Resources
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.
Please use code WEBINAR-15-narm when you register to get your free access to this exciting Webinar. https://netforum.avectra.com/e
***NOTE: You go through the entire registration process before you get a chance to enter your code and save the $29 fee. But it’s there, don’t worry. Hope all 15 seats get used!
Kelli Richards,
CEO of the All Access Group
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. CEO, Producer, Video and film director, Robby Starbuck is pioneering a new interpersonal relationship between music, video, artist and film. He is first an artist, but constantly raises the bar on himself as a CEO — and on the industry in which he operates.
Kelli: Let’s switch gears a little bit and talk about the industry itself. Video’s been given new life by social media, and especially through YouTube. Videos by Vevo alone were seen by almost 40% of the unique US videos last year. Do you think video will continue its new popularity after being on the decline for so long? AND if so, do you think mainstream media, like MTV, could jump back on board?
Robby Starbuck: Well there’s two answers there, I think absolutely yes, as far as video continuing its rise… if you look at the numbers and the statistics … and combine it all, it’s staggering. Now is the time when we see the most music videos ever watched in the history of television and the modern era. One thing that we have in the palm of our hands is that people are watching from third world countries, tiny cities in Africa. Do they have TV with MTV on it? I think not. But they’re watching on YouTube. As far as MTV goes, from what I know about production at MTV, I doubt there’s going to be a huge resurgence.
Kelli: Would you share, in broad strokes, what your social media campaign looks like and how you’ve used it (quite brilliantly, I might add) to embrace the fan tribe around your work?
Robby Starbuck: I really feel like such a huge part of me getting to do what I do was building a social network and a following, and my approach to it has always been wanting to know people. Still to this day you can access me any day. Some people would argue that it’s a bad thing, but I love it. I love having that connectivity with my audience. Yeah, I’m very accessible, you can contact me pretty much on any social network…. That’s been my approach, to just be me. I’ve had a lot of relationships grow just mentoring kids, where I’ve exchanged emails to try to keep them up. Kids need that. A lot of them don’t have a system or foundation to be confident. That’s what I’m trying to do, to give people something to believe in themselves about. Just loving people is what it’s about for me. Genuinely wanting to be a piece of the puzzle.
Click here to hear the entire interview…
Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
An Intimate Fireside Chat with Thomas Dolby and Kelli Richards
This week’s “Fireside Chat“ was with the Iconic ’80s electronic music and MTV pioneer, Thomas Dolby. I’m very fortunate to know Thomas personally and professionally, for almost 20 years. Best known for his hit, “She Blinded Me with Science,” Thomas Dolby is much more than a recording artist, he’s also a Producer and the Music Director for TED. 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!
Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
The Gifts of the Digital Age – Remember 9/11
Like so many, I have my own story about 9/11, one which remains especially poignant for me. I was scheduled to be on Flight 93 from Newark to San Francisco, returning from a trip to New York to see two-day concert that Michael Jackson did there to celebrate his 35th anniversary in the business. I had a terrible feeling about going to New York though — and didn’t wind up making the trip at all. I listened to that inner voice, and every day since, I feel that in some not so small way, I’m one of the lucky ones who survived.
Today’s article will be short. It reflects upon one of the most powerful testaments to the age of digital technology. 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.
https://storycorps.org/listen/stories/category/september-11/
For the past five years, StoryCorps and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum have worked to record at least one story to honor each life lost on September 11, 2001, ten years ago today. To date, families and friends have memorialized nearly 600 individual victims of the attacks through the StoryCorps interview process. When the 9/11 Memorial opened this morning, excerpts from 10 of these StoryCorps interviews will be featured at the site.
The gifts of digital technology go one step further. Gratefully, the 9/11 Memorial Guide is available through a new iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone app, which visitors to the Memorial will download before visiting the site. This app will allow visitors to search the names arrangement of the Memorial and present select StoryCorps interviews, which help illustrate the enormity of the loss on 9/11 through the personal remembrances of families who lost loved ones on that day. The app will feature StoryCorps stories from each of the nine groups of victims memorialized at the site: WorldTradeCenter(North), WorldTradeCenter(South), the Pentagon, Flight 93, Flight 77, Flight 175, Flight 11.
May the memories of those lost be preserved and shared.
Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
https://storycorps.org/listen/stories/category/september-11/
VIP Breakfast at Digital Music West – Redefining Social Media for the Music Industry
One of the best perks of being a speaker and a leader in the digital space for over two decades is that several times a year I get to take the stage at a variety of industry events and share the freshest ideas and tech advances with my peers and colleagues.
Digital Music Forum West, put together by Digital Media Wire, is a big favorite among these events. Recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top reads for digital media insiders, Digital Media Wire offers a free daily newsletter that curates the most important headlines impacting entertainment, media and digital technology. Twice a year, Ned and Tinzar Sherman, the heart and soul behind the scenes of DMW, gather some of the industry’s leading minds and put on the leading technology forum for all things music.
As the technology and issues surrounding digital music become more difficult to navigate, Digital Music Forum West (and east, in the spring) provides the stage for discourse, information and sometimes fierce disagreement. It offers great content, access to industry leaders and an introduction to fresh new faces on the music-tech scene, all gathered to socialize, share ideas, do deals and learn about digital technology and services in music.
This year, 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.
This is the second quarterly VIP breakfast I’ve put together to kick off an industry event. The first was an amazing gathering of new faces and thought leaders, led by me, at the Bandwidth Music / Tech Conference in August. It included my own social media strategist, Mary Agnes Antonopoulos, Scott Perry from Music Tipsheet (friend to all undiscovered artists), Sibley Verbeck from The Electric Sheep Company / Steam Jam, Aaron Williams from SocialSamba.com (a branded social app that fans join to interact directly with the characters they’re fans TV), and over a dozen other industry leaders.
This VIP Breakfast should be just as exciting, with Digital Media West, setting the stage with 300+ of the most influential music and digital media leaders. Some of who are close personal friends and colleagues, like industry leaders Michael Robertson, Jim Griffin and Ian Rogers, CEO of Topspin.
Ian is a rock star in the digital music world and was one of the first to define the way artists and labels promote and experience digital media. Ian built many of the earliest promotional websites for the music and film industries and prior to joining Topspin Media as their CEO in 2008 and had been GM of music at Yahoo. He was one of the first guests on my streaming radio show Monday nights, which you can hear in its entirety on my website at https://allaccessgroup.com/articles-and-resources/blog-talk-radio
To save your seat at the upcoming VIP breakfast, please email my team at sandy@allaccessgroup.com and feel free to use code DMFW25 to save 25% off the registration fee at Digital Music Forum West.
Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
https://allaccessgroup.com/articles-and-resources/events/
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. Simply put, VizLingo is a messaging tool that translates your words into video. The UI is exactly what the new generation of users demands, fun and easy! Just type, see and send. The user simply types any message into VizLingo to see each word of their message illustrated by a 1-2 second video clip. Streamed together (with subtitles at the bottom for the less creative), it’s a visual puzzle that can be sent anywhere – directly to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, mobile phones and email addresses.
If you’re thinking “I don’t get it” – that’s actually a good thing. It’s one of those subtle mechanisms that has to be experienced, like poetry for instance. VizLingo is definitely a sort of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” medium – a new form of visual poetry, if you will. It’s not only who it plays TO, but also what the “writer” puts into their work. My favorite part of VizLingo is that, soon, the creator can customize their own Lingo by uploading video clips right from a mobile phone or digital camera. It’s fun and easy, and in the hands of a user who has the time to be super creative, it could definitely go big and go viral.
VizLingo’s Global Lingo is communal, created by and for the VizLingo community, boasting tens of thousands of user-generated clips shared from all over the world. And in today’s world of “new normal” social marketing, VizLingo could be a BIG deal. In fact, I think Ford and the Hershey Chocolate company and Virgin Airlines, etc., should engage their younger clientele and create a promotion where anyone using their products in a VizLingo video and pushing it out to their own friends and fans, wins a [fill in the blank].
In the immortal words of one of my favorite ads, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” And if VizLingo finds the creative joint ventures that FourSquare embarked on when everyone first stood there saying, “I don’t get it,” well, we may end up wishing we did.
Kelli Richards,
CEO of The All Access Group, LLC
Big Brother has Landed, and his name is Foursquare
It’s hard to know just how big social media is going to get – and even harder to remember that there was once a world without an internet. We’ve all just accepted this “new normal” in our day-to-day lives – along with digital music, eBooks, iPads and a long list of other tech advances that were barely even imagined a mere thirty years ago. (Some of which I actually had the privilege to work on at their inception – like Music at Apple.)
