Contents
Executive Summary
This business plan outlines the proposed pop music record release and concert tours by the BluePearl Stars. The company entered the business in 2008 and has developed into a famous brand in the provision of audio services to clients from digital media, television, and media industries.
The record release and concert tours come in the form of a capital investment project that receives support from The Arts Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and PRS Foundation. These funds will boost BluePearl Stars’ popularity in more cities within the United Kingdom (UK) through tours and strengthen their competitiveness. The investment project will also enable the company to upgrade its existing equipment.
Aims: BluePearl Stars is committed to creatively using technology to produce amazing audio services for local, national, regional, and international customers. It combines expertise, experience, creativity, and talent to provide visual results that match event goals.
Objectives:
· To improve equality of audio services provided by BluePearl Stars throthe ugh purchase of more advanced recording equipment
· To create meaningful employment opportunities for at least two professional musicians
· To enhance competitiveness and excellence by offering training and professional development service to all employees
· To acquire better and larger projects in film and digital media by collaborating with the relevant partners in business
Essential Services/Products
· Sound design for radio, television stations, and digital media
· Composing, producing, and recording music
· Audio training for advertising agencies and individual businesses
· Audio services for video production houses
Business Model
BluePearl Stars began trading as a partnership between Julius Leach and Stewart Johnson after its launch in 2008. Following its registration into a limited company in 2013, the partners became two directors of the firm with equivalent share capital. The company target local, national, regional, and international customer bases that need audio services in the UK. The majority of BluePearl Stars’ customers engage with the company for long-term services like post-production audio services, especially the automated dialogue replacement, sound design, and mixes required for post-production. The company also connects advertising agencies or video production houses with artists and actors whose voices are demanded. These services are available for clients from London, Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Manchester.
Current Market
BluePearl Stars avails location and studio audio services. The company has successfully produced feature films such as Hell up in Heho, Idle Hearts, The Nickel Run, and Skirmish of Oldie Scout. There are also several documentaries.
Business Details | |
Contact organisation | BluePearl Stars |
Contact Names: | Julius Leach, and Stewart Johnson |
Address | BluePearl Trading Limited Smatech TV 29-65 Brick Lane Street London L5 7ZI |
Contact Tel : | 0132 709 3022 07910 987100 |
Contact E-mail: | mr.leach@bluepearlstars.com johnsonstewart@bluepearlstars.com |
Company Legal Status | Limited Company (registered on 3rd February 2013) Registration number: 9405940
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2. Current Management Structure and Responsibility
BluePearl Stars is a small company, hence the directors perform engineering and sound recording tasks when the need arises. They at times complete marketing and maintenance activities.
Julius Leach specialises in accounting, business plans,ning, and other financial operations. As the person in charge of operations management, Leach ensures workplace safety and health while also maintaining the quality of business administration and customer service.
Stewart Johnson is the personnel that handles technical operations and the quality of products/services tothee et expectations of key clients like Reel AxWeb dewbdew, and big companies in the film production industry.
Currently, the studio lacks advanced equipment and professional musicians with the qualities requfulfillmethe fulfillment for the record release and concert tours project. These areas hold potential for company growth in the long run.
Investment project
Majors costs to finance:
Equipment: | Digital Audio Workstation (Ableton Suite) Music Instrument Digital Interface (Akai Advance 61) Audio Interface (Audient Sono) Studio Recording Microphone (Aston Stealth) Studio headphones (ATX M50X) Sample subscription (Splice 300 sample plan) Serum (rent-to-own) Signal analyser Guitars Piano | £749
£199
£299
£380
£169
£14 £120 £45 £265 £250 Total =2,370 |
Business registration | Register online and get a unique tax reference (UTR) | £15 |
Recordings for sale | Cost of making recordings to sell | £800 |
Training of 3 other professional musicians (hired on contract) | Playing instruments Sound engineering Management of business, finance, and contracts | £700 £1,378 £1,200 |
Employees’ salaries | Wages paid to the 3 professional musicians | £12,883 |
Transportation | Large van (for 7 times in the first year)
| £235 |
Premises | Rental and insurance for 12 months | £2,000 |
Marketing | Website design and hosting, flyers, social media posting, radio advertising, music association memberships, streaming and internet campaigns, collaboration charges | £1,150 |
Insurance | Public liability insurance, employer liability insurance, professional identity insurance, equipment insurance | £450 |
Total expenditure |
| £23,181 |
Financial Strategy
The total amount of financing required to start the business is £23,181.
