This Small Corner

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 18:42:00 +0000

So Nasty is available everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:34:00 +0000

This interview was done by a student filmmaker that wanted to dig more into the art of sampling. What better person to interview than DMG. The best part of this interview is the passion some of these guys have for their work. Take a look for yourself.

http://vimeo.com/32922180

More about Sample Clearances

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:41:00 +0000

Here's another gem of an interview from Deborah Mannis-Gardner by Rick Goetz for MusicianCoaching.com. The article discusses some of the hardships of being a DIY artist and the battle of trying to wear too many hats at once. The article is listed below, enjoy!

http://musiciancoaching.com/music-placement/music-clearance/

Pirate Labels

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:57:00 +0000

There’s an increasing problem with bootleg record labels in the industry. These companies take music that was written years prior and capitalize on the fact that the music is historic. Many of these labels work under the assumption that the music is unclaimed and use the music though they own no rights to these songs. This is more commonly called reissue bootlegging. Most of the music being bootlegged is private release songs of now defunct record companies. Again, the new label works under the assumption that the previous label is out of sight out of mind. Why should we pay for this historic music they might ask? The answer, because it’s someone else’s music!

There is a difference in labels that reissue because they give credit to previous labels, which bootleg outfits don’t go through proper channels to get approval for use of the music. Reissue labels such as Honest Jon, Independiente and Yoga Records go through proper channels to get permission to use historic music, while paying the composers. Something like public domain songs that are reissued or replayed are fine because there is no copyright claim.

One of the biggest offenders of bootleg labels is a now defunct label Radioactive out of the UK. This label was owned by James Plummer who seems to be an illusive person and has never returned any of my emails that inquired about the claims of his label pirating old music. Plummer most recently opened label Erebus, which also went under, not surprisingly. Its easy to take music that belongs to someone else and use it, much harder to go through the proper channels to clear the music.

Record labels in the US might have a harder time getting away with stealing intellectual property. Not paying artists mechanicals for music that they own is considered a slap in the face in the US industry. Though it should be said that these two labels owned by Plummer didn’t last long and probably shows that the British government was onto the company. The key to remember is that if you do things that are considered unethical in the industry you will start to lose respect and no one will want your business. Its smart to remember that the industry is circular and everything you do good or bad will come back to you.

www.yogarecords.com

www.honestjons.com

www.independiente.co.uk/

www.yogarecords.com/press/radioactive.html

www.rateyourmusic.com/label/erebus_records/

www.rateyourmusic.com/label/radioactive_records_f1/

www.discogs.com/label/Erebus%20Records%20(2)

www.discogs.com/label/Radioactive%20%282%29

www.headheritage.co.uk/headtohead/unsung/topic/34132/threaded/421743

Help With Starting a Business

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:42:00 +0000

Starting a business can be a very challenging task. Coming up with ideas and guidance for getting together a business plan, seeking financing and generating ideas can be tough. Because this is the foundation of a business, it’s important to have the proper guidance when starting. I was recently given a few sites that can point any business owner in the right direction to get their business off the ground.

The first website, Inc. (inc.com), is a great source for anyone looking to get a little more social with their business. It offers links to its own social network pages as well as links to blogs. There are news feeds on any subject along with an abundance of how-to information. The site is visually pleasing but also has real information to get business owners started.

US Small Business Association (sba.gov) provides a good deal of information about funding. There is an entire dropdown menu for contracting as well as a dropdown for Counseling and Training. The latter section contains many videos and articles that give step-by-step instructions on how to start a business. I like the feature that lets you put in your business zip code and gives you a list of agencies that assist business owners in the area.

National Venture Capital Association (nvca.org) is probably the most professional of the three sites because it comes with membership and discounts. Discounts are perhaps the most attractive part of this site. Most of the information on this site is free but if you choose to purchase a membership then you can receive discounts on webcasting, conferencing, investing and distribution services. This site also gives many options for acquiring financing through real investors, loans and grants for non-profit organizations.

Not one of these sites alone could provide you with the information needed to start your business. Each of these sites has something to take from it that will make your own business stronger. William Thompson, one of my instructors mentioned, “There is more money out there than good ideas”. Many investors don’t want to take a risk on small businesses so business owners have to make their business unique and show they're hungry for opportunities.

http://www.inc.com/

http://www.sba.gov/

http://www.nvca.org/

Dimsong features Tsaperas "So Nasty"

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:46:00 +0000

Dimsong is an app just recently picked up by Apple for use on the iPod Touch. This application provides users with the chance to interact with their music experience in a new hands-on way. By simply moving your hands or body the user will be able to manipulate the beat of the music coming from their device. Not only does the device work by movement but by touch and light.

The company is looking at making this app popular for people while exercising, entertaining or at work, the app could prove useful and fun to use for any purpose. Dimsong needs feedback from customers as well as suggestions for artists. If you have suggestions please email them at support@venlabsla.com.

The app is also free to purchase on at the iTunes app store. You get the first 3 downloads for free and then you start purchasing music. Click the site to find more information: http://www.dimsong.com/DimSong.html. Featured artist Tsaperas is being featured on the app with his first single “So Nasty”. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch then please go check out this app at the iTunes store.

http://www.dimsong.com/DimSong.html

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Now available for purchase on iTunes.

www.facebook.com/tsaperas

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:37:00 +0000

Listen to this single and buy on new DimSong app!

