Grades 10,11,12 Connect To Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame
Pleasanton High School students connected by distance learning to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame (http://rockhall.com/) in Cleveland, Ohio on December 6th. The presentation, “Takin Care of Business” is described at http://rockhall.com/education/distance-learning/courses/takin/. The presentation simulates the decisions a rock band must make to be successful, including the process of recording music, producing, packaging, and marketing music. A short history of the music industry was included in the presentation, but a major focus of the presentation was how music is produced and marketed today. Students voted on a variety of issues during the presentation. Three levels of packages of producing music were presented, allowing students to vote how they wanted to produce music, imagining they were a rock band. A professional level, costing $7000, was explained to the group. Having music professionally produced for an album is rare that any group. Few can afford this package when beginning in the music industry. The basic production costs are approximately $3300, while an intermediate production package could cost $5000.
Pleasanton students voted to make several decisions, imagining they were members of a rock band. The presenter, John Groecke, discussed how decision making involves risk taking. Running a business has the risk of not doing enough and the risk of doing too much. Bands need to always look for sources of income, especially in a digital economy. figuring out who is your target audience, and how you will market your music is so important.
I thought it was a really good presentation. It was fun and enjoyable. I like how it was very interactive and let us students all participate. I would definitely recommend doing this again.
I thought the presentation was very informative. I enjoyed learning a little bit about the rock and roll history. I also learned how to manage money better. I would unquestionably recommend doing this more in the future.
I thought that the distance ed connection with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was very informative and fun. It was different presentation than what we normally do and it was really interactive which was a nice change of pace. I think that we should continue to do more connections like this one.
I thought the presentation was very interesting and was a good fit for our age group. The interactivity was also a great part rather than just sitting there listening to someone talk. However, I don’t think I really learned that much about how to manage finances because most of the things were common sense but I did learn a great deal about music and how to manage a band. So my thoughts are that if it is really expensive to do this I would not recommend it even though it was interesting but if it isn’t too bad I think it would be a great program to carry on with.
I enjoyed the connection we had with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was good to see the business side of having a band. It gave us a lot of information that will be useful to us as we go off to college and have to manage our own money. It was also fun to hear about who all John had gotten to work with because of his job. I think that it was a good opportunity.
I thought that connection to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a great experience. John our instructor was very energetic and interesting. The lesson was a good one it taught us that risks can have rewards but we must make calculated risks otherwise the outcome could be a negative one. I would suggest that we continue this connection in the future with other classes.
I thought it was a very fun and interactive. I liked that he talked to us like he was familiar with us and encouraged us to participate. It was interesting getting to know a little bit about him and his job, and getting a brief lesson in Rock and Roll history. It was something different and I enjoyed it.
~ Sincerely Yours
Armando Tapia
I learned that Elvis’ side burns were real. It’s really difficult to get noticed in the music business. I will need a good business plan so my business won’t be in debt. I enjoyed learning things about other singers and it was interesting that he was able to meet a lot of singers.
I really liked the connection. it was very interactive. i would use this for my business by keeping track of my money. i learned that you have to risk it to get the biscuit. My personal experience is buying a 4-h calf and hoping to get more money than i bought it for.
I learned that sometimes you have to take risks and in a business sometimes you have to risk spending to much money to make a profit
I thought it was a fun and interactive. I liked how he got us involved in the activity. I learned how to make wise decisions and it’s ok to take risks. I think we should do more connections like this.