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