What I would do if I was President???

I know this is completely off topic of my usual music blog.

This is a list of things I would do if I was President. I'm not a politician and I don't know much about politics, so bear with me and see what my views are as a normal citizen.

1. If I was president, the spending would be cut, no more wars, and if it doesn't effect or benefit this country, I wouldn't care what is going on in other countries, isn't that what Nato and the United Nations are for?  I'd focus on this country because I would be president of here. Not president of everywhere else. 


2.If we pay a 20 percent tax to sell our products in china. Well china would pay 20 percent tax to bring their product here. China would be forced to re-evaluate the value of their currency and stop under valuing it. 


3. If you move your company out of the country to China, Mexico, India, etc etc,  expect to be taxed so bad you'll bring those jobs back to this country. I would ask you if you're crazy thinking that you're going to end thousands of American jobs and still benefit from selling your product in this country?


4. Politicians would have a set salary, no bonuses, stealing, or raises. No government spending accounts for dinners and vacations. If your politician is caught stealing they will face the maximum penalty allowed until the law. 


5. I would provided welfare for 6 months, if you cannot provide valid proof you've applied for work, your welfare is cut off, no more funding for the lazy ass people. I'd be an awesome leader.


6. The troops come home immediately and let someone else deal with the worlds problems. $9 billion a week or whatever it costs for these wars would end. That money would be used to support this country, this countries schools, economy, people, and society of this country, not everyone else... 


7. Oil & Opec. we will pay you no more than $25.00 a barrel, if you won't except that price, tough shit and leave your oil ships floating around the ocean and we'll use our own oil. 


8. Taxes will not be going up for the wealthy, the poor, or the middle class. Spending will be cut drastically to prevent continued tax hikes.


9. Banks will lend to anyone who is worthy of repayment. The mortgage industry will be very closely regulated to ensure the borrowers are able to pay a mortgage within reason. Mortgage Modification attempts will be a requirement before foreclosure can begin. 


10. Education: every and all children regardless of their financial status will have the same opportunities to attend college as anyone else. An amount saved by not going to war with everyone will be allocated to education,  provided education for all student, young and old. 


11. We will be building schools and business in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Detroit and other troubled cities instead of the middle east. 


12. The wall street executives who scammed and defrauded millions of people out of billions of dollars would face criminal charges similar to Madoff. No bonuses on wall street would be permitted until every single penny of the bailout money was paid back including interest. 


13. Healthcare: you chose your own doctor, this country cannot force you to spend money or force you to pay for something you do not want. Healthcare is your choice to make. Employers who offer healthcare will be offered the service at a highly discounted rate and will also receive a tax benefit for supplying their employees several different companies and offers in obtaining healthcare.  Troops will also receive comp'd healthcare to address their wounds and injuries, both physically and mentally. 


There is alot more I can talk about, but these are just some thoughts. 

Samples - Get The Permission Before Usage

Today's topic is on the sampling of another artists material. There are many different types of samples and when you would like to sample something you must be sure you are prepared and knowledgeable when inquiring about using a sample. First you need to learn whether your planning on sampling the master composition or a re-sample.  For example you have an idea and want to use a re-sample to a track that was released by Sony Music. Would you contact Sony Music, NO, you would contact the law firm or publisher who owns the rights to the musical composition. In the case you wanted to use the exact sample you would then be using the master composition and you would be required to go through Sony Music. If you used the sample knowingly, you would be willfully infringing on a copyright which would lead to a serious issue/ lawsuit.

The legendary bands of Queen and The Rolling Stones both fell victim to new groups who used their music without their permission. Vanilla Ice used a sample of Queen and The Verve used a sample of The Rolling Stones which lead to both of the groups earning themselves lawsuits and being sued by the Stones and Queen.

In the case with the Stones and The Verve. The Verve used the Stones track in their own track call Bitter Sweet Symphony and as a result of this the court ordered that all revenues generated from this track go directly to the Rolling Stones.

That was the only hit for the Verve, it's sad to see such a popular track go to someone else because they didn't follow the guidelines and laws pertaining to copyrights and ownership of music.

Before you want to use a sample from a major artist learn the laws,  and consult a reputable entertainment attorney, because the couple thousand dollars you pay him will be a whole let less than having to pay damages and fork over all your revenues to the artist you stole the sample from.

