Entertainment Industry

Full Sail University

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:49:00 +0000

Full Sail University, does this school give you all the resources you need to succeed in the entertainment industry?

I can answer this question, yes indeed. FS is one of the best if not the best entertainment school to go through to receive your degree in the entertainment industry. It doesn’t matter what you need to succeed, Full Sail is able to offer it to you. I enrolled in Full Sail University back in 2009, I earned my BS degree in Entertainment Business and I went on to pursue my MS degree in the entertainment business. It was a great experience and it gave me the skills that I need to make it in the industry. I had hands on assignments that I was able to apply to my real life situations.

I think that the most challenging part of Full Sail University is that the classes are crammed to give you the knowledge, and that’s what makes it challenging. I am very excited that I will be graduating in the next few days.

Full Sail offers a variety of courses for anyone who wants to get in the business, such as:

Entertainment Business

Game Design

Computer animation

Creative writing

Film

Game art

Sports Marketing & Media

Recording arts

Recording engineering

Graphic design

And many more……….

Full Sail University has many different courses. I have learned everything that I needed to know to start my own business in the industry from behavior science to finances. I am able to go back to FS as alumni and get any information that I may need. It offers you an array of information to succeed. They offer online interviews with people who are I the industry or who have worked in the industry for many of years.

Full Sail’s institutional graduation rate is 81% compared to 49% for all US higher education institutions. The online classes contain and offer information that physical classrooms offer as well. Full Sail University is a great school to attend. It’s the best opportunity for an individual wanting to pursue a business in the entertainment industry. You must have patience, organizational skills, and you cannot procrastinate you will never complete anything.

360 DEAL

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Heather McDonald of about.com defines The 360 Deal, as contracts that allow a record label to receive a percentage of the earnings of all of a bands activity instead of just record sales. Under 360 deals, also called “multiple rights deals”, record labels may get a percentage of things that were previously off limits to them, like:

Concert revenue

Merchandise sales

Endorsement deals

Ringtones

http://musicians.about.com/od/ah/g/360deals.htm

It’s like a package deal offering concert booking, and merchandise sales, etc. It is a deal with the record company, in which the record company participates in the income of all aspects of an artist career, in addition to making money off the records. It seems to me that the label is also the artist manager; the label is involved in all deals of the artist revenue. I believe this could be a good deal, the “one stop shop” you could call it, and the label with everything the artist will need to enhance the artist career.

A good example is Live Nation; the Madonna deal was $120 million, Jay-Z signed a deal as well, with the concert promoter worth roughly $150 million. Live nation is the promoter and the deal makes them the exclusive promoter. Money is made from the concerts; merchandise sales (in which the sales are made through the website and at concerts), and touring. This deal could be a win situation as long as the artist pays close attention to what comes with the deal.

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1727519,00.html

What is the most important part of a business plan?

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 02:05:00 +0000

The business plan is a document that helps to explain the concept of the company and to secure funding from investors; it gives the investors a view of the company. A great business plan will raise the capital needed to start your business.

I believe the financial section of a business plan is the most important, because it gives the potential investor the breakdown of the financials and it also shows were the revenue is generated from. It will give the investor the potential profit to be made off the project.

According to expert Dave Lavinsky most business plans fail to raise money to get a company up and running. Two reasons why companies develop a business plan is the game plan and the strategy says Lavinsky. I think you must have a game plan and a strategy of how you plan on developing your business and how you plan to keep the company running and bringing in the revenue needed to satisfy your investors as well as grow the business.

What I learned from the experts that I did research on is, the plan must be realistic and the plan must fit the needs of the industry. The plan that I am in the process of developing has the potential to gain investors, because it clearly defines the company financial growth and it shows a steady growth within 3 years. I was able to implement a few of the 8 factors that Tim Berry identified, it is a realistic plan, it can track results, and it fits the business need of the industry. I will also use the business plan to do follow-up in the planning process and to ensure that the plan can be communicated to my staff so that the company runs smoothly. The business plan clearly identifies the assumptions of the company and it gives a clear view for the potential investors.

"Experts Views on the Value of Business Plans"

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 03:05:00 +0000

Dave Lavinsky and Jay Turo

Lavinsky and Turo used their market research, finance, and small business backgrounds plus their recently gained MBA skills and mentalities to systematically help these entrepreneurs succeed. Since that time, Lavinsky and Turo have built Growthink’s team, client base, and service and product offerings in pursuit of their mission of helping all entrepreneurs succeed. http://www.growthink.com/about-us

Dave is an internationally renowned expert in the fields of business planning, capital-raising, and new venture development. Over the past decade, Dave has guest lectured at top universities, developed over 100 business plans, and has written hundreds of articles on entrepreneurship, business planning and capital-raising.

According to Dave Lavinsky there are five attributes of successful business plans. Lavinsky states that there are two reasons why companies develop business plans, to determine the optimum strategy and game plan to grow their business and to raise money. He goes on to say that most plans fail to raise the money needed to get the companies up and running. SBA loans have decreased by 56% over the past 3 years.

