Anyone Up For Beyonce's Challenge?

Beyoncé fans were given a real surprise this Thursday December 12^th.  With no warning, no promotions of any kind, and no press, she released a 14-track album with a video for each song.  No one outside of her team knew about this album. Fans immediately went to social media to express their shock and excitement. Countless numbers of memes were made quickly and before you knew it, the album titled “Beyoncé” debuted at number one with sales over 430,000 in just a little over a day. It’s projected that she’ll quickly reach over 600,000 albums sold.

According to Singersroom, the “Beyoncé” album has exceeded the first week sales of her previous three albums, “Bday,” “I Am Sasha…Fierce,” and “4.” As of right now, the album is only available on iTunes with no mention of a release date to any other distributors besides iTunes. Billboard predicts that Beyoncé could easily take Taylor Swift’s spot as the biggest debuting album for a female artist.

The album features songs including “Drunk in Love” featuring husband Jay-Z, “Mine” featuring Drake, and “Blue.”

The Boston Globe calls this technique of releasing an album a “stroke of marketing genius.” The album became the news story of the day, therefore giving her free promotion and marketing. With all the recent changes of the music industry because of social media, the Internet, digital music, and smartphones, Beyoncé and her team saw that it would be a good idea to try something different and creative. This album release strategy certainly worked out well for Beyoncé. The fact that she created a video for each of the 14 songs was also affective and different. Not many artists could pull something like this off. There are artists who promote albums that are not as popular as this one. I wonder if other artists will try something like this in the future.

Brief Insight of a Music Manager

Earlier this year I decided to further my education and I enrolled in an Entertainment Business Master’s program. I just made it to my Product and Artist Management class, a topic I am very interested to learn more about this career path. I decided to research advice for those of us who are interested in becoming a Music Manager or just want to learn more about the field.

A Music Manager is the perfect career for those of us who are obsessed with music but have no musical talent. (Definitely me!) Before you decide to dedicate your career to music management you should weigh the pros and cons. Pros include meeting lots of industry people, traveling, and watching your hard work pay off when you reach the next level of success. Unfortunately there are cons too. Some of the downfalls include not making money unless your artist does, the job is a 24/7 commitment, and patiently waiting for your work to pay off in an uncertain industry that changes with each season.

Lauren Greene, a writer for Seventeen Magazine, talked with working managers to obtain some advice about music management. We all pretty much know the gist of what a Music Manager does. They oversee an artist’s career. An artist and manager who are both beginning their career together may be the only members of the team initially. This means the manager will be the artist’s accountant, agent, publicist, etc. Managers are responsible for marketing and promoting their artists, being innovative, deciding on song lists, and negotiating with labels. The article offered great advice for where you can start. “To find out about new bands, go to concerts, clubs, and festivals. South by Southwest is a huge music conference; try to take a trip there (it’s held in Austin, Texas, in March) to check out more than 1,400 artists and join a mentoring session with professional managers.” The 2014 conference takes place from March 7-16.

Gaining experience and building industry contacts are also very important. Networking is key. An internship at a record label, radio station, or a music management firm are great places to meet industry contacts. You can find a list of record labels to reach out to here. If you know someone who is pursuing the artist side of things, and you believe in their work, you can gain experience by managing them. Those of us who are in the Entertainment Business program have already took one step in the right direction by getting a relevant degree.

Finally, everyone usually has questions about the pay. Of course you make a percentage of what your artist(s) make. The standard is usually between 10 and 20 percent. The article estimates that at a big firm entry level would be about $20,000—$25,000, at a midlevel you would make about $30,000—$50,000, and upper level would be $55,000 and up.

I hope you were able to learn more about becoming a Music Manager!

