Get All on Music and Entertainment (G.A.M.E.) Now

New Way of Selling Music

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 03:37:00 +0000

In our every changing music industry the way we listen to music has even changed. We have come a long way from A-Tracks to MP3 players. That is no different from how music is being sold and bought.

We have come from walking into you local record store and buying the newest album to now going digitally and buying just singles. We use to have to buy a complete album just to hear your newest favorite song. But not anymore, with services such as iTunes that allows a fan to go in and buy just one song and not the complete album which may contain at least twelve songs.

This new way of selling records has also created a more level playing field when it comes to main stream artist and the indie artist. An artist can remain indie while still being able to go gold or even platinum by selling a single. It may raise a question, within the next 10-15 years will there even be a need for record labels? Of course a record label can give you the money backing that you would need and allow you to get tour money.

But as we all know that this industry is forever changing and we will have to just wait and see what type of changes it will bring to the industry.

Alternative Funding

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 02:52:00 +0000

Funding is the most important component for a business. Without funding there is no way a business can function with its daily operations or for that matter even thrive.

Finding funding is may be difficult for those of you that may not have a rich relative, and I must say I do not have a rich relative so I too would need to find funding when starting my small business. There are all types of funding, such as loans, investors, grants and etc.

There is also many alternative funding such as the EDA (U.S. Economic Development Administration). The EDA is a federal program that promotes growth in all American regions. They also help establish job growth regionally throughout the United States. By offering a grant process there are a few guidelines that have to be determined to make sure that your business will fit the goal that they are trying to accomplish.

There are six guidelines that the EDA goes by to make sure your business is right for their grants:

1. Collaborative Regional Innovation Initiatives that support the development and growth of innovation clusters based on existing regional competitive strengths. Initiatives must engage stakeholders; facilitate collaboration among urban, suburban, and rural (including tribal) areas; provide stability for economic development through long-term intergovernmental and public/private collaboration; and support the growth of existing and emerging industries. 

2. Public/Private Partnerships Investments that use both public- and private-sector resources and leverage complementary investments by other government/public entities and/or nonprofits. 

3. National Strategic Priorities Initiatives that encourage job growth and business expansion related to advanced manufacturing; information technology (e.g., broadband, smart grid) infrastructure; communities severely impacted by automotive industry restructuring; urban waters; natural disaster mitigation and resiliency; access to capital for small, medium-sized, and ethnically diverse enterprises; and innovations in science and health care. 

4. Global Competitiveness Initiatives that support high-growth businesses and innovation-based entrepreneurs to expand and compete in global markets, especially investments that expand U.S. exports, encourage foreign direct investment, and promote the repatriation of jobs back to the U.S. 

5. Environmentally-Sustainable Development Investments that promote job creation and economic prosperity through projects that enhance environmental quality and develop and implement green products, processes, places, and buildings as part of the green economy. This includes support for energy-efficient green technologies.

6. Economically Distressed and Underserved Communities Investments that strengthen diverse communities that have suffered disproportionate economic job losses and/or are rebuilding to become more competitive in the global economy.

(http://www.eda.gov/investmentPriorities.htm)

If you would like to see more information about the EDA and see if they may be able to help fund your business visit them at EDA.gov

Being An Independent Artist Just Got Easier

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:15:00 +0000

tunecore.com

Remember when every artist goal was to sign a record deal with a major label. Now that the technology has changed so has the music industry and the game as well. Being an independent artist 10-15 years ago was a major struggle for the artist music to be heard outside of their community and own city.

That is no more the case with websites and services such as TuneCore. TuneCore is a digital distribution website that allows independent artist to not only distribute their own music to the public on major online stores such as iTunes, XBOX Live, Zune, and Amazon MP3.

By giving independent artist the opportunity to put out an album, single and ringtone creates a new level playing field from being mainstream and independent as an artist.

TuneCore acts as a distributor for independent artist. Being independent now may be easier than ever before. Not having the overhead of a record deal from one of the major record labels, can allow artist to focus on what they love and that is making music.

Even though this is not a free service the prices are very reasonable for independent artist. Distribution cost start out at $9.99 per year for each single and ringtone and $39.99 for each album. The most important thing about TuneCore is that as an artist you keep all the rights to your music and you keep 100% of the royalties.

With perks like that any artist that is independent should really question, should they stay an independent artist or should they be hunting that record deal that once was so important? Not to say that as an artist you should not or would not want to get that record deal, but with websites like TuneCore it makes it easier for independent artist to stay independent longer.

Learning From The Experts

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 06:39:00 +0000

One of the best ways of learning is by learn from your mistakes as well as from those within the industry and field you wish to be in. This is very essential when you are in the initial stage of creating a business plan and trying to secure funding from different types of investors. Doing research and getting key points from the experts will surely make creating a business plan much easier.

