What The Experts Say...

An effective business plan is a blueprint to success!  It reveals the strategy to profit and delivers a sound plan of engagement for existing and potential customers to become familiar with your product and its application to every day life.  A key component to every business plan is a product that can remedy issues that plague a targeted demographic. 

Artist and Producer, Kevin Geiger believes that there are three levels that can exist in a film company business plan: A production company, development company, and the producing company.  Geiger is known for his work on Reign of Fire, Species, and Chicken Little to name a few of his collaborations has become an instructor on the methodology on the business end of feature film. His primary focus is influence new artists and producers to be prepared when approaching a distributor, backer, or investor to have a development sales and business pitch.  Very seldom are key stakeholders sold without the foundational teams in place that will give line of sight to expense and profit opportunities. 

Chuck Blakeman provides a different perspective.  His background as a serial entrepreneur is sure to inspire discussion among some of our leading experts. He encourages new entrepreneurs to gain experience in production.  It is Blakeman’s belief that creating a business plan will shift focus away from the initial ideas developed for the product intended sold.  According to his research 97% of all projects will abandon its primary objective in order to be objective. We have witnessed several of the most powerful companies of our time expand their business to remain profitable in directions away from its original intent such as Apple, Google, Facebook and HP to name a few.

I've entertained both perspectives and believe that time in our industry requires us to be more prepared than not.  Pitch meetings are moving in innovative directions and you never know your audience.  It could be a heir, founder, or member of Shark Tank.  Preparation is key!

  

Digital Marketing and Independent Artists

Independent artists have been empowered to sit at the helm of their careers.  They now have power to influence their audience directly with no interference from their labels.  They are in charge of their own creative edge and will feel the immediate impact of their creativity at a moments notice.  Take a moment to consider this scenario.  A background singer who is a principle lead vocalist for a platinum artist decides to take his/her career to the next level.  An LP is produced and they are left with entering the market on the wind of the artist they have supported over the years.

How can they impact a market in the shadow of someone else?  Are they at a disadvantage?  Yes and No.  In an perfect world an accomplished singer would be endorsed by his peers, past influences, and current artists.  He would most like be in a bidding war with label executives because the artist development phase was successfully completed with his/her tenure as a recording artist for others.

The reality of the new artist experience is more challenging than ever.  The new artists goals must now shift from producing a marketable project to now attracting his/her own audience.  His story to labels is now interpreted via followers on social media via likes, shares, and posts before he can be considered for national distribution to retail, film and television in both national and global markets.  The challenges are apparent but the message is clear.  Independent artists want their freedom and are up for the challenge.

Indie artists are a primary source of inspiration and are not easily swayed at the carrot dangling from record labels.  They want a return on life long investments.  They are in pursuit of the American dream and will fight for the right to retain ownership of their own journey and the way it creatively manifests to the world.  Artists are mastering the social media game and using it as a primary took to digitally launch their sound to the world.

More and more we are seeing film, television, and music being authored by creatives, produced by passion, and distributed by resourceful people who enjoy entertainment.  The digital world has inspired creativity beyond the A&R selections of times past and made it an equal opportunity for all.

Good Business Components

Carlos Slim Helu is known as the Mexican Warren Buffett in business.  He started his business in what is known as one of the most impoverished countries in the world where the average annual income is nearly $14,500 per household.  He is also known as a monopolist.  He built his fortune through technology, retailing, and finance through telecommunications.  In 2010 his company was the primary wireless phone carrier for all of Latin America.

An affective business model drives Helu’s philosophy in business.  He believes in simple principles and sound practices.  He is career a reflection of strategies that are nurtured through patient bargaining and profit infused back into the company.  One critical idea that Slim advocates is to avoid investing in non-productive assets.  This philosophy is shared among most entrepreneurs that grace Forbes list. 

As entrepreneurs seek to build a successful business it is important to take on the philosophies of wealth managers across the world.  To identify the asset in business is to define value in an idea or product that will yield a return of mass proportion.   An affective business plan will describe in detail the components necessary for an asset to retain its value. 