Negotiation: Every Move Counts

I have conducted my first interview for my blog! For my interviewee, I chose a former classmate of mines. His name is Isaac Hughley. Isaac and I are both from South Bend, IN and attended the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, IN. Isaac works in Sales at Verizon Wireless during the day, and by night he is a Music Coach/Producer, Author, and Internet Marketer for Isaac Hughley Enterprises. I recently discussed the important of negotiation in the business world with Isaac.

JILLIAN: How important do you think it is to learn negotiation techniques?

ISAAC: Negotiation is essential, especially in my line of work. As a salesman, I am always looking for ways to provide value for customers while providing income for myself. The same applies in my endeavors as a business owner. If my customer doesn't find value in what I'm offering, it's not likely that they'll continue doing business with me.

JILLIAN; How do you separate the people from the problems when negotiating?

ISAAC: When it comes to separating people from problems, I work to not let my emotions become involved. Business is business. If you let your emotions become involved in a transaction things can get ugly quickly. I look for a mutually beneficial compromise and present an appropriate solution. If that solution doesn't fit my customer, then I work with them toward a resolution even if I cannot provide it to them directly.

JILLIAN: Do you believe you are more of a soft (i.e.goal is agreement, change position easily)

 or hard (i.e. goal is victory, distrust people) positional bargainer?

ISAAC: In terms of positional bargaining, I believe I fall somewhere in the middle between hard and soft. In general I would probably lean toward being a soft positional bargainer, but in some instances hard negotiation is necessary; it varies per the situation.

JILLIAN: Can you give me an example of how you worked towards a mutual benefit for both parties?

ISAAC: I was recently approached by a client to develop a website. I set up an initial conference call with myself, the client and my business partner to discuss the details. We presented the client with our estimated time for completion, details on the services that'd be provided, and the sale price.
The client took a few day to discuss this information with his business team. After discussing the info, the client contacted me and agreed to the price. I had an invoice sent over to the client for service and received payment. My business partner and I then began work on the website design. Once completed, we verified that everything was satisfactory for the client. At that point our business was complete.
In this situation, the client saw value in a website for his business. My partner and I saw monetary value in the work we'd complete to develop the site. Our goal was to find a price point that would fairly compensate us for our time and give the client what he was looking for in his site

JILLIAN: Do you have specific tactics that you always follow when negotiating?

ISAAC: a. Discover- Know who you're dealing with: Understand your customer

b. Connect - Find some common ground with the other party

c. Recommend - Provide a solution that compensates you fairly but also provides value for the client

d. Close - Close the sale quickly and deliver the value to the customer

e. Follow up - self explanatory; Also may lead to residual business/other income opportunities

JILLIAN: Do you find yourself negotiating more with people inside your business or new people on the outside?

ISAAC: I would say I negotiate more with people inside my business than outside.

JILLIAN: How do you handle your emotions when negotiating?

ISAAC: I leave my emotions out of business transactions. Business is business.

JILLIAN: I like that. Very direct and to the point. Have you dealt with much conflict when negotiating?

ISAAC: There will inevitably be some conflict during the negotiation process. Some people may gain more while other receive the short end of the stick, but ultimately you want to work toward a mutually beneficial agreement that will build a long term business relationship.

JILLIAN: What advice would you give to people to successfully negotiate a deal?

ISAAC: Don't bring your emotions to the business table. Work toward a mutual benefit so that all parties involved can feel like they've gained something valuable. Don't be a afraid of conflict; work through it.

Thank you Isaac for taking the time to answer my questions about your negotiation experiences and techniques. Hopefully others will get something out of this interview about negotiation practices because I know I did!

TLC and VH1 Team Up for Biopic

Growing up in the 90’s my favorite R&B group was and still is TLC. The group consisted of Tionne
 “T-Boz” Watkins, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, and the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. What I loved about the group was their uniqueness. They all had very quirky personalities, outrageous but creative style, and amazing music. They embodied the “Crazy, Sexy, Cool” demeanor, rightly the name of their second and most popular album.

