Using Websites To Get Discovered

For years as a lover of all music genres and the business of the music industry, I know first hand how hard it is for artists to get their foot in the door. So many negative factors about the industry has left a bad taste in many peoples mouths and since discouraged our talented musicians and business professionals from pursuing their dreams. Making a difference in the music community has always been a lifelong goal for me because I understand how powerful and inspiring the sound of beautiful music can be. I want this blog to serve as a tool for emerging musicians, singers, songwriters and future business moguls as a reference and guide for the starving artist on how to make it in the industry.

Many of us have heard or know of extremely gifted artists with the ability to touch lives through song, but yet they have not been able to land a major recording deal. To yourself you may have wondered this artist has the whole package, quality music, personality and a great image so what is the hold up? The frozen truth is that making it into the music industry has a lot to do with who you know and networking. If this task was an easy one maybe that talented person would have been signed a long time ago. Artist have to grasp that utilizing resources is essential to advancing their career.

In 2007 three business partners understood that breaking into the industry for unknown artist is extremely difficult and wanted to connect those artist to already established music professionals looking for talent. The innovative founders Corey Stanford, Nathaniel Casey and Ronald Harrison created a brilliant idea of a company now known as Blazetrak. Blazetrak serves as the first ever online networking for artist looking to get their music heard by A list celebrities and moguls such as Ruben Studdard, Matthew Knowles, Big boi and John Rich just to name a few. The company guarantees that if an artist submits their music through Blazetrak to the person of their choice, that within 30 days they will receive a personal video message from the music industry professional giving the artist valuable feedback and direct exposure.  http://vimeo.com/20583755 Although this idea is brilliant it also comes with a hefty price, Blazetrak translates the price into credits with one credit averaging 25 dollars a pop. However, it is a great opportunity for artists that have quality material but no direction.  Blazetrak works! visit the website at  www.blazetrak.com.

 Reference

 About Blazetrak/Blazetrak. Retrieved from http://Blazetrak.com/howitworks_overview.php. June 16, 2012.

Legal Counsel From Entertainment Attorneys

If the music business was not about the music business, then it would have been called the record business, unfortunately the music industry's only purpose is to gain profit at all costs, even if it's at the artists expense. Business over music is the motto in the industry whether an artist likes it or not, it is the reason why many musicians and entertainment professionals should understand entertainment law in respect to the field they are in. Since the entertainment is in the dog eat dog arena, I was able to find pertinent advice from Entertainment Attorneys Greg Eveline, Michael C. Donaldson, and Mike Young.
  In a seminar conducted by Attorney Greg Eveline, he lectures a course specifically discussing the importance of copyrights and why publishing is where majority of money can be made for artists. According to Greg, his advice to songwriters and artists are to make sure that all material is copyrighted. In particular, he mentions that signed artists should always register the performing arts form because typically a record label will have rights to the sound recording and the video recording copyright. He stresses properly registering arts of work is a must for all artists because if not done, the record label will cheat artists out of royalties. Greg states artists should think about copyrighting as owning property because it allows the artist to rent or sell their music. Attorney Eveline also points out that copyrights do not mean artists owns music they register, but that it is merely a claim stating that their music material was created at a certain date and time.

On the other end of the spectrum, directors of documentaries are having a hard time visually explaining a story without using the appropriate music to compliment points they try to make. Entertainment lawyer Michael Donaldson says the reason why it's so hard for directors of documentaries to create stories is because of clip licensing fees. For instance, if a director wants to use 30 seconds of a song clip and use it in two parts of the film, it would cost production at least $6000 to $8000 for permission to license music. In order to lower the costs, Donaldson says he always advise his clients to implement fair use. Fair use is like freedom of speech, it allows film makers to express their ideas through film without having to pay licensing fees. In a way, fair use is like a loop hole for filmmakers to use as a defense in the court of law. Donaldson explains as long as the filmmaker is able to illustrate the point and doing so by only using what they need to get the message across to viewers, then there is a line for defense in court. Lastly, Donaldson says that it is imperative for filmmakers not to take advantage of fair use, he believes filmmakers need to maintain relationships by offering to pay a price they can afford, before using unauthorized material believing they don't have to pay because of fair use.

