Month Thirteen - Superstitions and Conclusions on the Menu for October

This is it - school is finished.

The completion and submission of this blog will be the final project undertaken in my collegiate career to date.

An ending is always an odd feeling, because it marks the end of things that have been, but we always forget that when something ends, that's the perfect time to start something new.

As I look back upon my time here at Full Sail from start to finish through Show Production, Music Business, and Entertainment Business as well I realize all that I've learned and progressed through an amazing number of things. I've learned that an aux is similar to the toilet and that an insert is like an alien abduction. I've learned that given enough opportunities something that can go wrong will go wrong, and after enough times of it going wrong you will memorize a solution.

Now when I go to move forward I'm constantly looking for opportunities to learn and to advance - a good friend Scott Frank gave one of these opportunities to me - he set me up with a manager with Leopold Management.

The interview went something like this - again pardon the language, as these are just my raw notes from the interview.

How did you become an artist manager?
Worked at a label for 10 years in Canada and LA, domestic marketing, international marketing, got fired, joined Leopold management – disco, maroon five, Kenny lodgins, discovered eric and brought him into the company

Finding an artist and having a good mentor – Bill Leopold

Everythings a judgement call

Why LA over NYC, Chi, Nash, Etc?
Go where you could in the beginning – ny is for tougher and for the labels, la is more west coast


What challenges or opportunities does LA present that aren’t elsewhere?
Not that friendly, a crust to get past – 10% of wanna-be’s but not east coast good people. Entertainment business is pretty tough – LA is more movies than NY

What advice would you give someone fresh out of college?
Go work for a label to maximize contacts – have to find an opportunity and then make something of the opportunity. Get friendly with the assistant for one of the people working on your artist

Once you get in somewhere you’ve started your career


Various other notes:
Red Light – Dave mathews, fish
Frontline management – largest

See it – Learn it – Do it – Teach it

Past hoping for a hit, find a hit.

Managers make shit happen, there is no magic bullet, at the end of the day the music is the only thing.

Difference between hobby and a business – making money, If your good at it you make a great f-ing living.

Your reputation is on the line just as much as everyone elses in the band [as a manager]

Work for a label – learning the industry.

Really lucky or already have a lot of money – starting out trying to do it is a high risk

Sign managers or sign artists

Manager deals with agent, promoter, publicist, either touring or working record and radio. 80% with the record label, 20 with everyone else.

These were just my jotted notes but I felt he offered me a lot of great knowledge and it was a great use of some contacts I've developed and some information worth sharing that I gleaned from this experience.

My network of contacts has always been there for me and has helped me get my foot in the door for every job on my resume and I cannot thank them enough for the constant support as I went through school - without the support who knows where things would have ended up.

As this program winds down I finally accomplish my goals that I set out to when I first entered into Full Sail - to become a Tour Manager and work in Artist Management.

Month Twelve - Why is it Called Development 12 Months in?

Business Plan Development - where the little egg of a business plan you've been incubating for the last year finally hatches into a twenty-page business plan. A month of reflection, introspection, and redundancies; challenges arise and we overcome them.

In the class we were given the chance to pause to reflect upon what our travels had consisted of in the last year and see if we would make any changes to any part of the program.

At the time I wrote:

The most challenging portion of any class was locating and making the contacts to talk to someone in the industry be it a lawyer, financier or similar. It was difficult to find the right person to talk to who had the availability to talk to however the experience was greatly beneficial. The marketing and law classes were the most beneficial to my direct business plan. While there is not much marketing involved in my business it is greatly involved in what my business does for my artists; and any law is a great thing for any business. I wish that the distribution class had actually covered distribution however – as I am still unsure as to how anything besides music is distributed. Overall the master's degree has helped me increase my professionalism, my business knowledge and my ability to research and develop a business plan. Throughout the program and every day of my life I have striven to find at least one aspect of myself to improve upon and I feel that this degree has allowed me to become a much better person than I was when I started, both academically, knowledgably, and personally.

I feel the same today - My largest complaint is the lack of knowledge regarding distribution gained from a class titled "Media Publication and Distribution" and I feel that as I have progressed I have made changes to my personality to help me win friends and influence people (Thanks to Yogi!) in both my personal and professional life. When times have gotten tough I always attempt to remember that unlike the thankless accountant working on the 4th floor of the bank downtown, my job has and will always be to have fun and help others have fun as well.

If you aren't having fun, you're doing it wrong.

Month Eleven - Ring Ring, Hear That? It's the FUTURE

Mobile Marketing - a class so advanced, no one really knows what it is yet! Which, by the way - is very cutting edge. Mobile Marketing is so new that there literally isn't a set designed method to utilize it yet and is a burgeoning method for companies to market to consumers.

This month's assignment included surveying five individuals on how they felt about mobile marketing and the way they used their cell phones. I interviewed two middle aged parents (a mother and father) of two children from the Midwest, a 25 year old former rodeo athlete from Idaho, a 21 year old college student from Long Island, NY, and a 28 year old college student from southern Texas. I picked this varying group so even with the small sample size I could ensure that I received some greatly varying responses from the individuals. This was an exercise of market research, survey construction, and consumer interaction.

Given the differences in surveyed individuals, there were a surprising number of similarities between the group, and nearly as many differences between them. For example: it's pretty universal that people don't like receiving "advertising" on their phone (which they perceive as pushed upon them not at their request) but are accepting to "marketing" on their phone (which they perceive as something they requested and would like to have sent to them) even though in some cases the information might be identical - the key difference is why it ended up on their phone's; by request or forced upon them.

After surveying five various individuals from around the country research has shown that people are as particular about their cell phones as they are about their dinner choices. The sampling of five individuals included the following: one a former rodeo athlete aged 25 from Idaho who utilizes a cell phone primarily for personal communication, a father of two from Ohio aged 42 who uses both a personal and business cell phone and has for the last ten to twelve years, a mother of two from Ohio aged 41 who also uses a personal and business cell phone for a period of ten to twelve years, an undergraduate student aged 21 from Long Island, and a graduate student aged 28 from Texas. The respondents were asked 13 questions about their cell phone usage, expectations, and requirements. In addition to this basic information they were also asked how they felt about mobile marketing being directed at them.

When asked what features the individuals sought in a phone with no prompting given as to example features the answers were varied but similar as well. All respondents seemed to ignore the camera feature and simply take it for granted except the one who was a photographer. Ease of function, small size, and text messaging were emphasized however. Battery life was another issue that a few replies indicated are of importance. Two other features that were desired were reliability and ability to store music on the mobile device. These replies indicate that users are having some issues with device failure, but that certain features are becoming ubiquitous while others that one would think were are not yet. For example – by neglecting to mention a camera feature in almost all replies users either expect their phones to come with a camera, or do not use the camera enough to realize that they rely upon it, yet the stress on good sleek functionality and reliability indicate some growing pains adapting to the new world of mobile; whereas the indication for a desire to store music on the mobile phone indicates an adaptation and acceptation of the device and a realization of its potential.