When doing my own research on business plan experts, I found a few key points that will not only assist with writing a business plan but will help become a successful business owner. One piece of advice that I have learned and every business owner that is starting out should know, you should never give away ownership when you are starting out. According to Tim Berry, Don’t save starting costs by giving the business away. A lot of time people give away percentages and when the business starts to do well they have forgotten that their business partners own a percent of the business and has not done any work to deserve the pay. Don’t Give Away Ownership As If It Were Just Credit. Please, is an blog post that is a must read.

From this blog I have made sure that if I have a business partner within my owner business the only way they would be able to get a percentage of the business is if they were going to put in the same amount of blood, sweat and tears as I would.

What I believe to be the most important section in a business plan to investors would be the marketing plan and sales strategy. An investor needs to know how people will know about your company and product(s), by having a solid marketing plan will show them just how you plan on doing so. The sales strategy will let investors know what a companies long-term goals are and what competitive advantage it will have over the existing companies in their industry.

Business Plan Experts

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 02:52:00 +0000

Tim Berry

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and bplans.com as well as co-founder of Borland International. Berry received his MBA from Stanford. Married for 42 years and a father of five. Tim stated, “I believe in business planning but I don’t think a business plan is a document (Timberry.com, 2012).” Aside from being a founder, co-founder and chairman Berry is also an author, speaker, and blogger.

With a MBA degree from Stanford, Berry also graduated with honors from the University of Oregon with an MA in Journalism, and received a BA in Literature from the University of Norte Dame.

Berry has published books that help small business owners create business plans as well as help them with business startups. He has written books with titles such as The Plan-as-you-go Business Plan, Business Plan Pro, 3 Weeks to Startup, Sales and Market Forecasting for Entrepreneurs, and Hurdle: the Book on Business Planning. Tim has been very vital, as a business plan expert, Jim Blasingame, one of the most well-known small business radio talk show hosts, has referred to him as “The Father of Business Planning.”

Tim does not believe in writing business plans for business owners but instead he provides free business plan advice and coaching, through his blog. This blog has over 200 posts that contain all types of articles, videos, presentations, and even a couple of books.

Ellen Rohr

Ellen Rohr is the president of Bare Bones Business. Rohr teaches business basics as well as a columnist for PHC News and a writer for many business journals and trade magazines. With a college degree in Business Administration, Rohr started out running a family plumbing business which she also let belly up.

In 1995 Rohr started Bare Bones Biz, a venture capital and consulting company. Over the next 17 years she made many contributions to numerous of company, Office Depot and American Express Open Forum just to name a couple.

Rohr has a seminar entitled, "Business Planning made EASY: A simple strategy for a powerful business plan that will DRIVE you in the direction of your GOALS."

In this seminar she makes six points that you should follow when creating your business plan.

· Setting Sight. What do you want your business to BE? How will you know when you have “made it?”

· Building the Team. Who does what? Why, how and when?

· Making Money. Learn the bare bones basics for building a budget, keeping score and bringing in the bucks.

· Getting it Sold. How to create a sales-focused culture…without insulting your soul.

· Getting it Done. Developing sure-fire systems for doing things the first time, every time.

· Making Sure. Are you on the right track? How do you get back on track? It’s all about asking and answering the right questions.

For more of Rohr’s business planning insight you can visit her website How To Grow A Small Business...Into Freedom!

Be Seen

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:35:00 +0000

As the Internet has grown over the past 15-20 years, we have seen a change in how people interact with each other. We have come a long way from just using email to chat rooms to now having social media and blogs. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have become greatly popular for companies and artist for promotion and being able to interact with their fans and customers first hand.

One entertainer that has seemed to use social media to their advantage is none other than Sean “Diddy” Combs. Diddy has his hands in just about every aspect of the entertainment business. From music, appeal, fragrances, TV reality shows, to beverages, you name it Diddy has done it.

Diddy uses his social networks to keep up with his fans as well as interact with them. On Twitter Diddy has over 5.5 million followers, over 80 pictures and 20K plus tweets it is safe to say that Diddy keeps up with his fans through his twitter. He is so interactive with his social networks Diddy has his Facebook site link on his twitter page.

Diddy’s Facebook page is more fan interactive than his Twitter account. On his Facebook page he gives his 1.2 million Facebook fans more of the inside look of Diddy. With 8 different photo albums, music and music videos us as fans are able to get more on a personal level with Diddy.

Diddy has the impact on the entertainment industry that what he says goes and when he speaks people listen. Make sure that you go follow him on Twitter or add his as your friend on Facebook. I guarantee he will keep you entertained and up to date on all the need to know in the entertainment business. He is a major trendsetter, not only will he be heard but he will always be seen.

