This month was big month for me. I was invited by MEISA to view a guest speaker, renowned vocal coach for Atlantic Records - Christine Wisner. Being a singer/songwriter/performer, I was fascinated by some of the singers and performers that she had worked with. I had to pick her brain after she was done speaking. We spoke for nearly 2 hours after the lecture was over. She extended an invitation to her personal open mic where she weeds out new cliental. A week later, I play said open mic. She offers to teach me on the spot and makes phone calls to her producer buddy's and contacts in the industry. Christine and I begin a friendship that continues to this day. More will be written about this later.
Below are my LP interview for this month as well as a case study on the television industry conducted this month.
I had the opportunity to have a conversation with Shaun O’Connor founder of independent record label Fail Safe Records based out of Gainesville, Florida. I was introduced to Shaun by a friend of mine named Justin Goldman the lead singer of a local band called How Dare You, who is signed to the Fail Safe record label. Shaun and I had a great conversation regarding his business as well as the recording industry as a whole.
Shaun’s background seemed a bit inconsistent from others I know who own and operate record labels. After high school, Shaun, originally from Gainesville, joined the Army and served in the military for seven years. He met his wife while in the military. After being honorably discharged from military service he and his wife used their GI Bill to attend the University of Florida where he initially majored in microbiology. Shaun stated that he had never worked for a record label, never played an instrument, never sang in a band but had always loved going to punk rock shows and hanging out with bands. After two years studying microbiology he decided that he no longer had the urge to become a scientist. Around the same time he had attended a concert where he met what would become the first band signed to his new label, Anchor Arms. He said that he loved the band and approached them after the show asking for a CD. They said that they didn’t have the money to make a proper record and the best they could do was give him a very poorly produced 4-track recording from several years prior. A few days later he decided to invest in the band lending them $1,200 to cut a proper record utilizing a few friends he had made over the years going to shows. During the recording process of this first record he decided to change majors from microbiology to advertising, and decided that his investment in the band deserved proper marketing and support from a record label. So Fail Safe Records was born. Shaun still has one semester left before graduating from the University of Florida with a Bachelors Degree majoring in Advertising with a minor in Business Administration.
Fail Safe Records has been running out of Shaun’s Gainesville home since April of 2008. Along with himself, his wife helps him with public relations and a former Army buddy assists on the Artist and Repertoire side of the business. With the diligence of Shaun, he has forged strong ties with a major independent record label No Idea Records. No Idea, also based out of Gainesville, Florida has been in operation since the mid-1980’s, and has worked with some extremely notable bands over the years such as Less Than Jake, Alkaline Trio, Hot Water Music, Samiam and Jawbreaker to name a few (in my world these are HUGE bands). No Idea handles all of the physical distribution for Fail Safe Records, utilizing their large network to get their CD’s into the racks of record shops worldwide.
While he admits he was quite naïve in the beginning having no previous professional experience within the recording industry, he says he’s learned quite a bit through pure trial and error. He says that since he has no idea how it’s “supposed to work” but, he has a great time fine tailoring his business into how he “wants it to work.” Now studying traditional academic advertising he has a real world playground to use what he is learning. He says what he has learned in school has been helpful though not always applicable in the real world or at least within the recording industry. For instance, traditionally we are taught in academia that the truest form of advertising is print. He said that he initially used print to drive sales, though quickly learned that a half page ad in a punk rock magazine doesn’t do much but build the record labels brand, it doesn’t drive sales. He has learned that the quickest way to drive direct sales is though nontraditional public relations. Generating buzz around the new releases and getting his bands out and performing, talking to fans and building relationships with fans, Shaun says, ‘the truest way to sell records. ‘
“When we can get people talking about us – anywhere – whether it’s in a magazine article or a couple of friends are telling people about us in a bar, that’s when we see people hitting our website and buying merchandise.”
We then discussed the influence of the Internet on record sales and band exposure. He said that while he normally hates social networking sites for personal uses however, he cannot deny the power and influence they have when trying to expose a new band. He said that he personally handles all of their digital downloads, and works with CD Baby. I then asked him if he uses Pandora, to which he replied “no, not really.” Being a long time advocate of the website I spent the next 15 minutes convincing him to get onto Pandora and work the system, to which he agreed to “get on it a.s.a.p.” Personal victory achieved!
