"Go Forth Music"

Yesterday I received an email from a friend in New York who studied entertainment law and had recently partnered in started a new LLC. Her email asked me to vote and comment on a panel discussion she and her partner are trying to have at an upcoming conference. The panel discussion they want to have is centered on a new demographic of artists, “Music Middle Class”. When I saw this new demographic I thought about my friend 3D and how he could be placed into this demographic. Music Middle Class is defined as musicians that fall between “superstar” and “starving artist” status, make a steady income, and maintain a level of control over their careers. As I read more about what she and her partner were doing, I began to think about how many artists or artist managers out there who would find this new demographic a helpful selling point? I am sure there are more than one might think, and just I was thinking this my friend and her business partner have thought of this and provided a solution, “Go Forth Music”.

“Go Forth Music is an artist services firm dedicated to providing quality strategies and support services to musicians and music industry entrepreneurs” (goforthmusic.com).  As I looked at the site I thought to myself, this is exactly what new artist needs and what a valuable source this is. The services offered are the exact services in which most new artist need the most help with or do not have the time to deal with. Along with offering services such as website design and planning an album release, the site also offers artist professional mixes and press kit examples.

For me the press kit examples are key! Having recently done a press kit, I know how valuable they are for an artist, which I think most already know but knowing what goes into the press kit is even more important. By providing this example Go Forth Music has given artist and mangers a reliable and valuable tool to use as a guideline. I can honestly say if I did not have press kit example to follow when I did my press kit, I would not have known where to start.

The last thing I thought was very cool about the site and services was that they are coming from two people who have worked in the industry and have the educational background in the industry. This helps a new artist and managers feel comfortable using the information provided because the source is reliable. Overall the message and feel I take from Go Forth Music is that they are there for the artist and that’s most important whether you are artist yourself or managing an artist.

I will be using Go Forth Music for some consulting and working with my artists. To checkout the website and learn more about Go Forth Music please visit http://goforthmusic.com/

"Ready As Now"

This week I was introduced to a new song from local hip-hop/rap artist and friend, 3D. I am helping 3D with some guidance on his musical career so when he has a new song he ask me to listen and tell him the best place to introduce his new music. 3D’s new song is titled “Ready as Now” and compared to his later works the track introduces a new 3D that is definitely ready to take his musical career to the next level. The title itself gives the impression 3D is ready!

So after listening to the song I thought wow this song is READY AS NOW and where can we get distribute this song to get the most airplay out of it and push his career. The song can definitely be played in the club atmosphere, but it is not a song to be played on the radio. The radio version would need too many edits and I think would take away from the song and lyrical content, so with that in mind I thought of other outlets. I sent the song to some friends in California and New York who are also in the music industry and they suggested using the song in local strip clubs.

At first I thought wow the strip club, but then I thought about the words in the song and it actually makes perfect sense. After thinking about how opportune this song could be to introduce to that scene I begin thinking about how beneficial this could be to 3D’s start up. I thought about how the DJ’s in the strip clubs also DJ at the other clubs in San Diego and if they see how much hype it gets then they will give the song play when they are DJing in other clubs. Along with DJ’s promoting the song at different clubs, the people at the strip club hear the song; ask who the artist is, and then look 3D up on YouTube. Once they view his YouTube page they can hear other songs and are able to purchase his music through iTunes.

A strip club theme song will not be the song 3D introduces to radio and mainstream to launch his career, but it will be the song that will help him get more of a buzz and help him when he does burst into mainstream. 3D and I are going to start contacting local strip club DJ’s and getting them the song this week. We will have to come up with a distribution plan focusing on the right strip clubs to connect with and maybe some club DJ’s we are already connected with. Again 3D is “Ready as Now”.

To listen to the song checkout http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9UbZsRLo-8

Attorney Rachel Young Interview

This week I had the pleasure to interview attorney Rachel Young and learn more about being an attorney, working with an attorney, and an overall better understanding of contracts. Rachel currently has her own law office, located in San Diego, CA, which handles legal matters ranging from Family Law to Entertainment Contract Negotiations, which is the precise area she will be able to help my business with.  She has been practicing for about 8-9 years and from the looks of things she is doing very well. I asked Rachel some questions during our interview and two questions that gave me some great feedback for my own business when creating a contract; what are some key elements to making the contract good? And secondly, has she dealt with liability issues before?

