NARIP

            The National Association of Record Industry Professionals was formed in 1998 to "bring together the brightest minds and leading innovators in the global record and music industries". The NARIP is home to well over 100,000 record industry professionals in hopes that it will foster education and assistance in career advancement among music business personnel. In order to qualify for membership, you must be employed at a record label (independent or major), record distribution company, personal management or record marketing firm. NARIP headquarters is in Los Angeles but boasts 7 North American chapters and one in London.

            The National Association of Record Industry Professionals ensures its members an excellent payoff for its members. You will get up to a 50% discount (or free admission for an Executive membership) on all NARIP events which include seminars, teleseminars, brunches and the Fall Bands & Brands Summit which is an annual conference held in Los Angeles and New York. NARIP offers legal services that center on the negotiation of management, production and/or record deals. NARIP publishes member press releases, member spotlights and lucrative advertising and sponsorship opportunities. Professional and Executive members are also promoted on the association's website. Members have full access to NARIP's Job Bank, which provides employment opportunities for businesses and job seekers alike. These are only a few perks of having a NARIP membership!

            I was extremely pleased to discover that there is a wide range of recently posted NARIP jobs in my area that my Full Sail degrees could help me acquire. Being around like-minded individuals that share one common goal would help me learn more about my field, help me be the best music business professional that I can be and assist me in discovering things that would improve my field in the process. NARIP is currently in need of music production interns, licensing assistants, marketing managers, directors, publicists and so much more. With offices all over the place, I could end up in Canada or London for all I know and that, my friends, is the beauty of the music business.

7 Secrets To A Successful, Enduring Business by Catherine Allen

            PR-Squared is a social media marketing and public relations website whose tagline is "The next big thing is already here". PR-Squared is owned by social media and public relations innovator and lecturer, Todd Defren and boasts a top spot on Advertising Age's Power 150. PR-Squared is filled with useful PR tidbits that business owners can apply to their own brands and companies. What's more interesting is that PR-Squared is the nucleus of everything PR. Their messages along with the messages of other sites are all intertwined to ensure that you the consumer are well informed on the subject.

            7 Secrets To A Successful, Enduring Business was an attractive article for me because everybody wants to be a better businessperson, and a better business for that matter. The article explains that core values are key to maintaining a positive culture and promoting growth from the ground up. "Core values help you to implement the essence of strategy: knowing what to say no to. Without them, you’re a car without a GPS, and you’re just as likely to drive into a bad neighborhood as you are to get where you want to go." SHIFT Senior Vice President Catherine Allen explains that the "secret sauce" to longevity as a business is Honorable, Dedicated, Connected, Creative, Ballsy, Positive and smart.

            Honorable is difficult by nature because it involves doing the right thing even when you are tempted to do something easier. Honorable employees recognize that there is only one way to do something and that is the right way. Dedicated is going above and beyond in your efforts. The old adage goes, "be the first one in and the last one out". Team members are valuable when they are connected to other journalists, publishers and other media. When they are connected in a business and community sense, they help generate new business opportunities for the company. Creative means having idea based and idea driven qualities about you; you either have it or you don't. "Thinking outside of the box" is a common ingredient in successful business practices.

            Ballsy is "gutsy" on edge. Ballsy is all about "calculated, measured risk-taking and stepping as far outside your comfort zone as [humanly] possible". This happens to be my favorite quality because there are many times at work where I have to think on my feet, make the smartest executive decisions I can (business wise and customer wise), stand by them, be held accountable for them and live with them at the end of the day. Positive has little to no correlation with personal happiness or agreeing; it has more to do with the energy, boldness and enthusiasm you bring to the table. Finally, Smart does not refer to the book smarts in particular academic subjects; it refers to the street smarts and mental toughness necessary to take on problems and business connections.

Disorientation By A Thousand Reggie Watts

            Armed with the Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler, the Electro Harmonix 45000 and its now discontinued 2880 counterpart (which are both multi-track digital looping recorders), Reggie Watts found his niche in improvisation with his signature persona shifts, conscious stand-up or on-stage loop-based musical sketches. Reggie has appeared on numerous albums, received numerous awards and critical acclaim, and appears all over television and live theater. Along with Imogen Heap, Reggie Watts is one of the only Ted musicians and Ted speakers that I have this personal connection with because of his tremendous influence on creativity and originality. Not only can you catch Reggie on YouTube, you can watch him on IFC's Comedy Bang Bang on Netflix and you can also purchase 3 of his albums in the iTunes store.

