As a company, Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group wants to develop quality artists. In doing so, the best place to start is with the children. Many school programs are cutting out music from their curriculum. Without music in schools, there will be a decline in new quality artists and musicians. I began playing saxophone in the 5th grade and absolutely loved being in the band. It was a way to keep young people out of trouble while doing something positive with their lives. I was in the band for 7 years, all the way through to 12th grade. Those 7 years created some of the best memories I have, and the bonds I created with people are still strong to this day. While researching charities that we as a company could be apart of, it seemed fitting to choose VH1’s Save the Music.
The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that dedicates itself to creating an awareness that removing music from schools can hinder a child’s educational process, and to returning the education of instrumental music in public schools across America. Since it's founding in 1997, the foundation has raised more than $47 million towards providing new musical instruments to 1,750 public schools throughout approximately 100 cities in the United States, and has impacted the lives of over 1.6 million children (VH1 Save The Music, 2010).
Save the Music’s marketing strategy is far from ingenious. Save the Music simply joins major companies/businesses, influential musicians, recording artists, and even some athletes to put on productions and produce advertising campaigns to raise money for the foundation. When creating a brand for yourself, it is always best to pair with an already established brand to build your own brand name. Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group is currently working on two different brands: the branding of our artist, Fish Scales, as a solo artist; and the branding of ourselves as a new company. A partnership between the three will enhance the value of all.
While surfing through Ted.com, a compilation of videos where individuals give inspirational speeches, I came across a video from Jeff Bezos titled “What matters more than your talents?” This video was in TED’s section it calls “Best of the Web”. Where it groups all of their best speeches. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, was asked to be the commencement speaker for Princeton’s graduating class. When he was younger his grandfather told him “It was harder to be kind than clever” And that we have gifts and choices. “Cleverness is a gift and kindness is a choice”, he explained. He also stated, “How many of you use your gifts? How you take pride in them is on you as a person. He had several points that he brought up that I felt correlated directly to me as a person. Bezos’ primarily spoke of a person’s character and how if is reflected not by the gifts that we receive at birth however by the choices we make over our entire life. I for one have made many different choices, all which have gotten me to where I am now, Receiving my masters at Full Sail University in Entertainment Business and founding an artist management company. Jeff Bezos had a vision, a vision to allow people to read and purchase books online in a more convenient fashion. Jeff had a very established job and did not want to be haunted by a decision of not trying. I myself have a vision. My vision is to represent individuals in the entertainment business. When the opportunity presented myself I did not too want to be haunted with the not trying, therefore I along w/my business partner went out on a limb and started Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group. As Jeff did we took the path that was less safe and pursued our passion. Jeff asks these questions at the end of his speech: How will you use your gifts? Will you follow dogma or will you be original? Will you live a life of Ease or adventure? When it is tough will you give up or will you be relentless? And last but not least, Will you be clever at the expense of others or will you be kind? I am choosing to use my gifts bestowed upon me for the good of my business. Life without adventure is a waste of living. In the Entertainment business you have to be relentless in order to persevere and become successful. And lastly, I personally feel there is a way for you to be clever w/o it being an expense to others. I always use kindness because in the end, kindness usually prevails.
When looking at the middle right corner of my blog you will find my RSS feed for “Music Think Tank.On Nov. 9th, 2010 an article was written about “Management in the Industry”. There were three different subtopics that were very interesting:“Apply Strategy and Planning to improve Value by the Music Expertise, The focus of future research to Improve Management in the Music Industry, and Filters used to determine if I am the right fit with a potential client.” All of the sub-topics are essential to the music industry.
The article begins to touch on the importance of strategic planning in order to ensure you create a business that others will want to be apart. When creating an artist management company you have to develop a mission statement that you want all of your clients to live up to when it comes to their music. You also have to plan out your path to success. May it be via marketing and or how you will distribute your music, it has to be an effective strategy for your music enterprise. Lack of planning can cause everything to work less efficiently and efficiently due to lack of targeting your correct audience. If a music enterprise does not properly plan their marketing strategies it can lead to resources being wasted and a product becoming less valuable. When a product is less valuable it will produce less revenue.
In order to create a management company that withstands the ups and downs of the music industry you must remain focused and consistently research your industry for the “next big thing”. Change is inevitable in the music industry. You just have to plan accordingly so that you are not left behind. There will always be emerging technologies, whether it’s in the form of audio devices to music styles. As an artist and/or artist manager you must always research and be willing to adapt to the constantly changing industry. This seems to be a problem with some artist because they feel that if you crossover to “pop” music you are selling out. Swaying away from their original genre of music sometimes isn’t always bad for an artist or manager it is a way of re-inventing yourself and your music.