When creating a contract Rachel pointed out everything that we want to go into the contract should be written and discussed by both parties before initial negotiations begin. She said this would be important for my business so we are sure to provide our clients a clear and precise vision of the services we will be providing them. Rachel explained to me about a simple case she had in which an event planning company was hired to provide a DJ for a family reunion. The event planning company hired the DJ and the day of the reunion the DJ was present but did not perform to the family’s expectations. Rachel explained to me that because the event planning company was only hired to provide the family with a DJ and this was the only service in the contract the event planning company was not held liable for the faulty performance of the DJ. Although this did not look great for the company, the liability fell solely on the DJ and his pay had to be renegotiated based on his actual performance. In the end it was good the event planning company specifically said in the contract what service they would provide and moving forward they would include in their contracts what would happen in case of situation like this, or they would only refer services to clients and require a finders fee.

This example Rachel told me about was the perfect example of a situation I might encounter with my business, so I now know how I can avoid a potential situation like this, and if it does happen how to handle it appropriately. Rachel’s suggestion of only doing the referring and charging a finder’s fee was a great suggestion that I had not thought about, which will open up more service opportunities for my business.

At the end of our interview I ask Rachel if she would consider doing consulting with my business on our client contracts and replied, “yes of course, but then I will have to charge you for my services and recommendations”.  To which I replied, “ yes of course, just don’t hurt my pockets too much”. We both laughed at the comments and ended the interview laughing. If you are in San Diego and need an attorney I would suggest hiring Attorney Rachel Young. 

Green Controversy aka Green Entertainment

“Going Green” is a huge controversy in and of itself, so naturally within the green the industry there is major debate and controversy on current policy. The controversy is seen here in the states with oil companies and environmental groups, but the United States it’s the only country having its own green controversy. I’ve read 3 different articles about current green controversy and they all seem to lead back to one source, the government. I personally think although the government may be moving toward a greener US and world, they have their own agendas will continue to move at a pace that is conducive to that agenda but still keeps the people thinking they will change. There is hope though; two of the three articles I read do demonstrate the government pushing for a greener world.

The first article comes from Anusha Subramanian in Business Today. The article discusses how the Indian Cabinet recently had a reshuffle and former minister of state for environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, is now in charge of rural development but received a promotion in Cabinet rank. The article basically shows how Jairam who was know for being very adamant on environmental policy change in the Indian government has set a high bar for the minister of state for environment and forest. Although he no longer has the say he used in those terms, all the commotion he has caused did its job in the end. The people are now more aware and educated on green and the new minister will have to follow suit and keep the people happy but not the fellow government, or keep the government happy and risk upsetting the people.  I personally think the new minister will play her cards in a moderate manner and keep both sides happy, implementing green policy that will keep the governments green spending lower and the people green movement pushing forward.

The second article is about our own President Obama continuing to step up to green plate. The article comes Vincent Reitano with GREEN and SAVE Staff. Vincent’s article discusses how President Obama revisited LED lighting manufacture plant. This simple visit I big for the green movement, if President Obama approves of LED lighting then it must be worth the switch, well that’s what I like to think the way people preserved this visit. Even if Americans did not see it this way, it still shows that our nation’s leader is supporting the green movement and job creation. With the current state of the economy creating jobs is a necessary and arguable going green is a necessary, so put the two together and you have a formula to help kick start the economy. I guess the controversy still remains on whether need to focus our efforts on alternative sources of energy or stick with good old oil and fossil fuels? A better question and argument create more jobs or keep the same old jobs and economy?