The 5 Key attributes of a winning business plan according to Lavinsky is:

1. The right overall value proposition

2. The right marketing and sales strategy

3. The right business model

4. Action plans developed from reverse engineering success

5. They are communicated brilliantly

Tim Berry

Founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and bplans.com, co-founder of Borland International, author of books and software on business planning, Stanford MBA. I believe in business planning but I don’t think a business plan is a document. I’m now chairman of Palo Alto Software, which in my case means blogging a lot, of course, also speaking, writing books, teaching, and helping you with business planning and entrepreneurship. http://timberry.com/

Tim Berry states, “The value of a business plan is measured in money”. Business plans are viewed as generic, but business plans can be utilized to get funding from investors, as well as being used as guidance for the company only. He states that there are 8 factors that make a good business plan:

1. It fits the business need

2. It’s realistic, and it can be implemented

3. It’s specific, you can track results against plan

4. It clearly defines responsibilities for implementation

5. It clearly identifies assumptions

6. Its communicated to the people who have to run it

7. It gets people committed

8. It’s kept alive by follow up and planning process

A business plan should be followed an updated regularly to benefit the company. The most important part of the plan is, if it fits your need and is it realistic. Following the plan can help the company run smoothly. Berry states that, “ No business plan is good if it’s static and inflexible”. A good plan is communicated to all parties involved in executing the business.

http://timberry.bplans.com/2009/02/some-key-questions-on-business-plans.html

Christian "Brooklyn Bonez" Robinson

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:16:00 +0000

Introducing: "Brooklyn Bonez"

Photo: Picture People (Dover Mall)

It takes that special something for an artist to succeed in today's hip hop market of the music industry. Not many people know about the sacrifice, struggle and willingness to lose friends and gain enemies in order to succeed in life. A new face emerges with eager spirit with the talent of artists that have made incredible marks in the industry, Brooklyn Bonez. He is an American rapper of Panamanian and African American descent. He grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York. Breaking into the music industry with no fear and with an open mindset he has the potential to be among the elite.

Using the over popular outlets of today's media Brooklyn Bonez has used these outlets as a way to broadcast his talents, with several videos on YouTube and random freestyles recorded. He is simultaneously and currently finishing up his debut mix tape entitled "I WANT IN" (the title is self explanatory). Brooklyn Bonez has the work ethic of a man who lives, breathes, and eats his passion he also has two follow up mix tapes, the titles he will not disclose. BrooklynBonez is no stranger to a hustle or a grind or a sacrifice, he says his inspiration in music comes from Jay-Z, Jadakiss, and 2Pac, B.I.G., Fabulous J.Cole and Drake in no specific order.

Brooklyn Bonez also has the ability to be one of the most sought after actors in the entertainment industry; he has attended acting classes to enhance his skills as an actor. He also played in several stage plays, but his desire is too one day play on the big movie screens in Hollywood.

What Brooklyn Bonez brings to the game is honesty, not ashamed to mention or boast about attending college or his goals to own his own businesses; he also is a believer of God but clearly states that he is not perfect. Not wanting to fall into the current norm of chasing a dream he would like to turn his desires into a reality.

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

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1470698615

New Up and Coming Artist/Actor: Greg “International Grizzly” Jones

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 03:09:00 +0000

My new up and coming artist, and his name is Greg “International Grizzly” Jones. “International Grizzly” may be a new emcee to the nation but he’s a veteran to the entertainment industry. Born in the projects of South Philadelphia, “International Grizzly” learned how to take care of himself at an early age.

In the era of hot beats and punch lines “International Grizzly” has the raw edge and aggressiveness of rappers from the South and West Coast. The sound of the Philadelphia rap scene is mix of Street Soul and Hip Hop that is originated from the Philadelphia blue-collar attitude, along with the soul music that the city of brotherly love is known for.

“International Grizzly” is a man from the streets who has refined himself and his craft. If anyone can authenticate the true Philly Street Soul sound and bring it to the world, it’s “International Grizzly”.

Greg Jones is also a seasoned and experienced independent actor starring in a role of a street hustler named “Calvin” in the movie THE ONLY WAY OUT. That Independent Award winning performance has paved the way for Greg to take lead and star in a new movie called MURDER WITH A DEADLY.

International Grizzly has performed at different venues and nightclubs throughout the city of Philadelphia. His best endeavor yet, he was chosen to perform in the UROCK tour scheduled to begin in May 2012. Robert Curry will host the tour from the platinum selling group “Day 26” from MTV's Making the Band 4. This is just the beginning of a fast rising career for Grizzly; it will bring him recognition that he is so deserving of.

Be on the look out for “International Grizzly” coming to a city near you. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

http://www.facebook.com/InternationalGrizzly

https://twitter.com/#!/Intergrizzly

http://urocktour.com/

http://www.reverbnation.com/Internationalgrizzly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMIlg_rs630

Industry Experts

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:10:00 +0000

Mark Litwak

Entertainment Attorney Mark Litwak Gives Us A New Look Into Hollywood - Filmnut
Mark Litwak an entertainment lawyer whom works with filmmakers. His practice includes trademark, copyright, contract, multi media law, intellectual property, and book publishing. He assist filmmakers in the marketing and distribution of their film.