Industry Experts: Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:54:00 +0000

I wanted to take a look back at the industry professionals I wrote about in my previous post. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned from them. I’ll also discuss some of the ideas I plan to take from them and use in my own business ventures. Take the strength test also, which is provided as the last link below.

The first thing I have learned and plan to implement into my business plan is belief in my clients and good scouting. I plan to do most talent scouting myself but I do have close friends that I believe can help me find artists that are the right fit for my company. Getting these clients to sign with LubDub Sound might be tough but I feel that leadership and belief in their ability will allow me to sign most of the artists I have my eye on. I will have contracts and a proposal ready for each potential client that I met with, that way they realize that I’m serious about working with them. "Seeing talent and believing" will be one of my many mantras when it comes to clients. Another key to being successful with a business plan is to have people backing you. With the connections I’ve made recently it will help me along in getting investors, clients and interest from fans that buy my artist’s music. My business plan is fairly well solidified but there is always room for improvement. One change I will make is utilizing outside consultants such as managers and booking. This should free up money that I would otherwise have to pay out to a full-time employee.

The most important part of my business plan I would have to say is the financial outlook. Investors want to be able to see when they can start recouping the money they have invested. If you are able to show solid and reasonable predictions when it comes to how well your company will do then it’s easy for others to see your company’s worth. One article I read stated that finding your target market would be one of the most important parts of a business plan. I plan to do plenty of research when choosing my target market for each of my artists because each of my artists will be different so I’ll have to treat each one of them differently. Social networking will be very important for not only a hip-hop artist but also an indie rock band. Inc.com also gave some helpful tips in narrowing the target market for products.

In some of the previous classes at Full Sail we visited TED for ideas and inspiration from already established professionals. I came across this particular presentation by just Google searching “belief in your vision”. My search pulled up a fellow blogger Chris Redmond as the top hit. Chris’s blog is full of many inspirational speeches, advice and words of wisdom from not only himself, but also some other professionals. His “Belief is your vision” article spoke about being an inspiration and having belief in yourself and others. The TED presentation that he posted on his blog featuring Caroline Casey spoke about those same things. In hopes that people reading my blog will view the video I wont say much about it. I will say that what she spoke about and the way she spoke those words is exactly the type of attitude we need to be successful people and entrepreneurs.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5050287_important-part-business-plan.html

http://www.inc.com/guides/201104/how-to-narrow-your-target-market.html

http://chrisredmond100.blogspot.com/2011/04/belief-is-your-vision.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/caroline_casey_looking_past_limits.html

http://www.strengthstest.com/theme_summary.php

Industry Experts: Analysis of Those Who Analyze

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:21:00 +0000

Dante Chestnut and LA Reid

Dante though not as well know in the music industry as some talent scouts and label owners has loads of experience to go with his big personality. Dante is CEO of Don Alesante Music Group (D.A.M.G. Ent LLC). In his over 20 years in the industry Dante has handled fashion line development, music publishing, radio promotions, marketing, also experienced in both music and media publication promotions. His impressive resume also includes public speaking, non-profit business ownership and humanitarian work.

Antonio “LA” Reid is probably the most well now record executive in the world. He has managed the careers of Usher, Avril Lavigne, Mariah Carey and Justin Bieber and these are just some of the many megastars he has discovered. Before heading meetings at Def Jam or La Face, LA was working closely with Babyface to produce hit after hit for artists like Boyz II Men and TLC. LA has done it all in the music industry and now is one of the judges of mega music show X Factor, which has a grand prize contract of $5 million for the top individual singer or group. Much has been built around the rivalry between Simon Cowell, whom is arguably the biggest talent scout in the world, and LA, which should continue to heat up this season.

My particular business will rely heavily on talent and that’s the particular specialty of my two industry experts. Dante does business with the company I work for, DMG Clearances, and is always looking for new ways to make money. His philosophy is “If you want to lead people, get behind them”, which speaks volumes to anyone looking to manage artists. He would want investors to know that he has a solid business plan and belief in himself as well as his new clients. Belief is most important to him because that would be more than half the battle when convincing investors to back your business; though your business plan should be solid. LA said recently just about the same thing. He stated on the X Factor that he has always been able to recognize talent and his ability to do so has made his career. Ability and belief seem to be the key factors for both of my experts. They have both been successful in their own right and their confidence to make themselves is what inspires me to carry out my own business plans. Self-belief, clients you believe in and a solid business plan are the things that will impress your investors.

http://www.damgent.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/dantechestnut

http://www.thexfactorusa.com/judges/la

http://www.discogs.com/artist/L.A.+Reid

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s141/the-x-factor-us/news/a341611/x-factors-paula-abdul-la-reid-is-a-threat-to-simon-cowell.html

The Memorials

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:02:00 +0000

I've been into this band since finding out that drum prodigy Thomas Pridgen was the mastermind behind this gem of a rock band. This band weaves landscapes of beauty with fluid guitar melodies and at times hits you in the face with crunching beats from one of the top drummers in the US. Get hip to this sound.

