Category: Entertainment

We did it! #1 on Amazon in Music!!!

Kelli Richards November 20, 2011

A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported the Amazon Launch for “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry” – an eBook that raises the bar and demystifies social media marketing, helping musicians, agents and anyone in our industry to THRIVE. Not only did we spend all of last weekend at #1, as I write this, we’re STILL top ten!

Essentially, Taking the Crowd to the Cloud empowers and transforms the marketing mindset for artists. Featuring a few tips on the most commonly used social networks (like Twitter and Facebook); it also holds the keys to eMail marketing, Streaming Radio, YouTube, and Meetup Groups. (It even covers how to port your MySpace contents to Facebook Music.)

Although we’ve put the price raise into Amazon, it’s STILL at $3.99 while they process it, so grab your copy now if you haven’t already.

If you choose to, you may buy the book from my website for full price ($37) and have access to continually refreshed and updated content on this topic as a BONUS addendum.

Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

The Future of Content, by Futurist, Gerd Leonhard

Kelli Richards October 24, 2011

Gerd Leonhard is a media futurist, writer, keynote speaker and strategist with 25 years in the tech and entertainment industries in all major markets. Leonhard’s focus is on new technologies in content, media and technological convergence, and he’s just published his newest book on Kindle, “The Future of Content.” https://gerd.fm/focbook

Leonhard’s intent to publish this eBook via Amazon Kindle, exclusively, at this very low price, is to make these ideas and concepts as widely available as possible while still trying to be an example of what digital, paperless distribution can look like, going forward. Definitely a GREAT investment at $2.99.

Gerd Leonhard has been writing about the future of content (i.e. music, film, TV, books, newspapers, games etc.) since 1998. He has published 4 books on this topic, 2 of them on music (The Future of Music, Music 2.0). For the past 10 years, Leonhard has been deeply involved with many clients in various sectors of the content industry, in over 17 countries, and it’s been a great experience, he says. “I have learned a lot, I have listened a lot, I have talked even more (most likely:) and I think I have grown to really understand the issues that face the content industries – and the creators, themselves – in the switch from physical to digital media.”

This Kindle book is a highly curated collection of the most important essays and blog posts Leonhard has written on this topic, and even though some of it was written as far back as 2007. “I believe it still holds water years later. I have tried to only include the pieces that have real teeth. Please note that the original date of each piece is shown here in order to allow for contextual orientation.”

[audio:https://allaccessgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Gerd-Leonhard-Final-Edited.mp3|titles=Gerd Leonhard Final Edited]

You can hear my recent one-on-one interview with Gerd here.

For those of you who do not know, I’m part of The Futures Agency, an online industry think-tank founded by Gerd Leonhard. The Futures Agency is based on 5 key principles: 1. Knowledge grows when shared, therefore we share everything 2. Proudly find elsewhere (PFE) 3. Do what you do best and link to the rest (*Jeff Jarvis) 4. Spend less time being important and more time being relevant 5. The leaders of the future are connectors – not just directors.

I’m proud to be part of this stellar group, and encourage everyone to pick up Gerd’s latest eBook and to spread the word and support your own followers and colleagues with this great collection of Gerd’s work.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Future-of-Content-ebook/dp/B005XCZ28U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1319115901&sr=1-1

Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC

Celebrity Wrangling.

Kelli Richards October 10, 2011

When it comes to celebrity wrangling, helping a corporate client or event organizer secure the right celebrity to support their event or product campaign is definitely more art than science. The most important part of the process is bringing my 25 years of listening and experience to a discussion about the objectives of the client. Is it a company celebration? Is the event or campaign about supporting their employees (internal) or their brand (customers)? Is it to thank their sales team? Or perhaps an industry conference with VIPs?

From there, we create a wish list of who they’d love to have stand on their stage or showcase their product or company, as well as what “type” of spokesperson or entertainer – for instance, a musician, a comedian, an actor or actress. Then we put together a prioritization and an outreach plan, something I’ve developed strong expertise in doing successfully after many years. We also create a list of gives and gets – is the celebrity or artist being compensated? Is the event so grand that it’s simply a win/win for them to participate? And then the back-and-forth between the client and the celebrity rep begins, and the process of creating a strong win for both sides unfolds.

The biggest impact in terms of having a celebrity or artist aligned with a campaign or event is what I call the “halo effect” – when an audience feels cared for and honored when a celebrity or artist that they trust is behind the company or the product. This generally results in a memorable experience and a long lasting increase in trust and credibility.

