Know It All - Tip of the Week

The Writers Block June 18-19 2010

2010-06-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

2010-05-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

2010-05-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

2010-04-26T18:52:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Who: Antonio Neal of Anshar Forever Studios
What: The Writers Block
When: June 18 & 19, 2010
Where: Holiday Inn Express, Smyrna, TN

MEDIA CONTACT: Jen Williams
Tenacity Marketing Ideas
(615) 429-9651
jwilliams@tenacitymarketingideas.com

Building a Songwriters Community + Imparting Wisdom = Unlimited Possibilities! Antonio Neal of Anshar Forever Studios presents The Writers Block.

Nashville, TN – Have you noticed that there are many venues around the music industry catering to the up-and-coming artists or established artists? Have you ever thought about the songwriter behind the song sung by the up-and-coming artist? Maybe or maybe not! Antonio Neal, a Grammy Nominated & Dove Songwriter Winner of Anshar Forever Studios is all about the songwriter and is ready to kick-off his First Annual Writers Block held on June 18th and 19th, 2010 at The Holiday Inn Express in Smyrna, Tennessee.
The two-day event will be tailored specifically around the ins-and-outs of how to become the songwriter from within and what is needed from a business perspective. It’s good that you have the talent to write a song, but it also requires knowledge to get your song recorded and published.
The Friday and Saturday line-up will leave you wanting more as we kick-off with Matt Ewald an A&R for EMI CMG Publishing stops by to share his wisdom from the business side. While Jackie Patillo of A&R and Artist Development for Verity/Zomba skills us on the Do’s and Don’ts of pitching songs to artists, music supervisors, and record labels .The team will discuss topics such as Steps to improve song structure, How to develop an outstanding chorus, How to expand beyond your comfort zone, How to copyright songs, and many more. The close of Friday night will be an opportunity for a handful of songwriters to share one of their songs with the budding songwriting community (and yes, that means we all will participate) for positive and helpful feedback. What better way to build a music community than to share an encouraging word with a fellow songwriter?
And, if that was not enough Saturday will be chocked full with the Art of co-writing. This session will be where individuals will be divided into groups, work on a song, and then hit the studio to record. Antonio Neal’s heart is definitely for the music but he knows that the music would not be possible without the songwriter. Antonio says, “ he would love to see a community of songwriters come together and allow the attention to be on the songwriter and not the artist.”
If you are a serious songwriter and you want to receive the knowledge needed to survive in the business then this is where you need to be. The Writers Block is a two-day event and the cost is $99 per person through June 1st after June 1st the price will be $125. Seating is limited to only 40 slots and time is running out to register. To secure your space for this amazing songwriters event register online at www.thewb.eventbrite.com or for more information about Anshar Forever Studios visit www.ansharforever.com. And, if you are interested in booking a room at Holiday Inn Express there is a rate special for $99, just ask for the Writers Block room rate. For additional hotel information call 615-893-9992.

SOUNDOFTHEHOUSE.COM

2010-04-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Writers Block

2010-04-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Who: Antonio Neal of Anshar Forever Studios

What: The Writers Block

When: June 18 & 19, 2010

Where: Holiday Inn Express, Smyrna, TN

MEDIA CONTACT: Jen Williams
Tenacity Marketing Ideas
(615) 429-9651
jwilliams@tenacitymarketingideas.com

Building a Songwriters Community + Imparting Wisdom = Unlimited Possibilities! Antonio Neal of Anshar Forever Studios presents The Writers Block.

Nashville, TN – Have you noticed that there are many venues around the music industry catering to the up-and-coming artists or established artists? Have you ever thought about the songwriter behind the song sung by the up-and-coming artist? Maybe or maybe not! Antonio Neal, a Grammy Nominated & Dove Songwriter Winner of Anshar Forever Studios is all about the songwriter and is ready to kick-off his First Annual Writers Block held on June 18th and 19th, 2010 at The Holiday Inn Express in Smyrna, Tennessee.

The two-day event will be tailored specifically around the ins-and-outs of how to become the songwriter from within and what is needed from a business perspective. It’s good that you have the talent to write a song, but it also requires knowledge to get your song recorded and published.

The Friday and Saturday line-up will leave you wanting more as we kick-off with Matt Ewald an A&R for EMI CMG Publishing stops by to share his wisdom from the business side. While Jackie Patillo of A&R and Artist Development for Verity/Zomba skills us on the Do’s and Don’ts of pitching songs to artists, music supervisors, and record labels .The team will discuss topics such as Steps to improve song structure, How to develop an outstanding chorus, How to expand beyond your comfort zone, How to copyright songs, and many more. The close of Friday night will be an opportunity for a handful of songwriters to share one of their songs with the budding songwriting community (and yes, that means we all will participate) for positive and helpful feedback. What better way to build a music community than to share an encouraging word with a fellow songwriter?

And, if that was not enough Saturday will be focus on the Art of co-writing. This session will be where individuals will be divided into groups, work on a song, applying what they've learned. Antonio Neal knows that a world class artist is irreplaceable and understands that a well written song greatly enhances that ability. Antonio says, “ "I would love to see a community of songwriters come together that would promote and enhance the value and benefit of the unsung heroes of the music industry"

If you are a serious songwriter and you want to receive the knowledge needed to survive in the business then this is where you need to be. The Writers Block is a two-day event and the cost is $99 per person. Seating is limited and time is running out to register. To secure your space for this amazing songwriters event register online at www.thewb.eventbrite.com or for more information about Anshar Forever Studios visit www.ansharforever.com

WATCH BEYOND POTENTIAL LIVE ONLINE!

2010-04-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS!

2010-04-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

YOU SHOULD BE HERE!

2010-03-31T17:01:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Who: Artistic Soul Entertainment
What: Third Annual Beyond Potential Music Gathering & Showcase
When: April 16 & 17, 2010 @ 5 p.m.
Where: Abundant Life Christian Center in Antioch (Greater Nashville Area), TN

MEDIA CONTACT: Jen Williams
Tenacity Marketing Ideas
(615) 429-9651
jwilliams@tenacitymarketingideas.com

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20471_290386547190_590547190_4037475_5920517_n.jpg

Talent good BUT talent + wisdom = SUCCESS! Artistic Soul Entertainment presents The Third Annual Beyond Potential Music Gathering and Showcase.

Nashville, TN – Many gospel hopefuls will have an opportunity to learn and be inspired by some of the top industry executives and artists such as Larry Blackwell, Jr.- VP/GM of EMI Gospel, Karen Jackson –Director of Artist Development for EMI Gospel, Wade Jessen – Sr. Chart Manager for The Nielsen Company/Billboard and many others during the Beyond Potential Music Gathering & Showcase. Talent is definitely needed in this industry, but learning the business is equally important; talent can get you in, wisdom will sustain you. The third annual event will be held on April 16-17th, 2010 at Abundant Life Christian Center in Nashville, TN.

Friday evening we will kick-off with “An Evening with an Executive.” This year’s guest is president and co-founder of Gotee Records, Joey Elwood. Attendees will be able to use this opportunity to pick the brain of one of the most respected names in the industry. Once the impartation of wisdom is concluded, artists and writers can take the stage and share their latest music with their peers and execs on hand, during the BP Open Mic Showcase. Only 30 slots are available, so be the first to register online and sign-up to “showcase” your talent. Also, Artistic Soul Entertainment will be hosting their first annual BP Awards for those who have impacted/influenced the industry.

On Saturday, participants can get ready to experience a full day of empowerment during Beyond Potential University. More than a dozen professionals will lead powerful career development seminars. Topics will include: An Indie’s Guide to Grassroots Marketing, Recording/Engineer Tips, Digital Distribution, Developing the Right Image, and much more. The daylong event will also consist of a Networking Luncheon and a Halftime Show.

And finally, the Music Feedback Session will allow artists to take part in a one-on-one listening session and receive useful feedback on their music. “So many artists are wanting to be heard,” says Antonio Neal, award-winning songwriter and co-founder of Artistic Soul Entertainment. “This is the perfect time to not only share your music, but to get honest feedback from professionals.”

Artistic Soul Entertainment is extending the “early bird” rate of $110 to all those who register on or before April 1. After April 1, registration will be $150, so participants are encouraged to go online and register today at http://www.gobeyondpotential.com. Information regarding college and group rates, as well as a complete list of guest speakers is available online. Additionally, a live pay-per-view webcast of the seminar portions of the event is available making this year’s event accessible to a world-wide audience.