Litwak advices that the film industry is a risky business and you must be willing to realize the path you must take to succeed; “there are no rules”. He advice; you must have a good story to tell if you are a filmmaker. If the story is boring, it will not capture the attention of anyone, and it will fail. You must have a creative marketing plan to get your film out. Niche films can be successful, “word of mouth is the best form of marketing”. Social networking is the key to getting the word out about a film; rather it’s a hit or a flop. A filmmaker should always have a lawyer or an adviser before signing a contract, because most distributors are aggressive as Litwak states “ sleazy” and most contracts benefit the distributors and not the filmmaker; you must research their track record from others.

Writers has a hard time to get agents because agents are looking for established writers who can get the sales, according to Litwak it is “very-very hard to get an agent”, he says it better to get a filmmaker to take on your project of turning a book to a movie.

To succeed in the film industry as the writer or the filmmaker, you must be creative and create something that grabs the audience attention, as well as finding an advisor such as an lawyer, agent or someone who will assist you in finding the best resources to get your film distributed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NryrU1uwqPI

Daniel Friedma

Music Industry Forum -- Daniel Friedman -- Artist Contracts

Daniel Friedman and entertainment lawyer who began working with rap groups, his law firm complained that he was bringing too many rappers to the office; he began expanding and growing. Friedman brought more and more artists in, the law firm told him he needed to drop his clients or leave the practice. Friedman refused and he said, “I’m out of here” he packed up and started his own practice.

Friedman discusses the copyright laws; ‘the copyright holder can reproduce the work, and no one can record, publish or put in movies without copyright holder permission”. According to Friedman, a copyright can create from another work, such as Weird Al Yonkervich, which would be called derivative works. The owner owns the copyright always according to Friedman, when an artist signs a contract with a label, the record company becomes the owner of the copyright except for the underlining composition.

When understanding copyright laws, the artist should seek the assistance or advice of an entertainment lawyer, because it can become puzzling trying to understand when you will need permission from the copyright holder to utilize other people music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXtws-zVhzE&feature=related

Gordon Firemark

Monkeying around with contracts

Gordon Firemark entertainment lawyer discusses the lawsuit of Caters News agency claimed that they purchased portraits and other images taken by a black macaques (monkey) who took the camera of David Slater, a photographer and shot self-portraits of herself. Slater licensed the pictures to Caters; the pictures were placed on a website (www.dailymailoline.com). Caters claims that it was a violation of the copyright law, but the law states that it must be human authorship. Caters had no claim.

This case is bizarre because even though Slater didn’t own the copyright for the pictures, he does own original digital files, and he can sell or license the material to others, is this considered underlining composition?

http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/2011/08/elu-episode-023-monkeying-around-with-copyright-law/#more-771

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011051/Black-macaque-takes-self-portrait-Monkey-borrows-photographers-camera.html#ixzz1mFNaPQks

Industry Liabilities 2

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:15:00 +0000

Amazon launched two new services, Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. According to an article on wired.com the music industry will force licenses on Amazon Cloud player. "Cloud Player is an application that lets customers manage and play their own music”. The record companies disagree with Amazon regarding the licenses for music, Amazon states that customers are uploading music to the Cloud Player with the original download licenses and no matter how many times the music is uploaded they do not require a new license, record industry disagrees. Amazon argues that once a customer downloads music to the storage, they will have the ability to re-download as many times; to any device. Allowing the music to be uploaded as many times as the customer likes once they uploaded it to the Cloud player could become a problem, because people can peer to peer share.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/04/music-industry-cloud-player/all/1

According to an article written by Moses Avalon, the Obama administration is going to make torrent streaming (peer to peer); the sharing of music a felony. It could mean that anyone who download music from the illegal sites such as Pirate Bay, Utorrent, Bittorrent and Limewire could face up to 20 years prison time. In the past if a person was caught with Illegal music, they were fined. According to the article, the Obama administration is recommending to Congress to upgrade its illegal sharing of content; a felony. This new law will apply to sites and people using promoting and hosting services such as Utorrent, Bittorrent and Limewire. My opinion is, the law should be in affect, I don’t think it requires a 20 year prison sentence. Giving a harsher penalty for anyone who breaks this law would alleviate the illegal sharing that is taking revenue from the artist and all the people involved in that artists project.

http://www.mosesavalon.com/mosesblog/946/music-business/obama-issues-illegal-streaming-crackdown-signals-end-of-internet-piracy/

According to Larry Rother of the New York Times, the copyright law was revised in the mid-1970; the law gives artist the opportunity to regain control of their work. Kenneth J. Abdo a lawyer who leads termination rights working group, stated that the four major labels, Universal, Sony, EMI, and Warner are not in favor of artist regaining control of their past works, they are not giving up without a fight. The label contends that they own the masters to the music not the artist, because they were “works for hire”. The federal district court in New York ruled that the recordings are the property of the record labels. Recordings can become available as early as Jan 1, 2013. The record label owns the copyrights to the masters; in my opinion they are entitled to keep control of the work of the artist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/arts/music/springsteen-and-others-soon-eligible-to-recover-song-rights.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

Distribution Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 02:14:00 +0000

A manufacturing and distribution deal refers to a kind of deal between a record label and music distributor, according to Heather McDonald, from about.com. Under the deal the distributor pays for manufacturing of the album, and recoups the costs from sales. Distribution deals are hard to come by.

