Watch the Throne Tour

Watch the Throne Tour hits Los Angeles California for a third show due to high request for those that missed the first and second show. The Watch the Throne Tour headline artist are Jay-Z and Kanye West. These two gentlemen released an album in the month of August that broke sales records on iTunes and charts across the world.  The Tour began September 22, 2011 and will continue through out the month of December.  The show has created a large amount of revenue with ticket prices costing $100-$1000 a ticket. This show has been well put together the fans have shown a lot of support and continue to travel across the country to watch Jay-Z and Kanye West Live in concert.

Over the weekend I spent time at the LA Live center in downtown Los Angeles and I met people that flew in from Oregon, Chicago, and Arizona just to see this concert. Everyone that I met and spoke with said they are very excited about the concert and Love both Jay-Z and Kanye West and feel that they are making history by attending this concert. I have yet to attend a Jay-Z concert but everyone that I speak to that has attended one says it is a priceless experience. I have to commend both artist and Live Nation for making the concert possible. It is an extremely good business move to make money for the artist.

The hype for this tour has made me personally want to attend a Jay-Z concert. If I am able to attend the Watch The Throne Concert tonight I am sure it will be a life changing experience for me. I love the Watch The Throne album and to see the songs performed live would be great. I love the energy that concert goers have and their vibes are great.

http://www.tweematic.com/watchthethrone/

World Star Hip Hop

World Star Hip Hop

World Star Hip Hop also known as WSHH has become the biggest site for up and coming artist to display their music and music videos.  This site has become extremely popular in the urban community. It not only displays music it also displays videos similar to “Americas Funniest Home Videos”.  I personally feel the website is great and has a large variety of content. The only flaw I can say the website has is that it is very unorganized. The content on the site is everywhere, the space on the page is not being utilized properly, the advertisements take up a lot of space, and there are no categories for people to search within the site.

I can defiantly say the creators of World Star Hip Hop did an amazing job marketing their site, bringing attention and creating buzz. Many of World Star Hip Hop’s viewers were YouTube users and now can find the videos catered to them on World Star Hip Hop. The site not only displays the music and music videos of up and coming artist but it also allows its users to see their favorite artist music videos first. World Star Hip Hop will have music videos up loaded before they even make a world premier on television.

World Star Hip Hop has become a new marketing tool for the music industry. If your video hasn’t made it to World Star Hip Hop you need to get it on their so people can become familiar and aware of your music.  Once World Star Hip Hop improves its websites visual appearance and makes the site more interactive they will continue to do well. The site attracts all age groups and demographics. World Star Hip Hop was a great idea and I am sure the founders are very happy with their company. 

www.WorldStarHipHop.com

www.YouTube.com

Speech "How to Live Before You Die"- Steve Jobs

“ How to Live before you die” Steve Jobs

 Steve Jobs, one of the most powerful men of technology to walk the universe. The speech he made at the Stanford Commencement ceremony allowed the attendees to learn a great amount of information about his life and his views and opinions on life. I was moved and touched by the three stories he discussed during his speech. I was touched by every story and was able to paint a picture of everything that he was talking about. 

Jobs motivation to learn and continue to live and love what he does inspires me greatly.  His story about his mother giving him up for adoption gave me an entirely different outlook on him.  Steve Job’s group up with adoptive parents after his mother in the nicest way possible let it be known that she did not want to be a mother, or was not ready for mother hood at the time. Jobs did not let that stop him from being great and I admire this about him.

Jobs letting it be known that he is a college drop out and it was the best decision that he made allowed me to reflect on my days of undergrad and all of the time that I spent taking classes that I had absolutely no interest in. I love the fact that he spoke of the struggles he went through to get where he is today; sleeping on friends dorm room floors, recycling cans for money to eat, etc. His story is very similar to those that move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment. It is not as glamorous as television makes it seem. The people in the industry work hard and put in a lot of hours. The special thing about people in the entertainment industry is the work doesn’t feel like work because they are doing the things that they love.

Jobs touched on how important work is to your life, and how important it is to love what you do.  This part of the speech was very motivating, as I do not ever want to work in a field or industry that I hate. I completely agree with him on how important it is to do what you love and he is a prime example of the success that comes when you are doing something that you love.

http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

The Recording Industry Association of America plays a huge role in the careers of independent and signed artist. The RIAA is a reliable source for artist and music labels that need the protection of their intellectual property and First Amendment Rights. The RIAA also “ conduct consumer, industry and technical research, and monitor and review state and federal laws, policies and regulations (RIAA).” The RIAA is also responsible for the certification of Gold. Platinum, Multi-Platinum, and Diamond sales awards.

The technical standards that have been created by the RIAA are as follows; Watermark Payload Specification, Global Release Identifier (GRid), and Digital Data Exchange. Watermark Payload Specification is a payload format for data, which is included in a watermark added to music tracks.  The Watermark Payload Specification is a great asset for any artist and music label.

The RIAA has a database that allows people to search if an artist has gone Gold or Platinum, etc.  It also has many other important data information that is valuable to people in all areas of the music industry. RIAA has a Shipment Database, “It is designed to help music industry professionals, analysts, fans, reporters and students more effectively sort and display shipment data and better understand music purchasing trends. Use the controls below to click through the highlights of this new subscription-based resource (RIAA).” This database will continue to be used to compare statistics over the years that are related to music sales.

