Resources
Best Practices for the New World of Live Music
In my ebook on Social Media for the music industry (Take the Crowd to the Cloud), I begin with the following statement: The landscape of how audiences are built has completely, thoroughly changed in the last decade – in fact, it has redefined itself more than once. Being malleable enough to “grow” with the flow can mean the difference between big successes or devastating failures in the music and digital arenas. All of us, whether we’re artists or authors or thought leaders, must recognize that, in order to succeed, we must also think and act like CEOs and marketing mavens.
That idea, however, of becoming marketing mavens, must be tempered by a deep understanding of where your fan base is – not only insofar as location, but also where they’re at economically. Of course, this specifically refers to live music, digital music and digital distribution are a different issue, and one that I address often.
If your next live gig is in Los Angeles or New York, then have at it, your ticket buyers are at least in a city that has jobs to offer, giving them a fighting chance at a healthy ticket price. But if you’re playing in Rhode Island or Flint, Michigan, you have to seriously consider what the market can bear. A lower ticket price doesn’t have to mean you’re eating PB&J for a week either, it means you have to get creative, so that those who want more contact or have more expendable income, can choose to participate on a higher level. Consider a paid meet & greet before you go onstage, or an after party with some free merch to go with the separate ticket price.
Whatever you do, you have to do what Bob Lefsetz recently shared in his newsletter, the Lefsetz Letter: You have to align yourself with your fans.
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group
You can sign up for an advance copy of my ebook at https://allaccessgroup.com/services/ (just click ebooks when you get the confirmation).
An Intimate “Fireside Chat” with Hollywood Producer, Gary Goldstein
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.
Connectivity – A Vision of the Future
Sometimes I have to remind conference attendees, groups that I speak with, or even clients that digital content and digital distribution are a lot more than just music. When we consider the amazing growth around music, however, it is easy to get stuck there.
But we shouldn’t. Digital goes far beyond songs and iTunes and singles and lockers, it goes past movies and downloadable books and content, it’s way bigger than anything we could have imagined five years ago, and I have no doubt that five years from now will showcase something else that’s beyond what we might imagine today.
Recently, at the 2011 MRC European e-Commerce Payments and Risk Conference, Mitsue Venture and Neolabels.com offered up some mind blowing statistics and projections that anyone in the digital space should be aware of. I’ll include their video here, which is featured on their website itself and on YouTube. (It’s 7 and a half minutes long, but stick with it if you can, it goes fast.) Below the video, I’ll highlight some of the more amazing statistics and projections that they offered. My personal favorite bears special attention however, simply in regard to web users, traffic and connectivity. It’s this: Web traffic generated by only 20 homes in 2015 will be greater than the total traffic of the Internet way back in 1995.
Please enjoy the video, and as always, if you have any feedback, your comments are most welcome.
(Source: Mitsue Venture and Neolabels.com)
More consumers will access the Internet by mobile devices than by desktop or laptop by 2014.
2015 forecast of annual global mobile data traffic (75 exabytes) is equal to 19.000 million DVDs https://digitallife.neolabels.com.
Mobile-only Internet population will grow 56-fold up to 788 million by the end of 2015.
In 2015 mobile devices will exceed the home PC base installed.
500 million mobile using mobile health Apps in 2015.
In 2015 revenue mobile Apps will be an amount near to $40 million.
Social Networks revenues will grow more than 4-fold from 2010 to 2015.”
It is expected that in 2015 it will exist 2,5 Internet connected devices per inhabitants worldwide.
Yes, the bottom line is that digital is the brave new world, and we are the forefathers of what it becomes. Whether we’re in the music industry or any industry, we need to be ready for the digital revolution to completely renovate how we do business and how we meet our customers’ demands.
To your success.
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
Source: Mitsue Venture and Neolabels.com https://digitallife.neolabels.com
Cloudy Weather at Apple, Then and Now
It will come as no surprise to anyone that Apple’s stock will rise the moment Steve Jobs takes the stage later today. By any estimate, Apple is worth billions – with or without Steve Jobs – but like it or not, Apple is not a democracy. It is an autocracy. It is a company carrying out the vision and changing the world, all according to the dictates of its leader, Steve Jobs.
I know something about this personally, albeit from a distance. I worked for Apple for over ten years. And yes, my claim to fame is that I worked in music. In fact, I launched the focus on music that led the Music and Entertainment initiatives during my 10 year tenure there. The tragedy of that story, for me, is that it was during what I call the “dark days” at Apple, when Jobs was not sitting on the throne, lobbing ideas faster than the technology could keep up with him. It was when the helm was run (and run into the ground) by others, with the phrase, “Et tu Brute,” hanging in the air.
I can remember saying to anyone who would listen that the only hope for us was somehow if Steve Jobs came back to Apple. Nobody believed he would, of course. He was running not one, but two companies by that time. Surprising everyone, however, he did come back. Sadly, one of his first moves was to trim off as much as he could; to focus on the fundamentals in order to turn the company around, and my department was part of those cuts. But turn it around he did. Even though it meant a big career shift for me, I’d have to say that almost every single project Steve Jobs created, once back at Apple, was the right thing at the right time. Quite simply, he has a passion and keen sense for what the consumer wants. In my opinion as an insider AND an outsider, it never would have worked without him.
Here’s the coin flip on that one. He’s built a Martha Stewart or Oprah type of empire, one that may not work without him on the throne. Let’s look at the biggest example to date. The iPad. When the iPad came out, Steve Jobs literally, single handedly changed a lot more than how people used computers or exchanged information. He literally changed the economic structure of the publishing industry overnight, by his own design, just as he had previously done with music, film and TV – and nobody got a vote. The technology is in place …and the consumer will now drive what comes next. Publishing companies will either get on the bandwagon, or run the risk of being left behind. It’s just that simple.
And with all of the controversy around clouds and lockers, especially in the music industry, Jobs has again stepped into the ring with a technology that consumers will trust. Yes, some would say that he’s behind the curve – that lockers and clouds are already available, but it is the trusted brand of Apple that will bring clouds out of the status of rebel and into the accepted mainstream. With Steve Jobs carving out legitimacy for a niche in the digital industry that is long overdue, perhaps music will finally stop bleeding revenue. And Apple? Well, as any good cloud knows, the sky’s the limit.
Kelli Richards, CEO of All Access Group
Join Me in June for a “Fireside Chat” with the Leading Minds in Branding, Coaching and
I’m pleased to share with all of you that my weekly “All Access Radio” Show has developed a strong and loyal following! Over 20,000 downloads in just a few months. I’ve been graced to interview some of the top digital visionaries and leading voices in the music and technology industries, as well as some great voices in the music and entertainment industries, including Finbar O’Hanlon, Hollywood Producer, Gary Goldstein, Media Futurist Gerd Leonhard; the President of Rafelson Media (and well known songwriter) Peter Rafelson; and entertainment technology visionary (and one of the sharpest minds in digital music) Jim Griffin. That list continues in the upcoming weeks. I hope you’ll be able to tune in during June as I interview:
Monday 6/6 – 5pm Pacific Time – Libby Gill, CEO of Libby Gill & Co.
Branding Guru, Libby Gill is an entertainment industry veteran. Libby Gill spent 15 years heading public relations and corporate communications as senior vice president at Universal Studios; and vice president at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting. She was also the PR/branding brain behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show. A widely acclaimed speaker, Libby has delivered keynote speeches to organizations including Microsoft, Disney-ABC, Cisco Systems, Comcast, the US Travel Association, The Conference Board and many others. She is also the author of the best seller, “You Unstuck – Mastering the New Rules of Risk Taking in Work and Life.”
Monday 6/13 – 5pm Pacific Time – Terry McBride
Terry McBride is the current CEO and one of three founders of the Nettwerk Music Group, which includes Nettwerk Productions (Canada’s largest independent record label), Nettwerk Management (artist and producer management), Nettwerk One (publishing), and Artwerks (graphic & fashion design). Nettwerk has corporate offices in Vancouver, Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Hamburg and London. Since its inception, Nettwerk has released over 500 different albums and sold over 150 million albums worldwide. In the past few years McBride has spoke at dozens of international conferences about advances in digital technology, intellectual property rights and the future of music distribution. Terry has twice been awarded the Pollstar Industry Award for Personal Manager of the year for his work with Sarah McLachlan (1997) and Avril Lavigne / Coldplay (2002).