Those surveyed were asked what the top three features used on their cell phones was. Almost all replies featured calling people/talking and texting as two of the three features they used the most. An interesting number (40%) of people indicated that they used their cell phone as their primary alarm clock. Music player was also mentioned. Cameras were mentioned twice, yet was not indicated by those individuals as a feature they sought when purchasing a new phone. The one individual who utilizes a smart phone mentioned the Internet as the primary feature they utilize. When asked what they primarily use their cell phones for almost all individuals said calling, texting or contacting people in some way. This indicates that consumers see the mobile device as an intimate way to contact other individuals and would be more open to marketing if it were tailored to them specifically instead of mass communication.

After having the individuals consider the features and why they used their cell phones they were asked to rank functionality, features, styling and user interface of a potential device by how important they felt they were out of a 1 to 10 scale. The two more technologically savvy individuals (the college students) indicated that functionality and features were the two most important factors in considering a new cellular device – ranking them both 10 and 9 respectfully while ranking styling and user interface lower (in the 5 to 8 range). The middle-aged mother of two considered the user interface to be the most important factor, with style and function being tied with a 7, and features given the least consideration. Interestingly enough the father of two had results similar to the college students, however, this is most likely due to the fact that his children are aged 16 and 22 and tend to force him to keep up on modern technology to an extent. The interesting result was the former rodeo athlete who rated styling and the user interface as the most important factors, and features and functionality the lowest.

When surveyed about the words mobile device what two companies first came to mind the only word that was unanimously mentioned was Verizon, even though two individual does not have Verizon service. Other companies mentioned were BlackBerry, Apple, Sprint, and LG. The 42-year-old male mentioned LG and Verizon presumably because he has an LG phone from Verizon. The 41-year-old female responded with Verizon Wireless and BlackBerry, most consumers would not differentiate between Verizon and Verizon Wireless however she is an employee of Verizon, the land line company offering business and residential services; the mention of BlackBerry is most likely because her husband and son both have different BlackBerry mobile devices. The two college students both mentioned Apple, presumably due to the over abundance of the iPhone in the college market.

In an effort to establish the primary means of communications being used in general by the consumers replying to the survey they were asked to name the communication devices used in order of frequency. They were given the examples of cell phone calls, texting, instant messaging, email, and social networking. The two college students replied that texting, social networking, and instant messaging were the three primary means of communication. The other three indicated cell phone calls, texting, email and minimal social networking to be the other means of communication with no instant messaging mentioned.

When asked as to how many hours a day the individuals were on their cell phones and what they used it for a great variety of times were given with similar usages. One individual replied on and off the phone with it in arms reach for approximately 15 hours a day while using it for texting and social networking (Facebook and twitter) while another individual claimed to only use the phone for around thirty minutes total primarily for talking or texting his friends. Both 40-something individuals indicated an average of two hours cell phone usage for calls and texting.

Another question asked of the people was why they chose their cell provider and what reason they had for staying with them currently. The female college student uses Sprint because when she got her cell phone that was what her family plan was on and has stayed a customer for nearly ten years because they continue to give her a great rate and additional features every time she renews. The male college student uses Verizon customer for the same reason – family plan – and has stayed because it is also cheap and has a good phone selection with good customer service, he stay’s with Verizon because his family is on the plan with him. The rodeo athlete got a discount for his plan through a previous employer and has stayed with them because he continues to receive the discount. The father figure has stayed with Verizon for the service area and reliability of the network and has not changed due to his satisfaction with the service and fear of getting locked in on a plan with a different company that is less satisfactory than his current plan. The Mother of two was originally with AirTouch Cellular due to the fact that it was the only provider in her area at the time of signing up, but was since purchased by Verizon Wireless. She continues to stay with Verizon due to the fact that the majority of her contacts are on the Verizon network, and she works for Verizon landlines as well.

The individuals were then asked if they could change providers why would they. One individual stated they would change to AT&T for an iPhone. The 25-year-old from Idaho stated he would only change if they offered better coverage than his current provider does. The 41-year-old female stated she would not change unless she went to work for a different phone company, and would then do so only out of “company loyalty.” The 42-year-old male said he would not change unless his new contract contained a way for him to get out of the contract if it was not to his liking. The male college student stated he would not change providers, as he was happy with his current provider.

After evaluating their service provider individuals were asked what advantages and disadvantages they were experiencing with their current cell phones and this drew a variety of responses. The female college student claimed that her smartphone’s browser was fast enough and easy enough to use to be considered and advantage, but stated that the camera was lacking quality and the phone needed to be updated soon. The male college student said his phone had good reception, and a decent keypad for texting even though it was not a QWERTY keypad; his only two complaints with his current phone were the battery life and small screen size. The former athlete stated that he has had his current phone for almost four years now and when he was on the rodeo circuit he wished he had a phone to better help him schedule events and keep a more organized schedule, however since he has become semi-retired from the sport he does not feel any disadvantages with his mobile device. The father of two stated the largest advantages to his phone were that he was very familiar with the device (having owned two consecutive phones from the same manufacturer) and the good quality camera he has on his cell, the two disadvantages he felt he had were the lagging technology due to having an older phone, and the limited battery life his phone has. The mother of two however did not have any advantages relating to her currant phone, and has had great difficulty with it, she claims she “bought a cool looking phone that has a horrible touch screen with next to no functionality to it” and while the software seems to run better, the user interface is her biggest complaint about the phone.

The remaining questions focused on the impact of mobile devices upon future generations and on the individual’s feelings in regards to mobile advertising. When asked about how they felt about the impact of increasing mobile functionality and if it would harm future generations and why or why not users came up with responses on both polar ends of the possibilities. The female college student said that as texting increases the amount of real verbal conversations will decrease and thus decreasing communication skills in general; causing harm to future generations. While the male college student stated that the increasing functionality would both help and hinder future generations, “with great power comes great responsibility” was the way he described the situation. If the youth are indoctrinated to a world of isolation and hiding behind a screen intrapersonal communication would suffer, however if it was used properly and had a social balance between screen and real life the functionality would help. The athlete stated that he felt the increase in mobile devices would reduce the amount of physical exercise youth got and would harm future kids in that way. The father stated that it would not harm future generations, claiming progress is defined by efficiency and making life easier, and as technology makes it possible to add more and more features to phones the quality of life would improve. The mother however stated that while adding more “features” to phones would not harm future generations, the “always connected” mentality today’s and tomorrows youths are starting to possess would be harmful. She stated if people were always accessible there would be a loss of privacy or self worth and an increased level of stress in being constantly connected to the world that isn’t there when life is not as 24/7/365.

Nearly identical responses were given when asked about mobile marketing, and the responses seem to mirror how individuals feel about marketing in general. Consumers were asked how they felt about mobile advertising overall. The male college student claimed that it didn’t bother him IF it allowed for free applications or lower costs of services. The female college student acknowledged that if she signed up for the marketing it was ok, if not, she did not want to be bothered. The athlete said he felt ok with it and saw nothing wrong with the application of it. The father was “VERY anti-spam” however felt it would be ok to include marketing in with other features or mobile web services. The mother stated that advertising in traditional media was acceptable however did not want any ads sent to her phone, even saying she would sign up for the national do not call list.