Till next time. 

Have a safe and fun Holiday- Do not drink and drive

Before you go out and drink and drive tonight, think about that life changing or life ending those drinks can cause. Be smart, have a good time and a cab ride is always worth more than a life.

This was a best friend of mine.

American Idol 2011 - Best Season Yet!

This season of American Idol is shaping up as the best yet. With the help of Interscope legend Jimmy Iovine and Geffen CEO Ron Fair, the contestants are utilizing tips and trades from the legend to their advantages with some of the best performances to ever hit the Idol stage.

The Judges are working pretty well together even though Randy Jackson has the "position" as the tough guy, Steven Tyler has been the one a couple times to lay down the truth. Jennifer Lopez is doing well, but may be a little soft sometimes in her expressions of the performances.

As of now, not from a fan stand point but from a talent stand point, this is who I have in the top three, and why they are there.

1. Pia Toscano - Great control, hits the keys, great looking girl, with a very powerful voice. She holds the ideal market for young girls. A disadvantage of hers is the consistent ballads. I would have her switch it up and release a pop style track with her vocal. That would be a great performance, with a great stage performance and presence.

2. Paul McDonald - This guy has the smile, the voice, the qerky style that makes him that much better. His vocal style is very unique and will sound very good on the radio in a more laid back acoustic style track. Perhaps even a James Blunt style but brighter.

3. Scotty - Country music in his soul. If he doesn't win American Idol (I don't think he will) he will most likely get a record deal from Interscope or Nine. I would have him do nothing but sing those country songs. And of coarse finish school.


Why won't James Durbin make it? Those highs will only be enjoyable for a short amount of time. That style of rock is no longer in "style".

I'm curios how the season will shape up to with performances by Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez coming up. How will the contestants react to upcoming changes and the fear of being sent home? 
How will the X-factor and it's five million dollar grand prize effect American Idol?

That's all to come along with a new blog about independent artists who promote themselves, and the world of digital distribution and content.

Rights and How Important They Are Part 1.

Today's blog is based on music rights. Many musicians and new comers to the industry are completely unaware of the importance of retaining rights. The rights I will be discussing today are as follows:

1. Copyrights

2. Publishing Rights

3. Mechanical Rights

4. Public Performance Rights.

Copyright is the right to copy, specifically, a property right in an original work of authorship including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, motion pictures, and other audiovisual works and sound recordings fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work.

Copyright laws are governed by the copyright act of 1976. 17 USCA ss101-1332

The Copyright Act of 1976  was a major revision of the U.S. copyright law, extending the term of protection to the life of the author plus 70 years, measured from the date of creation, greatly expanding the types of work that qualify for protection, dropping the requirement that the work be published before it can be protected, making fair use a statutory defense to a claim in infringement and the preempting state common law of copyright.

PUBLISHING RIGHTS: Music publishing rights refer to who owns the rights to a song and who gets money from it. You own your own rights as soon as you've written a song, meaning if it generates any money, you get all of it. You can choose to find a music publisher if you don't have the time, inclination or contacts to make your music generate more money.

A very successful and hit musician gave up half his publishing rights for the next three years for $100,000. I will not say who bought and sold the rights, but the buyer is the one enjoying the benefits of that deal.

MECHANICAL RIGHTS: The rights to reproduce a song in a phonorecord form, such as an audiotape, or CD. The rights obtained by paying a statutory royalty, it is not necessary to obtain the songwriters express permission. 

ALSO educate yourself on Mechanical Royalties:

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS: A copyright holders exclusive right to recite, play, act, show, or otherwise render the protected work publicly.  Whether directly or by technology means. "as broadcasting the work on TV. Every public performance of a copyrighted work require authorization from the copyright owner or its representative, unless a statutory ephemeral recording exemption applies.

Questions or comments are always welcomed and will be answered.

