of what guitar music can encompass". expanding the vision of guitar as an Innovation

2.Black Midi

"Two albums in, black midi are defined by their oddity and unpredictability, from one record to the next, even one measure to the next." This band are complex unpredictable and have a type of rog rock vibe to their music as an innovative technique.

3.Duval Timothy

"Splitting time between London and Freetown, this discerning composer’s work is imbued with the complexities of displacement." The artists has a unique sound of a mix of jazz and hip hop together.(pitchfork 2021)

The Beatles also had Innovation in many ways and one way was to invent long-form music videos as in (Magical Mystery Tour) staff 2024.

Another Innovation by the Beatles was "The first pop album to feature actual printed lyrics on the album was the Beatles’ 1967 epic release “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”Listverse. (2012)

Pitchfork (2021). 25 Artists Shaping the Future of Music. [online] Pitchfork. Available at: https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/pitchforks-25-next-list/#:~:text=These%20are%20the%20artists%20that%20help%20us [Accessed 30 Sep. 2024].

Staff, P. (2024). The Beatles: A Legacy of Innovation and Elusiveness, PopMatters. [online] PopMatters. Available at: https://www.popmatters.com/115697-the-beatles-a-legacy-of-innovation-and-elusiveness-2496119938.html#:~:text=They%20invented%20long-form%20music%20videos%20%28Magical%20Mystery%20Tour%29%2C [Accessed 30 Sep. 2024].

Listverse. (2012). 10 Beatles Innovations that Changed Music. [online] Available at: https://listverse.com/2012/10/11/10-beatles-innovations-that-changed-music/#:~:text=The%20Beatles%20(and%20their%20recording.

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What problem do I want to solve?

The main problem I want to solve is the ageist approach from the Industry on people over 40 years of age and specifically between 55 and 60

• What could I add to the industry or my genre?

  I could add my type of music which is from the heart and flows out. I can access over 5 decades of influence that I can bring to the fore because I have experienced every one of them

  • Where am I being appreciated?

  I think I am been appreciated in clubs and pubs where the old genres of music are apparent. Within that sector, I am quite successful and gain regular work from this.

  
  

• Where is the right market for me?

• I think the right market for me may be the country market. My writing seems to have been leaning that way for a while and I think it may be accepted more freely

• 
  

Art, R.R.F. (2021). Andy Warhol: The Pioneer of Pop! [online] Robin Rosenberg Fine Art. Available at: https://robinrosenbergfineart.com/andy-warhol-the-pioneer-of-pop/.

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Brown, E. (2016). Andy Warhol And His Artistic Influence. [online] Culture Trip. Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/andy-warhol-and-his-artistic-influence.

faroutmagazine.co.uk. (2022). The five greatest songs written about Andy Warhol. [online] Available at: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/five-greatest-songs-about-andy-warhol/.

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Tate (2018). What Was Andy Warhol Thinking? [online] Tate. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/andy-warhol-2121/what-was-andy-warhol-thinking.

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‌Quiñanola, J. (2024). Into the Creative Mind of Andy Warhol: His Art, Style, and Story. [online] Altenew.com. Available at: https://altenew.com/blogs/the-creative-corner/into-the-creative-mind-of-andy-warhol-his-art-style-and-story [Accessed 8 Oct. 2024].

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The creator

I can usually come up with good ideas when it comes to music and can think the thing through in my head and the possible outcomes of each scenario. I am not ad versed to  running the everyday business, however that type of thing doesn’t float my boat

Mechanic

The mechanic seems to be a contradiction to the creator, but I do like things to be spot on and I will and enjoy fine tuning everything to make sure it fits the purpose. I have an innate focus for things like that with working in construction for a long time, however being a perfectionist can ruin you when you can never achieve what you can see or hear.

I don’t think I am the star and don’t need to be the centre of attention in a business sense, this part of the process fills me with dread and doesn’t add to my wellbeing. I would definitely rather give this to someone else ,providing my efforts were recognised.