Monday 6/20 – 5pm Pacific Time – Alan Cohen
Alan Cohen is a respected keynoter and seminar leader for professional meetings in the fields of personal growth, inspiration, holistic health, human relations, and achievement of work/life balance. He conducts Life Mastery Trainings around the world, and is the founder of All About U., a university without walls dedicated to higher learning for the higher self. Alan is a faculty member of Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, and has appeared on national radio and television, including Good Morning shows around the nation. His seminars have regularly been broadcast via satellite on the Wisdom Channel. Alan is the author of 24 popular inspirational books and CD’s, including the best-selling The Dragon Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the award-winning A Deep Breath of Life, and the classic Are You as Happy as Your Dog? He is a contributing writer for the New York Times #1 bestselling series “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” and his books have been translated into 24 foreign languages.
Monday 6/27 – 5pm Pacific Time – Ian Miller, CEO of The Brand Practice
Ian Miller is the CEO and Founder of The Brand Practice LLC, a business and brand strategy consultancy. Ian Miller is an expert brand and marketing strategist with 30 years experience in building rapidly accepted/competitively advantaged brands. A recognized expert / lecturer in Ingredient Branding, Ian Miller has led the creation and global launch of the ingredient brand, NutraSweet, and worked closely with 50+ partner brands including Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. Ian has applied this expertise to the successful growth of the Splenda brand and similar launches in consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, retail and grocery. For 10 years Ian has lectured and authored and founded a successful business/brand strategy/design company based primarily on his Rocket Branding strategic and insight research techniques. Additionally, Ian has taken on partnership and leadership roles for RightPoint, a fast growing digital technology and marketing firm with several fortune 500 clients.
So please join me each week as I host an intimate “fireside chat” with some of the leading minds in technology and digital music and media. You can find my entire library of recordings at https://allaccessgroup.com/articles-and-resources/blog-talk-radio as well as some personal interviews where I share about my own experiences over a twenty plus career in music and tech. See you there!
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
Can MySpace Save itself by Porting into Facebook? Social Media & Digital Music.
Yes folks, Myspace Music has finally brought in an app that will let artists transfer their digital music content from Myspace into Facebook under a new “Music” tab. You can check out the program here.
Gratefully, this app includes streaming everything: music, photos, videos, events, etc. With the global domination of Facebook continuing – and showing no signs of slowdown (yet), Music was one of the FEW remaining holdouts on MySpace… MySpace still remains prime real estate, with over 14 million artists housing profiles there, but even that had begun to erode at the speed of light. After all, the audience just wasn’t there any more.
This new Facebook app will allow artists to port digital music and other content from MySpace over to Facebook and manage one profile, which will show up on both Facebook and MySpace, and will have the added benefit of attracting audiences and traffic on both platforms. This could prove to be a real problem for some of the other social app newcomers – but at this point, it just seems like a good solution to the millions of tunes lost in space on MySpace.
This is a very brief look at a topic I have covered comprehensively in a 50-page ebook. If you would like to be on the waiting list to receive this ebook (and be offered a special discounted cost), please register here. (select eBook Pre-Order)
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
God Only Knows. Minefields and Memories…
I was recently speaking to one of my clients about high points of our careers, and I wanted to share one with you all.
I’ve had the chance to work on some really amazing projects over the years. I got to be part of the team that launched music at Apple, I’ve helped produce the PollStar Awards show year after year, with my good friend Steve Macfadyen (see our recent interview), and I’ve been part of the team on some amazing, very private, celebrity gigs.
These are often private fundraisers for a celebrity’s own foundation or choice pick charity. One of these was the “Open Hearts – Clear Mines” Adopt-a-Minefield benefit concert given by Sir Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson, where they joined together and sang, “God Only Knows.”
The concert and the song definitely live in my mind as one of the most moving and inspiring events that I ever participated in. Although 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.)
As an event 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 part of that moment. To donate to Adopt-a-Minefield, go to https://www.landmines.org/Page.aspx?pid=374
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
Karma-Chameleon. The Fast-Changing Metrics of Digital Music
Music Industry Reviews
The changes in the digital music world continue to inspire a lot more than fear – they’re creating connections on every level, minute by minute.
It’s great to see the Billboard Music Awards getting so much attention on traditional media, but the truth is that their rankings simply don’t mean what they used to. Long recognized as the industry standard, it’s no secret that the on-demand player and purveyor of music (and ranking) is now YouTube, one of the biggest creative disruptors of the digital music age.
Google has literally jumped on that bandwagon this week, releasing the “YouTube 100” – which tracks viewers and usage across “official music videos, user-uploaded videos and viral debuts, and uses this data to provide a holistic view of song popularity.”
Google’s YouTube 100 joins the ranks of many other services judging popularity, views and downloads in the music industry. And believe me, they’re measuring everything right down to your shoe size. Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers, Vevo views, blogs and soon, mobile messaging lists. Digital Media Wire quoted, YouTube Product Manager, Chris LaRosa, as saying, “Not only does the YouTube 100 give props when fans make original videos for popular songs, it also captures YouTube’s one-of-a-kind musical diversity. YouTube users get into music as fans and original musicians, and our new chart gives the community a better way to find the most engaging music on YouTube.”
As far as metrics go (and come and go), this is definitely one for our industry to watch closely.
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
Personalizing Lyrics – One Amazing, Creative Way to Personally Rock The Fan Base
As a true lover of technology, as well as a coach in both the business world and in the digital music space, when I come across a tech solution that changes the course of a musician’s business and revenue stream, and builds a better fan base – well, let’s just say it’s always a reason to celebrate. As the music industry has been pummeled over the last decade, hit with punches from outside and inside of itself, creativity has turned out to be the number one solution to surviving – and thriving – the ever changing landscape.
Enter Skip Haynes. Skip was the singer and guitarist for the band Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah. Like a lot of bands, they worked hard and had one or two semi-hits. In their case, the hit was a song called “Lake Shore Drive” that got a ton of mileage around it’s subject, Chicago, the home town of the band. Over time, “Lake Shore Drive,” became a sort of local anthem, belted out at bars and college events and thought of fondly by Chicagoans everywhere.
Haynes, now 63, is one of the true creative disruptors. He has held onto the rights to that song for the last forty years, and thanks to the digital music revolution, he’s come up with a mind blowingly simple idea and turned it into a very real revenue stream. Pay attention folks, this is definitely a plan to model if you’ve got the know how, the time (and the rights to a good, recognizable piece of music).
For a fee, Skip Haynes will personalize his much beloved, “Lake Shore Drive,” to you – or your mother, or coach, or kids. Thanks to the portability of digital music, Haynes will sing the name of the subject, digitally splice it into the master of the song, and sell it to you for thirty-five bucks (if you want the CD — if the digital MP3 is good enough, its only $30. You can then download it your iPod (or whatever), send it to your friends and family, put it in a digital Birthday Card. Whatever. It’s yours. Personalized just for you.
Haynes recently told CNN contributor Bob Greene, that he’s sold hundreds of these customized songs –primarily through word of mouth and a couple of websites (including his own: https://www.lakeshoredrivemusic.com).
In addition to the obvious revenue stream this could mean for aging rockers or new bands, this is also a strong way to create a very real connection to your most ardent fans. And that, my friends, is the real benefit of the digital music revolution – it makes reaching your fans as easy as click, splice, love affair. The revenue is great, and seeing the innovation of a solitary creative disruptor at work is inspiring, but the opportunity to create a once-in-a-lifetime connection to the fan base is definitely not to be missed.
I would love to hear what you all think about this topic. Feel free to comment on my blog at https://allaccessgroup.com/blog or on my Facebook Group Page.
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
Google’s Music Locker … All it’s Cracked up to be? Or Just Cracked?
In a recent interview with Michael Robertson, the CEO of MP3tunes and DAR.fm, we spent a lot of time speaking about music lockers, clouds, and whether Google and Amazon would enter the arena – and if so, what could that mean to the music industry as a whole. The timing for that Q&A was amazing and spot on. Earlier this week, Google entered the race with a cloud locker service – and a promise to respond to the biggest question IN this space, that of copyright.
Music Beta by Google went live with more details about licensing and features on May 10th of this week. VentureBeat’s review said it was, “a web of confusing programs without a lot of instruction as to how to actually get to the music you want to hear.” Further, Business Insider said one of its early testers spent over two days to upload 1,000 songs to the service. When asked about potential piracy and copyright issues, Google said to Gizmodo, “We will respond to requests by rights holders who feel their rights have been violated.” So are they, in essence, waiting for the fire and lawsuits?
