Behind the Scenes: What's New in the Entertainment Industry

Indy Car Racing at Sonoma

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 05:09:00 +0000

Well, this is my last blog post at least while I’m in the Entertainment Masters Degree program at Full Sail University. I was trying to decide what to write about for this last required blog post. I wanted to complete this before Sunday evening (the last evening of class when everything is due) but I have been working the Indy Race at Sonoma raceway for the last two days for 10 hours each day. My job at Sonoma is a corner worker. A Corner worker is a track official positioned generally before a corner on a road course, to provide flag communication to the drivers and radio communication to the track steward. The corner worker may provide information that will save both the driver and racecar from serious harm due to unsafe track conditions ahead. They'll also be the ones to let a driver know a faster car is approaching, and whether something is wrong with the car that the driver is not aware of. They're there to protect a driver’s life. This is my part time job and it can be dangerous, but I have been doing it for about 7 years now and I love it.

Since this is my last assignment, I have to mention that although I love the concert industry, I also love auto racing and baseball (Yankees). This has made it difficult throughout the Masters program to decide what to I want to do with my degree and what to write my business plan on. I’d love to be able to work in all three of these areas. With this said, I have decided to write about the entertainment, or sport of Indy Car at Sonoma. Indy Car is open wheel racing and the cars go at speeds of approximately 170 miles per hour at this road course. Most have heard of the popular Indy Car drivers like Mario Andretti (Mario has retired from racing but his grandson Marco races in the series), Will Power, Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves, and Tony Kanaan. Another driver I have to mention is Dan Wheldon, who was killed in a horrific crash last year at Las Vegas. He was my favorite driver. This was very sad.

It is exciting to stand on a racetrack and watch these drivers go by and watching out for their safety. This event and NASCAR are the popular races at Sonoma and tends to draw more hype and entertainment with camera’s everywhere. I have attached couple videos you may be able to spot the corner workers, we are dressed all in white. The first video will show a crash that happened in my corner during practice on Friday, it can be scary when a fast car hits a wall and starts spinning toward you. It’s really fun to be part of this exciting sport, and I have the best seat in the house.

CHEAP TRICK AND AEROSMITH REVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 23:33:00 +0000

I am nearing the finish line of the Entertainment Business Masters Degree Program, and I just completed my Business Plan (the word document part anyway). So, I have decided to keep this blog post on the light and fun side rather than serious school work side, and write a review on the Cheap Trick and Aerosmith concert I attended last weekend. This review does go along with my blog theme, concerts and concert reviews.

Last week my friend, Joanne, a huge Aerosmith Fan, was kind enough to invite me to the show at the Oracle in Oakland. I didn’t realize that she was going to purchase one of the VIP packages that included some perks, excellent seats on the floor and a question answer session with Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, and Joey Kramer of Aerosmith. It was a great!

This was the first time I had seen Cheap Trick, kind of a surprise to me as I have seen over 200 concerts and Cheap Trick was a favorite in the early 80’s. Maybe I have overlooked it. Anyway, Cheap Trick put on a good show playing all of their hits and my favorite, The Flame.

Now I have seen Aerosmith at least 8 times, if not more, and worked for them in the capacity of catering in the early 80’s and a Runner in 1994. Also, I am from Massachusetts and had the opportunity to see them when they played at smaller venues when as a teenager.

With that information I have to say this show was exceptionally good. Steve Tyler has always been a good showman, well there was an exception to that when they played in the early 80’s, and thankfully he straightened his act out. Aerosmith is a band that sounds great live. Our seats were on the floor next to the catwalk, before the show started I saw people moving to stand next to the stage and I followed and stood there for the entire Aerosmith show. When the show started Steven Tyler rose up from the end of the catwalk, very close to where I was standing. One good review I read said it nicely, “It really doesn’t get any better, and if anyone on this planet was born to be a rock star, it was this man. Seriously, a born rock god”. (Debord,2012)

Aerosmith are veteran rockers and you can certainly tell that they love to perform and play their music. Each member of the band got to play solo and they all sounded great in solo and all together. I like that they played quite a few of their old songs like “Draw the Line”, "Same old Song and Dance”, “Walk This Way”, "Dream On”, and one of my favorites “Sweet Emotion”. I will say my favorite moment was when Steven Tyler came up from under the stage sitting at a piano and played "Dream On" with Joe Perry standing on the piano playing guitar.

In all it was a great night of great live music. And the house was packed!!! I have to add, even with the downed economy, consumers are still paying to go to concerts. Thanks for the VIP tickets Joanne!

Aerosmith at Oracle Arena Oakland, California, 8/4/12, Bebord, Jason (August 5, 2012) Retrieved on Aug. 8, 2012 from: http://rocksubculture.com/2012/08/05/aerosmith-at-oracle-arena-oakland-california-842012/

Pictures and video were taken by me.

My Business Plan - Applying what I've Learned from Experts

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 02:10:00 +0000

Winding down to the end of my class, Business Plan Development. I’ve started the process of writing my business plan. When I first began writing the Mission Statement of my Business plan I must say honestly that I was a bit overwhelmed. I was over thinking my Business Plan as if it was set in stone for life and I had to make it perfect. Also, I have so many interests in concert production and sports entertainment and it was difficult to narrow my services down. Then I reflected back to the article I posted on July 1^st, where I talked about Barbara Corcoran and Steve Ellis.