Networking is not my bag either and it is quite a boring prospect for me. Constantly researching for a good del or the next best thing is not my forte and would probably get stifled at the prospect.

I would say that I probably could fit into the category of the supporter as I do have enthusiasm and want to help for the greater good or the business idea platform or whatever is being worked on at the time.

I would say I am not a deal breaker because my talents lie in other areas such as ideas and putting them forward to fruition. I do however like to see all the stages and the final project completion.

Being a  deal breaker is also not on my agenda as being a worthwhile part of the process. I would find this a very tyring prospect, as I would with the networking.

Th accumulator does interest me in the sense of sticking to a successful formula and tweaking where necessary.

I am not the category of the lord ,because I don’t feel as though I need to be in control of everything apart from my part of the proceeding, having said that if the project is not going to plan because of a part that is missing from my original idea, I would probably like to interject.

Geeks Wheel

I think on the geeks wheel I am probably the designer and the systemiser for all the above reasons.

Manager

My choice of manager would be my music producer, and guitar teacher who has run his own guitar and other instruments teaching business for at least 10 years.

He is a producer and has clients who form bands that he promotes through live concerts. He has been signed a few times in his career and has his own record label.

He would be the perfect choice for a manager, because he knows the business, and is a very good networker.

Creator supporter and the mechanic,

I think that Danny from Sound City Studios, would fall under the categories creator supporter and the mechanic, because he is a perfectionist, is a great  networker and always coming up with new ideas and concepts.

Budding live agent looking for performers

For the budding live agent,

Supporter, deal maker and trader

I would be looking at choosing our current agent, Tricks of the trade. who works acts in pubs clubs and the like. I think that they would make the perfect accompaniment to my dream team because they have the right attitude, will check out avenues of work that haven’t necessarily been looked at previously, are great networkers, working with other agents on a daily basis and have a strong work ethic.

The category they would fall under would be supporter, deal maker and trader, because they deal with people on a daily , work out rates by negotiating and networking regularly.

Strong numerical Skills

Having strong numerical skills, seems to be a commodity within my associates, however one that sticks out to me would be my former dream team partner for construction Mr Tim Brooks.

He has skills in all the categories of the wealth dynamic, being a former teacher he has been part of albeit in a small way the face, through to the Lord a perfectionist and especially a creator, who also possesses strong numerical skills. I would not hesitate to bring this person on board for all aspects.

The face/star

An ideal choice for the face of the company would be my wife Lisa Johnson-Crabtree who possess the skills of being a great negotiator a definite people person, friendly and funny.

The Creator

I feel that even though I am a teacher and even though I am a teacher and am always facing people networking, dealing with employers, working out the fine detail ,I feel  that my talents lie more in the creating and making sure it runs to plan.

The Lord

Being a lord also is not an area of expertise for me.  can deal with money ,know how it works and can tr and get the best deal  from  whatever I am looking at, but I have little interest in this area.

I feel money is a vehicle for other things and very necessary, but it is not a motivator to me personally. Turning out a great product and getting satisfaction from it is more important than money.

The above people  mentioned ,would be able to fill the gaps in my own skill set. I could rise to the challenge and probably take on all these challenges, which I have done before by running my own business, but I don’t feel I am as strong at the other stuff as I am the creator and ideas person.

Looking at finding other people who are within my peer and other peer groups. Would find a way of contacting all students on the current course and ask for the people that fit my skills gap. There is sure to be salespeople ,networkers producers and people who have worked in within a big business and are used to making big decisions.

The number of people over the age of 50 in the uk

Approximately 38% of the population in England is aged 50 and over. This figure is based on the 2021 Census data.

The number of musicians in the UK over 50 approximately.

The Musicians' Census 2023 provides some valuable insights into the UK's music landscape. It reveals that 16% of professional musicians are aged 55 to 64, and 5% are 65 to 74.  

To get a rough estimate, we can use the total number of musicians in the UK. According to Statista, there were approximately 49,700 musicians working in the UK as of the second quarter of 2024.  

