PLANNING: HOW MY BAND DEVELOPED ITS STAR BRAND

• Dinosaur Pile Up are an alternative rock band from Leeds. 
• Dinosaur Pile Up are a relatively small band. Because of this they don't quite have the "star quality" of bigger artists like Marilyn Manson or Guns n Roses, but they are able to build up a certain intimacy with their fans, meeting them after shows etc. Even though they are small however, they still have a very committed fan base. For example, I met a man in his early 20s who had been to most of their shows on one of their smaller tours.
• The way that many bands like Dinosaur Pile Up market themselves, makes them seem very real/normal and like every day people. This helps the target audience to connect with them. The band wouldn't be able to connect that way with their audience, if they marketed themselves in the way that bands like KISS do, almost putting themselves in an untouchable god like state in the eyes of their fans. Although this may not seem to give them "star quality" so to speak, it helps to gain their fans respect which results in the fans giving the same kind of commitment.
• Modern bands are now very dependant on playing good live shows. For example, they make the majority of their income now from touring. This was proved when I went to see a band called New Found Glory last year and they actively encouraged the audience to "illegally download the new album, as long as you keep paying to go to shows and buy something from the merch stall". A lot of bands now put their singles up for free download online as a result of this. Also, bands get most/if not all of their exposure from their live shows. The band 30 Seconds To Mars for example, played 300 shows in the space of a year. Dinosaur Pile Up gained a lot of their exposure through touring with bands like Feeder and Twin Atlantic and have gained a reputation as a good live band, which has increased their star quality. Because of the bands dependancy on live shows, I want to convey in my music video that the band are able to offer a unique and exciting live experience, as well as providing an entertaining narrative.
• Dinosaur Pile Up's guitarist and front man Matt Bigland has gained a lot of star quality because of his musicianship. He is a very talented musician, so much so that on the first album he played all of the instruments on the recordings, also writing all the songs himself. He is also the one that features on the cover so people that became fans of that album very much became fans of Matt. Also, recording and writing all the tracks himself would remind most fans of Dave Grohl the Foo Fighters front man and ex Nirvana drummer, who did the same with the first Foo Fighters album. He has much more star quality and being associated with him would be a boost for any bands reputation.

Dinosaur Pile Up