Posted: February 24th, 2012 | Author: Andy | Filed under: music business, music business development, music industry | Tags: Clive Davis Institute, music supervision, music supervisor, NFL, NFL Business of Musi Boot Camp | No Comments »
Recently I was asked to participate on a music supervisor panel at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Sound’s “NFL Business of Music Boot Camp.” As a music industry professional highly interested in music publishing, music licensing, and branding with music I think this a phenomenal event.
I’ll post more thoughts later, but for now here’s a link to an earlier press release about the event:
NFL Business of Music Boot Camp
If you’re going to be there, drop me a line in the comments and let me know what you’re looking forward to most!
Posted: February 11th, 2012 | Author: Andy | Filed under: freelance, interview, music business, music business development, music industry | Tags: interviews, music business, music business development, music industry | No Comments »
The music industry is an interesting landscape to navigate. In the last 8 months I have met with a great many companies in the industry from EMI to Warner, from Amazon to some well-reputed independent shops large and small. I’ve met with ad agency contacts who need music, have done music marketing consulting, and interviewed for jobs. To top it off I have started my own independent music publisher and began producing my first artists this month. There are flaws everywhere in the music industry – some companies are aware of them and some are not. Some actively work to try to right their course, while others live it up in the old ways. The flaws are usually how they approach business development.
Many companies are greatly focused on themselves. How much value they have, what they’re worth, how cool they are. Others are starting to realize that their ways are the old ways. I have been writing for years about how the industry needs to change and needs a different approach. Most of the adjustments have to do with a loss of focus on their clients. Sooner or later, the client gets what they want. Someone supplies that demand. Simple.
Right now, the majors are STILL in a state of flux. Some are hiring more MBAs (which I think is a good first step because MBAs better understand the value of the client relationship) and ousting their old leadership. But knowing how the majors function, there’s a long way to go and it will take a long time to get there. And even when they arrive, will their relationships be salvageable?
Independents are all over the place. While they may definitely have a client focus, some may still be operating in the old music industry. Some are lead by stereo-typical creative personalities who may not understand how effective great business development and client relationship skills can be. Their hiring processes may be less defined and therefore makes it hard to attract top talent or find the right fit for their company.
For all these reasons if you find yourself applying for a job in the music industry it is important to be highly diligent in ANY meeting preparations. Whether it’s an interview, a freelance opportunity, or a gig. Have an idea of what problems the company is looking to solve BEFORE you show up. Prepare material that’s relevant to their needs and request to meet with heads of departments at companies BEFORE there are job openings (digging up a CEO or VP’s email is very easy).
If you really are a cut above the rest, show up with the ammunition to blow them away. There are a TON of problems to solve in the industry and the well-prepared can capitalize on the all of the great opportunities.
Posted: September 8th, 2011 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
In my opinion, there still isn’t a good solution. Granted, in a 2.0 world, these are 1.0′s. They’re the first music services of their kind, they probably won’t be the last, but I expected a lot more (and still do from Google).
Let’s start with Spotify: great idea, amazing implications, lack-luster executions. The best part about Spotify is that I could find an amazing array of music any time I wanted. The downfall is that after 2 months, I found myself barely using the app on my iPhone, and having never downloaded the desktop version. In fact, when I paid for premium service and found it wasn’t just a web app, I actually got mad. Not a good sign.
The iPhone app worked, but it left a lot to be desired. The interface isn’t terrible smooth, the playlists aren’t terribly well organized, and there just generally seems to be a lot missing from it.
So, when my credit card expired and Spotified notified me to update it, I just didn’t bother. I suppose I don’t find myself desperately needing to listen to music I don’t already own terribly often.
Google Music is different. The first and best thing I like about it is that it is an online interface, and the second is that the interface is nice and makes sense. Sure, I had to spend about two weeks uploading my music, and that really, really, really, really….really, really…really blows. But once it was up, it worked well.
The other big bummer is there is no iOS app for it.
I suppose you could say the verdict is still out for google, and sure, they’re probably just trying to avoid getting sued by basically everyone, but at the end of the day it just isn’t really doing it for me.
iTunes, you’re up next. Can’t wait to see what Apple brings to the table in the realm of hosted music services!
Posted: August 19th, 2011 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
This week HP announced that they will no longer be competing in the PC industry, instead they will be focusing on cloud computing. Hold on. What? You mean the largest PC manufacturer in the world is going to just stop. And they’re going to stop making tablets and smart phones too? Yes, it’s true. In fact, if you’d like to read a great article about what this means to their industry, check out this one.
So why am I writing about this in a blog typically geared towards the music industry? Well, as usual it’s to point out the failings of the music industry. Let’s think: when the music industry was faced with a competitor that absolutely, 100% got something right, what did it do? What was the RIAA’s reaction to Napster? And what’s more, what does the industry continue to do?
The solution probably wouldn’t have been to resign the administration of all copyrights to Napster, but in the late 90′s and early 00′s, the industry was in pretty good fiscal shape and it’s my contention that they could have bought Napster, or at least made some sort of deal. But no. What did they do? Lawsuit.