Scrambled Tofu

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:08:00 +0000

I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile seeing as how I really like to cook at least 4 times a week. Now that I've worn out many of my Pad Thai, eggplant or veggie wrap dishes I need something new to try. Though I haven't tried this dish I will be doing so sometime this coming week (provided the stores have ingredients after Irene). I posted this to give others the chance to try making the dish and then sharing their experience. I've listed the ingredients below which were supplied by IsaChandra at Post Punk Kitchen. http://www.theppk.com/2008/10/scrambled-tofu/

Equipment
Skillet, I prefer cast iron but use what you’ve got
Firm wooden spatula

Ingredients
1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium chopped white onion (about a cup)
2 cups cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 carrot (this is optional, I grate it in at the end, mostly for color)

Spice Blend
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon thyme, crushed with your fingers
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high. Saute onions 3 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms, saute 5 minutes more. Add garlic, saute 2 minutes more. Add spice blend and mix it up for 15 seconds or so. Add 1/4 cup water and deglaze the pan, scrapingthe bottom to get all the garlic and spices.

Crumble in tofu and mix well. Don’t crush the tofu, just kind of lift it and mix it around. You want it to remain chunky. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding splashes of water if necesary to keep it from sticking too much. Lower the heat a bit if you find that it is sticking. Add lime juice. Add nutritional yeast and mix it up. If it seems too dry add splashes of water. The moistness really depends on how much water the tofu was retaining before you added it.

Grate the carrot into it and fold. Serve with guacamole and salsa and potatoes and toast and tempeh bacon. Then rub your tummy till well into the afternoon.

Build Stronger SEO

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:33:00 +0000

This week I’ve been learning all about the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and it has me thinking about the ways in which we search for everything. Most of the time when I have a topic to search I go to either Google or Yahoo. If I am searching for something local I use Yahoo local. If it’s a complete question that I need answered I will to Google. It would seem at first that searching is just that easy but further research shows things are more complicated than meets the eyes.

Search Engine Optimization is just a fancy way of saying that you want to improve the visibility of a website by having it appear in more searches. Though SEO is important to many businesses that do online-marketing it is also of great importance to many in the music industry that are looking to sell records and build a name for their artists.

Here are a few keys to creating a good SEO strategy for folks on a budget or just beginning:

1. Be sure that you ping your blog, index your posts in Google and keep posting to sites. It’s also important to post to sites that have keywords that will lead to your site.
2. Doing step one will create back-links, which allows for more hits on your website.
3. Write content that references keywords someone would search to find your blog or website. Having the keywords in the content of an article on your website or even a slogan could prove useful in getting more hits.
4. Build a social network with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a blog. This seems to go against the idea of building a strong ranking and SEO but it too can help in efforts to get your website noticed.
5. Professional networking is also a great way to get more hits on your website.

If your budget is larger and you have money to spend then some paid services are available that guarantee crawling, which is going to put you at the top of rankings. It will also allow for your site to be linked with keyword searches on sites like Google and Yahoo. Some would caution that paying for these services is a quick solution to a larger problem of the sustainability this method brings. If you pay for a service such as this it’s often hard to keep paying in hopes that you will get the same successful results. Building a strong SEO overtime is the best way to go. Remember that patience is a virtue.

Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 02:30:00 +0000

When Worlds Collide

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:27:00 +0000

There are a lot of things going wrong in the music industry right now. Much of the controversy in the industry surrounds hip-hop music especially. Some in the industry are turning negative energy around and thinking about positive long-term goals. The positive that I’m talking about is with top hip-hop stars spreading the word about vegetarian and vegan living.

Seattle has long been ahead of the game with moving towards a more earth friendly way of living. Many people there use public transportation, bike and drive electric or hybrid vehicles. It’s no surprise that the hip-hop and vegan worlds could intersect in that city. The University District has been a hotbed for hip-hop music in Seattle. One store that caters specifically to this group is Hillside Quickie’s Vegan Sandwich Shop. This shop has hosted the likes of Erykah Badu, Saul Williams, The Roots and Black Anger. The focus of this sandwich shop is the promotion of healthy eating through vegan sandwiches but is also greatly influenced by hip-hop.

New York is another city that is starting to get comparisons to Seattle’s connection of vegan and hip-hop. Russell Simmons is the first hip-hop mogul in NYC to announce that he was vegan. He has been working to help people gain awareness of what it means to be vegetarian and eat healthy not only in the hip-hop community but also in the African American community. It’s been said that Russell might open a vegan restaurant in New York in the future.

It’s very refreshing to see that there are hip-hop artists willing to embrace their new health conscious style of living. The people that look up to these artists as icons will hopefully take notice of their habits and start tossing the bad habits out the window. The best quote from this article is referring to Biggie,” in his classic single, "Big Poppa" — and evidenced by his hefty frame — is probably rolling in his grave.” This might be true but it is evidence that times are changing, hopefully for the better.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2001964629_hiphopvegan25.html

http://sipchatchow.com/index.php/2011/01/dinner-with-russell-simmons-his-vegan-sip-chat-chow/

YouTube Controversies

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:40:00 +0000

I wanted to take some time out of my day to speak about YouTube. This mega site has been around for more than six years now and has been the object of much controversy. Quantcast.com gives YouTube a number 3 ranking on the US charts for most visited sites. The site has come under fire in recent years for many of the copyright issues, vulgar and controversial material they make available. Let’s take a look at some of the good and bad of this site.

