Inside The RIAA

When I am browsing through billboard.com and other music sites I often see this when an artist reaches a certain level of success in sales “RIAA certified”. I already knew what a gold, platinum, or diamond record but I never cared to know who certifies an album and why; until now.

The RIAA (Recorded Industry Association of America) is an organization that supports major music companies in promoting artist content and promotes financial strength within the industry.  According to RIAA.com “RIAA members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate recorded music produced and sold in the United States”.  In a nutshell the RIAA protects artist from intellectual property theft such as illegal downloading. The RIAA also conducts research across music channels and makes information available for its members.

The RIAA Gold & Platinum Awards Program tracks album sales and landmark achievements for associated artists. The RIAA awards artist with gold certifications for selling 500,00 units of a song or album. Platinum certifications are awarded to artists who surpass 1,000,000 copies sold. With the evolution of music the RIAA has added on a digital music certification category in 2004, and a ringtone certification category in 2006.

The RIAA also works with federal authorities to curb the digital piracy epidemic that have taken over. Their website goes into extensive detail in explaining copyright laws, describing what online piracy is and even gives their take on what the scope of the problem is.

Membership to the RIAA is open to legitimate record companies that sell music legally within the US. They do not offer any individual memberships but you can access their research database of gold and platinum record subscriptions for a $100 fee for the year.  Once a member of the association you will be protected by RIAA’s anti-piracy staff.

When your ready to really create music legally the RIAA is a membership any legitimate record company should have. 

8 Secrets To Success

It’s an innate feeling to want to become successful. No matter what we do it is our need to succeed. There are many different levels of success. Tying a shoe for the first time, or making your first million dollars are both successes. The common thing about success is the traits we take working towards reaching it. Richard St. John made it his job to find these traits.  After 7 years of attending conferences with successful individuals from all various fields he compiled a catalog of information and turned it into a best selling book 8 To Be Great. 

St. John speaks about these traits in this video clip.  Here are the 8 traits or “secrets” on what it takes to succeed:

·      Passion- “do it for love and not money”

·      Work- hard work pays off but it must be put in

·      Good- “To be successful put you nose down in something and be damn good at it”.

·      Focus- Having a clear goal and staying the course to see that goal through

·      Push- Push through all obstacles. “Push through shyness and self doubt”

·      Serve- “Serve others something of value”

·      Ideas- Come up with ways to do things differently. Be innovative

·      Persist- Persist through failures. The goal is the end point. Do not stop until you reach it.

After listening to St John, and reading these 8 traits you might be thinking, “Everybody knows these traits”. You may be correct, but how many people actually IMPLEMENT these traits? Not only that, but also how many people CONSISTENTLY implement these traits? There is a pretty good chance that if you are following these traits then you are working towards becoming successful in what you do.

St. Johns traits can be applied towards anything worth accomplishing, especially within the music industry. Each step has its own level of mastering that needs to be accomplished before you will see success in what you do. The great thing about these 8 steps is that anybody can follow these steps. It doesn’t require a fancy degree or attending a prestigious school to follow these rules.

As I look to grow within the music industry keeping these 8 traits at the forefront of my mind will keep me on track to succeed. Consistency will ultimately be rewarded with success. 

Who Needs A Label?

I am sitting here browsing the internet trying to find something to talk about for the post. All the while sitting in the studio as two of my producers, and two of my artist are in the midst of creating a new beat.  At this point of my career in artist management we have now advanced to the point where we can make our own original material. Even better for everyone we are at the level where we can get paid.

As I am browsing I come across an interview Matthew Knowles did with billboard.biz. Knowles, the father and former manager of iconic daughter Beyoncé Knowles discusses sync and how it has played an even bigger role in starting up an artist career. Syncing has been around. In the Interview Knowles talks how sync used to be more of "ancillary revenue source" and how "it took a back seat to radio, video, and touring". Now as he says it is "really one of the primary methods to gain exposure, promotions, and discovery for artist. 

Syncing is way for artist to license their original material digitally and sale it through outlets such as T.V. shows, soundtracks for films, or even YouTube music. Sites like cd baby offer this service for a simple setup fee depending on the type of membership. 

With this important tool management for independent artist can get the music out to all types of demographics and in turn gain more exposure for their artist. I for one am excited about this opportunities to get my artist music in films and television shows, all the while sitting back and collecting royalties for your material

The overall goal for my artist is to eventually sign a major label deal to sell records with the ability of mass distribution. However this is a good low to mid level source of still creating revenue while working to obtain that goal. 

Lil Wayne Loses Millions In Lawsuit

Lil Wayne is arguably hip-hop's most successful superstar.  He may very well be hip-hop's most sued superstar as well. Lil Wayne (born Dwayne Carter) thought he would come out the victor in his lawsuit against Quincy Jones' son for allegedly using unauthorized music for his 2009 documentary of Lil Wayne. Instead Jones won his countersuit against Wayne and was awarded $2.2 million by a judge. 

The issue all started in 2009 when Wayne was in the process of recording his critically acclaimed album The Carter 3. Jones’ company QDIII Productions was used by Wayne to film a day-to-day documentary based on him titled The Carter. After filming was finished, Wayne claims that he was portrayed scandalous in the film and did not want to move forward with the release of the film. Wayne claims he did not have any say so in how the documentary would portray him in the documentary, which wasn’t the original agreement. 

To make matters worse for Wayne videos of his deposition for the case surfaced on the web back in late September. In the videos he is scene making a mockery of the whole process and uncooperative in answering questions. Last week Wayne was set to appear in front of judge and jury but missed court due to health issues. That left Wayne's lawyer with only his recorded deposition to show the jury, which did not sit well with the judge. As a result of all the proceedings Wayne not only lost his lawsuit but also lost the countersuit brought against him as well. 

Lil Wayne indeed acted inappropriately during his deposition but I do not put all the blame on him. As an upcoming manager I realize that aside from handling my various artist business I also act as sort of a life coach. When my artist are too brash on social networking sites (i.e. Twitter, Facebook) and might come across as offensive, I instantly contact them to shut down whatever they're doing.  In this case Wayne's management team should have prepped him for the deposition. Properly prepare your artist for the courtroom the same as you might for an exclusive interview.