There are pros and cons to getting a deal, you can produce albums without any upfront cost, pay less for manufacturing, and the distributor are invested so they will work hard to get it into stores. You cannot get any money until the distributor has recouped their money back. Some radio stations will not play your music unless you have national distribution. The best way to start getting you product out is to start selling your own products as an independent artist, you should be able to go to a distributor and show them what you have sold on your own, let them see your numbers of what you have sold. If they could see that you are selling your product, it could give you a better chance with the distribution companies. It is very hard to get a deal with a distribution company because they want to see how much sold.

If you go with a record label, before you chose the record label you should check to see if the label has a solid distribution deal on a national level, according to a article on music biz academy. Here are a few questions to consider:

How many CDs has the distributor sold of the label's product?
Did the label have any problems getting paid by their distributor?
What kind of working relationship do they have with their distributors on their new releases?
Does the label have a budget to pay for some co-op ads, and in-store promotions through their distributor?
What kind of Internet distribution and online sales methods does the label use?

http://www.musicbizacademy.com/knab/articles/recorddeal.htm

Having a distribution deal could make a major difference in your career as an independent artist. It gives you the ability to be marketed nationally in stores. A good site to start with if you are independent artist is cdbaby.com, they do charge a percentage of all sales, but they will get you on iTunes, and other stores. Make sure you do research when looking for the best opportunities for your career it will benefit you through out your career as an artist.

http://www.cdbaby.com/

http://musicians.about.com/od/glossary/g/mandd.htm

Is it better to be an independent artist, or sign with a record label?

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:48:00 +0000

It really depends on the artist, because working as an independent artist you will need to work harder in both, creating your music and behind the scenes to get your music played. No matter what you decide to do, you must have a large enough fan base so that your music is heard. In today times, utilizing social networking is a great way to get your music heard, gain fans, and create a buzz in the industry. Networking is one of the keys to success as an independent artist.

An independent artist has the opportunity to keep more of his or her profit, versus an artist who signs with a label and only keeps a small percentage after everyone is paid. A record label owns you and you are like an employee to them, you get paid according to their profits. There are some advantages to signing with a well-established label, such as the label already has connections, major distribution, producers, etc. and they can give you large advancements money to help with other needs you may have to get you where you need to be in the industry. It is becoming harder to get record deals these days because there are so many artists trying to make it. There is so much competition today in the music industry; you have to bring something different and unique to be recognized or even considered. The Internet has so much information for you to succeed as an independent artist.

I believe if you want to receive all the money you earn from your work as an artist, and you have the patience and the determination, you can make it as an independent artist, you are responsible for your success. You are your own boss, and mistakes will be made but you learn and keep moving forward. The benefit of being successful is bringing in the revenue and keeping a larger chunk of it.

http://www.independentmusicadvice.com/2011/11/how-to-get-signed-the-best-way-to-get-a-record-deal/

http://getitdoneblog.net/2011/09/04/industry-tips-and-advice-should-i-stay-independent-or-sign-to-a-major-label/

http://www.musicbiztips.info/2011/08/should-you-stay-independent-artist.html

Industry Expert

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 20:34:00 +0000

Mathew Middleton:

Mathew Middleton a lawyer, who has been in the field for 14-years and he as been entertainment lawyer for in the music industry for the past 10 years. He is a high-powered, veteran entertainment attorney, of the Middleton Law Group.

Mathew Middleton has worked with entertainers such as DMX, Foxy Brown, Juwel Santana, Chris Brown, jagged edge, Fabulous, Shyne, Mario, and different athletes.

Middleton states that writing, and creating content puts you ahead of the game in the industry. He also states that its all about the copyright and intellectual property, because when you own publishing, and copyright, it gives you that ability to constantly receive income through other means, other than performing. Middleton says “Content is King”. He also discussed the pros and cons of being an independent artist; having the resources to market, promote, publish, and write can benefit you more than being assigned to a label, because the record label and all parties need to get paid so your royalties will be very limited.

His advice to others is Learn the business as much as you can by interning and getting the skills you need, and maintaining your integrity at all times.

Gordon Firemark:

He is a lawyer practicing in the field of entertainment and media law. He is the author of a e-book called Podcast Guide and New Media Producers Survival Guide, because is says not many people can not afford to hire a lawyer on a retainer and this book could help in someone career of podcasting.

Podcaster are owners of their work and they are not concerned about copyright infringement because that’s their original work. When an author creates a work of authorship, once its recorded, written down, or placed on canvas and it’s their original work, it is automatically copyright material and it should be registered. If you are adding someone else work in your media, such as videos, or music you should get that information licensed to you so that you do not infringe on someone else work. Podcaster should get their episodes registered so that the law of infringement covers them; the work can be bundled and protected for a small fee. Show titles are not covered by copyright; you must trademark the name of the show to protect it. Firemark suggest getting royalty free music is something to consider when creating your podcast.