In my recent interview with the CEO of BookBaby and CDBaby, Brian Felsen, Brian shared that 80% of people under the age of 30 have never even bought a CD. (To hear that interview, go to https://bit.ly/BrianFelsen).
So where does this go next? It’s more than viral and mobile, in my humble opinion, Social is very quickly becoming Big Brother. Take Foursquare, the king of Geolocated Social Media platforms. Foursquare made its debut in 2009, popularizing the idea of “checking in,” or using a cell phone application to tell friends that you are at a particular restaurant, bar or park. It’s definitely a cool idea – so cool that Facebook and Google developed their own geolocated check in apps. Everyone wondered if the web giants would squash Foursquare like a bug, but so far Foursquare is definitely more than holding its ground, with over 10 million registered users.
Dennis Crowley, the chief executive and one of the founders of Foursquare, attributed its continued momentum to its singular focus on location. “When people think about Facebook, they think about it as a place to send their friends messages or post updates, not necessarily as a place to check in,” he said. “We’re associated with one thing, location, and that really helps.”
Most recently, Foursquare teamed up with Groupon. Groupon is actually Foursquare’s sixth and latest daily deals partner, but by no means their last. Along with Groupon deals, app users also will be able to see deals offered by Foursquare’s five other partners: BuyWithMe, Zozi, Gilt City, Living Social and AT&T Interactive.
In June, they also created an alliance with finance giant, American Express to offer discounts to cardholders when they check in on their cell phone at certain shops and restaurants. (Although Foursquare will not be receiving any revenue from the American Express deal, it says the promotion will help legitimize the company’s approach and will help attract other, more lucrative partnerships.)
How does all of this affect the consumer? It means real-time, by-location deals will be created through users’ apps. A simpler explanation: You’ll soon walk by a Gap and get a Gap deal sent to your device, simply because geolocated Foursquare knows where you are. Yes, Big Brother is here, and we have invited him into our lives, kimono wide open and location checked in.
Kelli Richards,
CEO of All Access Group
CEO of All Access Group Invited to be in Alan’s Gang
Kelli Richards, a thought leader in digital music and entertainment, and one of only a few select members of Alan Weiss’ Master Mentor Program and Thought Leadership Summit, has recently been invited to participate both Weiss’ new Summit Global Network and also in the collaborative “Alan & the Gang.”
Alan & the Gang is an online destination where both aspiring and veteran entrepreneurs and business people can access thought leaders from around the globe. Kelli Richards joins a limited group of elite international experts in both process and content who contribute their intellectual property and expertise. Gang members are a unique group of consultants and industry thought leaders who offer forward-thinking content to one another and to the world at large, including 320 videos, 426 audios and over 60 articles. These experts are recognized leaders and experts in their fields, offering impressive track records of success to their clients. The Summit Global Network is a network of top boutique consulting and advisory firms. Members are invited only after careful criteria have been met and existing members become familiar with the quality of the candidate firm’s work and client base. Members share resources, best practices, personnel, and expertise. It’s not unusual for a firm in Australia to provide expertise to a firm in Canada, or one in Maine to one in the United Kingdom. The current membership resides in seven countries and four continents. The combined intellectual property of the member firms comprises over 70 commercially published books, a thousand published articles, and thousands of audio, video, and public speaking appearances.
Alan Weiss is an Inductee in the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame®, a Recipient of the American Press Institute Lifetime Achievement Award and the New England Institute of Management Consultants Lifetime Contribution Award, and is one of the most highly respected independent consultants in the country, according to The New York Post.
Kelli Richards is a true trailblazer in the digital music, entertainment and technology worlds with more than twenty years of senior-level leadership experience. With a unique talent for connecting innovators in technology with creative leaders in entertainment, Richards is a highly sought-after consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach and author, As the CEO of The All Access Group, Richards and her team facilitate powerful strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established artists and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences.
Prior to founding The All Access Group, Kelli served in senior roles at Fortune 100 entertainment and technology companies, including Apple Inc., where she launched Apple’s earliest focus on music and drove all music initiatives during her 10 years with the market leader. She also served in senior-level leadership capacities at EMI Music as an A&R exec, and at Silicon Graphics (SGI) where she helped launch Silicon Studio, the company’s entertainment division. She developed PatroNet, the first Internet-based artist subscription service with rocker partner Todd Rundgren in the mid-90s – and helped to launch the entire digital music revolution.
