Dr. McKinney- The most important blog I have ever written

So this is going to be my first blog since graduating with my doctorate, a blog I have so humbly given the name RockstarProfessor (sarcasm intended). As the title denotes this is a music business blog which is meant to educate and cause serious abstract thought and debate on the entrails of the business side of a creative industry.  In addition, this particular blog is the launching point for both my beginning to write a book on the music business (this book will mix stories of my journey in the industry along with the research I conducted during my doctoral studies on the industry) and the national radio launch of my bands latest album. Lastly it is on the heels of the one of my videos going viral. In light of that, what deep data driven analysis of the music industry am I going to reveal? What secret about viral videos am I going to unearth? What does my subject and musings today have to do with the music industry at all? The answer is NOT MUCH; if at all? For me and my journey through young adulthood, the music industry and early manhood though, my subject today means everything.

Today’s subject is about hero’s; particularly one of mine. Oooo you might be thinking he is going aspirational and will espouse on the Mt. Rushmore of his deity of songwriting- Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello, Johnny Cash, Prince, Levon Helm, etc. etc.- and while you may be right that in that I admire all of those people in one way or another, they are not the subject today. Okay then maybe you might think I am going to wax whimsical about the closely familiar and relational- my mom, or wife, or kids but that would be wrong as well.

In fact the hero I am going to speak of today did not play an instrument that I know of and is no relation.

To go further the inspiration for today’s blog was a short Irish man, a lustfully failed priest, an alcoholic, a recovering alcoholic and then an alcoholic again, a liar, bitter, selfish and arrogant, BUT…..BUT  he was also an author. Not just an author though that is far too mere mortal for his words. He was a poet with words that weren’t poetry, a prophet for those who desperately needed the message he passed on, a well-worn old and needed friend for those who were about to give up on it all.

It is no exaggeration or hyperbole to say that this man’s words whether spoken or written have proliferated and informed every single lyric, every morsel, every bite I have ever written like the red sauce drenching a wet burrito since being introduced to his work in 1998. His message has formed and shaped my very worldview, it has gently taken me by the trembling hand and brought me, kept me believing when logic, my own arrogance, the failings of others, and shear laziness would have lead me away.  For a moment let me digress.

In the year 2000 (yes I am hearing the old Conan O’Brian skit in my head too!) I was a singer in a band of 5 funky brothers (musically and odor wise at times) who was about to release our sophomore album for a well-funded but inept label and I had made a comment about how influential this author’s work was on the lyrics I was writing in an article for a national magazine. Did not think much of it until one day my phone rang and the caller I.D. (God I am old!) said New Orleans and I joked with my then wife that it was probably him, knowing that he lived there. She answered the phone, her face turned ghost white (and she is Italian) she murmured a couple hesitant, “yes…..yes…. he’s right here. Jason, its Brennan Manning.”  So being the trusting husband I was, I retorted, “whatever, who is it really?” The answer back was, “No I am serious.” Now keep in mind, that I had been on tour with, written with, hung out with rock star after rock star and none of them, not one left me impressed or star struck in the least, this was however a different matter all-together.

After fumbling through some awkward pleasantries, we spoke about life, faith, and of course with Brennan… GRACE. We exchanged lyrics, thoughts, and fears for about 45 minutes. As cliché as it sounds we laughed, I cried and then it ended.  That was the only time I ever spoke to Brennan, we never met in person. We exchanged a letter or two through the years but never met face to face.  We never met but I read every word the man ever wrote and it changed me, deepened me, and urged me to crawl grateful at the foot of the throne full of joy.

Brennan’s seminal books where The Ragamuffin Gospel (http://www.amazon.com/The-Ragamuffin-Gospel-Bedraggled-Beat-Up/dp/1590525027) and Abba’s Child (http://www.amazon.com/Abbas-Child-Heart-Intimate-Belonging/dp/1576833348/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y).  The overarching theme of his writings was this; we are all screwed up (the blessed are the ones who at least know it); it is okay to be screwed up; God is madly in love with us anyway. In two words Brennan’s message was that of Vulgar Grace!!! Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the man

·         “Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.”

