The “Bailando” Effect

Every Latino, and now, several Americans know the song from Enrique Iglesias “Bailando.” The song took the world by storm and it is one the hottest singles in the music scene in 2014.

The LAMC Experience

I had the great opportunity of bringing the Executive Director of Peermusic for Miami and Puerto Rico, Julio Bagué, to Full Sail University on June 9, 2014. We had the chance of giving him a tour on site and after, we hosted an event in the Entertainment Business Auditorium.

Applying expert advice on business plans

Reid Hoffman and David Skok are two venture capitalists that have successfully invested on several companies. Hoffman says that relationships are extremely important in the first stage of companies’ growth. The company will take Hoffman advice by using connections in the music industry to build strong relationships and establish strong base of artists, musicians, and music professionals.

Listen to experts on business plans

It is time to talk about business plans. There are several cases of people losing their money by investing on projects with poor or no business plans. Before taking any risks, startups should listen to advice from experts in the field. 

Will the concert-streaming business take off?

Source: http://nova989.com.ar/mira-el-aftermovie-oficial-de-coachella-2014/

The music industry has had sparks of stepping into the concert streaming business few times, but we are still waiting for the take off. According to the billboard article written by Steve Knopper, high production costs are one of the first reasons why only few concerts have been streamed so far. These production costs include union fees and super size bandwidth, among others. Also, promoters are not too excited about this idea because it may hurt ticket sales.

Self-distribution 101

You have a publishing company, now what? You need to distribute your work. TuneCore and CD Baby are the most used music distribution services today. These services offer digital distribution through channels such iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, among others, and physical distribution by delivering hard copies to the customer.

Self-publishing 101

The era of begging for music publishing deals is gone. The publishing business has changed thanks to technological advances and the DIY (Do It Yourself) trend. Before, very few big publishing companies dealt with composer societies such as BMI and ASCAP. With a little bit of work, songwriters can now keep the total income generated from royalties. 

The Oscar Selfie

Ellen DeGeneres, the successful television host, had one of the greatest ideas during the broadcasting of the 86^th Oscars Academy Awards. She gathered famous Hollywood actors and actresses, and they took a “selfie.” Ellen tweeted the photo, Twitter broke down because of the high traffic, and the tweet became the most retweeted post in the history of Twitter in the matter of hours.

Al Schlesinger, a Living Legend

The last Sunday January 26^th , Full Sail students had the chance to watch the 56^th Annual Grammy Awards broadcasted live. The event was held in the Full Sail Live Venue and it was perfect. We watched the ceremony in a huge screen and the sound quality was incredible. Between the commercials, Full Sail were giving away some prizes. One of these prizes was to have a lunch with the entertainment lawyer and former president of the Recording Academy, Al Schlesinger. Fortunately one of my classmates won it, and she invited me to come.

Zach Quillen and his Independent Success Story

Few people know who is Zach Quillen. He is an example of hard work and perseverance. Quillen, a former employee of the Agency Group met Ben Haggerty in 2010. Ben Haggerty is an American rapper born and raise in Seattle and known by his stage name Macklemore. Today, Zach Quillen is the manager of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

José María Escriña: Transparency, Honesty, and Professionalism

 The words above best describe this successful business executive. José María Escriña, born in Spain and living in Miami, is the Peermusic’s Vice President for Latin America Operations. He began his career in the music industry as the lead vocalist and guitar player of a Spanish band called Insanity Wave. Now, Escriña works with the most important independent publishing company of the world. Thanks to my relationship with Peermusic Miami, I was able to arrange a quick Skype meeting with him. Jose María Escriña is an extremely busy person, which is why I am so grateful he was able to grant me some minutes of his valuable time.

Top Ten Songs of 2013

The year 2013 was of great changes for me. I left Venezuela to pursue my real dream, the music business. Living in the United States introduced me to a whole new experience discovering great music on the way.

This post is from my very personal opinion. I chose the songs I liked the most this past year, may be you are agree with me, maybe not. My purpose was to find songs with the ingredients to be great with commercial content at the same time.

I hope you have fun checking out these artists, and maybe I can help you to discover new music for your iPod.

Let’s begin

SFX Entertainment looks suspiciously optimist in its first earning release

SFX Entertainment, Inc. founded in New York, 2011 by Robert F. X. Sillerman, produces concerts and live events, especially Electronic Dance Music festivals.The company has published its first earning release as a public company earlier this year saying that the “revolution has begun.” SFX Entertainment states that attendance is growing by 40% in its pro forma, due to several acquisitions this quarter.

Hip-hop Took Over Festival Calle Orange

Orlando is a great city, with several events and activities going on at all times, you just have to do a little research. As a music fan, I am always looking for music activities to attend. Festival Calle Orange is an event held every year in late October, to celebrate Hispanic heritage. More than 40 artists from different music genres get up on 4 stages to perform live. Around 10 streets from downtown Orlando are closed off, so thousands of people can have a fun day with live music all around.

Internet radio companies are at risk?

The music industry has been involved in a financial roller coaster since 1998. At that time, music companies spent large amounts of money in building music artist careers, expecting substantial revenues out of recorded music sales. In 1998, recorded music sales were around $38.6 billion. In 2008, they dropped down to $18.4 billion, and in 2010, they went down drastically to $15.49 billion.

The arrival of digital music and its revenues helped the music industry debacle, with a third of the recorded product sales but it hasn’t been enough. The rise of music companies such as Pandora and Spotify have opened a new window for the music business. Nonetheless, specialists are not too excited about the projected future.

We believe, you believe, you buy

Why is Apple so innovative despite having the same resources as any other computer company? Why did so many people follow Martin Luther King Jr. by just word of mouth? They connected with people in a whole different way. Simon Sinek discovered few years ago the way all successful companies and leaders communicate their ideas. They have used the exact same pattern, and he called it the Golden Circle.

The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences

 My fourth month at Full Sail is almost over, and I am having such an amazing time here. One of the assignments for this month was to write a blog post about an industry association related to our area of interest.  I didn’t even hesitate in choosing The LatinAcademy of Recording Arts & Sciences. This important association has done so many things for the Latin community, and they are responsible for showing the world the talent of Latin music professionals.

Julio Bagué, an executive that always "closes the door"

 As an active Grammy U member, I received an invitation to an event called “Grammy Future Now.”  Many personalities of the music industry would be present and I didn’t want to miss the chance. The event was going to be held on Friday and I drove from Orlando to Miami the day before. Hopefully, I was able to arrange an interview meeting that same Thursday with the Executive Director of Peermusic Miami and Puerto Rico, Julio Bagué.

Terra and Alejandro Sanz reached half million users in one hour

Music and the Internet are getting along just fine these days. Companies are strengthening partnerships with big artists to reach more audience. Terra Networks, a leading digital media company and content producer for Hispanic markets, chose Alejandro Sanz to launch the first digital and interactive music experience called Terra Live Music.

The Downloadable Concert: a new marketing trend.

The days of conventional marketing are history. With all the new digital trends, companies are delivering messages to their customers through a whole new experience. A much more fun experience.