A frequent speaker and panel moderator at digital music and entertainment industry conferences globally, Kelli has also been an acclaimed talent producer of a wide range of award shows, epic concerts, and celebrity fundraiser events for over 25 years. She co-produced a celebrity fundraiser event to support the UN’s “Adopt-A-Minefield” initiative featuring Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills and hosted by Jay Leno. Additionally, she was a 20-year talent producer behind the BAMMIES, and remains a long-time talent executive and co-producer of the annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards.
***
Kelli Richards has co-authored two books, including the critically acclaimed “The Art of Digital Music: 56 Artists, Visionaries & Insiders Reveal Their Creative Secrets.” And her next book, “You Say You Want a Revolution – An Artist’s Manifesto for Success in the Digital Age,” is due out 11-11-11. A true renaissance woman, Kelli is also a Certified Integrative Life Coach trained under best-selling authors and coaches Debbie Ford and Alan Cohen. She lives in Cupertino, CA in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Chatting with Brenden Mulligan, Founder of OneSheet, the One Stop Solution for Artists
A few weeks ago, I was very fortunate to interview creative disruptor, Brenden Mulligan, the CEO of OneSheet. For those of you who don’t know, OneSheet is a completely free website which allows musicians to connect their existing social networks and services, creating a basic and graphically exciting site that includes music, videos, photos, concert dates, social streams, mailing list signups and online stores. Although it literally JUST moved out of beta, Onesheet already has more than 10,000 recording artists signed up, including major label artists like Paramore , Mat Kearny and Owl City.
OneSheet has the added feature of working with many of the most-used musician’s online services, including Tunes, Beatport, Topspin, Bandcamp, YouTube, Tumblr, Songkick, FanBridge and SoundCloud. It’s also compatible with ArtistData, a popular syndication tool for musicians to post information across the web, which was also started by founder Brenden Mulligan.
Brenden Mulligan: 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.
OneSheet isn’t only a one-stop-shop solution for artists, it’s also been very collaborative. Founder Brenden Mulligan has made many adjustments based on the feedback of artists. For instance, users can remove the Onesheet header, customize the navigation bar and rename concerts to tour, live, appearances, events or shows, etc. Most importantly, Onesheets can be assigned a custom domain name, which is a great asset in today’s world of uber branding.
Brenden Mulligan plans to add a premium paid service will add additional features and customization. “Mobile optimization is another feature we may charge for. What kind of artists use Onesheet and how they use it, will drive what we do next.”
To hear my entire interview with entrepreneur and CEO, Brenden Mulligan, go to https://bit.ly/BrendenMulligan
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. Whether for corporations who want to have a celebrity appear in an ad campaign or established artists perform at employee events or at corporate industry conferences & special events. I’ve had the chance to work on some pretty amazing projects over the years, including great global causes with a broad range of artists, celebrities, and big companies. To learn more about celebrity wrangling, please visit my website: https://allaccessgroup.com/services/celebrity-wrangling
One of my favorite charity event projects was the “Open Hearts – Clear Mines: Adopt-a-Minefield” benefit concert hosted by the United Nations featuring performances by Sir Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson, where they joined together and sang, “God Only Knows“ & “Let it Be”. The concert and the song definitely live in my mind as one of the most moving and inspiring events that I ever participated in. Unfortunately only the attendees in that room got to experience the magic of that union. Though there isn’t any video from the event to really speak of, there is a snippet of it in an Access Hollywood interview, speaking with Sir Paul and host, Jay Leno, about the event. (See below.)
Another example is when I was asked by John Chambers & his team to bring Jerry Seinfeld to Cisco to participate in a 25th anniversary employee thank-you event.
As a veteran Talent Producer and Celebrity Wrangler, it’s events like these that become knots in the thread of one’s life. I’m proud to have been a part of creating these special events and experiences that if executed well tend to leave a lasting impact.
Kelli Richards, CEO, The All Access Group, LLC
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A Tribute to John and Steve
In my newest book, The Magic and Moxie of Apple: An Insider’s View, I compared Steve Jobs and John Lennon; two iconic legends of a generation that are no longer with us today. Coincidentally, today is John’s birthday and last week marked the 1 year anniversary of Steve’s death. For that reason, I feel that it is only right for me to pay homage to two of the most inspirational men in my life.