In another interview, lawyer Mike Long gives advice on how to protect a website without a lawyer. Considering the growth in social networking and digital media, Mike Long's advice for online business owners are very important. In the interview Long states the first rule of thumb in protecting a business is by forming a separate business entity to shield assets such as cars, by forming a registered business like an LLC, or corporation. He states its essential because the company becomes a person shielding the owner from having to worry about loosing personal property. Long goes on to mention every website should have a privacy policy that states what customers rights are and to ensure customer privacy when using the website, if they choose to use their information on the website. finally, Long mentions the importance to watch out for copyright trolls, copyright trolls are people that make a profit purchasing domain names that already belong to businesses.

Listening to all of the interviews gave a lot of insight on where the entertainment industry is headed in the future. in particular, I find information on fair use to be the most helpful for my business because my company creates videos that will need to use music in order to illustrate a point. Also another key point shared by lawyer Mike Young, is to always protect your business by registering intellectual property and safeguarding your online business by purchasing a domain name. To see full length interviews please watch attached videos below.

References

A Seminar in Copyright Law with Entertainment Lawyer Greg Eveline. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei50ZKq0Y_k. May 24, 2012

What is Fair Use in a Documentary Film? with Entertainment Lawyer, Michael C. Donaldson on BYOD EP24 retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uDr0LAMqws. May 24, 2012

Protecting Your Website Without A Lawyer - Attorney Mike Young Interview. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5aYC8RD6_0. May 24, 2012

The War Over Music

Included in the many battles and challenges the music business face to keep the industry afloat, the massive decline in CD sales and spike in online piracy are only a mere fraction of the legal battles the business juggles. In an attempt to keep the industry alive, record labels have been desperate finding ways to make new money from 360 deals at the artist expense, filing suits against websites, and the fight on royalties and licensing.

Amongst constant legal pursuits to strengthen existing copyright laws against consumer infringement, major record labels are also acquiring lawsuits themselves from musicians due to the innovation of media sales of music from online distributors. Since iTunes is required to license music from record companies, the labels are making a profit from licenses and music sales, which raises questions from artists wanting to know what percentage of royalties from licenses and record sales, are the record companies supposed to pay them. In a review of well known artists who recently filed claims against their label, gave a better insight on the ongoing royalty legal issue.

The late Rick James most recently popularized by his statement on a BET awards show "I'm Rick James B****." has found himself after death fighting for royalties that his estate believes Universal records cheated them out on. The estate filed a class action against UMG suing for damages claiming the label owes unpaid royalties from the sale of digital music downloads and ringtones. According to entertainment attorney Tamera H. Bennet "In accordance with the Eminem decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a digital download is a license, and an artist is typically entitled to 50% of what the record label was paid for the license, versus a lesser percentage that would be due for the sale of a record."(2011) Since the artist is entitled to half of licenses which is a far more bigger share than the percentage of royalties from record sales, in my opinion this means we can expect a number of artists to file suit against their record labels in the near future.

Another legal controversy surrounding the music industry are the record labels ongoing battle to secure rights for locking artists into 360 deals when they sign a recording contract. Since the labels are no longer making profits solely from record sales, it is now becoming a common procedure to sign artists to deals that take income from sponsorships, endorsements, products, books, etc. Any form of business that artists makes, the record company wants to be entitled to a portion of it. Entertainment lawyer Bob Donnelly thinks if artists have an opportunity to sign a 360 deal, then they should immediately contemplate on doing a 180 on them. He also believes, record labels are right to incorporate 360 deals in contracts, he states "Labels justify profiting from multiple rights because they are making a substantial investment in the artist."(Donnelly, Buyers Beware.) personally, I believe that 360 deals are unfair to the artist, especially if the artist is performing average in record sales, if there was someway that the record label could recoup a small percentage from the 360 deals then maybe for the artist the deal will be worth negotiating.

Lastly, a legal controversy with sampling music has forced websites like google and YouTube to audit, and refrain certain music not allowed by the artist or label to be viewed on the website. Lawsuits between the sites have forced YouTube to no longer allow persons to download music samples, instrumentals or the use of certain remakes to be viewed due to infringement. Most recently, Viacom sued YouTube for releasing material on their site stating, youtube's motive was to gain popularity and not rightfully license the use of materials. Ultimately Viacom lost the suit, included in a 39 page document of the ruling states “A reasonable jury could find that YouTube had actual knowledge or awareness of specific infringing activity on its website.” (Limer, 2011.) My take on this case is that YouTube cannot stop everyone of its users from downloading material or uploading remakes of works that are sampled, in my opinion it's out of their control, however I do think the company has been proactive in trying to limit infringement from happening because now it's nearly impossible to upload videos with cover songs or material with works of popular artists contained in them.

