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We proudly congratulate Josh Love, an Entertainment and Media Group partner, for being named among Hollywood's New Leaders by Variety. This prestigious list recognizes the most influential and innovative executives, lawyers, agents, managers, and publicists in the entertainment industry. Read more here #ReedSmith #EntertainmentLaw #Variety #HollywoodNewLeaders

Songbird Creative Launched by Julie Hurwitz - Read more at The Howler! #thehowlernews #songbirdcreative #productionnews #postproductionnews

When a music review fails to understand the music itself. 💡🤨 I've recently stumbled across a national newspaper's review of Tate McRae's sophomore album (titled 'Think Later' for all of those wondering). While the review aimed to provide constructive criticism — in all fairness, it did raise a few excellent points about the negative impact of TikTok — it was rooted in... misunderstanding of the new generation's sound. 'Think Later' isn't groundbreaking by any means, but does it need to be? I reckon it should be appreciated for what it is — a fun body of work that holds its own, especially in the highly competitive music landscape right now. The album's lead single 'Greedy' has scored the RCA Records-signee a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, after all. One of the main things that the review fixated on was the lack of USP. Fair play. Well, it certainly could be a fair observation, but the success (here come the "industry plant" allegations) of McRae's latest record shows that there's a real hunger for the exact sound that she brings, whether it's unique and original or not. And, honestly, is it *that* bad to stick to a formula that works commercially? Short answer: No. In a time where it's hard to make a living from music as it is, it'd be stupid not to follow the structure that helps you appeal to as many listeners as possible. If you're brave enough and genuinely want to not conform to that, go ahead. If you want to create music that fits the mould and have fun while you're at it, it's just as great and important. And I'll forever stand on this hill. Herein lies another issue. The newspaper attributes McRae's success to TikTok virality. Is that actually the case, though? I get the reasoning for the comment (the whole concept of the so-called "TikTok sound" is a conversation for another day), but McRae has already proven that she isn't a TikTok artist — she had a few big hits in the past, e.g. 'you broke me first' which debuted in 2020 and has amassed over a billion streams ever since. So, she isn't a one-hit wonder now, is she? Well, she's certainly not a TikTok artist, either, for she made her mark before TikTok became the phenomenon that it is today. I'm certainly not a die-hard fan of McRae's. I like her new album, I know a couple of her previous songs, and... that's pretty much it. However, what I don't like is when those tasked with guiding us through the vast landscape of music exhibit a rather limited perspective on what is emerging on the horizon. I won't name the publication, nor the person who wrote it. But in an observation filled with sweet ol' irony, I'd like to highlight that the same publication published two separate reviews on 'Think Later', with one giving it 2/5 stars and the other — 4/5. Funny, no? Just some food for thought... With that in mind, I leave you with a song that I've had on repeat for days when it first came out. It's a good 'un. #musicopinion #tatemcrae

Trained Music Directors make the best Corporate Managers. Why? We listen actively and critically. We know when our team is out of sync using measurable data. We are focused and dedicated to create harmony and progression. When we find a problem we work it out (practice) until we find a solution. We work to improve as a team, helping everyone pull their own weight. We have creative minds that come up with profitable solutions. We stay in constant and open communication with our team. We can work on multiple tasks at one time. We patiently push for progress.

You don’t have to be a performer to take the Storytell stage. We want to know YOU- a real story from your life as it happened, as you see it. You don’t have to be particularly funny or clever. The process is more about vulnerability and preparation than comfort on stage. Come as you are, and take time to work your story out so that you’re ready to tell it. Each person who pitches a story (instructions in link) meets with a creative team member to workshop their story to prepare for the stage. The 6 people who are chosen will get 10 minutes to tell a real story from their life to an empathetic audience who’s ready to laugh, and rooting for you. The theme for our next event is “On the Job” and is June 15. If you’ve got a story that can be fit into this theme in any way, consider pitching! To pitch a story or to listen to stories from previous events click here: https://lnkd.in/gQEA2ZzU Text Peggy Ray 270-293-2723 with any questions.

New Post: Labels Competing With Distributors Creates More Options for Creators  - https://lnkd.in/gazEnGGA - These days the music industry sometimes seems like a media business version of “Trading Places” in which every label wants to be a distributor and every distributor wants to become a label. On March 7, Warner Music Group disclosed its interest in buying the French digital music distributor Believe, but all the label groups are focusing more on the distribution game – think Sony Music’s 2021 acquisition of AWAL and Universal Music Group’s October consolidation of Virgin Music and Ingrooves. At the same time, distributors are offering more of the services that only labels used to provide, including radio promotion and different kinds of marketing. From the perspective of an independent creator, these two once-separate sectors have moved close enough that they’re competing – the majors are offering more flexible contracts that allow artists to keep their copyrights, while distributors are providing advances and an array of services to successful acts. For anyone who was in the industry before streaming became the standard, this seems like the music business’ Reese’s moment: You got your distribution in my label! You got your label in my distribution! To outsiders and young creators though, the distinction might not even make that much sense in the first place. Behind all the complicated corporate org charts, isn’t Sony just investing in, marketing and distributing Bad Bunny’s music (through The Orchard), just as it invests in, markets and distributes Beyoncé’s (on Columbia)? Sort of. Companies spend less, and make less, on the music they distribute, while acts signed to labels represent bigger bets both in terms of investment and potential upside. Distribution is steadier, while the label business involves more risk and some very profitable successes that more than make up for them. That’s not new. What is new, though, is how what was once a binary choice has become more of a question of finding the right point on a spectrum of risk and reward that has a traditional label deal at one end, distribution on the other and plenty of options in between. It’s easy to understand why distributors are offering services that were once solely the domain of labels – pure online distribution has always been a low-cost commodity business, and label services offers are one way to get better margins. But what about the opposite? Why are labels getting into a lower-profit business that essentially endangers the best part of their existing business? Especially as label deals get less standard, companies make higher margins on acts that are early in their careers, before they score the success that gets them the leverage to negotiate a better deal. Understanding why the major label groups are investing so much in a less profitable sector than the one they’re in

