Bastille Debut's New Single "Livin"

Who are they?

Bastille is an English Pop Band formed in 2010, notably by lead singer/songwriter Dan Smith. The band was nominated for a grammy award, "Best New Artist", in 2015. Between their hit singles, "Pomeii" and "Happier ft Marshmello", the band has earned more than 2 billion streams on Spotify just between these two songs. From catchy anthem choruses to Dan's angelic voice, their songs will surely stick. The band primarily targets younger audiences ages 13-25. Their fans have the nickname "stormers". Due to the band's relaxed nature, their fans are festival goers, social butterflies, and avid restaurant goers. According to articles posted by The Odyssey, fans are obsessed with their covers of Billy Rae and Miley Cyrus, Green Day, and even Fleetwood Mac. They love Dan's quirky behavior and Kyle Simmons's, multi-instrumentalist of Bastille, obsession with cats.

Sources: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/songs-prove-bastille-king-covers

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/stormers-love-bastille

Purpose

The objective of this article is to develop an elaborate on a plan for a "potential" upcoming release for Bastille. We will develop a 6-week plan of action of how successfully market and plan for the next upcoming single "Livin". It will include Pre-Release and Post-Release objectives that will take place.

Week 1: 10/23-10/30, Pre Promotion

• Social Media Apps: Across Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok, Bastille has approximately 5 million followers. These will serve as our primary platforms to announce future content and release dates
• "Teaser" Video: Develop a 30-second promotion of the new single, preferably the main hook or chorus, to highlight attractiveness to the song. Post it to all social media

• Canvas Art: Create a new thematic album art to fill background on YouTube, Spotify canvas, website, and all other social media platforms. The theme is going to be a paradise setting to flow with the band's relaxed and free spirited nature.
• Pre-Save Link: Create a pre-save link "Available On 11/6 on All Platforms" for all social media platforms, including Bastille's website, to allow users to access the single quickly. This will be posted by 10/30.
• Email/Newsletter: Organize email list and post on social media to encourage followers to subscribe to the mailing list for new content and newsletter releases.
• Release Date with no Context: By the end of the day on 10/23, post a picture of the release date "11/6" with no context on Facebook, Insatgram, and Twitter
• Music Video: A beach scene where the band is swimming with various marine life near a beach. The song describes that we need to slow down sometimes and just enjoy being alive and being thankful for the beauty that the world has provided us, such as the beach.

• New Merch Design: Developing a tee shirt encompassing the idea of the "stormer" fan and their free spirit and kindness. Use a blend of bright colors to highlight the relaxing and freedom themes.

Week 2 10/31-11/6: Release Debut

Scheduling Countdowns Across Social Media: Using GIFs or Memes to announce a daily countdown starting 7 days away from the release date

Building Influencer List: Contacting a list of influencers to help promote and generate fan interaction for the single. In this example, we will be using David Doberick, the D'Amilio twins, and Addison Rae which best fit in within our target audience of free spirit, energetic, and entertaining influencers.

Email Template: The focus on email templates is to be authentic and engaging with your audience. The template should list the name of the person you are emailing., i.e. Dear Sarah, thank you for being part of the Stormer Alliance.

Release Date 11/6:

Provide a Skin to All Social's with "LIVIN OUT NOW!": Using Canva, a graphic design tool, we will create social media graphics for each platform we use. We will also attach the bit.ly link to each social media profile

Facebook: Boost or buy an ad campaign and create a funny post about Kyle's cat obsession in relation to how cats will love this song too. Go Live on Facebook and talk about your excitement for the new music and ask for fan feedback.

Twitter: Create a Tweet Stating "LIVIN OUT NOW" and pin it to the top of the artist profile page.

YouTube: Using Canva, create a customized banner announcing the release of the new single. Upload the "Paradise" canvas and stream the track in the background.

Instagram: Change the Artist Profile bio to have the "LIVIN OUT NOW" and the bit.ly link with treble clef and musical note emojis to add emotion. Next, we will create a 3 x 3 release tiles of the "paradise" canvas. Then we will post the Music Video trailer of "Livin" on Instagram Reels which will also post to Instagram Stories.

Spotify: Artist and the team will add "Livin" along with other top streamed songs to the "Artist's Pick". We will then change the Header and Profile photo to be a most recent picture of the band.