            Reggie's Ted Talk, Reggie Watts Disorients You in the Most Entertaining Way was one of the more difficult Talks to dissect being as satirical in nature as it is. It's also geared more toward live entertainment in ways the rest of the TED presenters can't come close to. I believe that the main point of Reggie's speech and what he was trying to get through to us is that in life, no matter how many actions take place, no matter how many words are spoken, no matter how many cause and effect interactions take place on any given day, life is one giant smoke signal - no two outcomes are ever the same. Reggie captivated his audience and captured their attention by ways of his talents including impressions of people with different accents and different languages and he had them wondering how one person was capable of so much entertainment and so many personalities. With every word, every paragraph, and every song, he never missed a beat and he leaves you with the impression that he's a very talented presenter who's excellent at what he does.

Characters in Teams: A Case Study

            I have already designed a timeline for the events leading up to the release of my band's second installment of Us Against Me entitled "Side Y: To Measure Grief in Joules". I have also figured out how much each expenditure is going to cost me, and what the total cost of the project is ultimately going to be. Now it’s up to me to manage a handful of celebrities assigned to me from the higher ups to make sure that the execution of my project is an all around success. The label I work for forbade me from handpicking my own celebrities because you may not necessarily be able to choose who you wish to work with in real life (or sit by, as is the case in grade school). There are many different personalities in the workforce and you must learn to pick your battles and choose wisely.

            I have researched my celebrities, identified each of their DISC personality types and have identified their strengths and weaknesses. I have given them each a vital role in my project and have devised ways to motivate each person into working together, ensuring that the project gets the best attention that it deserves. You will not agree with everybody 100% of the time, especially in the music industry but there are many great things that can come out of interpersonal relationships like the ones you gain from celebrities. The networking potential is magnified astronomically if you can remain on a famous person's good side. Egos will clash tremendously; this is readily apparent with any reality show but the utmost professionalism and final results are all I'm concerned with.

            Before I elaborate on everybody's DISC personality traits, it's important to know what the DISC Personality Model looks like. DISC is an acronym for Dominance, Influence, Steadiness & Compliance. Each of these four factors describes a different set of qualities about us. Dominance refers to our assertiveness and problem solving capabilities. Influence refers to our ability to relate and connect with others and how we deal with them.  Steadiness refers to the individual's temperament - our personal natures and behaviors. Compliance refers to how we will go about carrying out the ultimate tasks at hand; this will also include the methodic processes necessary to accomplish what we want. When we think celebrity, we think quirkiness or susceptibility to negative attention. When we stop to realize that they too are just as human as we are with a variety of things that they do well and can bring to the table, only then will we begin to realize that anything is possible.

            The first thing I did for this assignment was take a separate DISC Personality Test for every celebrity I was going to be working with. The second thing I did for this assignment was watch The Bourne Identity to learn the fictional character played by Matt Damon. This was a process that required an immense amount of objectivity on my part. To do this, I had to get into character and answer each question with the best response possible; I'm fairly convinced that I did a sufficient job of depicting each celebrity accurately. I took the test for myself and noticed that most of us have dominant personalities but a few of us have tremendous influence. Luckily, one of us fell in the compliance category so I had myself a great businessperson to be in charge of logistics. I imagined my interactions with each of my celebrities to try to get a feel for our chemistry. All and all, I didn't have myself a bad team at all.

            My first celebrity of the group is Angelina Jolie. Angelina scored about 38% Dominance and 29% Influence on the DISC Test. Angelina Jolie, in my mind is unquestionably remarkable at what she does. There are many things that Angelina can do quite well. Like others that possess dominant qualities, she is the type of individual who aims for the sky and is self-sufficient. Angelina spells out a specific goal in front of her and takes care of it with no delay. Angelina's Influence will be an added advantage to the project because not only is Angelina Jolie this alluring figure in show business, her influence adds a certain pull and credibility to it.

