The Obama Administration record on supporting US Made Music.ain't so Good.

Now that the Obama Administration has come to an end I wanted to do a bit of a rap-up post about his time as of running the economy and being the commander in chief and top spokesperson for US Made Music and figured that just before the April 4th Trade Data is released we can catch everyone up on where US Made Music stands in the business world and how Obama's 8 years in office impacted the entertainment in the US;  Specifically, Prerecorded Compact Disc (Except Software), Tape, and Record Reproducing: which is category 334612.

And, it's easy to see that imports are larger than Exports.

January 2017
Trade in Goods
and Services

Deficit: $48.5 Billion

Exports: $192.1 Billion

Imports: $240.6 Billion

Next release: April 4, 2017

Complete Release Schedule

Just so we're all on the same page: 334612  is the same "rock and roll" that is coming into the US as an Import and not being exported. Moreover, this category used to be an industry leading sector driving the US economy and the dissemination of US culture abroad.  Remember the phrase Cultural Diplomacy,   I've been the one asking Obama's  Secretary of Commerce, numerous Under Secretary's  plus leading figures at the State Departhemet.

I've taken the newest trade date for NAICS334612 and posted it as a Google Sheet for anyone to take a look without having to jump through all the hoops and dig through all the data.   HERE

If  we don't export our music how's the US doing this Cultural Diplomacy? 

Worst of all is the Obama Administration knew that we needed to do something about spurring US Made Music that it helped to pass the Music Act in 2012 that set aside money in the Commerce Department to -- Develop, Manufacture, and export it and I've never met someone that even knew it existed or that it's expiring.

Moreover! How is it possible, I love to ask, that we have some of the biggest recording artists in the world; Yet, the USA is negative in it's export of music made in the USA?   Want to Learn more about how we got here and what to do by the above link or visit TheMajorsSuck.com and the question I have to ask is why is this subject so under reported and hard to find data about something as important as US Made Music?  

Prerecorded Compact Disc (Except Software), Tape, and Record Reproducing: 2002

As Micheal E. Porter eloquently pointed out in “The Competitive Advantage of Nations,” that a nation's prosperity is created and not inherited, states must recognize that a nation's competitiveness depends on the capacity of its industries to innovate and upgrade.’

We have failed to heed these words and worse is that -- we are entertaining our economy to death!   Nelson Jacobsen, USMADEMUSIC.ORG 

Thanking Lil Flip, for his show during SXSW 

Ps Why we need the US Music Act is the next blog and I'll wait for the April Trade Data.

Max Media Group, Inc. OTC MXMI Announces Transfer of Majority Control to Altavoz

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/max-media-group-inc-announces-transfer-of-majority-control-to-altavoz-2015-09-25



This is important because it now units a public stock to a plan to place artists, bands, labels and managers into ownership of a company that totally dependent upon this very group for it's content.  And no matter how much money you throw at someone it's not the same as ownership.



http://artistsowneddistribution.com/

Stop the Tidal wave of BS there's only 1 aritstsowned.co

So the big news was to be that Tidal is artists owned.

TIDAL is an artist majority owned company with a mission to reestablish the value of music, the protection of the sustainability of the music industry rooted in creativity and expression.

In fact there where 2.3 million articles according to the Google about "Tidal Artists Owned" and it wasn't too long for the Internets to figure out that this was more of a needle then the haystack.   And from the press each of these artists have a 3% stake in this company or if my math service me is 36% and not majority. Moreover, owing one channel in an ever going universe of options means nothing.

Let's face it Distribution is King and until Indie Artists Bands and Labels own part of a Worldwide Entertainment Distribution Co. the there, there is just not well, there... I so often love to point out that Digital is only (as of last week's sales)  45% of the sales and that makes having a Physical Distribution Deal more important that being on Tidal or any digital only service. ((See the chart below))

Having talked about a Clicks to Brick Distribution solution for years, I'm glad to see that most aren't buying this notion that owning a digital outlet is the way to go. The real challenge has been to talk on the last mile of cluster fuck that is the music business.  Ownership.   Again, since Distribution is King it stands to reason that having artists bands and labels as owners of the distribution channel is the missing key.  Not inventing a new one single source use of music.

It's also being clear that the existing digital outlets and new ones like Public Libraries are pretty good if not some of them great and when artists, bands and labels sign a Digital Distribution Deal with AltavozEntmt they're music is in every channel and store if you opt for the Digital Physical Distribution Deal 

When Altavoz says every -- we mean every and the power of that was on display last week with the US debut of John Bull and The Bandits, EP Word to the Wise who was on every digital outlet and streaming service and it charted on the iTunes Blues chart #73 and Amazon UK at #8.  This was done with less than the majors monthly coffee budget.

So here's the part that is getting lost IMHO, there is an ArtistsOwned.Co in the music business my wife and I (re)started it in 2011 and I'm very excited to say that we're now going to the next logical progression.  

Unofficially announce CrowdFundedMusic.co Just waiting on the date to be fixed and once we're done the Crowd will have financed the taking over of a Public Co Shell Corporation and making it the ownership vessel for the artists and the crowd to come together and what really is the Future of Entertainment Today 

See everyone at MusicBiz.org annual convention. MusicBiz2015

Racism is part of music and once we break past it wealth is achiveable.

"As inspiration often strikes me, it was a heated debate between two grown @$$ men in the barbershop arguing about another man’s pockets that prompted me to tackle the idea of why Hip Hop has no billionaires".