Artistic Soul Entertainment is a multi-talented company providing the finest in Gospel/Christian entertainment. The company centers on artist development and includes a recorded music division, as well as events, products and services aimed at developing the careers of Gospel music entrepreneurs around the world. ASE is the brainchild of award winning songwriter/producer/singer, Antonio Neal and long-time industry executive, Brandon Egerton. For more on Artistic Soul Entertainment, visit www.artisticsoulentertainment.com

2010-03-27T21:15:00.001-07:00

2010-03-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

2010-03-23T20:09:00.000-07:00

2010-03-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Talent good BUT talent + wisdom = SUCCESS

2010-02-04T17:18:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Who: Artistic Soul Entertainment

What: Third Annual Beyond Potential Music Gathering & Showcase

When: April 16 & 17, 2010 @ 5 p.m.

Where: Abundant Life Christian Center in Antioch (Greater Nashville Area), TN

MEDIA CONTACT: Jen Williams
Tenacity Marketing Ideas
(615) 429-9651
jwilliams@tenacitymarketingideas.com

Talent good BUT talent + wisdom = SUCCESS! Artistic Soul Entertainment presents The Third Annual Beyond Potential Music Gathering and Showcase.

Nashville, TN – Many gospel hopefuls will have an opportunity to learn and be inspired by some of the top industry executives and artists such as Larry Blackwell, Jr.- VP/GM of EMI Gospel, Karen Jackson –Director of Artist Development for EMI Gospel, Wade Jessen – Sr. Chart Manager for The Nielson Company/Billboard and many others during the Beyond Potential Music Gathering & Showcase. Talent is definitely needed in this industry, but learning the business is equally important; talent can get you in, wisdom will sustain you. The third annual event will be held on April 16-17th, 2010 at Abundant Life Christian Center in Nashville, TN.

Friday evening we will kick-off with president and co-founder of Gotee Records, Joey Elwood; “An Evening with an Executive.” Attendees will be able to use this opportunity to pick the brain of one of the most respected names in the industry. Once the impartation of wisdom is concluded, artists and writers can take the stage and share their latest music with their peers and execs on hand, during the BP Open Mic Showcase which features special guest appearances by Lisa McClendon and Pettidee. Only 30 slots are available, so be the first to register online and sign-up to “showcase” your talent. Also, Artistic Soul Entertainment will be hosting their first annual BP Awards for those who have impacted/influenced the industry.

On Saturday, participants can get ready to experience a day of empowerment during Beyond Potential University. More than a dozen professionals will lead powerful career development seminars. Topics will include: An Indie’s Guide to Grassroots Marketing, Recording/Engineer Tips, Digital Distribution, Developing the Right Image, and much more. The daylong event will also consist of a networking luncheon and a halftime show.

And finally, the Music Feedback Session will allow artists to take part in a one-on-one listening session and receive useful feedback on their music. “So many artists are wanting to be heard,” says Antonio Neal, award-winning songwriter and co-founder of Artistic Soul Entertainment. “This is the perfect time to not only share your music, but to get honest feedback from professionals.”

Artistic Soul Entertainment is extending the “early bird” rate of $110 to all those who register on or before April 1. After April 1, registration will be $150, so participants are advised to go online and register today at www.gobeyondpotential.com. Information regarding college and group rates, as well as a complete list of guest speakers is available online.

Artistic Soul Entertainment is a multi-talented company providing the finest in Gospel/Christian entertainment. The company centers on artist development and includes a recorded music division, as well as events, products and services aimed at developing the careers of Gospel music entrepreneurs around the world. Additionally, the company goes beyond the music and impacts the community through youth mentorship, supporting music in the schools and various other initiatives aimed at impacting the lives of young people.

2010-01-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

Take time to help someone else today.

The growth of digital music

2010-01-28T17:17:00.001-08:00

January 21, 2010
How people use Nielsen to hurt musicians.

I read an article today at Digital Music News about comments by Tommy Silverman - founder of Tommy Boy and the New Music Seminar.

With all due respect, his information is wrong. But worse, the conclusions he reaches from this faulty information could be damaging to artists.

Some highlights include statements like:

Silverman counted 105,575 new album releases that year, and found that just 225 of those were new artists surpassing the 10,000 unit threshold for the first time. Of that, just 14 were do-it-yourself artists, unaffiliated with a major, indie, or other entity."

and

"What does this say about the Chris Anderson 'Long Tail' promise?" Silverman blogged in Musician Coaching. "Clearly the ease of making and distributing music does not benefit 'breaking' music. Breaking music requires mass exposure which requires luck or money or both. I can say with great authority that less new music is breaking now in America than any other time in history. Technology has not helped more great music rise to the top, it has inhibited it. I know this is a bold statement but it is true."

I wrote a response to the editor of the blog where the article appeared, I do not know if he will post it, but I feel so strongly about making certain word gets out, I am re-posting my response to Tommy's statements here

------------

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing you in response to Tommy's information and posting - the good news, he is dead wrong. The truth is more artists and bands are breaking now in America, and around the world, than at any other time in history. Technology has absolutly helped more great artists and bands rise to the top.

The Nielsen data cited is not only incomplete, but also provides a false analysis.

Let me provide you some hard stats to back this up:

According to Nielsen and Tommy there were:
"...106,000 new (music) releases in 2008"

In 2008, TuneCore released approximately 90,000 newly recorded releases

This means, according to Nielsen and Tommy, almost every single new music release in 2008 was distributed via TuneCore.

I know this simply not to be true - the base assumption that Tommy is making is as dead wrong as his other statistics.

Another example, Tommy states:

" just 225 of those (the new releases) were new artists surpassing the 10,000 unit threshold for the first time. "

This is an empirically false statement for a few reasons.

First, in order for Nielsen to accuratly track sales, the UPCs for those albums must be pre-registered in their database. If the UPC is not registered in its database, Nielsen can not match the sales data to an album (or song). For example, if a digital store tells Nielsen it sold 100 copies of UPC # 123456789, and Nielsen has no idea what UPC # 123456789 is, it can not report the sales.

Next, the majority of the 90,000 releases via TuneCore in 2009 were not registered with Soundscan therefore making it impossible for them to track or report on the sales.

But these two points are actually kind of moot. Music is no longer bought by the album, it is bought by the song across an artist's catalog. Tracking album sales as the sole indicator to determine if something is "breaking" is analogous to tracking only vinyl album sales to determine if something is "breaking"

Some examples:

When they were unsigned, the following TuneCore artists sold the following quantities of songs across their releases:

Kelly sold over 2,000,000 million tracks
William Fitzsimmons sold over 150,000 tracks
Soulja Boy sold over 200,000 tracks
Boyce Avenue sold over 1,200,000 tracks
Ron Pope sold over 250,000 tracks
Colt Ford sold over 300,000 tracks
Secondhand Serenade sold over 250,000 tracks
Tapes N Tapes sold over 200,000 tracks
Nevershoutnever sold over 1,000,000 tracks
Drake sold over 300,000 tracks
MGMT sold over 225,000 tracks
The Medic Droid sold over 150,00 tracks
Nickasaur sold over 150,000 tracks
Harry and the Potters sold over 200,000 tracks

This is just a very quick partial list that goes on and on and on

Under Tommy's model, none of these artist sales count as they are not "album" sales.

With all due respect, Tommy might discount selling over 1,000,000 songs by an "unsigned" artist as not "breaking", but I do.

On a macro level, in 2009 alone, the internet allowed the "long tail" unsigned artists that used TuneCore to generate over $32,000,000 in music sales by selling over 42,000,000 songs - this is more than one song a second selling by a TuneCore Artist on iTunes. This "long tail" catalog that TuneCore's Aritsts represent is now one of the most valuable music catalogs in the world. And this all happened due to the net, social networking and access to the media outlets (like YouTube).

"Breaking" is not just about selling albums or even just the music - it is about generating revenue off of fame. This is done via merch, gig, publishing, music sales, ad revenue and more. Nevershoutnever sold over 35,000 t-shirts in a number of months via a regional sales program with Hot Topic. Surely Tommy does not mean to discount these sales and revenue simply because the artist is selling merch? How about if the band sold no music but consistently sold out 1,000 venue clubs and made $15,000 a night? Why does Tommy discredit bands for their success if they are not selling "albums"?

Another distributing and incorrect point suggested by Tommy is that music sales are down due to the fact that there is more music available to buy, share and discover.

As a matter of fact, its quite the opposite

In the late 90's - also known as the "golden age" of market share and revenue for the music industry - more music was being released and bought than ever before (as an example, Warner was releasing one new release a day). Despite this increase of releases, sales (not just revenue) went up, not down.

Or from a pure logic perspective, if iTunes had 2,000,000 less songs, would an artist that is not selling now as no one likes their music magically start selling. Or to flip it around, I would suggest more music on the virtual shelf causes more music to sell as it allows the music buyer to discover music via the digital stores own recommendation association engines.

Tommy's goes on to state:

"Breaking music requires mass exposure which requires luck or money or both."

This statement is also dead wrong - and he knows it based on is own experiences at Tommy Boy.