Most consumers do not yet have a smart phone but are very familiar with texting on their mobile devices and consider it the primary means of communication after phone calls. As consumers adapt to faster and faster technology they will begin to adapt into other media means of communication such as picture, video and streaming messaging. Currently 3G services are the exception not the standard, however in the next year to two years as phones begin to catch up to the current standard of home Internet individuals will utilize more and more bandwidth intensive services. The expansion of the mobile medium will follow the expansion of home Internet in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The main difference being the location content is viewed in and the size of the screens it is viewed upon. The most important facts learned from this assignment are that if consumers have technology they feel they know how to use, and are comfortable using then the only step that the marketer has to overcome is getting the consumer to sign up for the marketing plan. Most consumers are ok with advertising on their mobile devices if they sign up for it – which isn’t only public sentiment but is also the law in America.

The way the industry seems to be going, the mobile device is as here to stay as the Dallas Cowboys and apple pie, out of the three if we could only have one, personally - I like football and my cell phone, but apple pie wins hands down every time.

Month Ten - This Class Brought to You Courtesy of Al Gore

Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization - if you think the name of the class is a handful you should have taken it. Honestly, I sincerely hope to never have to perform Internet marketing or SEO, however, I have learned what the concept entails, how to track the results, and what methods to use when. I did learn a great deal and have gone from not even knowing exactly what things like IMO, SEO, Meta Tags, and things like that were, to how to set up pay per click ads and track page shopping results from those ads.

For the class every individual researched search terms to potentially use to brand our company on the Internet and create a slide show with the results of this research enclosed within the slides.

Since the plan for my company was a specialized artist management company that was going to be located in Chicago I researched the terms: "Club DJ Artist Management," "Club DJ Booking Agent," "Touring Club DJ," "DJ Artist Management," and "Chicago Based DJ Management." During the course of this research I investigated the strength of each of the top results to determine exactly how difficult it would be to take over the current top slot for each word. Essentially none of the words would be difficult to take over via an effective search engine optimization campaign.

Below is my slide show from this assignment:

Month Nine - Sometimes it Helps to Ask Your Boss for Help

The ninth month is the most difficult for a lot of things in life... its a combination of three sets/groups of three's which is no where near as good as it sounds. My difficulty came in locating an individual to interview. Scheduling conflicts delayed an interview with my first person several times and eventually caused me to turn to my boss Randy Dease for some help on an assignment.

Thankfully Randy was able to set aside a few minutes to get interviewed and gave me a big hand with this project and I would like to thank him for his help on this and in getting my foot in the door of the music industry.

Randy has been working around the music industry since just before Creed (yes, laugh now, but back in the late 90's no one was bigger at the time than them, and they sold around a truck load and a half of records, which is significantly more than ten million more than me so I'm not judging and you probably shouldn't either...) who he worked with as day to day manager during their heyday on top of the industry if not the world. Over the course of the last ten years working in nearly every aspect of the music industry Randy has managed to learn a thing or two about how to manage products through the distribution chain and what is important to an artist in today's changing market that is the music business.

After the interview I took Randy's responses and edited them into this paper:

Recently Randy Dease took time out of his hectic schedule as an artist manager to sit down with myself and offer some insight into the artist management world of the music business. Randy graduated from UCF in December of 1999 and gave himself till March 1st to find a job he liked, after that he was just going to take any job that presented itself. After going around the Orlando area hunting for a job for a few weeks, he decided to start interning with Axis Magazine doing interviews in exchange for event tickets and CD’s. After interning for a little bit he was asked to give his resume to Jeff Hampton Management – a company from Tallahassee. His interview with Jeff Hampton came the Friday before his March 1st deadline, so he had resigned himself to working a “crappy retail job” and decided working in a management firm was more interesting and took the job. He started out answering phones, taking out the trash, and scrubbing toilets with a college education for about the first six months. Around that point the day-to-day manager for Creed was fired, and an opening was created. Randy was promoted to being the day-to-day manager of Creed and at the age of 23. This was right around the time Creed was doing it’s world tour’s and being featured on MTV and VH1, so life got crazy really fast.

His schedule went from ‘clean the toilet and answer the phone’ to ‘red carpets, promo schedules, and arranging insurance for when the band played on top of the Reno and trying to not blow up the helicopter filming it with pyrotechnics’ and this hectic world of music on the road became his schedule until the band broke up in the fall of 2003. In the start of 2004 former members of Creed joined forces to create Alterbridge, and Randy began managing them, as well as Sevendust. He managed them until 2007 when he parted ways to start Fly South Music Group with a friend named Mark he met working at Hampton’s who was managing Paramore. Randy and Mark and a mutual friend John started up Fly South in the middle of 2007 and have since signed several artists including Brooke Waggnor, Boyce Avenue, and Whole Wheat Bread. Most of their artists have yet to break into the main stream of music, however the artists are growing in fan base and popularity even as I type this.

When asked how new artists are picked Randy chuckled and said, “Well there isn’t a science to it really. At least not in my opinion.” He explained that he signed Brooke through a friend of a friend of a friend who knew someone in Nashville who saw Brooke play an open mic night and only knew one person in the music industry who passed her name along. After working in the music industry for ten years now, Randy said that a network already existed and things just fall into place at this point. He didn’t know how a person would just set out and find someone to manage by a certain deadline, there are simply too many variables involved.

Randy has a unique opinion on where he as an artist manager fits in the distribution chain in today’s industry. Prior to the emerging paradigm that is dawning on the music industry today record labels had a stranglehold on distribution and marketing of music, however today this isn’t the case as much any longer. Today, the artist has options available to distribute their music on their own that the labels aren’t even needed any more except for the mega-hits over night. Randy said “I know an artist who had a moderately big record in the early 2000’s and sold a million units, and never made a single dime off the record. The still have not recouped after 1,000,000 albums.” Now most of Randy’s artists distribute all their own CD’s and all their own merchandise. One artist registered 300,000 downloads in 2008 for their songs and Fly South handled all of the distribution of those songs. Prior to the explosion of the internet and digital music, without a label an artist couldn’t get radio, and without the radio they couldn’t sell tickets to their shows. The industry is much more hands on now than it ever has been.

A key piece of advice in distributing digital music Randy offered was to make sure to find a way to create awareness around your release. With the over saturation of the market currently due to the fact that “any idiot with garage band who knows three chords on his guitar can sell a CD” an artist has to find a way to show their product in a unique light. Various ways include releasing covers of other people’s music on Youtube, or releasing an EP for free to get people to realize what your band is doing. Hitting the road and selling your music online and from the trunk of the van is still a possibility and a decent way of creating buzz around your music. The biggest thing to keep in mind when breaking into the industry is “that there is a lot of shit and distractions out there – the hardest thing to do is to stand out from the crowd” according to Randy.

Randy feels that for the recording industry, the business is as bad as it has ever been, but feels that for the business of making music – it has never been better than it is today. The resources available to artists to record and distribute their music is great; however, from a business standpoint it’s hard for consumers to find things that they like in the pile of media available out today. The biggest advice Randy had to offer to someone like myself trying to get into the industry is to research the industry constantly, with the way things change today you can’t expect to land a dream job without knowing where things are going. Also he said to educate yourself on as many facets of the music business as possible. The final word of advice he offered was don’t be afraid to work REALLY hard to break in; if that means rolling t-shirts and cleaning toilets, while the work might suck, do it better than anyone else they offer the job to; then the only way is up.