Individuals that are involved in the music industry will always be able to depend on the RIAA for reliable pieces of information. They even offer a music industry report, which provides information pertaining to “music industry sales, labels’ investment in artists and 
the explosive growth of innovative digital models in the U.S. and abroad (RIAA).”

Independent and signed artist are both dealing with similar issues as the music industry is still developing its self with all of the technical changes with music becoming so digital. Conducting research on the RIAA will allow people from all areas of the music industry to prosper and do better. The RIAA is a great source with a lot of valuable information. They are defiantly an association that all artist and music labels should be affiliated with.  The Recording Industry of America is very confident with the work and resources that they have, which should make anyone in the music industry confident with their resources also.

Resources

http://www.riaa.com/aboutus.php?content_selector=about-who-we-are-riaa

Prince of POP USA Debut Concert : B. Howard

Brandon Howard stage name B. Howard will be perform live in Henderson, NV at the Henderson Amphitheater, October 15, 2011 at 8:30pm. This amazing show will take place during the Nevada Wild Fest. B. Howard’s show is in collaboration with the Lili Claire Foundation, which is an organization that works with children affected by Autism and or Williamsons disease. Brandon Howard has seen the great work of this organization and is very happy to be taking part in fundraising for such a great cause. Tickets for this amazing event are just 20$, this includes admission into the Nevada Wild Fest. Tickets can be purchased at www.HendersonLive.com. This anticipated event has sold over 10 thousand tickets. The seats will be filled with all of B. Howard's fans. 

B. Howard has had previous shows and concerts in Japan that completely sold out. This event in Vegas will be going down in history. There has been a very large media presence leading up to this historical event.  B. Howard has made a name for himself in the music industry as an amazing Singer/Song Writer/Producer. He has worked with many artists such as Ne-Yo, Trey Songz, Bow Wow, Omarion, Lupe Fiasco (Producer of hit single “Kick Push”), and many others. B. Howard has been aroud music his entire life, his mother Miki Howard is a famous singer that was once managed by Joe Jackson. B. Howard grew up around the Legendary Jackson family and has been able to learn the music and entertainment industry well.  The “Prince of Pop”, B. Howard’s USA Debut concert will be a fulfilled show. The USA will love this up and coming star. Days before his show he will be making appearance everyday leading to the show time. B. Howard loves all of his fans an appreciates them.

360 Deals in the Music Industry

A 360 deal is a relationship between the artist and the music industry company.  The company promises to provide the artist with financial support: Direct advances, Marketing funds, Promotion and Touring.  A percentage of all of the artist’s income; sales of recorded music, live performances, and any other income is given to the music company. This is the alternative business arrangement to the traditional recording agreement contract. Due to the recent changes in the profit margins in the music industry 360 deals are becoming more common due to the fact that artist depend on other resources of income besides recording music.

            In todays Music industry 360 deals are becoming the norm. Part of this is because of the technology changes over the years, which have affected record sales. Lyor Cohen respected music exec touches on this in detail. He explains how the music industry is going through a transition right now due to the digital world that society has become.  He references Lady Gaga’s success as an example of the music industry still striving; she was able to sell over a million copies of her latest record.  Cohen as the head of Warner Music group has nothing but positive things to say about 360 deals. In the past 10 years Warner Music Group has lost over 10 billion dollars. Cohen is very confident and positive about the success of today’s common agreement between the artist and label 360 deals.

            Most artists just need to do their own research and make sure they completely understand exactly what a 360 deal is and what the underlining terms are in the contract they are signing. This will defiantly have a positive result, when the communication is clear between the artist and the label. The artist must look at the 360 deal as an investment in their career and not them signing their “life” away. 

KreayShawn Signed a deal with Columbia Records

Kreayshawn is a White female rapper from Oakland, CA who was able to create a following and fan base for herself without signing a record deal. She was able to use social media networking sites to build her fan base. She is 21 years old, but is able to appeal to the 16 -21 year old age group and the 25-30 age group Hip-Hop music listeners. She has a very crazy and unique style that has allowed her to stand out and out shine others that are similar to her. This young female artist takes pride in where she is from and continues to represent Oakland, CA. She has been able to create a huge buzz for herself, and even took part in the 29011 MTV VMAS.

Kreayshawn is a great example to independent artist that are working hard trying to make a name for them selves. Kreayshawn has created a buzz for herself larger then many artists that are signed to major record labels. Kreayshawn continues to be herself and has not changed who she is which is another reason her fans continue to support her. Her hit single “Gucci Gucci” is what put her on the map. The song describes all of the “basic” females in society that only care about wearing major name brand logos because everyone else does too. She also explains how unique she is and doesn’t really care about name brand items such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

Social media is the best way to go for any unsigned artist in today’s entertainment industry. There is a special technique that must be mastered also when using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc when reaching a target market/fan base. There are many artists out there that depend on social media sits and few are successful, and of those few Kreayshawn is one on them.

 For more information check out the links below.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/06/kreayshawn_gets_a_record_deal.html
http://rapfix.mtv.com/2011/06/08/rapper-kreayshawn-inks-deal-with-sony-records/