Introduction
The Dan Murphy Trio is a Blues band based in Leeds, consisting of Dan Murphy on guitar and vocals, Fynn Clements on bass, and myself, Sam Bowes, on drums. The band was formed after we all met at Leeds Conservatoire in 2024. Dan and Fynn were looking for a drummer for a new blues project and hosted a rehearsal session at the conservatoire to find the right fit for the group. I auditioned for the role and was fortunate enough to be chosen. Our influences come mainly from Jazz, but we are also using blues to incorporate the two together.
Since then, we have worked on building a strong reputation by performing at a number of venues across Leeds, gradually building experience and growing our audience. Some of the venues we have played include Northern Guitars and Sela Bar, both of which are well known within the local live music scene for supporting upcoming artists.
What am I marketing?
For this campaign, I will focus on promoting an event that we have been invited to play at called the Hotbox in Chelmsford, Essex. This marks a major step forward for the band as the venue has hosted some very well-known artists such as Fatboy Slim, Don Letts and many more within the music industry. Performing at a venue with such a high reputation gives us the opportunity to perform in a professional space helping to increase our credibility and visibility as an emerging band. This will also expose our music to a wider audience outside of Leeds which will hopefully increase our connections.
We will be playing 2 40-minute sets with a 20-minute break totalling to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
The Blues Scene
The blues scene in the UK is a niche but thriving scene. The genre originated in the 1960s and has had a huge influence on modern music, inspiring new generations of musicians to get involved. (www.britannica.com, n.d.) It has been pivotal in the development of global music trends. Although the scene is now smaller and underground, it still thrives through dedicated live venues, local pubs, festivals and jam sessions across the UK.
Examples of Promotional materials from previous gigs
Goals & Objectives
- Sell 100 tickets at £8 each = £800, capacity of the venue is 110
- Gain 100 more followers from this one gig across all social media platforms.
- Get merchandise made and sell at least 30 units – t-shirts, badges and stickers.
- Get one local blog, radio station, or music page to mention the show.
- Create posters and promotional material with QR codes for traction to socials.
- Hire a photographer for professional pictures and videos for socials.
- Setup camera on stage for content creation.
Competitors
Jack Austin Despy
As of January 2025, Jack Austin Despy is 16-year-old young emerging blues guitarist based in Essex. At the age of 6, he began learning the harmonica and quickly progressed to guitar and by the age of nine was jamming with highly experienced musicians. At the age of thirteen he played at the Rory Gallagher Festival UK in Nantwich and at the age of 9 began playing guitar. Jack and his band have gone on to play at the Rhythm & Blues Festival, Ballyshannon, Blues Rhythm & Rock Festival Blackpool, Broadstairs Blues Bash and London’s legendary 100 Club. (Tropic, 2022)
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
| Fantastic guitarist at such a young age, stands out in the blues scene. | Blues is quite a niche genre especially within the younger generation therefore this may cause some limitations. | As he is young, he has the potential to revive the blues genre among the younger generation. | Balancing trends that attract a lot of attention and authentic blues can be challenging. |
| Credibility is strong as he has been nominated for awards. (Tropic, 2022) | Dependant on live performances, may not translate to streaming growth. | He has played at various different festivals gaining interest from people outside of the UK. (Tropic, 2022) | The blues audience can shrink overtime unless younger people keep listening to it. |
| Has endorsements with brands including ‘DR Strings’ making him stand out. (Jack Austin Despy Bl, 2023) | May have less experience with marketing strategies and negotiations because of his age. | Demonstrating his playing online through short format content can attract international audiences. | An oversaturation of guitar content online can make it hard to stand out. |
Jesse Garwood
18-year-old Jesse Garwood is a Blues Guitarist based in London. After first jamming with British blues legends Nine Below Zero in his hometown of Charlton, Southeast London, Jesse began building a reputation through touring all across the UK. In 2025, he was shortlisted in the top 15 nominees for “Young Blues Artist of the Year” at the UK Blues Awards. Jesse has become recognised as a talented and expressive guitarist known for his strong work ethic and unique playing style. (Big D bookings, 2025)
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
| Highly experienced player with over 250 gigs under his belt. (Encore, 2024) | He seems to be quite focused on live performance rather than recording. | His versatile playing across many different genres can make him a great session player. | A saturation of online content can make it hard to stand out. |
| Very versitile guitarist, being able to play Jazz, Blues, Rock, Folk and acoustic styles of music. (Encore, 2024) | Being able to play many genres can sometimes make branding and audience targeting more difficult. | Working with different artists can increase exposure. | Manging performances and promotion can be exhausting and overwhelming. |
| He has strong connection within the music industry having played with established blues artists. (Encore, 2024) | As an emerging artist touring and independent promotion can be expensive. | Growth through social media platforms can lead to a wider audience. | Blues and traditional genres may receive less mainstream exposure compared to more trendy and dominant genres. |
Zac Schulze
Kent born Zac Schulze is a 26-year-old blues guitarist known as the frontman of the band, The Zac Schulze Gang. They have won multiple awards including the UK Blues Emerging Band of the Year award for 2024 and Young Artist of the Year 2025. They were also invited to play at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival 2023 in Los Angeles and also made an appearance at the Fairport’s Cropredy Convention in 2024. In 2025, the band headlined the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival which is based in Ballyshannon as well as the Broadstairs Blues Bash which is held in Kent. (The Zac Schulze Gang, 2020)
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats |
| His band having won awards gives him increased credibility. | Blues-rock appeals to a dedicated but small audience therefore may not be sustainable long term. | Having played at many festivals can significantly expand his reach. | Blues and rock are highly competitive genres as many talented guitarists compete for attention. |
| An active online presence including a website help support engagement with his fans. (The Zac Schulze Gang, 2020) | Success may currently depend more on live shows rather than streaming or recording. | If he chooses to release music, this can strengthen online growth. | Intense travelling and frequent live performances may not be sustainable long term. |
| Being a young artist in a genre that is often dominated by an older demographic helps widen his audience. | Can be quite hard to be recognised online as they are competing with mainstream artists. | Continuing to appear at festivals can strengthen his reputation. | Online growth can be unpredictable due to social media algorithms. |
Marketing Theories
When promoting, we will be using various marketing theories to reach as many people as possible. This will help us understand how to attract and connect with audiences more effectively and will ensure that we get the most attention and engagement from the public as possible.