In the article Barbara Corcoran wrote, she stated that a lengthy business plan is useless and suggested to keep your business plan simple. Her suggestion was to just list what’s most important to attend to, and to imagine what exactly you want your business to look like when it is successful. Make a simple “to do” list of what’s most important to make your dream a reality. These were excellent suggestions and I was able to keep my business plan simple and focus on what is important for the purposes of this business plan. I can always change it later. (Burhoe, 2011)

Steve Ellis suggests concentrating on your product, what you’re trying to sell. He believes that the critical component of a business plan is the name of the company. He believes that the name of the company must represent who the owner is and the concept the owner is trying to portray. The company needs to be unique and marketable, and grab the attention of the investor. The name of my company is JPS Music Tour Management. Although I’m still struggling with the name and would like to be more creative, I would say that the name of my company does represent who I am with JPS and what I am trying to portray is Music Tour Management Company. (Glaenzer, 2011)

The most important part of my Business Plan would be the Mission Statement and Executive Summary as both tell the investor what it is I am going to do. Barbara Corcoran also stated that the Investor does not want to read the entire plan, and to treat it like a resume. Put what is most important first, if it grabs the attention of the Investor, they will read further.

Sources:

http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/tips/ThemeGallery/777018

Burhoe, Steven. (2011, March 31). Expert Views on Business Plans. Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from: http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

Glaenzer, Stefan. (2011, October 27). We al know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction. Retrieved on July 1, 2012 from: http://fanuscripts.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-all-know-that-business-plans-are-sub.html

Experts Key Concepts of Writing a Business Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:01:00 +0000

The world is full of successful business people. But how did they become successful? For the most part, it all started with a Business Plan. In this blog I will discuss two successful business people, and what they believe are the key components in a Business Plan.

Barbara Corcoran, a member of the Shark Tank Crew, is a Real Estate mogul who started Real Estate Company in New York with a $1,000 loan from her boyfriend. Her Real Estate Company turned into over $5 billion in 25 years. She also wrote a national best-selling book about business called; If You Don’t Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails. Corcoran believes that a critical component of a successful business plan is a great executive summary. She makes a very good point in her reasoning as she says most investors will not read the whole plan because they have so many other plans to consider. You will grab the attention of the investor if you answer the questions, “What problem are your trying to solve? Why are you uniquely qualified to solve it? Is it good business? What’s it going to cost? And how long is it going to take?” I guess you could compare this to a hiring authority looking at your resume. You want to list your most qualifying skills and/or experience first. Corcoran also stated that two of the biggest pitfalls in writing a business plan are overestimating your company’s addressable market and downplaying risks. (Burhoe, 2011)

Additionally, when Corcoran was interviewed about writing a business plan, on the show Shark Tank Tips, she stated that a lengthy business plan was useless. She suggested keeping the business plan simple. Just list what's most important to attend to and what's not. I thought a great suggestion from her is to imagine what exactly what you want your business to look like once you are successful. Like a daydream. Make a simple "to do" list of what's most important to make your dream a reality. http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/tips/ThemeGallery/777018

Steve Ells founded the restaurant, Chipotle in 1993 with a loan for $85,000 from his father. Ells is the co-Chief Executive Officer and was appointed Chairman of the Board in 2005. Before to launching Chipotle, Ells worked at Stars restaurant in San Francisco for two years, and graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in art history. He also graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1990, and is currently a top investor on NBC’s, America’s Great Next Restaurant. Ells suggests to concentrate on your product, what you're trying to sell to the investor. (Glaenzer, 2011)

The investors on America’s Great Next Restaurant believe that one of the key and critical components investors look for in a business plan is the name of the company. They believe that the name of the company must represent who the owner is and the concept the owner is trying to portray. They also believe that the concept of the company needs to be unique and marketable and grab the attention of the investor. (Burhoe, 2011)

Sources:
Burhoe, Steven. (2011, March 31). Expert Views on Business Plans. Retrieved on June 30, 2012 from: http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

Glaenzer, Stefan. (2011, October 27). We al know that business plans are a sub-genre of science fiction. Retrieved on July 1, 2012 from: http://fanuscripts.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-all-know-that-business-plans-are-sub.html

http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/tips/ThemeGallery/777018

Musicians Utilizing Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:28:00 +0000

As we know, social media is a way of life these days, especially for digital marketing. Just look at all the advertisements on Facebook. Speaking of Facebook, the recent news of Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) starting at $38 per share, has U2’s front man Bono in the news. Bono bought into Facebook when it is fresh and word is that he may now be one of the richest musicians in the world (after Paul McCartney). Bono has more than a two-percent stake in Facebook and it is worth $1.5 billion. (Kaufman, 2012) This brings me to the topic of how musicians are utilizing social media to share their music with the world and interact with the fans. How many musicians are utilizing this? I would say that if you are a musician and not on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media networks then you are in the dark ages. I would guess that some utilize it more than others. It’s not surprising that Bono is on board with social media and interacting because after all, it’s Bono! U2 uses social media to be connected with the fans during their live show. Although U2’s tour is an enormous production, I’m sure there are other bands who use social media during the live show to connect with the fans.

Recently I attended 2 concerts, Roger Waters and Coldplay. While attending these concerts I was involved in social media, as were people sitting around me in the audience. We were all taking pictures and I know that I was posting them on Facebook. I would take a guess that others were doing the same. In 2009 and 2011 I attended the U2 360 Tour. A blog article in High Talk, 3 Social Media Lessons from U2, by George F. Snell III, talks about how it was difficult to avoid social media at a U2 live show (the article refers to the actual show I attended in Foxborough, Massachusetts). Snell talks about how U2 used technology and social media throughout the show to interact with the fans. It is well known that U2 care about world issues (e.g. One.org, Amnesty.org) and they used technology, social media and the web to create a strong bond with their fans and to get them on board with the causes they care about. While U2 is entertaining their fans, they are also getting them connected and using the power of the web to tell stories, get people connected and sell their brands. Most consumers want connection to the people behind the brand they are interested in buying, Bono creates a human face to U2 while he showcases his products and ideas to his fans. So in this case what Bono is selling is a cause and he can sometimes get a bit political, but the way he interweaves it into an amazing show works. He is also selling his music.