In addition, celebrity involvement can result in much greater visibility, acceleration, and traction for a start-up – and much greater exposure if you’re doing something on the web or in social media. It increases the attraction to the product or company like a magnet, based on the following and popularity of the celebrity and their brand. Finally, with the timeless nature of the web, this association with an artist will stand the test of time, being discovered again and again through a simple Google Search.

Not sure how a celebrity or artist might fit into your start-up, product or event? Reach out to me and ask. Kelli@AllAccessGroup.com

*****************

“Kelli’s contributions as co-producer of ‘MusicBiz 2005′ have been essential. Her relationships and management of them, as well as her conceptual abilities have been a cornerstone of the business we have been developing. I can’t imagine that it (the conference) would have happened without her. For starters, she brings a tremendous understanding of the market, a stellar reputation, loyal relationships among the leaders in the field, highly developed written and oral communication skills, untiring work ethic, excellent team building skills, and total reliability….”
~ David Schwartz, Executive Producer – MusicBiz

“Kelli has proven to be an excellent resource for Red Herring Events. She contacted over 50 musicians and celebrities for our Herring on Hollywood event. Kelli is both professional and a pleasure to work with. With her assistance, we were able to book the musician Ice-T to speak on the music panel. We will definitely be using Kelli’s services for future events.”
~ Beth Curran, Event Producer – Red Herring Magazine

Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC

CEO of All Access Group Invited to be in Alan’s Gang

Kelli Richards August 22, 2011

Expert in Music, Technology and Digital Distribution and CEO of All Access Group Invited to be in Alan’s Gang

Kelli Richards, a thought leader in digital music and entertainment, and one of only a few select members of Alan Weiss’ Master Mentor Program and Thought Leadership Summit, has recently been invited to participate both Weiss’ new Summit Global Network and also in the collaborative “Alan & the Gang.”

Alan & the Gang is an online destination where both aspiring and veteran entrepreneurs and business people can access thought leaders from around the globe. Kelli Richards joins a limited group of elite international experts in both process and content who contribute their intellectual property and expertise. Gang members are a unique group of consultants and industry thought leaders who offer forward-thinking content to one another and to the world at large, including 320 videos, 426 audios and over 60 articles. These experts are recognized leaders and experts in their fields, offering impressive track records of success to their clients. The Summit Global Network is a network of top boutique consulting and advisory firms. Members are invited only after careful criteria have been met and existing members become familiar with the quality of the candidate firm’s work and client base. Members share resources, best practices, personnel, and expertise. It’s not unusual for a firm in Australia to provide expertise to a firm in Canada, or one in Maine to one in the United Kingdom. The current membership resides in seven countries and four continents. The combined intellectual property of the member firms comprises over 70 commercially published books, a thousand published articles, and thousands of audio, video, and public speaking appearances.

Alan Weiss is an Inductee in the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame^®, a Recipient of the American Press Institute Lifetime Achievement Award and the New England Institute of Management Consultants Lifetime Contribution Award, and is one of the most highly respected independent consultants in the country, according to The New York Post.

Kelli Richards is a true trailblazer in the digital music, entertainment and technology worlds with more than twenty years of senior-level leadership experience. With a unique talent for connecting innovators in technology with creative leaders in entertainment, Richards is a highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach and author, As the CEO of The All Access Group, Richards and her team facilitate powerful strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences.

Prior to founding The All Access Group, Kelli served in senior roles at Fortune 100 entertainment and technology companies, including Apple Inc., where she launched Apple’s earliest focus on music and drove all music initiatives during her 10 years with the market leader. She also served in senior-level leadership capacities at EMI Music as an A&R exec, and at Silicon Graphics (SGI) where she helped launch Silicon Studio, the company’s entertainment division. She developed PatroNet, the first Internet-based artist subscription service with rocker partner Todd Rundgren in the mid-90s – and helped to launch the entire digital music revolution.

A frequent speaker and panel moderator at digital music and entertainment industry conferences globally, Kelli has also been an acclaimed talent producer of a wide range of award shows, epic concerts, and celebrity fundraiser events for over 25 years. She co-produced a celebrity fundraiser event to support the UN’s “Adopt-A-Minefield” initiative featuring Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills and hosted by Jay Leno. Additionally, she was a 20-year talent producer behind the BAMMIES, and remains a long-time talent executive and co-producer of the annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.