·         “In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others.”

·         “There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are.”

·         “In Love's service, only wounded soldiers can serve.”

·         “The Ragamuffin Gospel was written with a specific reading audience in mind. This book is not for the super-spiritual. It is not for muscular Christians who have made John Wayne, and not Jesus, their hero. It is not for academics who would imprison Jesus in the ivory tower of exegesis. It is not for noisy, feel-good folks who manipulate Christianity into a naked appeal to emotion. It is not for hooded mystics who want magic in their religion. It is not for Alleluia Christians who live only on the mountaintop and have never visited the valley of desolation. It is not for the fearless and tearless. It is not for red-hot zealots who boast with the rich young ruler of the Gospels, “All these commandments I have kept from my youth.” It is not for the complacent who hoist over their shoulders a tote bag of honors, diplomas, and good works, actually believing they have it made. It is not for legalists who would rather surrender control of their souls to rules than run the risk of living in union with Jesus. The Ragamuffin Gospel was written for the bedraggled, beat-up, and burnt-out. It is for the sorely burdened who are still shifting the heavy suitcase from one hand to the other. It is for the wobbly and weak-kneed who know they don’t have it all together and are too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace. It is for inconsistent, unsteady disciples whose cheese is falling off their cracker. It is for poor, weak, sinful men and women with hereditary faults and limited talents. It is for earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay. It is for the bent and the bruised who feel that their lives are a grave disappointment to God. It is for smart people who know they are stupid and honest disciples who admit they are scalawags.”

 

See I am writing about this man’s influence on my writing in a music business blog for three reasons; 1) He recently passed away 2) My wife gave me his final book All is Grace as a graduation gift and it reminded me of how much he has meant to me and 3) To quote a line from the movie Almost Famous “Didn’t we get into this to avoid responsibility?” or to paraphrase it is the creative that drove me to the music business, it is how music can reach and touch the soul. How words can articulate the heart.  Song has that innate search for what Brennan called the “beautiful transparency.” I put up with all the other, stats, deals, business models, etc. because the creative makes it worth it.  

Brennan Manning had his critics for sure but that is not what this blog is about and I will not dignify their arrows with a response here. The theme here is Brennan’s  message has found its way in so many of my songs from Sweet Lullaby, Boy Meets Girl, and Give in the old CCM days, to Find Me, Reason, and Broken in the RAWK days to the title track on the new album Troubadours, Vagabonds and Thieves.  His words changed my life and influenced my lyrics far more than any musician, NO he was not perfect far far from it, but neither am I, neither are you…. isn’t that the real point.

I will end this (quite lengthy) blog with the lyrics to That’ll Preach, which contains the title phrase to the newest album. The irony here is that when I wrote these lyrics with my buddy Kevin Lawson I had not recently read anything of Brennan’s or really thought of him in quite some time and to be honest I don’t know if Kevin has ever even heard of the man but his message permeates these lyrics.

I will close with this, a simple thank you Brennan- rest now in Abba’s arms.

That'll Preach- ITunes

That’ll Preach

By Jason Lee McKinney, Kevin Lawson

 

V.1

                All my friends are troubadours, vagabonds and thieves

                Just like me

                Dirty orphans drowned in water, raised up as sons and daughters

                Just like me, Just like me

 

CHORUS

                We’re all bikers and drinkers, poets and thinkers

                Wanting nothing but to be free

                Open roads and pirate souls, looking for a hand to hold

                Want something real to reach

                We’re all looking for something that’ll preach

V.2

                When it comes to counting cost, I know I’m found but I’m still lost

                Just like you

                When I feel I’m losing ground, all I got to do is look around

                And see a room full of rebels just like me

                Oh I see a room full of rebels just like me

 