Historically, in the music industry, 98% of what the record labels distributed, spent hundreds of millions of dollars on to market and promote and get played on commercial radio and MTV did not "break". If "breaking" simply "required mass exposure", there would have been a 98% success rate, not failure rate. But music is not a math equation, and therein lies the problem with Tommy's statement. Yes, to break you need exposure, but that by no means guarantees success. The music has to cause reaction. For example, if "Smells Like Teen Spirit' was not a song that people liked, it would not have mattered how much money was spent on getting you to hear it.

And that's the excitement and beauty of the internet. The masses now have direct access to the media and "music discovery" social networking outlets. - i.e. YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Jango and more. These new social networking and media vehicles allow mass communication in an instanteous fashion at a click of button. Suddenly one person's opinion does matter and can can impact a bottom line. Even the digital stores themselves provide a vehicle to market and promote yourself off off (i.e. iTunes iMixes or recommendations of other music to buy). Through these vehicles the internet has delivered the ability for anyone to "break", and they actually are. The masses now have access to the media outlets to get heard. The problem is the old school view that "breaking" is simply defined by selling albums. This could not be farther from the truth.

Tommy also goes onto say:

"I can say with great authority that less new music is breaking now in America than any other time in history. Technology has not helped more great music rise to the top, it has inhibited it. I know this is a bold statement but it is true."

It might be a bold statement by Tommy to help get headlines, but it's also false (and kind of silly). The truth is more artists and bands are breaking now in America, and around the world, than at any other time in history. Technology has absolutly helped more great artists and bands rise to the top.

The distressing part for me about this is based on Tommy's statements, if an artists' release is not counted by Nielsen than it is not actually released. If music does not sell as an album then it has not sold. In effect, he is de-legitimizing artists.

With all due respect, I believe an artist's release should "count" even if not recognized by Nielsen as this de-recognition closes off possible opportunities based on the perception that a release is not "real"

I also find it distressing that the media, and other outlets, turn to Nielsen as the definitive source to determine what is occurring in this industry thereby decreasing the opportunities for musicians and artists that are not part of this old school system.

The reality is the majority of music is now being created, released and sold outside of the traditional system. Ad agencies, music supervisors, video game manufacturers, radio programmers etc turn to Nielsen for information to discover music in an attempt to use/license it. They need to understand that the Nielsen information is an incomplete and an inaccurate portrayal of reality. This inaccurate perception is holding back opportunity and validation for others. Tommy needs to stop propagating this false perception as it hurts artists.

It's important that an accurate picture of what is occurring be presented to fans and businesses to provide additional choice and opportunity for musicians. They work hard enough as it is, the last thing we need to do is propagate a false reality to hurt them. Tommy's heart is in the right place, we are here to help musicians, but let's start with a more accurate description as opposed to a "bold" but false statement that helps promote an agenda.

Let's Help Benita Help our Brothers and Sisters in Haiti!

2010-01-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

Good Afternoon Industry Friends!

My church (CrossRoads Church) and I are organizing our response to the devastation that has occurred with the recent earthquake in Haiti. We are planning an EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRIP TO HAITI in three weeks! During this trip, we will be helping at THE FAITH AND LOVE IN ACTION ORPHANAGE to help with relief efforts including: serving food, water, clothing, toiletries, and helping to re-build the part of the orphanage that was severely damaged. This is the same orphanage that my church team visited and helped last year during our missions trip there. They are at such an insurmountable loss right now and, along with the rest of Haiti, are very desperate for help!

I have been in continual prayer over the weekend and God revealed to me today I should go. I have an extremely short amount of time to raise money to fund it. The trip is set to take place the week of Feb 7-Feb 13. So, first, I ask that you keep this nation of Haiti in your prayers. Then pray for our team's safety as we travel there. Finally, I ask you to PLEASE consider being a part of this response by helping me raise money to go so we can help Haiti during this time of crisis! The full amount I need to raise is $1200 before the end of the WEEK (Jan 22nd) for our plane tickets! I need help to go! WE CAN DO THIS!!!! Your financial gift of any amount is tax deductible and will go further than you know! Your donation is greatly appreciated!!

Please make your check out to CrossRoads Church-World Missions. Please put "Haiti trip/Benita Bellamy" on the memo line.

You can log on to our website www.crossroadsantioch.org (select Donate to Haiti, click Benita Bellamy in the paypal drop down box),

You can give this directly to me or mail it to arrive by Friday, Jan 22 to:

CROSSROADS CHURCH

P.O. BOX 678

ANTIOCH, TN

37011

I’m going to be helping hands and rebuild, a compassionate voice to minister and open arms to embrace those in need.

Thank you for supporting me and doing your part to help Haiti! Keep our team in your prayers!

Best,

B

2010-01-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

2010-01-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Beyond Potential Music Gathering 2010

2010-01-09T15:40:00.001-08:00

Beyond Potential Music Gathering..It's on for 2010! We are looking forward to great things at the upcoming gathering.The Open Mic Showcase is back by popular demand and of course, as always,we're putting you face to face with some of the brightest minds in the music business who are hand to share wisdom on taking your career to the next level. Great news on ticket prices too..early registration is 30% less than last years event! Register early and save(for a limited time)

Are you ready?

2010-01-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!! We are looking forward to a great 2010! This is the season to refocus and pursue all the God has shown you. Be diligent in the small things and He will make you ruler of much. It’s time to steward over your gift and watch it flourish!

BP Music Gathering April 16 -17 Nashville, TN
Have you made plans to be at the life changing gathering for emerging Gospel artists? Time is coming close and April will be here before you know it. The Open Mic Showcase is back by popular demand hosted by some award winning artist. As always, we’re putting you face to face with some of the brightest minds in the music business. We’ll have industry execs – EMI Gospel’s VP/GM, Larry Blackwell and Artist Development Director, Karen Jackson; Gotee Records President, Joey Elwood; Billboard Magazine’s Wade Jessen and many more music professionals on hand. This is THE event, if your goal is to make progress in your career. Act Now!! Register today and you can save $50. Make an investment in your future! www.gobeyondpotential.com

Vernon Williams presents…Defining Worship Again Worship & Arts Conference February 3-6, 2010. It will be held at North Star Church in Columbia, SC. If worship is the dwelling place of the Lord, what paths or roads do we take to get in His presence. It’s going to be an awesome time of revelation and worship! For more information www.definingworshipagain.com or 229-223-9500.

BEYOND POTENTIAL MUSIC GATHERING HITS NASHVILLE!

2010-01-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!! We are looking forward to a great 2010! This is the season to refocus and pursue all the God has shown you. Be diligent in the small things and He will make you ruler of much. It’s time to steward over your gift and watch it flourish!

BP Music Gathering April 16 -17 Nashville, TN
Have you made plans to be at the life changing gathering for emerging Gospel artist? Time is coming close and April will be here before you know it. The Open Mic Showcase is back by popular demand hosted by some award winning artist. As always, we’re putting you face to face with some of the brightest minds in the music business. We’ll have industry execs – EMI Gospel’s VP/GM, Larry Blackwell and Artist Development Director, Karen Jackson; Gotee Records President, Joey Elwood; Billboard Magazine’s Wade Jessen and many more music professionals on hand. This is THE event, if your goal is to make progress in your career. Act Now!! Register today and you can save $50. Make an investment in your future! www.gobeyondpotential.com

Take a moment and check out the video!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V78WueOrbmE

Vernon Williams presents…Defining Worship Again Worship & Arts Conference February 3-6, 2010. It will be held at North Star Church in Columbia, SC. If worship is the dwelling place of the Lord, what paths or roads do we take to get in His presence. It’s going to be an awesome time of revelation and worship! For more information www.definingworshipagain.com or 229-223-9500.

Moving Forward

2009-12-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

Family,
As we reflect on 2009, we just wanted to say a BIG thank you for helping us have such a fantastic year! Starting with our annual event – BP Music Gathering this past April, the BP Sumer Showcase and our Artist Development weekends in Chicago, Dayton and Greensboro. As we look ahead, we’re excited about not only the year ahead but also what God’s doing in the next decade and are humbled that we get to be a part of impacting the culture for Christ through music. As always, if we can be of service to you, don’t hesitate to let us know. Blessings to you in 2010!
Brandon & Antonio

BP Music Gathering April 16 -17 Nashville, TN
we’re looking forward to great things at the upcoming gathering. The Open Mic Showcase is back by popular demand and of course as always, we’re putting you face to face with some of the brightest minds in the music business. We’ll have industry execs – EMI Gospel’s VP/GM, Larry Blackwell and Artist Development Director, Karen Jackson; Gotee Records President, Joey Elwood; Billboard Magazine’s Wade Jessen and many more music professionals on hand. This is THE event, if your goal is to make progress in your career. Act Now!! Register today and you can save $50. Make an investment in your future! www.gobeyondpotential.com

Do something good for your business this holiday season by adding a new logo, cd or dvd cover design to enhance your company look and product awareness. Check out freelance designer Michael Phelon at www.michaelphelon.com Today!

