Research: Mainstream vs Indie

Mainstream Vs. Indie

One direction vs Lanterns on the lake

Success has no true definition. One Direction is one of the biggest boy band on the planet and was had crafted by Simon Cowell in 2010 via X-factor. He then signed them to his record label company Syco Entertianment. Their debut album sold a staggering 4.5million copies and currently working on their new studio album. Lanterns on the lake is an indie rock band from Newcastle. Success for them has come in a completely different way comparing to One Direction. They released to EP albums and a single by themselves and even had one of their tracks used in a film called Where the soldiers come from. As well as this the had their first tour in America earlier this year.

	Advantage	Disadvantage
Mainstream (One Direction)	·         More publicity.   ·         Bigger profit. ·         Reach out to a wider audience. ·         Able to reach out to the audience on different social media websites. ·         Available to distribute their music on different platforms.	·         Short shelf spam (eventually their target audience will get older and eventually get tired of them) ·         Have to act a particular way so that they don’t lose following. ·         The majority of the money goes to the record label ·         Less freedom with the type of music they release.
Indie (Lanterns on the lake)	·         Release music that is personal. ·         More freedom to do what they want. ·         Get more profit as most of the money doesn’t go to the company. ·         Long shelf spam as they are not in the public eye.	·         Not recognised as much ·         Not many fans ·         Make a profit but it’s not a lot ·         Are not able to do big arenas concert

Merchandise and ancillary products is important for the success for both mainstream and independent for bands but it will have a greater impact for mainstream bands. This is because mainstream bands have a short shelf life expectancy so are heavily dependent on their music to grab the attention of their target audience, which will make them buy anything the possibly have available so that they can feel closer to their favorite band member. Indie bands have the same dilemma to a certain extent. Although they depend on extra profit that they can get their hands on, the products isn't the main priority on their agenda. People hearing the music that is personal to them matters more as they will have more freedom with what they make.