Project Funding Sources
Source of funding | Type of Fund | Amount (£) | Funding secured (Yes/No) |
The Arts Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and PRS Foundation | Grant | 23,000 | Yes |
Bank Loan | Loan | 26,000 | Yes |
BluePearl Stars Trading Limited | Business cash assets | 55,814 | Yes
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The first source of funds is the owners’ capital. In the first trading year, the owner intends to give £800 in the first month, then £600 in the second, £450 in the third, and £300 in the remaining months of the two trading years. Ang and Cole (2010) argued that the owners’ capital is essential as it represents their shares in the business. Knowledge of the owner’s capital worth is also essential when calculating the profits generated from the funds’ source. The owners will also use bank loans as funds. In the first month, the amount of the loan will be £1000, then £2000 in the second and third months. The company will pay £1000 for all the other months in the two trading years. Nzibonera and Waggumbulizi (2020, p.161) explained that financial loans contribute to economic growth by providing sustainability and financial liquidity that help small-scale enterprises to grow and make profits.
Another funding source is revenue from sales of pop music concert tickets and music recordings. Subscription payments and purchase fees charged for the music on different streaming platforms are also included in sales. The growth of sales income can influence the rate of returns and determine the market value of a company (Al Hayek 2018, p.152). Even then, the growth within the first year of trading may not be directly used to measure the profitability of a business or its market value. In subsequent years, however, financial profitability or income measures could indicate the performance of a company. Financial support from funding bodies is also necessary for this business.
The bodies targeted by BluePearl Stars include The Arts Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, and PRS Foundation. Arts Council England (2022) provides millions of pounds to ensure more people interact with artworks across England. The investment goes to libraries, galleries, cultural venues, and museums. National Lottery Heritage Fund is best for music projects that aim to bring national and regional attention to the United Kingdom’s local heritage (National Heritage Fund 2022). After coming up with a relevant idea or project, the funding body helps with the running and promotion of the project. PRS Foundation (2022) is also appropriate for BkuePearl stars as its focus is on new professional musicians. It will help with the development of personal talent in pop music as the funder capture all genres.
Cash flow forecast
Record release and concert tours 2022-2023 and 2023-2024
Market analysis
Customers
For the proposed record release and concert tours, BluePearl Stars’ target customers are the 70% of British adults that enjoy listening to pop music and the 57% of teenagers who watch YouTube (Gotting 2021). BluePearl Stars can reach its customers through streaming services like Spotify, popular among 64% of music listeners in the United Kingdom, YouTube with 39%, and Amazon with 27% of listeners (Gotting 2021). The internet is the best place to interact with customers because it allows music fans to create blogs on their preferred artists. Customers also leave albums ratings or reviews on websites and sample favourite music (Verboord & Noord 2016, p.62). Even critics get space over the internet to form their pages or blogs and evaluate pop music. Concert tours may also help to reach new customers or increase engagement with current fans. Coscarelli (2020) stated that live performances could turn a casual radio fan into a devoted one. The author shared the story of Benjamin Cordero whose devotion toward Lady Gaga surged after watching her live show.
The target customers or pop music fans have shown willingness to pay any amount charged to access music albums or concert tours that feature their favourite artists. Significant revenue growth has, thus, been recorded in the United Kingdom’s digital music industry since 2011. The revenue amounted to £333 million in 2011, and by 2018, it had exceeded £1 billion. Consumption statistics of digital music derived from customer spending also confirmed that consumers spent more than a billion in 2019 (Gotting 2021). Statista Research Department (2020) reported that the UK owns the most vibrant scenes for live music globally. These venues sell well in different parts of the country as both local music fans and international music tourists pay good money to witness the live performance of their favourite artists. The great performance of the live music industry also benefits the United Kingdom economy where it generated £1.1 billion in 2018.
Competition
BluePearl Stars completion are UK-based music production companies that specialise in audio services/product provision. Examples include audio service companies that work with famous brands such as Years & Years, James Bay, Paul McCartney, Anne-Marie, Florence + the Machine, and Jorja Smith (Jones 2018). BluePearl Stars also aims to attract famous bands, musicians, and artists to improve its competitive advantage in this sector.
Again, BluePearl Stars differentiates itself from competitors by focusing on diversity. Verboord and Noord (2016, p.60) argued that music closely relates to the cities within which it is production occurs. The geographical location plays a vital role in uniting individuals, styles, sounds, and businesses in the production of music that is both innovative and viable commercially. BluePearl Stars utilises this point to cover more cities of the world and make its recordings relevant to cultures outside its original geographical location. BluePearl Stars’ management is aware that the growth in internet popularity continues to eliminate the significance of geographical positioning (Verboord & Noord 2016, p.62) and maximises this opportunity.