In my last blog I said I was going to attend Roger Waters in San Francisco. I also said I would give a review, as I had posted a blog about the difference between the arena and stadium shows. But I don’t have much to report, the show was basically the same (fantastic) but just larger. I will add a video of Roger Waters discussing how he uses social media.

References:

Kaufman, G. (2012, May 18). Facebook IPO Could Smash Records, Spur New Tech Wave: MTV News takes you behind the scenes of Facebook in a 2011 documentary that explores the company's unique non-corporate culture. Retrieved from: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685335/facebook-ipo-diary.jhtml

Kaufman, G. (2012, May 18). Bono's Billion-Dollar Facebook IPO Haul: By The Numbers: You could buy nearly seven million pair of Bulgari Bono sunglasses the cash. Retrieved from: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1685414/bono-facebook-ipo-billion.jhtml

Snell, George F. III. (2012, September 2009). 3 Social Media Lessons from U2. Retrieved from: http://hightalk.net/2009/09/21/3-social-media-lessons-from-u2/

The 2012 Concert Season

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Last year around this time I wrote about what the 2011 summer concert season looked like.

Well, it is now 2012 and a whole new year of concert production on the road. Last year may have been U2 but this year it’s Coldplay, at least for starters. Other bands expected to tour in 2012 are Madonna, Lady Gaga, Van Halen (with David Lee Roth), Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Phish, The Dave Matthews Band, Radiohead, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, The Eagles, to name a few.

Last week I attended my first concert of 2012, Coldplay. The concert was at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, and the first Coldplay concert I have been too. I’ve liked the band since the song “Yellow” came out in 2000. I had tickets to Coldplay in 2009 but had an accident and broke my leg a few days before, gave the tickets away. So I have been looking forward to them touring again. I have to say, this concert was worth the wait. Upon entering the concert, I was given a pink bracelet that said Coldplay on one side and Twitter on the other, and told to put the bracelet on; it was part of the show.

When the lights went off and Coldplay came on stage my bracelet lit bright pink: and those around me did the same: a myriad of rainbow-colored lights: red, yellow, pink, blue, green. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen at a show before, sort of like glow sticks but high tech. The stage was painted with black light florescent paint, and the lights were like black lights, there was also a lazar light show. It was fantastic!! The show went on with a continuous array of lights and neon colors, along with confetti falling off at different times throughout the show. At one time the singer, Chris Martin, was rolling around on stage in the confetti. Not only was the light and confetti show cool, but Chris Martin’s singing, piano playing, and guitar was very impressive. Stacy Scales of Spinning Platters.com gave a great review on April 30, 2012.

I think what really impressed me was the audience interaction. Chris and the band really made a point to interact with the band, starting with the bracelets, and ending with the band appearing on a small platform, in the audience at the back of the arena for the first encore. This show was worth every penny and I would see Coldplay again.

It looks like the 2012 concert season is going to be a good one.

Next week I will be attending Roger Waters, The Wall, at AT&T Park, San Francisco. I will do a blog post for this concert as it connects to a blog post from November 2011. In that blog post I talked about the difference between Roger Waters, The Wall arena tour vs. stadium tour.

http://soundcheck.ocregister.com/files/2012/05/coldplay1.jpg

http://spinningplatters.com/2012/04/30/show-review-coldplay-with-the-pierces-and-metronomy-at-hp-pavilion-4282012/

Jeff Kravitz/WireImage/LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images/Kevin Mazur/Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Get Writing that Book!

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:28:00 +0000

This month, the class I took for my Masters Degree in Entertainment Business Management is Media Publishing and Distribution. This class rocks! Not that I haven’t liked the majority of classes I’ve taken so far, but this one was very valuable. See, I’ve been talking about writing a book/memoir for years. I even took two classes on writing a book and writing your life story. Those classes were helpful in how to put your thoughts on paper, but not in getting published. I had no idea where to start. For those who know me, I am writing a book about my interesting life because people always tell me I should write a book. Not only do I have interesting stories, I am good at telling them. It must be my Irish heritage.

My book is about concert production and life backstage from the view of someone who worked in various jobs that people outside the music industry, and possibly those in the music industry, may not even be aware of. One of these jobs is hospitality catering and the other is a concert runner or production assistant (production assistant is really just a glorified runner in some cases). A concert runner is usually one of the first to report for work in the morning and the last to leave. The book goes beyond just the jobs but into the personal friendships and short-term relationships that came about as the result of a passion for music, the excitement of backstage, the artists, and the variety of people from all over the world who are involved in music. This book is also about a simple life in rural Vermont during 1992-1998. Interweaving life in the music industry while raising 2 children as a single mother, attending college.

Through this class, I found some great resources. I also found out that there are many agents out there looking for all kinds of material. It is a good idea to find the agent who is looking for the kind of book you want to write. There are also many self-publishing websites out there, some with step-by-step instructions on getting your book published. A site that I found informative is www.writersdigest.com. I now receive email from Writers Digest. Writers’ blogs on the internet are also very helpful. There are so many of them. It’s a bit overwhelming when you first look at them all, you have to go through them and find the ones that apply to you. I did find this article that explains writers blogs and lists the best 39 blogs for writers, in fact, the article is called The 39 Best Blogs for Writers. (Klems, 2012) This article refers to another article by Writer’s Market editor Robert Lee Brewer called Best Blogs for Writers to Read in 2012. These blogs are really good for finding people and information so that maybe I can get my book published.

