Professional Blog Post 1 Assignment

   There are many steps that a business must take to get off the ground, and funding is one of them. Funding is one of the most important ingredients in the recipe of cooking up a successful business. Without proper funding and enough capital to operate in the black, a business will most likely not succeed. The instructions for this Professional Blog Post assignment list 9 alternative funding websites where a business can go to seek funding.

   The first of these is http://www.opportunityfinance.net/ who use Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to finance community businesses—including small businesses, microenterprises, nonprofit organizations, commercial real estate, and affordable housing.

   Next is http://www.microenterpriseworks.org/ a national membership of microbusinesses with a focus on eventually having everyone working in the U.S.   

   Third is http://www.cdfi.org/ providing funding to businesses via Community development financial institutions (CDFIs).

   The fourth source of alternative funding for businesses is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau http://cfed.org/ who among other things, has the 1:1 Fund that matches donations for kids’ college savings dollar for dollar, nice!!!

   Next up is the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance http://www.cdvca.org/ which is a membership of venture capitalists that provide equity capital to businesses. The sixth on the list is the National Community Investment Fund http://www.ncif.org/ who turns every dollar they leverage with the banks they invest into 8 dollars, which is lent to small businesses, nonprofits, and individuals.

   Seven on the list is the US Economic Development Administration http://www.eda.gov/ who provide development in economically distressed areas of the United States. The eighth on the list is the First Nations Development Institute http://www.firstnations.org who help mobilize the capacity of Native Americans with grants and loans. The ninth alternative funding website on the list is http://www.oweesta.org/ a sister company to the First Nations Development Institute that is the only existing Native CDFI intermediary offering financial products and development services.

Digital Marketing Discussion Post

   The music industry has gone through many changes over the years. Physical album sales are no longer the biggest income stream for the music business. Illegal downloading of music has put a huge dent in sales, taking away what would have been a sale of a record with each download. How music is listened to has changed quite a bit over the years as well. CDs, vinyl, and cassettes fell by the wayside as satellite radio, paid downloads, and subscription music streaming services came to the forefront as the leading music sales channels. According to statista.com, music album sales have dropped from 500 million sales in 2007 to 241 million sales in 2015.

Music album sales in the United States from 2007 to 2015 (in million units)

   The trends in music marketing have changed quite a bit from 2007 to 2015. Apple music and Spotify are leading the way with 10 million and 25 million paying subscribers respectively, and there are new methods of music delivery being developed, some look promising while others look pretty darn silly. Oculus has developed the Rift VR headset, while Universal Music plans to create a series of virtual reality concerts.

   Another trend I see is that of artists releasing their album projects independently without the help of major label distribution. R&B singers Charlie Wilson and Tyreese are doing well with their independently released albums. Artists are willing to “do it all”. What was once unusual, an artist going on without a major label deal, like what Prince once did, now is beginning to become the “new normal” of the music industry. With the cost of Internet services becoming more affordable, and quality computers with more power than ever within our reach, more and more people are “doing it for themselves” becoming the recording studio, record label, and music distributor all in one.

References:

http://www.statista.com/statistics/273308/music-album-sales-in-the-us/

http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2016/01/-6-of-2016s-key-music-marketing-trends.html

Business Plan Development Mastery Journal Assignment

   My original goal for this course was to take in all I could about creating a business plan for the recording studio I plan to build and operate, Da Chop Shop Studios. It has been a dream of mine since 2003, and I’ve had some sort of recording setup since 2009 when I moved from Connecticut to Atlanta. The course was chocked with information, and if I may admit, a bit overwhelming. The course met the goal of providing the road map of developing an effective business plan, but I may have fallen short of my personal mark by not fully understanding all the concepts of the course. My insight, skill and outcome has changed because of this course. What comes easy to me is what I’m passionate about, and believe in. It makes it easier for others to believe in your product, service, etc.

   What didn’t come easy to me was the accounting portion of the course, which is clearly the most important. If your business does not look like it will make money, or you business plan in sloppy and inaccurate, investors will not want to part with their cash. I learned that my lack of skills in this area is where I can use the most improvement. As to how I would apply the material learned in this course personally or professionally, it’s a must that I utilize the concepts learned from the course content to run a successful business.

   To realize your dream can be a difficult thing to accomplish sometimes, if not for financial reasons, it’s because others may “kill the dream” before it’s born. You must plan and research to make your dream a viable business, not just one that looks good on paper, but reflects your passion.