I’d love to hear what you all think about this topic. Feel free to comment on my blog at https://allaccessgroup.com/blog/ or on my Facebook Group Page.
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
——————————————————–
Venture Beat: “Google’s Music Beta first look: it’s miserable”
Business Insider: “Google Music … Label Cooperation Would Make It Better”
Gizmodo: “Google Might Not Let You Store Copyright-Infringing Music In the Cloud”
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A Peek Behind the Curtain… The Core Personal Interviews with Kelli Richards (and her Editor) that Became the Apple eBook…
Tune in for this 15-minute interview with Kelli Richards, Apple Alum and author of the Amazon Bestseller, “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View.” Kelli shares some of her very personal experiences and memories of being at Apple Inc. with her book editor to frame out the book…
Will we Retain our Confidence in Apple?
The newly launched iBooks Store recently signed on its sixth major U.S. publisher in Random House, the world’s No. 1 English-language producer of books. Is there any doubt that iBooks is set on a course to become the world’s largest digital bookstore?
And then there is the legendary App Store, the heavily curated, tightly guarded walled garden that Steve Jobs envisioned as a parallel Internet. Whether apps have a long-term future is a matter of debate, but there is no doubt that they serve a purpose and are recognized for adding value to the mobile experience. Steve said in 2011 that “Mobile is the key to the post-PC world….We’re in a position now where the majority of our revenue comes from post-PC products.”
Whatever comes next must contain and continue all of this.
Is it possible? Will we as a society retain our confidence in Apple? I would love to hear your thoughts on this…
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
PS: My Amazon Bestseller: “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View” is now available in the iBooks Store at https://itunes.apple.com/book/id543952406?mt=11
Apple Alum Kelli Richards Hits #1 on Amazon with “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View”
Kelli Richards, Leader in Technology and Digital Distribution, Publishes New Book on Apple Inc., “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View”
Cupertino, CA
Kelli Richards, CEO of the All Access Group and an alumnus of Apple Inc. (where she launched Apple’s earliest focus on music and drove all music initiatives during her 10 years with the market leader) has just published her long awaited eBook, “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View.” This book delves into the best practices of Apple Inc. from the inside out and takes a close look at what makes Apple one of the leaders in the tech industry – and a global change agent. Author Kelli Richards saw Apple hit rock bottom from the inside, before Steve Jobs returned to the company and then watched from outside as Apple Inc. began its climb to stardom and became the global leader it is today. This close study of Apple Inc. and the best practices it employs creates a blueprint for all companies and entrepreneurs to follow. Through interviews with other alums and her own experiences at Apple for over a decade, tech industry thought leader Kelli Richards creates a compelling view of what makes Apple Inc. the company it is today. She looks at its failures, its successes, and the people who will continue its course toward greatness.
Kelli Richards has more than twenty years of senior-level leadership experience in the tech and music industries. Working with the innovators in technology and creative leaders in entertainment, Richards is a highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach and author. 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 LLC, Kelli served in senior roles at Fortune 100 entertainment and technology companies, including Apple Inc. 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.
Kelli Richards has co-authored two other books, including the critically acclaimed “The Art of Digital Music: 56 Artists, Visionaries & Insiders Reveal Their Creative Secrets” and “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry,” which reached #1 on Amazon in several categories. 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 inCupertino,CA in the heart of theSilicon Valley.
# # #
Kelli Richards, CEO
www.AllAccessgroup.com
Email: Kelli@AllAccessGroup.com
It’s HERE! Get “The Magic and Moxie of Apple” + An Invite to my Launch Party in Silicon Valley
What’s Apple Inc.’s best kept secret goal? Apple insider Kelli Richards reveals how Apple built a company and a brand that reaches across Fortune 100 companies and small business owners. You the book launch for “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View” at https://AppleInsiderSecrets.com and peek BEHIND the curtain to look at the best practices of Apple Inc., and how it created a climate that ultimately changed the world forever. Help Best Selling Author, Kelli Richards Reach #1 on Amazon AGAIN. Get “The Magic and Moxie of Apple” + Bonuses https://AppleInsiderSecrets.com
Through interviews with other alums and my own experiences at Apple for over a decade, I’ve created a compelling view of what makes Apple Inc. the company it is today. Get the book TODAY for an insider’s look at Apple’s failures, its successes, and the people who will continue its course toward greatness. https://AppleInsiderSecrets.com
THANK you everyone for your support!
“Our North Star is to make the best product.” Tim Cook Continues Apple’s Best Practices
Over the last few days, I put the finishing touches on a year-long project – to pen an eBook about what made Apple the company it is today – from an insider’s viewpoint. This is a project I started long before Steve Jobs passed away, and one that I hoped to finish and send to him with a personal note. Obviously that’s not possible any longer, but one thing that has come out of the last six months is a telescopic view of the company and a look at the path it’s charting without Steve at the helm.
On May 29th, at the 10th annual All Things Digital Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Tim Cook gave us a bird’s eye view of how Apple plans to stay the course and continue their role as tech leader of the world. Asked about the competition many times, Cook responded at one point with a statement that completely embodies one of Apple’s Best Practices. He said, “Our North Star is to make the best product.”
I talk about this best practice in my upcoming eBook at great length. How despite being the richest company in the world, the best practice of “Excellence, not Revenue” IS that North Star – and truly has been since Apple’s rebirth when Steve came back to the company. Here’s a brief excerpt from the Best Practices Appendix to the book:
Steve Jobs saw a finish line for his products that went far beyond the bottom line. As a reward for that, he reaped a bottom line that is still gaining market share and momentum. He looked beyond the stockholders and the money and built the best stuff out there by the best teams. He then backed it up with a brand that embraced the consumer from beginning to end. It’s hard to say that his prize was even the products. Most of all it is the products in the hands of an army of grateful consumers who have become brand advocates. Let’s face it there are some great products out there in the world that have not had anything near the global impact of those built by Apple….
Obviously Steve laid out a strong roadmap for his company to follow after he passed away, and that started with leaving the right people in place, but the actual journey will unfold, like all journeys, with many twists and turns – completely unforeseen.
One of the most poignant moments of Tim Cook’s discussion was when he talked about what comes next and not wanting Apple to become a Museum…
“I learned a lot from Steve. It was absolutely the saddest days of my life when he passed away… At some point late last year, somebody kind of shook me and said, it’s time to get on. That sadness was replaced by his intense determination to continue the journey. He also taught me the joy is in the journey and that was a revelation for me… I love museums but I don’t want to live in one.”
While I support Tim in his quest to avoid living in a museum – or in the first or second chapter of Apple’s book, we must admit that his is a sequel we’re all lining up to read – and most definitely cheering for.
Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
PS: My eBook launches on July 12. If you’d like to be part of the launch campaign and be invited to the VIP launch party and receive the audiobook as a thank you bonus for buying the book, please email me at news@allaccessgroup.com, so I may add you to the short list of VIP launch supporters. Thank you.
Apple Alums – A “Class” Unto Ourselves and an Education and Collaboration for a Lifetime
Not long ago the LA Times ran an article about an executive training program at Apple called Apple University. This was one of Steve Job’s most poignant legacy projects – literally how he hoped to continue his presence, in the company he founded, long after he left this realm. Apple University is the program where Apple literally educates its executives on how to embrace the oft-referenced “Apple DNA” and think like Steve Jobs himself.
Contrary to what the LA Times might think, however, the idea of educating and inspiring its people to open their minds and access their unique DNA is not a new endeavor at Apple. Far from it, in fact; during my tenure, I was part of the Apple MBA program. Only a handful of Apple employees were privileged to be part of that experience – a fully-accredited MBA program paid for by Apple, run on the Apple campus and offered during work hours. Apple’s commitment to inspiring the best thinking in their leaders has always been remarkable.
Steve spared no expense creating AppleUniversity, tapping Joel Podolny, the former Yale Business School dean, to head up the effort, help Apple to continue to break the sound barrier and create its most difficult achievement yet, surviving the loss of Steve Jobs – a man who has become almost cult-like in his brand and contribution. In the 35 years since it was incorporated, Apple has become much more than a success story. It is the star all other great inventors shoot for. At Apple, we didn’t just write the next chapter, we threw away the book and created something mind blowing and world changing.