Month Eight - Time for Some Legal Advice

Month Eight of the master's degree is Advanced Entertainment Law - a name I find perplexing as there was no "intro to entertainment law" nor "regular entertainment law" but there's no need for introductions to topics, this is a master's degree and clearly we're far more advanced.

During the course of studying copyright law, intellectual property, and the difference between civil and criminal law (give you a hint, one leads to jail time - take your guess which) I managed to find time to track down and interview a lawyer from Chicago who specializes in entertainment law and has been involved with the entertainment industry for over four decades.

David MacTavish began as a photographer being published in various magazines and became the head of the professional photographers association and dedicated several decades of his life to this. After deciding to retire from the association and being a photographer professionally he returned to law school and became an entertainment lawyer with his own practice located less than an hour from downtown Chicago.

The full details are here:

David MacTavish, Esq. is an “entertainment” lawyer based outside of Chicago, Illinois. The term entertainment was set off by quotes in the previous sentence because, while entertainment lawyer is a relatively common term in the industry, there is no specific field of law that specifically deals with the entertainment industry. Entertainment law encompasses many various fields and David’s extended career within the entertainment industry has allowed him to become familiar with all fields of law related to the entertainment industry, including, but not limited to, copyright, trademark, and contract law. David’s law firm specialized in everything from idea protection, domain names, and trade secrets to copyrights, trademarks, and intellectual property.

David began working in the entertainment industry after becoming ill in the 1960’s with meningitis. Ironically enough, at the time he was studying to become a lawyer, but due to the illness this career was sidetracked for a few decades. During rehabilitation from the illness, David’s doctors instructed him to find something to do to keep his mind and body active as opposed to spending his time sitting around a hospital and focusing on the illness. At this time he picked up a camera and became a dedicated photographer, a choice that would forever guide him and directly influence his life for the next twenty years. As a photographer he became a member of the professional photographers association and eventually was elected president of this organization. The professional photographers association is an American society of media photographers that specializes in the advocacy of photographers’ rights and provides help in lawsuits involving photographers. David helped on a national board directly aiding photographers for twenty years, which led him back into the world of law. The association funded a lawsuit that made it all the way to the Supreme Court with David’s help and guidance. In 1991 however, David retired from the society and began law school again.

During his time in law school David focused his studies specifically on intellectual property law in order to help artists and writers when he left school. In addition to general law required to pass the bar, David worked on copyright and trademark law primarily and now concentrates his law office around copyright law, contract law, and trademark law. David has been a lawyer for ten years now and is operating a successful law firm in Maple Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago where David goes to file his cases in federal court. David’s clients mostly hire him to deal with the intricacies of trademark law and to pursue infringers upon trademarks, for example a company operating a website Hylton instead of Hilton. These types of infringers simply make a website similar to an existing companies website and hope to trick consumers into uploading their credit card’s information in an attempt to commit fraud. The companies that hire David go after these infringers.

David strives to operate his firm as client friendly as possible. When called to set up an interview, David answered the phone himself and was very polite and helpful from the start. The goal of the firm is to provide legal help to individuals and companies in plain English that is straightforward and easy to understand. Utilizing state of the art technology and cost effective methods the practice provides legal help with the goal of resolving matters to a client’s satisfaction as quickly and efficiently as possible. David focuses on each client’s background, needs, and goals; every case begins with the client (Mactavish-law.com). During his career David stated that his favorite moment of being a lawyer was his first big case he landed right out of law school. All trademark and copyright matters he deals with are in federal court, and the first case was a domain name problem in which David’s client was competing with a cyber-squatter. After several attempts to settle outside of court, David was forced to file a lawsuit, which resulted in a trial. The majority of cases dealing with intellectual property never end up in a trial, however this one did. In the end David won the case. He said that winning a case in trial is perhaps the greatest thrill of being a lawyer.

After being asked what the largest challenges he felt someone becoming an artist manager would face he explained that it was to make sure that as a manager to never accidentally end up acting as an attorney, which would be practicing law without a license. By making and reading contracts without a lawyer the manager could commit the artist to contracts without understanding what was written and thus leading to a potentially long standing deal that might not be beneficial to the artist. He suggested that always retaining a lawyer in as a good insurance policy and that spending the money would be worth it in the long run. In most states legal trouble can arise from acting like a lawyer without a license so it’s best to just consult one and avoid the potential pitfall.

When consulted on advice becoming an artist manager in the music business, David said that the business is changing a lot, and very rapidly. A person needs to be someone who is fluid and flexible, stays up to date on changes and keeps current on new technology. A person must be conversant and understand new changes and developments. One thing currently hurting older artists is that CD’s are dying and as a manager a person must understand where the new income is and where the future is going. Furthermore than just understanding this change, a manager must be able to explain this change to their client and get the client on board with the new changes. David doesn’t charge people for telephone calls; he feels that having people call and be informed on what is happening is an important thing.

Open communication leads to happier and more satisfied clients than closed or billed communication does in his opinion. He feels that artist managers need to have the same type of policy, and if an open door policy exists, it should be just that – an open door, or open phone or email account, whatever the case dictates. Everyone needs to stay current on what is going on, at all times. Keeping people informed on what is going on and what has been done in their behalf lately is vital. Artists can be touchy people that get their ego’s hurt easily at times and having them think you are ignoring them in favor of someone else is never good for anyone. Additionally David recommends getting everything in writing always, no “handshake basis” for anything with clients and the people dealt with on a daily basis. In reference to a recording contract or performance contract ask as many questions as possible during negotiation so that all topics are covered. Asking questions is vital in this business and even more so in starting out; find out as much as possible and never be afraid of looking silly or ignorant for asking something, because its possible that its an angle that no one had looked for or at yet.

The fastest and easiest way to gain knowledge on anything is to read about it, and there are more than plenty of books out on the legal industry and information on the Internet is always available. Performing rights organizations are a vital part of the music industry as well and a manager needs to understand how to explain to a new artist what each are about and the benefits of one versus the other. Each organization has its own function and works slightly differently, the easiest way to discover the differences is to go online and research each one extensively, print out all the information and build a file on each one.
Finally David explained that lawyers rates vary from a couple of hundred dollars an hour all the way up to over a thousand an hour depending on what is required, and who is consulted. A partner in a large law firm will cost much more than a junior member who just got out of college, however will have much greater knowledge in the subject matter. *Contact information removed*

The biggest thing I learned from talking to David was to be patient with the industry and to always consult a lawyer so I don't end up practicing law by accident without a license - which is typically frowned upon due to its illegality.

Month Seven - Advice from Someone Who knows Enough about Enough.

On the Seventh Month we rested... wait... wrong story...

Back to business -

During Product and Artist Management - The main reason I'm at school is to end up as an artist manager down the road - we were instructed to go forth and interview someone who manages either products or artists, I picked someone who does a little of both: my good friend and coworker Alex Bradley.