Firemark suggest if someone use your copyright work without permission, asking the person to take the information down will mostly likely work, if that doesn’t work you can send them a letter to cease and assist. Podcasters should be mindful to get permission from the person that they are airing in their podcast, let the person know in advance what your intentions are to utilize their voice; getting them to sign a contract in advance would free you of any problems later.

John L. Welch

John L. Welch a lawyer at the firm of Lando & Anatasi, LLP, he is one of the top trademark lawyers in the country, he is a frequent author and speaker on trademark law issues. He discussed the Bose decision of the Court of appeals for the Federal Circuit and how it has affected trademark owners, practitioners, and USPTO.

Trademark registration is a valuable asset; it provides nationwide protection and constructive notice that allows the owner the right to use the registration symbol. Bose committed fraud on the USPTO in renewing registration. Bose initiated an opposition against Hexawave trademark. Hexawave alleging, that Bose’s prior registered trademark the WAVE, was discontinued prior to them taking the wave trademark. Bose’s committed frauds when they began using the wave mark again; after it was not re-registered with the USPTO. The board ordered the cancellation of Bose’s WAVE mark registration in its entirety.

When you have a trademark you must re-register the trademark if you want to keep you mark. If another company takes on that trademark and it was not registered it becomes the trademark of the new company. You can be sued if you continue using that trademark that was registered in some one else company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dm4GwZ62g

http://legaltalknetwork.com/?powerpress_pinw=7449-podcast

http://www.melinelegal.com/?tag=trademark

http://firemark.com/?powerpress_pinw=2505-podcast

Industry Liabilities

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:35:00 +0000

Pirate Bay is a Swedish based company, it is the largest torrent website in the world. You can download music, movies, games, and much more. Pirate Bay is under scrutiny for illegal piracy. According to an article on torrentfreak.com, the co-founder of Pirate Bay is sentenced to serve time in jail. The Stockholm District Court found three people guilty of contributory copyright infringement offenses. Two of the men received one-year jail time and a fine of 1.1 million. One of the defendants did not appear in court the day of sentences, they tried to contact him without success, the Judged ruled and handed down the verdict to him as well, do all three men had to pay millions of dollars in damages and jail time. The men are taking the case to the Supreme Court; they are convinced that the final decision will be in there favor.

If the courts continue to monitor and convict people who commit piracy, preferably go after the websites that allow illegal sharing, I believe it will eliminate the crime eventually. Piracy does not just damage the profits that the artist receives, but it takes money from all the team that worked on the project, producers, writers, musicians etc. In reality, with technology today, you may stop it now but someone will come up with something new and creative to continue pirating others work.

LimeWire is hit with another lawsuit, according to an article that Jaikumar Vijayan wrote. He said, “ Eight music publishers have sued LimeWire LLC of massive copyright infringement.” RIAA is requesting that LimeWire be shut down. The companies that are filing the lawsuit are members of the National Music publishers association (NMPA), EMI music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner/ Chappell Music Inc. According to the article, Copyright status provide for statutory damages up to $150,000 per violation.

Like I previously stated, if they crack down on the websites that allows illegal sharing, it would be difficult for other to pirate music, and movies. Copyright infringement is a very serious offense and shutting down these sites it just might bring some money back into the industry.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9178209/Music_industry_hits_LimeWire_with_yet_another_lawsuit

http://torrentfreak.com/jail-sentence-for-pirate-bay-co-founder-made-final-111014/

Networking in the music industry

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:20:00 +0000

The definition of networking is, a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest. Networking is the key to success in the music industry, most times its not what you know it is who you know in the business.

The most effective way to get a artist music publicized, heard, distributed or a artist booked is through people. Networking allows you to find people who can help your career in different areas. Its best to find the areas that you are weak in and find the network and resources that can help you turn those weaknesses into strengths.

According to Dalena Radabough of Entertainment online “the key to being successful in the music industry relies heavily on using the correct techniques to network yourself and/or your artist with the appropriate connections”.

No matter if you are a singer, band, or individual musician you need the help of other people to have a successful music career. Even if you do everything yourself, you still need people to purchase your music, people to book you, and people to attend your events.

Social networking is a important part in meeting new people, to get your music heard, from your friends and from friends of your friends and so on. Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are good sites to begin, uploading your music and posting videos to your site to get reviews from your friends is a great tactic as well. When networking, try to be around people who work in your field, people with the same interest as you. Find the centers of influence, Influential people often get that way because they are masters at networking. At any networking event or party they will be the ones with the most people around them. Get to know them, they can lead you to a lot of other people who might be important to your career. You should always be in networking mode.

http://www.entertainmentmanagementonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/12/19/3fcc348f2f077

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/networking

Artist Management

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:37:00 +0000

Artist Managers are in charge of running the business side of an artist or band’s career, because the band or artist needs to concentrate on creating the music. The artist manager, work in many areas i.e. the promoter, agent, accountant, any role that is necessary to help that artist/band’s career. The artist manager ensure that the artist/band is booked and paid, helps to promote a project, get the proper people who will help to move an artist/band career. When an artist manager has a new artist trying to get established in the business, you work extra hard because you play so many roles, you are trying to establish that artist/band career in the industry. The artist manager is the mediator between the artist/band; they play a personal role or business role. They may be involved in image development, acquiring record deals, hiring publicists, etc. They help in all aspects of an artist/band career; their income is usually a percentage of an artist/band earnings.

