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