TLC's T-Boz, Left Eye, & Chilli

Drew Sidora as T-Boz, Keke Palmer as Chilli, & Lil Mama as Chilli

The group was very successful, selling over 23 million albums worldwide, achieving ten top 10 singles, four multi-platinum albums, five Grammy Awards, 5 MTV Awards, and three Billboard Awards. Despite the tragic loss of Left Eye, TLC remains a legacy. They continue to make music and perform at shows for all of their millions of fans worldwide.  

Recognizing the groups talent and importance to the music industry, VH1 is airing a biopic of the group. The movie airs on Monday, October 21^st at 9PM ET/PT and features actress Drew Sidora as T-Boz, actress Keke Palmer as Chilli, and rapper Lil Mama as Left Eye. The movie will feature the successes and the challenges that the group faced together.

Entertainment Weekly (ET) sat down with the group and the girls playing them in the movie to talk with them about the movie. ET asked T-Boz and Chilli what were the most challenging parts of the film. They both of course mentioned Left Eye’s death and having to relive the pain that stemmed from that and all of the rest of the hardships and struggles that they experienced. T-Boz and Chilli were executive producers of the film and the movie was a joint collaboration between the two and VH1. When talking about their feelings about watching themselves being portrayed in a movie, Chilli said, “It’s just amazing to see a dream come true. More importantly, I’m just happy that we spent that time with the girls because it was important for us to be portrayed in the right way and they did it.” Just so you get the full picture of how awesome this movie is, here is the trailer:

The 8th Annual LudaDay Weekend

Since 2005 rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges has dominated Labor Day weekend. This year was no different. The 8^th Annual LudaDay Weekend took place in Atlanta, GA and featured many events. Despite all of the fun and games, the main purpose of LudaDay weekend is to give back.

On behalf of The Ludacris Foundation, this weekend is dedicated to providing charitable acts for the community. This year, the festivities kicked of on Thursday, August 29^th and lasted through Monday, September 2^nd. The first event of Luda’s fundraising effort was The Ludacris Foundation High School Takeover. Luda returned to his old high school, Banneker High School in College Park. It was quite the surprise for students there. True to his charitable mission, Ludacris donated $20,000 to the teachers. Not just focusing on the monetary part of charity, he delivered a very important message to students. He stressed to them that if he made it, they can too, the importance of making smart decisions, but to never forget where they came from.  Some of the other events included a dinner, Georgia State University block party, celebrity basketball game, Ludacris Foundation Brunch, and a pool party.

Just like the past seven years, Ludacris always brings out his fellow celebrity friends that come out to support the cause. Celebrities such as Usher, Gabrielle Union, Chris Brown, Toya Wright, Ciara, Larenz Tate, Letoya Luckett, Monica, Teyana Taylor, and more have all participated in the LudaDay events. Luda’s efforts are very commendable. Many may not be aware of the fact that “LudaDay Weekend is by far the longest running celebrity-endorsed charity weekend in Atlanta, GA” according to ATL Night Spots.com.

This year’s celebrity basketball took place at Georgia State University. Ludacris was of course a team captain, but his rival captain was R&B singer Usher. The game went into overtime but Team Usher prevailed with a score of 100 to 91. All of the proceeds of this game and every other event are dedicated to charity. Next year, I hope to be able to attend some of the 9^th Annual LudaDay Weekend events.

The Voice of Independent Labels

The music industry is not just about fun and entertainment. It’s not even just about the music and what celebrities do in their free time. The business side is just as important. So like any other business, the music industry has a trade organization. Some may not know about it, others may be well aware of it. It’s called the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM).

The A2IM is a not-for-profit organization that supports and promotes the independent music sector. According to their mission statement, independent music represents “34.5% of the music industry’s market share in the United States (and approximately 40% of SoundScan digital music sales.” Their objective is to not allow independent artists to get overlooked and denied similar opportunities as the artists that are on major labels. More specifically, the objectives of this association are to protect the independent labels in several categories.

