Resources
Cathal Furey
Is a Joint Venture Right for Me?
Once you’ve embraced collaboration as a means to achieve your highest potential in your project or venture, at some point you might start to see potential for more formal partnership.
Entering into a Join Venture is not something to undertake lightly. It is a major decision and requires careful consideration. Here are some of the basics of how Joint Ventures work and some key points to keep in mind when considering whether or not it’s the right move for your business.
The ultimate goal of embarking on a JV is to expand your business, whether by developing new products or moving into new markets. JV’s are particularly relevant for those hoping to expand their business overseas.
No matter the size of your business, Joint Ventures can be utilized to strengthen long-term relationships or to collaborate on short-term projects. A joint venture enables you to share risks and benefits with a partner and can supply you with access to established markets and distribution channels, more resources, greater capacity, or increased technical expertise.
Entering into this type of collaboration with another business is complex; building the right relationship takes time and effort. If you do not have a clear understanding of the goals and the way value will be shared moving forward, a Joint Venture can burn you in the long run. (Just ask IBM when it partnered with Microsoft in the early 1980’s.) Success in a JV depends on the right relationship, a clear and thorough understanding of the goals, and effective communication of the business plan. Here are a few things that could be deadly to your Joint Venture:
> Goals are not 100% clear
> Different objectives among respective partners
> Friction and poor cooperation due to different management styles
> Insufficient leadership and support in the early stages
> An imbalance in levels of investment, assets or expertise brought in by respective partners
Flexibility is at the heart of what makes a JV such an attractive option. For example, a JV can cover only part of what you do and have a limited life span, therefore limiting the commitment and exposure for both parties; or alternatively, you might decide to set up a new company altogether to handle a particular contract.
To help you decide what form of JV would best serve you, ask yourself how involved you want to be in managing it, and consider what could happen if the venture fails.
Understanding how much risk you are prepared to accept is a key element of choosing the right JV approach. Take the time to develop clarity around this central question and you will thank yourself down the road!
Until next time, Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
PS: The right mentor will also have the right CONNECTIONS to move any effort forward. Be sure to ask who they think they can bring to the table around advisorship, possible collaboration and even funding.
Want to Take Your Project to the Next Level? Collaborate!
Although our culture tends to celebrate the idea of the “lone creative genius,” the truth is that a look behind the scenes of any success story will very often reveal the work of a stellar team; a group of passionate people who worked together to challenge and motivate one another. Steve Jobs famously promoted collaboration to increase productivity and creativity at Apple. It was one of the benchmarks of all the work that went on during my years there, and it continues to be a best practice of the corporation, and the alum that worked there.
How does this apply to you? Here’s the truth: If you want to take your creative project to the next level, it’s time to give the focus on individual productivity a break and shift toward harnessing the amazing power of effective collaboration.
Remember this rule as you go forward: A team is more than just a group of individuals. Creating a cohesive team unit depends on a variety of factors that, if properly understood, can help you optimize your team selection and work habits. Here are a few facts to get you started:
1. The mere presence of others can boost your performance.
Ever wonder why so many creatives seem to enjoy working in a crowded café, surrounded by strangers? Evidence suggests that the energy of other people can act as a surrogate team, even if we’re working solo. In a 1920 experiment by social psychologist Floyd Allport, a group of people working individually at the same table performed better on a whole range of tasks even though they weren’t cooperating or competing, This is now known as the “social facilitation” effect – the way the mere presence of other people engaged in the same task as us can boost our motivation.
2. Team effectiveness depends on social sensitivity.
The ability of teams to perform well across a range of challenges is referred to as “collective intelligence,” and interestingly it is not based on the average IQ of individual team members. Rather, the collective intelligence of a team is derived from the way team members take turns during conversations – and this often correlates positively with the proportion of women in the group. Which brings us to number 3…
3. Teams perform better when they include both men and women.
A 2012 analysis of nearly 2,400 international companies found that those with at least one woman on their boards tended to be the strongest performers, and the benefits were especially apparent in tougher operating conditions. According to a 2011 experiment by European researchers, the optimum gender balance is 50-50.
4. A good team needs a balance of extroverts and introverts.
Our culture tends to idolize the extrovert, but evidence suggests that the perceived value of introverts in a team setting increases as time goes on, whereas the perceived value of extroverts actually falls – as demonstrated in a recent study by UCLA. While extroverts tend to grab our attention and introverts tend to take longer to showcase their abilities, often it is a balance of complementary personalities that makes for the most effective mix.
The Grand Takeaway? The best teams are built from diverse perspectives and abilities. When creating your dream team, seek out people with different specialties, personalities, and problem-solving styles. If there is friction, don’t give up; instead, train them in better communication.
If you’re building a team to move your best projects forward, remember that the music to making it all work is your mentor. A powerful mentor should be an ally who sees your vision, a leader who brings the very best people and advisors, and a clear picture of how to get from starting point to end game. If you’re looking for that, I’d love to have a conversation with you.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
PS: The right mentor will also have the right CONNECTIONS to move any effort forward. Be sure to ask who they think they can bring to the table around advisorship, possible collaboration and even funding.
The Who What Where When & Why of Startups
Essentially, startups form because a group of rebels are fueled to the brim by enthusiasm, innovation and passion about their ideas and products. Sadly, those assets are not enough though. Without the resources, infrastructure, and / or the knowledge to develop it on their own, it’s very likely to go supernova before it ever develops a comfortable orbit. Mentoring is a core part of running a successful startup.
Too many startups are unable to move from the ‘pitch’ phase into the ‘construction’ phase and are lost as a result. Having a reliable sounding board to provide practical advice is one way to be smart about the startup process. In fact, many statistics show that startups with mentors are 90% more likely to succeed. The secret sauce, of course, is to find a mentor with the right expertise in your vertical, the bench strength in management and the powerful connections and relationships to accelerate the success. Expertise from a seasoned veteran can make all the difference.
Successful startup mentors start at the bottom with the companies and are strongly integrated into the vision and process. It’s natural to want to create your own spin on the product or add outside value from the get-go, but everyone on the team has to fully understand the project in its most basic form before moving forward. If they see the vision and the possibilities, the right mentor could come in at any time.
Every product is designed to address a problem, so you’ll need a deep understanding of both the cause, or problem, and effect, or product. With broad understanding and a level head, a mentor may have to deliver some harsh news, but it’s always for the good of the cause. As a mentor, it’s not your pride and joy on the line, it’s someone else’s success – their baby. So while any criticism must be delivered tactfully, it’s also important to remember that the project needs your guiding voice, no matter which direction it leads
Entrepreneurs and mentors have to create a solid bond and trusting connection if their relationship is going to thrive for the success of the endeavor. The mentor has to be knowledgeable, rational, and tactful – and the entrepreneur has to be willing to be mentored – to NOT have all the answers. Passion and drive only go so far when starting a business, and in order to learn from a trusted coach and successfully implement the ideas and changes discussed, the startup needs to be flexible and accept the information that’s given. Getting a business of the ground is difficult, but with hard work, positive thinking, and reliable advice from the right mentor, it is definitely possible – and far more probable than going it alone.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
PS, The right mentor will also have the right CONNECTIONS to move any effort forward. Be sure to ask who they think they can bring to the table around advisorship, possible collaboration and even funding.