Next we discussed a deeper question, I asked him “do you feel that your label (brand) represents the bands which you have signed, or do you feel that the bands you signed represent your label (brand)? He replied,
“It works both ways. I believe that we are married to each other. I represent them as much as they represent me. How the fans perceive the bands is how I want them to perceive the label on which they are signed. I only sign bands that I love listening to… currently I have signed 11 bands, of which 9 are in the punk/hardcore genera, but since I can’t listen to just punk music all day everyday I have signed two other bands, one in the alt-country world and the other has a more spacey feel… strictly because I like listening to them.
My dream would be to become like the independent record labels of the mid-1990’s where I would buy a record off the label even if I didn’t know the band, just because I knew the label had great taste in bands and I knew I was probably going to love it regardless.”
Finally, as an aspiring artist who personally hates the word image in relation to music, I asked him his feelings on the “image” of his bands.
“Personally I could care less about what my guys and girls look like when they take the stage. I absolutely believe that the quality that the content is far more important than the image of the band. While I do understand that ‘image’ driven bands certainly sell, I don’t think I could do it. Signing a band with no talent and good looks just feels bad. If I were to do something like that, I would start a ghost label and not have my name associated with the label and it would have to be for a good reason like… I own the IRS a million dollars! I might as well be selling Avon products… Once you do something purely to make money you’ve lost authenticity in the eyes of your fan base which you’ve worked so damn hard to get in the first place, and that’s no way to run a business.”
Shaun was a great person to speak with. He and I shared a lot of common interests and concerns with the recording industry and lack of authenticity amongst most music produced today. He agreed to spend some more time working with Pandora and also asked to meet me and listen to some of my music, which is very exciting, being an unsigned musician. This informational interview could possibly lead and hopefully will lead to more business ventures for me in the future.
THE TELEVISION INDUSTRY
The modern television dates back to the early 1930’s. Its conception was one of collaborative thought including leading scientists from around Europe and the United States of America. By the end of World War II, the sales of television sets grew exponentially. In 1946 only .5% of Americans owned television sets, by 1962 90% of American households have a television set. I believe that it is a safe assumption that in 2009 nearly 98% of Americans own some form of television unit or possess a way to retrieve television materials independently through the use of the Internet and Internet based television networks. Ironically throughout the years televisions have remained relatively the same price (with inflation included). In 1938 the average cost of a 3” television was roughly $125, today that would be about $1800. Now the sizes have become much larger and the units much lighter, but a good 42” plasma could easily cost the same. (wikipedia.com, 2009)
A lot has changed within the Television Industry since 1938 and, since 1980 for that matter. Television has had more than just cosmetic changes such as bigger screens, smaller units and cheaper knockoff brands. The whole industry has been completely revolutionized over the last 30 years.
In the early days (early 40’s) there were only a hand full of networks, mostly affiliates of the National Broadcasting Company (or NBC) and the American Broadcasting Company (or ABC), today there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of independently broadcast networks or channels. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been working to thwart monopolies in the broadcasting arena for just as long as broadcast television has been around. In 1943, the FCC filed an injunction with NBC splitting the company into two. The result was two separate networks NBC and ABC. (wikipedia.com, 2009)
Advertisers too have long understood the importance of television. Between 1947 and 1948 advertising revenue for television broadcasts went up 515% and has remained the steady source of income for the industry. (High Tech Productions , 2009 ) Since the late 1940’s one could argue that advertisers greatly influence what gets broadcast and what doesn’t. Without advertising revenue a particular show or network, it simply cannot exist.
Throughout the 1980’s the television industry saw the rise of cable access networks. These new networks were seen early on as a joke, due to the fact that they required subscription fees for viewership. The major networks could not foresee why someone would choose to pay for a service that was already given to the public for “free.” The early pioneers of cable include HBO, CNN, The Discovery Channel and MTv to name a few. These specialized networks focused their attentions on specific material, which the masses flocked to. The cable industry as a whole greatly benefitted from a popular song by The Dire Straights “Money For Nothing” in 1985 when the band exclaimed “I want my MTv!” This song, claiming “Get your money for nothing, and your chicks for free…” excessively and successfully glamorized MTv networks and the cable industry. (wikipedia.com , 2009) Suddenly everyone seemed to be buying in, and tuning in to this new cultural movement. By the late 80’s and early 1990’s the cable industry went from a fledgling collection of just a few networks to hundreds of specialized channels.
