As a part of the executive team, I worked collaboratively with my other members to create an invitation, a Google Form for attendance, a feedback form, a schedule, and a mood board. I created the invitation and the attendance form on my end, along with the schedule of events. My strengths in interpersonal communication, creative design, and organization assisted me during my work with the executive team by allowing me to aptly work alongside others, craft necessary information, and organize our ideas into the desired outcome. Overall, my initial expectations for the project were that the class would collectively complete every piece of the project, including the creative, executive, and marketing side. Once the project was explained and groups were formed, my expectations changed. I enjoyed working with the executive team as I love event planning. I was disappointed by the fact that we did not have a budget because I thought it could be fun to plan decorations, food, or other things, but I understand why we didn’t.

      My team was very proactive and communicated well for the most part. It got confusing towards the end when we had to make a schedule, find a new location, and change the time, but we all got along and did our part to ensure everything ran smoothly. It was kind of hard to speak with other teams at times since we were all working separately, especially the creative team since they were often at the studio recording music, but when we needed to ask a question for clarification, it was answered quickly and thoroughly. These interactions made the project much easier than I initially thought it would be. The only major issue we came across was the location change within the last week of class. It was very confusing since we initially tried to book a place and were told it wouldn’t be possible due to exams that week, but it was quickly resolved.

       During this class, I have learned so much more about country music than I initially expected. I  learned about the different eras that exist, the effects that other genres and electronics had on country music, and even how to make it. Listening to different branches within the genre also taught me that some things are considered country music that I initially would’ve never thought belonged. I also learned about environments in which it thrives and how to market it towards places in which it doesn’t. The 100-song assignment forced me to go out of my comfort zone and explore artists I had never previously considered or heard of. Now, I see country music for more than just its albums and artists, but also for its history and formulation. This project enhanced my view on the music industry by giving me a prime example of what it looks like to produce an album, throw a release party, and market an event.

      The final project had a great idea and ended up being produced well in the end, but there were a lot of confusing parts during the process. An outline of specifically what each team was supposed to do would have been very helpful from the beginning and eliminated later concerns. For example, providing a list of all that the executive team has to create, like an invitation and schedule, from the beginning would have given us the opportunity to plan accordingly and allocate tasks to everyone in the group rather than requiring us to text back and forth during the week and weekend. Additionally, more help to the creative team could have allowed them more access to other tools and resources that may have helped them create even more music or different kinds. It also would have taken off more from their work load since they had the most to do out of any other team. Overall, it was an interesting project to work on and allowed us to get a firsthand look at how to produce a musical piece and event.