I’d like to start out by introducing a site that I recently discovered called Listentoyoutube.com. Not only does this site allow you to turn YouTube videos into Mp3’s, it's also very easy to use. Turning most files from video to Mp3 takes about 2 minutes depending on your Internet speed. The sound quality for the final product is lacking though. There is an option to download as a higher quality but most often that feature doesn’t work. I'm not sure how legal this site is but for now it is fully functional; only time will tell.

There is the issue of copyright infringement on YouTube. A recent suit involving Viacom last year saw YouTube win the case by use of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). YouTube could not be held legally liable because they were working with the copyright holders to secure their rights. Viacom stated after the loss that the court’s ruling was not only contrary to the language of the DMCA but also a flawed decision. The media conglomerate will be filing an appeal to the higher courts in hopes of getting a favorable outcome that could see them collect $1 billion in damages.

Many videos of nudity and other vulgar or gross material have made it onto the site only be removed immediately. Some videos do stay on longer because they sort of straddle the line of appropriate vs. inappropriate. The guidelines and rules of YouTube use are clearly spelled out in the link below but this doesn’t mean that people won’t get away with as much as they will attempt. A European Union launched YouTube site sparked controversy with a clip titled “Film Lovers Will Love This!” The clip shows various types of people having sex in various places and at the climactic point of the clip shows the phrase “Let’s come together”. The clip is not only a problem because it is being paid for by taxpayers as a government sponsored site but is also seen as cheap and tacky by some officials.

I envision that the site will continue to grow and could take the number one spot of most visited website in the US. There are so many other things that YouTube could offer that other sites provide like streaming movies, games and more live concerts. If YouTube can continue to be creative and pioneering then we could see the site going strong for many years to come.

http://www.quantcast.com/youtube.com

http://www.listentoyoutube.com/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287923,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koRlFnBlDH0

http://allthingsd.com/20100623/google-wins-youtube-copyright-suit-viacom-promises-appeal/

Review of Bandcamp

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:23:00 +0000

This weeks blog is inspired by feedback from other students about the website Bandcamp.com. Our discussion revolved around websites that offer self-publishing for books and music. We were required to research and comment about the information researched about POD (print-on-demand) sites. Our instructor gave us some very good examples of some of the top sites but we were also encouraged to find new POD’s. Bandcamp was a site that I had previously researched about a year ago. The discussion gave me the chance to find new information about the site.

According to the webpage, Bandcamp has been around for 5 years, has 1,229,157 paid transactions and has 16, 823,426 downloads to customers. This site allows for artists and bands to sell their music and merchandise via Bandcamp. There is no initial cost for signup to use the site. The only money you give Bandcamp is if you sell any items at which time they will take 15% of your revenue for the sale. The site does very well to offer information about their sales numbers but nothing very detailed as far as how much artists actually earn. There are also some very nice artist reviews that really help to rep the site. It’s hard to argue with endorsements by artists that have used the site for a while and seem to have success with generating revenue by using the site.

What sparked my interest in Bandcamp was a blogger that contacted my boss, Deborah Mannis-Gardner, and wanted to interview her about sample clearances and the music industry in general. One of the questions he asked her was, “Do you believe sites like Bandcamp are the way to go for bands on a budget? Also, do these indie bands that make use of samples from other unknown artists still need to get clearances for music?” Deborah replied by saying, “Any way you can get your music heard is always the way for an artist to go. If a sample can be recognized or has knowingly been used then it needs to be cleared.”

The thing that I like about Bandcamp the most is that it’s easily accessible to anyone looking to do their own distributing and promoting. There is no initial sign up fee and the percentage they make from your revenue is not that much at 15%. What I don’t like about Bandcamp is that it is somewhat under the radar. Hopefully the addition of higher profile artists gets it much deserved recognition. With major labels and even many of the indie labels you will get an advance to make records or for living expenses. Bandcamp offers nothing like that but also never expects to see any money unless you make money, which is much different than labels, which expect an ROI (return on investment). Overall, this is one of the best sites for do-it-yourself music distribution and promoting, making it the best kept new music site out there.

Personal quote from Deborah Mannis-Gardner

http://bandcamp.com/

http://bandcamp.com/pricing

Podcasts Review

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 04:36:00 +0000

Net neutrality is something that has been discussed for many years because of the ways in which it could effect our use of the Internet. Net neutrality can best be described as Internet service providers not being able to restrict a consumers’ access to any networks that share the Internet. Countries such as the Netherlands have made net neutrality a law. Mobile phone companies in the Netherlands wanted to be able to charge people extra for the use of calling done via the net. The government feels that all Internet traffic should be treated the same regardless of type of use. It does make sense that phone companies would want to limit the number of people calling online for free because of the potential of slowing down the network but at what cost to personal freedom and use of service already being paid for? At times it seems that there is an extra cost for pretty much everything we do in life. Many feel that the use of the phone over the Internet falls under intellectual property and that companies do have the right to limit or stop access to free use. The US is likely to follow the example of the Netherlands and pass similar net neutrality laws in the future that will restrict companies and Internet providers from limiting our access to the Internet. Mobile phone providers in the Netherlands have threatened to charge more for mobile Internet use, which could completely negate this new law.

