The Center For Music and Arts Entrepuenership

Producer, musician and label owner George Howard discusses the debate over branding (licensing music for use in advertisements and media), and the effect that branding can have on a career. Can branding be a good thing? Can an artist really ever sell out? Analyzing several cases (such as Nick Drake, Led Zeppelin and U2), Howard offers concrete advice to musicians who will need to confront whether to license, and to whom to license, their own creations.

Producer, musician, and label owner George Howard discusses what mechanical licenses are and how they make money, how revenue from mechanicals is collected, and the controlled composition clause that reduces the mechanical royalty rate under certain circumstances.

Eric Corte, a representative from Saatchi and Saatchi, a prominent advertising agency, talks to Loyola University New Orleans students about music in advertising. He covers the process of securing music for ads, discusses master usage as well as music publishing, licensing, and legal issues. Corte also gives his thoughts on the future of the music business. He comments on the innovative ways companies are marketing music for ads.

Eric Corte, a representative from Saatchi and Saatchi, a prominent advertising agency, talks to Loyola University New Orleans students about music in advertising. In this segment he discusses who owns the master when an artist records a song for an advertisement.

Andy Allen, president of Alternative Distribution Alliance, talks about the problem of file sharing and how it's affecting the distribution sector of the music business.

Tom Derr, co-founder of Rock Ridge Music, talks with students at Loyola University about his company, Rock Ridge Music. He describes his company as a type of record label that is more artist friendly and doesn't follow many of the long standing major label policies. Tom gives examples of the differences between Rock Ridge Music and major labels such as how they sign licensing deals in order to let artists keep their music which he believes creates a better relationship with the artist and his company. He goes on to talk about how their artists own their master and how music is constantly created and released in order to keep the consumers attention and create a larger fan base.

Mark Davis is a Copyright and Law Professor in the Music Business department at Loyola University.

Music supervisor Greg Sill discusses what the job of music supervisor entails.

Greg Curtis, Executive Creative Director of Fox Music Publishing, Inc., introduces himself and his company to a group of students at Loyola University, New Orleans. He explains what a music publisher does, how Fox works with other companies to license and leverage content, and what Fox is doing to take advantage of new opportunities in streaming music, ringtones, and other emerging technologies.

Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, discusses with a group of students at Loyola University, New Orleans the benefits and risks that independent labels face when choosing whether to enter a distribution partnership with a larger company.