            Since Angelina is also comparatively high in the domain of Influence, she is capable of working well with others and is quick to establish relationships - a must have quality in the entertainment business. On the flipside, she scored comparatively low in the domain of Steadiness and Compliance just like a lot of us did. Angelina has the tendency to be too direct with people, which can result in a domineering and overpowering perception of her. Details and routine work that she finds tedious will be passed off to a subordinate. She is independent and uninhibited which will lead to a resentment of authority or rules.

            Angelina is going to appear on the "To Measure Grief in Joules" project as Aurora Price, one of two main protagonists in the band's science fiction novel. Angelina will quickly learn the role and will undoubtedly be the emotionally explosive actress that I'm looking for. She'll get to do what she does best but she'll be doing something new and personally fulfilling that she could add to her already impressive resume. The dialogue that Angelina will be providing for the project will be an expansion of the dialogue from our first release, The Audiotistic EP. I will be acting opposite her as Autumn Antonia, the other protagonist in the band's story.

            The second celebrity that I have the pleasure of working with is soul sister Mariah Carey. Mariah scored the highest in the Influence category with a 47% and a 31% Dominance on the DISC test. Mariah's going to be a valuable asset to this project because, like Angelina, she's extraordinarily exceptional at what she does. Aside from being an award-winning singer, Mariah Carey is valuable when it comes to being around people; she's seen in a favorable light most of the time and her opinions are credible and relevant. Not only does she show concern for her fans, friends and family, she can be counted on to be optimistic, outgoing and socially skilled. (Mariah's like an inversion of Angelina; she's going to use her Dominant status as a supporting role to her Influence.)

            Mariah also scored comparatively low on Steadiness and Compliance. Having such an influential figure on your team offers you a lot more to lose. Having Mariah play such a dominantly influential role in the project can yield favorable results with her audience but with that comes high expectations. There is little to no room for error with Mariah because she does not deal well with commercial disappointments. Producing for Mariah Carey is a big set of shoes to fill. I must gain Mariah's trust and prove to her that I am a capable and competent songwriter-producer despite lacking the professional studio experience to back it up.

            During my meeting with my group, I informed Mariah that I was assigning the lead vocals on my new album to her. After announcing to her that Us Against Me is actually a two-part album and that "Side X: To Measure Sorrow in Lumens" was the electro-rock group of tracks for the record, I informed Mariah that "Side Y: To Measure Grief in Joules" was going to lean more toward hip-hop and neo-soul. I'm pleased to announce that Mariah is going to be singing lead vocals on 3 or 4 of the project's 8-track playlist. I came to the conclusion that Mariah Carey and myself would benefit a great deal if I gave her this responsibility; not only would Mariah benefit from crossing over to a younger demographic, I'd have the privilege of having a well-established artist appear on a project of mine to get my foot in the door.

            My next celebrity in the group is none other than our former first lady, Laura Bush. Laura scored comparatively high in the Compliance category and comparatively low in every other category. Laura tends to be peaceful, adaptable and is comfortable following procedures in her business life as well as her personal life. Laura will have a high acceptance of rules and regulations and tends to be cautious rather than impulsive. Because Laura is the least dominant of the group members, she is generally well liked because of her patience and mindfulness. Because she is the least dominant of the group, she prefers to let others initiate action and resolve problems.

            I think the biggest setback with Laura going into the project is going to be her Influence. She tends to be socially passive and prefers to get things done alone. We currently have a man and first lady in the White House who in many ways are polar opposites of her and her husband, the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush. Her teammates are going to view her as irrelevant and archaic and will not be able to get her points across without a differing of opinion from other members in the group. I gave Laura a role that would allow her to thrive in the group without the other members having any say in the matter. We're both Conservatives so I have a strong feeling that we are going to get along just fine; we may be family friends for years to come. Laura is going to be my finance secretary. She is going to be the brains behind the project and my go-to-gal for anything that I need financially; she will also be charged with making sure we are conservative with project funds.

            Group member number four is television personality and businesswoman Joan Rivers. Joan scored comparatively high in both Dominance and Influence with scores of 44% and 41% respectively. Joan is no doubt the most outspoken individual of the group and also one of the most influential. Like Mariah, Joan is strongly interested in meeting with people and shows concern for her guests on air. She is extremely appreciative and empathetic of her audience She is a strong and independent businessperson who knows her way around a project. Joan embraces competition and loves a good challenge.