BluePearl Stars offers clients with huge stage persona and is capable of providing a broad range of lineups. It also avails small to large packages to fit within the mid and wide-range budgets. Another outstanding feature of the company is that it does not cut back on quality even with a small budget. The firm’s audio services combine softness and sweetness to provide the comfort and aesthetics (Jing 2017, p.14) that audiences demand. For promotion, BluePearl uses short videos to illustrate clients’ repertoire and display the energy used on stage.
Marketing Strategy
BluePearl successfully utilised brand building to acquire its current customer base. As Jing (2017, p.14) stated, self-identity construction is essential and should reveal the involved fashions and culture or subcultures. BluePearl Stars used branding strategies to tell its uniqueness, artistry, and story, and positively handle self-presentation and communication with fans. With the help of word-of-mouth, satisfied customers have spread information to potential clients and recommended the company to other customers.
For the proposed record release and concert tours, the following marketing methods are useful:
· YouTibe marketing: Posting cover videos of recorded concert music on YouTube, for example, will increase BluePearl Star’s chances of being found by new viewers. In turn, BluePearl Stars will grow to brand its following, acquire superfans, and deepen connections with customers (Verboord & Noord 2016, p.63).
· Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram ads will help to achieve valuable interaction and consumption (Derbaix & Korchia 2019, p.4). Coscarelli (2020) found that on Stan Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and TikTok, devotees continually check the streaming statistics of their favourite songs and artists.
· BluePearl Stars will aim for play-listing and streaming of recorded music to get featured on popular playlists such as the one by Spotify. Today’s fans check streaming playlists to identify new music.
· Playing at charity and private events may also help with attracting local customers, as they improve exposure to new audiences.
· BluePearl Stars will also collaborate with musicians and partner with local companies to leverage audiences on both sides. Verboord and Noord (2016, p.64) already found that more artworks involve collaborations of individuals and those self-made artists are on a decline.
· Relationships with influencers are also be considered by BluePearl Stars as this may help to gain more contracts
· Attending conferences, meetups within the local industry, and networking events, BluePearl Stars to connect with influencers
· Connecting with institutional music critics, who create media outlets, is also important because they have a more significant influence on consumers’ tastes (Verboord & Noord 2016, p.62).
· The company will also consider press campaigns to improve coverage for new recording releases and concert tours
S.W.O.T. analysis
Strengths
· Pop music has an available market: Ortega (2021, p.e0250212) explained that pop music has held a significant cultural phenomenon throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The vast consumption of pop music through these eras is the outcome of the availability of broadcasting media, recording systems, and its popularity among the middle class.
· Growth in digital music spending: Although physical music consumption has dropped, there is substantial growth in digital music recordings purchases. The growth in digital music consumption first surpassed the physical category in 2015 and maintained the trend. By the end of 2021, Gotting (2022) indicated that physical music sales generated £291 million while digital music raised £1.39 million.
· Existing preference for live performances: The number of domestic and international music tourists to the UK, to watch live music, has grown substantially in recent years (Statista Research Department, 2020). In 2018, approximately 30 million individuals attended live music performances in UK venues such as Manchester Arena and the O2 Arena. These fans are never discouraged by the high ticket prices. During the Glastonbury festivals, for instance, tickets sold out fast despite the very high prices. Mulder and Hitters (2021) argued that music has entered a phase of live music and streaming, which is made possible by YouTube, Spotify, and their alternatives. There has also been revenue growth and a rise in concert attendance. While the growth of pop music in terms of importance and fan base is recorded, the number of live music shows has risen significantly (Mulders & Hitters, 2021). People flock live music events.
· Availability of relevant technologies: The organization and structure that was once used in pop music have changed during this digitalisation era (Verboord & Noord 2016, p.62). That is, the internet and social media platforms simplify the production, dissemination, and consumption of global pop music.
Weaknesses
· Some fans are not willing to buy recordings. Brown and Knox (2017, p.235) discussed that people use technological innovations to illegally download music recordings, an indication of a decline in willingness to purchase music. To compensate for losses resulting from this behaviour, the supply of newly recorded music online should be cut and the cost of concert tickets be set at reasonable levels. Fans will then have to attend concerts, where they will buy tickets to watch the live shows.
