Band Analysis
Your assignment is to rent a video documentary (e.g., VH1 Behind the Music or another feature length document) and to read articles or books about two different bands (one successful and one unsuccessful). For the purposes of this assignment: Unsuccessful bands are those that have had commercial success and then broken up; successful bands are those that have had commercial success and been together for more than 10 years. In selecting your bands, please keep in mind that you must be able to gather enough information from multiple sources (not just websites) to complete this project. Your assignment is to analyze and compare the bands experiences with conflict, defining roles, team management strategies, and the role of the team leader (a.k.a. the band promoters or managers). gather enough information from multiple sources (not just websites) to complete this project. Your assignment is to analyze and compare The Back Street Boys and the NSYNC experiences with conflict, defining roles, team management strategies, and the role of the team leader (a.k.a. the band promoters or managers). Remember to use appropriate course terminology, theories, and concepts in your analysis. -Backstreet boys: success (years active: 1993-present) -NSYNC: unsuccessful (years active: 1995-2002) Band composition and membership. (13 points) How was each band formed? How did they select their members? Using course concepts, what are the important differences (if any) between the two bands you are analyzing in terms of how they were formed? Band roles and division of workload. (16 points) What role does each member of the band play (beyond just playing their instrument)? Are the roles they play complementary or competing? How is the job of finding or writing new music divided up? Using course concepts, what are the important differences between your two bands in terms of the roles and workload division among members? Band goals. (13 points) What goals did the bands set for themselves? How did the members set goals? Did their goals overlap or diverge over time? What impact did this have? Using course concepts, what are the important differences (if any) between your bands in terms of the goals they set? Team dynamics. (18 points) How do the personalities of each member contribute to the success or failure of each band? Was the band able to retain all of its original members? Why or why not? How did the group dynamics influence the bands ability to retain or integrate members? To keep members motivated? How did the band resolve conflicts? What are the important differences between your two bands in terms of managing team dynamics? Team leadership. (12 points) What role did the band manager or handlers play in managing the teamsand leading them to their successes/failures. What types of leadership roles did different members play? Based on course concepts, what are the important differences between the bands? What have you learned? (18 points) Based on your analysis of the two bands, how might failure have been prevented? What advice do you have for newly forming bands based on your analysis? What did you learn about team dynamics in rock bands that can be applied to organizational teams? Professionalism. (10 points) The final 10 points will be allocated for style, grammar, and professionalism of your paper.