Alex was able to provide me with some insightful advice on his rise from his humble beginnings as an independent record label owner at the age of 16 to where he currently is - the manager of a 1500 person capacity nightclub.

Alex's interview was slightly off color - I apologize for the language, but I feel that me editing his statements would remove from the sentiment he has with his answers.

Here are the Questions (Italics) and Answers (Bold) from the interview:

How did you get your start in the music business?

Started a record label because he wanted music on the radio that he enjoyed. So at 15 he started one, got first radio play at 16 in Indianapolis. Sold the artists contracts when he left Indiana July 06 to go to Full Sail.

Why’d you pick the music business over any other job?

The music business is the one industry where it’s acceptable to smoke, drink, cuss like a sailor, and have fun every day and cause social change at the same time.

What was the biggest lesson you learned early on?

Most important lesson I could tell anyone – if you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong and its time for a change. If you can’t have fun in this industry you can’t have fun anywhere. We sell the idea of sex and a good time.

How important is networking in artist and product management in the entertainment business?

Networking is the least important thing, I feel this way because networking is great – I know 80% of the people in the south east, so I get in the door. Without the know how and skill – my foot in the door is nothing, being able to do what I say is what gets me and keeps me where I am.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced since starting in the industry?

Age, I’m only 22 so I’m younger than 90% of the people in my position, but my stick is bigger than anyone else and I know how to swing it. The only thing I get questioned on a regular basis is my age, not what I’m doing. One thing I’m telling anyone coming to work in the industry, never volunteer age to anyone, let them think what they want and move on with things.

What is the best part of your day at work?

The 40 seconds before a concert starts, because the crowd loses control of their faculties and they feel like they’re 5 years old again. Or – the second that the song you’ve pushed so hard and worked on for so long makes an impression on someone and really changes how they feel. Money is nice don’t get me wrong, but that’s not why any of us are in this industry, it’s simply a byproduct.

What skills do you feel are important for a manager in today’s industry?

Cojone’s of steal and an iron gut, and the ability to change in a split second. Admitting when you’re wrong and learning from your mistakes is also vital. In today’s industry if you’re not learning something brand new and adapting, you are not relevant. With the way the media works and the speed of information today, if you can’t adapt move and re-brand at a moments notice you become irrelevant

What do you feel is the most important thing in the recession to remember when selling something that’s not an essential to life like entertainment?

My father told me one very important thing when I was a kid, always smile, and always have fun. So I feel that entertainment is entirely essential to life. The biggest thing to remember when selling something mass media has labeled non-essential is that it is essential. You must provide it at a price that is everyone can partake in, it’s about quantity not about quality, if you can have twice amount of people enjoy it you’re golden. A recession is short, it’ll go away, attract customers when people are down and when things come back people will remember who took care of them when they were down and come back in force. Supporting the community that needs a release is important in today’s market.

Where do you see the industry headed next?

It is going two places, product and brand management is going to go to community companies. Large companies can’t compete any more because the smaller ones support the local scene and will for the next 5 years. Artist management is going to continue in support of indie management style where the majors will continue to control distribution, while personal management and indie labels will control new product and relevant product and popular product, because of the personal level of relevancy and passion. Gone are the days of the major conglomerate program formula and style, the masses aren’t controlled by that any more and have created niche markets that they follow and support more than ever before. In today’s economy and todays world people want to be connected to something that they believe in and that they feel resonates with themselves regardless of genre this is what will continue to be the stronghold.

Advice for someone interested in artist management?

A list
1 – live conservatively financially in personal life, ups and downs are worse than the stock market.
2 – never stop learning, always continue to seek out new knowledge media and entertainment – what’s exciting today
3 – accept the fact that almost everyone will tell you you’re wrong and they know better, they’ve done it longer, and that it’s always worked their way
4 – challenge everything. Anything that’s ever worked in the past ignore it, challenge how and why, learn from the past, but make sure it works today and for this problem you have now
5 – learn from other industries, because what works in management and product placement in another product can be applied to the entertainment world. What we sell has never changed, the way we sell it always changes. Other industries will give you lessons in product placement and marketing faster than you can ever create it.
6 – lead by example. If you say you can do something, do it. Don’t stop till its complete, because if you quit you set zero example for anyone else and no one will ever have faith in you.
7 – you have time to sleep when you die. If you really want to succeed put long hours in for what’s little return, if you’re not prepared give up now and don’t try any more.
8 – know and accept you’re limits and surround with people who are stronger in the area’s you are weaker. No one will survive without teamwork. Build a team that supports you in ways you are weak in and make it so they can help out.
9 – cherish the victory’s – small or large. You may not always win, but you’re always right if you cherish the victories.
10 – laugh and smile. If you are not having fun and enjoying what you’re doing, you won’t convince anyone you’re selling to that you’re worth his or her time or money. Smile and laugh like a raging idiot and the masses will follow.

Alex is a great individual with a good head on his shoulders who's headed in the right direction and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank him for the help he's given me throughout the three years plus that I've known him. If you ever run into him make sure to say Hi and ask him how he feels about the situation; if my vote counts for anything the man is usually right.

Month Six - Instructions into Disappointing a Salesman

Month Six was personally my favorite month of the degree - Negotiation and Deal Making - How to be a lion among lambs without their knowledge. To me the key to a successful negotiation isn't getting what you want (that's a part of it but not the key), the key - is convincing the other party that what you want is actually what they want (and contrary to popular belief this is not as difficult as it seems with most people and with the illustrious use of the vernacular granted to me by years of reading and the charisma granted by the grace of being a descendant of the Irish, comes somewhat easy to me at times) once you've convinced the other party of that, usually asking for extra toppings on your ice cream sundae at dairy queen is more complicated than sealing the deal.

For our negotiation project we were once again instructed to venture beyond the hallowed halls of the learning establishment and go forth into the real world; only this time instead of interviewing someone, we had to negotiate with them without them knowing that we were faking it (if we were faking it). To me this was the approximation of Christmas in July, as I savor the art of negotiation against a worthy individual. I currently drive a car that normally gets me from A to B without too many difficulties but isn't very noteworthy beyond that; so I decided to go see what kind of deal I could manage on a brand new Toyota Camry.

I struck off in my college best - flip flops, torn jeans, random band t-shirt, fitted ball cap and obnoxious orange aviator sunglasses - to see what salesman would take me seriously. Alas, it didn't take as long as I had hoped, evidently around Full Sail salesmen have learned not to judge you based on your looks. After pacing the lot for around ten minutes I was approached by a diminutive older hispanic gentleman who happened to be a Scion specialist and was slightly saddened when I explained that I didn't want a car that was based on flimsy marketing towards my demographics nature to gravitate towards shiny things that were shaped odd, but rather a "professional modest car" that I could drive for a few years; regardless of this he made a valiant effort to sell me on the Scion while I probed about the Camry's little brother - the Corolla. Finally he got around to a more traditional car that he clearly knew very little about, which I immediately sensed was a big advantage for me.