            Joan can be a little too rough around the edges if you don't know her and must be the center of attention at all times. Being low in Compliance makes it harder to bite your tongue and control being too blunt at times. Joan is going to do things her way or no way at all so I gave her the biggest challenge and most crucial role of the group members to satisfy her insatiable hunger for success. Joan Rivers is going to be in charge of the marketing and branding of the project. This will also include a primetime special, which will revisit each member in the group and will also give me room to reflect on the project.

            Last but certainly not least, we have a fictional character among us! Jason Bourne, from the Bourne Identity series authored by Robert Ludlum, possesses extremely quick reflects and above average problem solving skills. Jason scored comparatively high in Dominance with a score of 52% and comparatively low in everything else. Jason is the type of individual that knows exactly what he wants and will always get his way when he goes after it. Jason is also known for wiggling his way out of trouble every time he finds himself in it.

            Jason doesn't go around looking for trouble but trouble sure knows where to find him (luckily he knows how to deal with it). Jason isn't exactly one that could be viewed as charming by any stretch of the imagination at first glance. He's not exactly the friendliest person you will come across either but one thing is certain: he has great negotiating potential and that's why I hired him to be my manager. I'm going to need someone to get this project picked up by a major and if the figures aren't right...well...somebody's got to be there to take out the trash!

            Now that I've introduced each of my group members and brought their strengths and weaknesses to light, it would only be fair to introduce myself and elaborate on what I'm going to be bringing to the table. Like Jason Bourne, I scored comparatively high in Dominance (42%), fairly moderate in Influence (22%) and comparatively low in the other two DISC factors. I have a strong personality with great potential to work well with all sorts of individuals. For the most part, I can say that I'm punctual, dependable and that I work harder than most of my peers. I look forward to working with my team members and I am highly optimistic that everything will go well for everybody.

            I possess a shark conflict style that can be toxic if not tamed properly. I am self-sufficient and not a big fan of group projects. I'm generally not a big fan of working relationships with people, which can prove to be fatal in the entertainment industry. I don't like to be the center of attention so I take the passive route and don't like to draw too much attention to myself. People would not necessarily view me as their leader, coach or mediator.

            Instead of asking the question, "How will I help this team unite and work together according to its strengths in spite of their weaknesses?" I ask another question: "How do I intend to ensure each celebrity that it will be in his or her best interest to complete their portion of the project?" If I can play on each of their emotions and be genuine, humble and down to earth in the process, I should have no problem getting them to go miles for me. I will have to approach each person (not as a celebrity but a human being like myself) differently. Everybody's looking for the same thing but in different ways and in different places.

The Goodness: Reflections by Nstljk! "Esthero Radio"

            I was initially going to write my blog post on acid jazz. I was going to assert that acid jazz is a product of the United Kingdom over a period of 20 years from the 1980's to the late 1990's as a result of looped jazz, funk and hip-hop elements. I was going to inform you that jazz music (or jazz elements) could be fused with electronic dance or drum-and-bass to bring acid jazz to life. I was also going to credit artists like jazz-funk composer Roy Ayers, Indian-born singer-songwriter, Asha Puthli and jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd with being the forefathers (and foremothers) of acid jazz. Instead, I chose to take you on a trip (pun most definitely intended) to open Pandora's box and share with you the endless array of hidden jewels from a genre of music so obscure that it never sees the light of day unless you summon it and its young scions.