If you are in need of guidance on what steps to take next with your music career contact Sideman Consulting. They are currently booking in-person Music Career Consultations during Stellar Award Weekend, January 14 -17, 2010. If you plan on being here in Nashville, TN take advantage of this great opportunity at www.sidemanconsulting.com.

Joi Morgan is the CEO/ Founder of RareJEM L.L.C. is a company that focuses on the local events, artists, and businesses internationally. The goal is to increase an awareness and audiences for our clients. RareJEM L.L.C. prides itself on helping those who may not have the a large budget to hire a larger firm. We provide quality customer services with integrity. Using social sites, mediums, and publications, the increase in audiences, sales, and production will be reached. We always provide booking management as well. Our mission statement: “We represent you because you must bmaj (be major)!!" To find out more information contact us at www.rarejem.ning.com.

Emerging Artist of the Week
Tisha Stratford is an emerging gospel artist with a powerful, rhythmic voice and musical style that fuses R&B, Dance/Techno, Pop and Classic Gospel. She is currently writing and recording her next project and its going to be dynamic! Go to http://www.imagospelsinger.com/profile/TishaStratford or www.tishastratford.com to hear more from her upcoming project!

ANOTHER MUSIC TOOL YOU CAN USE!

2009-12-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

HELLO EVERYONE,

AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO HELP FURTHER YOUR MUSIC MINISTRY AND CAREER! WHEN YOU HAVE TIME CHECK OUT WWW.ilike.com, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF IT ALREADY...IT INTEGRATES WITH MYSPACE, FACEBOOK AND ITUNES..IT'S A COOL WAY TO PROMOTE AND MANAGE YOUR MUSIC!

www.ilike.com

MUSIC BUSINESS HEADS INTO THE VIRUTAL WORLD

2009-12-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

BRAD STONE and CLAIRE CAIN MILLER
Published: December 15, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO — With its deal this month to buy the Web music service Lala, Apple may be pointing the way to the future of music.

In this future, the digital music files on people’s computers could join vinyl records, cassette tapes and CDs in the dusty vault of fading music formats.

Instead, music fans will use their always-online computers and smartphones to visit a vast Internet jukebox, where Gregorian chants, Lady Gaga tracks and the several centuries of music in between are instantly available.

For a small but growing cadre of music lovers, the vision is not that outlandish. Josh Newman, a 30-year-old technology consultant from Toronto who travels widely, pays $16 a month for Spotify, a subscription music service that, for now, is officially available only in Europe. Spotify allows unlimited listening to its online music library.

Since Spotify introduced an application for the iPhone over the summer, Mr. Newman has begun listening to the service almost exclusively, even though he has 35,000 songs on hard drives at home.

“The irony is, I don’t even go back to that music,” Mr. Newman said. “I’m almost too lazy. If there’s an artist I want to check out, I’d rather listen to it on Spotify than have to dig through my collection.”

The idea of a limitless jukebox in the sky — or in tech-speak, “in the cloud” — has been around for some time, but it is consuming music executives who now associate the word “funk” with more than just a musical genre. The recording industry, which had $40 billion in annual sales a decade ago, is now bringing in half that. More ominously, the growth of revenue from digital downloads, still only a fifth of the total sales pie, is slowing.

The deal for the little-known Lala was a small one from Apple’s perspective; the price was more than $80 million, according to a person briefed on the deal terms. But it is generating a lot of interest because of what it may say about Apple’s plans for streaming music.

With an estimated $2 billion in annual revenue from iTunes, Apple is in a good position to guide consumers through the process of storing their music collections on Web servers and listening to them in new ways. It can also tightly integrate such a music service into the iPhone, the iPod Touch and all other existing and future Apple gadgets that connect to the Internet.

Users would no longer have to synchronize their music collections between devices, would not have to worry about running out of storage space on their phone, and could more easily share playlists and recommendations with friends.

Apple could also ask users to pay a monthly subscription fee for access to a Spotify-like cloud-based catalog of music. Two music industry executives said Apple had been considering such a subscription service for years, but could never agree on the right revenue split with labels.

“We generally don’t comment on our purpose and plans,” said Steve Dowling, an Apple spokesman.

David Pakman, a partner at the venture capital firm Venrock and the former chief executive of the download service eMusic, said that Apple “could accelerate the move to media in the cloud more quickly than any other company can.” The acquisition of Lala, he said, “tells us they’re doing it.”

Other recent developments in the music and technology businesses also suggest an impending shift in a century-long approach to music, in which people considered it to be something they owned, either in physical formats or digitally on their computers.

In August, Spotify introduced its iPhone application, which stores temporary copies of songs and playlists on the phone so that music keeps playing even when the device drops off the network. Spotify’s chief executive, Daniel Ek, said subscriber numbers had jumped significantly since the introduction of the app; he would not give exact figures.

The iPhone application “was a huge step toward a paradigm shift where it’s no longer about à la carte purchases, but access to music,” Mr. Ek said.

Spotify, based in London, hopes to introduce its service in the United States at the beginning of next year, although people briefed on its discussions with music companies say that the labels were resisting a component of the service in which music would be available free, supported by ads.

Pandora, the free Internet radio service, offers an application that continues to be among the most popular apps for the iPhone, and the company says that 30 percent of its listeners connect over cellphones.

(Page 2 of 2)

Meanwhile, MySpace, owned by the News Corporation, has acquired two cloud music services in the last month, iLike and Imeem. People briefed on discussions inside MySpace say it is developing a subscription music service to complement its free, ad-supported MySpace Music, a joint venture with the four major music labels.

Courtney Holt, president of MySpace Music, would not discuss specific plans. But he said consumers care less about how music is delivered and more about finding new ways to share and discover music with their friends.

Technology start-ups have hoped for years that the vast selection and convenience of Web-based music offerings would lure people into spending a few dollars a month in subscription fees. That business, for companies like Rhapsody, jointly owned by RealNetworks and MTV, and Napster, a division of Best Buy, has not yet shown real promise.

But with the added appeal that such services can now be accessed on smartphones, many entrepreneurs are reconsidering that model. “There’s nothing sexy about an MP3 on your computer,” said David Hyman, chief executive of Mog, which introduced a subscription service this month called Mog All Access. “I don’t think consumers care where the music is stored, as long as they can get it when they want it.”

Not everyone agrees that music in the cloud will constitute a silver lining for the music industry. Critics say wireless connectivity, particularly on overtaxed networks like AT&T’s in the United States, is still too unreliable to provide a constant stream of music on mobile devices. They also worry that wireless companies will increase charges for data as the streaming of music and video becomes more popular.

It seems likely that the idea of music ownership will never go away, and that newer methods of accessing music will exist alongside old ones. Bobby Mohr, a 23-year-old music fan from Brooklyn who has accumulated 100 gigabytes of songs, keeps some of them on free Web-based storage services, so he can download tracks when he travels and burn them onto CDs to play in the car.

But Mr. Mohr is hesitant to abandon the idea of owning music altogether, citing the unreliability of wireless networks and the fact that his collection would be inaccessible at his job at a police oversight agency, where he is not allowed to use the Internet.

“I like having external hard drives that are troves of my music,” he said. “You just collect it, you have this library. You discover new genres every year and you go through it and look at what you have, and that’s nice.”

Bob Lefsetz, who writes an influential music industry newsletter, the Lefsetz Letter, acknowledged that some people bristle at the idea of not owning their music, but he compared them to people who once said they would never rent a videotape.

“If you ask anybody today, they’ll tell you, ‘I need to own it.’ But once you have these services, you get to the point of, ‘Why would I own it, because I have access to everything?’ ”

MYSPACE VS.FACEBOOK

2009-12-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

MySpace vs. Facebook Face-off by Jake Hartsfield
Jake Hartsfield is a songwriter, producer, touring sound engineer and a member of the TuneCore Marketing Team.

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MySpace and Facebook feel like they've always been around, even though both were founded in 2003 – only six years ago. The growth of both entities was incredibly fast and speaks for how quickly technology and the world today are changing. In the last year alone, we’ve seen a number of major power shifts in the world of social media networking. The biggest one being in December 2008 (one year ago) that Facebook passed MySpace in user numbers.
Compete.com reports that Facebook has grown from ~3.4 million unique visits per month in October 2008 to 23+ million unique visits per month in October 2009. Myspace, has actually declined in unique visits per month from ~55 million in October 2008 to ~50 million in October 2009. Clearly, Facebook has taken the social networking community (industry, should we call it?) by storm and is still growing in size and popularity. Yet MySpace is still the number one place people turn to for music. So, when it comes to the social networking communities and the music industry, which service is more important? Do they each play different roles in the career of an artist, or share some of the same roles? Lets look past the numbers and define what each service has become as their roles on the Internet have evolved, and the pros and cons of each.

