PlayPro Media Hits Orlando, FL

With the resources provided all across the Internet and mobile devices, many are striving to be the next star. Times have changed in the music business and new models are prevailing in efforts to nurture and create avenues for aspiring talent. PlayPro Media is a great example of such efforts. PlayPro Media provides free music, the ability to learn the music business, and get discovered. "We help talented artist focus on careers, connect to the industry, and build a vibrant fan base. Through our footprint, PlayPro provides access to students at dozens of the nations finest schools, allowing bands to reach fans on a daily basis". Building that initial following is always an issue for new talent. This platform will be a tremendous aid to that cause. Their talent expo will provide newcomers to the entertainment industry with the opportunity to get their entire package polished and ready for the professional atmosphere. 

The brainchild of this program is the renowned Brad Todd. His years of hard work and dedication in the music industry has led to this educational and entertaining project that creates opportunities for students and aspiring entertainers. After gaining success in Atlanta, Georgia, PlayPro is now ready to launch its presence in the Orlando, Florida area.

PlayPro's first Talent Expo was held in November 2011 in Georgia. Ten acts competed to win over the crowd and the winner was a young rapper that goes by the name Elgin Nation. Statistics for this entire event process include over 130,000 page views of media for the entire campaign and 93,000 voting "likes" for the ten participating artists.

The city of Orlando, Florida is in for great opportunities as long as companies such as PlayPro Media continue to expand their horizons. The world is constantly waiting for the next great source of entertainment and there is a lot of undiscovered talent that has yet to be found.

Evolution of Radio Shows: The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1

New things are generating every moment thanks to the access, convenience, and affordability of technology. This lethal combination has led to major breakthroughs in various areas of entertainment. One entity that has been taking advantage of technology and content is a vibrant New York radio station, Power 105.1 fm. Over the past couple of years, Power 105.1 has created one of the most controversial and entertaining morning shows called "The Breakfast Club". This morning show, which is comprised of three dynamic individuals, has changed the game for all conventional radio content. Much of their success can be accounted for due to the "no-holds-barred" rivalry with direct competitor rival radio station Hot 97. Power 105.1 has content that includes exclusive video recorded celebrity interviews, webisodes, and other themed productions the pack their week with content that was once only available on premium television.

Although Howard Stern can arguably be the pioneer of controversial radio content, Power 105.1 has integrated new concepts and availability on their website that is equivalent to million dollars television shows. Their progress is very exciting to watch as it develops even further and continues to grow addition revenue streams. I predict that their Ad revenues will increase exponentially over the next six months due to their frequent and entertaining celebrity interview video postings. I also anticipate seeing more youtube integration to further increase revenue streams. 

Aggressive digital marketing will be the key to pushing this morning show to new heights and expanded demographics.  Authentic content is what the market of content has grown to in our society given the up-rise of social media and world knowledge being expanded via the Internet. This is why the more "Politically Correct" or less abrasive based content is overlooked and dismissed. The world has a new standard of content and The Breakfast club is meeting that new standard and demand.

Website Protection In Entertainment

Media based websites are open fields to legal liabilities and other various legal issues. Not only are there concerns towards appropriate licensing, but there are also concerns that deal with site traffic and dynamics. This is why it is vital to keep up to date with laws and regulations that can affect the immediate function and use of your website. After reviewing two entertainment law podcasts, the importance of keeping up to date on what is going on in the world of entertainment has increased for me exponentially.

A few heavy topics have been discussed and reviewed on www.entertainmentlawupdate.com that I find to be very informative. Keeping track of intellectual properties is always handy. Especially if it can affect any media the may be included on your site. The current dispute of copyright termination for the Superman Intellectual Property from Warner Bros. by MarcToberoff is an excellent example.

There has been an ongoing war over the Superman franchise for some time now. Warner Bros. even has a release scheduled for a new superman movie by Christopher Nolan, proclaimed savior of the Batman story with his latest titled “Dark Knight Rises”. The legal factors of this case bounce around, but staying on top of litigations that can affect the content on your website can be beneficial.

Many sites also have parody-like commercials that may be liable to legal concerns. In the case of Kim Kardashian v. The Gap, the Old Navy commercial with an alleged Kim Kardashian look-a-like led to a $20 million lawsuit back in 2011. It is claimed that the commercial has “created confusion in the marketplace and violated her rights to her name and likeness”. Similar issue like this may easily occur on your media based website if you are not careful.