John Amaral
4 Steps to Ace an Early-Adopter Culture
In this era of rapid innovation, a new technological breakthrough can shake an entire industry in an afternoon, and consumers are hungry for the most advanced gadgets available. Businesses are constantly expected to be at the forefront of emerging technology.
When Corning’s “A Day Made of Glass” video series went viral in 2011, the company leaped in the spotlight. In the process, consumers and businesses alike found themselves considering the company’s role as an innovator in specialty-glass technology for a wide range of uses.
For consumers, the roles of early adopter and a thought leader often become intertwined. Customers tend to gravitate toward companies that can speak credibly about new technologies and apply them to product development and business processes.
Related: Why Every Employee Needs to Be Part of Your Tech Team
Being at the forefront of emerging trends will make your business more sought after by the media as an authority within your industry sector and your staff will be viewed as capable of speaking with intelligence about the latest developments’ impact on your niche or sector.
But being an early adopter doesn’t come naturally to every business — nor can it be achieved overnight. Creating a culture of early adoption and keeping your business ahead of the curve requires a change in mindset at the leadership level. To grow a thriving business on the bleeding edge, savvy leaders would be wise to take some of the following steps:
1. Make the latest tools available to employees. Having the latest gadgets available for staffers to play with encourages a culture of innovation, experimentation and evangelism. It gets employees thinking about how new technology can be used and it encourages a cross-pollination of ideas. For example, when Google Glass was released, forward-thinking businesses made the product available for their employees to try and discuss.
Related: How to Motivate Creative Employees
2. Encourage team members to engage with new technologies. For its own part, Google requires its employees to take days off to simply experiment with the latest technologies and test ideas. Ensure that your employees engage with the latest from Silicon Valley by asking them to take an hour from their workday to acclimate themselves with a gadget or tool. Or have an employee do a presentation summarizing the applications of a new device so your team can focus on its possible impact on your industry.
3. Create incentives and reward innovators. Give your employees a reason to keep up with tech news and drive innovation by rewarding those who do so. Grant the employee who discovered and implemented a new task-management platform a paid day off. Reward the staffer who forwarded the latest news to the rest of your team with a free lunch.
4. Lead with an early-adopter spirit. Cultivate a company mindset of curiosity by being a leader who embraces change and risk in the name of progress and cutting-edge disruption. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz revealed his hunger for innovation when he invested $25 million in Square — a startup few knew about at the time. What seemed like a risky and questionable move to some ultimately paid off. Through collaboration with Square, Starbucks now accepts mobile payments globally, paving the way for other companies hopting to implement mobile-payment systems in their operations.
The pace of technological change is faster than ever before and businesses that wait too long to embrace innovation can easily be deemed irrelevant by consumers. Instead, infuse the early-adopter mindset throughout your company’s culture — and you may well end up being celebrated as a forward-thinking visionary within your industry.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, President, CEO of the All Access Group, LLC
PS: Subscribe to my FREE All Access Group Newsletter https://bit.ly/AAGNewletter
Chris Dotson
4 Tech Dinosaurs That Will Finally Die in 2015
In recent years, technology has changed the way we view work, entertainment, media, and even our workout habits. While most people are focused on what’s next for wearables, cloud computing, and syncing gadgets, few have taken the time to consider the tech we’re going to be sending into retirement in the coming years.
Here are the tech trends that are coming to an end in 2015.
1. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
With cable-cutters everywhere, cable and satellite providers across the country are scrambling to lock consumers into their tiered contracts. Millennials, however, aren’t as attached to their TV sets as older generations. Netflix, Hulu, Apple, and Amazon already provide great streaming options, while cable favorites like HBO and ESPN are moving to mobile devices.
By 2015, content providers will have much more control than cable companies. Cable companies won’t go down without a fight, though — the majority of them also provide digital cable, DVR, and Internet services. However, with lightning-fast Google Fiber expanding into more major cities, it’s only a matter of time before these services will need an upgrade, too.
2. Home Entertainment Is Entering a New Dimension
Your television set won’t end up a nostalgic antique like your grandfather’s eight-track cassette player, but the TV industry is upping the ante in the age of high definition.
- While Nintendo focuses on integrating its content into mobile platforms, Sony and Microsoft are pushing forward with ways of integrating their gaming consoles into your entire home, allowing for interactive entertainment options we’ve never seen before.
- Glasses-free 3D and curved screens are changing the way studios create and release both theatrical and home content.
- Set-top boxes and streaming options by Apple, Google, and Roku even further blur the line between our TVs and computers. By 2015, there will be little (if any) difference between your television set, mobile phone, and computer as cloud computing creates a seamless web experience.
3. Call Somebody Who Cares
Millennials have come of age with cell phones. Gone are the days when you couldn’t get reception unless you were directly underneath a cell tower. These days, landlines are used strictly for emergencies such as Hurricane Sandy, and most are Internet-based VoIP services.
The days of Ma Bell and her Baby Bells are a distant memory, as those former communications giants struggle to maintain the outdated infrastructure of their phone lines. Cell phones are as likely to drop a call as a landline, and less than 10 percent of households in the country have only a landline phone. As current generations age, landline telephones will disappear altogether.
4. Goodbye, Gutenberg
When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, the machine made it possible to put magazines on every shelf, books on every desk, newspapers on every porch, and Bibles in every hotel nightstand.
We all know the newspaper and magazine industries are struggling, but 2014 looks to be the year when we drive the final nail in the coffin and bury these struggling industries for good. After J.K. Rowling authorized the release of the Harry Potter series on Amazon’s Kindle, the publishing industry essentially crumbled. Major magazines and newspapers started shutting down, and the only holdouts seemed to be textbook publishers.
Apple took this market by convincing McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to create iBook textbooks to integrate the iPad into schools, while Dynamic Books allows instructors to create customized textbook content for their SMART Boards.
It’s not just books, either. The whole world has gone paperless. Your tablet and smartphone allow you to travel without a boarding pass, publish your own e-books, attend concerts without a ticket, and even pay without cash, a credit card, or coupons. Gutenberg must be rolling over in his grave.
Much like video killed the radio star, the Internet is demolishing them both. Every innovation we come up with disrupts another. Nobody knows where we’ll be in 2015, but I’m sure we’ll have our smartphones in hand, ready to check in on Foursquare to prove it.
A highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach, and author, Kelli Richards is the CEO of The All Access Group. She and her team facilitate strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies in order to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences. Kelli is also the author of the bestselling e-book, “The Magic & Moxie of Apple — An Insider’s View.”
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, President, CEO of the All Access Group, LLC
PS: Subscribe to my FREE All Access Group Newsletter https://bit.ly/AAGNewletter
4 Steps to Ace an Early-Adopter Culture
March 12, 2014,
Entrepreneur
In this era of rapid innovation, a new technological breakthrough can shake an entire industry in an afternoon, and consumers are hungry for the most advanced gadgets available. Businesses are constantly expected to be at the forefront of emerging technology.
Read the entire article here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/4-steps-to-ace-an-early-adopter-culture/232132
How to Vet a Crowded Industry for Hidden Innovation Opportunities
Few people look at a thermostat and think, “Now there’s an exciting business opportunity!”