Look Who is Changing the Music Game

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:29:00 +0000

http://www.reverbnation.com/images/v3/standard_resources/logo_resources/reverbnation_logo_dark_normal.png

There is no secret that the music industry is one of the most fast paced industries within the entertainment business. As an artist you can be hot one day and known as a one-hit wonder the next. The music industry has changed greatly over the past five years and we see more indie artist putting out their music now more than even before. ReverbNation is a site that is designed to help indie artist gain more exposure and an outlet to being heard worldwide. When looking at ReverbNation it puts you in a mind frame of a “Facebook” for artist.

Look Who's Back

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:55:00 +0000

After Jay-Z and Dame Dash departed ways and their record label Roc-A-Fella dissolved artist like Kanye West followed Jay-Z and others like Beanie Sigel were left in between a rock and a hard place not knowing who, what, when or where their careers were heading. No longer does Beanie have to ask that questions, after being missing from the rap scene for three years we can say “Welcome Back”!

The Philadelphia native has signed a new EMI distribution deal under Chris Schwartz. With his State Property crew under his wings this may be the break that not only him but also his crew needed. We can say that it has been a long time coming and the wait is over for all of the Beanie Sigel and State Property fans.

Sigel stated, “If you’ve been through what I’ve been through in my career, you wouldn’t trust no one. You’ll fourth guess everything. What made me do the deal with Chris Schwartz was actually to get the deal together for State Property.”

With all of this being said we wish Beanie nothing but the best and we know that he will continue to put out great music and State Property will bring Philly back in the mentions of hip-hop. Sigel plans on dropping an album in this summer entitled, The Classic. All the Sigel fans be on the look out for this album and we are sure that it will be more music out leading up to the release of the album.

New Face of Hip-Hop

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:28:00 +0000

We all know that the cornerstone of hip-hop music started on the East Coast in the Bronx neighborhood of New York City in the 70s. From then own it seems like each region of the United States has seen its presence in hip-hop.

From The Experts

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 07:15:00 +0000

Now that we have the Internet at our fingertips we have the opportunity to make ourselves aware and up to date on anything that we may be eager to learn and understand. As the World Wide Web continues to grow we now have the ability to listen to the radio, lectures and podcast on just about anything that sparks our interest.

Contoversy

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:02:00 +0000

In today’s world lawsuits are being filed at higher rate than every before. Certain people get sued over the smallest things but others file lawsuits that can have a major impact and affect on businesses and lives. In this blog I will review three current entertainment controversies and my opinion about each.

The Event Most Know Nothing About

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:47:00 +0000

Each year there are a few major sporting events that take place that the world tunes in to and does not miss. Events such as the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Weekend, Final Four and NFL Pro Bowl just to name a few. But there is one sporting event that most Americans do not know anything about and may be one of the most star-studded events on the east coast.

When You Get In The Way of Your Job

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:37:00 +0000

VH-1 just recently finished its second season of Love & Hip Hop 2. For those that I have seen the show it is a great reality TV show that is filled with drama, love, passion, and did I mention drama. In the second season Jim Jones’ manager Yandy played a major role on the show. Yandy has been the manager for both Jim Jones and Julez Santana both apart of “The Diplomats” a rap group out of Harlem, New York. She was brought on as Jim Jones’ manager with the thought that she would show the ends and out of her job as being Jim’s manager, but oh were we wrong. By the end of the season she went from being Jim’s manager to always being involved with everyone’s beef and finally being fired as Jim Jones’ manager and close to being kicked off the show.

YourLBN interview

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:47:00 +0000

I recently sat down with the Co-CEO of The Laughing Box Network, Mr. Odell “Otrocity” Payne for an interview to see just what him and his company is all about. Otrocity is a music video director, cinematographer, photographer and producer. He has worked on numerous music videos for artist in North Carolina, the DMV area and Atlanta. He has also directed and produced music videos for Capital Records and Universal Records recording artist.

Done It Again!

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 04:28:00 +0000

It has been three years since Jay-Z signed his $150 Million deal with Live Nation. From the looks of it we can say that this deal is a success for both Jay-Z and Live Nation. With the recent success of his latest album “Watch The Throne” Jay-Z has once again achieved another great milestone in hip-hop.

With his last album “Watch The Throne” a collaboration album with old Roc-a-fella label mate and good friend Kanye West. After releasing their latest single "Paris" it has finally reached number 8 on the Billboard Top 100. This is not only the first single to reach the Top 10 on the Billboard charts; it also set another milestone for Jay-Z.

“Paris” has given Jay-Z the most Top 10 singles as a rapper with 18. Not far behind him are Ludacris and Lil Wayne with 17 each. This single also gives Kanye 14 Top 10 singles.