After much talking, a modest test drive of the car, and some extensive negotiations between myself, the salesman, and the sales manager - they offered me the golden deal - A Camry for the price of a Corolla with two years free scheduled maintenance, all in all about seven thousand dollars off the vehicle. Then came the bad news (bears) for the sales team that had spent approximately an hour and a half interacting with me: the information that this was an assignment, and that I actually had no desire to buy the car. I feel slightly bad for the way this had to happen and honestly would have probably purchased the car if I had the income to afford a new vehicle, but the look on both the salesman and sales manager's faces was priceless... I made it up to the salesman by writing his boss a letter stating that he was a great salesman and praising his customer service as well, but I'm sure he would rather have had the commission than the thank you note.

The paper written for class is listed below and goes into further depth than listed above:

The Situation

I’m planning on opening an artist management company, and in doing so I felt one of the more important things to research would be going out and negotiating a good deal on a car. Transportation is a vital aspect to any job and especially in an industry where travel is a requirement. After doing research on automotive vehicles I decided to go negotiate a deal on a Toyota Camry due to its reliability and Toyota’s reputation for quality service. I felt there was a great need for a car that would be consistent and reliable for several years to come and that was a nice car without being too flashy or expensive, a new business is on a budget after all.

Pre-Negotiation Planning and Research

I chose a local Toyota dealership that was relatively large and was owned by a parent company that had several dealerships in the area. The reason I decided to do this was that a larger company doing more business would probably be able to accept a lower price if pushed than a smaller company who doesn’t have as many options to make money. A company with a larger inventory can afford to lose a little bit of profits on one or two more than a company who has less of an inventory. Prior to going to the dealership I decided on the options I had to have and a few options I wanted to have in the car as well. After some deliberations, I decided that a CD player was a mandatory option for an artist manager so I could listen to different demos and mixes as I traveled. Also, power windows and locks were important as well if I was going to be transporting other people around. An option that I personally wanted, but wasn’t required was a manual transmission. The manual transmission allows for a slightly better fuel economy and a better responsiveness in the car overall in regards to acceleration and deceleration.

Negotiation Techniques

Prior to going to the dealership I decided to dress like an average college kid and wore just jeans and a t-shirt. This manner of dress gave me a youthful appearance that I felt the salesman would see as inexperience and would present an impression of me that I would be able to counter with my knowledge of negotiation. I felt I would give him an impression of an ‘easy target’ then counter it by driving a hard bargain. During my time at the dealership I simply walked around the lot looking at cars and finding one that met my requirements. After locating a few vehicles I walked into the office of the dealership and waited on someone to talk to me, taking a passive approach. Once a salesman approached me I acted like I wasn’t sure what I wanted even though I had already figured out several options that I would like. The salesman began asking me what I wanted and through his questions I guided him to the car that I had liked the most out of the lot. I let him have the idea of a place of power, when the whole time I had the most power, because I was the one who was able to walk away from the table and not lose anything while he would lose the opportunity for a sale if I did so.

What I Learned About Myself

I learned how to use my appearance and my youthfulness as an advantage during this negotiation and when to apply the confidence I have. I realized that given the proper circumstances I could use things that usually are a weakness and turn them into strengths. I also learned I can read people very well and guide them to making a choice that they think they’re making when in reality it’s the choice I was betting on the whole time.

Role of Research

Without research, a negotiation is doomed to fail. Harvey MacKay said, “Failures don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.” This is no more or less true than in the realm of negotiation. If a person attempts to enter into a negotiation without researching the situation they are walking into then they simply cannot hope to succeed in their negotiations. A good knowledge of one’s surroundings is critical in all business affairs however in negotiation is not only critical, but a matter of life or death in the negotiation room.

Role of Emotions

Emotions are something that are highly touchy when it comes to negotiations. If you attack the other party’s emotions, things can unravel very quickly, however, if you can understand what motivates the other persons emotions, you can resolve conflicts over emotion much quicker than if you go about things clueless. Mastery of one’s own emotions is more important than being able to understand someone else’s emotions. If you can control your emotions and have the ability to show something different than what is actually being felt, this places you in a position of power when it comes to emotion.

Role of Communication

Communication is obviously a key part when it comes to negotiations. A negotiation cannot happen without proper communication. Without communication there is no way anything can happen in business. Learning to communicate with people effectively and efficiently will help with the amount of time negotiations take to complete and the mutual feelings that follow negotiations as well. Not only is communicating what you want important but being able to understand what the other party is after is almost more important.

Conclusion

After spending an hour and a half going around the dealership, test driving the car, and negotiating deal after deal I was able to finally get terms that I could agree upon simply to tell the salesman that the whole thing was for a paper and thank him for his time. I negotiated a twenty thousand dollar Camry down four thousand dollars, and was getting two years free scheduled maintenance as well. I wrote a letter to his manager stating that the sales man was one of the best individuals I had ever had a sales experience with and that he was very polite and held customer service very highly.

Sources

www.carmax.com
www.toyota.com
http://www.edmunds.com/toyota/camry/review.html

Month Five - An Exploration into Digital Trends

Global Business Strategies - The art of learning how to successfully convince the "foreigner" (its in quotes because you're the foreigner visiting their country not the other way around, they just seem foreign to you because things are little different in the former soviet bloc.) you are visiting that you are in fact, Canadian; not American... Ok so that really isn't what the class is about, but is not far from it. GBS was learning how to interact with individuals in other cultures without offending them and learning some of the VERY important trends globally that influence business overseas. Some examples include siestas in Latin America (hey it's hot out at 2 in the afternoon on the equator okay) and the fact that Asian's typically are not left handed and feel that it is unclean (a fact that's bad for those of us who are left handed in Asia).

Besides learning these and other fascinating facts of other cultures outside our own slightly self-centered culture here in America - we were asked to view a thirty to sixty minute podcast or video on a feature of the entertainment industry that interested us and write a research paper on the topic. As a music enthusiast and reputed technological buff I chose to watch a podcast on the changes of digital music in the industry and the effects of it upon the music industry.

The paper reads as follows:

Digital music has come about through many changes from its beginnings in the days of dial up taking multiple hours to download a single song to the ability to purchase, download, and burn to CD an entire album in a matter of minutes to a single hour. Digital convergence was once a thing of theory and now has become the way of life in the music industry. An album can be purchased through the Internet and shipped home or downloaded directly to one’s computer. In August of 2006 at a conference in California Neil Smith, General Manager for AOL Music Now, America Online Inc.; Anu Kirk, Director of Product Management of Music, Rhapsody team, Real Networks; Ty Braswell, VP of Content Development, Music, Sony Digital Entertainment; Srivats Sampath, President & CEO, MERCORA; David Ulmer, Senior Director of Marketing, Digital Media Services, Motorola sat down for a panel with Ted Cohen, Managing Partner of TAG Strategic met to discuss how they felt the music industry was going to evolve and how the industry had evolved previously.