(Klems, Brian). (February 12, 2012). The 39 Best Blogs for Writers. Retrieved on February 16, 2012 from http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-39-best-blogs-for-writers

http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2012/02/best-blogs-for-writers-to-read-in-2012.html

A New Take on the Concert Industry: Playing for the Audience

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:17:00 +0000

Let’s take a look at the concert industry for the last 4 years. Who has been touring and selling out shows? How much are consumers paying for tickets? Who is the audience? Are people still interested in live music?

First, it seems as though the bands that are selling out, are bands that have been touring for many years, bands that were popular in the 80’s. According to Live 2.0, the top grossing touring acts hasn’t changed much since 1988. Here are the bands on that list that were also touring in 1988: Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and AC/DC. (McCarthy, 2009) Other “older” bands that are still touring and selling out stadiums are U2 (top grossing band of 2011), and Roger Waters. Roger Waters, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and the original Van Halen are already selling out venues this year.

So, who is the audience? The audience is not just the “baby boomers” or those who could have been to any of these concerts in the 80’s. Now a younger crowd, probably the children of those baby boomers are attending. I think that the reason people are attending concerts is because they want to be there with their favorite band and be part of the music. Ticket prices are high, but seeing your favorite band live is worth paying the high prices.

I found an interesting article written in 2011, by Jim McCarthy, CEO of Goldstar. The article included some informative links and a Ted talks audio, and talks about how the concert industry has evolved over the past 10 – 15 years. A lot of this has to do with record sales. Record sales have gone way down over the past few years, with the inexpensive price of downloads, verses vinyl and/or CD’s. Because of the cheap price of music, people are placing a higher value on live interaction than ever before. In the article, Jim made a good point, when he said that younger bands are going to have to start “tuning up” to entice the audiences of tomorrow. The older bands like Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, and even U2 are not going to be selling out stadiums, or even smaller venues in 2020. Other bands, venues, and artist managers are going to have to work and find out what the audience wants in a live performance.

(McCarthy, Jim). (Jan. 15, 2009). Maybe I Should be Writing this on my Commodore 64. Retrieved on February 16, 2012 from http://www.download-not-available.com/quick-takes/maybe-i-should-be-writing-this-on-my-commodore-64-too

(McCarthy, Jim). (Nov. 10, 2011). Live Music Needs a Tuneup To Entice the Audiences of Tomorrow. Retrieved on February 16, 2012 from
http://www.fastcompany.com/1794113/pricing-live-music-to-lure-tomorrows-fans#ixzz1dmdaGsrS

Entertainment Law Update Podcast Episode 13 - by Gordon Firemark

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:27:00 +0000

Gordon Firemark and Tamara Bennett Trademark, Copyright, Entertainment Attorneys discuss a variety of issues on August 25, 2010. The following are two issues I found interesting:

Invasion of Privacy issue: Justin Beiber tweeted 15-year old Kevin Krisopik’s phone number on a Saturday night, telling his 4.5 million followers that it was his own phone number. Kevin received 26,000 calls and text messages from fans of Justin Beiber. Justin admitted to going this and said that he did it because Kevin got ahold of Justin’s cell phone number, and had been bothering him with unwanted, annoying text messages. Kevin’s father is worried about the phone bill. Gordon and Tamara discussed what the possible damages would be. There were not any monetary damages because Kevin had an unlimited text messaging phone plan. It may have cost money to change the phone number, but that is small claims issue, probably not worth pursuing. It was the responsibility of Justin. Was there a right of privacy violation? Since the phone number was private, a reasonable person would think it is a violation of privacy. Was it an intentional and willful act of Beiber? Probably not. The discussion of this case was interesting because the attorneys did bring up any possible legal liability, that could apply to this case, but none of them applied.

The next discussion that I found interesting is the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) indecency policy ruling that, the FCC must allow for isolated instances. This case involved, Fox Broadcasting, which had been cited by the FCC for comments made by Cher and Nicole Ritchie during the Billboard Music Awards show in 2002 and 2003. (Teinowitz, 2010). A Fox spokesman, Scot Grogin, stated, “we must allow for the unfortunate isolated instances where inappropriate language slips through.” (Teinowitz, 2010) The Federal Court had tossed the FCC’s indecency policy, ruling that it violates the First Amendment and admonished it for vague enforcement. The court referred to incidences such as Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” and Bono’s f-bomb at the Golden Globes. The three-judge panel at the U.S. court or appeals called the FCC policy “unconstitutionally vague” and it “creates a chilling effect”.

The podcast discussed the fact that the networks indecency policy is impermissibly vague, and that it results in a standard that even the FCC cannot articulate or apply consistently. I agree with Firemark and Bennett, there has to be flexibility in the law to protect kids and those with sensitive ears for when these things happen. This issue has to do with an expression of excitement, that sometimes happens on live television. The FCC has a list of 7 bad words you can’t say on live television. Should there be a list of the 7 bad words? Is the list the right criteria? Maybe the list should be updated. And, the policy has to be clear and concise so that it can be followed. I also agree that the policy is unconstitutional and the FCC must update it.

The second issue is something that could possibly apply to my business plan. You never know if the artist I manage could win an award and I would be there with them to accept it. Some of the other issues discussed on the podcast were on-going and more research would have to be done to go back to the original cases.

Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, WSJ. (August 17, 2010). Justin's Evil Prank. Retrieved on January 29, 2012, from http://theweek.com/article/index/206135/justin-biebers-evil-prank

http://firemark.com/2010/08/25/entertainment-law-update-podcast-episode/

Teinowitz, Ira (July 13, 2010). Fox 'Pleased' by Indecency Ruling: 'Must Allow for Isolated Instances'. Retrieve on January 29, 2012, from http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/court-tosses-fccs-indecency-policy-first-amendment- violation-19182

Legal Liabilities in the Concert Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:39:00 +0000

The entertainment industry has many different kinds of lawsuits. I think a career as an entertainment attorney would be very interesting. There are a few different lawsuit articles that I found interesting relating to the concert industry.

The first issue is a lawsuit filed on December 28, 2011, by Juice Entertainment, LLC. in federal court claiming Live Nation Entertainment used unfair business tactics that led to the fair terminating its agreement to have Juice book concerts in 2011, at the Meadowlands complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The lawsuit claims that Juice Entertainment lost more than $75,000 as a result and alleges Live Nation interfered by telling State Fair Entertainment Management, that Juice was broke and lacked the experience to book concerts for the fair. (Reinartz, 2011)

I have been following Live Nation news and events for the past year, as I am interested in the company. As for this lawsuit, Juice Entertainment just may have a valid claim to Live Nation pushing them out of the way, after all Live Nation is a powerful corporation taking on most of the world in concert and music promotion. As for unfair business practices, Live Nation would have a tough time getting where they are at today by practicing unfair business practices.

The next legal liability I want to talk about is a horrible event that happened over the summer. The Sugarland stage collapse in Indiana where 7 people died. Forty-four survivors and family members of the deceased, along with producers, stage riggers, and others associated with the show of August 13, 2011, filed a lawsuit on November 22, 2011. According to plaintiff’s attorney, Sugarland’s contract gave the performers final say on whether the show should be cancelled due to weather. The complaint claims that the band and other entities are said to have owed a duty to provide a safe concert environment, using reasonable care in the direction, set-up and supervision of the show. (Schillaci, 2011) Another article on the Hollywood Reporter said that the tour manager stopped the band from going onto the stage just minutes before it collapsed. (Powers, 2011)

This is a tragedy that could have been prevented. I agree that it is the duty of the band and its entity. There are some disasters that cannot be prevented, but I agree that it is up to the tour manager to keep up with what is going on with the weather when you play at outside venues. The weather report said that 60 mile an hour winds were expected just one half hour before the concert began.

There were 2 other concerts where stages collapsed last year but fortunately they were not as tragic as Sugarland. One of these concerts was a Flaming Lips concert in Oklahoma, August 8, 2011. The other was a Cheap Trick concert in Ottawa, Canada. Neither resulted in lawsuits that I am aware of. Another thing that venues and performers may want to look at is the age and strength of staging and concert equipment.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/15/earlyshow/main20092363.shtml

http://www.pollstar.com/blogs/news/archive/2011/12/28/792443.aspx

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sugarland-stage-collapse-lawsuit-indiana-265443

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sugarland-stage-collapse-indiana-state-fair-saved-lives-223600

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/massive-flaming-lips-set-piece-220439

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stage-collapses-cheap-trick-concert-212425

Roger Waters – The Wall Tour 2011-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 04:09:00 +0000

Tickets go on sale this week for Roger Waters - The Wall stadium tour, which starts in May 2012. As I was deciding whether or not to buy tickets for the next leg of this amazing theatrical rock concert, I thought this would be an excellent topic to post on my blog this week. In December of 2010, I had the opportunity to see The Wall at an arena in San Jose, but seeing it at AT&T Park in San Francisco would be amazing. I had also thought how cool it would be to work production for this tour!

I’ve been a fan of Pink Floyd since the late 70’s. I can still remember the first time I listened to The Wall album. I saw Roger Waters in 1987, soon after he left Pink Floyd, and again in 2008 for his Dark Side of the Moon tour. And in 1994 I also had the opportunity to experience four Pink Floyd concerts with David Gilmour (no Waters). I had a friend who worked for that tour as a video technician and in charge of the giant inflatable pig. For these shows I was able to go backstage after the show and see the production, and sit on the third level of the video board in the middle of the venue during the show, at Foxboro Stadium in Massachusetts and Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Quebec.

Okay, back to Roger Waters, The Wall. There’s some interesting reading on this production. Roger Waters is a perfectionist and is attempting to perfect the touring version of what he considers the defining work of his career. (Hiatt, 2011) The Wall album was originally released in 1979, and was a tale of an alienated rock star named Pink whose biography bears a distinct resemblance to his own. Pink Floyd's original live version of The Wall was in 1980 and it had giant puppets, synchronized graphics and that wall, constructed brick by brick, and then knocked down at the show's climax. This tour set a standard for other rock spectacles including the Rolling Stones, Steel Wheels Tour and U2’s Zoo TV. The 2011-2012 version is all that of the original but so much more high tech.

The Wall was originally an album about the feelings of loss and alienation that Waters was feeling during that time in 1979. Although the original narrative is still present, the meaning has now turned to a wider statement on the effects of war, religion, politics and commerce on 21^st century life. It is filtered through Waters concern for the human condition and is as much of an emotional experience as it is cerebral (2011) In its largest configuration, the wall is 35’ high and 240’ wide and depending on the slope of the venue where it is being played, it can range from 210’ wide to 240’. The wall is built brick by brick during the two-act show, each act at approximately 55 minutes long. At the end of the show the wall crashes down. With the building of the wall, the story, music, theatrics, flying planes and pigs, and the vocal emotions of life by Waters, this makes for a show that should be experienced.