In addition to my MBA, like all Apple Alums, I’ve experienced some of the best collaborations in my life on that campus. What makes THAT kind of success and teamwork even possible? A lot of people have tried to answer that question – even Steve Jobs himself. It is what Apple University hopes to discover, define, REfine and replicate in future employees. “The idea is to take what is unique about Apple and create a forum that can impart that DNA to future generations of Apple employees,” shared a former Apple exec who spoke anonymously in order to preserve his relationship with the company. “No other company has a university charged with probing so deeply into the roots of what makes the company so successful.” As Apple Alums we’ve actually LIVED what they hope to replicate…
As an Apple alum, I have to admit that it’s thrilling – one of the most important “inventions” to come out of Apple, in fact. You see, there’s a magic that continues among us Alums, and an uncommon connection that allows us to continue building amazing, powerful collaborations sometimes decades after our tenure at Apple. And it’s something I hope to continue to keep alive and inspire in other alums.
It’s my own legacy project: To help those who share that Apple DNA to reconnect to the incredible talent base that Apple attracted and continue the conversation, the collaboration and the success.
To bring to life in 2012, a powerful, collaborative program designed to create synergy and stratospheric results. As an Apple Alum, I know that the sky is literally the limit!
All the best,
Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
Apple – Building a Brand, Leaving a Legacy
There’s this thing in life that most of us have experienced. It’s a sort of metaphysical passing of one’s self. Those moments when you pass a place you know and can almost see your younger self (or maybe your older self), standing right there in a different time. For me, Cupertino has always held those doorways and windows. Like most of the kids who grew up in Cupertino, I used to make extra money picking apricots in the orchards.
Obviously, fruit has remained a big theme for Cupertino. Of course, I’m speaking tongue in cheek – as most of the world knows, Steve Jobs built Apple’s headquarters here (it’s his hometown too; one of many things we share in common). So, once lush with orchards and wineries, Cupertino is now one of the geek capitals of the world. I say that with pride and humor, because I am definitely one of them, standing on the thin line between artistry and technology. In fact, I worked at Apple for many years, and I’m proud to say that I launched the focus on music and led strategic Music and Entertainment initiatives during my 10 years there.
So I am one of the truly lucky ones, with strong roots both in the Cupertino of old – and the Cupertino of now. The roots of now, the Apple tree, are firmly incontrovertibly implanted in Steve Jobs. As stock prices have shown, Jobs is absolutely the trunk of Apple and inseparable from where investors put the worth of the company.
And here’s the real crux of what I want to say in this piece: Seeing Steve Jobs battle through the fight of his life to restore Apple to greatness – a graceful, courageous and obviously successful battle – doesn’t hold a candle to seeing him fight for his life now. He’s obviously ill. But what he’s creating, despite (or because of) that illness is mind blowing. Naysayers can address the iCloud any way they want, but what we all know is that it’s pretty damned likely to be successful. Apple is ending the war on clouds and lockers and legitimizing what the consumer wants, whether the music industry agrees or not.
It is the new digital age, and like it or not we’re not going to stop access. We’re not even going to control access. Steve Jobs has literally put all his apples into one basket in agreement. Why does it matter? It matters because, like Bob Lefsetz said recently, Apple is EASY. The huge base of consumers out there trust that if they get an iPad or iPod or iTunes … whatever, it will work. Apple has not only galvanized a brand, but it has built a huge, vocal community of brand advocates. No amount of advertising money could have busted the iPad out of the gate the way the users themselves did.
The second part of a brand is always fulfilling the promise you set forth (this is straight from branding queen Libby Gill’s rulebook). And, quite simply, Apple delivers on their promise day in and day out. They listen to their constituency and they build a better mousetrap, make better stuff, and address issues like the cloud – maybe a little later than the creative disruptors, but without a doubt, they’re putting their weight (and their money) where their mouth is.
Which brings me to the issue of legacy: Apple is a big deal – not just to the world, that’s obvious – but here, in Cupertino (my hometown). Legacy is a lot like a brand, in its truest form, it delivers on a promise made. The new Steve Jobs’ Cupertino Apple Campus Mothership is absolutely part of that promise. One day after the WWDC conference, Jobs put forth his new campus proposal to the Cupertino City Counsel, ripe with more than apples. Steve Jobs has designated acres and acres of his campus for apricot orchards – honoring the tradition of the Valley; that’s roots. And it’s deeper than I can convey.
I could go on and on about Apple’s commitment to its future and to the ever growing employee base (I was part of that once, and I retain a strong, golden thread to those people and the work they do), but the commitment from Steve Jobs is bigger than even that. I think I should come clean here and say that obviously I admire Steve Jobs. I don’t agree with him all the time, obviously – or with Apple for that matter. But I’ve seen him renovate more than a company or a product line. I’ve seen him refresh the people around him. I’ve watched him galvanize thousands of employees to get laser focused on success and build something meaningful. I’ve witnessed the grace, elegance, and simplicity with which the products have sparked a revolutionary embrace among consumers. I’ve watched his address at Stanford’s graduation a dozen times and brought that message into my own life – which brings me back to that metaphysical doorway I mentioned earlier. To that glimpse of one’s self coming and going.
You see, we’re all creating a legacy all the time. We are ALL in the process of going, like it or not.
A brand, well that’s for now. But a legacy… what we build that will outlast us, that’s huge. There are 3,700 trees in what will be the new Apple campus as of today. According to initial specs, Apple hopes to have 6,000 trees when the mothership is built. In fact, Steve Jobs hired experts from Stanford to consult on indigenous trees to make this come to “fruition” (sorry, I couldn’t resist). To me, no matter what my life has become – working with industry leaders and entrepreneurs, innovators and influencers, celebrities and musicians, I often look through one of those doorways and see myself picking fuzzy apricots from the tress here in Cupertino. I remember where I come from and, like Steve Jobs, that my legacy has to be bigger than my brand.
And just my humble opinion, whatever those trees are, whatever fruit they bear, in my book they’re all Apple trees.
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group
Fun & Games: Cross Digital Distribution Takes Movies into a Whole New Realm
A few months ago I had the privilege of interviewing Thomas Dolby and getting an insider’s view into the extremely creative way he was introducing the first new album he’d created in over two decades. Fans would go through the portal of a game, The Floating City, and only when they had reached certain benchmarks in the game did they get to download some of the best tracks.
As the digital revolution reaches what seems to be an absolute frenzy of technological advances and debuts, more and more we’re seeing the cross-platform promotion and collaboration around product distribution. The latest (and one of the biggest) entries into this virtual world is set to be Suzanne Collins’ popular novel, “The Hunger Games.”
According to Digital Media Wire, Social game developer, Funtactix has partnered up with Lionsgate around the movie’s debut this spring The Hunger Games Adventures is set to launch on March 23, the day the first movie opens in theaters.
Lionsgate started the cross-digital campaign months ago with “The Capitol” a web presence for the government of Panem, where “The Hunger Games” stories take place. They also created a strong social media launch, featuring a YouTube channel in addition to other social spaces.
The Hunger Games Adventures game is set to be a strong player in the multi-digital branding of the three Lionsgate movies. Players move through The Capitol and the key Districts in the story, becoming more engrossed at each level of game.
“As a company that wants to align itself with the most beloved entertainment properties and passionate fans in the world, joining forces with Lionsgate on The Hunger Games was a very easy decision,” said Sam Glassenberg, CEO of Funtactix.
This isn’t the only foray Funtactix has made into the world of branded film releases. They recently created a game built around the Mission Impossible franchise.
Since its founding in 2006, Funtactix has earned an industry reputation for rapid innovation in web-based gaming. They were first to deliver connected 3D multiplayer action gaming through deeply-integrated avatar-based games.
They’re also poised to release The Hunger Games Adventures through Facebook as well, and with a following of millions and the realm of Harry Potter coming to a close, it will be interesting to see where Funtactix – and other branding gaming companies – will reach as the digital revolution continues to evolve.
Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
Hulu’s Latest Hot Ticket
When it comes to digital distribution, one of the big online commercial sites for video has certainly been Hulu. In only four short years of life, Hulu has carved out a tremendous niche with a huge tribe of trusting, loyal fans and users. While Hulu is “independent” to some degree, NBCUniversal, Newscorp and even Disney are part of the ownership team.
For anyone not familiar with Hulu yet, at its core, it is simply an online video service providing formally, commercially produced content, such as movies, television shows, clips, and other content, coming in from a very wide variety of sources, such as FOX, NBCUniversal, ABC, Criterion, A&E Networks, TED and a very long list of other content providers.
