Resources
Working Behind the Scenes with Dave Stewart
Watch the video below as I share with you some insight on just how fun it is working with artists like Dave Stewart as a producer.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
iWork for iCloud
It seems like it was just a matter of time before Apple coordinated its iCloud technology, currently used for bringing media stored in iTunes (music, movies, tv shows, etc.) to all your Apple products, with its iWork platform- syncing Apple’s version of Microsoft Office to iPhones iPads and Macs alike.
Notice that, I referred to iWork as Apple’s version of Office, as it very may well be the only thing that Microsoft does better than its Silicon Valley competitor. It’s unusual to think about Apple as a little brother, or an inferior, for lack of a better word, in any product that is knighted with the bite-missing Apple symbol; and it appears that the head honchos of Apple will be putting an end to Microsoft’s control of work documents in the Fall- restoring order to the world.
The implementation of iWork with iCloud will be game changing, swinging the proverbial momentum in favor of Apple. Whereas one would previously have to transfer files via email or convert documents into a Google Drive in order to access them away from the office, classroom or kitchen table, with iCloud files stored through Pages, Numbers, or Keynote can be accessed on all devices. So, no more searching through emails, or rummaging through Google Docs, just simply open the desired application and choose your document, accessing the file like a song you purchased on your iPad and played on your iPhone.
The most unnerving aspect of “iWork for iCloud,” for Microsoft at least, is that it will bring Pages, Numbers, and Keynote to PC’s as well. But can the tides turn that rapidly? Can this relationship in which Microsoft had its hands in Apples cookie jar all of sudden flip to where Microsoft is groping at thin air, while Apple enjoys all the spoils?
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Fireside Chat with Dave Ulmer, author of “The Innovator’s Extinction”
Dave Ulmer, author and recent Managing Director of New Growth Businesses and Head of Global Cloud Business for SingTel, has had a successful career of creating and launching multiple new businesses and products. He has been a colleague of mine for almost 15 years and I was happy to welcome him on my BlogTalkRadio show last week.
Dave previously led digital media transformations at LG Electronics where he was Global Vice President of Content & Services and was also the Senior Director of Mobile Media and Entertainment at Motorola Mobility. He was the original founder of Roxio, the company that revolutionized the music and CD recording industries. Dave is now a sought after management consultant, entrepreneur, radio personality, and speaker.
To hear our conversation and more about Dave’s business explorations and personal motivators, visit my website, https://allaccessgroup.com under the Resources Tab/ Blog Talk Radio.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Futuristic Mac Pro “Pretty Hot”
In a rare move at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on June 10th, Apple offered a sneak preview of what Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, calls “the most radical Mac yet.”
Referring to the newly redesigned Mac Pro, one of Apple’s most expensive products and one favored by creative types, the desktop has indeed received an impressive overhaul – its first real update in years.
The new Mac Pro is architected around a unified thermal core, allowing the desktop to “efficiently share its entire thermal capacity across all processors” – resulting in what Apple assures us to be “breakthrough performance” from a machine that is “optimized for performance inside and out.”
The new system features next-generation Intel Xeon E5 processors with up to 12 core configurations, delivering double the floating point performance, as well as the fastest ECC memory ever seen in a Mac with 60 GBps bandwidth. It boasts flash memory up to ten times faster than the previous model, and video performance up to two and a half times better than the last generation thanks to dual workstation GPUs.
“Can’t innovate anymore, my ass,” Schiller quipped after showing off a video of the new hardware, which prompted loud cheers from the WDC audience. NBC tech editor Wilson Rothman agrees, calling the new desktop, which is capable of driving three 4k resolution displays, “pretty hot.”
With six Thunderbolt 2 ports that can deliver up to 20Gbps of bandwidth to each external device, the next generation Mac Pro is “the most expandable Mac ever built,” according to Apple. “Each of the six Thunderbolt 2 ports supports up to six daisy-chained devices, giving you the ability to connect up to 36 high-performance peripherals. Thunderbolt 2 is completely backwards compatible with existing Thunderbolt peripherals, and allows you to transfer data between Macs faster and easier than ever.
