Experts Views on the Value of Business Plans

After performing some extensive research and beginning to develop the foundation of my business plan I can see Steven A. Gedeon, PHD (MIT), MBA PEng point on the importance of the process by which you think through. Countless hours have been invested into my research and thought process. The economy (music industry) is changing everyday and my business plan must be able to adapt in order to survive. For example technology doesn’t have to be a musician’s enemy if they’re willing to grab hold of it and creatively deploy their products.

Angelo Meneguzzi said the benefits of a business plan include “a heads-up to changes in the environments, better forecasting, opportunities to analyze situations before they become problematic,” (Bplans.com, 2011). The process of writing a business plan has allowed me the opportunity to see errors in things that I had assumed I knew. Imagine starting a business based off assumptions, this could and would be a disaster waiting to happen. Understanding the market and where it’s going, who’s consuming the product and how they’re consuming it is all key elements to any business plan in order for them to grow.

In any business plan there are several key sections but in my opinion of my plan the market analysis has been a key section. The market is changing at a much more rapid rate than I had previously thought. Know that I understand the market I can better identify my target market as well as my strengths and weakness with the untended market. With the proper research and understanding of what was researched I can now set myself on a path to overcome the hurdles that would not have otherwise been seen.

Resources:

http://www.ryerson.ca/tedrogersschool/bm/faculty_staff/bios/gedeon.html

http://www.bplans.com/ask-bplans/572/why-have-a-business-plan

http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/2012/08/andrea-cockerton-angelo-meneguzzi.html

Dr. Steven A. Gedeon & Angelo Meneguzzi talk business plans

Steven A. Gedeon, PHD (MIT), MBA PEng is the professor in Entrepreneurship & Strategy at TED Rodgers School of Management. He has founded or led over a dozen private, public, venture capital and non-profit organizations. He has won over 20 awards including the 1^st place of the 3E Learning Award. In an interview he talks about his career and his current position teaching business plans. He said if you want to raise financing you want to develop a business plan. He mentioned keeping it short no more than 25 pages as more people wont read any more than that. He said writing the business plan itself is not as important as the process you by which you think through is a successful business. The key is to be able to sell your idea in two sentences. If you can’t you may be confused on your idea. Hear more of this interview at Start Me Up Video 

Angelo Meneguzzi has more than 10 years experience in business. Mr Menguzzi has developed many business plans while assisting other organizations. He talks about the importance of having a business plan and how having one gives a heads-up to changes in the market, better forecast and opportunities to analyze situation before they may become problems. Mr. Menguzzi adds this bit of advice: “those who fail to plan, plan to fail”. 

Both business plan experts have great points on planning and preparing so you can pitch your idea and/or plan for what changes may be ahead. I agree with Dr. Gedeon that if you can’t explain your product or plan in two sentences you may be confused as to what you have to offer. In developing a good business plan you have a chance to get a heads up before its too late as Mr Meneguzzi said.

Experts Views on the Value of Business Plans

The Digital Explosion on the Entertainment Industry

Attorney James L. Walker Jr.

The entertainment industry hasn’t fully recovered from the introduction of the peer-to-peer downloading sites of the 1990’s, but they have been able to make some adjustment to stay a float. Entertainment Attorney JamesWalker talks about how the digital explosion has affected the labels, artist and the attorneys who represent them as well.

“Many labels have resorted to "360 deals," a concept where high-stature artists like Jay-Z or Madonna sign a deal that allows a record label to participate in various income streams, including merchandising, tours, concerts, etc.”

What these 360 deals mean for entertainment lawyers are less contracts to negotiate and deals to participate in. In the past they would see new recording contract weekly and spend weeks working on deals for future CD album releases. With the invention of 360 deals it’s clear to see how many things have been cut out and how less money is being made across the entire entertainment industry.

“Where is the music industry going with the demise of these record labels in the traditional sense?”

James Walker says, “We first must accept the new reality.” Technology has made it easier for artist to produce products and get them to the consumers. From recording music and videos to marketing and selling the products sites like Reverbnation.com, Tunecore.com, iTunes.com and Amazon.com  among many others gives artist platforms to eliminate the once needed funding of the major labels.

His article goes on to discuss embracing the digital change like Radiohead did in 2007 when their major contract ended, they released a full album online allowing fans to pay what they wish for it. Royalty disputes have also become apart of the new digital entertainment industry and many cases have found their way in front of judges like the FBT Productions v.Aftermath Records, 09-55817, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which talks about the royalty dispute the had over iTune downloads.

Article: Law.com

Photo: Eurweb.com

Print On Demand

Getting to your fan with todays print-on-demand (POD) has never been easier. Their are a host of resources available for music, film and print to help artist make a dream become a reality. Imagine you have already completed your product but you are not sure where to go and what to do next. Today's market and technology has made it more ideal for you the artist to self produce, publish and distribute.

Artistecard is a site like ReverbNation to help artist with creating electronic press kits (EPK), mobile apps, Facebook apps, website, fan and store builders. These sites can give you a professional edge and advantage over your competition whom may not take the time to use them. These sites have a wealth of resources and when used right with the right product great careers can be developed. 

