The Art of Entertainment Business

Current and Future Trends in the Entertainment Industry

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 03:23:00 +0000

Today’s entertainment business in on an ever-changing plan, this plan balances between traditional and digital solutions for each of the major industry products. An example of how the movie industry is still the same as it always was but advancing by leaps and bounds in the public eye would be the need for high definition digital projection systems. Though the demand for seeing a film in a theater is more popular than ever the days of the moving platters from reel to reel have been finding they way out of movie houses for years. These days, the film industry licenses a copy of the film to the theater that wants to show it to the public, it’s then mailed to the theater on a hard drive and then the film is loaded into what is known as the L.M.S. projection system where it can then be scheduled to transfer to whichever house projector needs to play it. The digital key to unlock the film on the hard drive and for each of the projectors is then installed to the main system from a USB drive and the film then has permission to play for whichever allotted amount of time the theater has paid for its licenses.

Some of the trends in the music business that should be paid close attention to can be divided into the three following segments:

Breakthrough Trends

Reports from the recent New Music Seminar are showing where “Albums Earn Less but Songs Learn More”, “Top 100 Songs All Have Shorter Introductions”, “Singles Are Taking Longer To Break Than Before”, “Half Of Recorded Music Revenues Were Digital In 2011”, “Digital Music Retail Dollars Are Up By 44%”, “Music Sales Volume Is Up By 85%”, and “Music Metrics Show Paid File Sharing Trends On the Rise”.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

To stay ahead of the curve industry professionals are looking at the key elements that compel a person to download, purchase, or view content released by major labels.

Peter Spellman has a great blog about jumpstarting careers in the music business and also lists several different ways a person can capitalize on the current market trends and the near future in the music business. A few of these examples include:

1. Empowering the music consumer to view content through any medium they’d like, such as AOL Music, XM Radio, iTunes, etc. 2. Using a music product as a music service, meaning “anywhere, anytime listening and entertainment. 3. Building creative alliances with existing companies, taking advantage of low overhead and the ability to morph as a project. 4. Segmenting music markets and niche market cultures into micro-media off-spins with high-quality music and releases. 5. Know and understand that the next big thing starts out small. In yesteryear there were only three major networks and if an artist were able to get on one of those networks success was almost guaranteed. These days, there are hundreds of smaller networks, take advantage of the smaller ones and create one gigantic representation of the featured product.

The Future of the Music Industry

Many speculate as to where the future of the music industry will be, no one quite knows for certain how each stage of evolution will play itself out, but what can be determined by the direction of the industry, according to Jason Ankeny’s webinar and blog, the future of the music industry lies within each mobile device.

Streaming media services like Spotify, Rdio, and Deezer have ushered in a new era of mobile experiences that are not only redefining how users discover and share music but also how the record industry will promote music in the future.

Some of the advantages of the “music on demand” approach directly affect the physical cost of the products’ production. Digital technology is easier and more convenient to the consumer and gives the artist more budget money to concentrate on the quality of their recorded product and marketing strategies. The royalty returns are usually fair and the reach of the product can grow on a large scale without having to wait on CD pressings, factor in shipping costs, or allow for product breakage.

Breaking Into the Local/ Regional Market for New and Existing Talent (Tad Dickens Interview)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 16:02:00 +0000

One of the great pleasures of being a local musician is the ability to creatively express oneself in front of both peers and other music lovers, in a local market or region. The privilege of being able to showcase talents that have taken an individual, or group of individuals years and countless rehearsal hours to hone can be a very exciting and validating experience to those with a desire to perform in public venues.

Today, I had a great conversation over coffee in my own hometown with one of our industry professionals and local heroes, music reporter Tad Dickens of the Roanoke Times & World News. Tad is an artist himself with formal training from the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles, CA and over ten years of real world education in various touring bands. Our conversation has four main focal points with some excellent insight on how local musicians can become either a performing part of their local scene or an even more viable part of the entire region.

I. What makes a local project marketable and ready for expansion into the region?

· Make the project simple and easy to review

· High Resolution Photos

· Short Bio

· Plan for self promotion

Explanation:

A talent buyer, music writer or industry professional that usually receives a large number of submissions each week doesn’t really have a lot of extra time to seek out reasons to like, book or want to review a project that may otherwise have great potential. If the submission is clean, easy to read, good quality and answers the who, what, when, where, why and how of the information the group is trying to convey, it makes the entire process much easier for the person considering and researching the project.

Photographs and recordings (live or studio) should always be good quality. More often than not, a group will get overlooked because their press shots and recordings aren’t in the proper format to be featured in the media.

The band biography should be easy to read and convey the group’s information clearly to everyone wanting to learn more about the band. The shorter, the better; pack a great punch, but do it in one page or less. Music Dish’s E-Journal has an awesome resource for learning to elevator pitch a band’s bio for press-worthy consideration.

II. What are the key things a group needs to do to get involved in their local or regional market?

· Get the right venues

· Be persistent but not pushy with the talent buyers

· Be dynamic in the promotion of shows

· Be well rehearsed and honest with themselves as a musician and someone that wants to perform in front of an audience

· Professionalism

Explanation:

One of my favorite quotes is “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill I am a firm believer that persistence is a virtue and if handled correctly will pay off tenfold; however, when calling a talent buyer, club owner, music writer, etc. more than once a week without their solicitation or request, this is an absolute sure-fire way to shoot oneself in the foot and potentially have them cringe each time they hear the caller’s name. (Note: this is not a positive cringe)

Some venues are more receptive to certain types of music and groups than others; this is simply a fact. Booking an original punk band at a cover venue or jazz club usually doesn’t draw the best crowds for that particular show. Booking lots of clubs at first and then narrowing down where and how often the project performs in that region will be a huge help when trying to build the best audience for the performance(s).

Once a group is starting to book shows and establish their presence in a particular area it is extremely important to be well rehearsed and play each show as if the group is at a civic center or well-known venue, to a packed house. People that are initially excited to come see a show and tell all of their friends how great the band is won’t usually come back if the group seems let down by the turn-out or the quality of the venue. Have fun and love the fact that the group is actually playing live! This will work to the groups’ advantage every time.

Be dynamic in the event's promotions. Though digital technology and social networking are huge pluses for a project, and also has the potential to help save money in advertising dollars, that doesn’t mean that each member of the group is exempt from becoming an active part in their own street team. Blending traditional advertising (print ads, radio spots, local magazine announcements, newspaper announcements, flyers, etc.) with the digital marketing (Facebook, Twitter, Reverb Nation, blogs, RSS feeds, etc.) in conjunction with the venue getting behind the performance and lending their own promotional efforts is absolute the best method for drawing and retaining larger crowds at each show or event.

Finally, being professional. I spend a great deal of time speaking on professionalism in the music industry, so it was great re-enforcement of that principal to hear Tad speak on the subject as well. No one is saying that a band can have a great time at the shows or that that they can’t live La Vida Loca if that’s what they chose, but what the industry professionals are saying is that there is a time and place for everything. Being honest about what the group looks like to the club owner, talent buyer(s) and show-goers should be at the forefront of the entire thought process and at the top of the preverbal list. The absolute last thing a group with great local success potential needs is to be blacklisted from the venues that are gracious enough to give them a shot and open the doors to their project. It’s better to address this issue upfront and keep each person on the same page, or put the project on hold until the group has the right members to accomplish their goals, instead of making each individual member of the project look bad to the public and other venues in the area. It is a huge disappointment for a music journalist to be excited to scout and review a band and then leave thinking they’ve wasted their time due to lack of professionalism. A great interview on band professionalism is the Ramones interview “End of the Century” and on what Brian Epstein brought to the Beatles concerning being true professionals.

III. What are some suggestions for people searching for other like-minded musicians to write, record and (or) perform?

· Network, Network, and Oh Yeah, Network

· Local publications, forums and musicians’ boards

· Tradeshows (if applicable)

Explanation:

The busiest musicians are the ones that are out networking with other musicians. Supporting the other bands and musical groups in the local area is a huge plus when it comes to finding other like-minded talent with which to partner for additional projects. Having a strong alliance with the peers in the music community leads to recommendations and word of mouth advertising and then ultimately a diverse group of people that can be called upon to fill a spot, a gig, a recording need or any other number of voids in a local music scene.

Tradeshows and industry get togethers can be a great way to network for other musicians. Companies like the Music Taxi, OneSheet, Harmony Central and The Local Musician Union, all have wanted listings for musicians in each local network, as well as Craigslist want ads, local musician boards, music store musician boards, coffee shops, etc.

It’s obvious that some areas have more musicians than others, but the only tried and true way to find others to work with is to go out there and look, regarding what works best for that particular project.

IV. What are some examples of groups making headway in the region that others can learn from?

Tad and I briefly talked about some of the more interesting new bands and regional acts that he’s had the opportunity to see in the area. Here is a short list of some that are currently doing great things and also some groups keep an eye on in the near future.

The Sword, Baroness, The Floorboards, The Bastards of Fate, Heevahava, Mafia Track Suit, Madrone, Amanda Stathos, The Niki Barr Band, Honor By August, and My Radio to name a few.

It is always a pleasure talking shop with Tad Dickens. He’s truly an asset to the local community and well respected by every venue and musician in the region. If and when you see him out and about in the Roanoke, VA area, please don’t hesitate to shake his hand and thank him for all that he does for the community and spreading the word on what’s happening in the area musically.