A brief biography of the members: Dave Ulmar works for Motorola and is in charge of marketing efforts to develop seamless music solutions to combine multiple forms of media and medium. Anu Kirk simply cannot avoid music in his life – beginning as a drummer, then an oboe player, keyboards and synthesizers, after graduating with a degree in economics he began working on several different online music distribution sites and has gone on to start up several different directory services and also music distribution sites including the walmart.com download store, and Windows Media Player. Neil Smith is in charge of the AOL Music Division and from this position helps direct AOL in its marketing and expansion efforts in the realm of music and entertainment. Srivats Sampath began with McAfee, a pc security company, and has had a hand in several other Internet based firms as well. Ted Cohen served as moderator for this discussion and previously worked for EMI as the Vice President of Digital Development & Distribution.

In recent history the world has seen an evolution unprecedented in the time of human kind. Music started prior to written history with people playing songs through crude bone carved flutes and drums made from animal hide, and has evolved in many ways since then. However, how music is made is not the point of today’s discussion; it’s about how music is delivered to people. Originally the only way to enjoy a musician’s wonderful talent was to be in their presence; today the world has evolved from being able to purchase sheet music to reproduce something at home, to analog forms of reproduction such as vinyl and tape all the way into today’s modern version of CD’s and MP3’s that permeate the current society. This whole revolution started with computers becoming such a large part of every day life, and came to where it is today with the ever present ipod. With the growth in technology not only has music evolved in computers, but also as telephone technology has evolved so has the music included in them. Cellular phones have gone from having simple monotone ring tones to now having mp3 quality ring tones. PC’s evolution in the music world is stagnant due to peer to peer sharing services; however, this trend in pirating and illegal opportunities is not as prominent in mobile services. Even with the ever-expanding realm of musical piracy Itunes is still expanding.

Mobile music allows for end user personalization. This personalization has its costs though. For a higher dollar download, users purchase a lower quality song than on computer with highly restrictive licenses. Originally when the Razor came out, it sold millions of units based on looks and not musical features, the phone could store between one and two songs on it without any more memory options, however when the second generation came out, the phone included a higher memory capability. The largest downfall with mobile phones as music units is that a phone must be a phone first. This restricts the music playing capabilities of the unit. The largest hampering placed on the evolution of digital music is DRM, or Digital Rights Management. DRM is a form of anti-piracy that restricts how and where music files can be played.

DRM has taken a stranglehold on digital music. A form of catch twenty-two has been established. When previous ‘tangible’ forms of music where purchased like a CD, the purchaser knew that the CD would work in any CD player. Now, when an mp3 is purchased, it might or might not work in the mp3 player the individual owns. Some things the panel thinks needs to be included in DRM and in digital packets are lyrics and updates on artists’ shows in the area around the downloader. In today’s age of digital convergence combining a data packet that allows the downloader to know where the artist is playing close by should be a standard practice, not an item for debate. The largest downside to DRM is that users are purchasing several units for different platforms that are not transferable. A song purchased on the Internet may play or not play in the computer the file is downloaded to, the cell phone the person owns, or the mp3 player the person transfers the file to. Currently, transferable downloads and less strict DRM standards are emerging, yet, songs downloaded on Itunes cannot be uploaded to a Zune brand music player, because competing companies own the two products.

Currently the large subscription based services require a larger learning curve to fully grasp what the user can accomplish with the service. However, once the learning curve is conquered, a high volume of use is usually observed. These services allow a consumer to access the same material several times prior to purchasing the song. Access isn’t the same thing as ownership though and, in the end, consumers’ want to have a tangible object that they own rather than the rights to access it want to have the same principles behind things as when they were purchasing physical products. The positive side to the digital revolution in music is that consumers and artists are more in control now than the labels, giving birth to more creative outlets for independent artists and allowing for consumers to seek out music they appreciate much more. Labels are having trouble adapting to the transition to digital than consumers and artists. Labels responded slowly the same way when radio came out, and again when vinyl. With these different changes the labels feared no one would purchase music, yet the music industry has remained a top economical force in America for decades.

As mobile means become the primary source for consumers to consume their music needs, prices will drop and a normal purchasing pattern will return. As normal purchasing patterns return, the difference between number in sales at the top and bottom will reduce as well. Mobile technology will, and has, increase as time continues standalone mp3 players will become rarer and rarer while multi-functioning highly user-friendly devices that serve multiple functions will increase in popularity. As music evolves in coordination with technology the possibilities are limitless. Already standard equipment possesses more computational power than was used in the entire moon exploration systems. The end result lies in what the consumer desires, and consumers are not idiots.


Sources:
Smith, N., Kirk, A., Braswell, T., Sampath, S., Ulmer, D., & Cohen, T. (2006, August 16). Digital music & its transformation: Downloads and subscriptions in mobile, broadband, pods & digital and internet radio. Panel discussion presented at Building Blocks 2006.

The video was a great watch, and I honestly feel this was one of my better papers I wrote up to that point in time.

Month Four - An Interview with a Banker

In the fourth month he wrote a paper; on an interview conducted with a local bank manager named Chris Cucci - but I bet you're wondering why I did that aren't you?

The fourth month of the program was a wonderfully informative and educational month taught by Ron Cook on the perplexing subject of Entertainment Finance. To some, the numbers were scary - To others, the 9 am math was daunting - To me, it was just another finance class (I dropped out of aerospace engineering to come to Full Sail, a little accounting math is not too horrifying to me unless its personal finances). The assignment that month was to venture out in to the big scary outside world beyond the (relatively, unless you're an unattended book bag in a passenger seat) safe harbor of the learning establishment and contact a person with something we all hope to never have after graduation - a real job.

I chose to sit down with my personal banking branch's manager - Chris, who was gracious enough to spend time from his busy day and give me an informative interview regarding the inter-workings of the financial system; okay not really but he did spend about twenty minute interview going over what he saw and how he felt about banking today.

During the interview we discussed things ranging from bank lending requirements, to the way the FDIC works and the then pending merger between Chase and Washington Mutual.

Introduction

In today’s rapid environment of change and uncertainty, local Washington Mutual (WaMu) branch manager Chris Cucci took some time out of his busy schedule to speak about how WaMu was handling investors money and helping businesses make it through this trying time. Unfortunately however, WaMu is also struggling in these trying times and has been acquired by Chase Bank and is currently undergoing a transitional phase from being an independent bank to being part of the larger Chase family of banks.

Chris became a banker after working in the computer-networking field for a few years. In 2003 Chris became a banker working primarily with small businesses overseeing business accounts and business and consumer lending. In 2005 he was promoted to Assistant Branch Manager and approximately a year and a half ago was again promoted, this time to Branch Manager.

Bank Accounts and Services

WaMu offers an extensive collection of free accounts to customers. These accounts include checking and savings for businesses and individuals. The accounts have no limitations on balance, checks written, and ATM usage. Coming in and seeing a teller, and all online banking and bill payment are also included. They additionally offer money orders, traveler’s checks, wire transfers and bank checks to all customers as well. They also have fee-based accounts that, while being fee based, offer fee waivers on these accounts if a certain level of investment is maintained. One of these accounts is an Analyzed Account – this account includes an ACH service which enables businesses to auto-bill customers, and remote deposit capture which is the automated check reading machines and things of this nature, allowing businesses to enact many of their day-to-day bank transactions from their place of business. This frees businesses up to use employees more effectively by not having to send someone on a bank run.