So why, after four years of great digital distribution, am I writing about Hulu? Because they are about to take a huge leap of faith and add another original production to their arsenal – original content is a journey that even Oprah Winfrey herself can tell you is fraught with danger. So in addition to movies and primetime TV hits such as Modern Family, The Simpsons, Glee, The Office, etc., etc., etc., viewers can also download Hulu’s own creations (A Day in the Life and The Morning After), as well as their newest addition, “Paul, the Male Matchmaker” (launching on Monday, February 13th exclusively on Hulu). The launch date is no accident – the 10-episode comedy is a mockumentary about a socially inept man who inherits a matchmaking service – who then does out brutally honest dating advice in the sincere belief that he is helping women find love.
Actor/writer Paul Bartholomew (Mad Men; Yes, Dear), who stars in the series, said, “This show is for anyone who has ever been set up on a horribly misguided date by their sister, friend, co-worker — and then been blamed for it not working out. Which is basically everyone.”
Finally, original, full-length commercially produced web series’ are starting to find a foothold – and a distribution portal like Hulu is exactly the venue to bring enough attention and a strong enough fan base to move audiences to show up week after week. Rock on Hulu, we’re looking forward to where you go next – and to watch the competition as it comes alive and rises to the occasion to bring web TV to life!
Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
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The Short Lifespan Of Twitter’s Ill-Fated Music App
Music has been the lifeblood of many social media services, but it appears that Twitter will not be one of them. Social media music sites have prospered, with CNET reporting that Spotify recently topped $500 million in revenue. At the same time, however, Twitter has decided to fold its hand in the music business and get out of a hashtag-based sound promotion service. What proved to be the sour note in this social media foray?
Kindle Matchbook: A Blazing Digital/Print Marriage
Amazon’s newly launched program, Kindle Matchbook, has teamed up with publishers and authors to create bundled packages, which allows you to buy the digital version of the books you own or purchase in the future for a discounted price.
The War of Superiority: Technology vs Manpower
Video games not only act as a watermark, illustrating modern technological advancement, but may also be a platform to launch further innovation. From computer simulated and controlled Mars rovers, to the US military’s use of unmanned drones, “video game technology,” may be more vital than you realize for modern advancement.
Steve Turnidge
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-steve-turnidge
Google and YouTube: Making Beautiful Music Together (for You to Buy)
Google has its eye on the music industry, and as we all know, Google usually gets what it wants.Here are Google’s plans for becoming a major music industry player through the power of YouTube.
Jim Guerinot
listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-jim-guerinot
Andrew Romans
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-andrew-romans
NASA’s Stunningly Beautiful Space Now on Instagram!
While such a decision may not have monumental significance to either NASA’s space programs or the every day lives of the majority of people, it is definitely an awesome decision with various benefits that may brighten all of our days.
An Inspiring Leader & Mentor: Alan Cohen
As a coach and a mentor myself, I think it is very important to have your own coaches and mentors in life and in business. I’ve been privileged to have a mentor whom I don’t know if I could grow my business or career without. Alan Cohen has written about 24 bestselling self-help and personal development books, and he is my mentor in my coaching practice.
Hooked on TV or Apple TV or Maybe Both?
I have been hooked on my Apple TV ever since I set it a few months ago.It carries all of my music, movies, and TV shows around for me. I access iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, HBO Go, ESPN, etc.
Bruce Burtch
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-bruce-burtch
iTunes Radio: Have They Hit It Out of The Park?
Similar to its competitors, iTunes Radio, allows the user to create personal radio stations based on a specific artist, song, or genre. But where iTunes Radio differs from other learn-on-the-fly radio stations is the option to listen to 250, DJ created and genre organized stations.
Jay Samit
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-jay-samit
Bestseller Event
“5 Steps to Writing and Launching a Bestseller” Come to this 1-day Workshop and Gourmet Lunch featuring the LEADERS in How to Write a Bestseller and Build REAL Online Branding. AUTHORSHIP is the KEY to being a RECOGNIZED LEADER Friday, November 15th, 9:00am-4:00pm with Gourmet Lunch and High Powered Networking Regale Winery, Los Gatos, CA Featuring: Kelli Richards, Bud Smith, Joanne Lehmkul, Mary Agnes Antonopoulos and some surprise guests: Bestselling Authors and Leaders. Your Investment: $297.00 EARLY BIRD until 10/15/13 ($397 after 10/15) Come to this 1-day Workshop and Gourmet Lunch featuring the LEADERS in How to Write a Bestseller and Build REAL Online Branding. In the last two years, I’ve written 2 Amazon bestsellers, and what I’ve learned is that moving a book from idea to fruition to LAUNCH to success is a huge undertaking. If you haven’t written a book yet, this is a MUST do to be seen as a leader in your industry. Join me and 4 amazing speakers as we expertly cover theTOP 5 Steps in writing and launching a bestseller! 1. Book Development – What’s Your BEST / Next Book? 2. Write for Your Audience, not Yourself 3. Create Your Publishing and Marketing Plan TODAY 4. Build Your Author Platform 5. Cracking the Code for Amazon Bestsellers This event will focus on supporting attendees to leverage and create a powerful authorship PLAN and online presence and brand, recruiting valuable brand advocates to build a successful launch, AND blowing past roadblocks around writing, while providing networking opportunities to get to know – and support – other attendees. This exclusive 1-day event will give you the opportunity to work personally with Kelli Richards and her valuable guest speakers – serious and respected mentors in their field – to accomplish powerful results and learn to use AUTHORSHIP to showcase your LEADERSHIP. This event is perfect for Entrepreneurs, Creative Thinkers, Professionals, CEOs, and Small Business Owners. Our Host: Kelli Richards Kelli Richards is a recognized thought-leader in digital music and entertainment with deep expertise in digital distribution and branded content, plus experience working with a plethora of luminaries and innovators. She drove music and entertainment initiatives at Apple for 10 years, and helped to birth a whole new consumer movement around disruptive technologies and emerging business models. As President of The All Access Group, she has worked closely with the author of “Instant Customer Revolution,” which explains wide range of start-ups, Fortune 100 companies, and established artists and industry leaders alike. She has served as a sought-after strategic consultant for the past 15 years. Kelli Richards will help you: Define your BEST / NEXT book and define what your audience wants to know; Develop powerful connections that lead to speaking opportunities and a recognized role as a Thought Leader in your industry; Identify the roadblocks preventing you from achieving your bestseller goals. Floyd Earl ‘Bud’ Smith Bestselling Author and Speaker, Bud Smith Million-selling author Bud E. Smith has written about creating Web pages, green computing, and healthy eating using chia seeds. Bud has also helped create technology products for blind people and launch protests for slowing climate change. He holds a BA from the University of San Francisco and an MSc from the London School of Economics and is currently based in Oakland. Common threads and lessons learned from for over 20 years of writing. How to become a bestselling author over, and over, and over again! Using a pen name to help build your brand. How to LEVERAGE your bestseller status to be a sought after author and speaker. Bestselling Editor, Mary Agnes Antonopoulos Mary Agnes Antonopoulos, Social Media & Branding Expert, “How to Crack the Amazon Code & Use Your Social Presence to Launch Your Bestseller.” Mary Agnes is a respected social media strategist with over 100 successful social branding and marketing campaigns for a variety of clients, including NY Times bestselling authors: Jack Canfield, JJ Virgin, and Christine Comaford; and Amazon bestsellers: Libby Gill, Kelli Richards, and many others. Mary Agnes will share: 45-minutes: Going from confusion to an easy, how-to toolkit to create an effective social media campaign in only 4 hours a week to LAUNCH your Book; How to Crack the Amazon Code to reach #1 in your category; Realistically reach over 80,000 people through Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, iTunes and BlogTalkRadio to help you launch your book! Professional Authors’ Assistant, Joanne Lehmkul: Joanne Lehmkuhl is the Owner and Founder ofVirtual Ms. Moneypenny, LLC. Her specialties include marketing support, client relations, group coaching programs, online research, business systems and resources, and publishing services. She holds a certification in Internet Marketing and is also a certified Professional Author’s Assistant. In addition to serving as Director of Finance for Women in Consulting (WIC), Joanne is also a member of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce and Business Networking International (BNI), Premiere Chapter, where she serves on the Mentor Committee. Joanne will share: 10 tips for new authors that guarantee non-fiction success; Book Development, Publishing and Marketing Planning; Have Clear Positioning and the Beginnings of an Author Platform AND Create an Online Media Kit! Your Investment: $297.00 EARLY BIRD until 9/20/13 About Regale Winery: Inspired by Italian landscapes and Old-World villas, Regale Winery provides an opportunity to share the relaxed and sophisticated lifestyle that surrounds the production of wine. Time seems to stop upon walking into our colorful and intimate garden vignettes featuring beautiful fountains, a spiral herb garden, outdoor fireplaces, a bocce ball court, and a traditional wood-fired oven. Three varieties of olive trees line the property from which we hand-pick and press the olives to produce our Estate Olive Oil. Welcoming and intimate, the second floor dining room features a vaulted travertine ceiling, Italian fresco paintings, Venetian plaster, and ornate fireplaces to create an old-world Tuscan atmosphere. The room opens onto a heated, open-air terrace with breathtaking views of the coastal range and our formal gardens. Just ten miles from downtown Los Gatos with no sharp turns or intimidating roads, experience Old World wine country without flying overseas or leaving the foothills of Silicon Valley.
