Expert Views on the Value of Business Plans

Expert Views on the Value of Business Plans

       The two very talented business plan writers that will be discussed are Tim Berry and Dave Lavinsky. Tim Berry holds a MBA from Stanford University and a MA in Journalism from the University of Oregon. He has experience as a judge for different business plan competitions. Berry is the founder and Chairman of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, and co- founder of Borland International. He was able to turn Palo Alto Software into a multi-million dollar company. Berry also teaches starting a business and business planning to college students. There is no question to how much of an expert at business planning Berry is.

       Dave Lavinsky is an expert in business planning, raising capital, and new venture development. Lavinsky launched Growthink University, which is a community for business owners to learn how to raise capital.  Lavinksy wrote the business plan for billion-dollar company Key Span Energy services. Lavinsky holds a MBA from UCLA.

  There are five key attributes for a successful business plan that are followed by both experts. To have the right overall value proposition is one of the ways to help create a successful business plan. This is to ensure that the company has an understanding of their customers need.  Another one is to have the proper marketing strategy. This means the company takes time to develop marketing strategies that are different and unique to the specific business. Having the correct business model is very important also. This is so because it is important to go through every business model until the perfect fit is reached. The way the action plan is developed from reserve engineering success is also an attribute. This is done so s prediction of where the company would like to be in the next 5 years. Lastly making sure everything within the business plan is communicated properly. If the plan is communicated properly it is of no use.

Reference:

 http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/guest-blogs/industry-word/attitude-adjustment-5-planning-fundamentals-every-business

http://timberry.com/about

http://www.growthink.com/businessplan

http://www.growthink.com/team/dave-lavinsky

Online Privacy and How it Relates to Music Publishing / Distribution

Online Privacy and How it Relates to Music Publishing / Distribution

The music business has changed drastically over the years with the advancement of Internet.  The Internet allows people to download music for free; which takes away from the money that could have been made from the song.  There has not been a way to put an end to online piracy.  The majority of people that use the Internet appreciate their privacy. This includes the people that make music; they would rather have their privacy while using the Internet, then allowing the government to keep track of their usage.  When songs are downloaded for there is no way to track how many people have the song/album.

The purpose of music publishing is to protect and develop music. Publishing also enforces copyright protection laws for music.  Music publishing has served the same purpose for many years, but has had to change the way it operates.  Music publishers are responsible for songwriters and composers receiving payment when their music is used commercially.  When royalties are accounted for they are distributed to the songwriters and composers. Publishing companies have become the most important form of intellectual property in the music industry.

Composers are left with a choice to make when it comes to keeping their privacy while using the Internet or agreeing with the laws that enforce no more online privacy. If they give up their privacy online then they will be able to collect all of the proceeds that they deserve for their music, since people will no longer e able to download music for free.  Online privacy laws have changed the entire music industry as a whole. Jobs have been lost in the music industry due to the technology changes with the majority of music sales being digital. I feel that the Internet will continue to effect music publishing and distribution until there is a way to control and put an end to free downloads.

http://www.mpa.org/

http://www.music-law.com/publishing.html

Entertainment Lawyer Interview

My interview with Brian Broughton was both very educational and informative. Mr. Broughton has practiced law for over 15 years. Entertainment Law has become a field that he has mastered. Brian is currently one of the lawyers at BET Networks.   During my interview with Brian I took the time to ask him four very important questions that will be very essential to my business.  

1.     What are some key terms that are incorporated in a contract between an artist/actor and a company? I would not necessarily say that there are key terms in this type of contract. There are key elements that must be in a contract of this nature. These contacts must include compensation, contract term, dates in effect, contract end date. As long as the contract has solid pieces of information the contract will be effective.

2.     How long does it take on average to fully execute a contract? There is no average time frame when it comes to executing a contract. It normally depends of the type of contract and how many people are required to sign the contract. In some cases a contract can sit and not be fully executed due to one missing signature.

3.     What are some common conflicts that you face with the contracts that you currently process at Black Entertainment Television Networks? One conflict that I have noticed is with television release forms. These forms are required to be signed, by every talent act that may appear on television during a Black Entertainment Television event. The purpose of this form is to make the people aware that they will not receive compensation for their television appearance. If a celebrity appears on television during a BET event and does not sign this contract there can be a conflict because they will then ask for BET to pay them for their television appearance.

4.     What would you say are some key forms of documentation when working as an Entertainment Lawyer? Non-disclosure agreements are commonly used. Talent performance agreements, which is a contract between an entertainment company and a talent act.

Brian Broughton is very knowledgeable of both the music and film business. After interviewing him I was able to see the importance of know the basic information that is involved with Entertainment law.

Legal Controversies in Music

The music industry has many different legalities that are involved.  Songwriters have many responsibilities and rights to songs. Recently in the music industry there have been a few incidents take place. I will be covering three recent legal controversies that took place with people involved in the music industry.  Chris Brown was recently charged with robbery for stealing one of his fans phone. Drake is being sued by his ex-girlfriend for not giving her credit for a song that they worked on together. Court ruling that allows songwriters to receive higher percentages for song placements.  

Drake has an amazing song “Marvin’s Room” which got a lot of buzz and did amazing on music charts.  Ex-girlfriend Erika Lee, whom appears on the song in a phone conversation, claims that she is entitled to part ownership in the copyright in the song, copyright in the sound recording, and payment of songwriter royalties. If his ex-girlfriend is telling the truth she should be granted the rights of the song that she is entitled to.

Chris Brown is being accused of robbery for taking a phone from a fan that took a picture of him. This is a huge controversy because both the fan and Chris Brown are wrong. The fan needs to get permission from Chris Brown before just taking a photo of him. Chris Brown could have asked the fan to delete the photo instead of taking her phone out of her hand and driving off with it.

Recent court ruling allows songwriters to gain millions of dollars in royalties. Universal Music Group was denied an appeal by the Supreme Court. This ruling will affect record labels since the songwriters will now be taking a percentage of sales on a song that once went directly to the record label.

Every legal controversy mentioned is very important to know.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57384614-504083/report-chris-brown-steals-fans-cell-  phone-out-of-her-hands/

http://bizmology.hoovers.com/2011/05/06/court-ruling-could-enrichen-songwriters/

http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=c78f688f-902e-497d-a3d2-a07dea28b0da

2012 Grammy Award Show

2012 Grammys

Grammy week in Los Angles California is full of exciting and productive events for people in the music industry. The Grammys 2012 made a lot of history. With the loss of the great Whitney Houston, her death took a toll on many of the artist participating in the Grammys.  The Grammy Awards have taken place for more than 50 years and is the biggest award show for music. People are honored for achievements in recording arts and supporting the music industry.

            This year an amazing artist by the name of Adele took home 6 Grammys leaving the show as the top winner.  Nicki Minaj Caused a lot of controversy by showing up to the award show with a man dressed up as the Pope. The Catholic Church was not happy about this due to her show performance being very demonic. The Church feels she is sending a very negative message about the people of the Catholic Church.

            Chris Brown blew the crowd away with an amazing performance. Chris Brown has turned his career around taking on a positive campaign working hard to win his back. After his incident with Riahnna he has worked very hard to put on great shows and make great shows for the people.

            Lady Gaga also was nominated in a many categories this year. She has been doing very well world-wide. The fans continue to appreciate Lady Gaga’s music. Foo Fighters took home a few awards this year also and had many nominations and many different categories.

            I feel the 2012 Grammy Award show did bring out a lot of press and media. I also feel this year was different then most years. I feel like the Recording Academy did a great job by acknowledging Whitney Houston through out the show. I am looking  forward to the future of the Grammy Award show, it gets better every year.