Newsletter: Gather the newsletter mailing list and send out an announcement to subscribers.

Release Party Livestream: Since the band lives in London. We will host the live stream listening party for "Livin" at 11pm GMT/ 6pm EST due to the time zone differentiation. Dan Smith and the band will be answering fan submitted questions, and talking about their favorite activities during quarantine.

Week 3 11/7-11/13: Post Release:

Create a Patreon: Patreon allows artists to accept donations from their fans in order to provide exclusive content and help support the artist. Bastille will provide their patrons' Dan's exclusive vocal tip webinars, and Virtual tours of their studio/day in the life episodes as examples. We will post the link to social media bios.

GoFund Me Campaign: Bastille will also host a campaign to raise money on behalf of Kyle's obsession with cats, to the RSPCA, which promotes animal welfare in England. The band will also donate half of the proceeds from merchandise and any revenue earned from the release of the new single "LIVIN" to this organization. We will also create an ad campaign to lead people to the link

Fan Made Music Videos: Ask fans to submit videos of them jamming out to "Livin" while doing things that make them happy. Videos will be compiled together and shared across all social media platforms.

Responding to Comments: We do not want the audience to feel they are just a void there just to listen to the music we want to actively engage with them. Replying to as many comments as possible on our platforms will be key in the first weeks post release.

Submit Hub: Submit Hub is a promotional tool to gather more audiences. Bastille uses many genre styles such as pop, rock, and electronic. Submitting the single to different genres will open audiences to new playlist curators

Week 4 11/14-11/20: News Press

Collector's Edition Book: This will include a high end visual showcase of "the making of LIVIN" and "Quarantine 2020" of exclusive pictures and experience that Bastille had writing the song and their adjustments during the pandemic.

Build Targeted Media Audience: Using the story around the making of "living", the need to settle down from our busy lives, sometimes, should be the focal point of pitching the song to media outlets to report on. The notable music blogs in the UK for Bastille are FACT Magazine, Uncut, and Louder Than War.

Podcasts: A notable series by Rolling Stone is Music Now, which features their favorite artists and take you through some of the biggest stories in music history such as Eddie Van Halen. This podcast would be a great place to allow Dan Smith to explain his background, his influences, and how they have created stardom.

Brands: Many brands partner with musicians to either use their products, engage in synchronization licenses to use their music in advertisements, and sponsor events. Bastille partnered with Mercedes-Benz in 2015 and was part of the Mercedes-Benz Evolution Tour.

Week 5 11/21-11/27:

Tik Tok Dance Challenge: Provide a dance challenge for the single "LIVIN" with each member of the band posting a video to participate. Then, picking the best fan submission, that person will win a free 1-hour virtual tour and hangout session with the band over Zoom to get to know the band personally and take a virtual tour around the band's studio. Leaders of this challenge will include: David Doberick, the D'Amalio twins, and Addison Rae.

Duet Tik-Tok's: The duet function allows you to record over and alongside your friends, celebrities, and other influencers. Dan Smith and the band will create a 15-second snippet of the single and will encourage others to post their duets alongside him and react and comment to their submissions. The duets will be reposted to Instagram stories to keep a consistent stream of content.

Week 6 11/28-12/4:

Splice Package: Splice is a royalty free sound sampling software that allows artists to break up their songs into separate files to allow users to purchase them and create their own music. Having Dan and the band providing some sound samples for Splice users will encourage more audiences. The band will also encourage fans to post their creations with the splice package and tag the band in their post.

Cameo Holiday Campaign: Cameo is a website where fans can receive personalized video messages from their favorite celebrities for a fee. Bastille will create a profile and any fan that purchases their personalized video, the money raised will be donated to Toys for Tots organization to help kids in need for the Holidays.

This 6 week plan is composed of comprehensive strategies and actions that add value to an upcoming release for an artist

Patrick Trainor is an aspiring musician and entrepreneur. He is a part of the Fearless Records Street Team, engaging in various Social Media Marketing tasks. He is a graduating senior at William Paterson with a degree in Marketing Management. He has also started his M.B.A. in Music Management at William Paterson. He enjoys video games, fitness, and personal finance. You can contact him at [email protected] and on Instagram @the_realist_petey