Relationship Marketing. – This marketing theory focuses on building a long term, loyal and dedicated fanbase through regular interaction on social media, updates, newsletters, and other communication.
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP). – This is where music brands divide audiences into groups based on things like age, location, interests, lifestyle, and streaming habits. They then focus on the audience most likely to enjoy the music and create a clear image or identity for the artist or band. This helps attract more attention and engagement from fans.
Relationship Marketing
As our brand is mainly online, relationship marketing is highly important to us when promoting. As mentioned before, we met at university and being in a place with a younger demographic means that social media and an online presence are a major part of everyday communication. Social media apps like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube allow us to connect with our audience in a way that feels personal. Being able to upload clips that feel exclusive make the audience feel connected to us as artists rather than just consumers of our music. Having an online presence also has the potential to widen our audience internationally gaining recognition from people in different countries. This can lead to more opportunities for collaboration, networking and future growth within the music industry.
Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning
The Blues audience is mainly made up of an older demographic aging between 35-64 years old. Understanding these different age ranges is important because different demographics respond to different types of promotion and marketing. Using this marketing theory allows us to choose specific audience groups, understand their preferences and to shape our promotional methods to suit them. ‘Segmentation’ allows us to divide audiences into groups based on factors such as age, location, interests and lifestyle. Within the Blues genre, audiences are more often older and may engage with music differently compared to younger listeners. ‘Targeting’ then allows us to focus on the demographic most likely to attend our events or engage with our music, while ‘positioning’ helps us present our brand in a way that appeals to that audience. Applying this theory helps us create more focused and effective marketing campaigns rather than using the same strategy for every audience.
As we are at Leeds Conservatoire, the audience here is mainly made up of students and younger people who are highly active with digital platforms. Younger audiences are more likely to discover us through social media, streaming platforms, and short-form content. Because of this, it is highly important that we prioritise online promotion when targeting audiences in Leeds. However, in Essex, the audience is more likely to be mature. In this case, promotional strategies may need to change in order to better suit the preferences and interests of this demographic. Using physical forms of promotion such as flyers and posters may be more effective rather than relying on social media. Facebook can also be useful when targeting older audiences, as it remains one of the most used platforms among mature age groups.
A Gantt chart showing the activities leading up to the gig.
Financial Planning
Income
| Description | Cost | Balance |
| Tickets – Capacity-110, Aim-100 | 100×8=800 | £800 |
| Merch – Estimate 30 units sold T-shirts – £15 Badges – 2 for £4, 3 for £5 Stickers – 2 for £4, 3 for £5 £3 each | 30×15=450 30×3=90 Potential Earnings- £450+£90=£540 | £1340 |
Expenses
| Description | Cost | Balance |
| Travel | £70 | £70 |
| Hospitality (Hotel) | £160 | £230 |
| Food | £20 | £250 |
| Promotional Materials | £50 | £300 |
| Photographer | £100 | £400 |
| Equipment Maintenance | £30 | £430 |
| Merchandise- 50 t-shirts 50 badges 50 stickers | T-shirts-£360 Badges-£18 Stickers-£21 =£399 | Total- £829 Profit-£511 Divide by 3 =£170 each |
Transport would be with a car from Leeds, with the only cost being fuel. Promotional materials include physical ads and paid ads on social media. We would hire a photographer down in Essex. For merch we would use ‘Badges and Stickers’ website and order 50 units of badges, stickers and t-shirts to fulfill the 30-unit aim. This leaves us with 20 units of each item, giving us some head room for future gigs. Our potential profit is £511 for this gig. With the right promotional techniques and staying within our budget this has the potential to be a very successful gig.
(https://www.badgesandstickers.co.uk/)
Bibliography
Tropic. (2022). Jack Austin Despy Blues Band. [online] Available at: https://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk/jack-austin-despy-blues-band [Accessed 2nd May 2026].
Jack Austin Despy Bl. (2023). Jack-Austin Despy Blues Band. [online] Available at: https://www.despy.org [Accessed 5th May 2026].
www.britannica.com. (n.d.). British blues | music | Britannica. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/British-blues [Accessed 5th May 2026].
Big D bookings. (2025). Jesse Garwood Band | Big D bookings. [online] Available at: https://www.bigdbookings.com/jessegarwoodband [Accessed 8th May 2026].
Encore. (2024). Jesse Garwood. [online] Available at: https://encoremusicians.com/Jesse-Garwood [Accessed 8th May 2026].
The Zac Schulze Gang. (2020). The Zac Schulze Gang. [online] Available at: https://www.zacschulzegang.rocks/. [Accessed 9th May 2026].