Depending on the level of the artist/band career, artist management can be strenuous and time consuming. It requires networking and getting to know all the lead people in the industry. As an artist manager you should make sure you have a contract signed with the band/artist to ensure that you receive your earnings, because in some cases different contracts are utilized for i.e. concerts, booking, etc. When reviewing contracts, you should always utilize a professional in that area, such as a lawyer. As an artist manager you can have more than one client, it is up to you to know what you can handle at once.

Interview with Robert “Big Bob” Crippen

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:03:00 +0000

I interviewed Robert “Big Bob” Crippen; he has worked in the entertainment industry for the past 20 years as a road manager, artist manager, promoting, and other jobs. He is the CEO of “Higher Power Promotions” and he is currently working with a Spanish group called S.A.1 “Stand As One” as one of their managers. Big Bob has worked with some of the best in the industry, people such as Jamie Fox, Keisha Cole, Jay’Z, names were flowing from his mouth I couldn’t keep up with them all.

Mr. Crippen is also affiliated with Premier Luxury Rental, Inc., doing marketing and promotions, as well as assisting with driving actors, and artist to important events such as shows, parties, and interviews whatever is needed. He is affiliated with many people in the industry, he has worked with some of the top DJ’s in the entertainment business located in or around Philadelphia, PA, Dj’s such as Golden Boy, Lady “B”, Doc B, Larry O, to name a few. He has done work with legendary producers Kenny Huff and Leon Gamble, known as Gamble and Huff, who is best known for working with Billy Paul, O’Jays, Patti Labelle, and Teddy Pendergrass, to many to name. Big Bob has promoted blockbuster movies in his assigned regional area, Philadelphia, PA, such as Tyler Perry movies,

Being affiliated with these different entities in the industry has brought recognition and clientele his way. It has brought him to a status, in which different executives in the industry seeks him out. But due to his illness, he has not been able to be as busy as in the past; but it has not stopped him. He says that each day brings new and exciting opportunities his way. His main focus at this time is getting recognition for his new and upcoming group S.A.1.

I have had the pleasure of meeting and networking with Mr. Crippen; I met him at one of the events he promoted back in 2007. We have spoke on several occasions, and he is always willing to help me when I ask him for assistant with some of the artist that I have worked with, he gives me advice on some of my current projects as well as him giving me some of his contacts to work with. He has introduced some important people to me, some who can help me along with my career. He has went as far as contacting some of his people from New York, to give me the ins and outs to the business. “Big Bob” as he likes to be called, has always told me “its not just what you know, its also who you know in the business”. I appreciate the advice and the constructive criticism that he gives me.

http://www.gamble-huffmusic.com/home2/
http://www.facebook.com/S.A.1fanpage
http://www.premierluxuryrentals.net

Jay-Z & Kanye West "Watch The Throne"

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:11:00 +0000

Jay-Z and Kanye West have been collaborating on several projects together, with Kanye producing several songs on Jay-Z Blue Print Album,which gave him the opportunity to sign with Roc A Fell Records. Jay-Z teamed up with him on his album “My Beautiful Dark Secret Fantasy, at that time they decided to work on there own album together, which produced their most recent project “Watch The Throne”, the name of the duo “The Throne”.

"Watch The Throne" the world anticipated album with the collaboration of two geniuses, Jay-Z and Kanye West. The album has already been deemed by most as an instant classic. As JP DelaCuesta of ALL HIP HOP states “The dynamic duo do not disappoint”. The first single to be released was Otis, a soulful sound, which featured Otis Redding 1966 classic “Try a Little Tenderness”, which is “the hottest rap song of the summer”, as Trent Fitzgerald of PopCrush website says. Jay-Z got his swagger back! And then comes in the tickling piano, a flourishing bass line and a thunderous beat produced by Kanye West. As the world await, with anticipation the album dropped on August 5 in stores everywhere. According to the Billboard top 200 charts “Watch the Throne” came in at #6 this week, last week came in at #4 it was at #4 for 5 weeks. Other songs on the album start off with “No Church in the Wild”, Lift off, featuring Beyonce, In Paris, Gotta Have it, Who Gon Stop Me, and Welcome to the Jungle, just to name a few. The CD has collaborations, with other artist as well such as Frank Ocean, Curtis Mayfield, and Mr. Hudson.