Nick

Mom-agers & Stage Moms - The Power of Music

A momager is a mom who thinks they can manager their child through a career in entertainment.This has been a life long issue in the entertainment industry. The main issue with mom-agers is that they think they know what they are doing, when in reality they have no idea and will potentially severely damage or possibly ruin their talented child's career. For example, it's almost impossible to get the goals and personality out of a potential client when their mom is interrupting them and telling me what they think I want to hear. Chances are they are giving their child the wrong information. What you read in magazines and see on American Idol won't make you a professional in music. This industry requires experience and knowledge of all the scams, and bs games the "get fast" scammers pull. I assure you, you will need proper management to start. Get that and start with references and check them, then find a reputable attorney as entertainment contracts are made to be extremely complex and complicated, I know I review and draft them daily. Take a look at the point below, questions please ask before you get burned.

1. Nothing happens overnight
2. Be realistic, if your child cannot sing, be honest with them before you waste the time, money, and hurt the child's dreams. A vocal coach and auto tune can only do so much.
3. Find a connected rep who can direct and guide you in the right direction
4. Research studios, vocal coaches, and producers. Everyone in this town is a "producer" 99% of them produce nothing but BS. 
5. It is against the law for a manager or agent to charge an upfront or monthly fee. An agent earns 10% and a manager gets 15%. 
6. Have a reputable attorney you know and trust who is experienced in entertainment to review any contract that ANYONE gives you.
7. Finally, be prepared to spend your retirement, savings, and cash out your stocks. This is one expensive ride that will cost thousands and thousands. Do it right the first time, believe me.

 If you don't feel the soul and energy of the music, quit now and move on. The feeling of music is the key to success, once you get the chills from hearing a song, goose bumps from the vocals of such a soulful powerful voice, or that sound that comes off the violin, piano, or acoustic. No matter what the instrument or voice, if there is soul and you can close your eyes and feel it through your body, you're in the right place.

There is a feeling that takes over in the studio when the beat drops, there's a vibe in the room and everyone is bobbing their head to the beat. Some know that's the next hit. The break comes in with that perfect sample bringing it to life, the beat builds and builds, builds more, then it drops. That is the next big hit. That's the soul, and the feeling of music, the engineers and producers look at each other and know what they've created, while others without noticing are movin, shakin, and bobbin their heads to this unknown track that is like nothing they're ever heard before.

One of the greatest performers, writers, and singers of all while performing for some of his friends in 1961, Stevie was discovered by Ronnie White of the Miracles, who helped arrange an audition with Berry Gordy at Motown. As the legend goes, Gordy immediately signed the 11-year-old youngster and renamed him Little Stevie Wonder.

I've been in the studio for those feelings, I've worked and still work with a legendary attorney who's worked with Paul Simon, The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, and many many more. I'm lucky enough to have the soul, the feeling in music, and what music can do for the soul, the sad, happy, and depressed. Music is what makes the world go around. I'm thankful everyday for having the opportunity to dedicate my life and career to music.

As always, If you have questions. Leave them as a comment and I'll respond with the answer to the best of my abilities.

Till tomorrow,

Nick

Music News - Grammys - New Sounds

Where is music going? What has it become, and what will the outcome be? Those are the things I'm going to go into during this blog entry. The Grammy awards were just a couple days and they were not what many expected. The tribute to Aretha Franklin and her 18 Grammy Awards was good. Its difficult to compare Aretha's voice to those who sing her songs.

Lady Gaga came in an egg for some reason. While some love her new track " express yourself"  Oops! I mean "born this way" and the records it's broken on i-Tunes and digital downloads many are finding her antics a bit much and annoying.

Where is music going, it seems as if we have taken a solid turn into house music. If I would have known back in Chicago that music would be like this, I would have stayed in production and mixing. I love this music, the energy and the feeling. Everyone from David Guetta, The Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna, and even Britney Spears have joined in to make great dance tracks that just a year or so ago if played on the radio would be considered "techno".  Well now those "techno" songs break digital sales records and are now the norm of pop music and it's future, for now. These new era tracks are great for the club dj who needs the beats and keep the crowd dancing. As a big believer of house/dance tracks I hope this music keeps going and stays around for a long time. 

