Among the Cosmic Roots Collective’s strengths is their rapport with one another, having played together for four years now, on both a musical and personal level. All three members get along well and have developed a unique style and sound that has earned them respect among their peers in the local Orlando music scene.  Working on new material is a fairly easy process, with lead songwriter Wheeler Newman always having many ideas to develop into potential new songs. All three members also work for the same employer, so they will be able to confer with each other easily throughout the campaign and share ideas, and all live within relatively close proximity to one another as well. And, Wheeler Newman has been developing strong IT skills which he can leverage for the band’s SEO for its website. Lastly, the band has a decent social media following on which it can build to promote the recent release of its album “Virtues.”

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All three members of Cosmic Roots Collective work full-time, are married, one has a child, two are currently in school, and one has a steady part-time job in addition to his full-time job, all of which all play factors in the amount of time and energy they have to put toward the creative and promotional aspects of being an independent music group. Despite having a good reputation locally, their live performances have become increasingly rare due to the aforementioned factors. Neither of them are heavy social media users either which means they don’t post regularly on their social media pages or on their website. And, lastly, they have limited funding to put toward promotional costs or merchandise. The campaign will focus on more regular sustained posting on social media and content creation to foster more engagement with its target audiences and find perhaps alternative ways to perform, for example solo concerts or impromptu shows at one of the member’s homes or even possibly at work. 

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Social media is omnipresent and, if used effectively, can and will be a great asset to Cosmic Roots Collective in this campaign. In addition, they are friendly with many other local groups who are all active on social media, through which they can help support and promote each other’s music amongst their respective followers. The three members all work in an environment with many creative people through whom they access technology to help them with content creation, (e.g., video cameras). In the digital age, it is very easy for anyone to access music on a number of music streaming sites such as Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music, and to direct people to these sites through social media. Lastly, the members have support from their families to pursue the group, knowing it is an important creative outlet for them.  

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The main threats to Cosmic Roots Collective in this campaign are the number of local groups in the Greater Orlando area, many of whom are younger and less “tied down” and who are more active and savvy with social media. Also, the sheer number of music to be discovered and consumed is growing exponentially, so the competition to be heard and receive any kind of attention in this increasingly crowded space is tremendous. The group has only played a couple local venues as of late, one of which was recently forced to close, so this also poses a threat in that not many club owners are familiar with them. And, although they have a style and sound unique to themselves, they are also competing with a multitude of musical genres and sub-genres, making it increasingly crucial to identify their target market. The group will, again, try to focus on what makes them unique and do their best to befriend more groups in the area to increase their chances of performing and also cross-promotion through social media and/or word of mouth.