As a device, it’s a boring commodity — a relic of a stagnant, saturated market. So why did the co-founders of Nest decide to build a multimillion-dollar company around the reinvention of the thermostat?
Where others saw an industry that offered no room for new ideas, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers saw potential. Most of the 10 million thermostats sold every year throughout the U.S. were clunky, inefficient, and impossible to program, but a simple, Wi-Fi-enabled device that could be programmed via a smartphone — that could be a game changer. Fadell and Rogers saw this opportunity, left their jobs at Apple, and got to work.
Within just three years of unveiling the Nest Learning Thermostat, the company has reduced energy usage across the U.S. and Canada by at least 225 million kilowatt-hours. They’ve saved consumers more than $29 million in heating and cooling bills. And earlier this year, Google bought Nest for $3.2 billion in cash.
What gave Fadell and Rogers the confidence to dive into an overcrowded market? They saw room for innovation. Here’s how you can see through the crowd to the opportunity.
How to Vet a Crowded Industry
When a market has a reputation of being fully saturated or crowded, many potential entrants will steer clear without a second thought. But popular perception isn’t always reality. Though it may not be immediately obvious, there’s often room for innovation and more than one player in the most stagnant of industries.
If you’ve got an idea that you think could disrupt a crowded market, it’s critical that you vet the industry before launching.
Do your homework. Who are the key players in the industry? What are their strengths and weaknesses? A comprehensive understanding of the competitive landscape is vital for determining your strategy.
Clarify your value-add. What makes your idea different? Are you cheaper, faster, better, or more innovative than everyone else? You can’t survive in a saturated industry without clearly being different and better.
Know your customer.Are consumers satisfied with the current market? If your product or idea can effectively address unmet needs and pain points, you’ll be able to capture significant market share.
Position yourself as a trailblazer. People aren’t expecting innovation in a stagnant market. Find the gap by researching industry trends, then stake a bold claim as the “next big thing.”
Prepare for scale.When you unveil a great idea on a commodity market, you have to be ready to handle a sudden wave of demand. Had Nest not been able to keep up with the brisk pace of adoption, the company would have tanked. They were prepared, though, and rode the wave all the way to a multibillion-dollar acquisition in a relatively short period of time based on mass adoption by consumers.
Surviving the Changes in Your Industry
Once you’ve made the leap into the market, you need to be proactive to survive your industry’s lifecycle changes. Achieve the following, and you’ll not only keep your head above water — you’ll thrive.
- Stay up to speed on the latest trends and technologies. That way, you can remain nimble and capable of edging out competitors.
- Get the word out. Make sure customers know about you — and know that your solution is superior.
- Make sure you offer the best possible customer experience. You’ll garner loyalty and brand equity, and you’ll reduce the churn factor.
- Optimize key elements: pricing, service, process, and customer satisfaction. Piece these components together in a way that tells a compelling brand story to attract your target audience.
- Always strive to stand out from the crowd through your marketing, products, and customer experience. When you delight your customers, they’ll become brand advocates and stay with you in the long run.
A Matter of Perception
When an industry undergoes a fundamental transformation, many people wrongly assume it’s vanishing forever.
Consider the entertainment industry, for example. Just 15 years ago, film studios, record labels, and media distributors believed that file-sharing technology would ruin their entire livelihood. Those who were stuck in their ways wanted to put an end to the technology.
Savvy, forward-thinking tech entrepreneurs, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to pioneer change. While everyone else was lamenting the death of entertainment, they harnessed the disruptive power of technology to meet market needs.
Now, decision makers in the industry are embracing next-generation distribution technology because it enables them to reach global audiences and create new revenue streams.
It takes a keen eye and a great idea to capitalize on lifecycle changes in a crowded market. The risks, however, are often a matter of perception. By seeing potential where others don’t, you can access a world of opportunity and profits.
A highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach, and author, Kelli Richards is the CEO of The All Access Group. She and her team facilitate strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies in order to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences. Kelli is also the author of the bestselling e-book, “The Magic & Moxie of Apple — An Insider’s View.”
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, President, CEO of the All Access Group, LLC
PS: Subscribe to my FREE All Access Group Newsletter https://bit.ly/AAGNewletter
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Kelli Richards Hosts a VIP Breakfast at the Bandwidth Music | Technology Conference
On Tuesday, August 16th, at 8am, industry thought-leaders, Kelli Richards, CEO of the All Access Group, will host an intimate breakfast and discussion to kick off day two of the annual Bandwidth Music | Technology Conference. The focus of this “breakfast club” will be Kelli Richards’ newest eBook “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry.” VIP Breakfast and a printed copy of the eBook (valued at $37) will be available to the first 20 people who respond. Please RVSP to reserve your VIP seat at the event. sandy@allaccessgroup.com
The Bandwidth Music | Technology Conference is for music and technology professionals and focuses on the evolving musical experience. Topics focus on marketing, fan behavior, trends and future forecasts, and an examination of the ways people discover, purchase, interact with, and are exposed to music.
Please RVSP to reserve your VIP seat at the event. sandy@allaccessgroup.com
Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry
After 25+ years in the digital space, it’s hard to ignore that the music industry has turned into a very complicated space — and believe me, marketing was NEVER easy to begin with.
My new eBook, Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry, is an insider’s view on how it all comes together. It raises the bar and demystifies social media marketing, helping musicians, agents and anyone in our industry THRIVE – it empowers and transforms the marketing mindset.
Featuring TEN top social networks for musicians, this eBook maximizes your social media to build (and keep) your audience. It holds the key to eMail Marketing, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and several hot secrets in Social Media. (It even covers how to port your MySpace contents to Facebook Music.) For $37 this is easily the million dollar choice.
Go to https://allaccessgroup.com/products/taking-the-crowd-to-the-cloud to get your copy and find out more.
To your success!
Kelli Richards,
CEO of All Access Group
Is Mobile Advertising Over Before it Began? One or Two Standouts Still in the Game
Unlike social media marketing, social advertising seems to be taking a big hit from the never-ending recession we find ourselves in as a nation. I say this because it seems that the newest golden egg in advertising, Mobile, had hit a new low before it ever reached any kind of high. And if you look deeper, what it’s really indicative of is click based marketing overall.
It’s been interesting to watch mobile marketing come to life. I worked in this space with Virgin Mobile several years ago; and at that point it was more of an evangelism exercise trying to educate major brands and media companies about what this was all about. Now it’s an evangelism to get them to stay the course and build an audience.
How does this all play out in the new digital age, if audiences and ROI aren’t born overnight? With 56% of Fortune 500 marketers dissatisfied with or simply not using click-based mobile advertising, it’s possible that only a few strong companies will be able to ride the wave, approach smaller marketing businesses, provide a good service at the right price, and hang in there until the economy turns.
One of the few standouts who seem to be weathering the storm and getting it right is Augme Technologies. Augme has created what they call the “AD LIFE™ Ad Network” to help marketers engage with their best consumers. Basically, by using sophisticated targeting options, Augme reaches 100+ million unique visitors (and 9+ billion impressions) each month. It’s the targeting that makes this unique and successful, with options that range from region to behavior to platform and device, as well as a huge array of demographic combinations.