And now the industry sits atop their recent “accomplishment” of having earned money instead of lost it for the first time in years. Wow. Way to set the bar high for yourselves. I’m not sure if you knew this music industry, but you’re actually supposed to make money in ever-increasing amounts EVERY year. Not fail miserably for 10 years and then trumpet your prestige when you finally earn a few pennies. Anyway, I digress.
What is really interesting and even quite cool about this HP thing is that they’re turning an awful big ship. Everyone uses the excuse in the music industry “well it’s just too big of a ship to turn quickly!” Really? Bigger than HP? Nope. Now what’s the excuse? Oops.
Now the only thing left to blame is the ‘vision’ (or blindness) of the leadership of the major music companies.
Posted: May 12th, 2011 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Check this out. It’s an article about the beginning of the end of an obnoxious, intractable and downright foolish “business” mentality.
This is the first evidence that the labels are no longer going to be able to sue their way to generating income. They have been a huge pain to deal with, they have refused to adapt, and now they’re “Hoping Apple Can Force Amazon and Google Into Cloud Licensing.” Nope.
Apple doesn’t care about licensing or playing fair with the music industry they just have a better relationship with the labels and more clout in negotiations. Apple deals with the majors because it’s easy for them, not because they think they need licenses and to appease them. Why would Apple’s deal force anyone to do anything?
Now we’ll see the majors start to scramble for income. They’ll start sacrificing rights, prices will drop. I mean REALLY scramble.
Mark my words folks, this is the beginning of the end. It took a long time but the labels are officially no longer in control. They’re down to a 49% say in digital licensing. The tipping point has been reached. Big change is coming in music licensing. Big change is coming in copyright valuation. It won’t be too much longer – maybe a few years max.
The snowball is rolling down the hill.
Posted: April 12th, 2011 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Just lately I am coming across more and more readings that are really ringing true with me about education and the value therein. Here’s a great article by Scott Adams on being an entrepreneur and, on a more basic level, simply applying your skill set to earn:
How to Get a Real Education – by Scott Adams
Posted: April 5th, 2011 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Advertising, being nice, business | No Comments »
In doing some client research today I came across this video of Linda Kaplan Thaler giving a presentation to Walgreens employees. I think it is absolutely fantastic. I love to see companies getting it right.
Click here to watch.
Posted: March 22nd, 2011 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Music | Tags: build, drumming, pop, rock | 2 Comments »
Australia is a country not entirely dissimilar to the US. The gentry there have grasped a cafe culture of coffee conossieurism, spoon fed themselves organic food and green initiatives, and put their ear to the ground for great music.
This Australia Day the Ozzies continued a tradition of tuning into their public radio station triple-J and counting down the top 100 songs of 2010. Very cool.
But this article isn’t about any Ozzie tradition or US-Australian influences, it’s about drumming. It struck me when I heard the number 1 song of their top 100. Rock drummers there do the same thing as most rock drummers in the states…ignore dynamics.
Check out the track that set me off and listen critically:
Big Jet Plane – Angus and Julia Stone
It’s a pretty beautiful track with a great build over the first 30 seconds or so, the kind of build that makes it great for synching to picture. In fact, they nailed the build.
Then the drums come in…gross.
Typical of rock drumming today is this idea of standing out – kick starting the loudest part of the song. Why on earth would you the loudest part of your song in the first 30″? Unless of course you only wanted to write 30″ of music. But this song is longer than that so we can assume otherwise.
What would you like to hear? Or do you like the drumming in this track?
Personally I need someone a bit sneakier – maybe ride some cymbals a bit at first, maybe brush the snare, but a dynamic build of some sort. One which both adds to the overall build, but also builds independently.
Do any drummers want to weigh in? What would you change? What do you hear when you listen critically?
Posted: December 8th, 2010 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
The day after Chatuchak, Mary and I decided we needed things to be a bit more calm than bustling Bangkok (because busy Bangkok bodies blasting by bade better backpacking bloopers bussing by boundaries to Kanchanburi).
Kanchanburi is where the Bridge over the River Kwai (and, not coincidentally, the river kwai itself) rests, but also happens to be relatively close to Erawan National Park wherein lie some beautiful waterfalls. We also heard tale of elephant riding and river rafting adventures.
The bus ride was easy enough and took about 2 hours. Upon arrival we were bombarded by the typical riff-raff looking for baht to taxi us to our guest house. Luckily we were smart enough to know that a safe Saamlaw with benches and doors was no place for people who had been traveling for 7 whole days and knew better than to get ripped off by some jerk with seat-belts.
Caution just wouldn’t do, so for 50 baht instead of 100 baht we found a guy who had a motor bike, some rickety old boards, a half-broken lawn chair, duct tape, and a little engineering know-how (you get engineering know-how from Legos, right?). He was very nice, somehow stacked our backpacks on his contraption, and drove slow enough that I probably wouldn’t have been in the hospital for more than a few days if I fell off.
Mary in front of our bungalow at Sam's House.
Arriving unscathed we checked into our bungalow at Sam’s House and were stoked. The room was small but clean with a decent bed and A/C. It sat in a row of bungalows set atop pillars jutting from the river and would make a cozy and convenient base-camp for our Kanchanburi activities.