In the discussion by Suffolk University Professor Daniel Lyons, I was very intrigued by some of the examples of how Internet service providers seek to stop users from essentially slowing down their service. Comcast is one such provider that was looking to stop bit torrent users from transferring large files. Bit torrent users are not your typical Internet user. They engage in peer-to-peer file sharing that results in the transferring of large files between users, which does slow down the use of Internet for a typical user. Comcast instead of stopping these users from transferring files instead was pretending to be a bit torrent user and cancelling transfers or simply saying they didn’t need the transfer. Comcast at first denied the allegations but when presented with proof admitted guilt. This kind of ‘Big Brother’ mentality exhibited by Internet service providers will soon be a thing of the past when net neutrality laws take effect.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/intellectual-property-law/id388454392

http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/n/net_neutrality/index.html

http://agonist.org/20110625/netherlands_makes_net_neutrality_a_law

The reason for choosing this podcast is because of their discussion about legal liability, which is a concern for any business owner. Legal liability in short is when a person is legally and financially obligated for something. Papadopoulos vs. Target is a case that involves tort law, property law and trespassers. The case involved a man whom fell on a piece of ice in a Target parking lot and sued Target as well as their landscaping company. Attorney David W. White defended this case and stated in the discussion that this case was “simple”. The defendant was able to win the case by referencing 130 years of Massachusetts’s law. The natural accumulation rule played a large part in winning the case for Target, which prohibits someone from suing another on the basis of untouched snow or ice on his or her property. It wasn’t until further appeal and review of the case by courts that the defendants realized something was wrong.

The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) upon further review of the case found that the standard of reasonable care that applies in other situations should be applied to a business when inclement weather happens. The courts then ruled in favor of the plaintiff for damages suffered from the fall. The defendants attempted to reference cases of the past 130 years but the SJC’s argument was that technology has changed since then and it is reasonable to expect a business to plow their parking lot. This case at first doesn’t seem unique but shows that something as simple as ice could prove to be a huge legal liability. Living in a state like Delaware that can at times get large amounts of snow and ice, it would be prudent of me to shovel my walkways in the future.

http://www.goldmanpease.com/natural-accumulation-rule-abolished.html

http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/journal.asp

http://www.mayitpleasethecourt.com/media/journal_audio/audio_2115.mp3

The third and final podcast that I chose was about the tragedy at Virginia Tech that happened April 16, 2007 when a student gunman opened fire resulting in the death of 32 students. The podcast panel discusses whether Virginia Tech officials could have done more to prevent this tragedy from occurring. Is the school legally liable when it comes to protecting students from unseen harm? Another real issue with this case is the privacy laws that prevented Virginia Tech from accessing any of his mental health records.

In 2009 the families of the victims were offered a settlement of $11 million to be divided up amongst the families to pay for medical bills and hardship. Many of the families accepted the offer except two families the Pryde and Peterson families. The Attorneys for the two families were seeking damages in the amount of $10 million. The issue of top-ranking Virginia Tech officials being held liable falls under sovereign immunity which states that government officials can’t be held liable. For a while it was undecided whether these state employees fall under the same statute. Virginia Tech counselors were about to rely on Lohr vs. Larsen as defendants, in which the courts ruled that a public health physician was also entitled to sovereign immunity under the law. The argument held no value when it was found that while in the case of Lohr citizens were provided service because they couldn’t afford it, while Virginia Tech students pay for the service through tuition. Therefore, if the physician is found to be negligent then they could be held responsible. Ultimately, the courts found the plaintiffs complaints to prove simple negligence on the part of the defendant, there was insufficient evidence to prove gross negligence.

The fact that Virginia Tech had no prior knowledge of the shooters mental illness could not put them at fault for accepting him as a student to the school. When he was found to have been stalking 2 students at the university that is when he should have been removed from the school. At that point it seems that the school should be held responsible, though the law states differently. The laws that are in place, as of now, protecting the privacy of a mental health patient’s records should only apply to certain situations not applications to universities. If a student has exhibited mental instability that could lead to harming other students, then the university may have the right to reject their application on that basis. There is also the problem of students not being notified of the shooting until a couple hours later. Having an emergency alert system in place that notifies students by text and email of an on campus emergency could have potentially saved lives. My alma mater, the University of South Florida, has such a system in place that has come in handy numerous times when school emergencies occurred.

http://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/lawyer-2-lawyer/2007/04/legal-liability-virginia-tech/

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/16/us/16cnd-shooting.html?pagewanted=2

http://lawyers-law.com/virginia-tech-massacre-victims-to-be-compensated/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24050712/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/settlement-reached-virginia-tech-shootings/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/16/AR2009041603576.html

http://www.roanoke.com/pdfs/vt011210.pdf

IP Blog of Controversies

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:48:00 +0000

Before reading each seperate paragraph be sure to click the link first to read the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/business/media/07garment.html

This article and example of infringement most certainly applies to anyone in the public eye that has their image used for an ad they have no affiliation with. Someone like President Obama could suffer adversely to something like this because of his status as a leader if say he tried to get re-elected for another term. If Weatherproof Garment kept the ad up in Times Square and had a controversy involving the company in the future this could as well tarnish Obama’s image. I think that the White House’s decision to ask the ad be removed is the right move. The fact that Weatherproof even had the gall to run this ad is pretty gutsy considering the person and image they used. It is a very clever move on the part of Weatherproof Garment but not something that will impact the president’s life if he decides to run for re-election.