New Post: Believe’s Board Invites Warner Music Group to Make Them an Offer - https://lnkd.in/g7FutBgQ - Believe’s board of directors on Monday (Mar. 25) asked Warner Music Group (WMG) to submit a formal bid for the French music company after stating that French financial regulators found an offer by a group that includes Believe CEO Denis Ladegaillerie violated certain securities rules. WMG said earlier this month that it approached Believe in February with a non-binding offer to combine the two companies at a price of “at least” 17 euros ($18.60) per share. It now has until Apr. 7 to “submit a binding, unconditional and fully financed offer,” according to a statement from Believe’s board.  Related Believe Revenue Rose 16% in 2023 on Streaming Growth & Expansion in Developing Markets 03/25/2024 Soliciting a take-over bid to compete with an offer by the company’s own chief executive is uncommon and signals an escalation in the fight for control of Believe. In its statement, Believe’s board said the bid from Ladegaillerie and investment firms EQT X and TCV was “not compliant with the rules governing tender offers.” Ladegaillerie and the investors had offered to take Believe private at a price of 15 euros per share — or roughly 1.523 billion euros ($1.64 billion) for the company. Upon learning of WMG’s approach, the consortium tried to speed up the acquisition process by waiving a condition that the board’s ad hoc committee receive an independent expert report into the financial fairness of their offer. A review by the French financial regulatory body, Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), stated the group could not waive this condition. “The Board must permit…that all shareholders of Believe have the option to take advantage of the best possible offer, to the extent such offer is reasonably likely to be successful,” the board said in a statement earlier this month. Believe owns a large label services business, digital distributor TuneCore, publishing administration service Sentric and a stable of record labels including Naïve, Nuclear Blast and Groove Attack. The company’s business model is built around helping to develop artists and using digital marketing and distribution to impact local charts. In 2023, the company posted revenue of 880.3 million euros ($952.8 million at the average exchange rate), up 15.7% from the prior year helped by geographical expansion and strong streaming growth. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or downloa

"There are many definitions of Audience Engagement depending on what side of the business you talk with. But what is clear right now is that orchestras rarely close the loop which includes the audience into the concert equation. Orchestras start the loop by presenting a concert, and typically they don’t close the loop by listening to audience reactions or by giving audiences a voice. That is the lowest hanging fruit and it rarely gets harvested; but when it does, the foundations of an orchestra and its power to sincerely connect with its community and audience only strengthens!" #audienceengagement #marketing #communication #community #listening #responding #listen #respond #innovation #orchestra #theater #concert #concerts #whynot #creative

Want to work on your public speaking or storytelling skills? Consider pitching a story for the next St. Louis Storytell event on October 19. If you have a short story from your life that fits into the theme “The First Time” consider going through our creative team workshop process to prepare your story for the Storytell stage. Dm me for more details. Follow this like to pitch: https://tr.ee/zRzIuuux_E

Here's a talent analogy for you.. let's see if it lands. My favorite band of all time is Green Day - grew up listening to them and never stopped, like many of you perhaps? The group is notorious for their longevity. They are the youngest members at induction time to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, just 43 at the time. Today, they have a new album (their 14th) out. I'm listening to it as I type - it's super solid, best work they've done in years. One lesson I've learned from being a Green Day "mega fan" is that they accredit their longevity to the fact that for them, music is not about the money but about the community and experience. They are all friends outside of the band, and practice 4-6 days a week even when not touring. They are entangled in each other's lives, have known each other since they were in middle / high school, etc. They are all accredited songwriters on every song, so they get the same revenue. Finally, here's my analogy: Green Day proves that community and culture can retain talent. Imagine all of the other offers to join bands or do projects they each have gotten? But they've stayed together, committed to one another. Why? A culture rooted in friendship, deep ties, and a passion for what they do. So here's the lesson I gather in all of this: - Get to know your talent on a deeper level than just the surface - Support them - Pay them well - Offer them opportunities - Provide outstanding leadership Do these few things right, and you'll retain talent better than most organizations. Alright, now I'm going to give this album another listen-through. *disclaimer, if it's needed, that this post is representative of my own thoughts* #recruitment #talentretention #greenday