Myspace – the Beginning
When MySpace was first launched, it grew to become the largest social networking site – most of the users were individuals and used MySpace to connect with friends, plan parties, etc. MySpace was also one of the few sites offering free accounts that allowed bands to sign up and host their music. As MySpace grew in numbers, it also grew as the leading place to look for new music – and when you heard about a band, the first place you looked to find them was MySpace. Even bands that had official websites began using MySpace – if you didn’t have one, you might as well not have existed. If you were looking for a particular band, you knew they’d be on MySpace and you also knew that their page was going to have a music player easily located in the top-right side of the page. This dependability made MySpace a more reliable source for music than artists’ official websites. Every artist’s official website is unique, which means their music player could be anywhere, and it’s usually hard to find – if they have one at all.
The customization that MySpace allowed was very appealing to all users, especially bands. You could make your page exactly the way you wanted it (if you could figure out the html).

Facebook’s Appeal
1. Ease of Use, Networking - In the early adoption of Facebook, people immediately noticed how easy and simple creating a profile was. There was no need to learn html or spend time finding a free pre-made layout to make it look good. It was also much easier to find people, because users were actually encouraged to use their real names.
2. Clean and Organized - A lot of people actually liked how much cleaner and simpler Facebook profiles appeared as opposed to MySpace. With people trying to customize their profiles on MySpace, it was hard to find people’s information, and there was a lot of poorly programmed html, which caused a lot of bugs and unreadable pages.
3. Dynamic Interface - Sharing information was so much easier on Facebook that it prompted people to use Facebook as a platform for sharing ideas and connecting instantly with people on a national scale. It allowed people to be creative and use groups to discuss politics, sports, form organizations, and raise money.
4. The Status Bar – This utterly simple concept encouraged people to visit each other’s Facebook pages more frequently to see what they were doing. The inherent power of the status bar should be apparent after the tremendous hype we’ve seen with Twitter.
5. Less Spam – Facebook – from the beginning – has had much less of a spam problem than MySpace, due to heavy policing by the site admin and Facebook users’ intolerance for it.
These innovations that trumped MySpace in usability and popularity caused the paradigm shift in personal users from MySpace to Facebook.

Why MySpace still holds the spotlight for music
Facebook was not originally intended to be a music website – when it was growing in popularity, in still did not have working music players. Some applications were slowly introduced that allowed people to play their own music on their profile pages, but it didn’t allow bands to create pages. Bands could make fan groups, but couldn’t play music on the actual pages.
MySpace was still everyone’s #1 destination if they wanted to hear music – and the plus side was you didn’t have to be a member of MySpace to visit a band’s profile.
Facebook soon gave into the pressure to give bands profiles on Facebook and introduced pages, which allow bands to have music players, tour calendars, photos, videos, etc. Even with these new options, bands couldn’t customize their profiles the way they could with MySpace, or organize their content exactly the way they wanted it. Facebook became a useful addition to a band’s online presence, but was not the necessity MySpace was.

Similar Features
When Facebook introduced advertising, allowing bands, companies, and individuals to advertise anything they wanted, they offered something that MySpace didn’t have for bands. It was understated, and not as many bands caught on at first as did the larger companies that were using Facebook. Following Facebook’s lead, MySpace tried to make advertising on their site as easy as it is on Facebook…The most obvious difference is that Facebook has a much larger, deeper, and easily-targeted demographic of users, which makes advertising incredibly easy and effective. MySpace has lost most of its personal users, so most of the people looking at the ads are other bands… [Facebook +1]
It’s difficult to create & invite people to events on MySpace, and it’s incredibly easy on Facebook. Creating event pages with fresh media (photos, videos, links) is easy on Facebook. It’s also harder to get the same fan response and interaction on MySpace… [Facebook +1]
MySpace was an easier website to point people to, because everyone was assigned their own URL, defined by their username. Facebook matched MySpace earlier this year when it started allowing people to grab their own URL’s…[draw]
Facebook still doesn’t allow customization of pages, which limits an artist’s creative expression. MySpace lets artists program their page as if it were a completely unique website, allowing artists to feature videos, graphics, and advertisements in whatever form they want…[MySpace +1]
The new google search is beginning to include music results at the top of the list when an artist’s name is searched – it pulls this information primarily from Myspace and Lala. [MySpace +1]

The Verdict
While Facebook is certainly the best place for an artist to advertise and interact with fans, it lacks the appearance of a personal website that MySpace has, and the music player is secondary to the news feed on the page. On MySpace, the music player is the focus of the page, and far more artists have MySpace pages than have complete Facebook pages.
I know of industry folks who will look at a band’s MySpace page before looking at their actual website – (1) to listen to their music, and (2) to see how many friends they have. Yes, the number of MySpace friends you have is still relevant in the industry today. It probably not as accurate as the number of fans you have on your Facebook page, which are much more accessible than your MySpace friends, but it still adds credibility.
I think as more bands begin to adopt Facebook pages and focus on building their fan base through Facebook, the number of fans on a band’s page will carry more weight than the number of “friends” on MySpace. For now, MySpace is still very relevant in the music industry, so I’d recommend having both a strong MySpace and Facebook presence. MySpace for music, Facebook for fan interaction.

NEW MUSIC SHOW

2009-12-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody,

I'm kicking off a new Gospel/Christian music television show at the top of the year.. I am looking for and need QUALITY videos and people to interview for the show.. I need QUALITY videos for all styles of modern gospel music! To be considered please send your videos to antonioneal@gmail.com

INTRODUCING THE BP RADIO SHOW!

2009-11-24T21:46:00.001-08:00

The DIY Record Company

2009-11-20T15:28:00.000-08:00

November 17, 2009
The Do It Yourself Record Company by Donald S. Passman
(And if you act right now, we'll throw in a knife that slices tomatoes paper thin).

By Donald S. Passman, author of All You Need To Know About The Music Business

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Historically, record companies held the keys to the kingdom. It took a large organization to manufacture and ship records to stores, meaning things like manufacturing plants, warehouses, sales forces, shipping people, financial controls, etc. Also, in order to really sell records, you had to get your music on the radio and MTV, which took a promotion staff and a lot of money.

In those days, the record retailers were so big that they wouldn’t bother with small players. That meant it was hard to get your product on their shelves if you didn’t come through a record company. Also, frankly, the big record companies paid retailers a lot of money to position their product prominently in the stores. So even if an artist managed to get their records into the retail bins, they’d likely get buried in the back. If, somehow, the records started selling anyway, the retailers would pay the artist late (if at all), since one little player didn’t matter to them. On top of all this, as we’ll discuss when we get to pressing and distribution deals (on page xxx), the artist had to put up the money to manufacture the records. If the stores didn’t sell them, they’d be returned to the artist, who’d lose the manufacturing costs, plus the freight costs in both directions. So it took a big player to absorb those kinds of risks.
Today, things have really changed:
1. While it’s still difficult to get your product into stores (now it’s because they carry so few titles), physical retailers are becoming less significant as CD sales decline. Conversely, digital is on the rise, and anyone can get their music distributed digitally.
2. Radio is still very important for mainstream artists, but it’s become a very narrow channel, meaning it plays only a limited range of music genres, and not a lot of different titles. Because of this, alternative ways for people to discover music are becoming more important, and the Internet (which anyone can access) is one of the keys.
3. A direct relationship with fans is the next generation of marketing, and young artists are proving more savvy in this area than a lot of established companies.