V.1 reprise

                All my friends are troubadours, vagabonds and thieves

                Just like me

 

George Orwell would be proud of today’s music industry

Big Brother truly is watching. With news feeds, tweets, and IPhone videos providing a constant interaction between Artists, Actors, Authors and their fans everyone can see the little man behind the curtain now. You can find out what Ashton Kutcher had for breakfast or where Britney Howard singer of Alabama Shakes buys her glasses, or that Taylor Swift just loves watching old John Hughes movies in an instant, non stop. In some way, this is great. The connection breaks down the perceived barrier between artists and their fans, they get to see the real person (sort of- at least the real person the artist wants you to see) frailty and all; likes, dislikes, what ticks them off, little odd idiosyncrasies. All designed to make the fan feel two things 1) Familiarity with the artist- “I know that guy” and 2) build brand loyalty- “Not only do I love her music but she owns a Siberian Husky just like me… that’s my girl.” Unfortunately, what is lost for the fan is the reverence and mystique that artists, authors, and actors once had. The larger than life side of performers had an upside as well. What are lost for the artist are privacy and sometimes the safety of their families or themselves. There used to be an unspoken covenant between the media and the artists; the artist would give access and interviews and in turn, the media would protect the artist from the public knowing about their dirty little secrets. This created an aura of being larger than life. While on the positive side the tearing of the veil allows the public to know that artists are not perfect or glamorous and that their lives are often nothing to envy, it also allows the public to know that artists are not perfect or glamorous and that their lives are often nothing to envy. In any trade off there is something gained and something lost and the mystique and aura of artists being “larger than life” has been lost in the same way as the beauty of album cuts and album art.

So how do we allow access to fans with trying to regain some of the aura? How is this to be taught in music business classrooms (should it be)? Where is the balance? It will never be the way it was again and that is probably for the better but the pendulum should not swing to far in the other direction; artists should want to interact with their fans. The artist is the brand and the brand is now the product not the music so interaction with fans is selling, however the discernment to where to draw the line is one that is ever blurring. 

rockstarprofessor: What is the greatest skill needed in the new music...

rockstarprofessor: What is the greatest skill needed in the new music...: How do we teach college students how to solve questions in an industry where the answers change quicker than the questions can form in t...

What is the greatest skill needed in the new music business and how do we teach it?

How do we teach college students how to solve questions in an industry where the answers change quicker than the questions can form in the collective industries mouth? How do we transform in an industry where the very cornerstone has eroded to the point where it cannot bear the fiscal weight of the industry itself? Where the product itself no longer has any value in the market place, yet there is more interest in that product than in any time in history. In plain terms what will the music industry be like in 5, 10, 15 years….or for that matter in 6 months? Truth is no one knows, we all know that and have for a while but the truth is the answer lies in paradigms of thought. Paradigms of new business models, or old business models that become a new in the cold light of the changes taking place; while there is no “one size fits all” business model out there for the music industry and I don’t think there ever will be again, there are new business models and concepts that will work for a vast majority of the time (at least for now), but more importantly the music industry as a whole (especially the new generation) must learn how to think strategically, in new ways. The answer is not in following a rote set of principles but in discovering new ways to think about the music industry. The challenge in being a music business educator is by the time we get a good text book (or any book) for that matter out and into the hands of students it is pretty much obsolete. For me the real solution is to teach them how to think. What I mean by that is teach them how to assess and discern their situation in the current marketplace and then decipher which levers to pull that will bring the most impact to their situation. We must teach them how to be dynamic thinkers, not conditioned responders. This is the greatest skill a student can have in the new music business- not great accounting skills, or being a great social networker, or great player, or producer, etc. because all of these skills and talents alone do not in and of themselves pave the way towards monetizing themselves, but adding dynamic thinking to one or more of these skills does. This is the key.

rockstarprofessor: Cheer up sleepy jean- A look at the Monkees legacy...

rockstarprofessor: Cheer up sleepy jean- A look at the Monkees legacy...: I was first exposed to the Monkees on the weekend of my Grandfather’s funeral in 1986. I was a young child and my older brother and I spen...