Plan, Plan, Plan... and then Execute! Updating and Improving An Investment Pitch.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:48:00 +0000

The past several weeks I have been updating and revamping my management company’s feasibility study, in a way that will allow for some of the critical data to be included in the final business planning and better convey to the potential investor(s) how they will profit from their equity portion in the business. Over the past two years I have found some great resources for identifying and understanding which aspects of a persons’ company are the most appealing to an investor as well as which elements are the most important when pitching the business’s ideas and financial structures to others that could help grow the business. Some specific resources are: The Small Business Administration, Roxanna Webber’s Blog and Forbs Magazine’s professional sections on what investors are looking for in a pitch.

Recently, I had the opportunity to study some of the Reid Hoffman methods for investing in and obtaining funding for new businesses and start-ups. Some of Mr. Hoffman’s ideas have truly changed the way I view building and pitching new company models to others. These new approaches are simple, yet quite valuable to anyone looking to gain funding for their own venture; after all, the main goal of showing a potential investor how a person’s plans on making money is to give the investor a more clear idea of how his or her money can better work for them by giving the entrepreneur a portion of it to start or grow their business.

Mr. Hoffman says, “Poor planning often is the death of great ideas”. Being clear on how it is that the company will make money and how easily an investor can recoup their initial portions is absolutely one aspect of my own personal planning on which I will spend a great deal of time.

Some specific changes that I have made thus far, that I’m hoping will help others reading this blog include:

Spending more time explaining how and why my company is relevant and making sure the investor can clearly see how and why they will profit from the joint venture.
More clearly explaining the overall state of the market and ability to learn and grow from its past mistakes in the future, as well as briefly spending time on how newly forming trends will help propel the business through its developing stages.
Describing, in detail, which are the target consumers of the company’s services are, as well as who the target customers are for what the company develops in these emerging projects.
Describe which companies or individuals are in direct competition with the company’s business model, how to overcome those obstacles with a more modern up to date approach, and most importantly how to become strategic partners with those other entities that would normally be considered direct or indirect competition to the business.
Simply and clearly showing how the low overhead and duplication process in the company structure will show greater long-term profits without having to over extend the list of projects at any given time. This will not only solicit the help of the potential investor in the scheduling of which projects will be released in the future but will also help the company grow by getting the knowledge of a veteran in the financial and investment industry.

Though each of these aspects all work hand in hand with the ability to convey the ideas and profit potential of the company, I feel that being simple in the explanation of what the company actually does in the industry, in conjunction with clearly explaining why my business’s approach to working with artists is more unique and mutually beneficial to other professionals, will more than educate the investor on what the business is and how it will profit for them in the near future. After all, investors are in the business of making money on the great ideas and hard work of others. If a person can clearly and easily show the investor how they will profit without a ton of their own input or confusion, this will prove to be one of the deciding factors and most important aspects of what is being pitched to the potential backer.

The Value of the Business Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 02:14:00 +0000

To often people ignore the power of pen and paper. Many people aspiring to become more in business have great ideas, but by the time they start talking to someone about investing in that idea or business, the details are either forgotten or not retainable by the potential investor.

There are many benefits to writing a business plan, and even completing a feasibility study for the project in the market for being funded. Other than the obvious benefits of knowing and understanding the markets and how a company could benefit from being introduced into a specific one, it gives the writer a professional’s insight to their own ideas and also offers a medium that can be placed in front of a complete stranger to go over the ways they could perhaps make money with a solid partnership with the venture.

This week I’ve researched two experts who have done great things with their business plans.

Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and investor in PayPal and someone that is considered to be a prolific angel investor. Mr. Hoffman is an accomplished entrepreneur, executive and angel investor. He invests in many technological companies and usually helps drive them to success through their early stages and periods of explosive growth.

According to his guest blog on TechCrunch some of the most important aspects of the business plan include: the ability to reach a massive audience, the unique value proposition and whether the business will be capital efficient or not. This is part of the reason that he likes to invest in software and technology. A product like the iPod or iPad can grow from nothing to everything very rapidly.

The second expert I researched this week is David Skok, Mr. Skok has built three very successful companies that have exceeded 100 million dollars in revenue in 20 different countries and also employs over 800 people.

David best known for his value in helping JBoss, Netezza, AppIQ, CloudSwitch, Tabblo and Diligent Technologies to successful exits. David serves on the boards of CloudBees, Digium (makers of the very popular Asterisk Open Source PBX/telephony software), Enservio, GrabCAD, HubSpot, Meteor, OpenSpan, and VideoIQ.

David is a very popular blogger among entrepreneurs and spends a great deal of time writing articles on the viral marketing machine and how it can help new startups and business owners.

David wrote a great blog on which aspects of a business plan are important to the future owner. Some of his tips regarding the value of the business plan are: understanding how startups are valued, identifying risk, mitigation of risk quickly, matching the milestones of capital, validation of milestones and avoiding a down round at all cost.

Both of these individuals explain that key elements to an investor spell money and profitable return on their investment. Being confident in the person asking for the investment is a huge portion of their ultimate decision to invest or not to invest. Knowing and understand how the entire planning process works is a key element in securing the right funding for the project and also gives the future business owner the ability to better understand and negotiate the terms of the agreement.

Coffee, Conversation and Strict Liability of Dangerous Activity(s) In the Music Business

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 02:50:00 +0000

Today I had the opportunity to discuss legal liability issues with a friend, whom just so happens to be an entertainment attorney. Normally, when a person asks me “what are you doing, as a project manager, to avoid liability on tour?” I cringe and feel as if they’re trying to sell me something or get me to invest into a “new business idea”, but in this case I truly got to learn about how a group can be affected by both chance and tragedy.

Many people dream of becoming successful in the music and entertainment industries; either by managing a band, booking nightclub projects, touring with a group, or just simply being part of a well known theatre production. The majority of these individuals have very little formal training in business, entertainment business, or music composition; only the passion for helping artists realize their dreams through hard work and dedication. One of the most important parts of being successful in an industry based around aweing crowds, upstaging competition in the marketplace and constantly trying to innovate artistically without becoming unmarketable, is to understand which liability issues could directly affect their careers and witch aspect(s) of their groups’ performances could cause the beloved professionals to find themselves in a serious legal battle.

One significant liability for any type of public production, regardless of the size, is called Strict Liability of Abnormally Dangerous Activities. The basis for this liability is founded on creating an undue element of risk or harm to others in a community, regardless of how much care was exercised in the undertaking of that risk.

A specific example of such a risk is the case of nightclub owners Jeffery A. and Michael Derderian, as well as, road manager Daniel M. Biechele. This is a strict liability case where the tour manager of a group set off pyrotechnics during a performance, without proper licensing or permits, and a flammable material intended for insulating the walls and celling on and around the stage caught fire engulfing the entire venue in less than 5 minutes, injuring over two hundred people and killing one hundred individuals.

During the investigation, the two owners of the nightclub and the band’s tour manager were charged with two hundred counts of involuntary manslaughter and earning themselves prison-time, probation, and restitution fines for the victims’ families. Because of this type of liability, not only were the owners of the venue and group’s road manager held criminally responsible, there was a huge backlash of civil cases filed and nearly one-hundred-seventy-five million dollars has been offered to the families of the fire victims.

Lawsuits were filed against anyone and everyone thought to be responsible for any part of this tragic incident. Among the companies and state representatives that were included in the law suite are: JBL Speakers, Anheuser-Busch, Clear Channel Broadcasting, Home Depot, Polar Industries, Sealed Air Corporation, Great White Band and the American Foam Corporation.

Some of the insurance policies that are available for a nightclub and/or touring artist(s) are:

Band/ Touring Group

1) Touring Artist General Liability Insurance. This type of insurance is the industry standard for a touring group and is similar to the general liability insurance that a promoter or venue would have. 2) Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Many states require a company to carry this type of insurance, it provides for injury and death benefits to employees that are injured on the job. The band lost a member during the fire and this type of insurance would have helped his family with burial, lost wages, etc. 3) Musical Equipment Property Policy Insurance. This insurance covers certain types of damage to sound, lights, and related musical gear. There is an additional policy that can be included in this type of insurance that would have covered the pyrotechnical gear if it had proved that it malfunctioned. 4) Touring Artist Cancellation/ Non-Appearance Insurance. If the group would have had this type of insurance, even though they had to cancel the rest of that particular tour, their revenue stream would have continued for what would have been considered the remainder of that set of show dates.

Club/ Venue/ Promoter

1) Spectator/ Premises General Liability Insurance. This type of policy is very beneficial in releasing many of the liability issues of the promoter, club owner, or venue. If this particular policy had the option for a pyrotechnic policy it would have probably prevented the club from having any of the cover for the claim. 2) Workers’ Compensation Insurance. This policy is the same as the band’s policy but would have been beneficial to the employees’ families of the venue that had been injured or perished. 3) Property Policy Insurance. Depending on the terms of the lease with the owners of the building this insurance would have covered the liability issue pertaining to the building and the business’s equipment that was destroyed in the fire. 4) Business Interruption Insurance. This is a policy that provides loss of income coverage due to the destruction of the venue. Typically, this insurance will pay for the loss of income for up to twelve months.

Many lessons can be learned from a management standpoint regarding this incident. Though many of the circumstances that led up to actual fire could have been avoided, what a perceptive road manager or business owner will take away from researching this case is the ability to hope for the best but plan for the worst. Having proper licenses to utilize pyrotechnics, proper planning for a mid-level tour should be considered rather than trying to bring such a large scale show to the small event, making sure all of the proper disclosures are signed with the venue before playing the event, working with local fire and ems services for any event that will draw a large crowd, having an emergency exit strategy in place if an issue were to occur, and making sure that all applicable policies have been purchased before the group embarks on the tour and/or the venue is open for business.