http://www.vibe.com/posts/pay-eminem-sues-audi-copyright-infringement

This case as well peaked my interest because it involves Eminem who the company I work for deals with on a monthly basis. Eminem is someone who is no stranger to controversy but this time it isn’t him creating the controversy but rather someone using his music for financial gain. German carmaker Audi recently was sued for using an Eminem song in one of their advertisements. It is also said that Audi used the likeness of a Chrysler ad and will be served papers in the near future. Audi is not only facing copyright infringement but could also be dealing with infringement on intellectual property for a copy-written commercial that Chrysler owns.

http://www.macrumors.com/2006/09/25/podcast-trademark-controversy/

Apple is a very important part of the computer world when related specifically

to the music industry with many producers, engineers and musicians using apple to create. Apple is now attempting to control a patent for the term podcast with plans to patent the term and idea. Macrumors.com has found cases of other companies trying to patent the term podcast but so far none have been successful. If Apple were able to create a patent for podcast and have the term added to their brand it could mean that many people who are looking to use what would probably be called the iPodcast would need to have a Mac. This idea would be another marketing strategy that Mac could use to get people to switch to its brand. Apple’s iPod has highly restrictive language when describing the product:

“Portable and handheld digital electronic devices for recording, organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, and audio files; computer software for use in organizing, transmitting, manipulating, and reviewing text, data, and audio files on portable and handheld digital electronic devices”

It will be a while before Apple is able to obtain a patent for something like podcast because it is already attached to so many other things. Apple is looking to keep their brand in tact by ordering a cease-and-desist to Podcast Ready for possible confusion with the iPod. I understand why Apple might be wanting this company to stopping using the term but I’m just not sure why it is taking this long considering iPod has been out 4 years now?

Talent on all Fours

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 23 May 2011 03:28:00 +0000

When considering the various types of talent agencies the categories are almost endless. Anyone that is involved with entertainment or sports in any way has an agent. Animals are no different when it comes to needing representation for finding work or having someone manage their career. This month has been spent learning about planning events for artists and finding ways to guide someone’s career in the right direction. A recent news clip got me to thinking that there could be other ways for me to tap into the entertainment pool that doesn’t involve humans.

While getting ready in the morning this past week I overheard on a local news channel that Philadelphia’s 1^st Annual Barkapalooza was set to take place May 21, 2011 from noon to 5 pm at the Philadelphia Pet Hotel and Villas. Like many other Americans I have a dog and thought Barkapalooza seemed like a great event for dogs and dog owners to enjoy one another’s company. This event offers vendors, scavenger hunt, music, games, raffles and much more. There is also a first place prize of a $500 gift certificate for the Stupid Dog Trick Contest. The clip was nice but the most interesting part came towards the end of the 2-minute news clip when Pawsitively Famous Animal Actors owner Dawn Wolfe talked about her talent agency. Yes folks an animal talent agency!

Dawn Wolfe has been running Pawsitively Famous Animal Actors for many years. Her love for dogs started with the movie Benji. Dawn was so smitten by Benji that she soon found herself putting on animal acts for the neighborhood. Several years later Dawn found herself working for retired U.S. Army Major Fred Fink as an apprentice. At the end of that year she earned her “Certified Dog Behaviorist and Master Trainer” certificate.

After years of working for others Dawn was able to establish herself with her unique approach and techniques that include teaching dogs how to pose for the camera. Dawn’s talent agency Pawsitively Famous Animal Actors offers dog training but her biggest claim to fame is her Animal Talent Management firm. In the news clip Dawn spoke about her passion for animals and the enjoyment she gets from representing all kinds of unique animals from birds to dogs to cats to reptiles. She is willing to manage any animal that has something unique about them to be used for film, commercials and print. A number of her clients have been placed in movies like Motherhood and television shows like Dogs 101.

Though I don’t have the training or skills to manage animals on this scale I envy her ideas of incorporating something she was already doing, working with animals, into a national talent firm. Besides the usual athletes, musicians or (human) actors there are many other avenues for managers to explore such as painters or even competitive eaters. Anyone human or otherwise whom possesses a unique marketable talent needs a manager. How a manager chooses to go about scouting and managing talent is solely left up to them? This article has definitely tuned me into new ways of looking at talent. We can all manage musicians or we can carve our own niche in the same way Dawn turned her passion for animals into a nationwide talent agency.

http://pawsitivelyfamousanimalactors.com/

http://www.phillypethotel.com/sites/default/files/Barkapalooza%20brouchure_0.pdf

http://www.prlog.org/11489686-barkapalooza-may-21-2011.html

Top 50 Music Blogs Review

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 09 May 2011 00:12:00 +0000

I decided this week to review a website that lists the 50 top music blogs. Blogs are a great way for people to discuss issues in a forum, voice their opinions, share photos, videos, art, etc. Music is still one of the top industries throughout the world with endless amounts of blogs. This site gives us a way to narrow down the search to the top blogs that discuss specific types of music people like.

Clickitticket.com, a paid site, runs Top 50 Music Blogs. The fact that a paid site administers Top 50 Music Blogs means that it has more money to dedicate to maintaining the site better than someone that does this as a hobby. There are also other advertisements on the site that allow us to click and search mostly ticket information for venues. The McAfee secure link also lets the viewer know that the site is relatively free of viruses.