Tunecore and CD Baby are some of the newest forms of POD sites available to artist to get their music to the fans. Tunecore offers music distribution of your product to a host of other sites and a publishing administration service keeping track of publishing royalties. These are powerful tools to not only get you on track but keep you there. Tunecore service fees are as follows:

ALBUM DISTRIBUTION
$29.99 first year
$49.99 each following year

SINGLE DISTRIBUTION
$9.99 first year
$9.99 each following year

RINGTONE DISTRIBUTION
$19.99 first year
$19.99 each following year

PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATION
$75
one-time setup fee

These are just a few of the many sites/resources you can use to take you career to the next level. Good luck as you follow your dreams...

The process leading up to the Grammy Awards

The Grammy Award process begins with members and label submitting entries to be screened for eligibility and category placement. The voting members that are involved in the creative and technical processes of musical recordings would then participate in the nomination process to select the five finalist in eacc category. The next/final round of voting will determine the Grammy category winners. 

After Recording Academy members, artist and record labels submit recordings and music videos to be considered for recognition of a Grammy Awards. After submissions are all in more than 150 industry experts come together from various fields to verify all recordings meet specific qualifications and are placed into the right category. The winners are selected after two rounds of voting and are only revealed live during the Grammy Awards Telecast. 

Below you can find very important dates and membership and submission dates. Go over to their website and learn more about networking events, dental assistance and member dues. The value and benefits of this membership is priceless for those trying to break into the industry in a major way.

Important Dates (subject to change)

July 31: All members must be renewed in order to submit product for GRAMMY consideration.

August 1: Member submissions open.

August 29: Member submissions close.

September 15: All members must be activated to receive first round of ballots.

November 15: All members must be activated to receive a final round ballot, and GRAMMY Awards Telecast tickets. 

www.grammy365.com

Industry Experts/Podcast

Working With Children in the Entertainment Industry

If you're contracting with someone under 18 years of age, the contract would be unenforceable in the court the law (in most jurisdictions). The fix would be to get the custodial parent to sign the contract for the child to do the work. When working with children you would face child labor laws as far as how many hours the kid could work and/or the time of day. If there is a union (acting guild) involved there could be additional restrictions in place that could require you to have a tutor on set for school age kids and more. If kids were to go on tour for music you would have to get clearance from the local state for the artist to perform if past certain hours. The child labor laws will vary from state to state.

Music Copyrights

"A copyright is a bundle of right that vest with the author of some particular work and it gives them the exclusive right to do a certain thing with that work." It gives the owner the right to make, remake, perform and distribute that work. In music there are two copyrights the first is the copyright of the sound recording or the physical version of the song. The second is the written portion of the song or sheet music will hold a copyright as well. 

What's In A Name? Selecting and Protecting a Trademark

"In the United States you have to use a mark before it beings to you, you own it through using it." You have to file a federal application to get nationwide priority. The difference between the "R" and "™" is that "R" is the federal registration symbol and you're only entitled to use the "R" after your federal registration issues. The "™" only indicates that you consider that to be your trademark but it really has no legal significance. Just owning a trademark doesn't mean you're going to use it on anything, but as the owner you can license your mark to be used by other. You can find out more by going to www.uspto.gov.

Industry Lawsuits & Liabilities

In 2011 actress Junie Hoang (Huong Hoang) anonymously filed a lawsuit against IMDb (Internet Movie Database) for releasing her real age on their site. Hoang claims that roles dried up after IMDb mined her account information to learn her true age and posted it on her profile in 2008. She was seeking $1 million dollars in damages for breach of contract. This past Thursday April 11, 2013 a Seattle jury rejected her claims after Hoang failed to present any testimony, documents supporting her damages allegations.

"En Vogue" the all female R&B group known for hits like "Don't Go" and "Whatta Man" have settled the lawsuit over name use. According to the judge's ruling Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis are the only founding members allowed to use it. Maxine Jones and Dawn Robinson the other two founding members had started booking gigs as En Vogue in August of 2012. Herron and Ellis had already formed a limited liability company, En Vogue Enterprises, LLC, in 2006 giving them legal leverage and putting the other members in violation. The ruling explicitly limits how the trademarked name may be used by the other members: "non-derogatory biographical information primarily of a personal nature," and "professionally as ‘formerly of En Vogue' or words to that effect." Herron and Ellis were also able to recover $15,000 in legal fee.

Kanye West is now being sued for a sample in his 2005 hit single "Gold Digger". The children of the late David Pryor are saying West did not get clearance for the sample "get down" which comes from Pryor's 1974 song "Bumpin Bus Stop". 8 years after "Gold Digger: went #1 on the charts the children are now asking a judge to block future sales and for millions in damages.

Each of these cases shows how important privacy, trademarks, copyrights, contracts and proper clearance of works can be. In the case of Hoang, I believe she has no case and should embrace her age and try marketing it in a different way to increase her roles again. Furthermore it teaches us that the information we place on a public site is not private. In the case of "En Vogue" I'm a little disappointed that the name was not registered sooner with all the members having rights, but this case shows us how important having our business in order before going forward. In the case of  Kanye West, he may have to settle the lawsuit for the use of the sample "get down". I listened to both tracks and can't decide on if it was or wasn't a sample from Pryor. There are laws to protect us all and it's very important that we follow them to avoid lawsuits and arbitration's like these.