Combining these figures, we can estimate that there are around:

16% of 49,700 = 7,952 musicians aged 55-64

5% of 49,700 = 2,485 musicians aged 65-74

This gives us a total estimate of around 10,437 musicians over 50 in the UK.

Typical occupation for over 50’s

Managers and directors:

Professionals:

Administrative and secretarial occupations

Sales and customer service occupations:

Elementary occupations:

Retired people also

Locations  of musicians over 50

There is no concrete evidence to support this claim, however, historically there has been a trend off music and of all ages around coastal areas ,London Manchester Liverpool and major cities, also in education settings such s colleges and universities.

The percentage of people over 50 that make it in the music industry

Even though there is no specific data that suggests, you can’t make it in the Industry, there is clear evidence within the article  Donzelli(2023)  suggests “Ageism is prevalent in both the music industry and other fields”. i.e. the older you get the harder it is to break into the Industry.

Key Spending habits of the over 50

 Experiences over material goods: Many older adults prioritize experiences like travel, dining out, and attending cultural events over purchasing material possessions.

Health and wellness:

Technology:

Home improvements:

Financial services: This age group often invests in financial products like pensions, annuities, and investment portfolios

Drinking habits of the over 50’s

One study by  public health  England (2014)suggests

A significant minority are at risk: 17% of over-50s are considered "increasing risk" drinkers, and 3% are "higher risk" drinkers.

Increased frequency of drinking: 17% of older respondents drink 4 or more times per week.

Eating habits

There is no evidential proof of the eating habits of the over 50’s only advice from public health England about eating healthy, however from experience I would consider the diet of the over 50’s to be reasonably bad in the sense of in the younger years eating fatty foods and food that would e considered at risk today.

Restaurants and cafes frequented by the over 50’s

Traditional Pubs: Offering classic British cuisine and a cozy atmosphere.

Cafés and Tea Rooms: Ideal for light lunches, afternoon tea, and coffee.

Family-Friendly Restaurants: Catering to a wide range of tastes and budgets.

Fine Dining Restaurants: For special occasions and those who appreciate high-quality cuisine.

Music listening habits of the over 50’s

The over 50’s have a wealth of experience and to that end their music experience is varied as below which has a varied amount of different types of music such as

Classic rock bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Queen

Classic pop artists like Elvis Presley, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince

Disco artists like Donna Summer, ABBA, Bee Gees, and Chic

Country music artists like Garth Brooks, George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Carrie Underwood

Modern pop artists like Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, and Adele

One source article by Maroney (1991)suggests that the over 50’s 60’s group still enjoy and gravitate  towards rock ‘n roll

Reference list

Donzelli (2023). Ageism In The Music Business: Is There An Expiration Date On Success? Available at: https://hypebot.com/2023/05/ageism-in-the-music-business-is-there-an-expiration-date-on-success/ [Accessed 30 October 2024].

ILCUK. (2023). Money well spent - Overcoming barriers to spending in later life. [Online]. Available at: https://ilcuk.org.uk/money-well-spent-overcoming-barriers-to-spending-in-later-life/ [Accessed: 30 October 2024].

Musicians' Census 2023:

Musicians' Union. (2023). Musicians' Census 2023. Musicians' Union. https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/take-the-musicians-census-2023

Office for National Statistics. (2023). Population estimates for England and Wales, 2021. Office for National Statistics. [invalid URL removed]

Office for National Statistics. (2023). Occupation by age. Office for National Statistics.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM102

Public Health England. (2014). Alcohol and Older People. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-and-older-people [Accessed 30 October 2024]

Public Health England. (2014). Start for Life: Healthy Eating. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/pregnancy/healthy-eating [Accessed 30 October 2024].

Statista. (2024). Number of musicians working in the UK 2024. Statista. https://www.statista.com/

Maroney, Sharon. “I Don’t Care What People Say... Rock ’n Roll Is Here to Stay.” Beyond Behavior, vol. 3, no. 1, 1991, pp. 22–24. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44707033. Accessed 30 Oct. 2024.