***

Kelli Richards has co-authored two books, including the critically acclaimed “The Art of Digital Music: 56 Artists, Visionaries & Insiders Reveal Their Creative Secrets.” And her next book, “You Say You Want a Revolution – An Artist’s Manifesto for Success in the Digital Age,” is due out 11-11-11. A true renaissance woman, Kelli is also a Certified Integrative Life Coach trained under best-selling authors and coaches Debbie Ford and Alan Cohen. She lives in Cupertino, CA in the heart of the Silicon Valley.

Legacy and Celebrity Wrangling

Kelli Richards August 14, 2011

One of the most important aspects of my career has been creating high impact collaborations between artists, celebrities and corporations, and sometimes between artists and charities. I call this celebrity wrangling.

There’s no shortage of passion in the world surrounding celebrities and musicians; in fact, it’s rare to find one that doesn’t crave the opportunity to create lasting change and global/societal impact. Connecting the right artist for the right purpose – or simply being part of event production as a talent producer for award shows & charity events involving great artist/celeb talent, well, those are definitely career high points. Whether for corporations who want to have a celebrity appear in an ad campaign or established artists perform at employee events or at corporate industry conferences & special events. I’ve had the chance to work on some pretty amazing projects over the years, including great global causes with a broad range of artists, celebrities, and big companies. To learn more about celebrity wrangling, please visit my website: https://allaccessgroup.com/services/celebrity-wrangling

One of my favorite charity event projects was the “Open Hearts – Clear Mines: Adopt-a-Minefield” benefit concert hosted by the United Nations featuring performances by Sir Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson, where they joined together and sang, “God Only Knows“ & “Let it Be”. The concert and the song definitely live in my mind as one of the most moving and inspiring events that I ever participated in. Unfortunately only the attendees in that room got to experience the magic of that union. Though there isn’t any video from the event to really speak of, there is a snippet of it in an Access Hollywood interview, speaking with Sir Paul and host, Jay Leno, about the event. (See below.)

Another example is when I was asked by John Chambers & his team to bring Jerry Seinfeld to Cisco to participate in a 25th anniversary employee thank-you event.

As a veteran Talent Producer and Celebrity Wrangler, it’s events like these that become knots in the thread of one’s life. I’m proud to have been a part of creating these special events and experiences that if executed well tend to leave a lasting impact.

Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC

Tech + Media – The Honeymoon Between GoogleTV and Logitech Ends, but the Marriage Continues

Kelli Richards July 28, 2011

The marriage of tech and media is definitely a rocky one at times, and Web TV is no exception. Despite all promises, like all relationships, things are always evolving – and sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t. The latest tech / media couple in trouble appears to be Logitech and Google. With the rocky start to Google TV, Logitech is also hung up in every way possible. Why? They supply the tech end of GTV with the Revue Google TV set-top box.

Google TV is a pretty cool product – and quite possibly the future of ALL TV – or at least a glimpse of it, providing access to live TV, on-demand programming, recorded shows, pay TV, online video clips and, of course, the web.

Will Web TV replace regular TV any time soon? Probably not. But don’t count Google (or Logitech) out of the running. Someone’s going to nab the real estate on Web TV, and for their part, Logitech is willing to continue the union. In fact, they’re lowering the price to make the hardware accessible to almost anybody.

Losing the market share before one is really created is obviously not an outcome that Logitech will go for. In fact Logitech’s Chairman, Guerrino De Luca, was quoted this week as saying: “There was a significant gap between our price and the value perceived by the consumer.”

Right now, market share is the moral of the story for both the data and the technology side of the equation. Any day now Google TV should be accessible by Android, and with 130 million Androids out there, that is a big deal. In order to not lose face until then, Logitech has chosen to bite the revenue bullet and get more customers. That means a lower price in order to boost the real estate for Google.

It’s hard to imagine Apple or Sony supporting the digital music industry by lowering the price of hardware to encourage market participation, but if this is an indication of what might work, then Blu-Ray may actually still stand a chance.

Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group

Social Media Wars – How Wide Do We Open the Kimono? Google+, Facebook, Etc.

Kelli Richards July 21, 2011

By now, you may have heard the name Michael Lee Johnson. He’s a young web developer who recently tried to promote his presence on Google+ by taking out a Facebook Ad. What’s wrong with that? According to Facebook’s terms of service, only everything. And while I don’t agree with Facebook, simply because of my personal and professional stand on Gerd Leonhard’s Friction vs. Fiction, they are, of course, simply protecting their market share.