Our first order of business was to find some food and on recommendation from Sam’s House, headed to a place called Thai-Thai. It was delicious and cheap, and had free wi-fi. Who could complain? We powered down our lunch then Mary caught site of place across the street offering fish massage.
I wasn’t quite sure where exactly Mary had gotten a fish, or why on earth she’d want to have someone massage it, but I followed along as the owner of the shop (who also happened to be the waitress and cashier where we just ate) excitedly ushered us in.
Fish food?
For those of you not in the know, a fish massage is a very ticklish activity involving hundreds of nemo-sized fish. You wash your feet, step up onto a bench, and then plunge your legs into their tank. They immediately swarm to your feet and begin testing your reflexes and bladder control as they nibble away at the dead skin.
I can’t say that when the fish were done doing their thing I noticed a huge difference in how my feet felt, but since it was just the prequel to an hour long foot massage I wasn’t going to complain. After 60 minutes of elderly Thai women treating our feet like two salamis in need of physical therapy, Mary and I decided to rent some bikes and pedal to the bridge to finish off our first day at Kanchanburi.
The sun was going down as we arrived!
The bike ride was only a few minutes and on a fairly serene street. As we pulled up to the bridge the sun was lowering in the sky and making for some really nice scenery. After snapping some photos we set off to cross the bridge.
Toot Toot! Pea-nut Butter!
Nearly at the other side of the river we caught wind of some mumblings that a train was coming. I arrogantly told Mary “Please, there is no way that they still run trains across this thing!” TOOT TOOT. In fact, there it came. We scootched to one of the platforms on the side of the bridge and watched as the train came and went. It’s used only for tourist purposes these days, but it’s amazing to think that 60 years ago this was one of the main trade lines for the Japanese.
That night we headed a bit further past Thai-thai’s for dinner after returning our bikes and had some good old fashion pizza…made by a Swiss guy. Whatever. At this point we were a bit tired of Thai food and just wanted to change things up a bit. The food was quite good and we headed back to Sam’s House on full stomachs, and ready for a good night’s sleep after a great first day in Kanchanburi.
Bikes!
Posted: December 4th, 2010 | Author: Andy | Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
After spending the previous day looking at temples, and having not done any shopping, Mary’s bargain-bone started tickling her. We’d heard some really great things about the Chatuchak market and decided to check it out on Saturday afternoon.
We hopped on the skytrain and headed North. The commute was easy and uneventful even though we were slightly unsure of which way to turn upon exiting the train. This dilemma was quickly solved by the gaggle of people streaming down the sidewalks in our general direction. We walked upstream.
It was almost 2 pm by the time we officially decided we were in the right place, and also very hungry. Luckily the first street we turned down (sort of an artery into the main market area) offered a great little sidewalk cafe.
Street cafe noodles!
When I say sidewalk cafe I mean it in the most literal sense. These are found all over Thailand and consist of some cheap plastic chairs and tables on the sidewalk next to some sort of food cart, and in this case two portable stoves with huge steaming pots on them. Our decision to eat here was based largely on the population of the cafe gentry: Thai.
The food proved delicious – some sort of pork ball in a spicy soup broth that had me licking chops and chopsticks alike. This lot for both of us plus a couple of waters cost roughly $4.
Mary loves Chatuchak!
On full bellies we headed into the market. Going into this situation I knew I was in for a lot of looking, waiting, and giving my opinion as Mary proclaimed each shop better than the last! I tried to remind her that we only had what space was left in our backpacks to which she happily replied that she noticed I had more than enough space in my pack should she run out of room.
Mary picked up a black dress and a pair of what I can only describe as ‘Hammer Pants with an apron sewn on the front,’ and I bought some rice cakes from a lady on the street. I thought they were going to be coconut.
They were...not great.
I can’t explain the disappointment in biting into something expecting a coconut taste and getting a rice taste, other than saying if it were my child it would have issues once it grew up. I left the extras somewhere in a vendor’s market stall.
A few hours had passed and after a quick restroom stop that would’ve put most US highway gas stations to shame, we started to make our way out of the market. Luckily, we passed another stall that caught Mary’s eye!
I told her I was going to head around the corner to browse on my own – grumpy partly that I had to wait for her again, but mostly because I hadn’t found anything to buy for myself.
Darting out of the stall I took a quick left and took maybe 5 steps when I instantly saw my treasure. Like a weathered fisherman spotting a lighthouse in the perfect storm, or a drunk guy spotting a Denny’s at the height of an all night drunk, it practically sang out to me.
Hanging from the tips of a shabby table umbrella was a white t-shirt, depicting Robocop. But not the disciplined and principled kill-machine Robocop you and I know. No, this Robocop is different. He’s obese and happily munching on a donut, coffee in his opposite hand, and smiling merrily as his waist-line heaves with the girth of his rotund belly. $1. I didn’t even bother to try to negotiate.
Oh Robocop, your days of murdering are over.
I can’t even remember what happened the rest of the day I was so excited! Mary got something else, not as cool as my shirt, and we took the train back, to our room for our last night in Bangkok.