“Experts Views on the Value of Business Plans”

   The first recognized expert I have chosen in the field of writing and/or reviewing business plans I would like to mention is Tim Berry. Berry is founder and Chairman of Palo Alto Software, and is author of LivePlan and Business Plan Pro software. He is perhaps the leading authority in business plan development software and books. As a consultant to Apple Computers for 14 years, he developed various business plans for Apple Latin America, Apple Pacific, and Apple Japan. Apple Latin America grew from $2 million to $37 million annual sales, and Apple Japan grew from $187 million to $1.5 billion in annual sales during Berry’s tenure at Apple.

   Andrea Cockerton is another expert I chose in the field of writing and/or reviewing business plans. She founded the company Mudhut in 2005. The company specializes in Speechwriting, investor pitches, commercial pitches, and communication training. Microsoft was a client of Cockerton’s company, utilizing their business planning services for a number of years.

What are the critical & key components that investors are looking for in a plan?

- How unique/marketable/profitable your product/service is

- The target market for your product/service

- Your ability to execute your business plan

Why are these considered key?

   These critical & key components are important to investors because they want to see

that their potential to get a return on their investment is high.

Which of their suggestions are you considering for your plan.

   For Da Chop Shop Studios, the choice would be to focus on the target market of independent artists, labels, music producers, as well as corporate/advertising accounts, and increasing sales of mixing and mastering projects via Internet/Cloud Service. This would be to cater to clients who would need a studio to mix and master their projects.

Resources:

Various Length Bios for Tim Berry - Tim Berry. (n.d.). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from http://timberry.com/media1/biographies/

Tim Berry. (n.d.). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from http://www.paloalto.com/about-us/leadership/tim_berry

News, C. (2014). How formal choral scholar Andrea Cockerton turned the Dowsing Sound Collective from a hobby to a business. Retrieved May 08, 2016, from http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/formal-choral-scholar-Andrea-Cockerton-turned-Dowsing-Sound-Collective-hobby-business/story-22510094-detail/story.html

Andrea Cockerton. (n.d.). Retrieved May 08, 2016, from http://www.thebusinesshub.info/guests/andrea-cockerton/

Link to blog post

http://brianirvingengineer.blogspot.com/

“The Art of Organized Noize”

   I am excited about the release of the new film “The Art of Organized Noize” which covers the start of the Hip Hop movement in the Atlanta area, and the three men that were the architects of the sound, Rico Wade, Patrick “Sleepy” Brown, and Ray Murray. The 3 of them as the production team, Organized Noize, laid the sonic blueprint for The Dungeon Family, whose members include rappers Outkast, Goodie Mob, Killer Mike, Slim Cutta Calhoun, Witchdoctor, & Joi.

At the height of the success of Organized Noize, the production team was responsible for TLC’s hit single “Waterfalls”, and their album “Crazysexycool” shot up from 2 million to 11 million in sales. The phone began to ring for production work, and Organized Noize produced hits for Ludacris, Mista, and remixes for Lenny Kravitz and others. After producing the song “Don’t Let Go” from the Motion Picture Soundtrack “Set it Off” for the R&B group EnVogue, things really took off. They had outgrown their original deal with LaFace Records, and signed a 20 million dollar deal with Interscope Records.

When the team could not deliver the hit records like they had done in the past, they walked away from the deal with Interscope, leaving 17 million dollars on the table. The movie fills in all the gaps that you may not have known about the huge role that Organized Noize played in the Atlanta Hip Hop movement. One interesting but bittersweet fact is that Outkast’s 10 million selling, Grammy Award winning album “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” does not contain any productions from Organized Noize. In a scene in the movie, Rico Wade explains this and is painfully emotional about it.

“The Art of Organized Noize” was released on Netflix March 22, and the trailer can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xJaOzjjBAI The film premiered at the SXSW Music Conference a week before it’s release on Netflix, and a panel discussion at SXSW with Organized Noize can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOT8GpoIIhY&nohtml5=False

The production team is now looking forward to releasing new material, as well as re-releasing some of their back catalog, and unreleased material.

PROFESSIONAL BLOG ASSIGNMENT - Slate Digital

PROFESSIONAL BLOG ASSIGNMENT

Slate Digital

  Every few years a company comes along with a new approach on how to do something familiar, Slate Digital was founded in 2008 to do just that with its FG-X, a mastering plugin that increased the loudness of mixes without diminishing the dynamics. A partnership between recording engineer Steven Slate and DSP algorithm designer Fabrice Gabriel, Slate Digital’s products focus on creating exact digital models of vintage EQs, compressors, tape machines, microphone preamps, and microphones.