If you follow the old-adage that the best customer is one you already have, then the mobile marketing industry should first be able to count on repeat business from established clients before creating a trajectory of higher profits. In this case, it doesn’t look like that will happen, not at the present time anyway. But having an example of a company that’s navigating these new waters successfully does give some hope.
With Smartphones taking over the mobile industry at a phenomenal rate, the mobile advertising world should look like a wide open field of opportunity, but right now, the numbers just don’t support this. A recent survey showed that although 93% of marketers would move further into mobile ad spending – 43% of that group cites a low return on investment as a block to continuing with the platform.
Another statistic worth mentioning is that the most effective mobile ad campaigns were email based, where consumers had signed up and chosen to participate. Just a note, this is something that social media marketers have known for over a decade.
“Signup ads are native to mobile advertising,” said Zephrin Lasker, CEO and co-founder, Pontiflex, one of the largest players in the mobile ad field. “People have a new sense of control and meaningful experiences with brands.”
In the end, this forum also demands a new level of creativity, collaboration and UE, user experience. If Angry Birds can become a phrase and experience that 78% of mobile phone users know and have participated with, then Angry Birds who drink Dr. Pepper makes perfect sense.
Kelli Richards, CEO of All Access Group
For more information on Social Media Marketing, especially in how it affects the Music Industry, grab a copy of my new eBook: “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry.”
The music industry has turned into a very complicated space, and marketing was NEVER easy to begin with. Written by industry insider, Kelli Richards, “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry” raises the bar and demystifies social media marketing, helping musicians, agents and anyone in our industry to THRIVE – it empowers and transforms the marketing mindset. Featuring TEN top social networks for musicians, this eBook maximizes your social media to build (and keep) your audience. It holds the key to eMail Marketing, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and several hot secrets in Social Media. (It even covers how to port your MySpace contents to Facebook Music.) For $37 this is easily the million dollar choice.
Tech + Media – The Honeymoon Between GoogleTV and Logitech Ends, but the Marriage Continues
The marriage of tech and media is definitely a rocky one at times, and Web TV is no exception. Despite all promises, like all relationships, things are always evolving – and sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t. The latest tech / media couple in trouble appears to be Logitech and Google. With the rocky start to Google TV, Logitech is also hung up in every way possible. Why? They supply the tech end of GTV with the Revue Google TV set-top box.
Google TV is a pretty cool product – and quite possibly the future of ALL TV – or at least a glimpse of it, providing access to live TV, on-demand programming, recorded shows, pay TV, online video clips and, of course, the web.
Will Web TV replace regular TV any time soon? Probably not. But don’t count Google (or Logitech) out of the running. Someone’s going to nab the real estate on Web TV, and for their part, Logitech is willing to continue the union. In fact, they’re lowering the price to make the hardware accessible to almost anybody.
Losing the market share before one is really created is obviously not an outcome that Logitech will go for. In fact Logitech’s Chairman, Guerrino De Luca, was quoted this week as saying: “There was a significant gap between our price and the value perceived by the consumer.”
Right now, market share is the moral of the story for both the data and the technology side of the equation. Any day now Google TV should be accessible by Android, and with 130 million Androids out there, that is a big deal. In order to not lose face until then, Logitech has chosen to bite the revenue bullet and get more customers. That means a lower price in order to boost the real estate for Google.
It’s hard to imagine Apple or Sony supporting the digital music industry by lowering the price of hardware to encourage market participation, but if this is an indication of what might work, then Blu-Ray may actually still stand a chance.
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group
Spotify ….Finally
Well, after all this time, what’s left to be said??? Except let’s give credit to the artist. Tallulah by Tobias Norberg
Social Media Wars – How Wide Do We Open the Kimono? Google+, Facebook, Etc.
By now, you may have heard the name Michael Lee Johnson. He’s a young web developer who recently tried to promote his presence on Google+ by taking out a Facebook Ad. What’s wrong with that? According to Facebook’s terms of service, only everything. And while I don’t agree with Facebook, simply because of my personal and professional stand on Gerd Leonhard’s Friction vs. Fiction, they are, of course, simply protecting their market share.
It is very easy to see why they don’t want to do battle with megalith Google over anything more than ad sales. One has to wonder, however, where the users come into play. Although diligently trying to evolve every single day, there’s absolutely NO guarantee that Facebook will not become the MySpace of tomorrow. (Meaning that they become a great neighborhood that nobody lives in or even visits any more – sort of the Three-Mile Island of Social Networks.) Simply building walls and creating friction will not protect them.
This isn’t the only example of what I might call “random” censorship either. Meetup.com is notorious for ripping down local Meetup Groups that don’t fit their user terms (which change at will if you’re of a certain political slant). The bottom line is that social networks are NOT democracies. They are autocracies, and your participation is permitted and censored, at will, by the owner of the club.
So where does this leave Google+ ??? Growing. By leaps and bounds in my estimation. Why? Because it addresses all of the issues Facebook created – over exposure, brand and personal comingling, general insanity and finally, the issue of demographic. (And right now, it’s a hotbed for techies.)
As I addressed in my recent Social Media eBook, the problem with ANY network is that you can only reach THAT network’s users. So while you can break demographics out further, you can only operate within the umbrella of users actually ON Facebook, for example. Who are THEY? Mostly, on Facebook at least, they’re people with free time. Yes, I have a ton of “friends” on my Facebook Page, and I value them! But I think Google+ and it’s Circles concept will provide a segregation which will eliminate having multiple Pages, Profiles, Groups, etc., etc. that ALL have to be updated.
Another service worth watching which addresses this, on the opposite side of the spectrum (the personal side), is Proust.com. Proust is a social network designed to connect MORE intimately than Facebook (as if that were possible), by connecting close family members and allowing them to commemorate events and share life stories. With the boom in genealogy that’s been created by the digital revolution, this is an idea that just might take off.
Final thoughts: We have seen some extreme reverberations to the social media age (which is a subset in itself of the digital age). Facebook overtaking MySpace (almost to annihilation) is only one example. There will be a backlash to the autocracy though, you can guarantee it. Because the internet may be a place of freedom – but social networks are NOT. A good example of this backlash is hacker group Anonymous. Even THEY are starting a social network (called “the Revolution”). Their platform? No censorship. This might seem to lean toward the shadow side of things we might all like to avoid … but in reality, is it the Michael Lee Johnson’s of the world and a simple Google+ banner ad that we protect? A question well worth consideration, at least.
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group
3 Best Practices for Working with a Coach
#1. Find the RIGHT Coach.
This is an easy task to throw out there and probably one of the toughest decisions we can make at any given time. The notion that the right teacher will show up at the right time in our lives is only partly true. We have to actively participate in our search with a clear picture of what we want in order to attract the right people, no matter what role they are to play in our lives – and also to be open to them when they appear. Having a crystal clear image of what you need in a coach – what their area of expertise is, how they resonate with who you are & your vision, and how they work with their clients are all vital ingredients in your process. And while it’s important to check references or take referrals from colleagues you trust or leaders in your arena, don’t underestimate your gut when it comes to this one. If your best instincts are that someone is right – or wrong – for you, that’s a really important part of your personal, internal guidance system and should not to be aside. The right coaching relationship can be hugely impactful.