Read more: Retrieved on November 13, 2012 at http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/back-to-the-wall-rolling-stones-2010-profile-of-pink-floyds-roger-waters-20111006#ixzz1ddzspJZ7

Read more: Retrieved on November 11, 2011 at http://www.tpimagazine.com/production-profiles/874494/on_the_road_with_roger_waters_the_wall_live.html

Keeping Up With Live Nation Entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:25:00 +0000

I have been following the business news of Live Nation Entertainment (LNE), as it is currently the world’s leading live entertainment in the world. LNE is comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Front Line Management Group and Live Nation Network. They also have a contract with top bands such as U2, Madonna, Jay-Z and Nickelback. Ticketmaster.com is the global event-ticketing leader with over 26 million monthly unique visitors. Live Nation Concerts produces over 20,000 shows annually for more than 2,000 artists globally. Front Line is the world’s top artist management company, representing over 250 artists.

LNE is constantly adding more entertainment endeavors to the company, so what are they up to now? On October 25, 2011, LNE announced an agreement with Los Angeles based concert promoters Andrew Hewitt and Bill Silva, who cover two of the largest music markets in North America, Las Vegas and Southern California. At this time another promoter, AEG Live, is strong in those areas. This move will strengthen their presence in that competitive area. With this agreement, Hewitt and Silva will join the Live Nation team in overseeing the booking, marketing, and promotion of the company’s concerts in Southern California and Las Vegas. The concerts venues will range from smaller club like venues to large stadiums, and bring in some of the top acts in the business. "Working together, we will be able to maximize our market leadership and grow our business in these major entertainment markets." (Billboard, 2011)

I believe that LNE will continue to add more to their company. LNE are constantly keeping up with the market and the economy, offering lower ticket packages and finding new ways to satisfy the consumer. This is a company that I would love to get onboard with because they do marketing, promotions, and artist management and because they are such a mega company, that continues to grow.

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring/live-nation-muscles-up-in-southern-california-1005435572.story

Contract Negotiations in the Music Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 22:13:00 +0000

On September 18, 2011, I spoke with Brad Stewart, Founder and CEO of Dynamic Artists Management, LLC, San Pablo, California. Dynamic Artists Management, LLC, has provided management and booking services for eclectic music clientele since 1999. Brad has worked in the music industry since 1990 and has been involved as a booking agent and manager for a variety of music artists such as rock, blues, R & B, jazz, world, reggae and pop. Brad believes that Dynamic Artists Management (DAM) is built on offering potential clients a go-getting work ethic and personal attention. Brad referred to DAM as a boutique agency; a smaller, specialized agency servicing a specific group of artists for highly focused industry needs in California’s Bay Area.

Brad has had plenty of experience in negotiating contracts, as a large part of the business is contract negotiation, finding the best “buyer” for the artists. The buyer would be the promoter or venue, and can be anything from a smaller club to a large festival. Over the years Brad has established good relationships with the buyers and this is a very important part of negotiation.

I asked Brad how often he used objective criteria to come to a mutual benefit when negotiating contracts for the artists and his response was that all negotiations should result in a mutual benefit. He stated, “In realistic contracts you have to first understand who your buyer is, what their needs are, and what their capability is before bringing up what he needs. This way you know if they are in the same ballpark.” Brad also stated that part of mutual benefit is making sure that the artist is as comfortable as possible and that they receive high profile visibility.

Of course when negotiating contracts with the buyer, mutual benefit is also about the money. In negotiating contracts it is important to find a mutual cash benefit for all of the parties involved.

A few of the artists that are represented by DAM are: George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic; Peppino D'Agostino and Frank Vignola.

Peppino D'Agostino

The Concert Runner

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:16:00 +0000

As I was attempting to find a recent news article about the concert industry to post on my blog this week, I thought about what it really was that brought out my passion to pursue a career in concert production. From 1992-1998 I was a Runner/Production Assistant in Vermont. Although being a runner is really the bottom of the ladder in the concert industry, it isn't as easy as you may think and several performers and road crew have told me that there are few good runners.

Just like the road crew for a concert tour, a runner is the first one to arrive at the venue and the last one to leave after the trucks are loaded and the crew are ready to go. Many times the runner picks the bus driver up at the hotel when it's time to leave. It's kind of like that song The Load Out by Jackson Browne, which by the way brings me to one of the many duties I had as a runner. One time when I was copying a set list for Jackson Browne to hang in various places on stage, etc. I mentioned liking that song and he asked me to join his tour manager and crew member on stage to sing part of the chorus in Stay. Some other duties were things like finding a certain shampoo, hairdryer, taking the performers bored teenagers sightseeing, finding the right birthday present for the performer, finding certain kinds of food that they didn't have in that area, buying all the cigarette lighters in the store, picking a performer up at the airport in a snow storm using my own vehicle, and following a tour bus to the hotel to retrieve stage clothes. These are just a few of the things you will be asked to do as a runner/production assistant.

What made being a concert runner fun was that you never knew what you would be asked to do from one show to the next. And you were able to meet many interesting people, while seeing how a concert is produced from start to finish. If I could make enough money to survive I would find a job as a runner again. I believe it prepared me for something bigger.

The Concert Business Update

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:28:00 +0000

Concert ticket sales declined in 2010 but what does it look like for 2011? With the merging of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and signing contracts with Madonna, U2, and Kanye West, things are looking up for the concert industry. It seems like the promoters are trying new ideas to sell tickets and it must be working. The new thing this year is pairing up top headliners together to sell more tickets, for example, Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks. Some other reasons concert ticket sales may have increased are artist playing smaller venues at higher ticket prices drawing the attention of concert goers by making it a more intimate setting bringing the audience closer to the artists. Better artist packages are something fairly new and though it increases show costs it offers the fans a better value for their dollar.

