My law course this month

This month law course touched on every aspect of why I wanted to be here for my learning adventure. Advance Entertainment Law showed me the legal obligations from a business-to-business and business-to-consumer standpoint. The learning of safeguarding your intellectual property the right way is a must in this industry. Most artist and new comers think that it is all about making the music and it is not just about the music.

This month of learning taught me answers to: How would you get paid for what you made in the studio? What channels are you trying to take your career down? How do you get placement in movies and commercials? How can you use sampled music without being sued? These are some main questions that I was confronted with and now I found my answers. This month has also helped me find my way to become narrow minded to how to get where I want to go successfully. The education that I obtained as of entertainment contracts, management contracts, intellectual auditing, and licensing for product use was just what I wanted to learn.

The concepts I learned can be used to offer good service to any artist that would like a well-informed manager to look after them. Also, the lessons will be able to help me shop their music, videos, or other intellectual property that would find them work or sale from the artist.

Now that the information has been shown to me on how to license, publish, trademark, correctly copyright lyrics, and the real extinct of the law of intellectual property infringement, I feel that I know that the upper hand has been passed to me, and the future that has been in my mind all these years can now be brought to life.

Product and Artist Management It’s Time To Do Better

In today’s blog I want to talk to all artists. Regardless of your craft, whether you are a music artist of any genre, an actor or a manager of creative professionals I want to challenge you to consider this one thing. Ask yourself, “Can I be relevant without understanding my position in the industry?

The entertainment industry is the forerunning influence, next to media, for most of the growing adults in the 21^st Century. With the advancements of technology it has become easier to self-publish, independently release projects and to get an entertainment project to the masses through online media. The age of downloads and Internet sharing of media has changed the pay scale, royalty payments, and also popularity rating for up and coming artist and actors. These new developments have created a new breed of people dream bigger and no longer believe that it’s a long shot to break into music, film, or acting. As the opportunities expand, which is great, it has created a new mentality that hinders the productivity of a creative professional desiring to take their art mainstream. The industry has been invaded by artists who believe, “I can do this all by myself.” This is a dangerous road to walk as a creative professional and it’s important that you re-think how you are seeking to launch your career.

In 2010 I started my own record label where I signed three artists, launched two publishing houses, and began working as a major event planner in the east coast. Although I was attaining some success I realized that the main ingredient that I needed to succeed was not in place. To maximize my skills as a manager I recognized that there was a need for education and structure to reach my goal. I immaturely implemented my vision without the proper tools. I fell into the 21^st Century creative professional mentality that I could do it all on my own.

Let’s start with artists; the naked truth is that many creative professionals of the 21^st Century are lost in translation. As an artist within the industry, your primary goal is to be a great artist. Instead of trying to perfect your craft and handle your career, consider bringing on a manager to help elevate you to the next level. A manager is needed for an artist or actor to find work and opportunities advance in their career. A manager understands the business component that enhances your career and has the proper connections to help you reach you objectives as an artist. The goals for most artists are to make money, have their art recognized, seen or heard and to be famous. To achieve these goals, artists need to have the real knowledge of how the industry works from a business perspective as well as the inner workings of the organization they’re within. In short, artist if you’re going to have a strong career you need a stellar management team that can work with you to let your craft be heard and seen by the world.

Now to the managers, you too cannot do it alone. Just as an artist needs you, you need artists. Learning to work together interdependently is the key to your success. Build a solid integral working relationship with your artists. Understand their goals and be committed to bring your knowledge, skill and contacts to their artistry to see your team succeed. You success is predicated on the success of your artist.

I learned through the premature launch of my business, that as a manager and record label owner I had a responsibility to invest in my education of the entertainment industry. It’s not enough to wing it, you need to develop your skill and be what an artist needs. They entrust their careers to you, that’s a great responsibility and you should approach your role from that perspective. Like the artist that needs to be surrounded by management to succeed, you too need to surround yourself with professionals that sharpen you and make you a great asset to your team.