John Lennon was a rock star in every sense of the world. He had it all; the fame, the fortune, the glory, etc but you would never guess it from his bashful demeanor on the camera. Steve Jobs was also a rock star but in a less literal sense. He attained the same iconic level of fame and fortune as Lennon, but through technology. Their success can’t be attributed to themselves alone; they both had an amazing team around them. However, both had the courage and vision to try something new and it worked.
I remember being a little girl when I was 8 years old and watching the Beatles doing a TV special (maybe it was “All You Need is Love”.) Apart from being electrified by their performance, the man behind the curtain playing with all the buttons and knobs (George Martin) lit a spark in me that set me on the career path that brought me to where I am today. As I watched Martin and the Beatles I thought to myself, “That’s what I want to do with my life,” and so I set out to make it happen. Similarly, growing up in Cupertino was the other half of my inspiration. At the time they started, no one knew how great Apple would be, but as the company started to take off I knew that working there would be a dream.
So this is my “thank you” to John & to Steve. Without these two legends, who knows if I would have ever developed personally and professionally into the person I am today. If they’re up there watching over us, I hope they know what a profoundly wonderful impact they’ve had on millions of lives.
Rdio’s New Artist Program
As someone who has built their entire career around the convergence of technology and music, nothing pains me more than to see artists ripped off by advancements in technology. Whether we’re talking about the Napster days of the early 2000s or Grooveshark today, artists continue to be undercompensated (if compensated at all) for their work. While we’ve certainly taken some great strides towards fairly discovering and obtaining music, there is still a lot of work to be done. That’s why I was delighted to learn about Rdio, an ad-free music subscription service.
Rdio was founded in 2010 by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, whom you might remember from the illegal file sharing service Kazaa which followed Napster’s demise. Similar to other services like Spotify and Rhapsody, Rdio allows users to stream an unlimited number of songs from their computer or smartphone for a monthly fee. Artists are compensated based on the number of plays their songs get per month. Unfortunately we’ve seen through these services that this model results in artists being undercompensated; often times getting fractions of a penny per play or a check for 4 dollars at the end of the month. Some artists, such as Coldplay and Adele, have kept their latest work off of subscription based streaming services because they feel it hurts album sales.
Today Rdio has announced a new program that aims to compensate artists more fairly and increase fan engagement while at the same time getting new subscribers. The Rdio Artist Program will use artists as recruiters and will compensate them $10 dollars for each subscriber they sign up. Rdio gives the artist the tools to customize their page and share their content on social media. One of my favorite features is the ability to have artists share their favorite songs and playlists that they’re listening to, a feature I always thought iTunes should have. Rdio CEO Drew Larner calls the program a “Win-win” for all parties involved.
With only about 10 million subscribers around the world, it’s hard to say whether or not this program will sink or float but a few big artists are already getting onboard such as Snoop Lion, Scissor Sisters, A-trak, and Chromeo. Could this possible be the next big thing? If it gets artists paid fairly while giving the customer a better experience, let’s hope so.
Reminder to REGISTER for TUESDAY’s Apple’s Best Practices Webinar
Tomorrow, September 25th at 2pm PST I will offer an exclusive Webinar on incorporating Apple’s 12 best practices to enhance your business, client experiences, and personal brand.
As we know, Apple is a global leader in creating an environment around achieving powerful goals, and boiling down how they became THE company to model, after experiencing one of the most well documented crashes in history, is an absolute MUST do for anyone in business today.
To hold your space at this exclusive webinar, sign up immediately at https://www.appleinsidersecrets.com
Warmly, Kelli Richards
Apple’s Laughing Straight to the Bank
As an Apple insider and alum, I always have an ear to the ground for what’s going on in their world. The past month or so for Apple has been almost as eventful as the company’s first big success back in the late 70’s – early 80’s. With a landmark legal victory over Samsung for copyright infringement, the company not only gets awarded $1.05 billion in damages (which Samsung is appealing, of course), but they will also exclusive rights over certain design and software ideas on which they own patents.
While some have slammed Apple’s case as being too broad or overzealous, the decision will surely shape the mobile software and hardware markets from this point on. For the consumer it means two things: First, Apple’s patented designs and features will most likely be cross-licensed for quite a pretty penny to competing developers and manufacturers. Second, this means that in order to competitively price their technology, companies will have to become innovative once again, rather than copy an already successful formula. So you’ll either see iPhone and iOS-esque features on high-end electronics, or innovative new designs may become the way of the future. That chapter has yet to be written.
