About

     This project was completed individually. Originally planned to be a project focused on the evolution of security around rock stars, then shifted to an analysis of the types of merchandise being released by the top artists per decade. After individual planning meetings, the idea of merchandise remained but shifted to an analysis of the breakouts and innovative merchandising released by artists throughout the decades, while including slides focused on cultural context to give an explanation as to why these types of products became popular. The first planning meeting was conducted with Dr. Snider on September 20th, the second planning meeting was completed on October 25th, and the draft was completed on November 17th. The final product was submitted on the morning of December 5th.

     To procure sources, I originally consulted with Berry's Reference Librarian, Phil Schaller, after the first planning meeting to develop sources based on merchandising. Although the final idea was not finalized yet, I was provided with sources that held weight within the field. From those original sources, I developed a rough timeline of the breakout moments, from there I used in-linked articles alongside general Google searches to recount breakout moments I specifically remembered, which then led me to find sources with details on those specific events. 

     In finding sources for the cultural context, I focused on licensing rights, personality branding, the popularity of the NFT, and AI advertising in the future. The sources were found via JSTOR and Google Scholar. These periods of context were specifically selected as they served as a thread for the breakout events that followed.