Today, super media conglomerates own these major and minor networks, such as NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, ESPN, MTv and Comedy Central. The major players in the field are Time Warner, Comcast Corporation, Walt Disney Company, News Corporation, DirecTv and NBC Universal. All of these conglomerates have vested interest across the media world. (Advertising Age , 2009)
TIME WARNER:
Time Warner is the largest of the media conglomerates, with roughly $33.99 Billion in revenue in 2006 (higher now presumably). Their television networks include HBO, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN (and their affiliates), CW, and Turner Movie Classics. They own Warner Brothers Studios and New Line Cinema in the film arena, as well as America Online and countless magazine brands under TIME, Inc, their media influence is widely felt across all mediums.
COMCAST CORPORATION:
Comcast, making its headquarters in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the second largest media giant, reporting an income of $27.39 Billion in 2006. Comcast is the largest cable service providers and lead the way into digital television and ON DEMAND services. $26.34 Billion of their 2006 revenue was a result of their cable services. Comcast also own a few television networks including Comcast Sports Net, Entertainment Television (E!), G4, the Style Network and Versus.
WALT DISNEY CORPORATION:
Historically Disney was a company of imagination and outward innocence, but behind the wheel are a corporation gritty and media hungry. Disney have their hands all over the media world owning ABC (and all of their affiliates), ESPN (and all of their subsidiaries), Walt Disney Studios, Dreamworks Studios, Disney Channel, SoapNet, ABC Family, A&E, the History Channel, Biography and Lifetime Networks. Disney is also a major player in the radio broadcast industry, magazines and own several theme parks and restaurant chains, all of which are designed to take you further into their media experience.
NEWS CORP.:
News Corp, hailing from New York City, NY is owned by the legendary Rupert Murdock and is another super power in the no holds bar media frenzy. News Corp whose income in 2006 was $14.09 billion is best known for their television networks FOX, National Geographic Channel and ultra-conservative FOX News. News Corp also lays claim to 20th Century FOX, FOX Interactive, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, countless other newspapers internationally, News America Marketing (a massive marketing firm), the TV Guide and the Dow Jones. FOX has long held ties with the GOP and since the acquisition of The New York Post in 1976 has used its influence and power to sway elections and political movements, not just in the US but in Great Brittan, Australia and in Asia.
DIRECTV:
DirecTv is the leading satellite television provider. With over 16 million subscribers in the US alone DirecTv made roughly $13 Billion in 2006.
NBC UNIVERSAL:
Owned by General Electric, makers of light bulbs, airplanes, microwaves, wind turbines, oil refineries, healthcare service providers, intermodal railcar operators and captains of industry for just about everything else in between also control our media… giving us NBC and Universal. NBC and Universal accounted for $13.24 Billion in revenue for GE in 2006. As stated before NBC was this country’s first network television station. Over it’s long history it has acquired many affiliates throughout the country as well as spun off and acquired other networks. These networks include Telemundo, MSNBC, CNBC, USA Networks, Sci Fi, Bravo, and Ion Media Networks. It also has a controlling interest in Discovery Communications Inc with networks like The Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, BBC America and Discovery Health. GE also owns premium channels with Starz as well as Universal Studios which features Rogue Pictures and Focus features. (GE, 2009)
Interestingly all of these conglomerates are in some way attached to each other through ownership of stock across competitors. Making the industry slightly incestuous, the good of one company in turn is good for the industry as a whole. For example, NBC owns 25% of A&E a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, Liberty Media Company, a subsidiary of NBC Universal owns 16.2% of News Corp. as well as 2.8% of Time Warner and the CW network is a joint venture between Time Warner and CBS, number 7 of the media conglomerates.
As the Internet begins to proliferate our minute-to-minute lives it too changes the way we as consumers obtain our media. The television industry is finally beginning to recognize this fact and are adjusting the way they distribute content. John S. Hendricks, founder of Discovery Communications, Inc. was the pioneer behind Internet television, along with ON DEMAND content. In 1992 he laid the groundwork for Internet ON DEMAND video content for educators, though despite his efforts the internet was simply too new to handle the magnitude of the project. (Freed, 1995 ) With the emergence of YouTube in 2005 and the lightning fast success it saw, networks began to see the importance of distributing content over the web. (Answers.com , 2009)
In March 2007 Viacom engages in a lawsuit with the YouTube for copyright infringement seeking damages of $1 Billion. Viacom claims that YouTube was complaisant with copyright infringement on seven accounts of which the largest being public display, public performance, and reproduction. The result of which lessened their ratings on their channels, and they saw no revenue from advertising dollars. (JENNER & BLOCK LLP , 2007)
Since the beginning of the lawsuit between Viacom and YouTube we are beginning to see Internet television stations popping up everywhere. The conglomerates began to devote large portions of their websites to streaming video of full episodes on demand. New companies are popping up everywhere featuring fully licensed full episodes, some in high definition that contain 15-30 second ads, having content be fully sponsored by advertisers. These websites include HULU.com, TV.com, Juke.com, BLINKX.com as well as ZAP2IT.com. HULU.com is of the most successful.