Having an open eye to the world of entertainment law can come in handy and save you some headaches down the line. Always be sure to take that extra precaution that will keep you out of litigation or the unpredictable fate of the media.

Lady Gaga's Asian Tour Mayhem

Given the controversy with Lady Gaga's Asian Tour, manager Troy Carter has recently spoken out about her stand on the situation. Many countries involved with the tour have banned Lady Gaga's performances claiming her presentation and theatrics are too provocative. Fans have gathered in protest to the ban, but it has not lead to hopeful expectations.

Troy Carter stated that Lady Gaga has no intentions to tone down her act, even if it prevents her from performing in certain countries on the tour. This decision is a great stance for Lady Gaga to defend her artistic vision, but very unfortunate for those fans who will not be able to see her perform because of the controversy.

The main issue is the threat on the sense of conduct and morality from her performance. Lady Gaga's platform of entertainment is said to rival the traditional norms and standards of many of the places involved with this tour. This is ironic because the demand for Lady Gaga in the Asian market is very high. There seems to be no happy medium for the fans and non-fans of the pop sensation.

This situation is also interesting because the concerts that are being hindered are actually sold out concerts. In Indonesia, the permit for the concert was denied close before the show even though tickets for the event were already sold out. In South Korea, fans younger than 18 years old were banned from the concert.

There aren't many artists who have a deep international following and it's always disappointing when the fans are inconvenienced because of cultural and social differences. This is a very unfortunate situation for paying patrons who have invested in the Lady Gaga experience across Asia for this tour. In the future I hope to see more understanding and resolution that doesn't hinder patrons or ideologists from entertainment experiences.

Tupac Hologram Expands Entertainment

Just when you thought entertainment couldn't get any better, Tupac Shakur was resurrected at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival alongside Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. According to MTV, the idea was incepted by Dre and created by Hollywood special effects house Digital Domain and projected by AV Concepts. This new innovative technology opens the door to a plethora of opportunities for great entertainers of the past to be resurrected for "live" performances on stage. Nick Smith, President of AV Concepts, has not been able to say much about the creative production of the project, but he has said " it's affordable in the sense that if we had to bring entertainers around world and create concerts across the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country"and that the approximate cost is from $100,000-$400,000 to pull off the show.

Evolution of the Music Business

In the world of music, other moneymaking counterparts now accompany the digital download. The music business can now look forward to online subscriptions, and digital performance royalties based on the “Likes” of Pandora and Sirius XM as additional revenue streams. As technology continues become more accessible and portable, the music industry will continue to have more opportunities to gain revenue digitally by way of these counterparts. According to the RIAA, digital and synchronization revenue in the U.S. recorded music business has increased 0.2% in 2011. This provides a balance from the void left by the decline of physical music revenue. 

These figures show a huge decline in Music Video revenue by 11.6%. This figure is important because it raises questions to the source of sales and revenue from this area. I would assume it is from digital downloads via Amazon, iTunes, or other purchasing sources. I would like to know if music video revenues generated from Vevo and YouTube are calculated in this equation, but it is not indicated.  

My interest is peaked by the 38% decline in the area of Mobile sales and distribution. The figures in that area are calculated in the categories of master ringtones, ring-backs, music videos, and full length downloads. This significant decline can only be explained by the massive increase of ringtone making apps that elude ringtone purchase by allow users to edit songs they already to create their own ringtones free of charge. As mentioned above, Vevo & YouTube allow users to view music videos at their own will that only requires internet service and availability. Full length downloads have most likely went down due to the plethora of streaming options such as Spotify, Rhapsody and Pandora.

As technology progresses, the distribution of revenue will continue to fluctuate in the music business. Digital Performance Royalties and Synchronization Royalties have streamed a new source of revenue in the music world by adapting to the digital changes in society.

BMI & ASCAP Initiatives

I would like to take time and shine some light on some efforts of BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for the world of music. For those who are not aware, BMI & ASCAP are organizations that help protect the copyrights of their members. They basically issue licensing fees from those who use the protected content of their members, which funnel back to the members as royalties.

BMI currently has an upcoming workshop for music in commercial media. This workshop is a three-day seminar geared towards teaching composition and producing techniques for advertising along with corporate branding and music production libraries. This approach is important to BMI because they believe that “These areas constitute the world’s most heard music and provide major revenue streams for composers”. This line of thinking is very logical and makes sense, especially on a marketing aspect.