Opportunities
· Support from digital innovations: Bello and Garcia (2020, p.234) explained that digital changes in the music market have positively impacted sales. In 2016, for instance, digital sales contributed more than half of the revenue that the music industry generated. The magnitude of online music catalogs are as well far larger than physical stores and they do not experience space constraints. This is what encourages diversity, music quality, and enormous online music purchases.
· Artists can preserve their intellectual rights: Specialised music databases appeared with the emergence of the World Wide Web to enable bands and musicians to store in-depth details about their commercial music recordings (Ortega 2021). Complete databases contain all the information about performers and their cover songs.
· Re-emergence of flexibility in pop music: The fixed and static systems that regulated genre expectations are slowly weakening. Silver and Lee (2016, p.e0155471) explained that the changes in music expectations will introduce new ways of sorting music that is free from style and cause the disappearance of genre requirements by digital musical stores. Musicians and bands will then present to their audiences through various genres that will emerge and evolve.
· The emergence of risk perceptions among consumers: These are consumers’ subjective beliefs that affect how they purchase music. Enström and Schmaltz (2017, p.2) noted that buyers search for more information before completing a purchase or developing loyalty toward a brand. It causes uncertainty about potential consumption patterns and even the strategies that consumers apply to evaluate information on music products and services before deciding to buy.
Appendices and management CVs
Appendix 1: Location
BluePearl Stars Trading Limited Studio/Location work 2022
Studios
Lion Pick Productions for ITV – ADR for Buildberg
KTV Studioz (Manchester) – ADR with Jacob Reis
Solo Productions/Distribution (Liverpool) – Source Voice VASO
FanFan Studios (Glasgow) – Advertising Agency
Appendix 2: Company CVs
Julius J. Leach
London
L02 0PD
Date of birth: 11th January 1974
Marital status: Married
Contact: Tel 0153 747 745
Mobile: 07709 993100
Email: mr.leach@blueperalstars.com
EDUCATION
City University London, 2009 -2012
The University of Greenwich, 1993-1996
London College of Creative Media, 1986-1990
QUALIFICATIONS (as Music and Operation Manager)
· Excellent planner: Can develop plans that help operations to focus on specific activities that business ideas successful (Nunn & McGuire 2010). With this skill, the manager drives the attainment of both short-and long-term goals.
· An accurate decision-maker. Thanks to the detailed and excellent planning skills, the music manager make proper decisions at the most appropriate time. Such accuracy in decisions guarantees business success. The manager makes data-driven decisions (Kaval 2012).
· Music composer: Had interest in musical instruments in early childhood and has, therefore, developed useful skills such as emotional sensitivity, social skills, and relaxation (Hallam 2010, p.270).
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
Technical Operations for BluePearl Stars
For information on recent film and television work please visit www.bluepearlstars.com/news.html
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT
Operations Manager Kalis Audio 1997-1999
Triple T Producers, working for media and film 2000 - current
Tour manager and technician, Kaius Audio, 1994 -1998
References available on request
Stewart Johnson
London
L09 0ZA
Date of birth: 09th August 1978
Marital status: Married
Contact: Tel 0143 547 746
Mobile: 07707 983132
Email: johnsonstewart@bluepearlstars.com
EDUCATION
Royal Academy of Music 2009 -2012
University of East London 1993-1996
Goldsmiths, University of London, 1986-1990
QUALIFICATIONS
· Highly creative: Creativity is what makes BluePearl Stars’ live production perfect. Meets strict deadlines and overcomes other obstacles through rich imagination and by putting soundscapes to action. Even more, the sound engineer has a deep technological understanding and makes use of advanced musical equipment to make the productions feel real to the audience (Pras et al. 2013, p. 613). Technological knowledge is vital during this period when the internet continues to replace traditional music production practices.
· Excellent distributor: Has worked with top companies in the music industry and helped them to load music to stores up to 15 times faster than competitors. Additionally, the distributor has achieved companies’ preference on Spotify’s distributor’s list. Expertise in music streaming is what has made the distributor successful in the industry. As Butler (2019, p. 2) explained, streaming has developed into a major way of acquiring music and companies can now increase revenue through this channel. Barata and Coelho (2021, p.e07783) also supported streaming, explaining that customers’ interest in physical copies continues to decline significantly.
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT
Director and operations manager for BluePearl Stars
For information on recent film and television work please visit www.bluepearlstars.com/news.html
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT
Recording Engineer at Lincoln Pals 2001-2009
Topups Producers, media and film 2005 - present
Recording manager and engineer, Kenos Studios, 1997 -1999
References available on request