It's hard believe that no one buys music anymore. What would happen to your daily life if you went and turned on your radio on the way to work and nothing was on the radio? What about that job you went to school for eight years to earn that degree. You're in court and you win a huge case and you go to get paid and nope, no pay for you. That's what happens when you illegally download music. You're stealing from your favorite artist. You're stealing money which is a crime/ against the law. If you cannot afford or chose not to purchase a song, you don't deserve to listen to it or enjoy it at all. Stop stealing music. Respect the artists and their hardwork, and soul that goes into each and every track. Many fans do not know that producing an album can easy cost several hundred thousand dollars, while a single can cost several thousand. Depending on the producers, engineers, the studio time, and the million other factors that go into creating one track, an artist or label is paying major money. Next time before you think about illegally downloading that song, think about all the people affected by it, and that you're breaking the law and stealing

Did you know downloading music and getting caught can lead to severe penalties and a criminal record. That charge will remain on your record can affect you getting a job, and many other objectives you have.

Think about it. Is $.99 cents worth stealing?

Feel free to comment or to ask me questions about anything.

Thanks
Nick

Hollywood

In my years I have learned few surprises. Hollywood and the entertainment world at times can be seen as parasites. Then again as it survives the turmoil of the generations it is a symbiotic entity. Providing while being provided for, to survive and flourish. As imagined, Hollywood thrives and prospers on the fame, ideals, energy and vitality of the young. Always willing to gain and exploit the bit of wisdom from those seasoned who have survived long enough to pass along the lessons learned from their history. Financing will always be creative. Through mergers, acquisitions, sales, and leasebacks there is always a way to make money with the right the players. State tax breaks and international tax incentives were created to benefit and maintain the investment opportunities and keep the chain of progress and the economy moving.

During the current economic conditions, industry professionals are making due with what assets they have to take advantage of those willing to work for less or sell their prized project for less.

In closing, as the entertainment industry is slowly taken over by electronic media, and downloads, how will the government regulate the taxes and monitor the income of the studios and providers of this material? There is no way for the IRS to keep track of every download or hacker providing this media to the open market. The IRS and government must create a way to monitor media without infringing on the privacy laws of individuals using the internet.

Just as a new species evolves and adapts to the environment to survive, the entertainment industry will continue to do the same. The last one hundred years in Hollywood have proven to do just that. From the onset of the agency relationship and the survival of film through the Great Depression, silent movie to sound, cartoons, tax incentives, rebates, creative financing the industry of entertainment endures. Hollywood has manifested its created powers to prosper.

Piracy - New Technology - Illegal Downloads -Cyber Crimes

New Technology

New technology which had been beneficial to enhancement of the motion picture industry has also taken a bite of its profits, International pirating of feature films.  Following the countries first ever raid on a BitTorrent site in 2009. Russian authorities have now begun a criminal investigation into the operators of Interfilm.ru. Run by a married couple, the site is now at the center of a copyright infringement claim of a staggering $1.25 billion. It had been suggest that the investigation has also identified some of the site’s top users. 

 White House Combat

A week later the White House released a plan to combat copyright theft and launched its own investigation into piracy. Targeted were those responsible for running sites that offer television shows and films available for download.  Websites such as filespump.com, tvshack.net, ninjavideoes.net and now-movies.com all offered “Iron Man 2“,” Sex in the City“, “A Team“, and “Avatar“. The sites have since been shut down and an official legal notice was posted on all of them alerting site users of the seizure. Agents from the Homeland Security Investigation also seized assets from bank accounts, paypal accounts, investment and advertising accounts. Through this investigation agents also executed four residential search warrants in several states for other online ventures intending to distribute film and television illegally. The website Movielinks alone attracted 3.3 million viewers in one month with over 37,000 having watched “Sex in the City” in just one single day. With the cost of a ticket in Los Angeles, California averaging $12.00 each day the industry suffered a loss of $444,000.00. 