An Interview with Paul Myers, Canadian Author, Musician & Journalist
My recent Blog Talk Radio guest was Paul Myers. Paul is a Canadian author, journalist, musician, and songwriter, and the brother of comedic actor, Mike Myers. After a brief stint as songwriter and frontman for indie rock band, The Gravelberrys -which enjoyed a moment of fame with their alternative hit “Wonder Where You Are Tonight”- Paul began devoting most of his time to music journalism. Paul’s first book was the authorized biography of the Bare Naked Ladies, called “Public Stunts, Private Stories,” which was published back in 2001. He wrote his second biography in 2007, “It Ain’t Easy: Long John Baldry and the Birth of the British Blues.” He later wrote the script for John Orchards film of the same name, which lead to Myers’ nomination for a 2008 Gemini award for best writing in a documentary program or series. You can hear our full 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
Discover Your Next Favorite Artist With Set.fm
As new ideas, inventions, applications surface one has to begin to wonder where the next advancement will come from? How revolutionary will it be? Who will think of it?
Tim Quirk, Head of Global Content Programming for Google Play
Tim Quirk helped build the joint digital music venture Rhapsody in 2001, serving for many years as the VP of Music Programming as establishing himself as a pioneer in the digital music industry. In 2010 he left Rhapsody to help launch Google Play, where he is currently breathing musical life into the technology giant as the Head of Global Content Programming for Google Play.
Music Therapy for Children With Autism?
Most children with Autism have difficulty with performing eye contact; music therapy works to help this in miraculous and numerous ways..Undoubtedly Music Therapy can and had had a major impact on some children’s lives.
CEO of All Access Group Honored as One of The Top 10 Consultants on MO.com
Cupertino, CA – September 2, 2013 — Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group LLC, a highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, events producer, and #1 Amazon Bestselling author was recently honored by MO.com as one of the top 10 consultants across all industries.
Paul Myers
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-paul-myers
Playground Sessions: The Untraditional Piano Teacher
Playground Sessions may be your opportunity to learn to sooth crowds with melodic sounds of the piano like Mozart or Chopin did before us. Co-created by the music legend Quincy Jones, Playground Sessions is an interactive music curriculum that allows users to learn to play the piano in the comfort of their own home, with no physical teachers present.
Tech’s Bringing Sexy Back: Taking Advantage of Technology’s New Image
Hollywood exudes sex appeal, glamour, and stardom. Now, that glamour is spilling over into other industries — including the tech world. Hollywood stars are funding and branding startups. Celebrities are joining companies as CMOs or creative directors. And now, they’re developing their own brands on the side, too: think Jessica Alba’s eco-friendly baby business, The Honest Company.
Innovation: Goodyear married to Zeppelin; Boeing delivered “Sky Interior”
Innovation in the skies: Goodyear married to Zeppelin; Boeing delivered “Sky Interior”. The Goodyear blimp is almost as recognizable as Shaq in kindergarten. The blue, silver, and yellow balloon looking like a floating football, periodically floats around during the summer and sticks out like sore thumb; offering an ingenious marketing play for the tire company. But what are the uses of Goodyear blimps besides causing an association between flying footballs and car tires? Well in truth not much.
Matt Emerzian, Founder of Every Monday Matters
I recently chatted with Matt Emerzian, founder of Every Monday Matters on my BlogTalkRadio show. Matt has an amazing and powerful story. A few years ago, Matt was enjoying a successful career in the Los Angeles music industry as the Senior VP for a music-marketing firm run by Robert Kardashian. He was managing promotional projects for artists like U2, Coldplay, Usher, and the Black Eyed Peas. Matt got an amazing gift. One day he got a wake-up call.
Adobe Systems Marketing Cloud
Earlier this week Adobe Systems completed their acquisition of Neolane- a company that specializes in integrating both online and offline marketing data, solidifying Adobe’s platform for their “Marketing Cloud.” But what is Adobe’s Marketing Cloud, and why is this $600 million purchase important?
IFTTT – “Put the internet to work for you”
This Rube Goldberg-esque application is called IFTTT, pronounced “Gift” with a silent “G” (Billy Madison would have a tough time with that one) and is, according to their website, a “service that lets you create powerful connections with one simple statement,” called a recipe. These “recipes” work on an “If This Then That” platform, the “this” being a trigger, and the “that” an action- in attempt to mimic, and even follow through on our impulses automatically.
Fireside Chat with Ralph Simon, President & CEO of Mobilium Global
I recently welcomed Ralph Simon on my Blog Talk Radio Show. Ralph Simon is acknowledged as one of the founders of the modern mobile entertainment industry. Over the last 15 years, he has been a prominent global mobile trailblazer and innovator. Ralph serves as President and CEO of the London-based Mobilium Global, which provides high-level strategic advice and guidance to mobile handset makers and others – and he co-founded the successful Zomba Group.
David Rohlander
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-with-david-rohlander
Ralph Simon
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-ralph-simon-0
Why You Should Learn From Steve Jobs, Not Idolize Him
Imitation may be the highest form of flattery, but it’s not a winning-business strategy. Without a doubt, young entrepreneurs can learn endlessly from Jobs’ example, but they shouldn’t adhere too closely to his image. After all, he may have been a design genius but he did ruffle a few feathers.
Q&A with Brent Wilkins
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Brent Wilkins, Vice President of Global Business Development at Skullcandy Inc., a company that markets and distributes performance audio and gaming headphones and other accessory related products.
Linda Tucker
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/one-womans-journey-to-save-the-white-lions-of-south-africa
Excel –Canvas or Spreadsheet?
When you first hear the word “Excel” do you immediately cringe? Does it remind you of spreadsheets, graphs, and formulas? For most people in the business world, using Excel can be compared to an alarm clock repeatedly beeping in the middle of the night with no shut off button; that’s a horrifying thought. But for one man, using Excel doesn’t coincide with rows and columns of numbers. For 73-year old Tatsuo Horiuchi, Excel is just another canvas to paint on.
Brent Wilkins
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-brent-wilkins-of-skull-candy
Working Behind the Scenes with Dave Stewart
Watch the video below as share with you some insight on just how fun it is working with artists like Dave Stewart as a producer.
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.
Fireside Chat with Dave Ulmer, author of “The Innovator’s Extinction”
Dave Ulmer, original founder of Roxio 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 Blog Talk Radio show last week.
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.”
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.
The ‘Sound City’ Documentary Reminisces About a Simpler Time
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.
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.
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.
Debbie Gisonni
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-author-debbie-gisonni
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.
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.”
Michael Dorf
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-michael-dorf-city-winery-knitting-factory
Zack Zalon
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-zack-zalon
Kip Winger
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-an-intimate-fireside-chat-with-kip-winger
An Exclusive Interview with Stewart Copeland, Drummer from The Police
I recently talked with my good friend, Stewart Copeland, a film composer, musician and the drummer for The Police on my Blog Talk Radio show, All Access Radio. Stewart has an extensive and diverse resume. We started the interview talking about what motivates him and what passions drive his choices. Steward said, “It has to be creatively amusing.”
Warp-Speed: A Promising Future for Spacecraft or a Trekkie’s Daydream?
Hollywood films have championed the image of spacecrafts moving at unimaginable speeds, traveling seemingly faster than the speed of light. Whether referred to as “warp speed,” “super drive,” or “time travel,” movies from Star Wars to Star Trek to the satirical Space Balls, have all taken advantage of an apparently unrealistic form of transportation. But what if this incredibly efficient yet fictional type of travel was more practical than we ever imagined? What if “warp speed” was no longer in the realm of science fiction, but a mainstream, sensible mode of transportation?