With so much focus and attention on these two battling giants, what better time for Amazon to announce its new reader / tablet offering, the Kindle Fire. Strategically placed in the same realm as the competing iPad, Nexus, and Galaxy tablets, the Kindle Fire looks to open the floodgates of revenue for its content delivery platform. The three-way race between Apple, Amazon, and Google’s media stores appears well separated for now, but the competition is certainly heating up as the markets and technology change so rapidly. And the solid winner in ALL of this is the pro-sumer.
One would think that the competitive innovation to come from the lawsuit against Samsung, along with the introduction of the rival Kindle Fire would be cause for concern at the Apple HQ here in Cupertino, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
On September 12th, Apple announced the iPhone 5 in grandiose Apple fashion, after the project had been shrouded in secrecy for almost a year. (An issue I cover at length in my recent bestseller, “The Magic and Moxie of Apple – An Insider’s View”.) Thinner, lighter, faster, and overall cooler than its predecessor, the iPhone 4s; the iPhone 5 also boasts a number of new features, such as a new charging interface and new operating system (iOS 6).
Consumers are certainly on board for the new and improved iPhone, as evidenced by the 2 million+ pre-orders within the first 24 hours of its announcement. As a result, the cost of Apple’s stock has risen to over $700 for the first time in company history.
So while rival tech giants are out there trying to copy Apple products or create competitive alternatives in hopes of dethroning them, Apple is simply laughing it’s way straight to the bank.
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group
PS: On September 25th, I will offer an amazing webinar on the 12 Best Practices of Apple Inc. This webinar is offered at NO cost to you. I will offer it at a later date for $47 per participant, but for now, I simply want to extend this webinar and my expertise around what makes Apple the global leader it is to my own audience, colleagues and friends.
To save your seat, go tohttps://appleinsidersecrets.com/webinar.php and register.
Apple’s 12 Best Practices – Training Webinar
How would you like to learn the single most important mind-set shift you need to guarantee that your billion-dollar ideas don’t get taken by your competitors?
How important is it to you to leave a legacy that makes a huge difference in the world?
Join me on Tuesday, September 25, 2:00pm PT/5:00 pm ET. I will share a detailed, insiders view into:
- Apple’s 12 best practices to create the WOW factor that keeps your customers coming back and telling all their friends about why your product “kills” anything else on the market (my colleague Steve Jobs used every single one of these to great success)
- How to inspire your team with an emotionally compelling cause so they become world-class superstars who are completely loyal to you and your vision.
This webinar is offered at NO cost to you. I will offer it at a later date for $47 per participant, but for now, I simply want to extend this webinar and my expertise around what makes Apple the global leader it is to my own audience, colleagues and friends.
To save your seat, go to https://appleinsidersecrets.com/webinar.php and register.
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group,
Blog for Black: The Digital Agency
A few weeks ago I had the great fortune of having Matt Ramey, co-founder of Black – The Digital Agency, join me on my streaming radio show (you can find his interview, alphabetically, on my website at https://allaccessgroup.com/articles-and-resources/blog-talk-radio). Matt shared some great stories from his past, as well as some amazing insights on the music industry and his new company.
Black – The Digital Agency’s services span every aspect of digital media marketing from strategy, design, development, and everything in between. With advertising revenue for traditional media platforms on the decline, it’s no wonder that Black’s approach to digital media marketing has been met with fanfare and critical acclaim. As TV networks consolidate, newspapers go bankrupt, and radio stations get replaced, Black offers best-in-class digital media marketing solutions for the continuously blooming digital media age.
You can find out more by visiting Matt’s website at https://contactblack.com/
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
Steve Jobs on Privacy and User Experience – An Apple Best Practice
Even for me, as an Apple insider, seeing the Apple “Best Practices” in action is awe inspiring. No one can deny that one of the most amazing things about Apple is how they embrace secrecy as an asset. No entity keeps a secret better than Apple – AND the thousands and thousands of employees and alum in their tribe. Quite simply it’s part of our Apple DNA. And that idea translates far into how they work with their products, and especially, their users. For Apple Inc., user experience goes far beyond what the customer can see, feel and touch. It goes on behind the veil as well.
Steve Jobs talked about this himself when he was interviewed at the All Things D8 Conference in 2010.