Applying these painful lessons to future business is quite simple, and following five simple rules can do this.

1) Make certain all policies are in full force. Policies include: general liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, automobile liability insurance, property insurance, and business interruption/ event cancellation insurance.

2) Check the limits. Know how much liability insurance is needed per venue, especially if the club doesn’t hold more than a few hundred people.

3) Make sure the policies cover the activities in the show and what is done onstage. If there is no pyrotechnic clause in the policy it is a great idea not to have pyrotechnics or explosions in the show.

4) Know and understand the financial strength of the insurance carriers. Make sure the insurance carrier is well known with a fair track record and does business honorably, a B rating or better.

5) Make sure the insurance broker knows the type of business the group is in. It makes a great deal of sense to have an agent that actually understands the project and its individual needs, especially if the show has any element of danger.

In conclusion, there are no foolproof ways to completely eliminate the potential for someone or something being injured at a live event. Regardless of the situation, a professional entity has a moral and ethical duty to its followers, patrons and/or fanatics to spend as much time as necessary planning for their safety and the safety of the overall company and/or event itself. Being aware of the changing laws and regulations, as well as being reasonable when pertaining to the design and parameters of what the performance has to offer any given venue. Paying attention to the mistakes of other companies and applying the best business practices available will help eliminate as much liability as possible and better provide for a successful, entertaining platform and medium for all to enjoy.

Conflict Resolution and How It Relates To The Music Business

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:49:00 +0000

Conflicts are a large part of any successful business. In the music industry, conflicts can make or break many different aspects of how and why a project can be, or is considered a success. Learning to manage these different types of less than favorable situations can greatly improve working relationships within the business as well as pre-negotiate many aspects of up and coming agreements.

Not long ago, the project with which I travel had a major conflict with the booking and management agent for the group. Frustrated over tour routing and percentages, the entire group was ready to walk if the conflict didn’t get resolved in a timely manner. Luckily, the performers and tour management were professional enough to have a very “Civil” meeting with the booking agent and owner of the project and calmly discussed each of the frustrations, in effort to resolve the situations.

Ultimately the group got a great education on what could be done, contractually, and then based on the issues, were included in the decision making processes, also creating a great means to permanent solution(s). The group still retains the same management and booking, however, the routing, percentages paid to the agent, and performer compensation has all been addressed to mutually benefit the entire project.

The booking agent, hindered the situation by trying to exude power and authority, but was then reminded he worked for the project, not the other way around. Internally, the situation was resolved two separate ways. 1) By granting power and also accommodating the project, and 2) by using the collaborative approach and including the entire group in the decision making process.

Similarities and differences in styles both help and hurt the negotiation process. The agent, in an effort to retain 100% of the exaggerated commissions that the group had originally agreed to, tried to display power over the finances of the group, but still not addressing the issue of not having a group to book and promote at all. This didn’t help the situation and also prompting the group to look elsewhere for booking and contract management.

On the internal side, the owner, being understanding and willing to put his own personal goals on hold, was able to manage the conflict very professionally, and still be able to retain the controlling power of the entire group and command over the booking agency.

Some of the greatest tools a group has to offer is its’ intelligence:

The overall positive outcomes of the conflict resolution approach, to the group frustration and management negotiations were handled through a series of A) Compromise, B) Integrative agreements, and C) Structural Improvements within the corporate structure.

Specific examples of these would be 1) The agent not booking shows if the routing doesn’t make sense; and working harder to find shows between cities when the drives are long. 2) Agreeing to add seats in the vehicle to make the performers more comfortable, in conjunction with a trailer to tow the performance gear. And 3) improving the group’s salaries, based on the growth schedule of the project and performance compensations, while lowering the agent’s commissions overall and penalizing him, financially, for bad booking decisions.

The solutions are short-term, with long-term affects; meaning, the group is comfortable for the upcoming bad routing, but, understanding in the fact that overall the entire situation will improve and be better for years to come.

Stories such as this one, can offer a conflict, negotiation and resolution strategy without having to be in the middle of a disagreement. Studying different cases and historical events will also give the researching group or manager the ability to learn and understand how to better approach and (or) resolve serious situations before they become very serious.

Entrepreneurial Management & Its Followers. (A Doc McGhee Profile)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Management within the music industry is constantly changing; however, there is much that can be learned from the profiles of groundbreakers that have truly paved the way for an entrepreneurial-style of management. This particular blog posting will be based around one of those individuals and the quality business he’s built over the past thirty-plus years.

McGhee entertainment is one of the mega-management companies that have helped shape, what the world has come to know as, “Rock History”. Managing groups and artists, such as: Kiss, Motley Crue, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, and Ted Nugent, Doc McGhee has become one of the most successful managers in the history of the music business.

Organizing one of the most memorable music festivals in history, “The Moscow Music Peace Festival” on August 12-13 1989; the festival drew an audience of 120,000 attendees and was broadcast on television to 51 different countries. The show itself took two years to set up and arrange and employed many of the top artists of the day, still being listed as one of the most memorable concerts of all time. (Celeb. Access, 2009)

To date, McGhee Entertainment still represents some of the most successful bands in the world; one of the most recognizable is the rock band “Kiss”, whom has been touring for well over thirty years and generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue throughout the world. Kiss can be recognized as one of the biggest bands of all time, with the likes of “The Rolling Stones”, “The Beatles” and “Led Zeppelin” forever helping to shape the influence of music, history and culture.

Thirty-five years ago, twenty four year old Doc McGhee set out on a journey, one that would land him a life-style similar to that of the Rock and Roll legends that he has managed over the years. Starting in a band called “Rising four”, the band covered “Yard Birds” songs and then later signed to “Mercury Records” for a short period of four years. (Leblanc, 2009)

Searching for employment in the mid 1970’s McGhee found himself with no major prospects for jobs, but a handful of knowledge about the music business and the need for others to be heard by a number of the contacts he had acquired over his shot stent on Mercury Records. As a 26 year old, Doc had an opportunity to work with Pat Travers and then Moved to Florida, where his management career started to grow, also lucking into an opportunity to work with the late, great, James Brown, where McGhee claims that he didn’t know if he managed Brown, or if Brown managed him.

In 1982 Doc McGhee signed “Motley Crue” and “Bon Jovi”, then in 1989 produced and promoted one of the largest concert promotions in music history, “The Moscow Music Peace Festival”, and by 1996 had signed a deal with one of the great bands of all time “Kiss”. Where McGhee Entertainment was able to help facilitate the biggest tour of that year, being the Kiss Alive World Tour, generating $43.6 Million dollars in revenue over an eleven-month period; further solidifying the abilities and mega-success potential for McGhee, McGhee Entertainment and the artists represented by the company. (Leblanc, 2009)

True to the evolution of the entertainment business, McGhee was able to successfully spawn a Reality Television Show called “Super Group” with the likes of members from bands such as: Skid Row, Ted Nugent, Anthrax, Bonham, etc. and also opening McGhee Entertainment, Nashville for modern country acts, Darius Rucker, Chris Cagle, Drew Davis, and many more.

As of today’s date, McGhee Entertainment has, and is still working with some of the biggest names in the music business; they’ve managed and/or launched the careers of more household names that any other independent management firm and have carved out their own special niche in history.

Management competition in the music industry can be quite fierce, one of the newer companies that have clearly made their presence know is “Wind-up Entertainment” now, a division of “Wind-up Records”. Clearly showing influence from Doc’s Successes and teachings, Wind-up has been able to secure a large amount of Venture Financing and sign acts like “Creed”, “Evanescence” and “Seether”, three of the more successful acts in today’s modern rock.

Another very well established competitor is Bill McGathy and Tony Couch at “McGhathy Promotions” and “McGathy/Indegoot Recordings”, signing artists like “Shinedown”, “Saliva”, “Three Doors Down”, and “Tantric”, McGathy has a huge portion of the Modern Rock market on their current roster.

One thing both companies have in common is their business model, find talent, manage the talent and then either market and promote the talent, or use a record company to exploit the talents of their artists and roster. Ironically similar to what McGhee Entertainment has been speaking about for over 35 years.

One of the luxuries of being a independently owned is that a company doesn’t have to publish their financial reports to the public; however, with artists like Kiss selling Hundreds of millions of dollars in recordings, merchandising and marketing materials, it is obvious that McGhee Entertainment is at the top of the current food chain.

Second in the market place would be Wind-Up, with some of their bigger artists, mainly Creed and Evanescence selling upwards of 30 Million CD worldwide for each of their releases and generating millions of dollars in revenue as well. (Wind-Up Records, 2011)

Third position in the market-place would be McGathy/Indegoot; though Bill McGathy does own a Record Label, his major artists like “Saliva” and “Shinedown” are signed to major labels such as: “Atlantic Records” and “Capitol Records”, relieving some of the financial burden, but also reducing the amount of total revenue as well.

Many companies in the music industry have a sharp strategy, pertaining to the development of new talent; McGhee entertainment’s philosophy is based around an aggressive need to get the artists heard and among the public eye. “Sell by any means necessary” (McGhee, 2011) is the guerilla-marketing tactic used my Doc McGhee and his staff. Finding what makes the artist special and then marketing that aspect of the project with what is currently popular in the market is how MGE innovates and incorporates their new artists into the already existing plateau of their target market and fan-base.