It is very easy to see why they don’t want to do battle with megalith Google over anything more than ad sales. One has to wonder, however, where the users come into play. Although diligently trying to evolve every single day, there’s absolutely NO guarantee that Facebook will not become the MySpace of tomorrow. (Meaning that they become a great neighborhood that nobody lives in or even visits any more – sort of the Three-Mile Island of Social Networks.) Simply building walls and creating friction will not protect them.

This isn’t the only example of what I might call “random” censorship either. Meetup.com is notorious for ripping down local Meetup Groups that don’t fit their user terms (which change at will if you’re of a certain political slant). The bottom line is that social networks are NOT democracies. They are autocracies, and your participation is permitted and censored, at will, by the owner of the club.

So where does this leave Google+ ??? Growing. By leaps and bounds in my estimation. Why? Because it addresses all of the issues Facebook created – over exposure, brand and personal comingling, general insanity and finally, the issue of demographic. (And right now, it’s a hotbed for techies.)

As I addressed in my recent Social Media eBook, the problem with ANY network is that you can only reach THAT network’s users. So while you can break demographics out further, you can only operate within the umbrella of users actually ON Facebook, for example. Who are THEY? Mostly, on Facebook at least, they’re people with free time. Yes, I have a ton of “friends” on my Facebook Page, and I value them! But I think Google+ and it’s Circles concept will provide a segregation which will eliminate having multiple Pages, Profiles, Groups, etc., etc. that ALL have to be updated.

Another service worth watching which addresses this, on the opposite side of the spectrum (the personal side), is Proust.com. Proust is a social network designed to connect MORE intimately than Facebook (as if that were possible), by connecting close family members and allowing them to commemorate events and share life stories. With the boom in genealogy that’s been created by the digital revolution, this is an idea that just might take off.

Final thoughts: We have seen some extreme reverberations to the social media age (which is a subset in itself of the digital age). Facebook overtaking MySpace (almost to annihilation) is only one example. There will be a backlash to the autocracy though, you can guarantee it. Because the internet may be a place of freedom – but social networks are NOT. A good example of this backlash is hacker group Anonymous. Even THEY are starting a social network (called “the Revolution”). Their platform? No censorship. This might seem to lean toward the shadow side of things we might all like to avoid … but in reality, is it the Michael Lee Johnson’s of the world and a simple Google+ banner ad that we protect? A question well worth consideration, at least.

Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group

Facebook + Skype = Hyper-Connectivity …. Or Virtual Un-Reality?

Kelli Richards July 6, 2011

What does it mean that Facebook has partnered with Skype to offer video calling? Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has focused on the “social infrastructure” that’s been created by the Facebook team (and other social networks) and the Orwellian openness that’s become our lives (which he calls sharing). Is he right? Is he wrong?

In my recent interview with Jason Benlevi, the author of “Too Much Magic, Pulling the Plug on the Cult of Tech” I asked the author about his book, and the pros and cons of what has become new normal.

“Too Much Magic is the story of how venture capital, media moguls and marketeers use digital magic to distract us, invade our privacy, corrupt democracy, distort our human values, and sell us things that we don’t need. It looks at all aspects of our emerging digital lifestyle, how it is changing us, and who it is that really benefits.” Zuckerberg has a completely different view, of course. “Sharing is growing at a fast exponential rate — twice the amount of stuff the world would have shared this day a year ago.”

So how does Skype fit into this equation? With over 750 million users a day, Facebook seeks to maximize its “free” network’s reach, building more and more features to offer it’s users, who are every moment sharing and actively using Facebook more often than their cell phones at this rate. So video chat seems like the perfect next step. Not only will users be able to participate in live video chat – but they’ll also be able to join group chats.

“A few months ago, we started working with Skype to bring video calling to Facebook,” said Phillip Su, a Facebook engineer working on the video calling team, in a post to Facebook’s official blog. “We built it right into chat, so all your conversations start from the same place.

So is new normal reaching even more connectivity – or dividing us further and further, replacing real life with virtual life more and more? Are we taking the Crowd to the Cloud — or are we in danger of just drifting away? For thought leaders in the digital space, this is definitely a marriage (um, merger) to watch closely.

Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group

You can sign up for an advance copy of my ebook, “Take the Crowd to the Cloud,” at https://allaccessgroup.com/services/ (just click ebooks when you get the confirmation).