An Inside Look At My Relationship with Irene Cara
In the video below, I briefly discuss my working relationship with Irene Cara, singer and actress. Cara is most famous for her role in Fame and Academy Award winning song, “Flashdance…What a Feeling.”
The Continued Convergence of Music & Tech: Laptop Orchestras
Remember lugging that giant trumpet case to and from school just so you could be a part of the school band? Half the time you forgot to bring it and the times you remembered, your arm was sore by the time you entered the school’s doors. Or maybe you just regret never having had the musical instrument experience at all. Well here is your opportunity to combine some of the skill sets you already possess to be part of an orchestra. But instead of the use of a traditional instrument, a laptop is all that is needed to become a part of a unique ensemble.
Can Google Give Spotify the Smackdown?
Google has set its sights on releasing a music service to take on popular options such as Spotify, Pandora and Rhapsody. Their recently announced streaming music service — Google Play All Access — is poised to make quite a splash in the market.
What is It?
Alice through the Looking Glass (The Corning Glass, that is…)
In the near distant future, all of the surfaces in your house are made of high-tech glass. Instead of following a recipe on your tablet, your glass countertops now become the display. Does this make your spine tingle? Does it feel uber-tech, light years away? Like something only Steve Jobs or Captain Kirk would have access to? Nope, it’s coming to your doorstep.
Q&A with Hank Barry, Co-Chair of Sidley Austin
I welcomed Hank Barry, co-chair of Sidley’s Emerging Companies and Venture Capital practice, on my Blog Talk Radio show last Monday. I met Hank during his tenure years as the CEO at Napster.
Hank Barry
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-hank-barry-of-sidley-austin
The Scoop on Zach Zalon, Former President of Virgin Digital
I recently talked with Zach Zalon, the co-founder of Wilshire Axon and former President of Virgin Digital, the digital platform for Virgin’s Entertainment Group. We discussed his inspiration for launching Virgin Digital and the philosophies that have structure his career.
Social TV & Second Screen: How Television Captivates Fans Using Social Media
Are you guilty of calling up Carson Daly in the early 2000’s and requesting a song on MTV’s show, Total Request Live? MTV is just one early example of viewers interacting with television. American Idol has also been notorious for enabling fans call in or text to vote for their favorite contestant for nearly a decade, but with the growing popularity of social media, we’re seeing an expansion of audience participation and networks are taking it a step further.
Julian Lennon and the White Feather Foundation
In the video below, I talk briefly about my relationship with Julian Lennon and his charity, the White Feather Foundation, who celebrated its huge gala late last week. To Support the White Feather Foundation, please visit: https://WhiteFeatherFoundation.com
Stop Wishing Your Life Away- THRIVE
Fearless people not only live amazing lives and achieve great heights — fearless people take on projects from which the rest of us would run. Thrive! Stop Wishing Your Life Away…
Are You Ready to THRIVE?
Do you ever feel like your life is passing you by? Like there are things you’ve wanted to do and make happen, but you just haven’t gotten around to doing them? Do you feel like you’ve been distracted or lived a life of excuses or have felt pressure to keep up with the Joneses, but the harder you try, the more it slips away? It’s time to get real and get empowered. It’s time to THRIVE.
Tech Advances for a New Century – Fingerprints as Credit Cards
Imagine going to your local Starbucks and instead of having to rummage through your wallet in the morning, simply pressing your finger to a scanner and walking out. Headache averted. Want to know more? Read on for a 4-minute history and update on Scanning for Payment.
Twitter Music
Twitter organizes its music selection into four categories: Popular, which they describe as “new music trending on Twitter;” Emerging, “hidden talent found in the Tweets;” Suggested, “artists you might like;” and #NowPlaying, “tweeted by people you follow.”
Alexis Roddich
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-alex-bogusky-0
1-day Mastermind & Branding Event w/Lunch w/Kelli Richards, Mike Koenigs and MaryAgnes Antonopoulos
In this 1-day Mastermind & Branding Event with Internet GIANT Mike Koenigs, and Social Strategist Mary Agnes Antonopoulos, Kelli Richards will focus on supporting attendees to leverage and create a powerful online presence and brand, build valuable connections, AND set achievable goals, blow past roadblocks and support other attendees. This exclusive group will work with Kelli Richards and her two valuable guest speakers – serious and respected mentors in their field – to accomplish powerful results. This event is perfect for Entrepreneurs, Creative Thinkers, Professionals, CEO’s, and Small Business Owners.
Leap Motion, Welcome to the Future
Developers at Leap Motion may be in the process of creating the most revolutionary tool to hit computers in decades: the ability to control your computer using just your hands and simple finger movements. The Leap Motion device is a flash drive size gadget that connects to either your Mac or PC and instantly allows you to manipulate the three-dimensional model on your screen.
Celebrating 50 Years of Being Julian. A Lennon Legacy and a White Feather of Hope
Today is my wonderful friend Julian Lennon’s 50th birthday. Happy Birthday Jules!
“Indoor” Google Maps
As revolutionary as Google Maps was, bringing instant, step by step directions straight to peoples smart phones; Google is in the process of once again releasing possibly the most game-changing technology to the maps industry since the invent of the sextant: indoor maps.
Google: Street View or Street Fight?
The two-year investigation into Google’s “Street View” privacy violations from 2006 to 2010 culminated a few weeks ago, with a $7 million fine and Google’s promise to educate both their employees and the general public about protecting private data.
Tom Silverman
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-tommy-boys-ceo-tom-silverman
From Rotary Phones to ??? – The Every Changing Market of Communications
Some other apps changing the instant communication landscape are WhatsApp and Voxer. With these apps you can send a text message, voice clip, or video snippet with just a touch of a finger on your smartphone. The best part? They’re practically free.
Jordan Glazier
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-jordan-glazier
The Virtual Power of Eric Whitacre’s Choir: Involving the Masses in Music
Just as Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson did before him, Eric Whitacre – minus the logistics – has created a musical sensation.
Has the Tablet Industry Finally Caught up to Apple? Just ask Microsoft.
Microsoft declared Surface to be: “A feat of engineering and a work of art… With casing made from ultra-light and highly durable magnesium, Surface will change the way you work and play. Run Office apps, watch movies in dazzling HD, catch up with friends and family. Do it all on one beautifully and thoughtfully designed device.”
Google Glass: A Curse or a Blessing?
Yes, Alice, we’ve definitely fallen into the looking glass. Google’s most recent project, Google Glass, will delve far into the realm of science fiction, bringing Tony Stark, Iron Man-esque technology to the masses. The Google Glass project delivers a wearable computer system in the form of glasses, offering hands free messaging, photography, and video recording. Straight out of 007, this offers the ability to share everything you see, live, in real time: directions, reminders, the web – all seen through the lens, right in front of your face.
The “New” Myspace: A Huge Flop
The rise and fall of MySpace has been pretty well documented – twice. In 2006 Google and MySpace reached a blockbuster deal, with MySpace allowing Google to advertise on its site in return for $900 million. The site was quickly bogged down with excessive advertisements, resulting in a slow, seemingly counterintuitive platform. These pitfalls were accentuated by Facebook’s ever-expanding clean and intuitive design. Even to the novice, MySpace was doomed and becoming quickly irrelevant. However, while Facebook has made MySpace an inferior product for almost all players, the latter has continued to provide substantial traffic in a unique niche – for aspiring and acknowledged musicians. MySpace had recreated itself in the social networking industry as a way for musicians and fans to connect; for early releases, news and giveaways. So with the release on the “New MySpace,” in September of 2012 – stewarded by one of the leaders in music, Justin Timberlake – one would imagine that the company would expand on strengths, appealing to the only audience they had left. Well, they didn’t. Big mistakes were made. Instead of augmenting their niche in the music industry, the New MySpace disconnected from their prior self, forcing users to reconnect with every friend and band they were associated with on the “old” site. Britney Spears had around 1.5 million friends on the old MySpace; she now has fewer than 7,000 connections. Similarly Justin Timberlake, the creative director and a partner of the New MySpace, had about 1.5 million connections, and now has only 50,000. So the question now is, can MySpace recover again? It is extremely difficult to see how they can. The errors are not only strategic, of course, the damage to their brand is almost beyond definition. The very last audience MySpace had, the music industry, now has little incentive to continue its use it. And where MySpace falls short, its biggest competitor, Facebook, has grown – gobbling up its real estate and users like PacMan chasing ghosts. Facebook is continuing to up the ante and grow its connections with sites like SoundCloud and Spotify, allowing for easy to use, intuitive sharing of music, targetting up-and-coming and well-known artists. Today’s digital world is about conglomeration and collaboration, a worldwide effort towards expansion; and that is where the “Old” and the “New” MySpace BOTH fall short. As Facebook has embraced the production of applications from outside sources, MySpace stayed in-house. Shawn Gold, MySpace’s former head of marketing and content said, “MySpace went wide – and not deep enough – in its product development. We went with a lot of products that were shallow and not the best products in the world.” And oh yes, they forgot to cater to their audience. Kelli Richards, CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Sony’s decline: Have they eaten the poison Apple?
