pitch
- My research topic is: The effects digital culture has on music festival culture— specifically Coachella.
- My research question is: How have digital marketing strategies changed the Coachella Music Festival experience in the last five years?
- I plan to use the following texts from the UO library: Coachella Fans, Online and Translocal by Diane L., In the Shadow of Los Angeles: A Review of Local and Regional Press Coverage of the Inland Empire’s Contemporary Music Scenes, B.C. (Before Coachella) By Waleed Rashidi, and Voices from beyond the grave: Virtual Tupac’s live performance at Coachella By Katherine Fusco.
- I plan to process these materials by: Reading through each text and finding the most valuable information relating to my topic. I will keep track of the text, author, quotes and other information in an organized google document.
- I plan to present these materials by: Creating a video essay explainging my findings that also incorporates images that is accessible on github.
- My final submission will take this form: Github.
- This project is intended to engage these audiences and communities: Digital Sociologists and Public Relations professionals in the music industry.
- I bring the following existing knowledge and/or skills to the project: My pre-exisiting background on studying music history and sound design, public relations, and sourcing credible information.
- In order to do this project, I need to learn: Certain WordPress plugins, Visme, and how to make a quality video essay.
search log
- Sources found via UO Library and Google Scholar
- Documneted on Zotero
- Key terms: Coachella, Digital Culture, Influencer, Public Relations, Media
bibliography
- source #1: Arnold, G. (2018). Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella. University of Iwoa Press.Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella. University of Iwoa Press. Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella.
- source #2: Bennet, A. (2022). The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Culture.
- source #3: Cranny, C. (2020). Dancing in the Desert: A Case Study on the Digital Marketing Techniques of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Dancing in the Desert.
- source #4: Cormany, D. (2015). Journal of Popular Music Studies. Wiley, Coachella Fans, Online and Translocal. Journal of Popular Music Studies.
- source #5: Gillin, P. (2008). New Media, New Influencers and Implications for the Public Relations Profession. Journal of New Communications Research. New Media, New Influencers and Implications for the Public Relations Profession.
- source #6: Hudson, S. (n.d.). The effects of social media on emotions, brand relationship quality, and word of mouth: An empirical study of music festival attendees. ScienceDirect.The effects of social media on emotions, brand relationship quality, and word of mouth: An empirical study of music festival attendees. T
- source #7: Rashidi, W. (2020). In the Shadow of Los Angeles: A Review of Local and Regional Press Coverage of the Inland Empire’s Contemporary Music Scenes. Taylor and Francis. In the Shadow of Los Angeles: A Review of Local and Regional Press Coverage of the Inland Empire’s Contemporary Music Scenes..
reading plan
- Monday 5/1: Read sources 1 and 7
- Tuesday 5/2: Read source 3
- Wednesday 5/3: Read sources 5 and 6
- Thursday: Read sources 2 and 4
- Friday: Revisit pages that are unclear, or read anything I end up not having time for
research question
How have digital marketing strategies changed the Coachella Music Festival experience in the last five years?
annotated bibliography
source 1 annotation
- citation: Arnold, G. (2018). Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella. University of Iwoa Press.Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella. University of Iwoa Press. Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella
- summary: Gina Arnold’s book, Half a Million Strong: Crowds and Power from Woodstock to Coachella discusses the factors leading into music festival attendance and culture. Arnold describes the psycological value and emotional euphoria tied to witnessing a live performer whilst surronded by others— creatng a unique sensation for the collective. However, technology has taken the simplicity out of live music by bringing it more attention through a digital space. The increased acessibility of vitrual communication and the mutal influence between digital culture and music festival culture has changed the live music festival experience.
- potential use for project: This piece provides insight about the “prefestival” era and the current festival culture. It seperates music genre and performer expectations from Woodstock to the modern day popular festivals. This will be beneficial to the growth of my project due to the large amount of information regarding music festival culture and how desire has influenced the modern day festival experience; the history behind large festivals and the growth of the media has created a different societal mindset surronding music festival culture and expectations.
- Quotes: “The festival is now a multimillion-dollar undertaking at which celebrities, fashion icons, and rock stars gather to disseminate in ways that are informed more by late capitalism than by musical or counterculture ideology” (Arnold 6).
source 2 annotation
- citation: Bennet, A. (2022). The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Youth Culture.
- summary: Bennet’s book primarliy focuses on the relationship between popular music and youth culture. Music culture has always been enticing to youth, and its representation in the world has chnged over time. With technology at our finguretips, it is easy for adolecents to express their love for popular music by covering their songs on Youtube and interacting with them on social media. Bennet takes a methodolical approach to explaing the connection, and includes case studies and qualitative research.
- potential use for project: I would like to incorporate some of the qualitative research into my project. I would also like to include the historical and modern day aspects of how popular music and youth culture intertwine to develop my point on how digital culture influences Coachella.
source 3 annotation
- citation: Cranny, C. (2020). Dancing in the Desert: A Case Study on the Digital Marketing Techniques of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Dancing in the Desert.
- summary: Cranny’s case study focuses on the digital marketing strategies of the Coachella Music Festival thhrough a business and public relations perspective. The provided information is beneficial for both people looking to develop their marketing strategies as well as those looking to understand how the media shapes a popular music festival. Cranny uses scholarly research to present Coachella’s digital marketing methods and share its overall effectiveness. The article includes the role marketers, influencers, and consumers play in the development and execution of the event through digital platforms; It better defines the invisible connection between a consumer and the marketers beind the screen.
- potential use for project: This article includes a lot of factual evidence that would support my claim. I think that the findings in the case study help define the “black box” between a consumer and the marketer in a digital space.