Other companies take a similar approach, targeting a multi-market segment, but have a more tactical plan of action scheduled because of the lack of already established talent. McGhee Entertainment can command higher prices and lower percentages for their artists based on guaranteed success; whereas, another company that has less experience will have to charge more and take less, in an effort to build artist confidence and industry connection.

As the company has seen change in the market-place and trend flux in the music industry it made sense for McGhee Entertainment to change along with it, launching reality shows, promoting concert DVDs incorporating new technology and music genres in their marketing mix.

McGhee has the opportunity to continue growing and developing new talent by expanding their operations and hiring new and hungry agents to seek and manage upcoming talent, whereas other companies are still trying to catch up to the success and history, Doc will be setting another bar in the entertainment business.

Connecting emotionally to the audience can be reflected in Doc’s ability to understand what is physically happening in the market and then embrace that, in a way as to get the public involved in promoting and supporting the promotion. Reality TV shows, Performance DVDs and Online, On-Demand interviews for his artists are a way for the company to help reach an emotional connection with both artist and fan.

Being an inspiration to many other companies, McGhee Entertainment is also connected to the music business by way of reputation and ongoing respect. This is one of the largest factors for the company’s 35-year success and relationship to their represented talent.

Several facts can be concluded about McGee Entertainment, the company, though agents are aging, is still in high demand; offering a lifetime of knowledge and inspiration to other companies aspiring to work in the management field and experience that few other companies have the ability to match. McGhee Entertainment, though not acquiring talent very often, spends the same amount of time on the new acts as they do their existing ones, also keeping the company sharp and in the public eye.

The only negative side to any management company participating in the entertainment industry is being able to stay current and modern with the music topping the charts or already established as successful with the current marketable demographic; McGhee is no exception to this rule, the company has the potential to slow, just as many others have in the past, however, at this time, they’re showing no signs of aging or slowing down in the near future. Already planning to open more branches and feature a new genre of emerging talent.

Most Common Legal Issues Facing Artist and Entertainers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 05:45:00 +0000

This week, I had the opportunity to speak with The Law Offices of Norman Gillis & Associates regarding the most common legal and liability issues surrounding bands, artists and other entities in the entertainment business.

I was not surprised to learn that many of the new performance groups, as well as many of the mid-level professional groups in the music industry, aren’t truly aware of what is needed to set up and maintain a successful project in the business and (or) what all their project could be held liable for in the marketplace. These start up and liability issues typically range from confusion over the ownership of the band name to strict liability lawsuits based on an injury that happened to a fan at one of the groups’ shows.

During my conversation with Chris Skinner (clients include: Brooks & Dunn, Pam Tillis, and OmniSound Studios, to name a few), a consider amount of time was spent talking about the simple, inexpensive process of truly being ready to generate income in the music business and protect the groups’ intellectual property, as well as liabilities during live events.

The top five issues Mr. Skinner and I discussed are:

Setting up shop for business

Most groups aren’t aware that taxes need to be paid on the income generated from their live Shows, merchandise sales and paid public appearances. Often groups don’t understand the value in setting up a corporation, an LLC, or any of the other types of business that one can register. Often groups will become quite successful in a region, and have generated a substantial amount of income as a group before being audited by the IRS personally. More often than not, the group will want to secure some form of credit to finance a recording or to buy a vehicle for travel, having a legitimate business structure can help secure the lines of credit needed for growing the project and will also offer a potential investor the ability to review the financial potential of the group.

Member Agreements

The majority of local and regional talent performing in a band together has nothing more than a verbal agreement, or even worse, what they consider to be an understanding of what happens to the music written during the groups’ life or the what will happen to the band name if the group should ever break up. This issue is very common, and without a written agreement of which member gets what rights to the intellectual property and which portions of the groups’ income, many individuals that were thought to be great friends have become spiteful enemies.

Registering Intellectual Property

A songwriter, or group of songwriters for a project, usually has the vision of sitting in a mansion somewhere on a beach surrounded by thousands of dollars of expensive toys, yet doesn’t register or protect their music with a copyright. Typically this means they’ve not registered any of the original material with ASCAP, BMI, Nielsen SoundScan, or the other professional organizations that track airplay and recorded sales. The importance of registering one’s intellectual property is a subject Mr. Skinner and I spent a good portion of time discussing.

Protecting the group

More so than just protecting the band name, a group needs to be aware of how they can be held responsible if someone were to get hurt during an event. Such as the case where a fan was injured during a crowd surfing incident in San Luis Obispo, California where a fan was pushed into a speaker and now has permanent double vision. The group responsible for this accident had no liability insurance for that particular performance and now finds themselves in a thirty-five thousand dollar lawsuit for damages and medical expenses. Mr. Skinner’s advices on this subject, “if presented an insurance liability waiver at a venue, secure the insurance on your own.”

Shopping Unsolicited Material

Many groups want to be successful in the music business. The idea of landing a record deal is at the forefront of many artists’ brain. One of the biggest misconceptions about sending or “shopping” the groups’ material to an established company is that a person can stuff a CD-R or bit of recorded media in a package, walk it into, or mail it to a record company and they’ll listen to the music and fall flat on the floor over its awesomeness. “This is just simply not true,” says Mr. Skinner. Most new bands are ignorant to the protocol of a “press kit” and how beneficial an entertainment attorney can be when it comes to shopping a groups’ press kit to a record company. Simply put, 99% of the time a group’s demo will be thrown in the trash if it is unsolicited by an interested company.

Conclusion

It is absolutely paramount to have an entertainment attorney on standby for a serious project in the music business. Though many individuals are very well adept to look over booking agreements and register their works with performing rights organizations, as the group grows into what could become a substantial part of any market and generates label interest, it is more important than ever in the entertainment industry to have a qualified legal professional acting on the groups’ behalf.

In addition to good legal advice, many professionals in the music industry recommend the book “All You Need To Know About The Music Business” by Donald S. Passman as a great source of knowledge for getting a project ready to seriously pursue any kind of next-level success.

Media Controversy, Entertainment or Information?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 00:49:00 +0000

The general public has always wanted to be informed about current events. The more scandalous, shocking and unbelievable the news, the more interested the masses become. Crowds would swarm in ancient civilizations to watch brutal public executions, and these days prefer to follow each topic of interest via: The Internet, Network Broadcast, and all forms of Social Media. Ironically, according to Tony Rogers of About.com, “the technology of journalism continues to improve, but young people still ignore the news”. My question, however, is: at what point in the reporting process does the intent of the original informational broadcast become tailored to capturing and retaining people’s interest in an effort to broaden reach and generate advertising dollars, instead of relaying the cold, hard, facts about subjects and how they can affect one’s livelihood.

This week, I’ve followed three very different legal controversies that have become well known in the media. Though the coverage on each separate situation has been informative, I can’t help but see the entertainment value in the discussion panels being put together by the major news networks and how the coverage, though informative, only showing the best of each heated arguments on each side of the controversy.

Article 1:

Digital Rights Management software, and its ability to remotely access people’s personal devices and delete, without permission, files that don’t show the proper security signature, regardless of where and how those files were purchased. According to Adrian Kingsley-Hughes of ZD NET, Amazon reportedly accessed thousands of readers’ Kindle machines and deleted books without the user’s permission.

This, I am truly amazed by; strictly because the music and entertainment industries have been adapting and evolving for years trying to expand their abilities to reach consumers with their products and artist’s intellectual property, but more importantly reduce the cost of production on each unit in order to compensate for the rising low price demand throughout the U.S. Now that digital rights have the ability to sell a user an unlock key for a product, be it: music, media, software, or digital text, the consumers are getting more than they bargain for when they realize that instead of buying and owning a physical copy of a book, they are now only getting limited rights to that digital copy and if other selections weren’t purchased through one particular method, that same limited copyright license that was legitimately paid for now has the ability to delete anything it sees fit.

Article 2:

Unless the reader has been living under a rock, or in a cabin in the woods over the past several weeks, they’ve seen panel after panel of experts debating on the positives and negatives of the ObamaCare campaign and court ruling. The synapsis of this controversial issue is based around the want and need to extend healthcare insurance to the uninsured and lay the groundwork for systemic reforms. Many people are strongly for this, and many people are equally against it.

I can absolutely see why this is such a controversial subject, people that have insurance and have been working hard all of their lives to be able to afford great coverage for themselves and their loved ones don’t think that it’s fair to give equal coverage to those whom can’t afford the same coverage, or those who’ve never had a job with health benefits. The republican argument to this situation is based around additional taxes and the feeling of having to pay additional money to the government, unwillingly, in order to provide coverage for people uninsured, over and above what they are already paying for their own policies. One of the more entertaining interviews I’ve seen regarding ObamaCare was called “Obama lies, freedom dies” with Sarah Palin.

I can also absolutely see the benefits of health insurance for those whom aren’t in, nor have ever been, in a situation to where they could afford good health coverage. There are many positive outcomes that can happen from having this type of court decision, thought there will still be a small percentage that aren’t insured the numbers will drop drastically. Many of the people that were previously denied coverage by insurance companies will now have the opportunity for good healthcare, and even aspects of Medicare that were virtually abolished under Republican budgeting will see many signs of new life. Perhaps one of the better articles I read about this court decision was from The Bangor Daily News, showing their consumers the positives and potential future outcomes from the court’s decision.

