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MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT #28 Power Reading for Busy Music Professionals Hope you're hungry! MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT is published for musicians, songwriters, managers, label reps, booking agents, entertainment attorneys, studio owners, music publishers, and all others involved in the music business. Its purpose is to help boost your business, find new markets, make the right connections, develop professionally, work smarter and improve your bottom line. "As a general rule, the most successful people in life are those who have the best information." Benjamin Disraeli Written and published bimonthly by Peter Spellman, Director of MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: Turning Music Business Data into Useful Knowledge. Career-building books, articles, training, consulting and more. P.O. Box 230266, Astor Station, Boston, MA 02123-0266, USA Phone: 888-655-8335 Email: success@mbsolutions.com Web site: http://www.mbsolutions.com © 1997 - 2003, Peter Spellman, MBS Business Media, www.mbsolutions.com Please feel free to redistribute with above credit and copyright notice.
Watch for the 12th issue of MUSIC CAREER JUICE, coming in December to all MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT subscribers! HOT MUSIC MARKETING OPPORTUNITY. Here's a gig for an enterprising small label owver. I've noticed a number of songs showing up on radio shows that address the current crisis we're experiencing with al Qaeda, osama bin laden and the Taliban. Someone ought to license these and assemble a compilation CD with a title like "Sonic Rockets Over Afghanistan". Distributors would fall over themselves to get it and the proceeds could be donated to relief efforts. THE RIAA WANT TO HACK YOUR PC!!! Look out, music pirates. The recording industry wants the right to hack into your computer and delete your stolen MP3s. It's no joke. Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tried to glue this hacking-authorization amendment onto a mammoth anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved earlier this month (the f*#^ing weasels!). An RIAA-drafted amendment would immunize all copyright holders -- including the movie and e-book industry -- for any data losses caused by their hacking efforts or other computer intrusions "that are reasonably intended to impede or prevent" electronic piracy. In a later interview, RIAA lobbyist Mitch Glazier said that his association has abandoned plans to insert that amendment into anti-terrorism bills -- and instead is supporting a revised amendment that takes a more modest approach. "It will not be some special exception for copyright owners," Glazier said. "It will be a general fix to bring back current law." Glazier is the RIAA's senior vice president of government relations and a former House aide. Stay alert. The RIAA is extremely skilled at lobbying and discerning opps for slipping one over on us! STORIES (STILL) WANTED FOR MY (HYPER)BOOK! My next book, "The Musician's Internet. Online Strategies for Success in the Music Industry" is scheduled for a December 2001 release. As mentioned in the last issue of "Career Juice," my publisher has asked me to develop a complementary web site to the book. This'll allow the ever-changing subject of the book to stay fresh for its users and provide a community where internet intelligence can be shared and learning sparked. So the invitation for net success stories is open and on-going! Specifically, I am looking for stories of bands and artists who've...
Stories from small labels, production houses, and other music-related businesses are welcomed too. Of course, war stories and snafus of all kinds are also welcomed as are any tips & tricks anyone would care to share. Email 'em all to me at. peter@mbsolutions.com Thanks in advance!
NETWORK...NETWORK...NETWORK: Webnoize 2001 Internet Content East European Media & Entertainment Summit Second Annual Americana Music Association Conference MAP Awards, presented by the Musicians' Assistance Program Midwest Music Conference Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference Amen! Christian Music Conference Unsigned Artist Conference (U-SAC-2001) MUSIC MEMORABILIA SHOW 13th Annual EPM Entertainment Marketing Conference Caribbean Music Expo 2001 Streaming Media East 2001 2002 International CES MIDEMNET MIDEM Millennium Music Conference Canadian Music Week 2002 Global Entertainment & Media Summit SXSW Conferences & Festivals NARM - National Association of Recording Merchandisers Convention & Trade Show
))) FEATURE: by Peter Spellman, Music Business Solutions Many in the music industry are experiencing the same things right now as we all seek to grapple with the new world disorder. The economic downturn and September 11 attacks have pounded already weak sales in a music industry grappling with rampant piracy and slowing CD replacements. Gigs are drying up, distributors are 120 days out, customers are staying home, and bills are piling up. Music groups are under pressure to make deep-seated changes to survive the times ahead and the "ripple effects" will be profound. Most likely your business is feeling the effects of the sudden economic downturn as well. I can sense it in my own clients too. People are a bit paralyzed right now and it's showing in more "cocooning" and a general reluctance to part with hard-earned cash from a paycheck that may not arrive next month. Despite a gloomy money picture, it is crucial to keep your head out of the sand. Times like these force us to reevaluate out deepest values and desires. We have before us a golden opportunity to take a fresh look at our businesses, streamline and strengthen our operations, and put ourselves on steadier economic ground. Here are several financial management tips to help guide you and your company through these turbulent times: 1. PLAY DOCTOR An accurate diagnosis of the cause of your business problems is essential to resolving and preventing their recurrence. Though external factors play a big role in business dynamics, in most cases, the real cause of business troubles is often internal. So the first thing you should do is take your internal pulse. Although every small business is unique, here are the most common causes of financial difficulty:
2. CHOOSE YOUR MEDICINE The specific actions you take to stabilize your business and resolve its problems will depend on your diagnosis. Following are some possible actions to consider:
3. TAKE YOUR MEDICINE This (when a business is in crisis) is not a time to be secretive and protective, but a time to actually open up your situation to the people who are in effect your financial partners, and to ask them for their help. When necessary, provide your creditors with cash flow and sales projections, fact sheets and documentation that will help support your case. If you are funded by angels or family, be ruthlessly honest about your situation and what you're planning to do about it. Here are some additional cash-generating possibilities to consider:
Some of these guidelines may seem excessive or harsh; some are simply common sense reminders. But a key ingredient to successful business management is the ability to be ruthlessly objective: to clearly see what needs to be done and to respond intelligently and creatively to the challenge. These practical steps will hopefully lighten the load and alleviate some stress so you can continue to do the work that needs to get done. Dig deep inside and be surprised by your own potential to work things out.
Did you know... ...that The Eagles were originally named "Teen King and the Emergencies" because Don Henley, a difficult guy, always seemed to be having some kind of crisis?
))) BIZ SMARTZ: GATHERING MARKETING INTELLIGENCE An important part of any business planning is gathering smart market intelligence. Information about your competitors is important in making business decisions and in helping you develop and market your products and services. No matter whether you're stalking big game or smaller quarry, competitive intelligence makes for smart prospect selection and a stronger positioning in the marketplace for your company. Be sure to consult your local library or, better, your local business library for any of the following eight resources:
TO SUBSCRIBE to MUSIC BIZ INSIGHT: send email with the message in the body, "subscribe" to success@mbsolutions.com It's not an autoresponder so feel free to include any other comments, ideas, suggestions, etc. you may have. About the Publisher PETER SPELLMAN is Director of MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, a business and marketing consultancy to the music industry, and Director of Career Development at Berklee College of Music, Boston. He is the author of several books for music entrepreneurs and teaches music industry courses at Northeastern University (Boston) and the University of Massachusetts (Lowell). A musician since he was ten, Peter continues to spin riddims in the improvisational collective, Friend Planet and sing Cat Stevens' songs to his kids every night before bed. BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED! Quote of the Month-- " I'm a survivor in a business that constantly rejects you." - Dick Clark Written and published bimonthly by Peter Spellman, Director of MUSIC BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: Turning Music Business Data into Useful Knowledge. Career-building books, articles, training, consulting and more. P.O. Box 230266, Astor Station, Boston, MA 02123-0266, USA Phone: 888-655-8335 Email: success@mbsolutions.com Web site: http://www.mbsolutions.com © 1997 - 2003, Peter Spellman, MBS Business Media, www.mbsolutions.com Please feel free to redistribute with above credit and copyright notice.
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