The Throne cannot make money from CD sells alone, so they are on tour with a schedule of 28 dates so far. The Throne Tour will be in Philadelphia on November 2, 2011 at the Wells Fargo Center, with only limited seating left. Coming to a city near you, be on the look out. I give Watch The Throne two thumbs up!

http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/billboard-200

http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/611672/jay-z-and-kanye-wests-musical-history.jhtml

http://www.ticketmaster.com/JAYZ-and-Kanye-West-tickets/artist/1620810#artist_table_focus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoEKWtgJQAU&ob=av3e

Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter IV” Nears Platinum in its First Week

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:11:00 +0000

Lil Wayne’s has earned a platinum plaque thanks to the first-week sales of his latest album “Tha Carter IV which sold 1,000,690 copies according to Steven Horowitz, of Hip Hop DX website. According to Billboard.biz, Carter IV earned the biggest sales week for a hip-hop album, and it also shifted 362,000 digital copies in its first week, it marks the second largest digital sales week of all time for an album, behind “Born This Way” Lady Gaga’s new album with 662,000 digital downloads. “Tha Carter IV” according to Nielsen SoundScan enabling its No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 chart.
It also broke the US ITunes stores single week album sales record with around 345,000 sold via ITunes.

“Tha Carter IV” album was illegally leaked on the Internet 5 days before the album official release date. Lil Wayne was not concerned about his album leaking because he new it would still do good. According to MTV, Lil Wayne stated,

"We did real good this time, real good," Wayne told MTV News correspondent Jim Cantiello after his show-closing performance at the VMAs in L.A. on Sunday. "It just means people want to hear it," he said. "I mean, 'cause there're people's albums that come out that can be leaked and don't leak, so I'm glad mines leaked."

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/lil-wayne-s-carter-iv-debuts-at-no-1-with-1005340572.story

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16764/lil-waynes-tha-carter-iv-nears-platinum-in-its-first-week/

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1670206/lil-wayne-tha-carter-iv-album-leak.jhtml

Thandie Newton: Embracing otherness, embracing myself

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:02:00 +0000

A TED Presentation by Thandie Newton, an actress who discussed her story of growing up in two distinct cultures; her mom is black from Zimbabwe and her dad white from Cornwall, she grew up in England in the 70’s. By the age of five she knew she didn’t fit “she said she was a black atheists kid in and all white catholic school run by nuns” and her self began looking for definition, and she said, “self likes to fit", in other words she just wanted to fit in with others.

Thandie was in a place where she felt she didn’t exist that she was in otherness, and she struggled to find self, another world opened up for her, performing and dancing, she used dancing to lose herself, she stated “I wasn’t able to be in real life, in myself”. She began acting at the age of 16, she felt peace in acting because she was able to lose herself in her roles and become in another self and not her own. This gave her a sense of belonging, which she thought she was fully functioning in self; the one she controlled, and she gave life to it. By the age of 19 she was a full-fledged actress, but still searching for definition.

Thandie didn’t know where she belong in society, what race embraced her. She said, “Race is an illegitimate concept which our selves have created based on fear and ignorance”. Even though she understood this fact, it didn’t help cure her low self-esteem and her feeling of otherness. Thandie suffered from bulimia and ended up seeing a psychiatrist. The world is made to believe you have to be a certain way to fit into society; you need to have a certain self-image, so we create in our minds a self-image. Thandie created self when she danced, or she got a role in a movie, she lost herself in her role, until it was over and back to feeling of nothingness.

We need to live in reality and appreciate who we are as one and not try to fit in to what other believe is the right way and except what and who we are in this world. Society makes us believe we are not the right color, size, or culture. Be one with yourself and don’t try to be in otherness, be yourself, who God created you to be.

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

Lady B 30th Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:04:00 +0000

A tribute to the legendary Lady B Philly’s one and only aka, Wendy Clark, she has been DJing and representing hip-hop for the past 30 years, according to an AV Club article. In her honor tonight an OLD School Hip Hop show at the DELL East Music center in Philadelphia, PA.

The article states that, Lady B brought Hip-Hop to Philly, she was probably the most influential woman in hip-hop radio history; she began her climb to her title in 1979. She started at an interning job at WHAT and releasing “To The Beat Y’all,” a Sugar Hill Gang track, which was considered the first hip-hop recording by a female artist. She started working at Power 99fm in 1984, her legendary show “Street Beat” brought artist such as Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Run DMC, and Queen Latifah. She also brought locals such as the legendary Will Smith, Schooly D and the roots to the show as well.

To honor her a anniversary party, with a group of old-school artist attending, many of which she help rise to the top; gathered together to give tribute, artist such as Salt N Pepa, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E Fresh and more with special surprise guest appearance from Will Smith, a real old-school party. People came from all over dressed in old-school attire, big bamboo earrings, addidas sweat suites, shell top addidas, kangos all representing old-school hip-hop culture.

“Wit out a Doubt”!!!!!

http://rnbphilly.com/category/ladyb30th-photos/

Jennifer Lopez

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:13:00 +0000

Jennifer Lopez became apart of American Idol in 2011; it sparked her career up again bringing her to the forefront. She is an actress, entertainer, producer, fashion designer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, according to the article. Jennifer Lopez is successful. She is in the process of launching a deal with Khols with an exclusive collection. J-Lo sets the standard for celebrity branding in fragrance, apparel and accessories, her fragrances also took in over 1 billion dollars; she is a successful entrepreneur.