Article 3

The Arizona Immigration Law controversy was another one of the frontrunners from my research over the past week. This particular story has been ongoing for quite some time, however, the most recent decision to uphold one of the four contested provisions of the Arizona Law that, some would say, permits law enforcement officers to racially profile people that could be in the state illegally. Many other states are also trying to model some of their immigration laws after the Arizona ruling, with only five states following currently.

One of the many issues that people are having with the entire immigration law battle is giving law enforcement the power to racially profile someone. There are many Hispanic people throughout the country legally and this type of law will open the doors to what some people perceive as harassment. Many reporters, such as Alicia Caldwell, of the Associated Press, believe that levying penalties on business owners that employ illegals will help to retain a large portion of the job market within the U.S.

One of the better coverage videos I’ve seen on this legislation was from Huffpost. It gives better detail to several of the laws that were considered but not passed, and gives better detail to the entire outlook of the situation. One of the most interesting facts I’ve seen regarding this story, according to Michael Martinez and Mariano Castillo, of CNN, was the amount of additional phone calls per yea, totaling 50,000, that the Tuscan Police Department will now have to make.

Conclusion:

Each of the articles I’ve read and researched this week all have valid messages and are reporting the facts revolving around each case. Though every source I’ve seen for these reports are basically broadcasting the same information, just like the rest of the masses in this “on demand” generation, I found myself drawn more to the discussion panels, industry debates, and high-profile political opinions. At one point, I forgot I was actually watching a discussion that directly affects my personal taxes and ability to be seen by a medical professional. Even though I was well informed about all three of the controversies I felt as if I were just watching an episode of some reality television show that I hadn’t seen before, and during my research on the other articles, I found myself looking for something more entertaining to watch and/or read about the other two articles to include in this blog.

I feel that appealing to the masses, while delivering a powerful message is important, but what I personally would like to see is a better grasp of current events and how those same masses that are being broadcast to can make a substantial difference. There is more to news, law, and television media than just watching it happen and hearing about the results of what others are fighting for constitutionally.

Commercial, or Sellout... That is the question.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 20:46:00 +0000

One of my favorite subjects in the music and entertainment business is the battle between being commercially successful, and the perception of selling out.

Recently, I had the opportunity to overhear a conversation between two people in a coffee shop talking about some of their favorite artists, “from back in the day”, and how they’ve “sold out, in the music industry”. Obviously, these two young gentlemen weren’t professional musicians, and more than likely not even playing local gigs, but based on their non-stop chatter about how awesome their eyeliner-driven emo-project is, I could tell they had a strong desire to grow within the industry.

The conversation then proceeded to some of the television commercials these two aspiring music professionals have seen on YouTube, featuring: Darius Rucker (formerly of the band “Hootie and The Blowfish” and now managed by the world renowned Doc McGhee (Kiss, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Ted Nugent, etc.)), Dr. Dre (mega music mogul and owner of “Beats Headphone Technology”), Johnny Rotten (formerly of the legendary punk band “The Sex Pistols”), Chris Brown (new pop artist), and then Shakira (international pop sensation). Normally, I would have seen my way out of their conversation at this point, but having just saw John Bon Jovi on an AARP commercial, Hulk Hogan & Troy Akeman on a Rent-A-Center commercial, and a multitude of other very wealthy people featured in new corporate ad campaigns, I decided to forego my homework for a few minutes and explore the subject further, on my own. As an artist, I’ve been in the position to get work with my music, or to not get work with my music, many times; the alternative(s) being: 1) digging a ditch, 2) pumping gas, 3) mowing lawns, and 4) anything else that would probably make my life miserable.

During my ad campaign exploration, I was able to find all of the videos these two were discussing and have included hyperlinks for the reader’s enjoyment: Darius Rucker Commercial, Dr. Dre Commercial, Johnny Rotten Commercial, Chris Brown Commercial, and Shakira Commercial.

Professional Synopsis:

I’ve had the opportunity to meet Darius Rucker on several occasions and I have to say, he’s a funny, silly guy that I’m sure laughed all the way to the bank on after that Burger King commercial. (Barry Manilow made more money with his commercial Jingles than he did on all of his other recorded music). Not only does Darius now get royalties, forever, based on the writing of that song, but also got paid a hefty sum of money, just to get him to poke fun at himself the way he did in the spot. I rather enjoyed that one, as did I on the Johnny Rotten commercial about butter. He’s basically saying, “I eat this butter because I like it… and nothing else!” What could be more anti-anything than getting paid to do an ad spot relating to a product that you’d be utilizing either way? Not to mention, his image was portrayed perfectly in the commercial and widely accepted by the most diehard Sex Pistol fanatics.

I’m a big fan of Dr. Dre’s spot. Not only did he have the opportunity to be super sly and increase his own personal image in that video, but also plugged his own brand of bass boosting headphones that now have their own commercial app for improving the sound of listening to music via smartphone.

Pop-stars, by definition are all ready sold out, they’re usually not promoting their own art, or personal writing craft and are most of the time super puppets for a major label, so true to form Shakira and Chris brown are doing what they do best; representing an image for profit (though Chris did sing a song directly related to Juicy fruit gum and that can be considered borderline).

Professionally, in each situation, they’ve sold out the value of what creating timeless works of art are in exchange for profit; but, by increase brand awareness, financial yield, and the sustainability of their careers, I think they’ve all made the best decisions for themselves professionally.

An artist’s image plays a big part in what the public will perceive as “selling out” as well, for instance: if Metallica did a commercial for the WWE, or the MMA Championships, this wouldn’t be selling out at all, but if they did one for The Pink Tutu maker in San Diego, CA then I’m sure their image would be tarnished and be construed as well outside the scope of what Metallica’s brand actually means (this issue would typically be a management flaw).

If I were managing any of these artists during the pitch stage of their ventures, I would’ve spent a great deal of time looking at both positive and negative aspects of the opportunity(s) and would have designed a damage control strategy if there were any negative backlash from the public. Most of the time, bad press is still good press, so I would’ve looked at the integrity of the entire situation before I suggested or advised my artist(s) either way.

The Conversation Conclusion:

The conclusion of this conversation between the two gents next to me, involved: flavored Ice Frappe chinos, a discussion of wanting to be on the radio with their hard-core emotional love songs, to have videos on MTV, and a reality television show to follow them around and feature their band and struggle to make it. Ironically, they had fallen more victim to the “Feedback Marketing Loop” than anyone I had seen in quite a while, and everything they wanted to accomplish professionally was either: branded for profit by someone else, designed to promote and/or sell ad space to corporate sponsors, or simply a generic, cookie-cutter formula designed to generate enough interest in a musical product to start and sustain a career.

My question to them, as they noticed and asked about my “Business of Artist Management” book, was “are you commercial, or sellouts?”

The Beatles Finally Agree To Deal With Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:10:00 +0000

The Beatles and Apple have been negotiating and settling disputessince the late 1970’s, first with trademark dispute of the name Apple Corps, owned by the Beatles, then over what was known as Apple’s Music Synthesizer, and now over licensing and digitally distributing the recorded catalogue of the group’s music. Ironically, after a total of thirty two years of bickering back and forth, both parties are ready to play nice and do business so many generations of new Beatles fans, as well as the old, will have a more accessible channel through which to purchase their favorite selections.

The primary parties in this negotiation are Apple, Inc. and the entire Beatles group. The secondary party in the group that has stake in the negotiations is the record company EMI whom owns a considerable portion, alongside of Michael Jackson’s estate, of the Beatles master recording rights. Though all three sides had a very large monetary incentive that would encourage them to make the deal, one of the strongest inhibitors to the agreement was based around the ability to satisfy each separate member of the Beatles interest(s) in the agreement before anything could move forward in the total process, which took roughly seven years. Obviously, a super group, such as the Beatles, doesn’t really have to worry so much about the financial end of what their return will be in this type of negotiated deal, their main focus will be on what is know as Marketing Reach, and how this type of business merger will benefit the longevity of their entire catalog of music. The main questions that will likely be asked on the management end of the band’s side are: “Will this venture be profitable and reach new fans?” “Will this agreement help facilitate new business and future sales of the Beatles music?” and lastly, “Is releasing this music through iTunes a valid effort to modernize with the distribution process as the methods of selling recorded music evolves and changes?” From the iTunes side, they already own 90% of the digital distribution market and don’t particularly need the Beatles to help their quarterly reports. Their interest in this would be to protect their already existing market share and look toward future growth if they have the monopoly on digitally distributing the Beatles music. EMI, on the other hand, was almost in bankruptcy and needed this deal to happen more than anyone; their stake in the agreement could potentially save the entire record label.

During this long negotiation process many different angles were used to understand each reason this deal had to happen for everyone involved. One of the most present elements was the Beatles management’s ability to “separate the people from the problem” and “focus on the mutual benefit”. Even though it was apparent that each side had the ability to utilize the best alternative to the entire negotiation and continue on with their daily process, it was made very clear each party involved was for making a solid, long-term agreement.

The Beatles separated the people from the problem by hiring Jeff Jones to run their company’s interests and Mr. Jones was new enough to their business to have not developed any animosity toward Apple and want to look at the best options for protecting and preserving the group’s interest in their own music; he felt digital distribution was something that had to happen in order for this to long-term solution to be successful. Focusing on the mutual benefit aspects of the deal gave each party the ability to come to the table with something to gain and an even better incentive to make fair offers to speed the process along. In this mind-set and avoiding the pitfalls of Distributive Thinking, they were able to expand the entire pie to include a fair profit portion for all three entities involved. The benefits of this, other than financial, include: publicity and promotional power, two of the most important words for any business’s brand.

