The Center For Music and Arts Entrepuenership

Social media is literally taking over the way the world functions and communicates, and is continuing to expand each and every minute of every day. It's a scary thought... isn't it? With a society built on the innovations of technology, it is more important than ever to utilize what it has to offer - but this can create a gray area.  

During Jazzfest 2012, The Sync Up Conference, a free entertainment industry conference, will be taking place in New Orleans. There are panel discussions involving everything in the arts from film to music. It's a killer opportunity to meet some big name's and create last connections.  Some speakers that will be in attendance include: Tim Westergren (founder of Pandora), Mack Maine (president of Young Money Entertainment), Daniel Glass (founder of Glassnote Records), Jeffrey Merrihue (founder of MOFILM), Ralph Simon (one of the founders of the modern mobile entertainment industry), Ted Kurland (founder of Ted Kurland Associates), and Tony van Veen (head of Disc Makers). Admission is free, but seats are limited. It's a quick and easy sign up process. Press the link below to find out more and sign up for this incredible opportunity. I know I sure did! http://www.jazzandheritage.org/sync-up

Mark Muligan, a digital music market analyst, blogs about current music industry issues that create the painful, on-going journey towards a better industry. Keep updated on recent news in the industry by subscribing to his blog linked below: http://musicindustryblog.wordpress.com

The New Orleans city council president Jackie Clarkson has recently proposed an ordinance that will not allow anyone under the age of 21 to enter a bar. If this ordinance is passed, not only will local venues suffer, many of which are also bars, but so will the young local musicians in the city of New Orleans. With a booming music scene funneling out of the colleges in New Orleans, it will make it harder for them to book shows and bring in crowds. Venues will also be hurt by this new ordinance because half of their business will be depleted. If you are interested in learning more or getting your voice heard on the matter, there will be a public hearing on Thursday March 1st in the city council chambers. Read more at: http://www.wwltv.com/news/NO-Council-considers-increasing-minimum-age-to-enter-a-bar-140518743.html

 SoundCloud, one of the largest music sharing platforms, has recently begun to strictly monitor copyright breaches by their users. They have been receiving an overwhelming amount of copyright claims from lawyers representing major record labels and have been forced to take down many user uploaded tracks. With a majority of the users uploading DJ'ed tracks and electronic mixes, sampling is prevalent. Many loyal users of SoundCloud are  disappointed by the recent restrictions on what they can upload to the website. Driscoll, a Berlin DJ, stated that the “difficulties that SoundCloud are going under at the moment is mainly because, as always, there's an older generation at that the major record labels who don't understand how people consume music anymore.” The internet has created an entirely new world of music sharing from artists to their fans. Heck, artists are giving away their music for virtually nothing now-a-days because they want to and openly choose to do so. For many independent artists, it's an honor to see someone using their material and posting it out to the public. If that means possibly gaining a few more fans, then it's a win-win situation. That free download or quick listen to a mix of your song on SoundCloud could lead to future interest in your product and what you have to offer. You just gained another fan to be a part of your story. With recent attempts to stop piracy and copyright infringment, like SOPA for example, independent artists are speaking out louder than ever. The internet has forever changed the music business. To read more about the recent update to Soundcloud's copyright policy, check out the link below: http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,14767254,00.html

Rita Reed, CPA, talks about the importance of financial statements in Business Planning.

Billy O'Connell interviews Howe Gelb about his long and successful career as an independent musician.

John Paul interviews Jon Mueller, a musician and web community leader who helps people make a living from being a creative person. Mueller has performed throughout the world and collaborated with many musicians in the art music genre. His website that helps foster creativity is rhythmplex.com.

John Paul interviews Jeff Apregan of the Apregan Group, an event production company. Jeff has a wealth of knowledge in the entertainment world from his long career in the business.

Dino Gankendorff, who represents some of the major performing acts from New Orleans, talks about the Legal Issues with bands.