Jennifer “J-Lo” Lopez new album “LOVE” that released on April 29, 2011, Bradley Stern of mumuse.com, said she came back roaring in the charts with her new album. According to musicloversgroup.com, Jennifer Lopez new album theme is examining, questioning and exploring the many different sides and avenues of love and relationships. They also stated that the album had a nice range of styles, beats, vocals, and compositions on this album to satisfy her fans. Jennifer left Epic Record in 2010, moving to Island Def Jam, putting out her new album “LOVE”, according to the article in mumuse.com this is her best work since 2001. J-Lo is back………

http://www.muumuse.com/2011/05/jennifer-lopez-love-album-review
html/http://www.musicloversgroup.com/jennifer-lopez-love-album-review/

Beyonce "Run This World" (Girls) Video

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 02:59:00 +0000

Beyonce is back after over a year off from the music scene. Her new video “Run This World (Girls)” from her new album “4” according to Huffpost Entertainment “she hasn’t missed a beat”. Her video was an African eccentric video, the video released on June 28^th, with 56,006,120 hits already.

African dancers inspired Beyonce, from Mozambican Kwaito dance group called Tofo Tofo who choreographed her video “Run This World”. MTV ‘s Jocelyn Vena wrote in an article that Beyonce longtime Choreographer Frank Gaston Jr. said, "We prepared a lot for it. We had seen something on YouTube; we had seen these three guys from Africa, this Mozambique African dance troupe ... we were like, 'Wow, this is an amazing movement,'’ [...] and that movement has always been in the back of our head for the last year. From there, we talked about a lot of concepts.” The group brought it all together.

The video had 245 women in it, and it was set in a desert where the men were trying to takeover their headquarters, the women showed the men who "Run This World". The choreography was amazing, and having the African dance group, gave her video something new and different than her usual. Like Jacelyn Vena articles says’, Beyonce Nailed it! Two thumbs up “B”.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/19/beyonce-run-the-world-girls-video-4_n_863990.html

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1664223/beyonce-run-the-world-girls.jhtml

Artist Branding and marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 00:24:00 +0000

As an artist manager, how an artist is marketed or branded could make or break an artist career, so working diligently getting fans and spreading the artist brand will determine if an artist will make it in the industry. Working closely with a PR agent would be an asset for an artist and their manager because the agent would get the artist out in the media, through radio and interviews. In most cases, artist just starting out in their career PR agents are not in the plans, self branding and marketing could be beneficial to an artist.

Lady Gaga is an example of how branding herself, helped her career skyrocket. According to artist marketing strategy, “Lady Gaga designed a package that stood out from the crowd” in order to get people attention she had to be a performer and not just a singer. Lady Gaga learned how to market herself, through various means and the media. She keeps her fans engaged on the daily basis through her fan base on Facebook, which she has over 9,200,000 fans on Facebook according to the article. She keeps everyone engaged daily through where she is going and where she is performing. She constantly thanks her fans and supporters through her daily post, while promoting her brand she is keeping her fans engaged, as well as Facebook, Lady Gaga tweets and post on blogs. Lady Gaga was not created by a record label or producer; she designed her own brand, as an artist and marketed herself through her shows, social media, and one of her brands is not lip singing at any of her shows as some artist do. She delivers her brand with her elaborate performances, staging and costumes. According to the article Lady Gaga is the first performer to have one billion hits on her videos on YouTube and 9 million plus of her music has been downloaded, that is a very strong brand. As a artist you leverage your brand through social media, the Internet, in forums and through postings. Artist must make contact and expand there base everyday. Lady Gaga is constantly out there in the media, artist can learn from her on how to market and develop a brand.

http://www.artmarketingstrategy.com/artists-should-follow-lady-gaga-on-how-to-brand-their-art.html

Social Networking Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 18:07:00 +0000

Social Networking Sites is a great place for artist managers to look for new talent to represent. Most up and coming artist have social networking sites to advertise and market their music. Myspace is a great location to view new talent, they have samples of their music, they have photos the manager can look through and they have their events located on their sites as well. Artist Managers can benefit from Facebook and twitter, they can advertise their artist, they can inform the public of events and market the artist music on these sites as well, keep an up-to-date account of their artist with the fans. Social Networking Sites is an great tool for the entertainment business.

Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:54:00 +0000

When you are in the entertainment industry one of the most important things you can do to insure a prosporus career is to always be networking. You never know when that person you're talking to might be in a position to help you in your career. The internet is another great source for networking in the industry, sites such as linkedlin, Facebook, etc. Attending events and workshops could also be a source for networking as well. The one comon key to success in the industry is networking.

http://www.linkedlin.com/
http://www.facebook.com/
http://www.myspace.com/

Tips from seasoned artist managers in the industry is a benefit to you

noreply@blogger.com (Renea L) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:38:00 +0000

I think that artistshousemusic.org is a great website to get tips from seasoned artist managers in the industry. You can view videos of interviews, conferences, and seminars. The website gives tips on marketing, production, legal information, and other information pertaining to the industry. You can find information on most genres. My opinion is, if you are trying to get into the business of artist management you should locate as much information in the industry you could find to learn from. Getting tips from the people who have been their and don’t that would help you not make some of the mistakes that have been made by others.

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/