The first question every one in the television industry asked when they began thinking about distributing content on the web was ‘how are we going to make money on this?’ How to get advertisers on board with only showing 15-30 second advertisements on what is now a relatively small percentage of viewers that tend to be in the younger demographic?
Research indicates that most viewers will sit through an ad if they know how long it will be. For example, if viewers are told “This show will return in 15 (or 30) seconds…” viewers are far less likely to get up and do something else or fast forward. It is simply easier to just watch the advertisement. (Gould, 1989)
What the future holds for Internet television is unknown. I predict that by 2015 the cable and satellite service providers will all operate on an Internet only platform. That television, the Internet and content on demand will all be one in the same. I believe that we will see a more diverse array of programming, a large amount of which will be international, due to an ever shrinking of our planet due to globalism. I also foresee a future of television much like the film “Starship Troopers” where your television will ask you “Would you like to know more?” and instantly provide more content similar to what you are currently watching. We must be careful that we advertise in an ethical manner. With ad time becoming more and more valuable, simply because there are now numerous ways around it, we must not succumb to senseless product placement and over-branding. Take for example MSNBC’s new show A Cup Of Joe, with Joe Scarborough. The show struck a one year $10 million deal with multinational corporation Starbucks for product placement and the frequent mentions of the product. I believe that this will have a negative impact on MSNBC’s ratings in this time slot. Viewers will see the sponsorship as an overzealous infomercial for Starbucks. (York, 2009) What’s next, dancing Snapple bottles behind the main characters in CSI? I do not see Cup Of Joe lasting the full year.
We also must be careful that we do not turn into a wiki-culture. The 24-hour news networks are turning into Internet savvy journalists who now ask for opinion of the public more than reporting on actual events through the use of Facebook and Twitter, of which CNN is quite guilty. We as future industry leaders must be cognizant of the ever-changing world in which we live. We must take steps that lead this industry forward in an ethical manner in regards to advertising and sponsorships. Another question to consider is how free is our speech on the Internet? Should the FCC be allowed to censor network material that is available on the Internet? Should the government be allowed to regulate the World Wide Web? I am sure that we will be faced with these serious questions in the very near future.
Works Cited
Advertising Age . (2009, 6 7). Media Family Trees . Retrieved 6 7, 2009, from www.adage.com: http://media.fullsail.com/spindle/downloads/2008/23977_Media%20family%20tree.pdf
Answers.com . (2009, 5 27). YouTube . Retrieved 5 27, 2009, from Answers.com : http://www.answers.com/topic/youtube
Freed, K. (1995 , 5 15). Discovering TV Tomorrow: A conversation with John Hendricks, Founder Chair and CEO of Discovery Networks. Retrieved 10 11, 2008, from www.media-visions.com/vis-hendricks.html
GE. (2009, 6 8). CE - Imagination At Work . Retrieved 6 8, 2009, from GE : www.ge.com
Gould, J. S. (1989, 4 1). Television viewers' attitudes and recall of 15 second versus 30 second commercials. Retrieved 6 8, 2009, from www.allmybuisiness.com: http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/advertising-television-advertising/112898-1.html
High Tech Productions . (2009 , 6 8). The History of Film, Television & Video . Retrieved 6 8, 2009, from www.high-techproductions.com : http://www.high-techproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm
JENNER & BLOCK LLP . (2007, 3 17). Unknown . Retrieved 5 26, 2009, from Unknown : http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/vvg.pdf
wikipedia.com . (2009, 6 8). Brothers in Arms (The Dire Straights) . Retrieved 6 8, 2009, from www.wikipedia.com : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_in_Arms_(Dire_Straits_album)
wikipedia.com. (2009, 6 8). NBC . Retrieved 6 8, 2009, from www.wikipedia.com: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC
wikipedia.com. (2009, 6 8). Television Set. Retrieved 6 8, 2009, from Wikipedia.com : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_set
York, E. B. (2009, 6 4). Why Starbucks Is Sponsoring MSNBC's 'Morning Joe'. Retrieved 6 5, 2009, from Advertising Age: http://adage.com/article?article_id=137097