Lastly I read on article with pointed out the Green Cities in the US and Canada written by Kaid Benfield via NRDC.org. This article shows my point of how the government can seem to be into the green movement but some of what they present just doesn’t add up in favor of the movement. The article discusses the top 5 cities in Co2, Energy, Waste, Buildings, Air, Water, Environmental Governance. Unfortunately as stated in the article not all of these categories results were comprised with one set standard, but some results were quantitative, qualitative, and subjective. The main point that stuck out to me with this article is the fact the Los Angeles is in the top five cities for air quality, CO2, and waste. I could see if the article is pointing out the top five cities with the worst in the categories.  The waste category may be something Los Angeles is doing well compared to other states, but air quality and CO2 emissions not at all. Everyone knows there is still a thick a layer of smog around the city and it is know for having some of the worst traffic in the US. If you have traffic that means there a lot of cars on the road which means more CO2 being emitted into the air, making the air quality worse. Also, Los Angeles will be shutting down one of it major freeways this week for expansion construction and that means more cars and more CO2. Kaid stated city rankings of any sort raise as many questions as they answer, and I would have to completely agree. Los Angeles being in the top five cities for Air Quality raises enough question itself.

All in all the article were very informative with regards to what’s happening in the green industry, or as I like to call it green entertainment. I have listed the discussed article links below, view them and get your dose of green entertainment; it will open your eyes to being green conscious.

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/cabinet-reshuffle-jairam-ramesh/1/16963.html

http://www.greenandsave.com/green_news/green-politics/president-obama-revisits-led-technology-cree-8384

http://www.greenandsave.com/green_news/green-lifestyle/green-cities-us-canada-kind-conclusion-co2-energy-waste-buildings-air-wat

"Heartless" the Dia Frampton version...you be the judge

This weekend I was talking with some friends and one friend asked if I had heard of Dia Frampton? I replied no, and asked who she was. My friend informed me she was a contestant on NBC’s The Voice, a singing contest show. I had never heard of the show or her, but that wasn’t a surprise because I rarely watch shows like this because there is so many on now. Nonetheless I asked more about Dia and my friend informed me that she did a remake to Kanye West’s song “Heartless” only unlike Kanye who rapped the song, Dia sang the song. I thought interesting I need to hear this! I am Kanye fan and a huge fan of that particular song. So thanks to YouTube my friend played the song for us, and WOW Dia did and amazing job, so much that I had to blog about it!

After hearing Dia I thought it was a little ironic that a young lady did this remake; it made me think about Taylor Swift. Although the two do not have the same voice or style I thought it was almost like karma for Kanye that a young lady like Dia would do this remake and actually sound amazing! Kanye took Taylor’s shine when she won her award, and now one of his best songs has a remake not done by him that is getting shine.  After chuckling to myself about the karma, I thought if I was Kanye’s manager I would get Dia to collaborate with Kanye at his next performance on this song. It would be a performance to remember for those in the audience especially for those who have not heard Dia sing on the track. The performance would definitely help Kanye’s image as being a “jerk” and maybe even gain him some new fans, not that he has a shortage of those. The YouTube video for Dia’s version already has 370,915 views and it’s only been on YouTube since June 7^th. 

Even if the two don’t collaborate lyrically Dia plays the piano while singing the song so Kanye could have her doing the live instrumental for the song while he raps. The next time Kanye has a small intimate show he needs to have Dia as a surprise guest artist on that song. All I’m saying is one of the two’s manager needs to set it up for the two to do something because it would sound great and be a hit!  

If you want to checkout more on Dia Frampton follow this link http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/artists/dia-frampton/ and to hear her YouTube click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA03weV4hd8&NR=1  

Mopeds+Entertainers=Entertaining Green Transportation

For the latest in “green” entertainment I read greenandsave.com, which gives the latest in all of “green”. I mainly focus on the entertainment, but today my focus was switched to the moped ad at the top of the site. Oddly enough it makes perfect sense to have mopeds on a site promoting “green”. Like a lot of people now days, I too am looking at alternative modes of transportation and San Diego is a perfect city to cruise around on a moped. After my initial thought about cruising around on my moped I began to think about how entertainers could help push the promotions of mopeds, which would help promote a “green” lifestyle. How could this work I thought?