Cheer up sleepy jean- A look at the Monkees legacy in the music business.

I was first exposed to the Monkees on the weekend of my Grandfather’s funeral in 1986. I was a young child and my older brother and I spent the night at my Dad’s apartment while my Dad was off making funeral arrangements. It just so happened to be the same weekend that MTV was running a Monkees marathon and my brother and I stayed up all night watching every episode. It is vivid in my mind and my heart. It is one of my most cherished bonding moments with my older brother John. It was an escape from the pain of the very real life moment as my Grandfather was both my brother and my hero and still to this day the kindest man I have ever met.

Davy Jones of The Monkees passed away today. The oft-beguiled Monkees, who were manufactured by two upstart film producers and a veteran producer Don Kirshner to become the answer to the Beatles. were patterned after the Beatles. They were patterned not only in looks but also in demographic and most importantly in the intent of harnessing the power of television. Following the success of the cheeky, Beatles film Hard Days Night; the creators thought they could cash in. The Monkees were wildly successful for a couple of years and toured to rabid fans across the world. The question I am asking is what is their legacy?

Were the Monkees the first sign of the musical apocalypse, where acts are created in an industry laboratory setting as opposed to organically from the people?

In some sense, the answer is probably yes. As Rock grew from an under ground movement into big commerce, it was exploited towards a lowest common denominator that would reduce risk and garner profits. This is just part of the tension of the music business. The artistic side of it loves innovation, experimentation, and change because it leads to transformation and great art but the business side needs to see profits and must assess everything through the lens of risk verse benefits. For the business side it is always about profits not art. This tension pushes and pulls on the music business and always has. The Monkees are in some ways a keystone marker of a subtle shift more towards the business side, one that the ripple effects are still being felt today.

Were the Monkees innocent kids who saw a chance to grab the brass ring and took it?

On this one, I think the answer is yes. In much the same way the guys in Milli Vanilli were. While the Monkees did actually sing the lead vocals on their recordings, they were not allowed to play on the early recordings and were not allowed to write on the songs. It is easy to pass artistic judgment on these guys until you place your self into their shoes. You are a young often literally starving artist who is given a chance to have a platform and most importantly feed yourself, and the artistic moral waters begin to muck up a bit.

Were the Monkees a cultural icon that left us some great guilty pleasure pop songs and an entertaining escape?

I cannot speak for you but as I started, this blog I can say for me the answer is yes.

Rest in Peace Mr. Jones.

Here is a link of Mr. Jones at his best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU615FaODCg

rockstarprofessor: New Artist Growth App

rockstarprofessor: New Artist Growth App: It is beyond both empirical and anecdotal evidence to state that one of the trending business models in the music industry is that of a move...

New Artist Growth App

It is beyond both empirical and anecdotal evidence to state that one of the trending business models in the music industry is that of a move towards the entrepreneurial. A loosely connected structure where pieces of the value chain, once provided to an artist through the traditional record label, are now either handled completely by the artist or their management, or through the hiring of independent contract service providers. While much of the technological changes to the industry over the last decade have been disruptive to the traditional model, these same changes are opening new ways of cost management in the new model.

Some of the challenges with this new model that artists and their management face are in having the time, knowledge, relationships, and capital to thrive and build all the aspects of an artist’s career. Given that this has traditionally been handled by many people and is now relegated to 2 or 3. Quite simply, if an artist spends all their time doing administrative work, or just business in general, then there is little time left for the artist to do what they presumably do best (write and perform). Well, there might be help on the way.