#2. Set your Goals about the Coaching Process.
Once you’re working with the right coach, be sure to be as transparent with them about what you WANT from the process as possible. Here are the ABCs to remember:
*Absolutely define your most important work and inspirations that you’ve created so far, so your coach can know who you are, and what your value system is
*Benchmarks and clear objectives should be defined as early as possible so you both have a clear path toward your goals, and finally
*Create a set of priorities that will clarify and focus your efforts and maximize your coaching time together.
#3. What would it take to become fearless?
Nobody goes into coaching because they want to stand still. Once you’ve set your goals, ultimately you’ll want to define — and then BECOME fearless about reaching them. Fearless people not only live amazing lives and achieve great heights; fearless people take on projects that the rest of us would run from. They challenge the status quo and create change. One of the key goals of working with a coach is to define that deepest desire or goal you have and then to outline a plan that either rises above or sidesteps the roadblocks and fears that get in your way. And once you’ve done all of that, one of the most important questions to ask yourself is, What would it take to become fearless about this project, right now?
Here are my personal coaching manifestations and intentions for each of you. Feel free to use this as an affirmative dialogue to have with yourself as you set about to find the right coach for your life and work, right now. If you’d like to inquire about working with me, personally, please visit my page on Coaching under Services on my web site at www.allaccessgroup.com or simply reach out to me directly at info@AllAccessGroup.com
You will have balance in your life. You will manage your time and energies so that you run your business, your projects, and your life without selling out or losing your way. You will discover the Power of Affiliation and Collaboration. You will step outside your comfort zone and take on projects that you once considered impossible. You will get past limiting beliefs, states of mind and behaviors that have been holding you back. You will feel true satisfaction and fulfillment that will spill over into all areas of your life. You will create a momentum for your work and life that is unstoppable. You will have more balance and energy.
An Intimate “Fireside Chat” with Million-Dollar Coach and Author, Alan Cohen
This is an excerpt of Kelli’s Q&A with Million-Dollar Coach and Author, 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 a work/life balance. He is also 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.
His work has been featured on Oprah.com and in USA Today and The Washington Post. Alan’s radio program Get Real is broadcast weekly on Hay House Radio, and his monthly column From the Heart is featured in magazines internationally. (To hear this entire interview, please visit the Resources Page on my Website.)
Kelli: Welcome Alan! Talk to us, if you will, about All About U., which has been described as a university without walls, dedicated to higher learning for the higher self.
Alan Cohen: It’s a course that I’ve developed for people who would like to grow from the inside out. It’s an online course with personal coaching and teleseminars that invites people to look within to tell the truth about where their passion is and where their vision is and what would make their life worth living and what would make you want to get up every morning and want to go to work. It’s really very intensive and yet very gentle and loving course that calls people to step into their own shoes and walk in their own magnificence. It’s a lofty goal, but I wouldn’t settle for anything less.
Kelli: Alan, Let’s talk about that work and how you support other coaches to clarify their purpose, their goals, and their direction and niche.
Alan Cohen: I love coaching because it’s a really fast way to make progress. When I work with coaches, I find that each one has a unique passion, talent, interest and vision. Half of the game of becoming a coach is telling the truth and getting in touch with where your unique path lives… for you, you’re an expert and master in connecting people and in the media – nobody else does that like you. We have another guy in one program, who has had difficulty with bipolar, so he focuses on coaching bipolar people. There are people focused on relationships. The process of becoming a coach is the same as being coached, you have to find that sweet spot of where your joy and your passion live, and after that, doors begin to open.
Kelli: For coaches, finding the right clients and marketing effectively is always a priority. Could you give one or two insights on how coaches attract clients who are in alignment with their vision, skill, and interests?
Alan Cohen: Well, the first step is being very clear on the clientele you desire. You can always tell what you believe by what you’re getting. So if people either aren’t getting clients or are getting clients who don’t want to pay or are getting clients they don’t like or who don’t show up, it usually points to a call for clarity on your own vision. That’s why I work with coaches so intensively to be very clear on who do you want to coach.
To learn more about Alan Cohen and his upcoming programs, including his “How Good Can it Get Seminar” and “Life Coach Training – Better Your Life by Helping Others Better Theirs,” offered in September, 2011, visit his website at https://www.alancohen.com/programs/programs.php
Facebook + Skype = Hyper-Connectivity …. Or Virtual Un-Reality?
What does it mean that Facebook has partnered with Skype to offer video calling? Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has focused on the “social infrastructure” that’s been created by the Facebook team (and other social networks) and the Orwellian openness that’s become our lives (which he calls sharing). Is he right? Is he wrong?
In my recent interview with Jason Benlevi, the author of “Too Much Magic, Pulling the Plug on the Cult of Tech” I asked the author about his book, and the pros and cons of what has become new normal.
“Too Much Magic is the story of how venture capital, media moguls and marketeers use digital magic to distract us, invade our privacy, corrupt democracy, distort our human values, and sell us things that we don’t need. It looks at all aspects of our emerging digital lifestyle, how it is changing us, and who it is that really benefits.” Zuckerberg has a completely different view, of course. “Sharing is growing at a fast exponential rate — twice the amount of stuff the world would have shared this day a year ago.”
So how does Skype fit into this equation? With over 750 million users a day, Facebook seeks to maximize its “free” network’s reach, building more and more features to offer it’s users, who are every moment sharing and actively using Facebook more often than their cell phones at this rate. So video chat seems like the perfect next step. Not only will users be able to participate in live video chat – but they’ll also be able to join group chats.
“A few months ago, we started working with Skype to bring video calling to Facebook,” said Phillip Su, a Facebook engineer working on the video calling team, in a post to Facebook’s official blog. “We built it right into chat, so all your conversations start from the same place.
So is new normal reaching even more connectivity – or dividing us further and further, replacing real life with virtual life more and more? Are we taking the Crowd to the Cloud — or are we in danger of just drifting away? For thought leaders in the digital space, this is definitely a marriage (um, merger) to watch closely.
Kelli Richards
CEO of The All Access Group
You can sign up for an advance copy of my ebook, “Take the Crowd to the Cloud,” at https://allaccessgroup.com/services/ (just click ebooks when you get the confirmation).
Data is the new Oil – By My Colleague, Media Futurist, Gerd Leonhard
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Kelli is “In the Hot Seat”
“In The Hot Seat” with Larry LeBlanc for CelebrityAccess. “In the Hot Seat” profiles entertainment leaders from around the world in a Q&A form. It was very exciting, and AAG invites you to click over and read the interview today!
This week In the Hot Seat with Larry LeBlanc: Kelli Richards, CEO and president, The All Access Group.
Today, as president and CEO of The All Access Group based in Cupertino, California in the heart of Silicon Valley and host of All Access Radio, Richards strives to create alliances between large content and technology companies, major artists, and consumer brands.
Richards guides her clients through the maze of leading-edge technologies and connections in order to get their products to more people. According to this savvy, fast-talking entrepreneur, her focus is on “strategic rainmaking, and creating opportunities between innovative technologies for digital distribution, and branded entertainment content.”