            

            Everyday is a masterpiece or a lifelong scourge - depending on whom you ask. To me, life is but a Magnum Opus trying to tell me many different things in many different ways. Whether my day was filled with work, or hip-hop, or my band, or school, or my friends, I come here to escape it all. I still don't know what to properly call this place. As a matter of fact, I don't think the curators know what to call it themselves because unlike many others they do what comes natural to them; they do it without needing to be labeled.
            Shouldn't we call it trip-hop? I mean, you can place any kind of vocalization and instrumentation over a phat hip-hop beat with a healthy bass line; everybody likes a nice phat hip-hop beat and a healthy bass line! Why isn't it called neo-soul? It should be since it's got the funkiest, most passionate guys and gals with the wickedest chops all in one place. I only call it acid jazz because where else can you find the most complex genre of music made up of the most corrosive qualities in musical nature? I do not know what or how you would call it; I stopped trying to figure that out long ago. I just know the sound of it; how sweet the sound when I hear it.
            It doesn't have a name; it doesn't have a face. It's small in stature, built at the edge of the music world. All I know is that it's a little ol' lounge called Esthero Radio over on Pandora named after a beautiful Canadian vocalist that I was too scared to ask to the prom many moons ago. Since you're here, why don't you stay a while and I'll show you around? You can sample the flavors of the day and go from room to room until you find something you like. Oh, and one more thing. There's no clapping at the end; a simple thumbs up or thumbs down shall suffice. Don't fight the feeling; your heart wants what the ears will set their eyes on.
            What is this I hear? This must be Amy Winehouse singing "Stronger Than Me". My musical menagerie is far and wide and there's no doubt that its eclecticism is taboo. Say what you will about Amy but one thing is for sure. Amy is as solid as any artist that ever did it, God bless her little heart. I know she's got a place for me up there, I sure hope so because that girl's got soul! Let's move along.

            Look who it is! John Mayer, I didn't expect to find you here today! "I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)" is funky, it's warm, it's rhythmic and it's got all the jazz you need in one place. John, your songs are biopics for the masses that reach people on a worldwide scale but it's so refreshing seeing you crossover to little old us. Stop by anytime!
            Ah, yes! It's Lily Allen! Come quick, let me introduce you to somebody I know. Lily comes all the way from London, that girl does. In fact, she's the daughter of British actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Right now, she's singing "Friend of Mine." That Lily is a firecracker, let me tell you. Songs like "The Fear", "Not Fair" and "F You" each represent something different about her life; subject matter edgy and unforgiving to say the least. This is why I like Esthero Radio so much. You hear all this great music from people who love what they do and do what they feel spur of the moment with little to no regard of what they think people will say about their work.
            And there she is. The main stage; it's Esthero herself. "Strong as an earthquake, bright as a shining star. I remember the fragrance; I just couldn't believe I'd come so far for." When nobody's looking, she takes me down her Fastlane. "Would you let me lick you with alliteration and tie you up with similes? Give you pain and pleasure with soliloquies until you beg me for release. I think we could have the ebonic plague solution. Lace me with your lexiconic seed and in nine months we could start to raise the revolution." Well, I'm not one to kiss and tell so you'll just have to see for yourself how this one ends, friend. Go on. Get out there and create an escape for yourself. The world will be a much better place for it. You'll see.

Big Dreamers & Kickstarters

            I was a kid once. I had big dreams of super stardom at a real young age. I watched MTV's The Grind with the hopes of seeing those same people partying it up to one of my songs during their Spring Break in Daytona Beach one day. If I didn't spend the good part of my 20's fishing for a record deal in all the wrong places without a formal education to back me up, things might've been a little different but I'm here now and things worked themselves out the way they were supposed to. Who needs a record label, a distribution deal, a publisher and such when you have yourself, a few friends to join the cause and a little effort to achieve the impossible? If you told a big dreamer like myself that all I was going to need was a Kickstart to get my career going, we would have looked far and wide between every rock and hard place there was. Well, now we don't have to.
            Kickstarter is a Manhattan based private for profit crowd funding company launched in 2009 by Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler & Charles Adler. Kickstarter allows for the funding of a seemingly infinite array of ventures from all sorts of music, fine art, games, films and even food to name a few. These projects are big and small; they can be fairly inexpensive to multimillion dollar operations put forth by celebrities. The beauty of being the biggest crowd funding company of its kind is adopting a business model and safeguards that prevent individuals from investing in projects and pocketing earnings. Kickstarter also encourages hard work, fosters an entrepreneurial spirit and requires a certain degree of humility by bringing yourself to a backer's level with a tangible reward (like free tickets, a signed copy of the product, free posters or thank you letters) that supporters will walk away with to signify personal ownership of that project.
            If this system is confusing, overwhelming or too good to be true at first glance, all questions and concerns will be addressed upon entering Kickstarter's website. Kickstarter prides itself on its all-or-nothing business model. Though, there is no clear cut guarantee that any one project creator will meet their backers' expectations, use the funders' money on their project or even complete it for that matter, the creators must set a realistic funding goal and deadline and are bound by legal damages should they fail to deliver on a particular project. There are skeptics on the validity of Kickstarter and backlash from those disagreeing with celebrities participating in crowd funding but one thing is for certain: Kickstarter has revolutionized the way creative works are funded forever. Not having enough scratch to fund your next album, film, graphic novel, or new line of jerky products is no longer a viable excuse. You too could have been that kid that I once was and the next one to Kickstart your dream into a reality.