On top of all that, when you make a deal with a record company, you give up control of your recordings (as well as other aspects of your life, such as the ability to do music for films, commercials, concert videos, etc.), and you also give up a chunk of your income from both record and non-record areas (as we’ll discuss in a bit).
So, why would you want a record company? Well, if you’re a niche artist (for example, a jam band, backpacker, or indie rock band), and you’re happy staying in your niche and selling to a small group of fans, you may not need or want a record deal. It’s possible (through outfits like Tunecore) to get your music to iTunes, Amazon, and other digital retailers, and you can make a living doing gigs, promoting yourself directly to your fans, and selling your tracks. Because your genre limits your potential audience, you’ll often make more money by doing it yourself than you will with a record company. For a record deal to make sense, the company has to generate more money for you (after they take their piece) than you would get by selling less product on your own. With niche artists, that’s often questionable.
If you’re more mainstream, such as pop, rock, or country, this is a much tougher question. You can of course set up a killer MySpace page, build a fanbase, and sell directly to them. Since your music has a wide appeal, if you break through, you’ll make far more money by keeping the record company’s share of the pie, not to mention keeping all of your non-record income. But here’s the problem: The same way that it’s easy for you to set all this up, it’s easy for everybody to set this up. There are over four million bands on MySpace, and that number is growing. How’s anyone going to find your music?
There are some “virtual” record companies who can help. These companies, who were started by talented people who lost record company jobs when the industry melted down, will do everything from sales, marketing, promotion, etc., yet let you keep control of your destiny. However, they charge pretty heavily for these services, which most new artists can’t afford. Thus, they’ve mostly been successful with artists who’ve already released a few albums (and therefore have a fan base), but are out of their record deals. For this reason, a lot (maybe even most) mainstream artists are still looking for record deals.
Having said all that, young artists today are working the Internet and new media far better than the established record industry. The future of music marketing is to know who your fans are and to contact them directly. In the past, no one had any idea who went into record stores and bought the multi-million sellers, or who was listening to the radio when they were played millions of times. Today, between the Internet and cell phones, it’s possible to know exactly who likes your music.
Young artists have gotten very sophisticated about building a database of their fans. For example, at their shows, many artists give away something (pins, stickers, hundred dollar bills, etc) to everyone who signs their mailing list. The artists then promote their shows, recordings, and merchandise through email and mobile phone text messaging. Some artists even do lifecasting, where they’re communicating with fans a number of times each day. For example, they might iChat on the way to a gig; blast out backstage updates through Twitter or Kyte; send pictures of themselves on stage; forward videos of themselves in the bathtub with rubber duckies; etc. Even if they only build their fan list with a few more people at each gig, if they keep at it, they can get enough to generate a buzz on MySpace and similar sites.
So these days, more than ever before, it’s possible to build a career on your own. Or if not a career, at least a solid base from which to launch yourself and get the attention of a record company, if you decide to go with a record company.
Now get out there and do it!

Wisdom worth Living For

2009-11-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 8:12-35 (The Message)

12-21 "I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;
Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.
The Fear-of-God means hating Evil,
whose ways I hate with a passion—
pride and arrogance and crooked talk.
Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics;
I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.
With my help, leaders rule,
and lawmakers legislate fairly;
With my help, governors govern,
along with all in legitimate authority.
I love those who love me;
those who look for me find me.
Wealth and Glory accompany me—
also substantial Honor and a Good Name.
My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;
the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.
You can find me on Righteous Road—that's where I walk—
at the intersection of Justice Avenue,
Handing out life to those who love me,
filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

22-31 "God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—
before he did anything else.
I was brought into being a long time ago,
well before Earth got its start.
I arrived on the scene before Ocean,
yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.
Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,
I was already there, newborn;
Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons,
and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,
And set Sky firmly in place,
I was there.
When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,
built the vast vault of Heaven,
and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,
When he drew a boundary for Sea,
posted a sign that said no trespassing,
And then staked out Earth's Foundations,
I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.
Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,
always enjoying his company,
Delighted with the world of things and creatures,
happily celebrating the human family.

32-36 "So, my dear friends, listen carefully;
those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.
Mark a life of discipline and live wisely;
don't squander your precious life.
Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me,
awake and ready for me each morning,
alert and responsive as I start my day's work.
When you find me, you find life, real life,
to say nothing of God's good pleasure.
But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul;
when you reject me, you're flirting with death."

BP Music Conference Call on Tues Nov 17 2009!!

2009-11-16T11:26:00.000-08:00

12:00 pm CST
Call:712-432-0600 access code:802317
Come with questions and an open ear to learn!
We are looking forward to a great conversation tomorrow!

Building an effective Indie label

2009-10-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Artistic Soul Entertainment presents Beyond Potential Elite - Building An Effective Indie Label
Exclusive event gives indie label owners first-hand access to industry leaders to help support and nurture the next generation of artists.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 20, 2009 – Nashville, TN - Artistic Soul Entertainment presents BP Elite, the next installment in the Beyond Potential franchise. These highly exclusive and very intimate events are limited to 11 guests and provide an unprecedented opportunity for music entrepreneurs to position themselves for success. "While our other events focus more on learning about a wide array of topics related to your career as a whole, BP Elite allows us the time to focus on a very specific area," says ASE Co-Founder, Antonio Neal. BP Elite's first topic - "Building An Effective Indie Label," will take place Saturday, December 12, 2009. Guest industry executives on hand will include: James Robinson (VP of A&R for Light Records, #1 Indie Gospel label in the world), Sharon Reavis Esq. (Director of Business Affairs for EMI Christian Music Group), Orlando Boyd (General Manager of Nashville's Rejoice 880) and ASE's own Brandon Egerton (Music Consultant and longtime EMI Gospel A&R Exec.). Attendees will learn about: Defining Your Niche, Branding Your Label & Sound, Finding The Right Distribution Home, Legal and Administrative Essentials, Establishing Key Relationships, Building Your Team and much more. The event will take place Saturday, December 12th from 10-4 pm at The Walnut House located at: 116 N Walnut St Murfreesboro, TN 37130 Less than 30 minutes from downtown Nashville. To Register, visit http://www.gobeyondpotential.com/bpelite.html This is the era of the indie label and artist!
# # #
Our mission is to lead with integrity and character while impacting society through inspiring, authentic, first-class entertainment and to resource the music community with professional and innovative assets for the development of successful careers.

2009-10-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, Over the last several years we've heard from people from literally all over the globe about the need for community in christian/gospel music. It seems that everyone is so passionate about it..how people of all cultures, styles and genre's blend to reach the masses with the message of hope in Jesus.. With that said, it's seems only temporal to me because most seem interested until it costs them something..which is TIME and the sharing of information etc.

Why are we so disconnected and disinterested in helping out those who may or may not help us go the next level of fame, fortune etc? It seems that many of us are so busy in wanting to be successful at our craft that we aren't successful in building real and lasting relationships that can only be birthed out of giving something that could benefit you away..I have accomplished more, done more mainly(in my belief) not because i was the most talented human being, but because I value, cherish and nurture my relationships and those relationships blessed me when i had no influence to help myself.. We have lost something that is so valuable that we must regain it if we are going to be what God has called us to be. I'm not your competitor or rival, we are co laborers in a plan and mission much bigger than ourselves. Yeah,we all want a pat on the back, we all want our ART to be recognized but why should it be at the expense of another..how can that be Christ like? We are building an image of something that doesn't resemble the One we say it's for..I guess what i am saying is: What are we giving away to benefit someone else? Who are we mentoring to take the cause of Christ after us?

Let's all remember: The only thing that will remain are those things that are truly done for Christ..

If you're an artist, do something to help another fellow artist
If you're a writer, do something to help another writers song get heard
If you're a producer, do something to expose another producers work

We always reap what we continue to give away! ant

BP Music Conference Call on WED Oct 21!!

2009-10-18T17:49:00.001-07:00

Greeting everyone,
I hope today finds you doing well. Brandon and I have been looking to implement creative ways to stay in contact with you all outside of the events that we host..We have decided to host a Conference Call to cast our vision, network and listen to Your concerns and answer questions that you may have. We are always looking into ways to connect with everyone on a deeper level.This is something that we are endeavoring to do on a monthly basis. Every day we hear from people just like you that no one will speak with them, or no one will take out time..Well those days are over! ARE YOU INTERESTED? If so, below you can find the information on how to connect with us on THIS WED ,OCTOBER 21 @ 12 pm(cst) 1pm(est)..The call will last a little over an hour so don't sleep on this!
Who: YOU, Brandon Egerton & Antonio NealWhat: BP Conference Call-Time of vision,networking, questions and prayerWhen:THIS WED Oct 21 @ 12:00pm (CST) 1pm(EST)Where:Conference Dial-in Number: (712) 432-0600Participant Access Code: 802317#
Thank you for your time and we look forward to having you on the call!
Peace

The Source of it all

2009-10-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

To my music family,

As singers, musicians and music ministers, we all feel the responsibility to look for ways to promote and tell the world about our gifts and the one we aim to please. This can at times be a very tiring and almost difficult road to travel on. Many doors open on this road, while many remain closed. Often times this frustrates us to no end. Questions pop us such as "Why won't they give me a chance?" or "Why is this hard?" or "Am I even good enough?"We go to events, we say the right things, we do the right things, but still we end up falling short of our anticipated goals.. I just want to encourage everyone, including myself, to make sure that everything we do be built upon Wisdom and the leading of Holy Spirit. He knows what doors to knock on(he doesn't want you waisting your time and energy) Remember in all our ways, we must acknowledge him and he'll direct our paths..In other words, let's look to Him and what he already knows and we will find ourselves arriving at the destination(his destination) right on time!

Love ya,

antonio neal

Relationships

2009-10-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Are most of your relationships solely based on selling your cd or product? Take some time to build lasting relationships beyond the world of retail..Those are the most rewarding and fulfilling!