·      Fair Trade: achieving commercial success and leveling the playing field with the competing major labels

·      New Technology and Distribution: receiving the same opportunities to take advantage of available new technology and distribution channels

·      Access to Media: pushing for independent labels to receive airplay on the media channels and reminding these media outlets that airwaves are based on diversity and public trust, and therefore should receive fair treatment

·      Legislative: giving the labels a voice when it comes to government and legislative issues

·      Advocacy: developing a structure for sharing information and opportunities to advance

·      International: helping the independent sector to reach international levels through trade negotiations and promoting international visibility

·      Purchasing: discovering ways to create favorable pricing opportunities

·      New Business: creating support and sponsorship opportunities through advertising, internet streamers, distributors, and downstream users of music

·      Branding: raising the perception of the “Indie” brand to parallel the success of the competing major labels.

The 2012 LIBBY Awards

In accordance with their mission and objectives, A2IM has created a way to celebrate and honor independent artists and their successes. The awards ceremony they hold, the Libera Awards (aka LIBBYs), are held annually and strive to make sure the money, time, and self-investments of independent labels are recognized. This is also a way for fans to engage and share in the successes of the artists they love. The name Libera comes from a Latin phrase that means independent, free, and unrestricted. Seeing this as more than a music celebration, A2IM takes advantage of this program to also recognize the fact that as independents, they are free from certain major label restrictions and constrictions.

The awards ceremony of 2012 was the first annual show. It recognized influential people and companies such as Ninja Tune, Bon Iver, Martin Mills, Daptone Records, and Spotify. Awards ceremonies and this association in general helps strengthen the Indie label brand by recognizing the contributions they make to the music industry and the equality of talent. The strength of this sector is only growing, allowing for more independent labels to enter the industry and increase the Indie market share and creating true competition with the major labels.

The Perk of Being Awesome

My favorite word happens to be the word awesome. It sums up what I want to be and how I want to feel. Plus, I just like saying it. As I was going through the inspirational talks on Ted.com, I saw the title The 3 A’s of Awesome and immediately knew that this was the speech I had to watch. Neil Pasricha, a regular guy who developed a new perception of life’s little things after going through adversity between 2008 and 2009, gave the speech. He dealt with marital issues and his wife telling him she doesn’t love him anymore, and the suicide of a close friend. What he wanted everyone to understand is that there will be good times of love and success and happiness, but there will also be those unpleasant times that we don’t want to think about.

Pasricha’s three A’s of awesome are designed to help you overcome and move on. The first one is attitude. You have two choices when it comes to a rough situation. You can wallow and succumb to circumstances or you can have a grieving period, then move on and make the best of a bad situation. The second A is for awareness. Awareness means to embrace the inner 3 year old and learn to see things as if you are seeing them for the first time. The final A, authenticity, is all about being yourself and knowing that that is good enough. Being yourself will ultimately lead to you following your hear and putting yourself in situations and around people and in places that you love.

The hardships that Pasricha experiences, combined with his commitment to fighting tough times with positivity lead to the creation of his blog, 1000 Awesome Things. Eventually the blog received so many hits that he received a Webby Award for the “Best Blog Award.” The award then lead to him receiving a book deal in which he wrote a book called The Book of Awesome (look inside on Amazon), dedicated to the same positive outlook on life. Enjoying life’s simple pleasures and taking comfort in things we tend to overlook, things like the bakery smell in the air or rain hair, and popping bubble wrap or taking an illegal nap. The book was a #1 best seller for 20 weeks.

I was truly inspired by Pasricha’s speech. I have, much like most people, experienced hard times, and when listening to him, it’s easy to put yourself in the situation and take away good advice. He used humor to engage the audience. I know I found myself laughing out loud a lot when he was talking about his parent’s culture shock in Canada and him and his friend’s big heads blocking the pictures of seals they were trying to show off. Life is all about growing yourself and staying positive (like this blog). The truth is, we aren’t on this earth for very long so now is the time enjoy every moment of life that you can. Words of advice from Neil Pasricha, “you’ll never be as young as you are right now.”

It is the L-I-Y-A-H, Gone but Not Forgotten

Growing up in the 90’s, I was always a fan of the R&B and hip-hop during that decade. My absolute favorite singer was (and still is) the very beautiful and talented Aaliyah. This month, the 25^th, marks the 12^th anniversary of her death. Aaliyah was killed in a fatal plane crash back in 2001. As you can imagine, I was devastated. I still remember that day, I cried. I don’t want to discuss the tragedy here though because Aaliyah’s   memory is still very alive. 

There are plenty of fan pages dedicated to Aaliyah on the social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I find that whenever I post a photo of her on my Instagram page, I always get a lot of likes. Most recently, you may have heard her sweet, angelic voice on the radio in a new song. Singer Chris Brown featured unreleased Aaliyah vocals in the second single “Don’t Think They Know,” from his upcoming album. The video featured a hologram of Aaliyah and was created to bring attention to gun violence. This song gave fans the chance to hear new music from Aaliyah while keeping her memory alive. It also further introduced her to newer generations of music listeners. 

Aaliyah had many hit songs that people still listen to today like “One in a Million,” “Rock the Boat,” "4 Page Letter," and my favorite, “Are You That Somebody.” I loved everything about her from her hair and style, to her voice and dance moves. She always seemed like a very down-to-earth and sweet soul. There was never much bad press about her. She was transitioning her career to include acting under her belt (triple-threat) before her untimely passing. I am and will always be a big fan of Aaliyah and I want to dedicate this post to her memory.

You’re one in a million, baby girl, may you rest in heaven!

Would YOU Like a Tour?

Drake performing during Club Paradise tour at Ohio State University

So many artists are on tour right now, including Justin Timberlake, T.I. and Lil Wayne, and Rihanna who recently wrapped up hers.  A show that I am particularly looking forward to is Drake’s tour titled, Would You Like a Tour? The 41-date North American tour also features R&B artist Miguel and rapper Future. The tour starts in September in Portland, OR and will close in Los Angeles, CA at the end of November (schedule posted below).

Drake is also working on his third album, with an anticipated release date of September 24^th of this year.  The album titled, Nothing Was the Same, features hit single “Started From the Bottom” and recently released single, “Hold on We’re Going Home” featuring Majid Jordan. In an interview with the magazine Rolling Stone Drake said, “This album is about growth.” He described one of his songs, “Connect” as being the one “that hits you in the heart. It’s painful and beautiful at the same time.” I am highly anticipating this album. Drake told us all in his song “The Ride” from his sophomore album, Take Care, that his “junior and senior [albums] will only get meaner.” I can’t wait to see if he kept his word.

Would You Like a Tour? follows his Club Paradise Tour that took place in 2012 following the release of Take Care. I was able to attend this concert in Columbus, OH at Ohio State University. I didn’t know what to expect from him as far as live performances go, but he put on a great show, incorporating his fans as part of the show. I felt like I was in the presence of greatness. There was a moment where he had all lights shining on the audience and shouted out many of his fans individually by saying things like, “I see you baby girl in the orange dress.” It was really a special moment for his fans, especially the many who were singled out (unfortunately, I was not one). If Would You Like a Tour is as entertaining and engaging as Club Paradise, I can’t wait to see it!  For more information about tickets, visit Ticketmaster.

Would You Like a Tour? Dates:

09-25 Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
09-26 Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Dome
09-27 Vancouver, BC - Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
09-29 Calgary, AB - Scotiabank Saddledome
09-30 Edmonton, AB - Rexall Place
10-02 Saskatoon, SK - Credit Union Centre
10-03 Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
10-05 Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
10-06 Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center
10-08 Saint Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
10-09 Chicago, IL - United Center
10-11 Indianapolis, IN - Bankers Life Fieldhouse
10-12 Auburn Hills, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills
10-13 Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
10-15 Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center
10-16 Buffalo, NY - First Niagara Center
10-18 Pittsburgh, PA - CONSOL Energy Center
10-19 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center
10-21 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
10-22 Ottawa, ON - Scotiabank Place
10-26 Hartford, CT - XL Center
10-27 Newark, NJ - Prudential Center
10-28 Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center
10-30 Boston, MA - TD Garden
10-31 Washington, DC - Verizon Center
11-02 Charlotte, NC - Time Warner Cable Arena
11-03 Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
11-05 Miami, FL - AmericanAirlines Arena
11-06 Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Times Forum
11-07 Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
11-09 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
11-10 Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
11-12 San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center
11-13 Houston, TX - Toyota Center
11-16 Phoenix, AZ - US Airways Center
11-18 Sacramento, CA - Sleep Train Arena
11-19 Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
11-21 Anaheim, CA - Honda Center
11-22 Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
11-24 San Diego, CA - Viejas Arena
11-25 Los Angeles, CA - STAPLES Center

Chris Brown's Unity Campaign

In today’s music entertainment news industry, negative behavior by celebrities is often more in the spotlight rather than the positive news. Sure there is news out there promoting upcoming albums, tours, and other projects. However, when it comes to the gossip columns, they would much rather post a story about some drunken incident after leaving a club, that one of these music artists was a part of rather than promoting a story about them giving back to their communities.

Chris Brown with fans supporting Trayvon Martin

R&B superstar Chris Brown is constantly in the news, and it’s usually something damaging to his reputation. Whether the things in the gossip columns are true or just rumors, they tend to neglect to promote the positive things he does. On July 6 Chris Brown participated in the “WE US: Walk Everywhere in Unity’s Shoes” charity event held at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California. He donated over 1,000 Reebok shoes to the students there. Brown called upon the L.A. mayor’s office, L.A. County sheriff’s office, L.A. graffiti artists, youth development organizations, gang reduction organizations, and his fans to help with the logistics and to inspire change and comfort. “Thank you for allowing me to continue to inspire change in the world. Today was a great step forward,” tweeted Brown to his 12.8 million followers. This event was so successful that Chris Brown
repeated this past weekend on July 20, not only to promote unity, but also to show support for the murdered young teen, Trayvon Martin.

This event is just one part of the Unity Campaign that Brown is a part of. The point of the campaign is to promote an end to violence and unity within our communities. His commitment to this message can be seen further in the release of his second single from his upcoming album X. The video for the single “They Don’t Know,” featuring the late R&B singer, Aaliyah could have gone in many different directions, but Brown decided to shoot the video in Compton, CA featuring the local youth. The video was shot in black and white with just a few shots of red and blue (two rival gang colors). The video starts with the quote “Every two hours in America today a child dies of a gunshot wound.” The next screenshot is of the quote “Unity is what we are afraid of so fear is insanity, lets love each other.” The message intended for viewers is to see the community coming together to take a stand against violence. It’s not even relevant to the actual song, but it works.  

My inspiration for this blog is my Public Relations background and my interest in the entertainment business industry. What I hope to accomplish with this blog is promote positivity in the music industry. There are plenty of tabloids that focus on the negative parts of the industry for entertainment purposes, but I want to show all the good celebrities, specifically music artists (mostly hip-hop and R&B), are involved with. Not just their charitable efforts, but promote their projects; the main focus of their careers. Examples of this includes philanthropic efforts, the charities they start themselves, things they do for fans, etc. This is a part of PR because its main objective is to protect and promote a good reputation for clients within the business.  I hope that this blog will promote positive news in the entertainment industry because there is too much negativity in the world today. My goal is to take my Marketing/PR/Event Planning background combined with my Entertainment Business Master's, and use it start my career in the music entertainment industry.