Ninja & Piracy

Ninja Video offered “ Iron Man 2“, two days before it was released in theaters. More than 200 movies and 300 television shows were found on that web site. The two sites combined for more than 6.7 million visitors in the month of May, 2010. It may seem likely that these are leaked by studio employees but that is not that case. The films are recorded in theaters or obtained by other sources and then posted online within just an hour or so of their actually theater release. Hollywood has turned to the government for help in waging a war against piracy. This has become even more prevalent in recent years because of the high speed internet connections. The availability of mobile devices now provide the technology to video record in high definition and upload to the internet through a cellular phone. The content and ability of theft online has become increasingly vast due to the improvements of technology, software and the access to the internet. This technology and the theft of film and television has led to lost revenues in the studios. The impact in the amount of revenue studios can collect from DVD sales has been greatly reduced by such theft resulting in forced layoffs and job cuts. With an estimated 2.4 million people working in entertainment and production of these films accounts for an estimated $80 billion dollars each year filtering to the economy in the United States. Online piracy has made it so much more difficult for studios to generate any income from their digital divisions. Paramount Pictures has confronted these piracy issues as over 16 million people have attempted to illegally download “Transformers” since the films’ release. Although Paramount distributes its material to 200 online platforms the attempts at piracy are staggering. Commercializing downloads often causes confusion on which downloads are legitimate and which downloads are illegal. About seventy percent of a films total revenue and fifty percent of revenues from television are generated in the secondary markets. 

Changes In Film

With no laws in place to punish individual downloaders the only recourse the industry has is to identify and prosecute the web sites that supply and offer the pirated material. This crime of online piracy will continue. This affects the studios greatly by lost revenues and inaccurate ratings. Determining the loss of revenue for taxation purposes in difficult to calculate. Do you file a loss on downloaded or pirated material? How do you accurately report how many units were downloaded or shared? Will the IRS accept the losses and how will they be categorized?

This is a new age of film and television theft that is yet to be completely understood. It will take several years for the government program known as ICE to counter act the piracy. They have begun the crackdown on these criminals and the entertainment industry looks forward to the future and how they plan to eliminate and prosecute this crime. 

The Hurt Locker

The war against movie piracy is exploding. Producers of the Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker" are preparing a massive lawsuit against thousands of individuals who pirated the film online. Voltage Pictures, the banner behind the best picture winner, has signed up with the U.S. Copyright Group, the Washington D.C.-based venture that has initiated this litigation campaign targeting tens of thousands of BitTorrent users.

Cyber Crimes

According to Thomas Dunlap, a lawyer at the firm, the multi-million dollar copyright infringement lawsuit will be filed before the end of 2010. He declines to say exactly how many individuals will be targeted, but expects the number to be in the tens of thousands, if not more. "Locker" first leaked onto the web more than five months before its U.S. release. The film was considered a hot item in P2P circles after it won six Oscars in March. Despite the accolades, the film grossed only $16 million in the United States.

"Locker" litigation could shake things up, and force ISPs ( Internet Service Providers) to match IP addresses with illicit behavior on BitTorrent. After unmasking individuals who have illegally downloaded films, the U.S. Copyright Group then sends a settlement offer.

What A Day - Congrats Gerson

First I want to say Congrats to Gerson on the birth of his daughter. I wish the best for you and your family.

So much today, another super long day and so much done, with that said. I'm going to prepare for my 8:30 meeting.

Have a good night.

January 11, 2011

1-11-11

Kind of a strange date. Today was so busy, met with my new writers about the pilot they are shooting. This show has some great potential and I really look forward to watching it develop. Received two offers today which is great, one offer is for a client to head to Louisiana for 16 days and another offer is for my A lister to fly to Berlin for a four day shoot. Taya is shooting her debut video on Sunday, this video is going to turn out amazing! We've arranged an Emmy winning cameraman  to shoot the video.

Beautiful People is holding steam with funding and still keeping it going is a major task. This film will be a major success upon it's completion. I really look forward to this one.

I had a meeting with a dear friend and attorney tonight who referred a new client to me. She's a very nice girl 5'11" runway model who has dreams of becoming a sitcom and episodic star comedian. She's funny with a great energy about her. I look forward to signing her and bringing her into my team here at EAG.

This visa stuff is a real pain in the ass. I have a great intern coming into my office, she's Oxford educated and plans to gain valuable experience in entertainment by working in my office and learning the contracts, digital music and film laws, and many other aspects of entertainment, and entertainment law.

I also might have a new intern handling the day to day operations, the phones, office work, and stuff like that. So the office is filling up nicely and with the right moves we are becoming a known name is such a competitive industry.

Finally, it's nearly 10pm and I'm still at the office. I'm wrapping up the liability contracts for the extras in the video as well as wrapping up the employment contracts for the dancers, and cast members. Hopefully I'll be out of here by midnight or so.