He likes listening to a wide range of music from the 1960's up to date

I would like to work with

·      (a)Investor companies who invest in music product, because if the product took off, they would be able to further develop the idea further

·      (b)City sound studios because of his industry expertise in many areas and so would be able to sculpture the product.

·      (c)Website/social media  optimisers AI tool ,because launching the product is crucial to its success

·      (d)Website builders as above

·      (e)PR person who can do voice over (voice over artist for the website)because I want to make this product as authentic as possible and effective, nostalgic and fun

·      (f)The same person or persons could do the top 40 countdown idea(as above)

·      (g)Industry standard people who have expertise in critiquing songs, even though they are not initially voting, they will give insight as to improvements on the day of the podcast

·      (h)Industry standard people who can give objective feedback to the songs entered(as above)

·      (I) I may need some initial backing from the bank because this may be a sign it may or may not work.

·      (J) A branding company as above very crucial to the launching of the product

(a)I would bring in investors at appoint when I feel the product is working and has been successful for at least 6 months

(b)I Would bring in city sound studios at conception because they could help me build the project from the ground up.

(c)Website optimisers need to be there  after the website is built and will be a crucial part of getting the product to the forefront of people’s minds.

(d)website builders would be there from the start also as well as social media optimisers.

(e)A voice over artist would be there at the beginning 2 weeks before the launch doing the initial broadcast but also after a month when the first entrants come in for the top 40

(f)as above

(g)Industry standard people who give advice if asked for before the product is entered would be a constant in the process starting as soon as the tracks get put forward.

(h)Industry expert people would come in after the first month but would be contacted at the beginning and booked in

(I)Backing from the bank would be sought from the outset before the product was initialised.

(J)A branding company would be contacted once the financial aspect has been sorted, the branding is crucial and could be the make or break of the product.

I would outsource the following

C.D.E.F and J

With city sound studios I could offer in exchange guitar lessons for time in the studio doing podcasts.

With Industry standard people I could offer them an exchange of some type such as exposure on the website of their materiel, which should push their profile even higher, I could also do that for City sound studios.

I could offer a voice over artist exposure also if they were to do the work at a reduced rate for the first six month. Of course, this would be a risk for them but could be quite big if it works, and they would be known as the voice of the competition,

I could go to a college or website and pick a learning student of voice overs and ask if they do freelance work for free,

The remainder of the aspects including aggregator engine would be outsourced and therefore subject to costing.

As mentioned above and to help the collaborators say yes I would give them the sales pitch of future money and exposure. I would bring them in as though they were part of the whole project or I would offer them a stake in the company as a partner, that way they would be heavily invested in the ideals

Think about which organisations, companies and people you could collaborate with to develop your business idea. 

.

Website optimisers cost

And as Prince (202) states typical costs are “under a100 pound a month”

Typical website costs

Typical website costs can range from 9 if you do it yourself to 50,00 pounds .One website cheap web designs(2023) offers this at between. £399 and £899 plus V.A.T

Voice actor costs

A Typical charge for a voice actor. depending on experience is between £200 and £400 an hour. Michaels  (2023)

Music aggregator site

One site Emubands(2024 distributes to various sotes and stores for a flat fee of between free and 50 pound a year

PR Company rates approx.

One PR company justintimepr(2020) charge between 100 pounds and 300pounds per story

Branding company

The company create circus offer a service between £1000 to £5000 for a moderate effort.

Cheap Web Design. (2023). Web Design Packages & Pricing | WordPress Websites [Low Cost]. [online] Available at: https://www.cheapwebdesign.co.uk/services/websites/pricing/ [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].

Emubands.com. (2024). Login | EmuBands. [online] Available at: https://dashboard.emubands.com/subscription/plans [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].