A moped is probably not the first type of vehicle you would think of for say a commercial, but why not there are motorcycle commercials.  When thinking about a commercial, it would not be a traditional one, but then again a moped is not a traditional means of transportation either. So for a non-traditional commercial I would use “unique” person from the entertainment industry. When I say unique I mean someone who is versatile and can reach all audiences. The mopeds shown would have to be just as unique too and a variety would have to be shown too. There are already many different body types for mopeds and one style that personally captures my eye is the sport motorcycle body style. This style catches my eye because I want the moped for its fuel efficiency but I want the style body to fit my personality. If I think this way I am sure others think this way too and if you add say a music artist to the equation you give some people even more reason to make the moped purchase. So how would this advertisement look?

For argument sake, I will use Lil Wayne as the entertainer. The moped company could have Lil Wayne ride their new motorcycle style body moped and they post the video on their website and youtube. By doing this, the company would not have to pay as much for a commercial solely for this style body, but a video clip on the site should work just the same. My thinking is the video being on youtube could give Lil Wayne fans a look at a possible alternative means of transportation that is “cool” enough for Lil Wayne so it has to be “cool” enough for them. Even if the viewer or fan is not worried so much about Lil Wayne, they still have been introduced to the company’s mopeds. The video on the website gives shoppers a video to see how the moped runs but again plays into buyers fascination with the entertainers. In the end Lil Wayne gets a cool new “toy” and some extra publicity, and the moped company gets an entertainer endorsing their product at a cost less than what they would have had to pay…Green Entertainment at its best.

To view the sport motorcycle body style moped checkout http://www.countrymotorsports.com/inc/sdetail/special__cms_150cc_hornet_sr_2_motorcycle_scooter_for_sale/34589/34598

3D Negotiating

Today I spoke with music artist 3D (Darris Simmons) of Muda Land Records. 3D has been with Muda-Land Records for 2 years now. He is originally from St. Louis and has lived in San Diego for 5 years where he officially launched his rap career. 3D has a nice buzz in the San Diego music scene, opening up for artist like Twister, and even being a judge for local rap competitions. Although not yet the multi million dollar artist, 3D is well on his way, but once he makes it there it will be pivotal that he negotiates a contract that is most beneficial to him. But what about his current contract with Muda-Land Records, how was that negotiated and settled upon? I asked 3D this question during our interview.

3D told me his current contract with Muda-Land was a 5 year contract that will expire in 2014, but the specifics to the contract were interesting.  3D states, unfortunately he did not take negotiating and deal making before he signed the contract with his manager. His manager could have benefited from the class too. Unfortunately 3D only has the rights to his original music and has limits to which producers he can make music with in San Diego. But on the positive side the new producers 3D has found are not included in the original contract and because he has the rights his music he is able to make new music that is his own.  Although this could potentially make his manager upset and feel betrayed, 3D has only recently chosen to seek out new producers, as his manager is not doing so. He said, “ I am the artist and my manger is supposed to be putting me in contact with the producers, but when he is not doing his role I have to push my career forward even though that is not my role”. 3D understands his role but it seems like his manager might need to reevaluate his role as manager. The last topic I spoke with 3D about was paying his manager and royalties.

Thankfully this part of the interview seemed more positive for 3D. From the conversation I learned 3D is not paying his manager on a monthly basis but his manager does provide him with information on events that are happening, and 3D does the footwork for ticket sells. At first it may seem a little unfair, but as a new artist in the industry doing his own footwork put a face to the artist and music that may not be seen other wise. As for his manager’s royalties he did manage to negotiate 70% of performance sells to himself and 30% to his manager. I’d say that this an even trade for doing footwork. Overall the interview with 3D was good and it was really good to hear from a new artist that understands some but wants to learn more of negotiating contracts, and even though things are not always in his favor he still remains humble. A humble artist will go a long ways, stay humble 3D and before you sign that multi-million dollar contract, read over some negotiating and deal-making literature…especially the “game theory” we discussed.

To check out more of 3D and his music go to Muda-landrecords.com