Digital Music East, Justin Timberlake, MySpace TV, and Where it’s All Headed
MySpace TV will still encompass the site’s library of 42 million songs and 100,000 music videos, and it will enable instant communication and huge search-ability around them between friends.
Who knows where MySpace TV will go from there? “As the plot of your favorite drama unfolds the joke of your favorite SNL character plays or even the last-second shot of your favorite team swishes the net, we’re giving you the opportunity to connect your friends to your moments as they’re actually occurring. This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions, the television,” said Timberlake.
Thousand-Mile View of Life
One of my highlights for 2011 was a thousand-mile-high ride on a Zeppelin. Yes, one of those huge dirigibles that float over concerts and sporting events. Riding in a Zeppelin is a rare opportunity – in fact, there are only two airships in circulation for passengers – one in Germany and one in Silicon Valley. Rumor has it that the reason there was a free seat for me was because Mark Zuckerberg’s sister backed out at the last moment. I literally had only moments to make the decision and clear my calendar (no easy feat).
A Fireside Chat with Jack Buser, Director of PlayStation Home
I recently interviewed my good friend Jack Buser on my weekly online radio show. Jack Buser is the Director of PlayStation Home, which is a 3D virtual world and social game platform on the PS3. Home recently underwent a major redesign, and we were eager to hear about the new benefits and features. PlayStation Home is filled with hundreds of games – everything from pool tables and dart boards to full-on space shooters like Novus Prime: Escalation and massive online racing games like Sodium 2: Project Velocity. With Jack Buser at the helm, Home is leading the virtual world in community based user experiences, and doing an amazing job of it!
Fankix: The New Wave in Social Entertainment
I am thrilled to share that I’m now the VP of Artists & Brands for Fankix. Fankix delivers music to fans around the world with a unique social experience, deeper interaction with musicians and first-rate authentic content at no cost.
Cool or Not Cool? Bandzoogle and it’s Cool Connection to Direct-to-Fan
I recently inteviewed Dave Cool, the “voice” of Bandzoogle. Dave Cool writes the Bandzoogles blog, well known for inspiring and supporting Bandzoogle’s #1 mission: To make Direct-to-Fan a very real accomplishment for artists and bands everywhere. You can get a complimentary digital copy of “What is INDIE?” when you sign up for Dave’s mailing list at: https://bit.ly/hs4uk6
VIP Breakfast for Apple Alumni at the Silicon Valley Capital Club, San Jose, CA
I’m thrilled to invite you to join me for a VIP Breakfast for Apple Alumni at the Silicon Valley Capital Club in San Jose, CA on Thursday, December 8th, from 7-8am. I look forward to hosting an intimate breakfast and discussion exclusively for present and former Apple employees. This 1-hour Power Breakfast is about re-connecting & networking with Apple colleagues. We will explore how to take our businesses and our lives to a whole new level of success in the next year by building on the synergy of Apple alliances. The focus of this breakfast club will be my forthcoming eBook “The Magic & Moxie of Apple: An Insider’s View”. VIP Breakfast and a copy of the eBook (valued at $37) are limited to the first 12 people who respond.
A Fantastic Freebie from Fanatic.FM
To celebrate Fanatic.FM and their great contribution to DIY brand building for artists, Fanatic.FM is offering a special bonus for Kelli’s tribe. Click here for a free subscription to The Fanatic and enter to win a 1-hour session with the Fanatic.FM social media tune-up experts. Deadline: December 5.
We did it! #1 on Amazon in Music!!!
A HUGE thank you to everyone who supported the Amazon Launch for “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry” – an eBook that raises the bar and demystifies social media marketing, helping musicians, agents and anyone in our industry to THRIVE. Not only did we spend all of last weekend at #1, as I write this, we’re STILL top ten!
Hypebot Promotes “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud”
I’ll write a separate blog about how my eBook went all the way to #1 on Amazon this weekend, but I wanted to take a moment and offer a special thanks to Bruce Houghton – a powerful voice in the music industry – who writes for HypeBot. He made an exception to his SOP to review the book, and his observations are spot on and very important to me. Because of the holiday weekend, I made the executive choice to leave the eBook at the launch price just until mid-week, giving all of the artists out there a chance to grab it (and use it!). MANY thanks to Bruce and to everyone who supported our effort to offer a hands-on, simple, DIY look at social media for the music industry. ~ Kelli Richards
11/11/11 eBook Launch! Help me hit #1 on Amazon!
Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – SOCIAL MEDIA for the Music Industry Kelli Richards’ new eBook, “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – SOCIAL MEDIA for the Music Industry,” teaches you to run your content, your revenue, your merch and your fan base ANY WAY YOU WANT TO. It’s easily the best eBook on Social Media for Musicians, ever. Today is the ONLY day you can get the book on Amazon at $3.99. https://amzn.to/eBook-Crowd This eBook raises the bar and demystifies the social media process. It will help you THRIVE in this tough economy and transform your online presence and your marketing mindset. It provides an overview of the top 10 online spaces and gives a brief look at how to maximize your social media presence to build and keep your audience – and turn them into your own personal sales force. MORE FANS! The ultimate end-game! BRAND TRANSFORMATION! (Yes, trust me, you are a brand!) MORE MONEY! That’s an easy one, more fans + more content = more sales. SIMPLE! Written in easy-to-follow language with easy-to-implement instructions. FAST! You’ll learn about 8 no cost Resources to build your brand and your fan base! STOP WORRYING! No more worrying about missing the opp for social media success. No Cost Online Business Tools and List Building Tools worth 10X’s the cost of the book. FR EE DOM! How about turning your work into a business that does not depend on a label, a manager or ANYONE. Do what you WHAT you want, WHEN you want, and WHERE you want… You can set your own hours… You can live anywhere… All you need is an internet connection… The sky is the limit. Kelli Richards’ new eBook, “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – SOCIAL MEDIA for the Music Industry,” teaches you to run your content, your revenue, your merch and your fan base ANY WAY YOU WANT TO. It’s easily the best eBook on Social Media for Musicians, ever. Today is the ONLY day you can get the book on Amazon at $3.99. https://amzn.to/eBook-Crowd.
A Digital Insider Scoffs at Townshend
As an industry insider – on way more than one level – it’s hard to take Pete Townshend’s comments as anything more than another great artist railing at the system. Look, in the end, we all have to admit that the system is broken. That’s one thing that Townshend got right in that interview. After that? Well, it’s all up for debate. But the fact that the debate was called to the floor again, that’s a good thing.
The Future of Content, by Futurist, Gerd Leonhard
Gerd Leonhard’s intent to publish this eBook via Amazon Kindle, exclusively, at this very low price, is to make these ideas and concepts as widely available as possible while still trying to be an example of what digital, paperless distribution can look like, going forward. Definitely a GREAT investment at $2.99.
The Pandora Box of Mobile – The Sky’s the Limit
If you were at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco last week, you probably heard Pandora Founder Tim Westergren share that SEVENTY PERCENT of their usage is through mobile venues. Yes. 70%. And having created a super-successful digital space for themselves, Pandora doesn’t see Spotify, iTunes, or any other competition eating their lunch any time soon.
Celebrity Wrangling.