According to Pollstar reports, concert business sales are up 11% in the first half of 2011 (Lewis, 2011) Totals from 50 tours added up to $1.65 billion, despite a 2/1% drop in the number of tickets sold to 194 million. This means that the bump in the total box office is the result of higher ticket prices. Ticket prices increased at an average of 13.6% or $10.23 worldwide. North American ticket prices are better than worldwide at 16.2% to $1.12 billion. I have to mention that leading the concert tours in ticket sales is U2 (my favorite band). U2 sales had a total gross of $164 million in 6-months, the last leg of their 360 Tour, now the highest grossing tour of all time.

Following behind U2 is Roger Waters with an average ticket price of $112.99 selling $97.9 million, Bon Jovi, $96.26 average ticket price, $921 million, and Lady Gaga, $96.77 ticket price, at $65.3 million. Compared to eight tours last year, 12 tours in 2011 charge more than $100 per ticket, and there were 22 tours charging more than $90 this year compared to only 12 last year. In conclusion, even though ticket sales have increased, the consumer is still willing to pay the price to see their favorite artist(s) live.

Retrieved on August 6, 2011 at http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/07/concert-business-is-up-11-in-first-half-of-2011-pollstar-reports.html

Marketwatch report on the concert industry

Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do - Ted talks

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 02:48:00 +0000

I watched a Ted talk with Tony Robbins about why we do what we do and what drives us. I've heard about Tony Robbins before, a couple friends attended one of his motivational conferences. They had good things to say. Tony talks about the decisions we make and how they shape our destiny. He talked about the invisible forces that shape us. "Effective leaders have the ability to move themselves and others to action because of the invisible forces that shape us." (Robbins, 2011)

These invisible forces are emotions and human needs. Human needs are broken up into personality and spiritual. Personality needs are: certainty; uncertainty (which is really variety); significance; connection/love. Spiritual needs are growth and giving to others. People have mastered the art of personal fulfillment. This can be achieved in different ways. We can achieve personal fulfillment from doing things for ourselves, or we can achieve them from doing for others. We all have to find our own belief system and act on it. Some are more driven then others.

The reason I decided to write about this talk is because I can identify with emotional decisions shaping our destiny. At one time, 14 years ago, my target (another thing Tony talks about) was to live my passion and work in the music industry. At that time my targets were law and music. My focus was to work as an entertainment lawyer. I had many contacts in the music industry because I worked in concert production for a large promotor based in New York. Then, one of those emotional human personality needs came into play...connection/love. I met a guy in California, all the way across the other end of the country, and married. Since he was involved in Criminal Justice and my BA was in Sociology Criminal Justice, I moved to another target....Criminal Justice. Now 13 years later I am no longer married and trying to get back to the original target and it's not as easy to do. However, I am driven and I have a new focus along with a variety of new experience.

Now for Something Completely Different

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:44:00 +0000

My blog has been about the concert industry. However, my interests stretch from concerts to sports, mainly baseball and auto racing. In this blog I want to talk about NASCAR racing. I have a part time job as a turn worker (corner worker is name for the job) at Infineon Raceway. Sometimes I work at other tracks in California. The track I work at is not a typical oval racetrack, it's a road course. The drivers or riders if it is a motorcycle race, at times cannot see what is coming up around the corner (hence corner worker). I wave flags to warn the drivers and call incidents in to race control. Sometimes I run to crumpled cars to check on the driver until safety arrives. I've posted an article that was recently written about my boss, Liz. This explains what I do and if it sounds scary...it can be at times. But I love it!

A few weeks ago I worked the NASCAR race at Infineon. This is a spectacle of fans, music, jets, marketing and celebrity drivers. My daughter and I worked together, this being her first NASCAR race as a turn worker. A fellow turn worker and I spoke to one of the drivers, Clint Bowyer, as we walked with him across the Golden Gate Bridge for a charity event. We asked him if he ever noticed the turn workers. His response was, "No. I usually don't because I am so focused on driving left and right." My friend explained to him that last year she was a turn worker at turn 8 where he had wrecked with another car, forcing her to run down a hill to avoid getting hit. He didn't remember seeing anyone there. I found an article titled, Behind the Scenes as NASCAR Gets It Right, about the race this year at Infineon and it explains how the drivers have to focus on driving left and right at Infineon and the differences in this track.

Racing is an interesting business. Infineon Raceways tagline is Think Outside the Oval. I think that in the business of racing if you think outside the oval there are many opportunities.

I've posted this YouTube video....my daughter is waving the yellow flag. I was behind her in the communication box at the time. Didn't get on the camera this time. Next race is Indy Racing League in August. Stay tuned.

What Does the 2011 Summer Concert Season Look Like?

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:40:00 +0000

The 2011 summer season starts out good for concertgoers, but not necessarily as well for the promoters. Last year was a rough year for ticket sales. This year several concert promoters are promising it will be more affordable to see your favorite band perform live. This is also good news for the artists and venues because if the consumer does not go to concerts the seats are empty and they don’t make money. Promoters are also hoping that if the consumer pays less for the ticket they may spend more on merchandise. Of course there are some artists who charge high prices, especially for the seats up close, they will continue to sell out stadiums within hours of going on sale. These ticket prices can go for as high as $275.00.

So who is touring this summer? First I have to mention my favorite band, U2. For the most part U2 is finishing up a tour that started in 2009. Last year U2 postponed their tour when Bono had emergency back surgery.