On January 17, a company with a music business app is launching. The company is Artist Growth and it has some heavy hitters behind it. The app works like any other app on the iPhone, Android and Blackberry. One of the primary investors in the company is former Sony chair, Joe Galante, who describes the app as the music business “in a box.” The promotional video touts that Artist Growth will allow musicians to keep track of tour schedules, recording, finances, accounting, equipment inventory and industry contacts; all literally at the touch of a button and in one spot. It even has a reminder feature on when to contact local press for PR, production schedules for recording, etc. Artist Growth marks the user’s calendar with to do lists for almost all aspects needed.

While this app can significantly reduce man hour time as well as cost management with
real time analytics on inventory and sales, it does not address two major issues that artists going the new model route face – capital and networking. Artist Growth asserts that it takes pieces of the value chain that artist’s typically do not know how to do and puts them in an easy to use format, including instructional videos on the industry with industry vets as the experts. However, this still leaves some gaps and is not in and of itself the new business model for dummies. Just because there is access to a network, this does not empower the artist to harness that network and make it work for them (just because you have someone’s contact info does not mean you have a relationship with that person). Secondly, it does not address (and really cannot) the need for raising investment capital. Business of any kind will always need capital, without capital all of the resources and functional usability that Artist Growth offers is moot. These two aspects are always the major hurdles for artists “going it” without a label (whether by choice or lack of choice).

The Artist Growth app does not address all issues artist’s face in this brave new music world, or perhaps it is better said that it does not jump all the hurdles for the artist, the Artist Growth app could very well be the most powerful tool in the new business model of the music industry. It has the potential power to save the artist and their management time and money, which alone makes it well worth checking out.

To learn more follow this link: http://artistgrowth.com/

Publish or Parish: Artistic Branding

Publish or Perish! The ominous adage passed down around the analogous camp fires of academia from the silver streak, deep lined brow of the wise to the new and eager to earn their badges naïve. Publish or perish, like a ghost story is meant to warn those pursuing a career in academia that they had better be writing, had better be in the conversation or else… or else?…or else before too long they won’t even be invited to hear the conversations from afar. Like an Atari 2600, or Swatches, or DJ Jazzy Jeff, or Britney Fox they will be rendered obsolete.
In the turbulently transforming world of music, this is also the case. In reality music is no longer a product (I know I have said that before but I am going to keep saying it until you all start to listen) it is an advertising piece for the brand, and the brand is always the artist. Music is a cog in the wheel of the content industry. Therefore, a brand must have other cogs in the wheel to do two essentially important things.
1) Tell the story-
Who? - Who you are, past, present, future. Who inspires you?
What? - What is your unique way of seeing the world, experiences, etc?
Why? - Why do you do what you do? Why does the world need it?
2) Monetize- It is all about revenue streams! In the world long long ago in a galaxy far far away you could depend on the sale of music as your main source of income, but those days are gone. Recorded music is just one of many revenue streams you need to make a living and brand yourself.
The brand involves everything public about the company/artist. According to businessdictionary.com, branding is the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.
Branding involves merchandising, appearances, associations with other entities/charities, all the above. Increasing it is important to see any and all content as a part of the brand story.
A friend of mine from New Braunfels, TX, Drew Kennedy (http://www.drewkennedymusic.com/) gets the concept of branding and being a part of the “Content Industry”. Drew is a fantastic songwriter (we have co-written the song “Hardest Part” that will be on my forthcoming 2012 record – (http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150207363566355) and true artist who has now put pen to paper in a new way. Drew has authored a companion novel to his fifth album; both book and album are titled Fresh Water in the Salton Sea (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OSYC1G/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb).
The novel is weaved with nods to the experiential landscape of Drew’s own life. The main character’s, troubadour Daniel Murphy, story is fictional in nature but with Drew’s real life experiences and background as the backdrop. The novel and album weave the narrative gaps for one another in a way where you are not sure which is primary and which is supportive and that is the beauty of it. It is the whole story. It is music, it is word. It is fiction yet Drew is still telling you his story. The novel is an engaging story in the vein of a Jack Kerouac tradition.
This is true artistic branding, Drew shows you can stay a true artist who is driven by art and not commerce while simultaneously exploring and creating new holistic ways to marry your art and your brand. I will leave you with a quote from Drew’s book where main character Daniel Murphy is commenting on the juxtaposed prescribed American dream with that of the individual wanderer who lives for something deeper.
“My own version of the (American) dream is different. It involves making it on ideas that are born in my head, that come into being through hands upon a guitar, and my thoughts jotted down on a sheet of paper, the two eventually merged together with a melody sung from somewhere deep within my soul” (Kennedy, 2011).
Please support this art and go and purchase both Drew’s book and album, Fresh Water in the Salton Sea. It will be well worth the money, you will be glad you did.