What We Love About Music

            Music is all around us. There's no getting around it; there's no getting away from it. Music is our whole life; music is our livelihood and I'm excited to finally be a big part of making it. Music has been the cornerstone of many cultures and civilizations and can be traced back to prehistoric times (Tecumseh, 2006). There are many things about music that we love, enjoy and make us the people that we are today.

            For one, music is a therapeutic outlet and an avenue to channel our strengths, weaknesses and full range of human emotion. During my research for this assignment, I discovered many stories on how music has touched people and helped them heal from a variety of ills. A recent story from BBC News Northern Ireland documents how music has helped Cuan Mhuire centre participants kick their drug and alcohol addictions. About 80 individuals got together for a total of eight weeks to assist in their rehabilitation. "There is no mood-altering substance that can ever make you feel the way we did after the concert and while making this CD," says participant Mavis Scott. Another recent story came from the Capilano University Music Therapy Student Association, who spearheaded Music Heals: a new program that consists of gathering unwanted iPods that gather dust and putting them in the hands of music therapists, senior homes, rehab centers and even at-risk youth once a year. "We want to educate the public on what music therapy is and that, hopefully, will get them more invested and will allow us to do fundraising," says executive director Chris Brandt (McPhee, 2013).

            We love music because it allows us to be ourselves and it allows us to enjoy being around like-minded people. As musicians, producers, bands and the like, we find ourselves in a familiar place when we find ourselves in a group of individuals that are like us in certain ways. When we find ourselves doing something that we enjoy so much, it becomes more of an obsession than simply a means to support ourselves; who needs a job when you're doing what you love? "Playing bass made me feel good," explains Brian Minato, Vancouver-based musician, producer and bass player for Sarah McLachlan. "Learning how to figure out songs made me feel good. Hanging out with other like-minded musicians made me feel good."

            With so much competition in today's music industry, it remains crucial for an individual or group of people to reinvent the wheel, so to speak, in order to set them apart from the rest of the music community. Creativity is limitless and just so happens to be another thing about music that we love so dearly. Progressive rock group Coheed & Cambria did something no other band before them ever thought possible. Coheed & Cambria's musical concepts are derived from "The Amory Wars", a comic book series written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez. Every album is part of the overall science fiction story based on persons, places and events from the successful series and has spawned countless graphic novels and a large following; if you don't grab Coheed & Cambria tickets right away, they are prone to sell out crowds with tons of energy (Harding, 2010). In 2011, progressive dream rockers Angels & Airwaves released a deluxe edition double album called Love that included their award winning independent film of the same name. "It's super conceptual and highbrow in many ways, very artistic, very Stanley Kubrick," explains front man Tom DeLonge, who also fronts pop-punk band Blink 182. "It's not a rock opera. It's a very modern version of what could happen when you blend the film industry and the music industry together in a very...arty, kind of cool way with professionals involved all along the path." (Graff, 2009.)
            Last but not least, music is everywhere and we love that! There isn't a day that goes by or a place in the world that music can't be found. Some of the best places that I like to find great music are in video games. Bioshock Infinite, which was quite arguably the best game of 2013 thus far, wouldn't have been the storytelling epic it was without the score to amplify the experience (Goldfarb, 2013). Then, there are games like the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises that consumers can play to foster competition between one another or encourage them to learn how to sing or play real instruments. "Anything that advances music is really interesting. It's better than all of those shoot 'em up, blow 'em up, kill 'em games," exclaims Roger Daltrey of The Who (Halperin, 2008).