It seems as though every year we get the usual 70’s/80’s bands touring and this year is no different. Journey, Foreigner, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, Heart, Rod Stewart, Janet Jackson, Styx, Prince, Cheap Trick, Huey Lewis and the News, Poison, Howard Jones, Stevie Nicks, and Motley Crew are touring to name a few.

Some other bands who are touring are Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Linkin Park, Kid Rock, Rage Against the Machine, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, Bon Jovi, Metallica, Santana, Black Eyed Peas, and Madonna. These are the top acts of the season. I’m sure more artists/bands will be touring as the season comes upon us. The summer of 2011 seems to be a promising season for the concert industry and those who are hoping to see their favorite artist/band perform. Hopefully most ticket prices will be affordable to the consumer as promised.

Perpetua, Matthew (2010). Cheaper Concerts Coming in 2011 Declining ticket sales lead to lower prices Retrieved on May 22, 2011 at http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cheaper-concerts-coming-in-2011-20101227

2nd Annual California Music Industry Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:56:00 +0000

While searching the web for some news about what's happening in the concert industry for the summer of 2011, I came across the California Music Industry Summit. The 2nd Annual California Music Industry Summit will be in Oakland, California June 10th - 11th. Formally known as Soul Music by the Bay, this year the conference is more inclusive to all genres of music and entertainment.

The conference is two days of entertainment business education where the attendees will have the opportunity to learn and network with executives in entertainment law, music production, songwriting, publishing, studio engineers, radio station executives, record labels, social media and marketing, public relations, distribution, personal management, and much more.

The California Music Industry Summit will have live music events, thought provoking panels and expects to attract more than 600 music professionals and artists. Joe Kennedy, President and CEO of Pandora will be a keynote speaker. Just a few of the additional speakers include American Idol Finalist La Toya London and Larry Batiste, Musical Director for the Grammy Awards, and Phil Tan, 3X-time Grammy Award Winner, Audio Engineer. The California Music Industry summit prides itself with being the West Coast’s most informative and thorough music conference event.

Artist Managers, Studio Engineers, Producers, Attorneys, Paralegals, Record & Music, Publishing Executives, Concert Promoters, Artists & Repertoire reps, Agents, Tour Managers, Artists, Musicians, Students, and anyone seeking to get into the entertainment/music industry should attend. I am fortunate to live close to Oakland, I will be there!

Concert Promotion

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 05:07:00 +0000

I’ve been interested in live music/concerts and what goes on behind the scenes since the early 80’s. Honestly I think at that time I was more “star struck” than anything. But it was in the 90’s that I really became interested in the actual production of a concert. This is when I started to work part time for All Points Booking in Burlington, Vermont. Since I usually got to the venue first thing in the morning when the stage was empty and the crew had not yet arrived, and left after the stage was empty again and the crew was ready to leave. I was amazed at how much work and how many people it takes to make a 3 or 4-hour concert happen.

I found an article, Making Star Bucks, written a few years ago, before the economy started taking a turn for the worse, about Jay Strausser, the co-owner of All Points Booking and the person who hired me when the Artist Rider requested a runner or production assistant. When I was reading the article I realized that it was Jay and this company, All Points Booking, that inspired me to want to work in concert promotion, production. In the article Jay talks about concert promotion not being all fun and games, except when things going smoothly it is a great satisfaction. He states, “It’s a great night when we’re working with an artist and I am passionate about their music and everything they are about.” (Koornick, 2003) Concert Promotion can be a difficult job and there are many factors to consider, like the venue, the location, the type of music and audience. I believe you have to be passionate about music and have the ability to take chances.

I've worked for several artists and the feeling of working with an artist you admire, giving them the opportunity to perform, and being part of making the show happen is an awesome feeling. I loved the satisfaction of being part of something that makes people happy all around.

References:

http://www.vermontguides.com/2003/1-jan/allpoint.htm

Aerosmith Picture: http://www.songkick.com/artists/224919-aerosmith/images/1339471

noreply@blogger.com (Joan Sullivan) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 05:45:00 +0000

U2 is still on the road with their 360° tour make up shows from last year when Bono had emergency back surgery. The U2 360° Tour is a monstrous production with a “spaceship” like stage. U2 360° has a traveling crew of 196 from 15 countries. In every venue around the world, the tour also recruits local labor to build and take down this enormous 360°production. Usually this local labor is recruited from the local Promoter.

I've followed U2 since 1983 and have been to 28 shows, most in the New England Area. In the early days the stage production was a simple stage with a few video screens, the biggest prop was most likely Bono walking around waving a large Irish flag.

In 1992, the Zoo TV Tour had an enormous production with 33 trucks, 100-foot high towers, video screens, and German cars hanging from the staging. Zoo TV was one of my favorite tours; I've seen every tour since 1983. In 1992, Foxboro Stadium, Massachusetts, I had the opportunity to see the production of Zoo TV. Since I had a few friends who worked on the video and rigging crew, I was able to watch load in and load out. Just as the 360° "spaceship stage", it took 24 hours to build the stage and put it all together.

I've never worked for U2, although it is a dream of mine. I've worked other shows doing catering, hospitality, setting up the dressing rooms, a runner and production assistant. The production side of music/concert industry it is something I am very passionate about.  It is amazing to see something like U2 360° or Zoo TV start out as an empty venue and become a monstrosity of video screens, steel, and equipment, along with what goes on behind the scenes like hospitality, sound boards, rolling cases, dressing rooms that look like someone’s living room, and people at work putting all this together for 2 to 3 hours of live music.  

With U2 its not only the music and massive production, it's the message they send out. Put this all together and it's priceless.