FLOW

I have recently been reading a book by Daniel Pink entitled DRiVE. The book deals with levels of human motivation. One of Pink’s assertions is that intrinsic motivation is longer lasting and produces higher quality than extrinsic. He even quotes one Harvard study of painters. The researchers had the painters paint two paintings, one commissioned and one that was just whatever they wanted. The study found that experts rated the non-commissioned paintings higher in every case.
In one portion of the book Pink focuses on the PhD study of play that was conducted by Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Csikzentmihalyi observed painters and found that when the painters were truly in what he called “flow” (a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990)) they seemed to be so gripped in the moment of their work as to almost be in a trance. For them, “time passed quickly and self-consciousness dissolved” (Pink, 2009, p.111). The connection between the painters experience and that of musicians who get lost in their work is virtually identical. So when a spouse complains that speaking to their musician in these moments of “flow” , makes it seems as if they are not even there, like the musician is completely oblivious and they are talking to the wall. The answer is bluntly that it seems like they are not there because to the musician in a moment of flow well... they aren’t.
In flow, the creative is 100% in the moment. It is when you get lost in the creating and become one with it in a sense. You don’t have to think, or process, it just well…flows. These are the musician’s mountain top, the reason why we do what we do. The musician loses all sense of self and time in the creating and most importantly the reward is immediate. It is when you know you nailed the part, wrote the greatest line, or sang the perfect note. This however is not the norm for musicians, it is the exception.
The other side of flow is the chase for mastery. Musicians and other creatives have always had to deal with having a bi-polar reputation. The greatest song one day gives way to the realization of how far you have still to go the next. How much you need to improve and the reality of this being a forever journey hits. For the person in relationship with the musician this seems imbalanced, neurotic, and just plain hard to deal with. However this is the natural way of chasing mastery. As Pink says, “You and I each might reach flow tomorrow morning- but neither of us will achieve mastery overnight.” This is not a negative; ultimately the pursuit of mastery is the best positive. It is akin to the cliché, it is the journey not the destination.
Mastery is a state of mind. Flow is pure joy in the moment, Mastery is pain over time, it hurts, but both are vital to the process and the very essence of being creative. So for the spouse, girlfriend, kids, parents or friends of the musician, the swings in mood and ever-changing self opinion that your musician experiences, does not indicate a mental illness. For the musician this is normal. The swing from mountain top to valley in the musician’s journey is the process. I believe it was James Taylor who said of songwriting, “it is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration” but it is the 10% that makes the rest of it worth it.

Rising above the noise

I attended an interesting event near Nashville last night put on by Carpe Artista (http://www.carpeartista.com/). It was an authors in the round much like the traditional songwriters in the round only in this case it was writers of the written word. This event featured two dear friends of mine, Jay Lowder reading excerpts of his book Tears of Minbrock from his War of Whispers series (http://www.warofwhispers.com/) and Steve Grossman reading excerpts of his book Why I Failed in the Music Business (http://www.whyifailed.com/) I highly recommend you check both books out.