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Green, O. (2023). How Much Does Branding Cost 2024 - Create Circus. [online] Create Circus. Available at: https://www.createcircus.com/academy/ecommerce-setup/how-much-does-branding-cost/ [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].

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Justintimepr.com. (2020). Pay On Results PR For SMEs & Startups | Just In Time PR. [online] Available at: https://www.justintimepr.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAxea5BhBeEiwAh4t5K1j0xmxHCcI4OaWJNLRugIggBqnZuF5wJnpZ2eUSetXWeXYmnOw0ShoCnskQAvD_BwE [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].

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Prince, M. (2024). How Much Does SEO Cost in the UK? [online] Web Design and SEO Company Limited. Available at: https://webdesignandseocompany.co.uk/blog/seo-cost-uk [Accessed 17 Nov. 2024].

developing creative practices, Investment programmes culture recovery fund, creative people and places where "involvement in creativity is below the national average"arts council England (2024)and cultural development fund.

Another source of funding that I would consider would be

a cooperative approach, which would give the members from my record label and competition and invested interest ,if they paid a subscription and in return would get dividends if and when the company made a profit.Each member would vote on upcoming features of the project and the majority would win the vote.

"Co-operatives are businesses owned and run by their members. Whether the members are customers, employees or residents they are everyday people who have an equal say in what the business does and a share in the profits."as Simmons (2012)states.

Another method of finance I would consider ,would be a loan from a bank

this type of loan would give you the needed amount to start up and maintain the project, however there would be a costumer month, it may be linked to assets against the loan, dependent on what type of company you are.The project may fail and so therefore would have bad credit against your name, but all of the profits and income would go directly to the owner.

There is also a growth guarantee from the government ,that helps you grow as a business and as funding cycle(2024 state "Whether you want to fund equipment, investment, growth or simply better manage your cash flow, the Growth Guarantee Scheme can help you take your next step"

I would consider donation crowd funding as an option because as Creditonline.eu. (2024).states "A donation or reward crowdfunding project involves people investing because they believe in the cause the project is financing. Donors will usually be driven by a personal or social motive and will expect no financial return for their donation."

Looking at all the above and taking each into consideration I think the crowd funding idea may be the quickest and best way for funding.This funding idea would have to be slick well thought out and promoted to a high standard ,so everyone knows and believes in the project.

An email I received back from Arts council England 29/11/2024

Dear Garry.

Thank you for your email.
 
You may be interested in National Lottery Project Grants, which is our open access programme for arts, libraries and museums projects. It can support a broad range of high quality creative and cultural projects that benefit people living in England. 
 
The National Lottery Project Grants fund focuses on projects that bring creativity and culture to the public of England through one or more of our supported art forms. Our supported art forms are theatre, music, dance, literature, visual arts, combined arts (festivals, carnivals and circus), museums and libraries.
 
Individuals and organisations can apply for grants from £1,000 upwards for projects that last up to three years.
  
Whatever your background, the size of your organisation, or the stage you’re at in your career, this grant can help you reach communities with your work. 
 
Grants usually range from £1,000 to £100,001+ and the fund is always open - so you can apply at any time. 

Arts Council England. (2024). Contact customer services. [online] Available at: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/contact/contact-customer-services.

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Creditonline.eu. (2024). Crowdfunding | Loan Management Software | CREDITONLINE. [online] Available at: https://www.creditonline.eu/crowdfunding/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACcLCmJD8nUT1ic7KfhWo4MwPMoZu&gclid=CjwKCAiAxqC6BhBcEiwAlXp458LcLXHi2SR2gN3kN5XRUXAci6uPzGimLTYQMMmPkp1YKNhbkdt0tBoCa1sQAvD_BwE [Accessed 28 Nov. 2024].

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Simmonds, M. (2012). How to set up a co-operative - part one. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2012/apr/05/how-to-set-up-a-cooperative.

www.fundingcircle.com. (2024). Funding Circle: Business Growth Funding. [online] Available at: https://www.fundingcircle.com/uk/.‌