Chuck Blakeman has an hands on approach to perfecting business.  His ideal business plan is not the written form but the actual experience. His vision is to help entrepreneurs to live well by doing good. He believes that writing a business plan takes away from the actual execution of business.  I believe that most creative entrepreneurs would agree with this philosophy.  However, I believe that the foundation of an affective business plan or model includes a winning framework that to all core to all business.

At some point the value in our business has to be people.  The work place today has robbed employees of their ability to think for themselves or contribute ideas to better the business.  The market is infused with self proclaimed geniuses instead of valuing employees as emerging stakeholders that build our business. Blakemen is an advocate with a mission to restore value back into the human resources that create global wealth. 

It is critical to take our queues from wealth managers around the world and build a sound business plan that includes sound ideals, compliant practices, and an appreciation for human resources in our business.  Our companies can be diverse, creative, and profitable as we take the lessons learned from the experiences of the generation before us.

My role as an artist manager has evolved since my first entry on this blog.  The opportunities have expanded for each artist and a few artists have made moves on their own.  Artist management is a thankless job.  What is the passion that drives an artist manager you ask?  Leadership can be identified as early as your childhood development. Artist management is a role designed for a person who is fulfilled at bringing success to others. It’s a role that requires no thanks.  When passion drives you it can lead you to success and if unbridled it can lead you down a path that leads to destruction.

The goals that were set initially were to meet all artist expectations no matter how far reaching out of my scoping or what could happen at the drop of a dime.  My goal was to secure their trust and in doing so I would secure their loyalty.  Loyalty would lead to longevity and longevity would eventually lead to appreciation.   The key to an artist manager’s success is to set goals that are tangible regardless of an emotional outcome.  

Artist managers are responsible for the safe navigation of careers.  Managers manage tasks. Most successful managers did not have prior experience with their initial clients but have gone on to achieve greatness because of past failures and financial losses.  The most valuable lessons I’ve learned has been to know when to invest, how much to invest, and knowing when your role has expired. Managers should never lose their desire to be in it regardless of past failures. 

Since staring my company I have gained a tremendous amount of confidence in my role as manager.  As a student at Full Sail University I now have the proper perspective on what it takes to be an entrepreneur.  This business requires an open mind and out of the box thinking to be a steward of multiple streams of income.  Every opportunity in this business has a goal to push you forward as a sound entrepreneur.  It may not have a favorable ending but it will be favorable to your overall growth in Entertainment.

(Photo Credit: Faith Anderson/Tenth Child Inc CEO Personal Library)

Evolution

Publishing for music and literature has changed over the course of several years.   Talent buyers are no longer recruiting large numbers of artists or writers but rather cautiously surveying talent as it evolves over time.  More and more creative individuals are charged to complete a project under strenuous circumstances that work against traditional deadlines and freedom of expression.  Artists are no longer experiencing the pursuit of record labels opening doors to multiple streams of income.  Artists must do more with less and make an exponential impact in the market before receiving the benefits of corporate investors.   

The Internet has impacted sales and kept nothing secret. The opportunity to access music unreleased and for less removed the monopoly that corporations had in music sales.  The digital access world expanded beyond corporations into the hands of every consumer with a mobile device.  The music and literary worlds were not prepared for the impact and were slow to adopt technology to support is primary asset. 

The beauty of this is that more unlikely pairs were made to support consumer interests in music.  Cellular companies have expanded data sharing options for readers and listeners of their favorite material.  Camera and Television companies have made incredible strides to create products with premium features that fit in the palm of your hand.  Artist’s who secure publishing deals now have the ability to tap into all of these markets and align themselves with brands that support their creativity.

Prior to the digital evolution artists and writers were guilty of leaving money on the table for royalties on digital sales.  Because of the adoption to technology consumers are accessing music and books primarily through smart devices made for personal use.  The numbers of Independent writers continue to grow and be exposed through digital platforms across innovations. Publishing is now available to anyone seeking to expand their message across all genres in entertainment with or without label support.