As if these specs weren’t already impressive enough, all this processing power and expandability is packed into a dramatic new cylindrical design that is merely one-eighth the volume of the previous generation, standing only 9.9 inches tall – what Rothman calls “a gnome” next to its predecessor. The entire top of the new model is a handle, making it supremely portable, while ports are all located in the back.
“Best of all,” Schiller concludes, this futuristic machine “will be assembled here in the USA.”
Geared to professionals, the Mac Pro has already generated a lot of excitement, despite the fact that it won’t be available until “later this year.” Though Apple did not offer any pricing on the system, the current model starts at $2,499.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Q&A with Debbie Gisonni, CEO of Sillheart Institute
On this week’s Blog Talk Radio Show I spoke with Debbie Gisonni, a best selling author, holistic lifestyle advisor, and corporate leader who inspires people to make simple changes that radically improve their self-awareness, well-being and success. A charismatic speaker and media guest, she is the CEO of Stillheart Institute, and was one of the first and youngest women publishers in high tech, as Publisher of Network Computing and Publishing Director who launched InternetWeek.
Debbie was one of the first woman publishers in the high tech industry, but when four of her family members died in just four years, her personal life was shattered. She began a mission to help others overcome life-altering events and now advises people from workers to executives on how to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Health an fitness have been an integral part of Debbie’s life since childhood when she would watch Jack LaLanne with her mother and she’s known for doing an entire body workout while sitting in an airplane seat. She’s an Italian foodie, who at age 45 appeared in the Ponds commercial for being 40 and fabulous. Debbie has written the non-fiction books, The Goddess of Happiness: A Down-to-Earth Guide for Heavenly Balance and Bliss and Vita’s Will: Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On. Her most recent book, Note to Self: Love is her first novel and is now available on Amazon.com. Debbie blogs on Huffington Post and has been a guest on numerous radio and TV shows.
You can hear our complete interview on my website at https://allaccessgroup.com under the Resources Tab / BlogTalkRadio.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
The ‘Sound City’ Documentary Reminisces About a Simpler Time
When Dave Grohl talks, people listen. That’s why music fans flocked to theaters to see Dave’s documentary “Sound City” last year. The former Nirvana drummer tells the story of legendary Los Angeles recording studio Sound City, which recorded such artist as Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Tom Petty and Nirvana. A number of these rock legends got their big break after recording at Sound City. Much of the studio’s success can be attributed to its sound board, the Neve 8028 analogue mixing console.
As the music industry settles into the post-pro-tools world, the documentary is a homage to the way things used to be. Long recording sessions, a dirty studio and some of the best music in history. That’s legacy of Sound City.
The Board that Started it All
While Sound City is a hallowed monument to rock ‘n’ roll, it wasn’t much to look at. In the documentary, interviewees describe the hideous shag carpet and beat up couches that lined the room. It wasn’t the atmosphere that made Sound City special, though. It was the Neve 8028, widely considered one of the best recording systems in the world.
“The Neve boards were considered like the Cadillacs of recording consoles,” Grohl told NPR. This Cadillac ushered a new era of music in California. With 28 inputs, 24 monitors and 1085 EQ, the Neve 8028 was a recording monster in the ’70s. Neil Young recorded “After the Gold Rush” at Sound City, and Fleetwood Mac recorded “Never Going Back Again” from the acclaimed album “Rumours.” In Sound City, music legends talk about the Neve as if it’s an old friend.
The Digital Takeover
The underlying theme in the documentary is a longing for the glory days. The musicians featured are some of the best in the world, and when they recorded at Sound City, they couldn’t rely on technology for cleaning up mistakes. Much like cable.tv offers a new experience for watching — digital recording revolutionized music. Rather than recording digitally, these icons recorded on tape. Viewers get the sense that a part of the artistic process dies when computers correct every tiny mistake. For musicians, Sound City is a challenge not to rely on technology. Average listeners may not spot the difference, but recording with Pro Tools has a plastic, sterile sound. There’s nothing wrong with that for certain genres, but rock ‘n’ roll are as much about the mistakes as the synchronization.
