A product positioning or re-positioning dilemma? : ... the cross-genre marketing of a roots/blues musician as also an alt.country artist

The music industry, like many others, has been traditionally categorised and labeled into product-market elements such as brand categories, SKU's, SICs, store departments, and music genres. For products and services that are stereotypical of their categories, this situation is ideal. For those that cross genres, this creates both serious problems and opportunities. This paper examines this through a case study of a multi cross-genre artist, and discusses this in terms of its implications for his product positioning choices.