When it comes to celebrity wrangling, helping a corporate client or event organizer secure the right celebrity to support their event or product campaign is definitely more art than science. The most important part of the process is bringing my 25 years of listening and experience to a discussion about the objectives of the client. Is it a company celebration? Is the event or campaign about supporting their employees (internal) or their brand (customers)? Is it to thank their sales team? Or perhaps an industry conference with VIPs?
Billboard.Biz – “Music-Industry Characters You Need To Follow”
In our recent one-on-one chat, thought leader Thomas Reemer shares about the application (and implication) of watermarks and how they effect digital distribution. (For those who don’t know, Thomas Reemer is the CEO of 88tc88.com – an online service that, among other things, translates western titles and artists, enabling access for Western Music to the vast Chinese mobile market.
Complimentary Access to NARM Webinar Thursday 9/22
I will be offering a 45 minute presentation with NARM this Thursday 9/22 at 1pm PST.
The team at NARM has graciously given me 15 free “seats” at the Webinar to share with my followers and colleagues. The topic will be “Taking The Crowd to The Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry,” which was the focus of my recent eBook.
An Intimate Fireside Chat with Video Music Director and Producer, Robby Starbuck
This month’s Fireside Chat is an informal Q&A with Music Video Director and Producer, Robby Starbuck. Robby Starbuck is an artist who’s willing to take huge risks to walk the walk and paint his unique voice on his own private canvas — film. He’s directed music videos for such amazing artists as: Snoop Dogg, Smashing Pumpkins, Escape The Fate, Metric The Sounds, Pierce The Veil and dozens of others and has, to date, almost 28 million views on his YouTube channel.
An Intimate Fireside Chat with Thomas Dolby and Kelli Richards
Best known for his hit, “She Blinded Me with Science,” Thomas Dolby is much more than a recording artist. In fact, he’s STILL leading the tech revolution with his interactive game, Floating City, which reacts to player contributions, eventually granting access to Thomas’ newest music. This is digital technology meeting music at its best!
The Gifts of the Digital Age – Remember 9/11
Because of the advances in digital technology, we are able to keep alive the memories of those who lost loved ones on this day, ten years ago – and even more, to broadcast those memories to our nation and to our world. They do not remain locked in a vault somewhere, for eternity, they are instead broadcast to the far corners of the universe through social media.
VIP Breakfast at Digital Music West – Redefining Social Media for the Music Industry
I’m fortunate to lead a complimentary VIP breakfast kicking off the start of Day 2. This is an informal roundtable discussion focused on my newest eBook “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry” on Friday, October 7th, from 8:00-9:00am. The VIP Breakfast includes a vibrant discussion, great company, and a printed copy of my eBook, for the first 20 people who reserve their seat by Tuesday, October 4th (to do so, contact my team at sandy@allaccessgroup.com). The breakfast will coincide with the formal Amazon publication launch of my eBook on 11/11/11.
VizLingo – The Newest Gadget for Gen Z
Yes, the tech revolution has produced an endless stream of new gizmos, gadgets and tools. Some of these are vital to our day-to-day existence, like email, and some are simply a fun and entertaining distraction (Angry Birds anyone?)…
Not long ago, entrepreneurs Todd Younggren and Azeo Fables created hatched the idea to use the latest revolution in tech, mobile, to create a new way to communicate, and VizLingo was born.
Big Brother has Landed, and his name is Foursquare
Kelli Richards, technology futurist and consultant and CEO of the All Access Group shares her thoughts about Foursqure and their recent alliance with Groupon, BuyWithMe, Zozi, Gilt City, Living Social and AT&T Interactive — as well as finance giant, American Express.
CEO of All Access Group Invited to be in Alan’s Gang
Kelli Richards, a thought leader in digital music and entertainment, and one of only a few select members of Alan Weiss’ Master Mentor Program and Thought Leadership Summit, has recently been invited to participate both Weiss’ new Summit Global Network and also in the collaborative “Alan & the Gang.”
Alan & the Gang is an online destination where both aspiring and veteran entrepreneurs and business people can access thought leaders from around the globe. Kelli Richards joins a limited group of elite international experts in both process and content who contribute their intellectual property and expertise.
Chatting with Brenden Mulligan, Founder of OneSheet, the One Stop Solution for Artists
For a long time now, artists have been asked to create profiles on all of these different services, and one problem I felt was there was that there wasn’t necessarily an easy way to weave these together. What I wanted to do was make it incredibly easy for an artist to create a maintenance free web presence, something that would take them only a few minutes to do and be totally affordable.
Legacy and Celebrity Wrangling
One of the most important aspects of my career has been creating high impact collaborations between artists, celebrities and corporations, and sometimes between artists and charities. I call this celebrity wrangling. There’s no shortage of passion in the world surrounding celebrities and musicians; in fact, it’s rare to find one that doesn’t crave the opportunity to create lasting change and global/societal impact. Connecting the right artist for the right purpose – or simply being part of event production as a talent producer for award shows & charity events involving great artist/celeb talent, well, those are definitely career high points.
Kelli Richards Hosts a VIP Breakfast at the Bandwidth Music | Technology Conference
On Tuesday, August 16th, at 8am, industry thought-leaders, Kelli Richards, CEO of the All Access Group, will host an intimate breakfast and discussion to kick off day two of the annual Bandwidth Music | Technology Conference. The focus of this “breakfast club” will be Kelli Richards’ newest eBook “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry.” VIP Breakfast and a printed copy of the eBook (valued at $37) will be available to the first 20 people who respond. Please RVSP to reserve your VIP seat at the event. sandy@allaccessgroup.com
Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry
My new eBook, Taking the Crowd to the Cloud – Social Media for the Music Industry, is an insider’s view on how it all comes together. It raises the bar and demystifies social media marketing, helping musicians, agents and anyone in our industry THRIVE – it empowers and transforms the marketing mindset.
Is Mobile Advertising Over Before it Began? One or Two Standouts Still in the Game
In the end, this forum also demands a new level of creativity, collaboration and UE, user experience. If Angry Birds can become a phrase and experience that 78% of mobile users know and have participated with, then Angry Birds who drink Dr. Pepper makes perfect sense.
Tech + Media – The Honeymoon Between GoogleTV and Logitech Ends, but the Marriage Continues
The marriage of tech and media is definitely a rocky one at times, and Web TV is no exception. The latest tech / media couple in trouble appears to be Logitech and Google. With the rocky start to Google TV, Logitech is also hung up in every way possible. Why? They supply the tech end of GTV with the Revue Google TV set-top box.
Spotify ….Finally
Spotify ….Finally. Well, after all this time, what’s left to be said??? Except let’s give credit to the artist. Tallulah by Tobias Norberg
Social Media Wars – How Wide Do We Open the Kimono? Google+, Facebook, Etc.
It is very easy to see why they don’t want to do battle with megalith Google over anything more than ad sales. One has to wonder, however, where the users come into play. Although diligently trying to evolve every single day, there’s absolutely NO guarantee that Facebook will not become the MySpace of tomorrow. (Meaning that they become a great neighborhood that nobody lives in or even visits any more – sort of the Three-Mile Island of Social Networks.) Simply building walls and creating friction will not protect them.