Grohl’s Reunion
The documentary isn’t just a reflection of this legendary studio it’s a continuation of its legacy. Sound City closed in 2011, but Grohl purchased the Sound City Neve for his personal studio. In addition to the documentary, Grohl also released and recorded a new record with a number of Sound City alumni, including Paul McCartney, Rick Springfield, Stevie Nicks and Trent Reznor.
This blog was contributed by Mario Vasquez
Mario teaches screenwriting at his local community center and writes about TV, movies and entertainment in his spare time.
**Image by Man Alive! pursuant to the terms of his Creative Commons license.
An Intimate Talk with Michael Dorf of The Knitting Factory and City Winery
I recently invited Michael Dorf, former chairman and CEO of The Knitting Factory and founder of City Winery, to talk with me on my Blog Talk Radio show, All Access Radio. Michael, being the entrepreneur that he is, started the Knitting Factory, a combination café, art, and performance space housed in Lower Manhattan at age 23. He left the Knitting Factory in 2003 and transformed his career from art and music to incorporate another passion, wine. He created City Winery in 2007, the first fully operational winery in Manhattan.
My path first crossed Dorf’s in 1994 when he produced the Apple MACFEST, the first on going live streaming of music from a club. This was during my tenure running the music initiatives at Apple with a small team. It has been a long time since we’ve connected, but in the interview we both confessed to following each other’s careers on the Internet.
When asked about his early experience with Apple MACFEST and how it opened doors for him he responded, “We were mimicking and experimenting with what we were doing at the Knitting Factory and tried to make it into a large festival with what we were doing with Apple. It felt like experimentation. No one really knew what was going on. We knew this was a potentially powerful tool, but we didn’t really understand it.“ He went on to say, “When you’re a promoter or a true promoter, your role is to connect the music and artists to as many people as you can and do it in a way that makes sense for all parties – the audience, the performers, and the venders. Really, that was the approach we were taking and we just though that was a really powerful way of expanding what we were doing.”
Our interview provided insight into his time as CEO of the Knitting Factory and the bridge between that career and his current venture, City Winery. To hear the full interview, click here.
You can hear my entire interview series on my website at https://allaccessgroup.com under the Resources Tab / BlogTalkRadio.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Google: Pioneering Meaningful Controls to Prevent Child Pornography
With so many ways to access, share and distribute information on the internet, is it possible to put meaningful controls in place to prevent child pornography? And if removing the offending pictures is achievable, what happens when they reappear in another location? For all of the benefits the digital age has brought us, the rarely discussed world of online child pornography is the one defect that has yet to be addressed. Fortunately, Google is about to implement a change that will drastically reduce online child pornography.
The internet search giant is taking on child pornography in an effort to remove offending images from the web. Using hashing technology developed in 2008, Google will be able to identify duplicate images that still exist. According to Google spokesman Scott Rubin, a database of images will “…help all technology companies find these images, wherever they might be.” Because each image is unique the computer is able to identify multiple copies of the same digital file across the web. The best part is that this technology can accomplish the task without human interaction.
Google is developing software that gives search engines the ability to share information about offending child pornography. Organizations such as the Internet Watch Foundation will flag offensive images. The database, which is expected to be operational within the next twelve months, will then clean all offending flagged images off the web. Almost instantaneously, all copies of a child porn image will be removed.
Google is creating a $2 million fund to allow independent software developers to create software to further eradicate child pornography. Pressure has been building for software industry leaders to combat this problem. Recently, England’s Prime Minister said he was “sickened” by the images available online. Up to now no industry standard existed to identify and eliminate images tagged as child pornography. Any images removed in one location could pop up somewhere else. By developing an industry standard, companies can find and remove images where ever they reside.