Managers have to learn to develop filters. Not every artist is going to fit into the style of managing that you use and vice versa. When creating your filter you must decide before you actually sign an artist what you will be able to work with or not work with. Whether you would want to manage single artists or groups, artists who are already established or artists that are up and coming.You should think of goals and aspirations as a filter when forming your company. Even though a particular artist may have the sound you want, take into consideration what direction the two of you are going.Also the artist may want to know what your accomplishments are or what type of skills you can bring to the table.All of this has to come with careful planning prior to the formation of your management company. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!
Within the entertainment industry teams are going to be an asset to your business. Depending on what field you are in you will have various types of teams. “Street Teams” and management teams are essential to the artist management field due to the control they have over the promotions and the artist as a whole. However, the most important would be the management team, this could be made up of the personal managers, business managers, and/or tour managers.
“Street team”, is a term that is commonly used to describe a group of people and sometimes fans who actually “hit the street” to help promote an event, product, or artist. These are people that help bands, by giving out flyers, handing out CDs/freebies and sticking up posters. There are a number of ways to develop a street team from social media sites, to and/or but not limited to an artist’s website. The internet has become a medium to connect the “street team” with the fans without being in the streets. To create a street team an artist should develop a fan base, connect via sites such as Rootmusic.com which helps you establish a “Band page” for Facebook. Or even a FanBridge account. FanBridge enables you to enlarge your fanbase and your business. It gives you a number of easy tools and forms that let you collect information from your fans from anywhere in the world.
Management teams are the glue that hold the artist together. You multiple types of managers: personal managers, business managers and tour managers. The personal manager is one that manages all of the intricate details, from setting up jobs to working with the artist on an every day personal need. While a business manager would be a person who is responsible for implementing the policies and procedures of a business or part of the management company. They work more on the financial aspect of the management for the artist. Lastly we have the tour manager, their job is very important also. The tour manager is who is on tour with the artist and makes sure all of the venues are set up properly, the promoters have all of the funds in place, and the artist is attended to properly. You would want to make sure your management company has all of these in place when you sign the contract or has access to the proper resources because these are essential to a successful career.
Being that I have known Jabari aka “Naledge” of Kidz in the Hall for a little over 2 years, it feels a little weird actually interviewing him. But it also feels right that he is my first interview.
A-First let me say HAPPY BELATED Bday...I know it's pretty late though, lol so Naledge looking back on your now 28 years of life what was your childhood like?
N-Pretty middle class. I had two parents that worked really hard and were college educators. Still, I grew up in a very urban environment. I played a lot of sports. The fact that my parents worked, I was involved in a lot of activities with my friends.
A-Now I understand you graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, being that you are a college graduate how do you feel that has enhanced your style?
N-College allows you three things: the space to find your "identity" amongst those from all walks of life, the ability to develop time management skills to get jobs done and the structure needed for solid work ethic. Those things can come to anyone without school too...it’s just harder to be motivated and develop those things quickly on your own.
A-How did your musical career begin and when did you know you could see this as your career?
N-My older cousin Korey who made beats in his room used to babysit me. I thought he was cool and looked up to him, so I wanted to get good enough to rap over his beats. However, I didn’t know I wanted this as a career until I did my first tour!
A-Naledge, you’ve put out three albums: School was my Hustle (2006), The In Crowd (2008), and Land of Make Believe; you have also sold over 70,000 albums independently…what are you currently working on?
N- Well, we recently put out Land of Make believe I put out my mixtape- TwentySomething and we now have our own label DuckDown Records
A-With that said…where do you want to take your hip-hop career?
N-I just want to be free to live off music for the rest of my life.
A-I know you have been on several tours, out of the many cities and 12 countries I am sure you were completely embraced by your fans what places stand out to you the most?
N-I would have to say that London. New York. Miami. Las Vegas. Paris. Berlin. Stockholm. Los Angeles. Chicago. Austin. Atlanta and Denver are the few that probably made the most impact on me.
A-Which Fans do you feel showed the most love to Kidz in the Hall?
N-I would definitely say the UK.
A-Of course I know you personally and I see you all over my Twitter timeline, so it is safe to say you are a pretty open person. What is it that you want your fans to know?
N-I am a slave to the music. For better or worse. I fear god and I love my family.
A-Do you feel that Social Media has influenced music?
N-It has influenced the spread of music. I don't know if it has influenced the songs themselves. I think musicians have more access to information. Entry into the industry is harder because everyone wants to do it
A-What is your favorite Quote or Motto?
N-"Only thing in life that remains the same is change." - J. Caesar
A-You have done so much in such a short time, what would you say you are most proud of?
N- I would have to say my son.
A- Any regrets?
