Life Cycle of an Album Assignment Choose an album OVER 10 YEARS OLD and discuss the 4 stages of its life cycle including introduction, growth, maturity and decline

Directions for assignment: There are 6 total slides: (guidelines for each section are listed) ***15 TOTAL POINTS***(2 PTS PER SLIDE, 3 PTS FOR PRESENTATION) Title slide with band and album name and pictures Explain Introduction phase of album with info and pictures Growth phase with info and pictures Maturity phase with info and pictures Decline phase with info and pictures Discussion of 3 marketing strategies to make money on this album now. Use it is movies/television (if so, which ones) Remix any of the songs for re-release (if so, which ones and with who and what type of version) Let another artist cover your song for re-release (if so, who?)

--release date, label, album info Stage 1: Introduction --release date, label, album info Sales volume is relatively low, marketing costs are high and profits are low or even negative Two methods commonly used One: Price skimming Charging a high price to recover costs and maximize profit quickly Prices drop as the product is no longer unique Example: XBOX, Wii and other game systems Two: Penetration Pricing Charging a low initial price to gain customers

Stage 2: Growth—first week sales, first singles, concert sales increasing Sales climb rapidly, unit costs are decreasing, product begins to make a profit and competitors come into the market If you used price skimming during the introductions stage your would lower prices to appeal to customers If you used penetration pricing you would make only minor price changes, other promotions would be used to keep sales high

Stage 3: Maturity—awards, sales numbers over the long term, all singles released off album Your goal is to stay in the maturity stage as long as possible Sales begin to slow and profits peak Profits can fall off as competition increases Maintain steady prices by identifying new markets or making product improvements

Stage 4: Decline—reason for decline Sales and profits continue to fall Cut prices to generate sales or clear inventory Helpful to reduce manufacturing and promotional costs during the decline stage Phase out the product Example: VCR’s have gone through all phases of the Product Life Cycle