   In 2014, Slate Digital released the VMS (Virtual Microphone System), a unique combination of hardware & software consisting of a sonically neutral microphone and preamp combined with digital models of vintage preamps and microphones that impart every nuance, imperfection, and characteristics of the actual vintage unit. Steven Slate is not your average pro audio company owner or spokesman. One thing that sets him apart is his sense of humor in some his marketing videos. To develop such cutting edge, think outside the box products and still have enough of a sense of humor to include that as part of the company bSteven Slate

   The following is one of Slate Digital’s April Fool’s promotional videos for the “Dave Pensado Mix Advisor Plugin, one of the funniest things I’ve seen from a pro audio company

   Another unique thing about the Slate Digital Plugins is the way they sell the plugins. The page at http://www.slatedigital.com/online-shop/ shows monthly and annual online subscription bundles that include all the Slate Digital Plugins, as well as options for future plugins and upgrades. It is a new business model of how to sell audio plugins, and Slate Digital is leading the way!!!!!!!!!!!

References

Panelist Biography - Steven Slate. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.imsta.org/panelists/steven_slate.php

Inside The Software That Shapes Your Music: Steven Slate (Part 1). (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmessitte/2014/07/31/inside-the-software-that-shapes-your-music-steven-slate-part-1/ - 4de2909a1727

Link to blog post 

Industry Liabilities Blog

   In the music industry, there have been many court cases and lawsuits recently, and some of them are quite interesting. I chose to write about 3 of these cases:

1. Jerry Heller vs. the producers of the motion picture “Straight Outta Compton”

2. The estate of Marvin Gaye vs. Robin Thicke & Pharell Williams

3. Kesha vs. Dr. Luke

   When the motion picture “Straight Outta Compton” was being developed and shot, Ruthless Records co-founder Jerry Heller was never contacted to be involved in the making of the movie. Heller’s portrayal in the movie “was not accurate” he says, and the actor that played him was told not to contact him during the making of the movie. Heller obtained a screener copy of “Straight Outta Compton” and went over it with a fine-toothed comb……….… and two lawyers!!! Heller found over 20 flaws in the movie’s storyline, and is suing for “the picture that was painted of me” It is a historical story, that of N.W.A., and Jerry Heller is a part of that story, and N.W.A.’s success. To leave him out of it is just plain wrong.

   The song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, Pharell Williams, and T.I. was a big hit with “all the kids” when it came out. But for older music lovers, they hated the song when they heard it because it very heavily reminded them of Marvin Gaye’s hit song “Got to Give It Up”. Soon there was a lawsuit from Gaye’s children, next Thicke & Williams fired back with a suit of their own against the Gaye estate. When the dust settled, the estate of Marvin Gaye was awarded $7.3 million dollars. My opinion? The ruling was just, “Blurred Lines” is similar enough to be infringement. Robin Thicke has another song (“Million Dolla Baby”) that is “similar” to Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man”, they should sue the pants off him for that one too!!! (Imagine a 3-strike rule for repeated sampling???)

Hear the 2 songs for yourself!!! http://www.whosampled.com/sample/16230/Robin-Thicke-Million-Dolla-Baby-Marvin-Gaye-Trouble-Man/

   Pop star Kesha has made allegations against her producer and owner of the record label she’s signed to, Dr. Luke. She claims abuse from him of every type, financial discrepancies, and even the use of a date rape drug on her. I think he’s had too much control over all aspects of her life, even her reality show (thought this guy was a record producer). It’s like a new version of Dr. Eugene Landy & Brian Wilson, or Colonel Tom Parker & Elvis Presley, where the star in question has that manager/handler that after some time and increased success, begin to manage and handle way more than they should.

References

Jerry Heller Talks new N.W.A. Movie, His Lawsuit, Eazy E & More. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnPjhvzMv_k

Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" Copied Marvin Gaye's "Got To Give It Up," Jury Awards 7.3 Million. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj86CJMQbKE

Kesha's Allegations Against Dr. Luke Rattle the Music Industry. (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zBx15j5xmE

Exclusive: Will Music Infringement Lawsuits Become Rampant? (n.d.). Retrieved February 07, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULPZW2I3lHk