The first thing I noticed when looking at this site is that it had a small summary of each blog. This small summary can really come in handy when deciding if it’s the right blog to click on. I do like that the very first paragraph explains how they rate the blogs on the website. Many of the numbers generated to create the list are used to rank many other sites. The fact that most of these blogs are relevant, up-to-date and informative is important to most viewers.

The most important thing when looking at any site is that if they have a link to another site that it actually works. When I clicked each link there was only one that said website was unavailable and the other never loaded. Two out of 50 not working for me is not a bad ratio. Hopefully when the administrators update the site again they can remove the dead links and put new blogs in their place.

I’m very interested in indie music so I decided to click on a few of the indie links, which is the very first category listed. Obscure Music I subscribe to on my RSS feed and is a great site for viewing new artists as well as reviews for albums of established artists. One that I had not seen before was Gorillavsbear, which turned out to be a very underground music scene type of blog. The background picture on the site was very vintage also which gave it more of a down-home feel. This site provided me with names of artists I had never heard of which is the main reason many indie music lovers will frequent a blog. I would like to see a few more categories added to this blog like classical, dub/electronic and jazz but overall I would say that Top 50 Music Blogs is very well organized, informative and well ahead of its peers.

http://www.clickitticket.com/articles/topmusicblogs.htm

Convenience vs. Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 05:52:00 +0000

On a Wednesday afternoon driving with my brother for a family event this past week we came across this story on NPR. While listening to this story driving through Richmond, VA I became so wrapped up in the story that I didn’t even consider that this could become a blog. When the story finished I thought to myself this would make a great blog post.

In 1988 Karlheinz Brandenburg with some help from collaborators invented the MPEG Audio Layer III or the MP3 for short. At the time many wondered if anyone would use this technology. Billions of MP3 downloads last year show that MP3’s are indeed in use. Many would argue that though MP3’s are popular they still don’t in any way match the sound quality of a CD.

Keith Holzman, who ran Nonesuch Records, had this to say about the quality of MP3’s. “The difference between listening to an MP3 and a CD is night and day to me," says Holzman. "It's like daylight — with a clear, crystalline sky — and a muddy, cloudy, overcast day. The MP3 is highly compressed, taking away a great deal of sonic quality.” Brandenburg spoke about some of the things that needed to be worked out with the technology because of some of the sound quality lost when compressing the file. "Everything else sounded quite OK," he says, "and Suzanne Vega's voice was destroyed. So we had some work to do." Brandenburg says he must have listed to Suzanne Vega’s voice 1000 times in the song “Tom’s Diner” just to get the sound right.

I don’t spend a great deal of time driving but this weekend had to go out of town once again. While driving it dawned on me that I could conduct my own little experiment in listening. I started the experiment by ripping one of my favorite CD’s Uninvisible by Medeski, Martin and Wood to my computer and then transferring it to my phone as MP3’s. I played the CD, which I have listened to at least 100 times and was very pleased with the sound quality it produced. My car has six speakers 2 in the back and 4 in the front, 2 of which are tweeters. The 2 tweeters really do add all those subtle highs of the sound spectrum that we really don’t hear with just 4 speakers. I then plugged my phone into the auxiliary jack and began to listen to the MP3 version that was imported to iTunes at 192 kbps. I can honestly say that there were some slight differences, which were volume of sound, background sounds didn’t stand out and the mix. When I spoke about subtlety with CD’s the MP3 didn’t seem to bring out the same background instruments or sounds. I’d have to say the compressed not as bright nature of the MP3, for me is a close 2^nd place in this 1 v 1.

Though the title of this article suggests it is about CD vs. MP3 I believe the real focus to be the way listeners are constantly changing the way we listen to music. Years ago when Brandenburg invented the MP3 he had no idea that it would become so popular. The same can be said for sites like YouTube, Pandora, Last.fm. It seems that these sites were started just as a means of socializing listening experiences but now because of listeners have become the most popular ways to listen to music.

The only criticism I have of this article is that the writer didn’t specify what kind of MP3 he was referring to. There are after all scores of MP3 formats like AAC, OGG, WAV and the list goes on-and-on. Many of the MP3 formats like iTunes AAC are a very high quality form of MP3 when bought from the iTunes store. The loss of sound quality is almost negligible compared to a CD. Other formats though have a lower bit rate which means some sound quality is sacrificed.

The industry is changing all the time with new technology. It’s interesting to see that back in the late 80’s the industry decided they wanted to change the face of how music was listened to by everyone. Cassettes were replaced by CD’s and the way we listened to music was forever changed. Now it seems as though the industry is being controlled by its fans with inventions such as the MP3. Though many music purists don’t accept the MP3 as a formidable competitor to the CD it is still widely accepted as the best and most convenient means by which to listen to music.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/03/18/134598010/for-better-or-worse-mp3s-are-the-format-of-choice

Music Clearances

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 22:39:00 +0000

The number of clearance agents that extend their service to clients has grown in the last several years. One sample clearance agency in Delaware, DMG Clearances, has been in business for almost 20 years and works with some of the biggest stars in the music business. Owner of DMG Clearances Deborah Mannis-Gardner, had this to say about sample clearances in a recent blog interview:

“If you’re at a stop light and hear a song and a portion of the song is recognizable as something else then you need to clear it.” (personal quote blog interview 2011)

The blog interview that Deborah did for an Alaskan blogger will be published in March, one of her many blog interviews. When proofreading the article there were many more points made about when samples need to be cleared. Deborah was very clear when being asked about what she thinks about indie labels taking advantage of sites like Band Camp to distribute and publish their music through unofficial channels (2011):

"Just because there are means to sell your material independently as easily like Band Camp doesn’t mean you don’t have to clear your samples. Do you think this means you are under the radar? Copyright holders scan the Internet and look for un-cleared samples. Publishers and labels are constantly scrutinizing the Internet for places that contain un-cleared samples." (personal quote blog interview 2011)

Further changes in the industry will force lawyers, musicians, publishers, music societies and anyone else sampling music to change their way of thinking about sample use. Eventually sample use could mean using as much as 1 second of a song and having to clear that song with the owner. Advances in technology will surely change the way samples are cleared. Computer programs will soon be able to recognize small parts of songs that are sampled no matter how drastically they’ve been changed. The experts of the industry have spoken and it seems the general consensus is that if you sample you have to pay for that sample.

Mannis-Gardner, D. (2011). Personal blog response proofread by Isaac Mitchell on March 1, 2011

Young Entrepreneur

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:03:00 +0000

I chose to write about Youngentrepreneur.com because I feel it best embodies what I am look for as far as networking, advice and tools to startup a successful company. Not only is the site easy to navigate but it’s also a wealth of information. Searching quantcast.com I found the demographic of this site to be mostly male, 18-34 ages, with larger than average African American visitors. Most visitors are college grads and less affluent. The less affluent statistic leads me to believe that because of our economy and the awful job market people are looking for ways to make business on their own by bypassing corporations; Youngentrepreneur.com could help people do just that.

There’s a page on the site that gives us the tools to register a domain name by paying a small fee. This falls right in line with the advertising that the site offers information about. If you are able to advertise on your own site and gain revenue from that, you can then use that revenue to fund advertising for marketing, research and many other aspects of your company. I am firm believer that everything goes in circles.

What this site means for my industry is that the cost of starting up a business can be analyzed and carefully considered before proceeding. There are articles about credit card choice, legal advice, business coaching by way of blog and you can even post questions to experts on a forum. This site could eventually change the way many young entrepreneurs start up a business that as we can see could be done completely online.

The forum and blog feature give members the chance to further build a network beyond LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook or Twitter. While these sites are good for networking they generally don’t give advice like youngentrepreneur.com. I believe it’s much more specific to youth that are looking for knowledge from experts and a place to build professional and personal relationships.

Though this website does not directly address the music industry it does address many aspects of being young, having an idea but having nowhere to build upon these ideas. Youngentrepreneur.com is a great place to get started and meet others with its sponsor ParnerUp.com, a small business community. Although it is not yet an association I do see it gaining that title eventually because of its community of up-and-comers as well as it wealth of advice.

http://www.quantcast.com/youngentrepreneur.com

http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/

http://www.partnerup.com/

Venue vs. Music: How music and architecture relate

noreply@blogger.com (Isaac) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:13:00 +0000

David Byrne of Talking Heads speaks about the way architecture has helped to shape music. This Ted.com video How Architecture Helped Music Evolve shows David speaking about acoustics of a room, reverberation, room size, shape and materials of buildings that give them a distinct acoustic property. David does ask the question do musicians write music with a certain type of venue in mind?

He talks about his own experiences playing venues like CBGB that has a very loud and interactive audience. The crowds seem to be more energetic, talkative, meaning the band has to play much louder to be heard of the rowdy crowd. Later on in his career his band played larger venue like Carnegie Hall, which is much nicer but much harder venue to play than smaller venues. The reason being that the larger venues have more reverberation and it’s harder to keep a beat especially on drums with all the bouncing of sound.

This video at first sight didn’t appear to fit in exactly with my business plans but watching the entire video gave me ideas to give to future clients. For many musicians they don’t think of long-term effects of what they are presently writing. Where will your music be played? Who will be playing your music? What kind of mix do you want for a master (even though that is largely decided by the engineers)? All of these questions have to be asked now when writing music because there is much more involved with our growing technology and ways in which we explore music. I would ask the same questions of any client under my wing but most importantly musicians. Having a long-term plan and vision for the creative process is how I will build my relationship with clients. David Byrne in a very roundabout way helped me see that.

The answer to David’s initial question is yes and no. I think every musician has a particular kind of venue in mind when writing a piece of music. Whether that ideal venue is a conscious or subconscious decision is something completely different. For someone like Mozart, with the delicate music he wrote for chamber settings it is apparent that he knew his audience, venue and acoustics before he even set down to compose. A band like the Talking Heads might not have been as aware of what size venue they were writing for. It seems that musicians over time have used technology as it relates to their audience and venue when appropriate. For example Chet Baker’s “My Funny Valentine” was almost whispered to us through microphone, which was cutting edge at the time. He would never have been able to create this same effect without a microphone and a particular venue live. I would like for my artists to have the same vision for their music and future technological advances as well as architectural changes that will continue to shape music.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_byrne_how_architecture_helped_music_evolve.html