Artistic Soul Entertainment

The Beyond Potential Radio Show Update

2009-10-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

Hey Fam,
Today Brandon and I will be debuting our BP Radio Show Today on Rejoice 880 AM right here in Nashville Tn, at 1:30-2 pm !(cst) We know that many of you have not had the opportunity to attend one our gatherings so this will give you a taste of the kind of information and knowledge that we share..If you are not in the Nashville area you can log on to http://www.rejoice880.com/ to connect wiith the show.We will have a segment for callers to ask us questions and will also have a special guest with us today, so make sure you tune in. Please tell a freind, we want to make this show a must have for the station..
Artistic Soul Entertainment presents:The Beyond Potential Radio ShowThe Premiere Urban Music Business Radio Show!
w/ Brandon Egerton & Antonio Neal

What is the movement of Beyond Potential? aka(BP)

2009-10-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Glad you asked..

Simply stated, we started BP to build a foundation or voice for urban christian artists. By urban we don't mean "Black Music" as some believe but simply the style of music, art and culture with that expression ranging from hip-hop, rap,jazz, spoken word, praise & worship to urban gospel. We believed(and still do) that urban expressed christian music & it's artists are some of the most under-rated, under-appreciated group of the gospel music genre. For years we've watched many of us wander from event to event, festival to festival, looking to be heard, hoping to be accepted and to find a safe place to be who and what God created us to be in Jesus Christ. I guess we were simply frustrated with seeing many who were gifted to impact the globe, fall through the cracks, looked over and simply forgotten about..causing many to walk away from music ministry forever..No, we aren't a huge organization, No, we aren't the smartest people in the biz,(well maybe Brandon is) Who are we? We are just two men whose wives and families have given us the grace and support to inspire, motivate and launch people(who feel forgotten) from around the world into their music destiny!

Want the Truth?

2009-10-01T07:02:00.001-07:00

Proverbs 23:23 (Amplified Bible)
23Buy the truth and sell it not; not only that, but also get discernment and judgment, instruction and understanding.

Do you have an indie label?

2009-09-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Brandon and I finished up our BP event in Greensboro and are headed back to Nashville, we decided to stop and grab a bite to eat at MiMi's Cafe@ Turkey Creek..We also wanted to get your thoughts on an event we are thinking about hosting in December. It's an event for Indie label owners to assist them with the basic tools and info to have the best chance to be successful..What are your thoughts?Is this something that's needed?Would love to hear from you all

antonio

Tips for participating in singing contests

2009-09-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Ken Taylor here sharing some advice with you on the “How to’s” of a singing contests. Below are a few horrifically simple tips that I all too often wish people would consider when I’m judging these contests. Do these things, and you will help present yourself in a wonderful light and up your chances of walking away with the trophy and maybe even some money.

1. It Sounds Overly Simply, but Do A Song You Can Sing & Can Sing Well

If you are going into the competition wondering if you’re going to hit the high note at the end of the bridge, you’ve definitely picked the wrong song. If you’re running out of air because the phrases are too long, then it’s probably not a safe bet. For your singing contest, I suggest picking a song you can sing most any day, not just on your best vocal days.

2. Pick Something Your Audience Will Enjoy

To illustrate this, I’m going to tell a story. I know of a group here locally that got on America’s Got Talentthat sang a barber show quartet-ish version of “Don’t Rock the Boat.” Honestly, it was kinda nifty and the singers sounded pretty good, but sadly, it didn’t take long before people were booing them and soon the three X’s followed. I believe it was Sharon Osbourne that said something to the effect of she could see them performing that song at an elderly home, but not on that show.

Lesson to Learn – Choose a song that your audience will enjoy! Consider the age range of your audience as well as the type of music they’d enjoy, then simply don’t let them down. You wouldn’t Sing Led Zeppelin at your grandmother’s 90th Birthday party, just as you probably wouldn’t get a group together to sing the Halleluia Chorus at Woodstock. Keep your audience in mind and you won’t end up with funny looks or worse, booing.

3. Know Your Strengths

Some singers sound better on ballads, and some shine singing up tempo songs. Some people have an impressive high range while others can hold out a note long after the cows come home. So, know your vocal strengths and choose a song that highlights them. Last year, I remember literally spending 3 weeks searching for the perfect song for a student of mine. Sounds excessive, right? The results… she blew the judges away and walked away with one of those shiny trophies and a check. Just a side note, the trophy was practically as tall as she was… I was proud. So yeah, it pays to know your strengths : )

4. Connect with Your Audience

You can’t just sing the song for the sake of singing it. Tell the audience a story. Involve them. Make them feel special. The more you can do this, the more they’ll enjoy it. The more they enjoy it, the more likely you’re name will be called at the end of the contest as they’re announcing the winners. Simple as that.

5. It’s Not Enough to Just Sing

They say 30% of people take in the world through sound, but a whopping 60% of people are visually dominant. So if that’s the case, you’re number will more greatly impact the majority of people if you’re able to stimulate them through both sight and sound. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should include a dance routine in your number, but I do encourage you to be brave enough to step out from behind your mic stand and use your hands, arms, body, and facial expressions to further express the depth of the story you’re telling.

6. Focus on the Audience and Yourself, NOT YOUR COMPETITION

This is a little pet peeve of mine and I’ll try not to stay on top of my soap box for too long here, but if you go into a competition focusing on beating a certain person or persons, you’re going to fail 9 times out of 10. I say this simply because you’re focusing entirely on the wrong thing. Singing/performing is about the AUDIENCE. The more you focus on how you can give them the best show possible, the better you’ll do. The more you focus on beating someone else, the more you’re not focusing on what counts. End of story. Okay, I was able to keep that pleasantly brief. Yay!

7. Be Positive

Finally, I suggest a little pre-performance ritual. Before I go out and sing, I always visualize my performance going exactly how I want it. I see the audience enjoying it, and hear a roar of applause after I’m finished. I mentally go through my whole routine seeing myself having the best performance of my life. Strangely, I’ve found this routine proves to be much more effective than pacing around telling yourself you’re going to forget your words and worrying about what the person before you is doing. Matter of fact, I’ve always gotten great results with this, and I believe you will to.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today. Hope this helps! Please feel free to leave a comment with any success stories or other suggestions.

Thanks for reading and as always, Happy Singing!

~ Vocal Coach Ken Taylor

Who are you writing your music for? Know your goal

2009-08-19T06:51:00.001-07:00

The reason why you need to know this is because when you make music for yourself, there is no limit to what you can do to be ‘expressive’. If you are making music for other people, you will have to be aware of how people relate to it. It is like this: when you are a computer genius and you want to tell someone how to fix their computer, you have to speak in their terms so they can understand what the heck you are saying. If you speak in your lingo, you will most likely lose them in techno-talk. Another example is the author. He can write a story with the largest, most sweeping words he knows- but if the reader does not know what those words mean, the entire meaning gets lost.

We, as musicians, face the same predicament. Overcomplicated songs will lose the average listener. Now, other hardcore musicians will greatly appreciate your abilities and probably get more feeling from it- but the common person will most likely not be able to follow. Once again you should ask yourself when you write a song: Who am I making this music for and will they be able to relate?

2009-08-12T10:34:00.001-07:00

It's not a sin to invest in yourself, stop looking for God to do through someone else what he may just want to do through you....

No More Whack Gospel Music..please

2009-08-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

For the last 10 years urban indie gospel and Christ hip-hop has made great strides as sub genres. It's not hard to find great music and cool up and coming artists on social networks & i-tunes any day of the week. And although we do not compare ourselves to mainstream artists,there still seems to be a gap in artist, song and album development. Too many of us have sacrificed quality in the name of ministry or the lack of money excuse. Many artists after traveling this road of compromise have become utterly frustrated(with having inferior product) and have walked away from their craft and calling knowing that there was another level to be reached. Great songwriting does matter. So do what it takes to find great songwriters to write for your projects. Great vocals do matter so find great vocal producers to work on your music(slapping on AUTO TUNE doesn't count as vocal production!). Holistic music production does matter. not just simply about the person who programmed the track but about knowledge,experience,skill and mixing that make a great producer(he or she knows how to build a team or has a team to get the job done). So my advice to you is this: SLOW down . SAVE your money and RESEARCH to get the quality you desire and should want to present to the world. Culture doesn't have a problem with hearing songs about Christ. Let's make sure what we offer is artistically captivating and of our best effort. Jesus does the rest!

No More Whack Gospel Music..please

2009-08-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

For the last 10 years urban indie gospel and Christ hip-hop has made great strides as sub genres. It's not hard to find great music and cool up and coming artists on social networks & itunes any day of the week. And although we do not compare ourselves to mainstream artists,there still seems to be a gap in artist, song and album development. Too many of us have sacrificed quality in the name of ministry or the lack of money excuse. Many artists after traveling this road of compromise have become utterly frustrated(with an having inferior product) and have walked away from their craft and calling knowing that there was another level to be reached. Great songwriting does matter. So do what it takes to find great songwriters to write for your projects. Great vocals do matter so find great vocal producers to work on your music(slapping on itunes doesn't count!). Holistic music production does matter. not just simply about the person who programmed the track but about knowledge,experience,skill and mixing that make a great producer(he or she knows how to build a team or has a team to get the job done). So my advice to you is this: SLOW down . SAVE your money and RESEARCH to get the quality you desire and should want to present to the world. Culture doesn't have a problem with hearing songs about Christ. Let's make sure what we offer is artistically captivating and of our best effort. Jesus does the rest!