WaMu offers two kinds of credit cards to businesses and consumers. One is a rewards based card, the other doesn’t have rewards attached to it however has a slightly lower interest rate. The rewards card has approximately one percent higher interest rate to offset the rewards. Chris recommends this card for businesses and says the best way to take advantage of the rewards card is to pay all monthly bills on the credit card then to pay the credit card down to zero at the end of the month. Paying the card down every month prevents the interest charged and still provides all the rewards offered by the card. In addition to credit cards WaMu offers revolving lines of credit to businesses as opposed to taking out business loans if the situation calls for it. WaMu does offer safety deposit boxes, however, Chris’s particular branch did not have any. The boxes are paid for with a monthly fee and the larger the box the larger the fee charged.

WaMu additionally offers two forms of credit monitoring services. One is free and comes with every account and basically offers $5,000 in legal fee protection for instances of theft protection and the other is fifteen dollars a month for $15,000 in legal fee protection and insurance against identity theft. The second option also allows monthly checks into an individuals credit report. Estate planning is also offered through a partnership with J.P. Morgan. In addition to all of this, business owners are offered discounts of ¼ to ½ % on home loans and discounts of closing costs as well as an incentive to have both business and personal accounts with WaMu.

Lending Requirements

A topic of interest in today’s economy is credit and lending requirements. Chris said that even in the last year lending requirements have gotten stricter than previously. Current lending requirements demand a credit score of 680, which has risen from 620 as recently as a year ago. Other things considered are level of income and an employment history of at least two years. If a person’s employment history doesn’t go back a full two years due to college WaMu will consider college as employment history to allow recent graduates to fulfill the requirement.

A down payment ranging from 20% down to 7% based on the applicants credit score. Collateral against loans range from equipment to real estate, however vehicles are no longer considered collateral due to the rate of depreciation. Real estate is the preferred option because it generally grows in value over time unlike equipment or other forms of collateral. Business Loans offered typically have a repayment period of between two and ten years. More often a revolving line of credit is offered with variable interest rates and repayment periods, often acting as a credit card of sorts, simply with a much higher limit. A typical thing companies don’t make loans for is marketing, Chris said that they would be willing to loan money for marketing provided collateral was offered worth the amount of money being borrowed.

Outpacing Inflation

In today’s economy with current interest rates set where they are, outpacing inflation is a difficult prospect anywhere, let alone at a corporate bank. Chris offered his opinion by suggesting that diversification is the best method today to ensure safety and offer growth for any investments. The method of diversification suggested included investing the majority of money in money market accounts, minimal investing in stocks, and investing into retirement accounts. The retirement accounts are tax-free and offer a way of investing small amounts over time to reach a large lump sum at retirement.

Insurance Options

The FDIC insures every account at $100,000 per investor, however if you add people to an account the coverage for the account goes up per person. If this amount doesn’t cover the amount placed in an individual bank by an investor, no other insurance exists but this isn’t an issue as when a bank goes under the FDIC steps in and takes over the bank then selling it to a healthy bank to take over the failed banks accounts. This process has allowed customers to keep all of their investments, even when a bank has failed.

Ironically enough, WaMu fell to this process in October of 2007. Chase has agreed to purchase WaMu and take over all of its accounts and service them as well. Chase has handled this take over very effectively. In less than one year all WaMu accounts will be fully integrated within Chase’s systems. Chase has decided that WaMu’s consumer account set up was better than their own; and will be keeping WaMu’s individual account’s while converting WaMu business accounts to their own set up. Chase offers much of the same benefits that WaMu offers such as a free account with debit card usage.

Conclusion

In today’s ever changing ever evolving markets WaMu and Chase are prepared to handle any struggles that appear. Money invested in a bank, while perhaps not earning the most for the investment, definitely won’t be shrinking any time soon. If a safe investment is what is desired, nothing beats a CD account or a money market account. However at a younger age, riskier investments tend to pay off better and if they fail, allow time for recovery, invest wisely and cash a big check.

Oh - and Tom Cruise and Ann Rice, when it comes to titles, I thank you for your ability to be parodied.

Month Three - Analyzing William Morris Agency's Brand

And then came the third month! Brand Development and Story Telling. This is where we take the average product and make it the best product ever since sliced bread (by the way, what was the best invention before sliced bread? was it bread itself? or perhaps the wheel? I feel this is a situation similar to how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie-pop - the world will never know...)- the only difference between Cheerio's and *store name*o's is the branding behind them.

For month three we were given the assignment of analyzing a major brand in our companies industry we felt was a potential competitor to our company. This analyzation was to assist us in creating our own branding strategy for the company we were attempting to create.

When thinking of Management Agencies and Booking Agents - one of the largest and most famous names that comes to mind is William Morris Agency. WMA was started in the days of Vaudeville and continued to grow with the expansion of first the movie industry, then the music industry and has since become one of the major players in the entertainment industry.

The company has a very clean method of branding - focusing mainly on a simple blue and white logo consisting of 4 X's placed directly next to each other (XXXX). This simple but effective logo has served the company well through out it's long history. While the logo doesn't carry much weight as far as a trademark's protectabilitty are concerned the logo is a good example of effective minimalist branding. The company's branding seems to ignore most typical laws of branding applied to brands that deal with consumers, however this is not really an issue for the company as they deal strictly with business-to-business relationships.

This relatively weak overall brand strategy illustrates a lack of need for a brand within artist management, an industry that relies more upon relationships, word of mouth, and reputations more than branding, catch phrases, and consumer emotions.

The slide slow assembled for this presentation is shown below:

Month Two - Helping Crealde - Month Two

In addition to continuing our month one assignment throughout the program, each month an additional assignment was added to help further us along in our path to becoming masters and true leaders.

Month Two of the program was Project and Team Management - and as such we were instructed to locate a local NPO (Non - profit organization) and find a way that we as a group could utilize our skills effectively to assist this NPO at no cost to themselves (i.e. we weren't getting paid for doing this help, but who's going to charge an NPO, it's called charity for a reason people.).

My group decided to assist the local art school called Crealde School of Art which is a small campus located off of Aloma Boulevard that provides low cost art classes to any member of the community interested in learning a new skill from digital photography and image editing to traditional painting and drawing. All the classes offered by this wonderful school and further information about the actual school can be located at this link which I highly recommend - if I had more free time and a bit of extra cash I would have taken a few drawing classes to help relax!

The project we decided upon was to take the existing fundraiser the school has every year by attempting to maximize the number of attendants, increase the money coming in to the school, and decrease the total cost of the event. The presentation we assembled is placed below - however, the overall plan was to move the event to a larger location to allow more people to attend, utilize volunteer labor to increase the marketing material distributed, and to help reduce costs by developing some partnerships with local businesses to help provide catering and other vending needs.

We planned on cultivating a relationship with Full Sail to help with the Venue needs, and partnering with Boston Market to provide quality catering at a more than affordable price. The utilization of local bands willing to help sponsor the school also drastically reduced the costs of this event. The end result of this plan was a savings of over $4,750 to the school. I don't know if the plan was actually used but it was delivered to them and I honestly do wish the best for this school - it is a gem of creativity in Winter Park's crown jewels.

Again, the slides prepared are located below: