Money, Power & Fame

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I read a story on the airplane...

Not only am I not sure what time it is, I wouldn't even bet on what DAY it is!

I got off the airplane and my BlackBerry said 3:22 AM. How could that be? My watch said an hour earlier. Took me about twenty minutes to factor in Daylight Savings Time. Fucking BlackBerry can't figure out what time zone I'm in, but it can adjust for Daylight Savings Time?

Much earlier, as it rained outside, I had lunch on the twelfth floor of the Royal York with Roger Faxon, Chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing. They say these guys are clueless? Can't agree with you when it comes to Mr. Faxon. His views were practical, he had a handle on the landscape and informed me that EMI's record company and publishing company were two separate entities under the same umbrella, they were already divided, it had been a condition of Terra Firma's purchase. So when the whip comes down...

Which it inevitably will.

Then I journeyed with Jake to the airport, which was a clusterfuck nonpareil. The "Wall Street Journal" said to arrive two and a half hours in advance, ever since that terrorist incident at the end of last year travel from Canada to the States has been...well, let's just say they've gotten a lot stricter at immigration.

Not that it made any difference. My plane ended up being delayed by two and a half hours.

You see there was weather. Wind shear in T.O., our plane had to stop in Chi-town for more fuel after turning back, afraid of the waiting disaster at Pearson. As for NYC... Something was blowing really hard there too, flights were fucked up all day. Seymour told me he'd considered taking the bus. He had friends in for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he needed to get home.

THE BUS?

I couldn't quite envision it, Seymour Stein journeying like Joe Buck from T.O. to NYC. Only eight hours he said. THE BUS? I remember my parents making me take it from Connecticut back to college in Vermont. This was before every kid in America got a car when he turned 16, so his parents didn't have to schlep him around. I was scarred for life! Shit, if you want someone to strive for economic greatness, just make them take the bus. It's a window into a low class world that you're dying to escape. Shit, did they even HAVE buses anymore? I thought the companies followed the railroads into bankruptcy.

Last I heard, the flight to New York was canceled and rescheduled for 7 AM. Last I saw Seymour, he was heading for the gate. Maybe he should have taken the highway.

And after two hours of insight with Seymour, covering the history of the music industry from Sid Nathan to Lyor Cohen, he was replaced in his seat by Vince. Who I'd seen flying in the front of the plane on the way in.

NO, Getty Images doesn't pay for business class. Vince is EXECUTIVE PLATINUM! Shit, the CEO of Getty flies in the back of the plane. At least that's the ticket he buys. At least that's what Vince said.

And like Bonnie Raitt sang, the luck of the draw got me upgraded to one of the two empty seats in business class. Which was a godsend, having already spent the length of the journey to L.A. at the airport.

And the ride was bumpy. But I read an article in "Vanity Fair"...

Did you read Michael Lewis' "Liar's Poker"? He worked at Salomon Brothers and told the story. One I've never forgotten. Of blowing up bankers all over the world. Yup, Goldman Sachs had to unload paper, and if someone in a far-flung country, or the keeper of the pension funds lost a bundle, hell, it was just business.

And it freaked Lewis out so much he quit, married Tabitha Soren and started following baseball.

Well, not exactly. He did end up marrying the MTV News queen. His most famous book is "Moneyball". But he's still an expert on Wall Street. He's one of the few writers who can make it comprehensible. Wow, you can read this story online!

http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/04/wall-street-excerpt-201004

You're never going to read it online. Hell, you're probably never even going to read it. And that's just the point. The article is about Michael Burry, who figured out the mortgage market was gonna tank and bet against it. Burry was the leading edge.

But this story isn't about money. It's about dedication.

You see Michael Burry was passionate. He was a doctor, training at the hospital, enduring those endless hours, but still he found time to pore over prospectuses, study stocks and pontificate online. To the point when he went pro, some of the most famous traders in America found him, invested in him!

Let me make this clear. This is like making music in your basement and getting a call from Doug Morris or Timbaland or David Foster. But they don't want to mold you, they don't want to change you, they don't want you to do anything different, they just want A PIECE OF YOUR ACTION!

Yup, they found Burry on the Internet.

Isn't it interesting that warhorses in the music business will pooh-pooh the Net, saying you can't break an act there, that it comes down to radio and television, but the real money men are trolling for info online?

And how did Burry get so good at picking stocks? BY STUDYING!

Yup, doing the work.

This is Gladwell time.

We live in a country where no one wants to do the work.

Oh, I know that's an overstatement. But most people want to watch television. They want to focus on their image. Is it any wonder they're left behind?

Not that you need a formal education to make it. You can't learn the stock market in school. You've got to learn it on your own, like the music business.

And Burry's returns at his Scion fund are confoundingly large. It's all about value. He bets on fundamentally sound companies that are experiencing a bit of trouble. He hangs in there during the downward spiral in order to ride the roller coaster to the top, making beaucoup bucks along the way.

This is like investing in a band that may not look great, may need to woodshed a bit, may need to make three or four albums, but when it gets it together will be a gold mine. We can call it the Kings of Leon. We can call it artist development. We can call it ANYTHING but flavor of the moment.

That's the point. Are you willing to do it differently? Are you willing to do the work and come up with your own conclusions, your own solutions? That's Steve Jobs' way. When everybody said you've got to have open standards, he promoted closed systems. And now he's the big winner.

And Burry got so deep into it, figuring out when and what mortgage bonds were gonna tank, that he bought credit default swaps and made...enough money to buy your entire neighborhood. And the one next to you. And the one next to that.

By being brilliant. Even though so many investors said his plan was lunacy and wanted no part of it.

THIS is the American story. Not making a mix tape and partying with Paris Hilton and getting a photo in TMZ... Snooki is a diversion for the masses, the losers. Do you want to be a winner?

Winners start off in the wilderness. They do it their own way. They stick to their guns. They work incessantly and they never give up.

Whew. That just does not sound like enough people in the record business, on either side of the fence, talent or businessman.

We live in a confusing, crazy world. But one thing is constant. The winners pay their dues. And it's not solely time on the chain gang. No, there's a ton of anxiety involved. Questioning yourself, taking risks, sticking to your guns when no one believes in you.

It's every man for himself out there. Shouldn't be, but it is.

There's a safety net in Canada. In Sweden. That's the socialism you decry. But in the good old United States, the game is stacked against you. Those with power, with money, have erected walls to keep you out. And if you think kissing butt is the way to get ahead, you're delusional. It's not about how you can get signed, it's about how you can beat Universal at its own game. You've got to be smarter than Lucian Grainge. Believe me, these people exist. And they're gonna be the winners. They're the ones we're gonna be reading about in "Vanity Fair" five years from now.

2010 Predictions

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1. Ticketmaster and Live Nation Will Merge

After public outcry lasting a week, people will move on to tracking the exploits of faux celebrities and the two companies will get down to trying to improve their bottom lines. Which will depend not so much on fees, but the artists in the Front Line stable.

Expect innovative merchandising and distribution deals. The ability to stream concerts at home. And a ton of data delivered to acts that will allow them to enhance their careers.

Will this be enough to improve Live Nation's anemic bottom line? Will Ticketmaster be able to demonstrate growth? Unclear at this time. In a business where the lion's share of the revenue goes to the acts, it's hard to grow. But this is their challenge.

And if you want to compete with the behemoth, you've got to deliver more. And better.

Independent concert promoters must do more than pay an advance and sell tickets. They too will be forced to go high tech. Government conditions will allow independent ticketing agencies to flourish, but will they? Or will we learn that Ticketmaster does a good job (which Live Nation's ticketing debacle proved). Or will it all come down to money. How much new agencies will kick back and how little they're willing to profit.


2. Major Labels

History!

Well, that's not exactly accurate.

The behemoth will be TM/LN. What does the act need the major label for when they get can almost all these services from TM/LN and retain the lion's share of revenue from selling the music they do?

Expect major label rosters to continue to shrink. The majors will focus on winners. Broad-based acts that garner radio and TV airplay. However, these acts tend not to be winners in the live arena, so those slices of live revenue and merchandising in the 360 deals are worth little. And, the more people you try to reach, the blander the product. And this business has always thrived on cutting edge product. Which the major label won't sign, because it doesn't know how to expose it and doesn't see instant revenue.

In sum, a bad recipe.

Best to spin off new artist development to a third party and turn the major into a licensing house. Thrive from the catalog.


3. Independent Labels

Don't have 360 deals and don't have cash. If someone is telling you they're staring an indie label, laugh. Unless that someone is a manager and already has an interest in 360 degrees of revenue.

Suddenly, you're your own label. You get all the money, but you're doing all the work. Which artists are historically poor at.

So expect a roll-up of new acts.

So far, TM/LN is not in this business. And Red Light has a lot of acts, but little traction.

Some smart cookie, much younger than the players of today, will build a hit act. The old-fashioned way, slowly, via a lot of touring, employing new technology to spread the word. The success of this act will draw other new acts to this person. And out of nowhere, suddenly, you're going to have a brand new powerhouse.

These will be acts the oldsters want no part of at first. Because they don't see enough revenue. That's how new players always get started. By finding that which few are interested in and becoming the new mainstream. These new acts will be music focused. They won't even think about Top Forty radio. They'll put the fans first. But, they might just end up writing a ubiquitous track. Which is built by the people, not the industry.


4. Acts

Will focus on their niche instead of world domination. It will be about making a living more than earning a private jet lifestyle. These new acts will not be bitching that music is free, they'll be giving away their material, just hoping that you pay attention.

But don't be surprised when one of these new acts suddenly becomes ubiquitous. Because despite the balkanization of the Web, it also allows a story to be universally known, overnight.


5. Terrestrial Radio

A dying medium for music.

The stations are overleveraged, or already in bankruptcy, and they're cutting back infrastructure and banking on twenty plus minutes of commercials per hour. You're supposed to double down, innovate in a crisis. But terrestrial radio has done just the opposite. It's dying, and it will never come back. In a world where no one experiences a commercial they don't want to, do you really expect people to listen to what you tell them and be sold to every third minute? You're dreaming.

Terrestrial radio will be about news and talk, those elements that are immediate. Music's been recorded previously, there's no urgency to sit through the b.s. to hear what you want to.


6. Satellite Radio

Has the benefit of being in automobiles, but a bad image. Will stay at the twenty million subscriber level unless the model is changed and the service becomes free. Don't expect that to happen.


7. Pandora

A winner. I find the service tedious, requiring way too much effort to hear what I want. Slacker is superior. But Pandora is winning.

All because of Tim Westergren. Who kept his company in the public eye. Who aligned himself and his company with the public, not the government or the powers-that-be. Yup, Tim kept rallying his troops, telling them to write to their representatives in Washington, to keep the service alive. To the point where Pandora got name recognition. To the point where it thrives not only on computers, but mobile phones. And is supposedly on the verge of profitability.

Learn Tim's lesson. Keep yourself in the public eye. Don't condemn your customers, rally them.

And know that the best service does not necessarily win.


8. Piracy

Will no longer be the focus of discussion. It will be about signing people up to subscription music services. How long will this take? The cards are held by the rights holders, until they play ball, innovation will be stifled.

Ever notice that Google search is free? That people clicking on ads support the service for everyone? This is the essence of a freemium model. Those paying for music subscriptions will subsidize those employing a free version, albeit with limits...i.e. advertising.

Until you've got the free version, you've got no incentive.

Once people have free streaming services on their desktops, they'll pay to have them on their mobile devices. Because first and foremost, all the data will synch, you'll have convenience and you'll save time. Furthermore, you'll get what you want, all your music on the go. And you'll pay for this.

Makes no sense to try to accumulate a library of tracks. Especially when the health of the business depends on experimentation, getting people to listen to new tracks. This process must be easy. Sure, hard drive space keeps getting cheaper. And broadband connections get faster. But it still takes time to steal and catalog all that music. So, if someone does it for you, will you pay a small price?

Of course.

Starting with small.

It's about regrowing the revenue stream. Not figuring out how we get back to the numbers of yore, but delivering a service people want for a price...and slowly raising that price, like every other service in America. Get 'em hooked first, then make your money.

Traditional labels may rail that music is being devalued. But savvy artists will realize it's about exposure. And that there's more ways to make money than recorded music. Which, of course, should be paid for, but should not be seen as the main way to earn your bread.


9. Music Video

Will be what it originally was. A way for fans and potential fans to experience the act, not a mini-movie. Veoh, if it ever works right, will not experience exponential growth because new acts will not make videos like those of the eighties and nineties, and will not be aligned with Veoh anyway.

Just like Veoh's videos are hosted by YouTube, so are the wannabes'. They can be embedded anywhere. Google/YouTube gives all artists this power. The majors/Veoh have no monopoly on distribution.


10. Retail

Already it's hard to find vast inventories of CDs. This will only get worse. Sure, diehard indie stores will survive, but Wal-Mart and Best Buy will continue to shrink floor space for music, down to essentially nothing.

But the big story will be the decline of the iTunes Store. Sale by track has always been death. You need to get more than a buck a track from a customer to survive. You need the higher price point of a subscription, that is still low, but so desirable that many people buy it.


11. Music

Will need to reclaim its rightful place as the most powerful art form. This will be done by innovative acts, not aligned with a major.

Today's audience sees music as background, not foreground. Aural grease in a club, not something you sit on your floor and listen to again and again as it fulfills your soul.

In order to turn the ship around, we'll need a plethora of artists who can sing, write and play. The new technological tools allow you to fake it in the studio, but it's much more difficult to fake it live. You may point to lip-synching divas as contradiction to this point, I'll say those are productions, whereas real musicians, playing live, sans effects, sans canned backup, touch the audience in a wholly different way, which bonds fans to them, which makes people want more.

Yes, we're going to experience a return to basics. Don't be distracted by the vast gobs of crap, whether it be the wannabes on MySpace or the no-talents on Top Forty radio. The growth will come from those who pay their dues, who rely on their talent.

None of the oldsters believe this. They point to grosses of jokes. They point to dollars as opposed to emotions. And that's how we've gotten to this godforsaken place. Until you focus on the essence, the music, motivating people to come to the show based on the sound alone, you're screwed. The shows will start smaller. They'll be cheaper. But the acts will be better. Because when there's less money involved, you don't do it for the fame, but the love.


12. Conclusion

The music business is going through a wrenching transition. Which will continue and may not solidify in its new form until the end of this new decade. But, when the new destination is reached, most of the old players will be extinct and music will thrive.

We need to separate the wheat from the chaff. This will be done online. Someone like Arianna Huffington will roll up tastemakers and distill information for those not willing to surf all day to find what they want. Wannabes will be seen as that. Esoteric blogs will complain that they host the real music, that they are the true keepers of the flame, but the more we let today's shoegazers' voices be heard, the further we are from the destination.

Sure, all genres can succeed. But let's not confuse the marginal with the mainstream. And there's nothing wrong with being mainstream, if that means more than your family, your friends and your college buddies like you. You can get plenty far without compromising. As long as you're good.

Sure, you can post your wannabe music on the aforementioned MySpace, but we're going to ignore it. The same way we ignore your second grade diorama, or your high school talent show.

Chaos will fade, solidification will emerge. A new breed of acts not beholden to the old business mind-set who can play, who have something to say, will dominate. It's coming. Not as soon as we want it to, but it's coming.

COPYRIGHTS & WRONGS...A Guide to protecting your music....6

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The legal duration of a copyright has changed over the past century. Calculations for copyrights registered before 1978 are confusing, so I'll focus on the present here. Copyrights registered after January 1, 1978, last the life of the composer plus 70 years. The composer can pass a copyuright along to his or her heirs or will it to a third party. Subsequent owners can do the same.

HIRE UP

If you are commissioned to create a musical work or recording, the rules are slightly different. Be sure to have the requirements of the job outlined before you start so thet there are no surprises later. If, say, an advertising agency hires you to write a jingle, the companyt will likely have you sign a work-for-hire agreement stating that it owns the exclusive rights to the work you create. However, some people, such as film producers, may let you keep all or part of your copyright, allowing you to exploit the work later and benefit from the licensing and performance income.

Get the terms in writing while you're negotiating your fees so you can charge accordingly. In the case of a work-for-hire, the copyright duration lasts 120 years from the works creation or 95 years from its publication, whichever ends first.


More tomorrow...the final publication of this series. Thanks for all the great emails.

CAN I SEE YOUR LICENSE - MUSIC PUB SERIES

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When you finally get a call from a company wanting to use one of your sopngs, you'd better have your license forms ready to do business. Prepare all the license forms you expect you might need ahead of time, leaving particulars such as signatory names, song titles, dates, royalties and fees blank. They'll be fiolled in following negotiations.

A mechanical license is used to authorize phonorecords of a song to be recorded and distributed. You'll want to prepare a separate mechanical license for authorizing digital phono record delivery, also known as Internet Download.

You'll need two different forms of streaming licenses to authorize streaming songs on the Internet: one for fee-based streaming on demand, and the other fro promotional streaming such as that used by recording artists on MySpace. A master-use license permits all or some of a demo's recorded track to be used in a new recording or placed in a film or on TV. You'll also need to prepare separate synchronization licenses (permitting the song to be synchronized to picture) for placements in film, TV, and commercial advertisements. Additional licenses include those for use of your songs in video games and ring tones.

You could have a music-business attorney draw up these documents, but it'll likely cost you thousands of dollars, especially if license terms need to be tweaked during negotiations. A good entertainment lawyer typically charges between $150-$750 per hour. Anyone can learn to understand and write the legalese required to fashion their own licenses, by studying the right books. Remember in our last session "A Good Education" is my recommendation on required reading.

Once one of your songs is recorded, you'll need to register it with your PRO. If you don't they won't know who to pay performance royalties to when the song title appears in their sample surveys of radio broadcasts and the like. Go to the PRO's web site to download the proper registration form.

More on Monday....

A GOOD MUSIC EDUCATION IS PRICELESS

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To be successful, a music publisher must be thoroughly educated about the complexities of the music business. Here are three books I recomend:

All You Need To Know About the Music Business, 6th ed., by Donald S. Passman (Free Press, 2003). This is a must-read for music publishers, especially those who are also performing musicians or aspiring recording artists.

Music, Money and Success, 5th ed., by Jeffrey Brabec and Todd Brabec (Schirmer Trade Books, 2006). Reviewed in November 2007 issue of EM, this is the most comprehensive reference book for music publishers and other industry professionals I've read to date. The last chapter contains five sample contracts.

This Business of Music, 9th ed., by William Krasilovsky and Sydney Shemel (Billboard Books, 2003). Considered by some to be "old school" and short on dollars-and-sense advice, this book never-theless includes excellent chapters on copyright law.

We have 3 more segments to complete this music publishing series. Following that we will begin a series on Copyrights and Wrongs and for those of you interested in our real estate series, we will do that simultaneously.

If you have friends that are on your MySpace, FB or Twitter pages and feel that they would benefit from this series, please feel free to email them with a link to share this valuable information with them at http://composer62.blogspot.com

More tomorrow....

THE DIRECT APPROACH

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Industry directories are a must-have for music publishers. While they do not guarantee successful relationships with important industry decision makers, they do provide you with the information you need to make that first contact. The following list provides the name of each directory, its publisher's web site, and, where applicable, notes of interest.

A & R Registry, the Music Business Review (www.musicregistry.com). A comprehensive international directory of A &R staff and company executives for major and independent record labels. It also includes a useful list of music conferences and conventions.


Music Attorney, Legal & Business Affairs Registry, the Music Business Registry. A comprehensive international directory for contacts working in entertainment law.

Film & Television Music Guide, the Music Business Registry. An international directory of record labels, music publishers, film and television music departments and trailer houses, music supervisors, music placement and video game companies, composers, composer agents, orchestras, music editors, score mixers, music clearance departments, and more.

In Charge, Music Row (www.musicrow.com). This is the most comprehensive and up-to-date directory for the country music industry I've seen. Subscribers to the company's excellent Row Fax tip sheet also gain access to Music Row's expanded online directory.

Pitch This Music Directory,Pitch This Music (www.pitchthismusic.com). While this is a very limited directory for the Nashville area, it contains some exclusive, invaluable listings I've not seen elsewhere.

Producer & Engineer Directory, The Music Business Registry. Contains thousands of domestic and foreign listings for producers, engineers, and their agents.

Music Publishers Registry, the Music Business Registry. Do-it-yourself music publishers will find this international directory helpful in locating publishers for sub publishing and administrative deals. An administrative publishing deal is essentially one where a larger company handles royalty collections and disbursements, and sometimes licensing and promotion, for a smaller company such as your own.

Signing off for the weekend. More on Monday....

Publishing "ALL BY MYSELF"

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There are many reasons to self-publish your songs. Keeping 100% of the royalties and one-time fees a song earns is just one reason. You also retain greater control over how your songs may be used and what those uses will pay. And assuming that you're highly motivated, nobody will promote your songs more than you. If, on the other hand, you were signed to a large music-publishing company with dozens of writers on staff, your songs might get lost in the crowd and never get the promotion they need to get cut. Furthermore, most song-publishing contracts specify that the music publisher keeps all copyrights to songs covered in the contract--even after the term of the contract expires and regardless of whether or not the company ever secures a cut for your songs.

Still, many songwriters sign with a music publisher for good reasons. It is extremely difficult and very time-consuming to make the required industry contacts with record-label A & R (artist ans repertoire) staffers, music producers, recording artists, music supervisors, and film and TV studios--contacts that major publishers already have. Being your own publisher also means taking on the financial onus, which includes demo production and replication, potential attorneys' fees, inventory, postage, phone bills, printing and more. And while all that money is going out, you've got to find a way to have some coming in to pay foir all that overhead. A songwriter signed to staff-writer deal with a publisher typically receives a monthly stipend to keep the credit hounds at bay. Even before (or despite never) getting their first cut, the staff writer earns a loving doing what they love the most--writing songs.

An experienced music publisher might also secure revenue-generating uses of your songs that you might not have thought of on your own, includingh sheet music, karaoke, video jukeboxes and musical greeting cards. They probably already have the contacts you lack with print publishers and subpublishers. The latter collect mechanical royalties for record sales and synchronization fees for the use of songs in TV shows and films abroad. (I'll discuss licensing for various uses of songs in more detail as we move along in this series.) Many successful publishers hire influencial song-pluggers to pitch the songs in their catalog, greatly increasing the chance of getting a cut. And many a fruitful collaboration between songwriters has been facilitated by major publishers having strong networks throughout the creative community.

You might be thinking at this point, "Screw the do-it-yourself approach. Give me publishing contract." Unfortunately, it's not that easy. As a highly successful producer and friend recently explained to me, the big publishing companies are interested in signing only songwriters who already have a track record of writing hits. Yet it's "lmost impossible" (in his words to get your first song cut--even if you have high-level industry contacts listening--without an influencial publisher or song plugger pitching you song. It's a catch-22.

Despite the sobering realities of independent song plugging, I love the business side of music publishing. I find managing my own music-publishing company to be exciting and self-empowering. But as you'll learn, it's also a lot of work...and it WILL distract you from your creative process. Find what you do the best and do it. Find what you do the worse and get with someone that is good at what you are not good at, team up with them and just get it done. It takes a lifetime to gain a ton of knowledge, and even then you may not get the results. As in a band, team work is EVERYTHING. Name one thing in your life, you do, can do or have done by yourself.

More tomorrow...Baby Steps to take.

Setting Up Your Own Music Publishing Company

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Perhaps the most commom career oriented question unsigned songwriters ask me is, "How can I get my songs published?" Many of those same writers have only a vague notion of what it means to be published. If you've already sold recordings of your songs to the public, you are a published songwriter. The federal 1976 Copyright Act defines publication (the act of publishing as "the distribution of copies of phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or lending." Phonorecords are defined as "material objects in which sounds...are fixed."

There are a lot of ways to make money from the use of one of your songs than just selling your recording of it. Other ay cut, or record, the song. It might be used in a movie, a movie trailer, a TV series, a TV special, a music video, a videogame, for consumer advertising, for a ringtone, or for a myriad of other uses. Promoting, licensing, and getting paid for such song uses is the job of a music publisher.

Many unsigned songwriters would love to hand off business oriented tasks to a music publisher so they can focus on the creative task of writing songs. Unfortunately, the moment you sign on the dotted line with a music publisher, you give away your copyrights and half the revenues the songs covered in the contract will earn. For these and other reasons, many songwriters choose to keep all the profits and self-publish their songs.

This article will explain the basics of how to set up and operate your own music-publishing company. To keep this article to a manageable length, my focus will be on publishing your own songs. Before I get to the nuts and bolts of becoming a music publisher, let's examine the benefits and drwbacks of doing so.

Over the next week, we wil discuss this topic at great length. If you have songwriter friends, this will be the place to get the information the way that it will best apply to you.

Tip sheets are an essential, subscriber based service for music publishers. Here are a few for country music, which include the label, artist, producer(s), contact person(s) and recording schedule for each project.

Pitch This Country Music Tip Sheet (www.pitchthismusic.com) is the most comprehensive listing of current projects for major-label and second-tier (prominent indie and joint venture) companies. Published monthly, this tip sheet is generated by successful, Nashville based song pluggers, and often includes difficult-to-obtain details on what specific types of material are being sought for each project listed (for example, "Soulful, real-life lyrics with range and attitude"). Check this site out, determine if it has value to your objectives and bookmark this page.

More tomorrow.

Real Estate 101

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This is “THE PLACE” for real estate investors seeking financial success and independence through real estate investing! It’s “The Place” where truly smart, progressive, and aggressive real estate investors with a love for financial success, a sincere desire to get rich and richer (with no apologies for doing so), and an optimistic, forward looking attitude to succeed in real estate ‘gather’ to exchange ideas and share timely information about “what’s working today” in the real estate market.

Waiting for the recession to end is a death sentence. Waiting for the real estate market to recover, for homebuyers and investors to return in mass, for real estate financing to be easy again, waiting for anything? Wait and starve. The idea that “this too shall pass” is a death sentence. It’s not going to pass, in a few years, in a decade. Maybe ever. This is a comprehensive, fundamental change that you better get used to! Are you getting it? You better get very busy finding opportunities you can exploit now, as things are now, and as things promise to be in the foreseeable future. You better not wait for good news. You’d better make your own good fortune and news. This is what Successful Real Estate is all about… making money with real estate in today’s real estate market!

Even in a recession no other investing vehicle offers the ability for fast profits with little or no money down, appreciation, depreciation, cash flow, leverage, and controlled risk. If you are a new investor be sure to get my real estate investing guide, Real Estate Magic 101 – How To Get Rich In Real Estate Even If You Are Dead Broke. This real estate investing book covers home buying, investing in real estate, bank foreclosures, foreclosure homes, homes for sale by owner, short sales, lease options, flipping home/real estate, and buying houses subject to the existing financing. A must read for investors of all levels. If you purchase only one real estate investing book ever make sure it is the book above.

View our resources, check out our articles, and sign up for our free online real estate investing course. I’m not asking you to stick around… I’m challenging you to stand up for yourself, do a little kick ass real estate, and take control of your financial future.

People begin to be successful the minute they decide to be!

Flash Sales

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Felice is hooked on RueLaLa.com.

In today's "Wall Street Journal" it is revealed that Saks Fifth Avenue, arbiter and seller of first line, high-priced wares, is going into competition with RueLala, and Gilt.com and HauteLook.com. In other words, Saks is going to sell out of season, oftentimes one year old, yet fully desirable merchandise, at a deep discount one item at a time with a countdown clock. Buy now, on impulse, or experience the agony of losing a bargain.

I too am a flash site devotee. I go to Tramdock.com. Where they purvey skiing equipment, one item at a time, at a deep discount. Right this very second, they're selling Scott skis at 55% off. One color, two sizes. Buy 'em now or...

Usually, flash sites will send you a daily e-mail (opt-in, you can always check the site yourself). Telling you about the deals that will unfold in the next twenty four hours. On hot items, shoppers keep refreshing their browser, divining when that one desirable item in the size and color they want will be revealed.

Everybody loves a bargain. Everybody loves a deal on something worthwhile.

And the stuff is always good on these sites. It's not bargain basement crap. Sometimes it's overstock of a special model that turned out to have less desirability than retailers thought. Sometimes, the new model has changes and the old one has to be blown out. And if you receive your item and don't like it, you can return it for free.

In other words, shopping is fun. Addictive. You end up buying stuff you didn't even know about, never mind had a desire to acquire.

Like concert tickets.

How low does the price have to go before you take a flier?

You've heard of this band, would you check them out for ten bucks instead of the seventy five it takes a true-blue fan to sit down front?

If most of the concert tickets go unsold, why not find innovative ways to move them?

The artists and agents are standing in the way. Contracts usually forbid these momentary deep discounts. But why? Do acts really not want people to see them? And, if a casual fan comes to see them is the act so bad the newbie will laugh, or be converted on the spot?

Instead of using Goldstar, instead of papering, sell the unsold inventory at a deep discount, via a flash site.

Can you imagine concertgoers all over America checking multiple times a day for deals? Signing up for e-mail to be told what will go on sale that day? Imagine what else you can sell/inform them of in said e-mail!

And we all know, the quicker you click, the better your seat.

Felice found out about RueLaLa from her sister. I found out about Tramdock from EpicSki.com, a forum for skiers. I kept hearing retailers bitch and consumers be thrilled. I finally had to check it out for myself. I bought a waxing iron at deep discount. When I saw I pair of Smith ski goggles, the exact ones I use, at almost 70% off, I immediately contacted Felice, to tell her to log on and buy them right now!

Furthermore, the customer service is great. It was unclear which goggle lens to purchase, but the Tramdock person who e-mailed advice had used them all! These flash sites are not adversarial, they're like a giant club, everybody in it together to get a deal.

Flash sites are coming to concert ticketing.

It's just a matter of when.

Is the touring industry gonna be like the record industry, afraid of change, afraid of new technology, afraid of taking a risk? Or is it going to experiment with the hottest sales technique for unsold inventory today?

You launch it, the public will spread the word. It's not about advertising, costs are especially low, and in the concert sphere there's no issue of returns.

If you want a guaranteed good seat, log on to Ticketmaster at 10 A.M. on Saturday morning. Better yet, get an American Express card and join the fan club. But if you don't need to go to the concert, but if the deal gets attractive enough you will, shouldn't the industry cater to you too? You know you're not getting the best tickets, but you're getting a deal. And if you don't think people are into deals, you never talk to anybody. And I can't tell you how many acts I ended up loving after taking a flier on promos in the record store bin in the seventies. Shall we start with Karla Bonoff, Be Bop Deluxe, Alan Parsons...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748703574604574501741691272378.html

Eric Garland On The Movie (Music) Business

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

This is so right on, so exhaustive and prescient, that I must send it to you and you must read it.

Ostensibly about the movie business, i.e. its challenging future, Garland states that past is prologue and we look to what happened in the music business to know how things play out in the film business.

The key passage is this:

"They will have to chase legal remedies, legislative agendas, all the way to what they view as being the end of the line before they say 'OK, so this really is the landscape we're stuck with. As much as we didn't want it, this appears to be it. Now we have to just dive in and make businesses that work here.'

And that's where music has only just arrived in this country and note it hasn't even come close to arriving in a lot of European countries. If you ask Universal Music Group in the U.K. 'Are you going to win this war on piracy?' They will say 'Oh yes, swiftly and decisively and soon. The rate of peer-to-peer infringement will be down 70 percent in the U.K. in the next few months. They have specific targets. Not here. We've exhausted all of those paths. There's a big gap. If the music industry in this country just now sort of arrived at the conclusion where they say 'We just have to play on this field even through it ain't home court and there isn't a lot of advantage.' And in some territories, music hasn't even gotten there yet, then how can Hollywood be there?"

The above comes from the answer to the final question of the interview, you can scroll down to there for full context, but you should really take the time to read from beginning to end.

In other words, who you gonna trust, the media titans or a guy who makes his living on the computer, detailing how people actually use the Internet?

Mr. Garland is not histrionic. He has no agenda, other than making BigChampagne profitable, selling data. Please don't shoot the messenger, pay attention to him!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10383572-261.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0

The Grand Finale of the Industrial Age

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Another great depression? Or the greatest-ever buying opportunity? Here's why...this economic mess is nothing like the 1930's, why it's time to start buying, NOW and what stocks will out-perform the coming rebound.

Don't let media's short-term, micro-view blind you to what's really going on in the world. Put aside fear and negativity and get ready to rake in unimaginably-huge profits as you cash in on the...3 unstoppable macro trends about to reshape the world.

In the next 15 years, we will gobble up more of the Earth's last remaining natural resources, than we did in any period in the past. This great natural resource binge will turn Wall Street on its head.

Rising commodity prices will start to bear down on every aspect of our lives...from the costs of our tomatoes to the price we pay to heat and cool our homes...from the value of our blue chips to the income we receive on our CD's...$2,700 gold...$9 gas...plummeting indices...soaring inflation...and plenty of bear markets.

But also, expect a commodity bull market, the likes of which we have never seen before, one that will dwarf every other that has come before it.

Last century we had three commodity bull markets. They were from 1906-23, 1933-53 and 1968-82. Each one was bigger, and wreaked more havoc, than the one that came before it. This final one promises to outdo them all. By the end of it, many things will be different.

Most paper assets will be shredded. Millions of American retirees will find themselves on the breadline. Vital commodities like oil, gas, uranium, cobalt, molybdenum will be greatly depleted. But almost all commodities whether abundant or not, wil no longer be cheap. In fact, their costs will become more prohibitive, that it will finally force industry to seriously develop new alternatives, like renewable fuels, and new industrial materials made from bio and nano-materials. But until that time comes, commodities will rule the day.

Commodities will inpact almost every area of your life. Whether you want to be invested in them or not, they are going to affect your assets...your lifestyle...your costs of living...the kind of car you drive...what kind of house you live in...your investments. They'll determine the fate and fortunes of companies, countries and individuals everywhere!

Commodities will make you rich. Or they'll make you poor. It's your choice.

The Law Of Influence by Pat Melfi

Okay so I forgot to tell you all that I was going to take a break in the middle of this 5 day journey for a vacation and it was wonderful. Your kind emails indicating how much you miss the inspiration is very much appreciated.

So, back on track we are on Day 3 of our journey.

Day 3. The Law of Influence



I started out as the worst salesman in the world. When my goal was to sell music or real estate, I was no good at it at all. My first few years in the business, I floundered like a turtle on his back. Tell you what it was that turned things around and set me right side up. Changing my focus from seeing what I could get to what I could give was when my career started to really take off. Started to. But in a business like mine--actually, in any business--you also need to know how to develop a network. Do you know what I mean by a network? Now, by a network I don't neccessarily mean your customers or clients. I mean a network of people who know you, like you and trust you. They might never buy a thing from you, but they've always got you in the backs of their minds. They're people who are personally invested in seeing you succeed...and of course that's because you are the same way about them. They're your army of personal walking ambassadors. When you've got your own personal walking army of personal ambassadors, you'll have referrals coming your way faster than you can handle them.

Do you want to know what makes that kind of network happen? "Stop keeping score." Don't keep track. That's not networking--that's poker. You know how people always say win-win? Always look for the solution where you both come out ahead. It sounds great--in theory. But most of the time, what people call win-win is really just a disguised way of keeping track. Making sure we all come out even, that nobody gets the advantage...even Steven. I scratched your back, so now you owe me. When you base your relationships--in business or anywhere else in your life--on who owes who what, that is not being a friend. That is being a creditor. Watch out for the other guy. Watch out for hisinterests. Watch hisback. Forget about fifty-fifty. Fifty-fifty's a losing proposition. The only winning proposition is one hundred percent.Make your win about the other person, go after what he or she wants. Forget about win-win--focus on the other person's win.

Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first. And that's the way the Law Of Influence works...because it magnetizes you...Givers attract all the time.

What People Value by Pat Melfi

Cover of Feelings (Piccolo Books)

One of the world's largest record company's recently interviewed other firms to handle its payroll. After interviewing the three finalist firms, the three members of the selection committee were stumped. They decided on a perfect solution. They flew to each of the finalist's headquarters, took a short walk around and "got a feeling" for each place. When they walked into the third company's lobby, something immediately somehow "just felt right." They stayed but five minutes, and then headed home. From the airport back home, they called the third company with the multi-million dollar good news.

So often, that is the difference. Not superior competence. Not more years of experience. Just something tiny, like the feeling that you give people. People buy feelings--People value--and pay more for--the way you make them feel.

As promised, we are on a 5 day journey in which we said that at the beginning of each day we will begin with a thought, sort of a theme for the day. We will focus on that theme and throughout the day we will apply the theme in our day and from that day forward apply the principle daily.

Day 2: The Law of Compensation

Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment...your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. Or to put it another way, your compensation is directly proportional to how many lives you touch.

Having been in the entertainment business for over thirty years, I always thought it seemed so unfair how movie stars, musical acts and top athletes pulled down those huge salaries. But people who were doing such great work, such noble work--like school teachers--never got paid what they're worth. It always seemed arbitrary. What I am saying now is, it's not a question of their value. It's a question of their impact. And there two amazing things about this. First, it means that you get to determine your level of compensation--it's under your control. If you want more success, find a way to serve more people. It's that simple. It also means there are no limitations on what you can earn, because you can always find more people to serve. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, "Everybody can be great because anybody can serve." Another way to say that might be, everybody can be successful because anybody can give.

Interestingly enough I have spent countless years in service to others. At the beginning of my career, there came upon me a strong feeling that others might take advantage of me for this. A quick study of The Law of Attraction caused me to adjust my feelings about this. In this law I learned that by feeling that way I could actually attract that kind of outcome. Remember we spoke about this last week when we said that when Mind creates a thought or desire, it will actually manifest it. Since I did not want to attract that kind of outcome, I began to think that all people want by nature to be good and deserve to be served.

Again, as we close we find some very key points that are directly tied to The Law of Compensation that are also tied to yesterday's topic The Law of Value. See if can see the common thread and email me back.

I have become a servant to many of you who email me daily, thanking me for the inspiration I am given through the grace of God to motivate you into a better place, a better spirit, a better life...I am truly grateful for that. Without you, I am nothing. Your emails daily, are a service that I cherish. At the end of the day...people buy feelings!!!

The Front Porch To Opportunity by Pat Melfi

Image by Kanzeon Zen Center via Flickr

"Most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to success is giving...Then again, most people are nowhere near as successful as they wish they were." Think about this statement for a minute. Re-read it as often as it takes for it to sink in. You will find after reading this that it hits a bull's-eye on the subject of success in business and life. Understanding how to help others succeed will help you succeed. It will flip your thoughts on business and life upside down and provide massive value for you throughout your career and life. It will open your mind on how to "serve" your way to success.

In this light one might give consideration to a five day journey that will open your mind and heart to the concept that the "service" you render is at the core of your success.

For simplicity and fun consider taking this 5 day journey with me. At the beginning of each day we will begin with a thought, sort of a theme for the day. We will focus on that theme and throughout the day we will apply the theme in our day and from that day forward apply the principle daily.

Day 1. The Law Of Value:

"Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment."

Most of us seek to earn riches, financial freedom and other desires in life that often focus our thoughts on acquiring more money. When formulating our ideas the question "does it make money" often pops into our heads. It's not a bad question...in fact, it's a great question. It's just a bad first question. It starts you off pointed in the wrong direction. The first question should be "does it serve? Does it add value to others?" If the answer to that question is yes, then go ahead and ask, "does it make money", in other words "exceed people's expectations, and they pay you even more." It is important to remind ourselves that the point here isn't to have them pay you more, it is to give them more. You give, give, give, because you love to. It's not a strategy, it's a way of live and when you do, then very, very profitable things begin to happen.

We have the knowledge and evidence that all the great fortunes in the world have been created by men and women who had a greater passion for what they were giving--their product, service or idea--than for what they were getting. And many of those great fortunes have been squandered by others who had a greater passion for what they were getting than what they were giving.

Join me on this five day journey and remember today to look for opportunities to apply The Law Of Value. Tomorrow we will discuss The Law of Compensation and how it applies to The Law of Value.

American's Lack Confidence When It Comes To Retirement Planning by Pat Melfi

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EBRI's in 1997 Retirement Confidence Survey found that 51 percent of current workers anticipated that personal savings would serve as their "most important" source of income in retirement. But, in 1998, that statistic dropped sharply to only 39 percent. Attempting to explain what may have changed, the authors of EBRI's 1998 Retirement Confidence Survey suggested: "One possibility is that, as more people focus on retirement, determine what they will need, and consider what they have already put aside, their confidence in their ability to save enough for retirement decreases." Consistent with this theory, the 1998 Retirement Confidence Survey found that "only 25 percent of workers are very confident that they are doing a good job of preparing financilally for retirement, compared with 32 percent in 1997."