Family

2009-07-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's just good to get away to chill with the family for a while. Those emails will be there when you get back..

Think about it...

Thoughts on co-writing from tunecore.com

2009-07-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

To Co-Write or Not to Co-Write? Part I

By Wayne Cohen

Wayne Cohen is a veteran multi-platinum selling ASCAP hit songwriter, producer, educator, and owner of publishing/production company Stand Up Songs. He also teaches individual and group songwriting tutoring sessions at his NYC Stand Up Studio and via Skype.

Part I: To Co-Write or Not to Co-Write, that is the question...

...Whether it is nobler to toil by one’s self, or share your gift with another writer, thereby potentially exponentially expanding your songwriting and song networking potential. Well, the good news is that you can do both, which I like to do for several reasons.

I like to write by myself so that I feel I can really explore every aspect of an idea, so I won’t get lazy, and obviously, because it can be twice as lucrative if you write a hit alone.

But maybe you come up with a million melodies and no lyrics, or you have lyric ideas but no melodies, or maybe you’ve got a million melody and lyric ideas and can’t organize them enough to pull together a coherent song easily, or you’re a visionary producer/track writer/multi-instrumentalist but you need help with lyrics and or melodies; maybe you’re all of these and you just want a break from yourself. Have no fear, co-writing can be good for you. At worst, it might be a good way to get out of your own face for a while.

So I co-write, because it can be invigorating and create surprising results, and there are some obvious advantages: it expands your network for pitching, and expands your mind about the kinds of songs you can write. For me the beautiful thing about co-writing is that I don’t have to be all the people in the band I’m not (the female singer, the drummer, the amazing guitarist, etc.), and still can come up with something to be proud of – something I could never have predicted, or that either of us might have written, without a collaborator.

These days co-writing can come in several forms:

Melodist meets lyricist
Melodist meets lyricist meets track writer
Melodist/lyricist meets track writer

With who and how to co-write:

I’ve always found it wise to collaborate with people who complement what my strengths. As much fun as it could be to be in the room writing with someone who does what I do, I find it’s more productive if you work with someone who does NOT do what you do (although I have written great songs with people who share my same strenghts and weaknesses, so go figure). The greatest thing about co-writing for me is that you generally can never predict what will come out of the experience.

An effective co-write requires mutual trust and respect between collaborators. To foster 'singing the same song’ with my collaborators, after years of co-writing, I’ve found it useful to develop some simple ground rules which I call the COLLABORATOR’S CODE. Much of this is unspoken, but I find things go much better, and faster, if I have this in the back of my mind while working with a partner. Here in part one I’ll give you a preview of the code, and in part two I will delve into more code detail, and examine options for how to demo a co-written song...

Read the rest of this article and share your thoughts on the TuneCore blog.

What is publishing?

2009-07-14T14:29:00.000-07:00

The commercial exploitation of songs through the issuance of mechanical licenses,synchronization licenses,performance rights licenses, print licenses as well as other licenses authorizing various uses of songs.

Definition excerpt taken from Know it All-A Quick and Easy Guide to Music Industry Lingo.

Order your copy today @ www.artisticsoulentertainment.com for only $5!

BP ARTIST DEVELOPMENT WEEKEND HITS DAYTON, OHIO AUG 21-22!

2009-07-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

Artistic Soul Entertainment presents..The Beyond Potential Artist Development Weekend Aug 21-22 in Dayton, Ohio, for more info on how to register and where it will be hosted visit www.gobeyondpotential.com today!

Who do you love?

2009-07-09T08:10:00.001-07:00

1 John 2:15-17 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁵Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one's own resources or in the stability of earthly things]--these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

¹⁷And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever.

Defining a Publicist

2009-07-07T21:46:00.000-07:00

From Tunecore.com

Publicists are experts you hire to promote your band and music to media and press outlets. It's their job to get writers and editors to listen to your music, learn who and what you are and (hopefully) have them write about you. Remember, a publicist can not guarantee reviews or coverage. The best you should expect is that they can get a writer or editor to learn about you, listen to your music and provide them reasons as to why they won't write about it.

Publicist will send you reports. Depending on the publicist, these reports will be provided to you each week, every two weeks or every month and will list all the activity, comments and results regarding your project in the press world. As things get updated, the report should reflect any additions or changes. If you are paying for the clipping service (a third-party service that scours all print publications for mention of your band), the publicist should also provide you copies of any all press.

A publicist will usually charge you a monthly fee and request a minimum number of months to work on your "project." Fees can range widely but tend to fall between $750 and $5,000 a month. Most publicists require a minimum commitment of three months, as they need time to properly set up and promote your album. Some publicists might be willing to charge you a flat one time fee, called "Life Of Project," rather than a monthly fee. Life Of Project fees can also range widely but tend to fall between $1,000 and $4,000.

In addition to these fees, most publicists also charge you expenses, which can vary a bit from publicist to publicist but tend to include:

Cost of their local phone charges
Cost of their long distance charges
Internet connection fees
Photocopying
Mailings and postage
Travel
Third-party services that scour all print publications for mention of your band (called "clipping services")
Messenger charges
...and more

Expenses can run anywhere from $150 to $1,000 a month, depending on the level of activity.

TIP: Most of the time, a publicist will be working on more than one artist or project. Be prepared to "work" your publicist to get them to "work" others.

Indie Survey: Friends, Live Shows Big Influencers

2009-07-03T08:09:00.000-07:00

Indie Survey: Friends, Live Shows Big Influencers
June 08, 2009 - Indies

By Glenn Peoples, Nashville

Four out of five independent music store customers cite a recommendation of a friend as being an important factor in a purchase, according to a survey conducted by the Association of Independent Music Stores (AIMS). The online survey queried 1,067 consumers from AIMS stores around the country about the spending habits, concert-going frequency and relationship with the stores. Seeing a live performance was also cited by 80% of those surveyed. Only 39% cited radio as being important in their purchase decisions while newspapers and television were cited by 16% and 15%, respectively.

More than three in five respondents said they visit an independent music store more than once a month. While they may be avid music buyers, 63% of those surveyed say they go to a concert either once a month or less often than once a month. Respondents most often go to medium-sized clubs (85%) and small clubs (76%). Less than 20% of respondents said they go to arena and amphitheater shows.

iTunes was by far the most popular digital store named by respondents, with 85% saying they have purchased music there. Amazon.com's MP3 store was second with 23% and eMusic was third at 14%. Insound got 6% of respondents and Lala and Rhapsody both got 5%. But most of the independent store customers surveyed - 65% of them - said they spend 10% or less of their total music spending at digital stores. Only 11% spend half or more of their total music spending at digital stores.

Seventy percent of respondents said they use YouTube, 62% use MySpace, 46% listen to Pandora and 32% have used Last.fm. Imeem came in at 7%, Playlist at 5% and both Qtrax and Spiral Frog (which had not yet gone under) claimed to be used by 0% of respondents (or so few of them that the figure was zero when rounded down).

Of those who read blogs or music Web sites, 78% said they have read Pitchfork while 44% cited RollingStone.com and 38% cited Stereogum. Other popular music blogs were Brooklyn Vegan (28%), My Old Kentucky Blog (23%) and Largehearted Boy (14%).

Having a bad vocal day?

2009-06-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ever hit the studio booth and you just didn't have it?It happens to all of us one time or another.No matter what you tried, it just wasn't your day? Maybe it's time to take some time off and get away from it all. Maybe eating and sleeping habits need to be adjusted to get the best out of your sessions..Maybe stressful thoughts and concerns need to be left outside of the studio and this time be used as a safe haven, a get away.. It also good when possible to shut the cell phone down to avoid distractions, remember that studio time is NEVER play time...

What's your image?

2009-06-23T07:54:00.001-07:00

God is not merely as interested in our success as He is in the transformation of ourselves to conformity to the image of Jesus Christ. -Lance Wallnau

Know It All - Tip Of The Week - 6/15/09

2009-06-16T15:15:00.001-07:00

For the songwriter in you:

We have talked to so many people who have questions about songwriting and what happens when one hits the dreaded wall.. Hopefully this gives a little inspiration..

Always remember to stay open, honest and creative. build up the word in your heart and also read a variety of other books to expand your mind and vocabulary. When you hit a road block, change your atmosphere, do something different, create in a new place,write through the bad ideas. No matter what style or genre, always honor God, apply His principles. No matter the project or artist the song(s) are for, REFLECT HIS VIEW..and you'll never go wrong..