After the authors read excerts, they fielded questions about the publishing industry and the topic of self publishing came up. This is surely a kissing cousin of being an independent artist in the music industry and shares many of the advantages and disadvantages. Also common is the changes brought on by technology.

In both industries the true advantage is that everyone now has the ability to get published/ release recordings and technology has "leveled the playing field" and in both industries the true disadvantage is that everyone now has the ability to get published/release recordings and technology has "leveled the playing field."

So while it is much much easier to get "published" and technology has greatly reduced the barriers to entry by reducing creation and distribution costs, the ultimate result is a glut of material out there. This creates an overwhelmed confusion in consumers who have limited time and limited desire to search for new material (remember while the arts are infinetely important to those of us who are creatives, it is typically just entertainment to the average consumer). It also creates the vital necessity for the creative to do three principles in this new world in an infinitely more acute way.

1) know your audience (target the people you KNOW would love your work. Not those you HOPE or think might enjoy). The irony in all this is that technology has put the wide world at our finger tips but you must ask your self why would someone in Brazil or China want to buy your creative work??? The honest answer is that at first they wouldn't. So while the world is a much smaller place because of technology, marketing wise your best bet is to start with those closest to you- your family, friends, community (online and real world), state, etc. The second principle is
2) work your network this boils down to finding a way to motivate the people in your sphere to spread the word about your work to the people in their sphere in a way that motivates either a purchase or further spreading of the word about your work.
3) tell your story the best way to motivate your network is to tell your story, be honest, real but not depricating. Make them care about you and your work.

In the world of being independent whether as an author or an artist the two main obstacles have not changed since the dawn of time, inspite of the ease of which you can get a work into the market. The main obstacles to success remain 1) capital and 2) an energized network. This is what the major companies in either market still bring to the table. Of course to get this muscle you will give up creative control and monetary percentages but the trade is you have to find a way to rise aove the noise.

360 deals and Colonel Tom Parker

What are the similarities and differences between the modern music business eras 360 deals and record deals of early rock-n-rollers like Elvis; Motown, and Sun Records?

Pirate radio-Only at Disneyland?

I was watching Coal Miner's daughter the other day and there is a a few scenes where Loretta and her husband travelled the mid-south literally taking her 45's to radio stations and asking the PD in person to play the record. In some cases the record actually got played on the spot. Whether historically accurate or not this made me long for the day when radion was truly independent. Where if a PD in your region liked what he heard, he had the freedom to play it. This is no longer the case.

Can you name the 3 corporations that have the celestial radio market in a strangle hold?

Can you name any independent charts?

What geographic regions of the country have the strongest independent radio presence?

Home Depot and the Music Biz

Name one of the top do it yourself acts in the business and discuss what they did to carve out a niche?

What business strategy principles did the artist intentionally or unintentionally use?

Can their approach be duplicated in other genres? How?

Corporate sponsorships-the new record label?

There is a new movement in the music industry where many MAJOR artists are becoming a virtual marketing arm of corporations with their tours (some are even leaving their record deals and striking deals with the corporations to pay for their records).
How could this apply to a regional artist?
· Indentify a strong regional company with a strong brand
· Write a pitch proposal that has a real win/win scenario both in revenue and brand building

The Decade The music Died

“A long long time ago.” The words of the Don McClean song begins about the day the music died. Well the same can be said of the music business over the last 10 years. Ten years ago there were 10 “diamond” records this past year there were none! Not one. Things have changed. So what does this mean? Is the music business truly going to die….???....wait for it? Wait for it? NO. The music business is not going to die, however the larger than life Rock Star’s and their larger than life tours are dying. So if your dream was to be a rack star you may want to adjust. So the challenge becomes how to carve out you own niche, how to rise above the noise.

Can you come up with a true business strategy and plan (using real business strategy principles- cost leadership, premium product; geography, etc.) to discuss how to rise above this noise.

Who knows I might use some of your ideas myself.