Despite waning confidence, Americans today are more focused than ever before on retirement planning. Nearly half of all working Americans--45 percent--have attempted to calculate how much they'll need to save for retirement. In 1997, only 36 percent had tried to do that calculation. In 1996, only 32 percent made the attempt. Nevertheless, almost 60 percent of women and 51 percent of men have not yet tried to figure out how much they need to save for retirement.



According to EBRI's 1998 Retirement Confidence Survey, members of "Generation X"--generally those born from 1964 to 1980--are more confident that the members of any other generation about their retirement prospects. One in three is "very confident" they'll have enough money for a comfortable retirement, compared with 18 percent of older Baby Boomers and 22 percent of younger Baby Boomers. Experts estimate that 55 tp 64 percent of Generation X have already begun to save for retirement, primarily because of "the prevalence of 401 (k)s in the workplace today, which makes it easier for young people to start saving for retirement, and concerns about the future of Social Security as a source of retirement income.

THINK ABOUT IT...by Pat Melfi

Image by elycefeliz via Flickr

"Will the next round of LAY-OFFS INCLUDE ME? Will my position be eliminated after the merger? Can I expect A RAISE OR BONUS in this economy? Is my current business RECESSION PROOF?

Turnkey Business * Residual Income * Unsaturated Market * Low Overhead Work From Home * No Employees...Have ya' heard all this before?

It's no surprise that most CFO's and Owners of companies in North America are laying off at key levels...and YOU could be next. Now is the time for people to take control of their financial destiny. My job here is to examine all kinds of so-called money-making opportunities. Most turn out to gimmicks. Some require lots of hard work and long hours. Others are complicated to understand or take way too long to produce an income.

Then, out of the blue - a shocking discovery! Something unlike anything I've ever seen before. The more I dug into it, the more excited I became. What's so bizarre is, it is extremely easy to apply, yet so powerful. I still can hardly believe it's true! I know of no other opportunity that can return so much profit, so quickly, for such a small investment of time...and I have seen them all.

The Keys To Success:

1. You must want a change and be willing to take risk.
2. You must take a personal ownership of your business.
3. Get to know people by asking questions and listening for opening doors.
4. Don't believe anything different than 9 of 10 people will NOT do what they dream about. Keep looking for that "one" that will.
5. MOTIVATE your team, ALWAYS!!!

I have discovered individuals that had perseverance, were teachable, never stopped growing, pushed their limits and stepped out of their comfort zones. If you are looking to build a business you can own and run without a lot of trouble...let me know when you find it. Most opportunities require hard work and knowledge. Have you heard the term that "knowledge is power?" WOW!!! Is that most deceptive statement you have ever heard or what? The correct statement is "APLLIED knowledge is power." There are many knowledgable people who are still failing in life. There is absolutely no point in gaining knowledge if you are not willing to share it.

I have found my peace of mind, finally at http://reinvestorsolutions.com/composer
It affords me an opportunity to present information...real information to those looking for a real change. It satisfies my continued desire to present Education That Matters!!! As most of you know, I am going into my 30th year of life as a servant to educational opportunities. During a lifetime career in the entertainment industry and the real estate industry, I have dedicated a healthy portion of my charitable efforts on education. Education That Matterss! Education people can actually apply in real life. It's an honor to have so many intersted people.

If change is what you are looking for this might be a good place to start...it's NOT for everyone. "If you want to have a great life, every day you need to learn and teach one thing." I believe the education and training I have received has made me a stronger, more confident person, and a better father and husband. Absolutely NOTHING is more important to me than helping others.

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED !!!

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We have witnessed sweeping global changes in the last few years. The world has been transformed on almost every front. Politically, governments and national boundaries have come and gone. Through technology, we routinely communicate with the farthest corners of the earth in a matter of seconds. Economically, events in far-flung stock markets across the globe impact every market.



But not only governments and economic markets are affected. These global changes also bring about new financial realities on an individual level. The widespread availability of credit cards and automated teller machines makes spending much easier today than in days gone by. And the proleferation of at-home and on-line banking and investing services allows individuals to act more quickly--and sometimes more rashly--than ever before when making financial decisions.



These changes affect virtually everyone in the United States--from our youngest workers and students to our eldest retirees. Yet most youngpeople in America begin their financial lives unschooled in the basics of saving and investing and unaware of how quickly "easy credit" can add up to big debt. For example, in its 1999 Youth and Money Survey, the American Savings Education Council (ASEC) found that forty percent of students are likely to buy a pair of jeans (or something similar) they really want even if they do not have the money to pay for it. And 70 percent would pay for it with a "credit card."



And while most adults have high expectations for retirement, many will fail to maintain the lifestyle and standard of living to which they have become accustomed because they failed to plan and save. According to an August 1998 study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), more than half of American workers--55 percent--have no idea how much they will need to save to save to make their retirement dreams a reality.



Planning for future financial needs--especially for retirement--has also changed. In the past, the burden of planning for the future fell primarily on such external forces as government (through Social Security and Medicare) and employers (through pension plans directed by the employer). Today, however, the responsibility for one's financial future has shifted to the individual.



Over the years I have made incredible amounts of money at my day job in sales of entertainment, real estate and mortgage origination. And, as most Americans, I lived in the day, a boy with his toys, had the cars, the time shares, the big houses yada, yada, yada. In a recent meeting with my business manager, he produced reports from these various incomes. It was simply amazing to learn that the benefits of my own business and investments in real estate were in in fact saviours of our family's retirement. We can make it happen in the next five years, despite our carelessness in financial planning, as we all can. EDUCATION IS THE ANSWER, WHAT'S THE QUESTION?



Let's get together as an American people and start to change our ways, our education system and our lives.