Though there were many different positive and negative factors represented by each side, one major aspect of the negotiation went very well. Apple was able to offer the Beatles their absolute highest payout for their purchases while not offending the other super groups already being distributed through iTunes, including: Garth Brooks, AC/DC, and Kid Rock. This was very important to Apple because they didn’t want to put themselves in the position to offer the Beatles more, just to make the agreement and have other groups assume they could hold out and get the same amount. One could assume that this was an aspect of the deal that adversely didn’t go well for the Beatles because of the length of time they felt they needed to hold out, but the hold out in itself is more than likely the largest aspect of the agreement that had a negative affect on the process. Having to appease the estates and family members of a multi-billion dollar group was something that didn’t have to take as long as it did and therefore could have put the entire contract in jeopardy.

After much hard work, negotiating, and deal making, there was a mutually beneficial agreement reached that could foster a long-termmutually beneficial relationship, a relationship that is considered by many to be one of the most solid in the record industry. Though the Beatles will receive a reported $1.29 per song, when most digital albums are only $12.99, the Digital Beatles box set is a great barging to their fan-base at a mere $149.00. This is an absolutely amazing price for the most die-hard Beatles fan that legally wants to obtain a high quality digital copy of the group’s music. Now, with the ability for millions of existing fans, as well as new younger generations of fans, the Beatles have the ability to once again grow and root themselves into what can be considered as an even bigger part of rock and roll infamy, even in the new digital revolution.

Negotiating & Deal Making Insight (Interview with CEO of Plastic Musik)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 20 May 2012 00:44:00 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to interview Jeremy Price, the founder and CEO of Plastic Musik, LLC. Mr. Price is not only a well-respected businessperson but a highly skilled artist as well. Jeremy has been a touring musician since 1997, cast member of the global success STOMP & STOM OUT LOUD since 1999, and project creator/ rehearsal director of the internationally recognized percussion group Plastic Musik.

During our interview, I wanted to get Jeremy’s opinion on three different aspects of negotiating and deal making, including: leverage and power, mutual benefit, and best alternative to negotiation. Ironically, Plastic Musik was in the middle of a re-negotiation to their booking and management agreement so the information was basically given to me in real time.

In reference to leverage and power, I asked how gaining a certain level of clout affected the ability to negotiate on Plastic Musik’s behalf. Jeremy’s reply explained that having clout was a great position in which to be but not what is giving him the ability to get terms more favorable to his vision. Utilizing his position and standing in the world of percussion gave the agent the ability to spend less time on booking and also justified a lower percentage for less work involved on the agency’s behalf.

My questions toward mutual benefit were along the lines of “other than financially, how can both Plastic Musik and the Booking Company mutually benefit each other by a renegotiation of their agreement?” His answer was “I had planned on spending a larger amount during the first two years of the project because of the work involved for the agent, but now because people are calling to fit us in their schedules I have to justify paying back some of the overhead that accumulated during the initial routing of the tours. The agent has benefited because other projects looking to get on the road and start a career will see the company’s ability to sustain shows based on our touring history, and I will benefit because I have built a solid relationship with quality individuals and retain a larger portion of what I earn for the group.”

Jeremy and I spent quite a bit of time discussing BATNA as a last resort or worse case scenario to the potential of the negotiations, or future negotiations not going well. He explained how always cultivating new relationships with the buyers of his group’s talent and getting opinions on which agencies they’ve had the best experiences working with gave him the ability to speak with other companies that were interested in what the group had to offer without being disrespectful to his existing agency. Weeding out the many companies that wanted to be part of the group’s success was a goal for Plastic Musik when the idea of “what happens if our current agent doesn’t agree to fair terms’’ becomes a reality. Because of this, Jeremy was able to streamline his alternate interest into three sections. 1) Book and manage the project himself, 2) Negotiate terms with a company that he feels the group would be a great fit, or 3) Stop touring with Plastic Musik until he gets the terms he wants. Each was a legitimate alternative, but after factoring in the other performers of Plastic Musik, not touring wasn’t an option.

His solution to the complex, multi-month, negotiation process was to A) be more flexible in his terms to the existing agent, respecting the work already completed and recognizing the mutual importance of benefiting together and B) only talking to two other very strong companies that could help the project grow in ways the current agent wasn’t able keeping himself in a position to sustain with greater profit, or move forward and grow to a new level earning more profit in the long-term.

In summary, Jeremy was in the position as a business person to decide on reclaiming a portion of his company that he had to give up for two years, or work harder to find a common ground with other agencies that could help him grow into new markets. Each aspect of this process took into account emotions, livelihoods, and realistic visions for the future. Though in a great position to sign with any company in the market, Jeremy was more concerned with building a long-term, fair, relationship with deserving people. His final thought on the interview was “people buy people, not products… I’d rather pay an agent more and get more than have a company give me what I want and produce less.”

Music Streaming, Here in the Now Frontier.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 05:39:00 +0000

These days, the music industry and inundated with new web sites that claim to be the future of streaming media. I’d like to spend some time during this blog concentrating on how some mega-famous artists aren’t in support of their efforts, as well as spend some time discussing how these same streaming sites claim to be “saving the music industry from itself”.

Some artists like Paul McCartney, are trying to send buyers of their products back to retail outlets to purchase their catalogues of music. A frustrated McCartney has his legal team pull his music from all streaming sites due to very small percentages and payouts, hoping to help brick and mortar outlets stay in business and encourage other artists to do the same. This doesn’t mean that McCartney wants to limit his reach or audience’s ability to listen to his music on demand, but feels that the percentages aren’t always fair to the artist. However, many sites claim to be saving the industry by making the very music people would want to pirate available and a very low cost, in an effort to send compensation back to the artists and expand large portions of their reach through the use of direct deals with record labels and mobile apps.

Regardless of which side of the artist argument the consumer happens to be on, the biggest debate is which company will outshine the other and come out on top as the number one streaming site on the web. The two most well known these days are “Pandora” and “Spotfly”. Both great sites and strive for acceptance on Facebook, Twitter, and all other social media platforms, but still have their pro’s and con’s. Each work from a the Music Genome project, but many people have issues with the advertising aspects of Pandora, just as they have issues with the monthly fee on Spotfly; thus bringing the competition more related to the mobile applications and reported privacy issues.

Looking toward the future of the music industry, marketing has changed just as much as the ability to record what is being marketed. Thought what works best for one person may not work as well for another when it comes to gaining access to their favorite artist or method of discovering new talent, one thing is for sure, it’s all about preference. That being said, if an artist doesn’t evolve with the industry and make their product available through as many chains and outlets as possible, they run the risk of not being able to meet the preferential needs of the very people to which they are trying to market.

Myspace... The Next Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 21:49:00 +0000

Different discussions this week have led me to several different blogs that relate to changes in outdated business models that are now being re-invented and re-launched, based around: current events, trends, and marketing efforts in today's world of the entertainment industry. One that I feel most suited for this week's blog entry, is entitled: “Can Myspace’s Grand Experiment Help Save the Music Industry” written by: Abbey Klaassen of Ad Age Digital. This particular blog explains how Myspace is attempting to throw traditional banner ads out the window and embrace large corporate sponsorships in a way that links popular social networking with major music labels.

This new concept will practically re-invent what Myspace has been known for and offer groups the ability to provide individual downloads to what CEO Chris Dewolfe is now calling “The Infinite Playlist” catalogue.

The newly re-emerging company will try to include a marketing mix of traditional television advertisement marketing and the 25 billion dollar per year domestic web-based advertising. With over 300 people reported on the new Myspace sales staff and an additional 250 people in the Myspace sales-development staff, the potential for success in this endeavor is much greater than that of older competitors that have fallen by the wayside. Including: Napster, Qtrax, and Spiral Frog.

Utilizing this approach, similar to how television provides free programs to those who watch the commercial advertisements, will make the Myspace platform work similar to how radio works with local area business and larger business chains.

There has been no discussion on the total cost of the ads Myspace will sell companies but, the professional interest in this plat form has been gaining interest for quite some time now. According to Anja Carroll of Carroll marketing, the director of marketing for McDonald’s USA: "This MySpace venture was very appealing, as it is one of the best opportunities we've seen that combines the elements that matter most to music fans and users".

Three different opportunities, pertaining to a marketing mix around my company idea would include:

Opportunity 1: Tapping into existing marketing strategies

Explanation: In many ways, existing marketing strategies reach an already large number of consumers. Though the idea of my management company’s corporate marketing strategy differs from its consumer marketing strategy, the idea is basically the same. Generate business through reaching a large number of talent and industry professionals. Existing strategies include: Magazine & Newspaper Ads, Television Advertisements, Outdoor billboards, Direct Mail Pieces, etc.

Opportunity 2: Social relationship marketing

Explanation: Social relationship marketing is one of the most important forms of marketing in today’s industry. Giving the talent buyer or average consumer the ability to “Follow” the company’s growth and artists, as well as track progress through social platforms like: Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and the multitude of others, the consumer has the ability to follow the company and its represented artists in what some consider real time. A great article on merging traditional direct mail pieces with real-time social media can be found on the link to a blog called “Launch”.

Opportunity 3: Tapping into integrated marketing communications.