- Quotes: “Having a social media presence and following creates emotional
connections between the company and the customers. If brands want to connect with their
customers they need to have Lovemarks which are ‘super-evolved brands’ that increases
connection between consumers and brands (Roberts, 2005). For festivals, the event
managers have to be aware of who their target audiences are and what apps they use the
most. “
annotated bibliography, continued
source 4 annotation
- citation: Cormany, D. (2015). Journal of Popular Music Studies. Wiley, Coachella Fans, Online and Translocal. Journal of Popular Music Studies.
- summary: Cormany’s article in the Journal of Popular Music studies discusses Coachella as a brand; The contunity of Coachella, put on yearly with successful outreach and attendance, is determined by the unique experience it creates. The article elaborates on the external attributes that make Coachella desireable. It keeps consumers wanting to purchase tickets, and leaves many addicted to Coachella culture— despite the rising prices. Cormany speaks highly of Coachella, and uses a statistical perspective to connect how money makes it feel wanderous and successful.
- potential use for project: This piece contributes a positive outlook on Coachella, which will be helpful to my project. It also talks about Coachella from an economical standpoint and how that contributes to individual pleasure with the experience it provides.
source 5 annotation
- citation: Gillin, P. (2008). New Media, New Influencers and Implications for the Public Relations Profession. Journal of New Communications Research. New Media, New Influencers and Implications for the Public Relations Profession.
- summary: The Society of New Communications Research conducted a case study to determine the changes in influence patterns, and how that correlates to communications professionals who adopt social media. Their findings help readers understand new influencers, communication and relationship building through social media, how social media and influencing work, and the overall effects of these efforts. The findings are organized in visual data along with a description of the discoveries. The case study is informtive to professional communicators looking to improve their social media methods.
- potential use for project: This piece will help me develop my project through a public relations lense. It includes information about influencers, digital marketing, and the many developing channels used in communications. The most important component of this piece is the numerous infographics and visual data it provides surronding the topic. I believe this visual data will help me learn more about my topic as well as spark inspiration for the type of visual data I want to create for my project.
source 6 annotation
- citation: Hudson, S. (n.d.). The effects of social media on emotions, brand relationship quality, and word of mouth: An empirical study of music festival attendees. ScienceDirect.The effects of social media on emotions, brand relationship quality, and word of mouth: An empirical study of music festival attendees.
- summary: The article untangles the connection between media and a consumers emotions and attachments to festival brands. Interactions initiated by tourism brands will influence how a consumer thinks and feels towards that brand, ultimately giving it a specific reputation in society. The marketing tactics, emotional influences, and outcome for a brand’s reputation is broken down in the categories: music tourism, social media interactions, emotions, brand relationship quality, behavioral outcomes, and a hypothesis supported by data. This is effective for both consumers and brand strategists to understand the human nature behind the technological aspects of marketing music festivals.
- potential use for project: This piece is helpful for me to learn more about the different aspects of human emotion and business trategies that play into my research question. There is a lot of useful explanations and data that support my argument.
source 7 annotation
- citation: Rashidi, W. (2020). In the Shadow of Los Angeles: A Review of Local and Regional Press Coverage of the Inland Empire’s Contemporary Music Scenes. Taylor and Francis. In the Shadow of Los Angeles: A Review of Local and Regional Press Coverage of the Inland Empire’s Contemporary Music Scenes..
- summary: Rashidi’s research article dives into what media coverage looked like for the local music scene before Coachella took its claim to fame in the region. The article provides a historical persepctive from the years 1989-1999, with the support of print media reports, interviews, and reviews. Rashidi focuses on how communication worked in the industry before new media was introduced; Media is now the biggest factor in how the Los Angeles music scene has changed over time. The key messages in the article introduce major themes derived from the pre-Coachella era in the Southern Californian desert.
- potential use for project: This final piece will help support my claim as well as lead to a more solid answer to my research question. It mainly focuses on press coverage on contemporary music scenes prior to Coachella. I think this information will mainly support my explanation of how much the media has influenced Coachella over the last 20 years. It takes geographic location into consideration when making it’s argument which I also think is interesting and an important factor.
environmental scan
contribution
- I will create a digital humanities project curated through scholarly research on the influences of digital marketing has, specifically through social media platforms, on the experience provided by the Coachella music festival. My project will contribute answers to how Coachella’s digital marketing provides a specific emotional experience at the festival; It will highlight the successful marketing tactics and strategies that illuminate the experience for individuals, including the typical consumer and influencers who attend the event.
methods
- I will use peer reviewed scholarly research provided by google scholar and the UO library. I will also use physical books on the subject, rented from the library or that I have purchased based on information found on google scholar. Additionally, I will gather information from Instagram and TikTok to discover data sets in order to compute in tools like Voyant and Palladio. These tools will guide me in gathering appropriate information that supports my research question as well as discover data and re-occuring patterns. These technologies will exemplify my knowledge of the platforms and aspects of digital humanities as an academic subject.
stakeholders / audiences
- This project will provide a scholarly approach to the effects of Coachella’s brand, supported by digital marketing and media, has on an individuals personal experience. Therefore, it will mainly target public relation professionals in the music industry, academic scholars, and potential stakeholders. This project will also target consumers intrigued by the topic as a sub audience. I can reach that audience as a whole by citing my sources and incorporating key terms and tags in the text.
dependencies and resources
- I will need plugins within my exisiting WordPress domain, expertise, time, and specific digital tools including: Voyant, Palladio. In my final project, I will use data visuals created in canva and recorded speech using a personal recording device. I have an adobe creative account, which I will use to edit any recordings using audition and any other applications within Adobe if necessary.