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, 1905 For today’s history lesson, we’re going to look at two of the biggest names in the tech industry that have risen and fallen in complimentary distribution with one another since the 1980’s. As one company climbed to the top, the other plummeted but now the tides have changed. I’m talking of course about Sony and Apple, two companies with storied histories that bare some key similarities to each other. In the successes and failures of each company, the brilliance and blunders seem to be passed back and forth. In order to move forward towards the future, we must look back at the past; so let’s take it from the top. The 1980’s were a strange time in America; MTV, big hair, and the Brat Pack are some of the first things that come to mind when I think of that decade. Of course, the 1980’s also ushered in a new era of technology, and Apple and Sony were at the forefront. In the beginning of the 1980’s, Apple came out strong with a record breaking IPO and the Macintosh computer. Things quickly went south for the computer giant, as infighting and a decline in sales ultimately saw Steve Jobs leave the company in 1985; beginning what many would refer to as “the dark years” at Apple. During that same time, Sony had started the 1980’s with dismal profits during a global recession that saw a drop in electronics sales. One of the things that saved Sony was its creativity and drive to pioneer new technologies. While it lost the “format wars” between VHS and Betamax, it was able to move past and eventually develop technologies such as the Compact Disc and Walkman. Similarly, it branched out beyond consumer electronics and got into the music and movie publishing industries; creating a revenue stream that would allow it to profit several times over from single products. Its latest demise, however, came from the company aggressively expanding into new businesses and technologies with little communication or collaboration between the departments. The question now is “Will they bounce back?” Apple was able to bounce back from those “dark years” when Steve Jobs came back. Under his leadership, the company was able to re-focus and re-establish its brand. They were able to focus on creating great products from top to bottom, coupled with a user experience that was second to none. If Sony wishes to recover in the same way Apple did, then perhaps they’ll do the same. Sony’s reach is a bit broader than Apple’s so in order to do that, they’ll need to increase the communication and support between departments. They have all the parts they need to return to the top, they just have to deliver what the customers want. Apple delivered things that consumers wanted before they even knew that they wanted them. Sony’s approach as of late has been more stagnant, where they wait for something to come out and find a way to replicate it. The sting of a few hard blows to a company can send it reeling and certainly bruise some egos. Sony needs to take a whiff of the smelling salts and come out of the corner swinging. Once they return to their roots of innovation, creativity, and quality they’ll be sure to see success once again. Kelli Richards CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
A Focus on The NAMM Show
This Saturday, January 26th, at the Anaheim Convention Center, from 2:30pm-3:30pm PST, I will host an exciting panel of experts for The NAMM Show, “Bands Inc – Running Your Band as a Business (and as a Brand).”
Have Tech Advances Finally Led us into the Jetson Era?
Late last year, a childhood animation icon, the Jetsons, celebrated its 50th anniversary, and sci-fi giant Star Trek isn’t far behind. It’s hard to look around and not see the reality that pop culture so tongue-in-cheek predicted five decades ago. Yes, we have indeed entered an age where most of our lives can be controlled by the press of a button on a box in our hand. Case in point? No, it’s not your TV remote; it’s the Smartphone. There’s very little our Smartphone cannot do at this point. It has invaded every aspect of our life and dazzled us with convenience. You no longer have to be frustrated if you leave your home and forget to move thermostat down (or up) to save energy and practice green habits. We now have the Smartphone-Controlled home, and it tackles everything you can think of – including the thermostat. Smartphones now open the garage, adjust home lighting systems and thermostats – and even know your schedule and regulate your home’s temperature from afar before you get in from work each day. Does anyone else feel like we’ve finally entered the Jetsons era? Are you ready to really think green? How about controlling different room temps, one room at a time. Gratefully, green power advances are everywhere, even on the level of the individual home and person. Of course, tech cannot work without power – which those of us with friends, colleagues and loved ones hit by Superstorm Sandy last year learned on an exponential level. One of the many Jetson-age products to address electric outages is The BioLite Campstove, which converts cooking heat to electricity.Burning twigs now produce electricity – enough to power small appliances (enough to charge your smartphone). No fuel needs, just collect the twigs in your area. It’s also lightweight – at only two pounds, there’s no need to even carry fuel. There’s also a bigger version to fuel a house: a wood burning stove that while emitting heat, it powers small appliances. As tech advances continue on every level, it’s gratifying to see that they have invaded our homes and lives – affecting the world at large and our ecology for the better. It’s about time. Kelli Richards CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Deborah Price
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-qa-w-deborah-price-money-coach-and-author-0
Hewlett Crist
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-qa-w-hewlett-crist-renowned-guitarist
John Cook
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-john-cook
2012 Music Revenue: Time to Update Our Model
As 2013 starts to get under way, musicians and labels are starting to look back on 2012 to see how they faired. While the final numbers aren’t in yet, it appears that the music industry as a whole took a slight drop in album sales across digital and physical platforms. Preliminary Nielsen Soundscan data is showing a 4% drop in album sales, even with a 6% increase in digital downloads. This data can either be construed as good news or bad news depending on who you are and how you interpret it. Let’s start with the good news. The good news is that the music industry is still here! It seems like every year the RIAA and the major labels are warning us that the music industry as we know it will be forced to shut down completely due to piracy and copyright infringement but so far that hasn’t been the case. As a matter of fact, total music purchases are at an all-time high, selling over 1.65 billion units in 2012 (a 3.1% increase from 2011.) This could be in part due to changing revenue streams and models, as evidenced by the increase in digital downloads. It’s important to note that Soundscan data doesn’t account for revenue from streaming, radio, or subscription based platforms such as Pandora, Spotify, YouTube, Rhapsody, etc. On that note, let’s look at the bad news. While music sales are at an all-time high, streaming and subscription based services are on the rise as well. Spotify topped 5 million paid subscribers in 2012 while cancelling their paid download service that they unveiled in Europe in 2009, though it never quite made it over to the U.S. This is troubling for artists and labels because paid downloads returned more money to them. Similarly, Pandora posted a record number of listener hours and increases in revenue from the year before. The bad news is that both of these services pay fractions of a penny per stream. As a matter of fact, it would take 140 plays on Spotify and 700 plays on Pandora to be equivalent to the royalties paid from one download. So with no shortage of eager listeners and customers, the labels and distributors must find a way to start fairly compensating artists once and for all. Album sales may drop and revenue models may change but without the artist, the music industry will really self destruct. Let’s hope that 2013 will bring great new content to consumers by using new technology while the new technology and distribution platforms find a way to stay afloat while playing fair. Looking Forward in 2013, Kelli Richards CEO of The All Access Group LLC
Brian Zisk
San Francisco Music Tech Summit Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-brian-zisk-of-sf-musictech-summit
Dick Wingate
Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-qa-w-dick-wingate-principal-at-dev
Anthony Stonefield
Pioneer of Downloadable Song Distribution and Mobile Ringtones
Robby Starbuck
Music Video Director and Producer Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/qa-kelli-richards-music-video-director-robby-starbuck
Tom Silverman – Tommy Boy
Founder and CEO of Tommy Boy Entertainment Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/kelli-richards-interviews-tommy-boy-tom-silverman
Jaunique Sealy
Author and Social Expert
John Rudolph
CEO of Bug Music Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/live-qa-with-kelli-richards-and-john-rudolph-ceo-of-bug-music
Peter Rojas
CEO of GDGT.com
Ian Rogers
CEO of TopSpin Media Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/a-great-qa-with-ian-rogers-ceo-of-topspin-and-well-known-for-his-work-with-the-beastie-boys
Michael Robertson
CEO of MP3Tunes.com and DAR.fm Founder of MP3.com Listen to the entire podcast here: https://allaccessradio.libsyn.com/live-qa-kelli-richards-interviews-michael-robertson-the-bad-boy-of-the-digital-music-industry
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