Explanation: The idea behind tapping into an integrated marketing strategy revolves around unifying the brand’s message to the public through a multitude of different mediums. Utilizing different aspects of all forms of advertising, Including: Company PR Reps and inside sales people, giving the organization the ability to speak with one true voice instead of different voices through only a handful of outlets.

Realistically, a newer company would blend an integrated marketing campaign, with a small sales force and one on one communications; incorporating an ethically sound guerilla campaign in conjunction with a huge social media push and internet marketing campaign. Then, grow its brand awareness and advertising budget by an even percentage as the company itself grows.

Inspiring Audiences Through Compelling Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:03:00 +0000

Normally, I post about specific music related topics in my blog. This week, I want to cover a topic from my favorite TED speaker. The presentation is called: “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”, by: Randy Paushe, is full of fantastic examples of how to effectively communicate, use compelling images and examples in one’s presentation, great use of simplicity and slide design concepts, and how to memorably convey and communicate presentation messages through personal experience and physical examples.

This blog based on how Mr. Paushe used the elements and structure of persuasion to overcome the, “brick walls” in pursuit of his personal childhood dreams.

Mr Pausch, from the start of the lecture, exercises his ability to “Speak from authority” and with “Logic”, explaining his personal struggles with cancer and the fair reasoning behind his ultimate outcome of this ailment. Pausch uses a well-planned, verifiable, thought based system of facts, to establish, not only his credibility, but also overcome “division”, by establishing rapport between himself and his audience.

Perhaps, one of my favorite examples of how Pausch utilizes “The structure of Persuasion” is during one of his personal “Brick Wall” stories, relating to publishing a paper, through research with Disney’s “Imaginarium” department. When faced with an initial “no” answer from the dean of the University of Virginia to move forward on researching for this publication, he very cleverly takes a step back to “Identify and Isolate” the true problem within the situation, being the dean A. Not understanding how important and significant the research is to future generations, and B. Wanting Disney to amend the intellectual property clause in the agreement for the overall research. Mr. Pausch then “Identifies the Cause” of the issue itself and “Establishes Common Ground” among himself and the dean, realizing the actual cause of the issue was due to “not knowing if the paper itself was a good idea” beneficial to the school and future Virtual Reality Research. (Showing intellectual negligence on the dean’s part) Next, Pausch attempts to “Formulate and Workable Solution” by finding an action-able, alternative that is personal and immediate, by double checking which department is actually in charge of making intellectual property decisions for the college itself; turning out to be a division very different from the scope of what the dean is required and/or qualified to do. As Pausch entered the Dean of Sponsored Research’s office, he then proceeded to “Speak to the Heart” of the administrator in charge, speaking logically and with great excitement and enthusiasm on the subject matter, gaining himself the permission needed to go research and publish the paper.

Perhaps, my second favorite aspect the lecture, is how, Mr. Pausch understands how people typically settle or compromise their own personal ambitions to appease others. His ability to create rapport with the audience by infusing humor, personal stories and physical examples and images, is very effective in his overall message of how people can actually achieve their own personal childhood dreams. Mr. Pausch touches on some of the irrefutable laws of leadership, which also shows great character and the understanding of how important mentoring and legacy is to one’s personal contributions to society.

The tone of Mr. Pausch’s lecture is very uplifting and positive. I feel that his terminal condition has no bearing on what a great lecture he’s provided. In the beginning of the lecture, his slide on what he wasn’t going to talk about it the lecture set the overall tone of the event.

I absolutely believe that his speech would’ve been just as effective either way and truly understand more about the incredible person he really was, from this presentation and his stories. Pausch spends a great deal of time enlightening and engaging the audience on “how to lead their lives” and how to develop their own abilities to overcome and lead in the same way as he has, and the others before him.

I think the only other major difference in the lecture would be his dedication of it to his kids at the end and perhaps bringing his wife on stage for the birthday cake.

This is the type of presentation all educated people should strive for. It embraces aspects of many different genres of sociological thinking and cognitive approaches to persuasive speaking, simplicity in design and appealing to the senses and sole of the audience.

I was fascinated by it and walked away after 1:16:27 with an understanding for how appealing, entertaining and effective a lecture and presentation can and should be.

Please click HERE for more inspirational and amazing speakers on TED.

The South By Southwest Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 21:48:00 +0000

Every major player in the world of music has the South By Southwest music conference at the forefront of his or her frontal lobe. Started in 1987, the SXSW festival featured only 700 attendees, but now features over 12,000 registrants for just the music portion alone. As of 1994, film, television, and interactive aspects of the SXSW festival have been included into the organizations mission in order to help artistic individuals and companies reach the masses, and other professionals within the entertainment industry. A trade show of this magnitude features over ninety live music venues, two thousand artists, and represents both business and performing talent from over fifty countries.

The main goal of the SXSW film festival, according to Ana Cantu of About.Com is to give filmmakers and cinephiles the opportunity to network and learn about new industry trends and technology. One notable service that is offered by the organization is the Interactive Festival, where consumers wanting to be at the forefront of technology and social networking can take advantage of expert interviews, expert panels, web designers and developers, influential bloggers, and new media experts; just to name a few.

Dates for this festival are March 9^th – 18^th and prices for this type of festival range from $300 - $1200 dollars, depending on which aspects of the event the consumer would like to attend, and for the live music portions, Austin’s famous Sixth Street is where a multitude of global talent can be found showcasing.

Marketing for this type of event is year round. Relying on many different sponsorships and outlets, including: Miller Lite, Sonic Bids, Chevrolet, Pepsi, Doritos, AT&T, and the IFC, just to name a few, drive a large portion of the advertising momentum that generates a portion of the event’s success, but also relies heavily on past experiences and word of mouth advertising.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of what the SXSW festival has to offer is the ability to learn from a panel of industry professionals, with special demo listening sessions and one on one artist mentoring. These two types of programs, among many others, are designed to get participants direct access to industry professionals that have agreed to dedicate their time to helping improve the artist’s chance of success, through viable advice and career suggestions.

The South By Southwest festival has too many great features and benefits to name in a single blog; however, there is no shortage of opportunity and excitement at this event/ Showcase. There is absolutely no wondering why the growth of this experience is practically unstoppable.

Effective Project Management = Effective Brand Management

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:41:00 +0000

Brand Management, Brand Positioning, and Project Management are all specific categories, relating to how a team rolls-out and sustains a project. A group new to the entertainment business can benefit greatly by learning from the examples of other successful teams in the industry.

Two substantial examples of effective brand management are: Oprah and Dr. Phil. What constitutes the two individual people as a brand, or furthermore, a successful brand, you ask?

Both, Oprah and her brand are commonly referred to as a cultural ambassador. The embraces the positive in situations and opens doors to the public’s imagination, instead of clouding up their brain with useless non-sense and white-trash drama.

Oprah is also known as an innovator, being the first talk show host to encourage the public to read and understand literature, as well as positively endorsing different forms of positive entertainment. Oprah has over 20 years in the television-entertainment business and has built a loyal, dedicated following from her hard work and external organizations by also promoting the value of education, experience and life lessons.

Oprah is looked up to as a strong person. She’s placed her brand positioning in a way that best represents who she is and what she’s interested in. The majority of her interests involve helping people. This makes her approach very unique and even more powerful because of the already existing support for her show and brands.

A few of Oprah’s ventures include: Oprah magazine, Oprah Radio and the Angel Network. All made possible by her career success as a journalist, entrepreneur, talk show host and humanitarian. Now, with her own television network, her brand, positioning, and team management strategies have been proven second to none.

Another personality, along with his team, that is creating a large, diverse media brand, as an: author, singer, TV host, chef, actor, etc. is Dr. Phil. Since the launch of his show in 2002, the second biggest launch since the Oprah show, he has made many branches; writing books, giving financial advice, launching other television shows (including: The Dr. Phil House, The Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge, Anatomy of a Divorce and the Brandon Intervention) along with opening the Dr. Phil Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that helps children and families at risk, as well as overcoming tremendous obstacles.

Seeing the massif amount of accomplishment from both of the teams associated with positioning these two personalities where they are in the media industry, there is absolutely no doubt that any serious management team, regardless of their forte, can learn many great things from following these two corporate examples.

The Future of Effective Cross Promotions and Brand Management

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:05:00 +0000

One of the many great things about the modern world of the entertainment business, is the ability to cross promote brands and brand images, in a way that transcends the traditional approaches to public reach. Take, for instance, the new Kia Optima commercial staring the rock group Motley Crue, in this commercial, the group performs their song “Kickstart My Heart” in a dream sequence of a person driving high-speed laps around a race track for bikini-clad supermodels; all because of the sandman falling over his bedroom shoes.

Normally, a potential car buyer would never think they would see a rock group doing such a commercial; nor, would anyone believe this approach would excite anyone enough to want to rush out and buy a brand new Kia; however, though the proper concept, planning, advertising platform, and management execution, all of the elements can come together in a way that is completely unique and unexpected.

How does a company, or great management company make this type of almost impossible venture happen, you ask? Through great project development and planning. What is the one thing a mega-successful group like Motley Crue would want to gain by doing a car commercial and why? The answer is simple, “Promotion” and what is known in the advertising world as “Reach”.

Motley Crue just announced their month-long residency at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. This twelve show stent is the first of its kind for the band and has to compete with acts that include: “Cirque du Soleil”, “Blue Man Group”, and “Chris Angel”, just to name a few. Knowing the value of advertising during the Super Bowl, the car manufacturer and management company of the group were not only able to create a 26 million-viewer buzz through social media, but anticipates an expected 100 million more sets of eyes and ears, all within a 60 second span.