3 Best Practices for Working with a Coach
This is an easy task to throw out there and probably one of the toughest decisions we can make at any given time. The notion that the right teacher will show up at the right time in our lives is only partly true. We have to actively participate in our search with a clear picture of what we want in order to attract the right people, no matter what role they are to play in our lives – and also to be open to them when they appear. Having a crystal clear image of what you need in a coach – what their area of expertise is, how they resonate with who you are & your vision, and how they work with their clients are all vital ingredients in your process.
An Intimate “Fireside Chat” with Million-Dollar Coach and Author, Alan Cohen
Alan Cohen: I love coaching because it’s a really fast way to make progress. When I work with coaches, I find that each one has a unique passion, talent, interest and vision. Half of the game of becoming a coach is telling the truth and getting in touch with where your unique path lives… for you, you’re an expert and master in connecting people and in the media – nobody else does that like you.
Facebook + Skype = Hyper-Connectivity …. Or Virtual Un-Reality?
What does it mean that Facebook has partnered with Skype to offer video calling? Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has focused on the “social infrastructure” that’s been created by the Facebook team (and other social networks) and the Orwellian openness that’s become our lives (which he calls sharing). Is he right? Is he wrong?
Data is the new Oil – By My Colleague, Media Futurist, Gerd Leonhard
Data is the new Oil: paying with attention is the future of media View more presentations from Gerd Leonhard
Best Practices for the New World of Live Music
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.
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.
Connectivity – A Vision of the Future
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.
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.
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.
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 content from Myspace into Facebook under a new “Music” tab. You can check out the program here.
God Only Knows. Minefields and Memories…
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.
Karma-Chameleon. The Fast-Changing Metrics of Digital Music
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.
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.
Google’s Music Locker … All it’s Cracked up to be? Or Just Cracked?
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.”
3 Best Practices for Digital Distribution & Audience Building in an Ever Evolving Online World
Over the last decade, the shift from physical media to digital distribution is a trend explored literally in front of us every single day. From the music industry, videos and movies, to information and gaming, television and radio, there’s no aspect of the media world that has not been completely transformed.
Michael Robertson Talks about DAR.fm, MP3tunes, Amazon and the Cloud Music Industry…
Excerpt of Kelli Richards’ Q&A with Michael Robertson, the Bad Boy of the Digital Music Industry. Michael Robertson is a longtime provocateur of the music business and the founder and former CEO of MP3.com, one of the most popular Internet music sites ever. His newest startup, DAR.fm, is a centralized Web-based TiVo for radio. Users can search the programming schedules of over 600 music and talk-radio stations and schedule DAR.fm to record up to 4 hours of any broadcast.
Peter Rafelson – A New Chapter in a Long Hollywood Legacy
Growing up surrounded by Hollywood royalty, like Jack Nicholson, The Beatles and Bob Dillon, and being immersed in the renegade, independent film business of the 1960’s, Rafelson was blessed with a myriad of artistic role models. He shared this thought with me in a recent interview, “Growing up in that environment, it was very
Google kills SEO – Stay Alive with Social Media
I don’t know how many of you saw the news, but Google is changing how SEO is formulated. What? Yes, they’re tossing the algorithm out the window and writing a new recipe for how page ranking works. While some of the formula will remain as it is, a huge new piece will be based on what they’re calling a “social media grid.” What that means is if …
Join Me for a “Fireside Chat” with the Leading Minds in Tech and Digital Music / Media
Please join me each Monday evening at 5pm Pacific Time, 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 on my website as well as some personal interviews where I share about my own experiences over a twenty plus career in music and tech.
Making a Mark at Digital Hollywood Spring
I’m very excited to share with everyone that I will be moderating a panel session at Digital Hollywood Spring at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey on Wednesday May 4th. Here are the details on my panel, and some more information on the event itself.
Jeff Brandstetter – Thought Leader in Digital Music and Entertainment
Jeff Brandstetter is a digital music and entertainment lawyer with over 20 years of experience in film, TV, music, literary, new media and entertainment financing matters. He is also the co-author of the highly acclaimed book “The Music Business Explained in Plain English.” He appears frequently as a speaker and moderator on entertainment law matters and Is also the Co-Founder and CEO of IndiePlaya, a revolutionary online film distribution platform optimizing the marketing and distribution of independent films.
The Futures Agency
I was recently invited to be part of The Futures Agency by my good friend and colleague, Gerd Leonhard. For those of you who do not know, The Futures Agency is the name of Gerd’s company, but he’s also created an online industry think-tank of friends and colleagues. I’m super excited to be part of this think-tank and elite group of leaders in the digital industry.
An Interview with Dave Kusek, of the Berklee School of Music, and the Co-Author of “The Future of Music”
I recently interviewed Dave Kusek, of the Berklee School of Music, and the Co-Author of “The Future of Music.” Dave Kusek is a digital music executive and is responsible for helping to create the market for digital music as an entity. He created a hugely successful online music school berkleemusic.com for the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Berkleemusic has become the world’s largest music school teaching over 15,000 students a year globally.
Duran Duran – All You Need is Now
Highly collaborative and innovative, Duran Duran has spent thirty years fusing pop music with art, fashion and technology, bringing music videos from a marketing tool in the 80’s to one of the music industry’s most valued creative assets.
6 Ways to Build Your Brand and Grab Your Audience
In today’s world, the connection to your customer is your number one asset. The path to communicating most effectively to your “fans” literally becomes the yellow brick road. If you’re not giving your fan or client a myriad of choices through which to connect, you are missing out not only on revenues, but also on building your army of loyal brand advocates. Here are 6 best practices to implement immediately to forge a solid, long-standing relationship with your best audiences and clients.
An Intimate Q&A with Tom Silverman, CEO of Tommy Boy Entertainment
Tom Silverman, CEO of Tommy Boy Entertainment and the Force Behind the New Music Seminar Speaks with Kelli about where the Music Industry is Headed. Tom Silverman, CEO of Tommy Boy Entertainment and the Force Behind the New Music Seminar Speaks with Kelli about where the Music Industry is Headed.
Here are a few excerpts of my interview with Tom Silverman on my All Access Radio Show. To hear the entire interview, please visit my website at https://allaccessgroup.com.
Hot Stuff from Hot Caramel – Excerpts from my Interview with Irene Cara
Being able to support great artists and entrepreneurs as they break away from past successes in their lives and embark on the new is one of life’s biggest highs for me. Few performers have had the amazing success and influence of Irene Cara – I had the chance to interview Irene recently and to hear about her new group, “Hot Caramel.”
Gregg Allman – Somehow You’re Still on the Run
Gregg Allman has always been a guy who colors outside the lines, in my opinion. There’s no question that The Allman Brothers Band has serious staying power. Probably best known for “Sweet Melissa,” Allman is a bluesy, jam-band pioneer who practically invented Southern Rock. As most followers of Allman Brothers music probably know …
Remembering John Lennon – 30 Years Later
It’s honestly hard to believe that thirty years have passed since he was taken from us in a single moment’s insanity. In fact, most of the time, it’s hard to believe that John’s really gone at all. His was far more than the voice of a generation – it was often the voice of our hearts and our conscience.
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