In conclusion, the music industry is far from winning the battle of music theft, but it is clear they are taking necessary steps onto building the foundation of a new music era thrived by the internet, media, and digital downloading. Along its road to recovery, the battle of legal controversies the industry faces will no time soon seize to end.

References

Bennet, H. T. (2011, April 8). Rick James Estate's Class-Action Suit Against Universal: An Entertainment Attorney Weighs In. Retrieved from http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/rick-james-estate-s-class-action-suit-against-1005122802.story. May 5, 2012.

Donnelly, B. Buyer beware why artist should do a 180 on 360 deals. Retrieved from http://www.lommen.com/pdf/Bob-Donnelly-Billboard-360-Article.aspx. May 5, 2012.

Limer, E. (2012, April 5). Viacom’s Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against YouTube Goes Forward, Threatening DMCA’s Few Useful Qualities. Retrieved from http://www.geekosystem.com/viacom-youtube-lawsuit-raised/. May 5, 2012.

The Most Successful Female Rapper Of All Time

Music has had its share of successful female rappers including old time greats, Queen Latifa and Little Kim but lately in the Hip Hop arena, we have yet to see a female rap artist attain success next to the likes of the male dominated genre. This tale held true until an eccentric, Spunky, fun whited, and quirky lyrical artist stepped on the scene in 2009 with a slew of music features on other artists singles and topping the charts at number 1 with her first hit single "Your Love". Ever since the rapstress has stepped foot on the hip hop scene her consistency with producing great records and growing fan base, has made the barbie beauty a force to reckon with. When comparing the statistics to other female lyricists to date, Nicki Minaj can be hailed as the most successful female rapper of all time.

According to Carlton Jordan.com other female rap artists album sales produced a certain amount of numbers, the details are as follows.

Trina 

Da Baddest B***h – 33K

Diamond Princess – 67K

Glamorest Life – 77K

Still Da Baddest – 47K

Amazin – 33K

Lil Kim 

Hardcore – 78K

The Notorious K.I.M. – 230K

La Bella Mafia – 166K

The Naked Truth – 109K

Missy Elliott 

Supa Dupa Fly – 129K

Da Real World – 131K

Miss E So Addictive – 250K

Under Construction – 259K

This Is Not A Test – 143K

The Cookbook – 176K

*Drum Rolls Please*

NICKI MINAJ 

PINK FRIDAY – 375K

PINK FRIDAY ROMAN RELOADED – 254K

According to the Statistics, Nicki Minaj effortlessly supersedes all with only a mere two albums released, if the lyricist is able to maintain these type of numbers for her third album, then I believe it is safe to say that she is an artist rapping consumer friendly greatness, an act banking in her own lane. I look forward to hear more music coming from Nicki Minaj and to watch her empire grow as she becomes the most 

successful woman in Hip Hop today. To learn more about Minaj please visit her website at http://mypinkfriday.com/events#tour

References

Jordan C. 2012, April 17. Nicki minaj on track to become the most successful female rapper in history. retrieved from. http://www.carltonjordan.com/2012/04/17/nicki-minaj-on-track-to-be-most-successful-female-rapper-in-history/. April 22, 2012

Minaj, N. 2012. My pink friday. Retrieved from http://mypinkfriday.com/events#tour. April 22, 2012

  

Business Over Talent: Iggy Azalea V.S Snow Tha Product

Ask any established artist how easy was it for them to  break into the music industry, I can almost guarantee that the answer would be it took good music, excellent management with a dash of blood, sweat, and tears. Now, if you ask the same question to a female artist she would answer all of the above and then some. New artists that are female have to live a double standard when pursuing a music career especially in the genre of hip hop, women cannot just be talented but they also need to be visually pleasing to the viewers eye, typically in an over sexualized manner. In the hip hop community sex sells and unfortunately for some artist that are not visually and sexually appealing to the eye, have little chance attaining success.

For instance, freshman class new comer rapper Iggy Azalea has a good flow but I'm not too sure if crediting her success is due to her rapping skills, the 21 year old's image is reminiscent  to white barbie with a voluptuous body, don't get me wrong she is good but her visual package is what sells her, it reels in the viewers because she is hot! on the contrary, independent artist Snow Tha Product has a flow that can compete with Nicki Minaj, she is that good with her skills but in order for her to get any serious offers by labels she is going to need to revamp her image or create a story behind her music that is interesting enough to gain more of a following. In my opinion Snow can give Iggy a run for her money but because of the double standard in the industry it is likely that Iggy will remain the dominant player because of her well developed image. 