This a tremendous success for both teams involved (Artist Management Team, and Kia Brand Management Team). According to Lawrence G. of the Financial Times, It is said that making the strategies work, is much harder than making the strategies themselves. Typically managers are trained to plan, not to execute; therefore, the execution of this very strategic plan is the absolute key to the idea’s success.

Another example, in recent entertainment business news, is the announcement of the joint venture between: Mel Gibson, Fox, and Direct TV test marketing a video on demand method for the upcoming release of “Get the Gringo”. This film is scheduled to completely bypass theaters and be distributed exclusively for home viewing.

According to Deadline.com the planning and execution stages of this undertaking have been a long process, resulting in the agreement with Dish Network to handle the On Demand aspects. Based around the twenty-plus years Direct TV has in digital distribution, and their aggressive marketing strategies, all of the planning and development teams from each company have spend a great deal of time with their project leaders, time-lining and charting the movie’s release strategies.

Great team leaders, managers, and strategic planners, understand the importance of a diverse set of teams, experienced forecasters, and willingness to take chances when exploring new frontiers of media; however, the best of the best are usually the front-runners of the industry all working toward one common goal.

Great Questions Deserve Great Responses (Cont. The Music/ Entertainment Business of Today)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:25:00 +0000

Unknown said...

Ok, so what entertainment company has been able to hit this rather elusive new media nail on the head? More importantly, how have they done it?

I can't think of an industry that has shot it's self in the foot bigger or louder than the music biz with the rise of new media (news media may have been a distant second). With that said, what have you done to make use of new media Steve? Have you ran into anyone that won't let go of what worked when we were kids? How much of the previous generation of music business has been able to adapt and overcome?

Sounds like I'm grilling you, but I'm curious about your opinions and/or personal experiences with the above.

Steve's reply...

Hi Unknown,

Thanks for reading, and responding to the blog…

I appreciate and welcome your questions, input, and opinions on any and all subjects relating to the Music and Entertainment Industries.

I couldn’t agree more with the public opinion, regarding the Music Business shooting itself in the preverbal foot, simply because, in many ways, it’s the truth.

I could literally spend days addressing the many issues that plague the business of music, and similar to others that live, breathe, and work in the industry, can equally justify, the reasoning behind irrelevant contractual obligations (ie: the “Breakage” clause, designed around vinyl in the dark ages of pressing, duplication, and distribution) and negotiable positions on each side of the Artistic and Business equation; however, I’ll spare the readers of that, for now.

The industry, as a whole, is still profitable, and actually up by marginal percentages throughout the world over the last five years. The hard truth is that no one company has lucked into a magic formula guaranteeing success for all of the artists or signed acts.

Companies that are evolving and succeeding in today’s ever-changing market, aren’t the traditional brands we’ve come to know and love; however, many of which are still a major part of the entire evolution, relating to marketing, distribution, and consolidation/collaboration aspects with a multitude of smaller companies.

Hard work, Dedication, and then Strategically planning and allocating budgets for artists and releasable projects are again becoming the core fundamentals, and are more focused at the forefront of independent talent. Is there a need for what labels, managers, publishers, booking agents, and record companies do, and have done, for a group or artists potential? Absolutely! But, the game and business has changed and will continue to do so forever.

To more directly respond to your questions, it is my experience that some veterans in the music business cling to a more traditional way of approaching daily operations of their companies, and more so than ever, that mentality is falling by the wayside.

Early on, a person could walk up to a record company’s door, and say “Hey, I’m Johnny Cash, and I think I’ve got something you need to hear”. These days, people do the same type of thing, only in a much different way. If a person were to take that direct of an approach today, without their ducks in a row, they’ll more than likely get the response “We don’t accept unsolicited materials”.

My philosophy on that particular question is clearly, “Evolve Or Die… “ Meaning: 1) Learn the new technologies and understand how they can be beneficial to a company’s business model and brand image; 2) Accept and Embrace the changes inevitable in and around the industry; 3) Implement new strategies that include the newly acquired skill-sets; and 4) Follow through and take action. Not looking to the future will ultimately outdate a company that has not solidified and proven their niche.

I’ve personally made many changes to what I do daily, and in the different approaches taken with projects, with which I consider partnering. The key elements and stages of release for a group haven’t really changed, with exception of how a group is typically discovered. Identifying Potential, Developing Talent, Preparing Product, and Rolling Out are all basically the same; it’s the follow-through and strategic planning that has changed when it comes to maximizing the release to the targeted market(s).

I’m a big fan of digital press, I don’t like, want, or need top spend a great deal of time or money stocking hardcopies of everything a group has to offer a potential buyer. Companies like TuneCore for digital distribution, J-Distribution for physical distribution, and Discmakers for short-runs and color press are great to include in anyone’s daily arsenal; already saving an unbelievable amount of time, financial resources, and energy for a manager and/or group.

Telecommuting, Video Chatting, File sharing Servers, and Direct Messaging Systems all play a key role in the speed and consistency of my day-to-day operations, and most importantly, can be completed through a mobile device, allowing me to be on the road with a project and still be in the loop, at any given time. (I could go on about the features and benefits of this type of change for days as well, which is already scheduled for another blog post).

Statistics in the music industry change on a frequent basis, but some of the sites I’ve gotten great insight from, regarding percentages of the business that have changed and continue to include information about trending are: Report Linker, VSS Industry Forecast, and Music Market Research. Perhaps two of the most important ones are Grab Stats and RIAA.

Two examples of independent companies that have become greatly successful among Modern Rock artists are WindUp Records and McGathy/ Indegoot. Their stories are quite impressive and are great for showing how a business can truly grow and become successful with great planning and strategic marketing.

In short, there is no simple answer to many of the questions posted in your reply, but I hope this explanation, based around my personal experiences and education, helps to offer an additional perspective to anyone looking to gain a more in-depth insight to what was posted in the initial blog.

Here are a few other links, in no particular order, to some articles I recently read via RSS, which I found interesting:

Demise of the Music Industry

The Music Industry 2012, What will it look like?

12 Music Business Predictions for 2012

The Demise and Rebirth of the Music Industry

Music Market Research

The Digital Music Market Research

NPD Industry expertise/ Music

The Music/Entertainment Business of Today

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Gross II) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:03:00 +0000

The music business is sometimes a carnival ride of ups and downs, one day, the sales can be in the hundreds of thousands, and the next, can be a downward spiral of illegally pirated music, software, and/or digital information. More often than not, the results are financial loss for record companies and project investors.

Growth in the entertainment business is derived from the consumer’s want and overall need of the varying products that are offered to the general public; be it, a band’s performance video, live theatre show, cinematic performance, sporting event, online gaming experience, or anything worth paying an admission/ participation price. Capturing a portion of this six hundred billion dollar a year industry is often easier said than done.

Ironically, in regards to the music business, the same technology that is growing the consumer’s on-demand experience, (i.e.: Digital Recording, MP3s, PSP File Sharing, Pandora Radio, etc.…) is also the same technology that is hindering its own ability to sustain the traditional approach to generating income on recorded music. Offering a new medium and media platform to reach consumers has always been a technique designed to earn a bigger share of the market, but now is substantially lowering the amount of profit yielded from each unit.

These days, major music conglomerates tend to be in an even greater period of turmoil than originally anticipated by researchers and industry annalists. The need for a corporate understanding, in the music business, that focuses on the abilities to work within a strategic model structured around profit dollars and not profit margin, that also includes the new trends in social media, such as: peer networking, digital distribution, internet radio, mobile communications, application technologies, and earth-conscious designing, is absolutely paramount for the evolution of the entertainment industry.

Artists and bands aren’t making their profits on physical record and cd sales anymore; instead, they’re sustaining their careers by releasing recordings to support their live shows and tour schedules. Viewing recorded media as a form of advertising, solo artists and touring groups can widen their reach to a specific target audiences and minimize the overall costs of packaging and physical distribution of their recorded products. The live music industry has shown substantial growth over the past several years and is gaining much more steam overseas, generating a reported 2 billion dollars in countries like: Australia, Japan, and Germany.

According to the National Association of Recording Merchandisers only 60% of the consumers studied, were interested in learning about new music in the genres they buy, and 49% of the new music discovery was done through some type of television representation. People that shop for new products in retail stores are more likely to buy something they discover rather than going to a destination store to purchase a product directly.

The overall trend in marketing to new customer bases are shifting toward applications such as: Shazam, Song ID Apps, iPad & iPod Apps, Internet Radio, Satellite & HD Radio, etc.…

Assuming the market and trends continue to move in the same direction, a business savvy company will focus on a hybrid approach to growing their business and releasing their projects by:

Assessing the project and upcoming release
Determining the ideal target market
Strategically designing the marketing campaign

The ideal marketing campaign for this approach would include:

Minimal physical distribution
Increased presence in publishing materials for television and film licensing
Strong digital radio campaign, accompanied by digital distribution
Mid-sized national radio campaigns, focusing on commercial and college stations that best reach the determined target markets

Today’s record companies rely very heavily on street teams to promote projects via social networking, as well as the artists themselves, reaching out to the average fan, via: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, RSS Feeds, Video Blogs, and most importantly, live shows and international touring.

One of the best assets for a company in today’s music and entertainment business is its team’s ability to forecast and prepare for the impending changes in the industry; thus giving the individual record company, media company, or independent company the opportunity to invest wisely in which projects to release, and ultimately the upper hand on the industry curve.