N- A lot of ex-girlfriends
A-ha-ha **chuckles* I can see how that would be in your line of work
A-You have done “Love Hangover”w/Estelle, Who else is on your collaboration wish list?
N-Raphael Saddiq, Andre Benjamin, and Common
A-Last But not least….If there were 5 producers and/or directors you could work with (currently living) who would they be?
N-Rick Rubin, George Clinton, Kanye West, Quincy Jones and Timbaland.
A- That is quite a diverse list
Thank you so much Jabari.....oops excuse me, "NALEDGE" for allowing me this interview. I need everyone to make sure you all check out Naledge and Kidz In The Hall via Brainiacsociety.com, and/or kidzinthehall.com
I was reading an article on the Music Think Tank blog about “Music Management Skills: Network in person, not just online.” By Joe Taylor. A link led me to his website, which directed me to his book, and I found this to be very useful for my business endeavors.This shows that strategic placing of links and how it can be beneficial.Artist management seems to be a profession that many jump into with the thoughts of becoming the next Russell Simmons, Diddy, or even Jay-Z. However it takes much more skill than just the knowledge of music. It takes tenacity, persistence, and FOCUS ON YOUR ARTIST!!
The most important thing you need to remember is to make sure you are covering all the legalities of working as an artist manager. Have you researched the name you wish to use? You may do so by going to www.SunBiz.org if you are in Florida. If not check w/your Secretary of State in the state that you are located in.You then want to make sure you Google & search your desired name w/ the US Patent & Trademarks department.. When you are deciding to conductbusiness from home it is also best to acquire a separate address even a P.O. Box would do.They usually start at $12 for a 6 month term. That way all of your business mail is separate form your personal. Because remember you must conduct yourself in a professional manner.The separate mail box further protects your privacy as an individual.One thing that Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group (RPEG) did second was order an EIN number so that you register yourself as a business. There are several other legalities that you have to cover, however the last two I am going to mention will be to make sure that you acquire a business license from your town or county. And SEPARATE YOUR PERSONAL FUNDS FROM THE BUSINESS FUNDS by getting a separate bank account!!
When it comes to managing an artist and booking shows for them you have to be aware of the Florida Statutes as it pertains to “acting as a talent manager” § 468.403. Managers tend to get themselves in trouble by not learning enough of what they are doing. You must properly research the field in which you are entering to avoid any legal troubles. You must make sure that all contracts have been clear and concise, and that all verbal & non-verbal communication is open for all parties involved.Although it is essential to the business, it definitely takes more than just a LOVE or an EAR FOR MUSIC to become an Artist manager. But one thing it does take is HEART!
Look out for more in depth information on my blog regarding becoming an Artist Manager the right way.
WOWWWWWWW!!!!! Where do I start?
September 9, 2010 has been a day/night that I will never forget and also one that I am so thankful for. That day is when two 1st month Entertainment Business Masters students decided to go out together for the first time. As I previously blogged about the show was amazing and hanging out with The Nappy Roots was amazing. However, we did not know what was in store for us from just a simple conversation about "what are you planning on doing w/your degree" would turn into a dream job. Not my ultimate dream job but this is definitely a stepping stone to the progress of my life. From that simple conversation with Fish Scales, my classmate/BUSINESS PARTNER Trisha C. and I are now managing Fish Scales of The Nappy Roots. Along with handling all of his marketing for his upcoming solo project we will be working w/Nappy Roots to help develop their Album awareness. Not to mention that we will be handling the managing and marketing for The Skinny & Scales project. All I have to say is GOD IS AMAZING!!! He works in ways you can't even fathom. God has put Trisha & myself right where we needed to be. Now introducing to you to RISING PHOENIX ENTERTAINMENT GROUP-co-founders Aris Blossom & Trisha Connell.
Today has been the most humbling experience I think I have had so far in my life. My organization (Full Sail Black Student Union) was instrumental in bringing Nappy Roots to Full Sail University. They did a panel that received an overflow of questions as well as was introduced to an array of talent. Not only did Fish Scales, Skinny Deville & Big Vito enlighten the students they gave a mini show. No special effects of spotlights were needed.....The eyes of the students were more than enough to brighten up the auditorium in the Full Sail Entertainment Business building. Afterwards there was an impromptu meet & greet, where the students were able to personally go and speak with the artists. Even though time was not permitting they mad sure that they shook the hands of as many students that they could before being pulled away for their next venue, THE SOCIAL. WHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Man did they put on a show for the crowd there!!! The attendance was so welcomed and they are truly fan orientated. They are what HIP HOP NEEDS to help revive it, from their story about being college students to life on the road promoting their new album ("The Pursuit of Nappyness"). Tonight was definitely a humbling experience and I am so grateful to The Lord above for putting me where I am right now to be apart of such awesome day/night. Be blessed!