The resources Google put into this task is unprecedented. Chief Executive Officer Susie Hargreaves of IWF, an organization partly funded by Google, stated “This announcement is inspiring for those who are at the forefront of tackling child sexual abuse content.” While it is unrealistic to expect any one solution to be one hundred percent effective, this will go a long way in dramatically reducing the amount of child pornography found online.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Letter from Kelli for June – Linda Tucker, Saving the White Lions
This month I had the amazing opportunity to interview Linda Tucker on my weekly “All Access Radio” podcast (I’ll share that interview in my July newsletter, be sure to watch for it!). Linda has devoted her life to saving the white lion. Yes, the animal.
The sad reality is that African lion populations have decreased by nearly 70% in the past 50 years. Were it not for courageous activists like Linda Tucker, that number might be even more catastrophic. In her adventurous and suspenseful new memoir, Saving the White Lions, Linda describes her dangerous, decades-long struggle to protect the sacred white lion from the brutal mafia-like trophy-hunting industry, armed only with her indomitable spirit and total devotion.
Before devoting herself to this pursuit, Linda was a very successful advertising executive. And even before that success, Linda led an extraordinary life, growing up in South Africa during Apartheid and attended Cambridge in the UK. In 2002, after abandoning that successful marketing career, she’d honed so carefully, she founded the Global White Lion Protection Trust, an organization that works not only to protect the white lions, but also the indigenous communities and knowledge of the Tsonga and Sepedi cultures, which celebrate the white lion as a sacred living heritage. Linda is invited as guest speaker at international conservation congresses, and her work has been featured in documentaries produced by National Geographic and Animal Planet and through her tireless efforts she is an inspiration to us all. I’m grateful for her work, and also for her friendship. You can support Linda by purchasing her book (featured to the right of this newsletter as my “Book of the Month.”
Do Female Music Artists Have a Lock On The Industry?
After taking the stage at “Sound For Change” in London on June 1st, Jennifer Lopez declared that “women have taken over the music industry.” The event was presented by Gucci’s “Chime for Change” charity, which seeks to promote health, equality and justice “for every girl, every woman, everywhere.” J-Lo joined fellow female superstars Beyonce, Madonna, Ellie Goulding and Mary J Blige for a series of performances designed to “put girls’ and women’s issues on the world’s stage.”
Lopez, in an interview with Stylist magazine, went on to say that female artists have had a grip on the industry ”going back 20 years,” citing performers such as “Cher and Gloria Estefan,” followed by “Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, and then the next wave which was me and then Britney and Beyonce,” and culminating now with “Rihanna and Lady GaGa.” She admitted that in all this time, there have been “a few guys,” but overall the ladies “have really had it on lock for a bit.”
It’s clear that some of the biggest names in music right now belong to women. In addition to les femmes fatales who performed alongside J-Lo in June, one doesn’t have to think too hard to come up with more names: Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey, Adele, and even Ke$ha are a few that come to mind. The prevalence of female success stories makes it tempting to assume that J-Lo’s optimistic claims are well founded.
It is exciting to think that women are “taking over the music industry.” But it is one thing to command the spotlight; it is quite another to command an entire industry. One is forced to wonder how many female producers, agents, and record-label owners are working behind the scenes to back up J-Lo’s claim.
Indeed, as a recent BBC article reveals, “the story is not being replicated on the other side of the sound desk.” The article goes on to say that while we may recognize George Martin or Pharrell Williams as household names, “only three women have ever been nominated for best producer at the Brits or the Grammys. None of them went home with the prize.” Susan Rogers, one-time studio-engineer for Prince, pointed out that “women who want to enter the field face a boys’ club.”
But the spotlight is not a bad place for women to start. After all, one of the benefits is guaranteed global attention – which is perhaps the most powerful force imaginable. The real question is how our empowered female artists will use that spotlight to shed light on the real issues faced by the girls and women who look up to them. How will our contemporary female music stars use their influence to advance the causes of health, equality, and justice for every girl, every woman, everywhere?
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Search Resources
Topic Areas & Guests
Categories
Join our mailing list
For insights on industry trends, and for details on special projects/events. We respect your time and your privacy.
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