Investing in you as a manager adds value to your role and career. Creative artists need to know that they need us as we need them. The truth is that a career in the entertainment industry is hard one to establish and maintain. The success of both artists and managers hangs on understanding how the entertainment industry is ran and the best strategies to keep creative artists relevant.

I ask this of my readers, during the month of March evaluate you effectiveness as a creative professional. Artists its time to take a deep dive into your career and ask yourself these questions:

·      Can hiring a good manager in the field I am pursuing further my career?

·      What would good manager based on my career goals bring to the table?

To those managers that are reading today’s blogs ask yourselves I also want you to evaluate where you are in your career. Ask yourself these questions:

·      Have I been the best manager I can be for my existing clients?

·      How can I add value to my role as a manager for the advancement of the artists I represent?

As an industry, it’s time for creative professionals to challenge themselves. No more doing it all alone, acting independently like a lone ranger. Embrace the power of a team and recognize that to get where you want to go, you have to do better.

Negotiate Your Way To The Top

As an inspiring artist, one of the most powerful business tools to get under your belt is the power of negotiation. Learning how to negotiate with others is the key to building successful business partnerships and despite what you think, you can’t reach the levels you desire as a one man or woman show.  As I approached the Negotiation course, my goal was to gain a better understanding of negotiation tactics that will enhance my ability to close deals for my company.

Learning the art of negotiation is something that most artists and creative professionals have failed to conquer, therefore they typically walk away from their entertainment industry career feeling slighted.  The dominant characteristic of a skilled negotiator is that they consider the negotiation from both sides. A good negotiator simply wants to win; a great negotiator desires a win that is beneficial for both parties.

Here are three attributes of a great negotiator:

1)   A great negotiator has good research skills. This allows them to reach a realistic goal based on the information they have gathered prior to the negotiation session.

2)   A great negotiator is realistic. They recognize the realistic boundaries of not only their part of the negotiation, but anticipate the other parties boundaries and negotiates strategically within them.

3)   A great negotiator is an active listener. It’s important that a great negotiator doesn’t just hear what the other party is saying but is skilled in communicating what is heard back to the other party so that the conversation comes to a mutual agreement.

4)   A great negotiator asks questions. He who asks the questions controls the conversation in a negotiation session. Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions and tie down your negotiating party with questions like, “Is that correct?” and “can we agree on that?”

Throughout my experience this month, I have learned that fine-tuning my negotiating skills will allow me to become a better music business professional for you, my artist, clients and industry friends. I have been able to apply them to my real world experience while I have been negotiating deals with a local venue to host a weekly event. Understanding these four negotiating principles allowed me to enhance those conversations. I encourage all artists to begin using them to push yourself to the next level of your career. Remember, your dream is just a wish without action and faith…negotiate your way to the top!

Rachel Botsman has inspired me in my travels of the road of entertainment

Rachel Botsman has inspired me in my travels of the road of entertainment. The speech she gave was about “The currency of the new economy is trust.” I feel that business is shorted over this after the crash of the economy and bail outs for the big companies. No person wants to be taken for advantage especially a paying customer.

Leadership Mastery Journal Post

In this course this month I have learned more of my leadership style; which is Maxwell’s form of leading. This form of leading has put me in my position phase as we speak on real time bases. The skills of knowing what people make up your team, is not a new element in being successful in business to me.

CAN I LIVE?

This question sticks out in my mind today because of the issue of leadership. How can the leaders of tomorrow become and remain strong in this tough world of today? The questions might be on a personal measure within the souls of us;

It is no longer about the Benjamin's It is about the Politics

It is no longer about the Benjamin’s

(UNCUT)

 How many of us artists pay out to Internet Radio?  How many of us ever see a cent for our music spins?  The news is that Pandora Goes After Artist Royalties in Big Risk. The company has grown since 2007 off of undiscovered artists and mainstream artists as well, giving the company  more than 60 million users in the past months and doubling their revenue every year.