Data is the new Oil – By My Colleague, Media Futurist, Gerd Leonhard

Kelli Richards July 1, 2011

Data is the new Oil: paying with attention is the future of media

View more presentations from Gerd Leonhard

An Intimate “Fireside Chat” with Hollywood Producer, Gary Goldstein

Kelli Richards June 14, 2011

An excerpt of Kelli’s Q&A with Hollywood Producer, Gary Goldstein, an inspiring voice in the film and music industries. Gary Goldstein produced one of the most iconic cultural expressions of the last generation: Pretty Woman. He has gone on to mentor many of the leading creative voices in music and film. He is an accomplished film producer, an author, a speaker, an innovator, a philanthropist, and a great guy. This is definitely one of the best fireside chats yet. (To hear this entire interview, please visit the Resources Page on my Website.)

Kelli Richards: Gary, put on your consultant’s hat for a moment, if you will. When you look forward at the entertainment industry, what do you think is the biggest challenge we face, and what kinds of solutions do you see down the road?

Gary Goldstein: Very few people understand – artists and everyone haven’t really been taught — business literacy. They don’t know the meaning of it. The value of your intellectual property is so precious that to give it up for a royalty after expenses… well, the landscape is changing. Make it your mission to find out what works for YOU. Get engaged, get involved in these conversations. Become joyful and excited about learning the marketing piece – the business of your art. That’s never going to be less than central to your success. You know, Lady Gaga, she didn’t invent innovative marketing in today’s sandbox. But she and her team simply mastered it better than most. Her talent’s evident, sure, but her unspeakable, astonishing success is the stuff of brilliant, innovative marketing.

Kelli Richards: That’s because she herself does that. She has a team around her that’s wonderful, but she herself, makes it a point to understand and to harness the power of social media and technology. She actively embraces it, takes it on, leverages it to its fullest – and for example, understands the power of mailbox money with royalties in her retirement years, so she doesn’t give up her publishing rights.

Gary, What do you think are the DISadvantages of artists running their own content, if you see any – are artists at risk of becoming SO independent, that they won’t lean on the amazing knowledge base and expertise out there in the entertainment industry?

Gary Goldstein: Yes, I think that is the risk. I think the risk is … the deficit is the education gap that we have suffered up until now. And we have a learning gap. There are a lot of folks who really don’t know or forget that they do need to become master entrepreneurs, marketers, business people and get excited about that. Not get so intoxicated just with your music or your website that you forget to get that result, to really drive that relationship with your audience. So to do that, yeah, don’t forget to seek out more successful people in the space. Get mentors. Surround yourself with collaborators who know what they’re doing. …get noticed, get referrals, get access. …

….Get thee to multiple mentors. Get thee to five-minute mentors, lifelong mentors. Get thee to anyone who really has wisdom. Not information, not data, not opinions. Someone who really deeply has some wisdom, some success. Get their counsel. It will help you become fearless and humble at the same time. It will help you believe in the possibility of your goals. So you get out of your cubicle brain and into your joyful, young brain that loves everything new. The cool thing is that it becomes a deeply personal time and journey.

Kelli Richards: And everybody will benefit from a guide on that journey. There’s no reason to do it alone. And the reality that there are people out there like you and I who are such mentors and coaches and guides, and we have a lot to offer those kind of people who are looking for us, who are seeking that support. …

Gary Goldstein: Here’s the beautiful thing about being stubborn enough and hanging out long enough and having a little age on you. For me, the past is a gift but I don’t live there. For me, everything is about where I’m going. The stuff ahead of me, I’m so excited about. Using every learning, every piece of wisdom, every strategy, every relationship that I’m blessed to have in my life. Tribe Hollywood is a great example of that. Instead of me mentoring people one at a time, I want to mentor them a thousand, two thousand, three thousand at a time.

To hear this entire interview, please visit the Resources Page on my Website.) And to learn more about Gary Goldstein’s latest project, Tribe Hollywood or to sign up for his “5 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me About Hollywood” go to https://tribehollywood.biz.

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Category: Entertainment

The Future of Content, by Futurist, Gerd Leonhard

Celebrity Wrangling.

CEO of All Access Group Invited to be in Alan’s Gang

Legacy and Celebrity Wrangling

Tech + Media – The Honeymoon Between GoogleTV and Logitech Ends, but the Marriage Continues

Social Media Wars – How Wide Do We Open the Kimono? Google+, Facebook, Etc.

Facebook + Skype = Hyper-Connectivity …. Or Virtual Un-Reality?

An Intimate “Fireside Chat” with Hollywood Producer, Gary Goldstein

Search Resources

Topic Areas & Guests

Join our mailing list

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My Commitment to You

Now is Your Time

Category: Entertainment

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Join our mailing list

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My Commitment to You

Now is Your Time