Only time will prove if listeners will  begin to remotely care about the talent rather than the look but during a tumultuous time in the music indusry execs more than likely will choose half the skills for the full image deciding business over talent. 

Check out below videos of rappers Snow and Iggy doing their thing!

How Good Is Your Management?

The range and depth of success for many artists in the industry does not solely rely on artist talent, one major factor of success heavily depends on artist management. The management team transforms an artist music into a small business that is comprised of imperative components that will make or break an artist. Services artists need within their team include Public Relations specialists, Marketing, Artist Development and distribution just to name a few. So, with that said, how good is your management? If you are an artist that is talented beyond measure but lack the team that makes your music a marketable entity, then it is in your best interest to become affiliated with persons well versed in the area.

Artist that we hear on radio and see on television everyday have management teams dedicated to the marketable promotions of an artist. for instance, new R&B artist Elle Varner is backed by a management team named MBK Entertainment. The company provides a variety of services for their roster of talent which include famous singers such as Alicia Keys and Tyrese. Main functions that MBK provide for them are business to business activities that helps the advancement and development of an artist. MBK states "We are a multimedia company with many facets including its music division which embraces all genres of music from R&B to rap to pop, a film division, and a concert promotions division. As a young company, everyday we are expanding and broadening our horizons to give you, the consumer and potential new artist, some of the best quality entertainment in the industry today." (2011 MBK)  http://www.mbkentertainment.com/about/

Another company that offers management services is called Red Entertainment, the company offers booking opportunities for established artists and new artists that need the extra promotional help to jump start their career, or to simply help established artists remain in the public eye. http://redentertainment.com/Red_Entertainment_Agency/Home.html


References
MBK Entertainment. 2011. About us. Retrieved from http://www.mbkentertainment.com/about/. November 12, 2011.
Red Entertainment. 2011.Home. Retrieved from http://redentertainment.com/Red_Entertainment_Agency/Home.html. November 12, 2011.

Negotiating for Cornerstone Promotion

Cornerstone Promotion is a marketing company for lifestyle music and entertainment with stints in promoting trending music artists such as N.E.R.D. handling marketing for his latest album Seeing Sounds and the driving force behind the marketing of Bushmills liquor, Converse, Coke Zero, Boost Mobile and owns a popular magazine Fader that is gaining notoriety for its big time artists that are being featured such as Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Young Geezy, Cameron and many influential artists in the entertainment business. Cornerstone has continued to make a name for its self in the New York City area and has locations in Los Angeles and in Europe. With an undeniable buzz in the Tri State area I was able to sit down with a Cornerstone Representative Edward Jean in Time Square to get some insight on what it means to work for a leading marketing company in the entertainment industry in its day to day operations. During the interview Edward describes the negotiation practices that makes the Cornerstone Team a Success.

Q:How long have you been working with Cornerstone?
A: Since 2006 I continue to work with them because overall it's a good company, the working environment is very positive and the great thing about working in the entertainment industry is that for the most part work is always fun.

Q: What are your responsibilities as an employee at Cornerstone?
A: My responsibility as an employee is to be the representative that gets an artists product into the stores first, I meet with managers and ask them to play the album in the stores and ask permission to take photos with customers holding the CD in hand so that I have evidence to show cornerstone that the product was delivered. We also travel to different events and speak with club managers to get the product played in the clubs and have tangible marketing for party goers to have in hand such as flyers etc..

Q:  Interesting! in what capacity does negotiation contribute to the success of promotions for Cornerstone?
A: Before I even get on the road to deliver the product for different artists first we have to send proposals to  artist management and negotiate deals that will get their product out to a specific audience, while negotiating we usually focus on leverage and power because there are other competing marketing companies wanting their business. Due to our popularity and young target audience we usually win them over with other affiliations connected to Cornerstone such as Fader magazine. Fader is the hottest magazine out in New York and to be honest we win a lot of our deals because artists want to be featured in our issues.

Q: So basically Cornerstone thrives off of having power thanks to its strong fan base and brand that has transpired with the creation of Fader magazine?
A: Exactly, artists are always looking for the best place to market their music that will help them grow their fan base and Fader magazine does just that for them, it definitely gives us and advantage or leverage when proposing marketing deals to the artists management, because of it, business has never been better power is everything these days.

Q: Thank you so much for your time where can I learn more about Cornerstone Promotion?
A: It's my pleasure for further inquiries you can visit cornerstone promotion at www.cornerstonepromotion.com and check out the magazine at www.Thefader.com