The success of “Watch The Throne” not only has given both Jay-Z and Kanye a Top 10 single. Jay-Z announced that he would be performing at Carnegie Hall to put on two concerts to help raise money. "It's every artist's dream to play a venue as legendary as Carnegie Hall," Jay-Z stated. This is great new when you consider that Jay-Z and his wife R&B star Beyoncé are expecting their first child earlier next year.

On February 6^th and 7^th 2012 he will put on the first hip-hop concert ever at Carnegie Hall. All monies will be donated to the United Way of New York City and Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. A limited number of private tickers will be available on December 12, 2011, while they go on sale to the public on January 30, 2012. This is yet another milestone in Jay-Z’s career as a hip-hop artist

Then There Were 3

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 04:45:00 +0000

In our every changing economy we never know which major companies will need a government bailout or file Chapter 13 bankruptcy. From banks to automobile companies every industry has fallen on hardship, this has also affected the music industry greatly. While the music industry has always been an industry of change from generation to generation, it has made another big change that will affect the industry as a whole.

Two will get the party started!

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:29:00 +0000

The Internet has become a place where you can get information on just about anything. The Internet has turn learning into something that can be done at anytime or place. TED.com is one of those websites that you cannot only be informed but learn a valuable lesson at the same time. Within industries such as Entertainment, Design, Technology, and Business TED.com is an online resource that when people have ideas worth spreading this is the site that they go to.

All You Need For Success

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Are you in the music, film, or interactive industry? If so South By Southwest is a valuable resource that will give you the edge you need to stay current and steps ahead of your industry. SXSW focuses mainly on the music, film and interactive industries. Not only does SXSW keep you up to date with news for there three main focuses they provide advice from the industries top influences, showcases and shows for artist, screenings for film directors and interactive gaming events for the most intense gamer and game programmer. Along with their informative tools to help you stay informed and at the top of your industry, SXSW holds annual Trade Show for each industry with companies and agencies needed to succeed.

More Labels Lost

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:08:00 +0000

It has been reported that RCA executives shocked the music world when it announced that it would be shutting down Artisa, Jive and J Records. All the artist on those labels will now be apart of the RCA Records roster. With artist such Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Miley Cyrus, KRS One and Boogie Down Productions, A Tribe Called Quest, E-40, and UGK, Jive housed a number of Pop and Hip-Hop artist. Tom Corson, RCA president and COO released this statement "The path we’ve taken is to refresh RCA, so we're going to retire those brands...". For more info on this story check out RollingStone

Enterainment at its best! It's GHOE

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Some of the most famous HBCUs are rich in tradition and great alumni, schools such as Howard University, Tuskegee University, Florida A&M University and Morehouse College just to name a few.

The King's Back!!

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:38:00 +0000

What has seemed like forever for the Atlanta based rapper and self-proclaimed King of the South, T.I. was released Thursday from an Atlanta halfway house after serving 10 months in a federal prison on a probation violation.

Paid!

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Forbes announced its top ten highest paid men in entertainment and Tyler Perry is the highest paid man for 2010. From movies, TV shows, film directing, producing, and acting he has proven himself to be well deserved of this career milestone. In 2010 alone Perry earned $130 million, which makes him the highest paid male in the entertainment industry. Be sure to check out the rest of the top ten list.

Record Setting Nomiations

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:02:00 +0000

Rapper Lil' Wayne continues to set as well as brake records within the music industry. The New Orleans born rapper has set yet another record with 18 BET Award Nominations. This is among the most nominations for the 2011 BET music awards. Only other artist to come close to Lil' Wayne record number of 18 are Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa both with 9. Can we say that Weezy may be living up to his self proclaimed "Best Rapper Alive" crown?

The BET Music Awards were created in 2001,which makes it relativity new when you think of music awards such as the Grammy's and the MTV Video Music Awards. Looking at the history that these other two award shows have neither of them has even had an artist nominated for as many awards as Weezy. The late great Michael Jackson holds the Grammy's record for the most nominations with 12. In 2010 Lady Gaga broke the MTV Video Music Awards with 13 nominations and taking home 8 out of the 13.

When measuring how successful an artist does within a year we look at album sells and award show nominations. Well we can say that Weezy F. Baby is having one of his most successful years ever. With the release of The Carter IV selling nearly one million records in its first week and now 18 nominations for the BET Awards, its hard to tell Weezy that 2011 has not been his year in the music game.

Weezy we congratulate you on your record setting BET Award Nominations of 18 and on your platinum-selling album The Carter IV!

For more info on Lil' Wayne's record numbers visit:

Lil Wayne's 18 Nominations

Lil' Wayne Leads The Way

We have the fix you need!

noreply@blogger.com (2DG) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 23:00:00 +0000

G.A.M.E. (Get All on Music and Entertainment) Now is a entertainment blog that focuses on music and fashion. We will keep you posted on all of the latest news on your favorite artist as well as the most popular clothing brands.