“No, silicon valley is not monolithic. We’ve always had a very different view of privacy than some of our colleagues in the valley, we take privacy extremely seriously. As an example, we worry a lot about location in phones and we worry that some 14 year old is going to get stalked and something terrible is going to happen because of our phone, and so as an example, before any app can get location data we don’t make it a rule that they have to put up a panel and ask because they might not follow that rule. They call our location services, and we put up the panel saying this app wants to use your location data, is that okay with you. Every time they want to use it and we do a lot of things like that to ensure that people understand what these apps are doing. That’s one of the reasons we have the curated app store. We have rejected a lot of apps that want to take a lot of your personal data and suck it up into the cloud, a lot. So we’re really old, a lot of people in the valley think we’re very old fashioned about this and maybe we are, but we worry about stuff like this.
No, privacy means people know what they’re signing up for in plain English and repeatedly. That’s what it means. I’m an optimist, I believe people are smart and some people want to share more data than other people do – ask them. Ask them every time. Make them tell you to stop asking them if they get tired of your asking them. Let them know precisely what you’re going to do with their data.”
Just another example of behind-the-scenes USER experiences – one of the best “best practices” that Apple does differently.
If YOU would like to learn more about Apple’s best practices and how those could work in YOUR company or work, sign up at https://AppleInsiderSecrets.com and become part of my own inner circle and get all of my insider, best practice tools and event invitations.
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
Wendy Lipton-Dibner – Elite Video Mastery and Move People to Action
I was joined on this week’s edition of “All Access Radio” by author, speaker, and coach Wendy Lipton-Dibner. Wendy has done amazing work as a leader in her field. She is the president of Professional Impact Inc., which produces seminars and courses such as the wildly successful “Move People to Action for Experts and Entrepreneurs.” As an internationally recognized authority in business and personal acceleration, she brought so much knowledge and insight to the table.
Wendy and I have floated around the same circles and worked with some of the same people for years, which made talking to her an absolute treat. Right off the bat, we quickly recognized that we are “kindred spirits,” from our tastes in music, passion for working and helping with people, and drive for success. I think she and I may be among a small handful of people who knew exactly what we wanted to do when we were young, 8 year old girls. Granted, neither of us knew how that would unravel, it was great to finally talk to someone who had that same experience growing up. Not to mention, as women we both worked towards shattering stereotypes and empowering women within our respective industries.
Wendy was way ahead of her game 10 years ago when she made her first promotional video, which she says was awful even though it lead to over a million dollars in sales, and she remains ahead of her game today. Keep an eye out for more great seminars and courses from Wendy in the near future, especially her new Elite Video Mastery online course and live seminar. You can find out more about that, including free training, at https://www. EliteVideoMasteryFreeTraining.com.
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
One Thing RIGHT in the Music World: CD Baby
CD Baby is an online distributor of independent music. But they’re not just any online distributor they’re actually the largest online distributor of independent music in the world. Since their start-up in 1998 and mega distribution giant success, CD Baby has paid out over $200 million to artists. That’s not bad considering everyone else in the music industry is claiming that no one is buying music (and everyone is stealing it). One of the most interesting aspects of CD Baby is the fact that the artist, not the label or the retailer, sets the price of their albums and discounts. Perhaps that’s why there are over 300,000 artists on CD Baby today.
CD Baby’s greatness continues to shine through and impact every part of music and the music industry. By supporting artists, doing ethical business in the music industry, and helping new musicians emerge. With all that is wrong in the music industry today, it’s nice to see a company of great people doing great things.
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
EventFinda – A New Way to Find Events, Concerts, Gigs, Tours…
EventFinda is an amazing new way to market and promote events as well as purchase tickets. EventFinda goes above and beyond today’s standards for event marketing and ticketing. EventFinda distinguishes itself from the competition by not only being a place to buy and sell tickets to events but also syndicates and shares content, as well as offering a path to discover more events and interesting entertainment coming to your area. EventFinda makes the lives of everyone involved with a single event much easier; from the artist, to the promoter, to the PR teams, and ultimately, to the fans and spectators.
As something that started from a kitchen table in 2005 in New Zealand (not exactly Silicon Valley) and spread across the globe to land in the USA this year, there’s no doubt that EventFinda will continue to grow and amaze fans and entertainers alike. Sure, there will always be other websites that you can go to to buy and sell tickets, discover new music or entertainment, learn more about your favorite artist or venue; but none of them will be able to package all of that together like EventFinda.
Kelli Richards, President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC
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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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