By Kelby provokes a great debate greater than the barbershop and for the point of this blog post  #1 is Racism and I happen to agree with him and I have used these three very people in my reasoning for Altavoz's existence.   

None of these guys have ownership of the distribution none of the majors or independent distributors have offered them access to the wealth making part of music and the CEO and company that comes out offering ownership of a publicly traded company to these label owners and others will have a head start at offering the future of entertainment today. 

BTW if your want to join in the fun in doing just that please let me know. 



PS Physical Music was 58 5 of sales so don't even try to say Distribution in online. 





s

What is the majority of sales in an industry and CNN declares it DEAD then you know what?

So for those of us that use Math, the current sales of prerecorded music by category is lead by none other than physical music and of that the CD is the majority of sales*

From the weekly Sales report of Soundscan a division of Nielson Entertainment, LLC it's pretty plain to see that despite the rumors of digital taking over the world it hasn't taking over half of the market, yet? And the CD is still very much alive.

I said "yet" because of something called  Manufacturing on Demand "MOD," and my company AltavozEntmt, under the leadership of Bobby Ekizian, pictured below,  is leading this new charge for pin pointing where a physical sale is desired; Now coupled with the ability to ingested the title into the AMPED and NARM EDI database.

The artists can now worry about generating fans that are BuyingThis(tm) and the indusrty parthers involved can use the clicks to pinpoint the bricks in Altavoz aptly named new service ClickstoBricksDistribution.com "C2BD" This capability has not been harnest to ensure that the whole supply chain from Fan to Retailers knows there is a some fan heat before they even have to make one physical copy.

This information for the fan backup the supply chain will also let the artists know that there is a potential to make 500 limited edition releases, sign them and sell them to their AltaFans for a healthy profit and everyone is happy.  The future is and I gotta wear em ....

An AltCoin can be embedded into music and smart contracts pay creators what's not to love

So here we are in another one of those forks in the pathway of evolution and it's from technology specifically pathway -- cryptocurrency & altcoin. There are within them these new technologies protocol layers (think of metadata on songs )  which are being built into whole industries. by companies like Mastercoin NameCoin to name a few. All of whom use it's Bitcoin Protocol 2.0 capabilities that along with something new too. Smart Contracts and DAC's which are already changing whole worlds ~ not just industries.  So what does this have to do with my company.   Here's a great quote if you're in entertainment that you might want to follow the link.  

Who Will Be Affected by Distributed Autonomous Corporations?

"Smart contracts reduce mental and computational transaction costs imposed by either principals, third parties, or their tools. The contractual phases of search, negotiation, commitment, performance, and adjudication constitute the realm of smart contracts." Link 

All of this is monitored via Bitcoin's underlying Protocol (it's been online for over three years and it's still the unexploited)  This is done publicly via the proof of work via the Hash function and with total security via the blockcain which is best described by another blogger By Karen Webster, CEO, Market Platform Dynamics (@karenmpd)

"*. the blockchain – what many seem to think is the coolest invention of all time – makes it possible to have a public database that provides proof of ownership that doesn’t require a third party. The idea is that this cuts a lot of intermediaries out of the game.*" Link

Sites like Mt Gox didn't have updated software and it no different than banking, credit card or other data programs not being updated and certainly no different than Target's recent breach.  End of story 

Let's get to The future as described to me in by George Churchwell Tech2000's Co-Founder at Ingar Grev’s monthly Strategic Business Forum which I recommend folks to join in TysonsCorner  

Think of getting into your car and from your personal device the dashboard starts to interoperate and exchange information and payments and your not even having to click a button. 

This happens in part on a new concept something I'm calling the Fluidity of Currency. 

From here we're off to the races via Distributed Automated Corporations which can be securely maintained, bill and pay creators; And enablers new industry based like CryptoMusicData that what provide interested parties with data that sings --really it does. 

The hows and whys consumers of choose one song or artists overs will slowly start to emerge from the fans just interacting with entertainment. Nelson Jacobsen (@sonofnels) ....

While this is a just glimpse into a use of the Bitcoin Protocol 2.0 capabilities to enable a content creator to make something- set it up in an #altcoin SongCoin or AltavozCoin and get compensated within the root framework of the created content. (That's a mindful) is a totally new era. 

This is simple Creators now have choice, for once, to participate and they better chose to adopt something that is already trying to adopt it. Seriously if you're in the entertainment biz and not trying to get a handle let payouts from this world then you're going to find yourself out of the game in before you know it.  

PS Get ready for the most important entertainment webinar since the announcement of the internetwork, which I was at too. 

Altavoz his throwing it's A into STEAM and so should you.

 So STEM is great STEAM is better and since it integrates Science & Technology plus Engineering & Arts with Math.

Hence the name.


Just taking a look at this blog you'll notice that I'm pretty PRO USMADEMUSIC and we're just not going to have music or any Arts with out education being a foundation where our future (KIDS) are introduced to it.

Here's a fact.

Students who study art are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and 3 times more likely to be awarded for school attendance. 

Here's another.

• The US used to supply 80 percent of the Worlds Music today we supply 10 percent 

One last fact. 

• There are more people born every day and every single one of them needs art. 

Having first been introduced to STEAM via the Recording Academy Grammy on the Hill events I realized that for my company to survive let alone the US's place in the world of culture and economics to remain relevant we have to do something about it. 

And @AltavozDistroCo we're not waiting until 2014 we talking it this year.   I'll be making an announcement at the Washington DC Random Hacks of Kindness Dec 7th about a new program that we'll be helping to convey to school, community leaders and economist so stay TUNNED.........

1. http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-arts-education