How Grounded Is Cloud Computing Really?

Cloud computing is on the rise and I, like most, have trouble imagining a tangible medium like a cloud that can store my information safely. It’s hard to imagine a giant hard drive in the sky that collects billions of people’s information, yet that’s what’s implied with cloud computing.

To think of it differently, cloud computing isn’t really a giant, hard drive living in a puffy cloud, but alludes to consumers creating content, downloading content, uploading content onto another company’s server. We as consumer therefore save more room on our personal hard drives. Also, it provides back-up files in case our home computers crash. Simply, it’s like an external hard drive shared by the world, yet you can only access your content and not anyone else’s.

Next the question of security arises: if this “external hard drive” is shared by everybody, how protected am I really? There are smart people in the world who love to hack things; can they get access to my personal information? After reading “Demystifying Cloud Computing For Consumers,” they make a point that cloud-computing services like Amazon have a clause about security (2011). The article doesn’t answer the question, and I don’t feel like they can. Only the services using cloud computing (Apple, Google, Amazon) can answer security questions. There’s always a risk using personal information on the Internet, it’s a fact. As long as the cloud companies are doing their best to protect their customers, that’s all that consumers can ask for.

The brand that Apple’s trying to create with cloud computing left me feeling like my information was going someplace mysterious as I looked toward the sky. The explanation of iCloud seemed too high tech. Yet, the concept is more grounded than it sounds. The whole vision of the cloud keeps people in suspense, yet Apple’s always been great about that. Apple is known for their “out-of-the-box,” innovative technology. So continuing to call their product iCloud holds true to Apple. The other cloud companies, Amazon and Google, haven’t pushed cloud computing in people’s faces, but have still made their presence with this new technology known. They have a chance to ground people’s association with cloud computing so consumers aren’t frightened to send their information out. In reality, the information isn’t going out into a space with no boundaries, but to a tangible place controlled by Amazon, Apple, and Google.

For more information visit:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-06-22-cloud-consumer-apple-google_n.htm

J.K. Rowling Takes Control Of Her E-books

The collection of Harry Potter novels have been out for several years now, and July 2011 will bring the final movie in series, concluding the reign of Harry. J.K. Rowling isn’t giving up her beloved Harry just yet. On July 31, Pottermore will come to life.

Rowling chose July 31, because that’s Harry’s birthday. Pottermore is a website that will hold more content Potter fans haven’t read. It will also let Rowling keep control over her eBooks. Since eBooks became popular, Rowling refused to release digital versions of her novels. Finally, as the movies have all but wrapped up, she adds some final excitement into they Harry hype. She refused to go the traditional distribution route, so Amazon was out. Yet, the eBooks, even though exclusive to Pottermore, are compatible with any eReader. Also, the website will add new life to the stories (which all seven books will be on the site), and be fully interactive with the reader.

On the Pottermore website, Rowling leaves a teaser video, giving thanks to her loyal readership and fans who continue to write to her and love her work. Even though the release date is July 31, the website will not but fully open to the public until October. But some lucky few will get to experience the website early. Just how isn’t revealed on the site. If interested, you can still submit your email address to get a registration notification.

Since deciding to release ebooks, it was a wise choice by Rowling. If she didn’t, she would have been seen as an author stuck in the past. Also, with her timing, it was now or never. Releasing Pottermore around the final movie installment is great to supply more hype, not jus to the movie, but it’s an extension of the monopoly moving into a new medium. If Rowling had released Pottermore later than the final movie, there wouldn’t have been as big of an impact with fans. There doesn’t seem to be a huge impact now either, but this is the last chance to really hype the world of Hogwarts to readers. Creating eBooks sooner, like at the onset of eReaders, would have had more impact because Rowling would have been current with the times. She’ll still get tons of downloads from millions of loyal fans, but people are just about moved on from the series, engaging in new novels.

For more information visit:

http://www.pottermore.com/

http://media.theage.com.au/entertainment/red-carpet/jk-rowling-unveils-pottermore-2449251.html

Legal Podcast Review

Throughout my time at Full Sail University, I have gained valuable advice on things I need to do or keep in mind in order to build a small business. I found a podcast from Stanford University's Entrepreneur Corner with DLA Piper partner Martin Nichols. Stan Christensen, Stanford lecturer and Arbor Advisors Managing Director, interviewed Nichols about legal advice for start-up companies. Nichols brought up many great points that I found useful to help me in my search for the right attorney. According to Nichols, initial questions people should ask when searching for an attorney is where did they practice law and are they an equity partner? Those aren't the only two important pieces of information needed though. Find a referral and ask that person what their dealings with the attorney have been: did the make good judgment calls, did they get the deal done, are they as valuable as they claim? Also think about who you deal goes to, does the attorney get personally involved, hand it off to an associate, or get too involved and therefore increase fees? If they are a large firm, will they make time for your start-up business? Nichols tells anecdotes that help convey his points. He discusses that you want an attorney who you can trust, who will listen to you, who has experience in the start-up area, and who doesn't get emotionally involved.

To view this podcast go to Stanford's Entrepreneur Corner.

The next podcast I found was a lecture by Keith Weinstein at MIT discussing Copyright Applied to Music and Computers: Peer-to-Peer File Sharing. I chose this lecture because it breaks down the area of copyright that has been infringed upon for years. He thoroughly breaks down copyright law using everyday examples. I need to be aware of copyright when building my business because I'm using other people's work to run my website. If I don't get a license, I'll be broadcasting artist's music videos, breaking the copyright performance clause. Weinstein breaks down what it means to buy copyrighted material for personal use versus broadcasting it to an audience. He also discusses mp3.com and their copyright infringement case where they allowed people to have a copy of the music, claiming the person has the original CD, so it's not an issue. They later went out of business because they were found to have reproduced material, which is in violation of copyright law.

To watch this podcast visit Copyright Applied to Music and Computers.

The final podcast I watched can be found on iTunesU titled Anatomy of a Record Breaking Trademark Victory. I decided to view an actual case, involving trademark because I need to be careful about trade marking logos for my company and not infringing on anyone else. This example helps put into perspective how serious trademark infringement is and what can happen during a court case. The speaker is R. Charles Henn, Jr. speaking in front of UNC's law school. His case involved his client Adidas versus Payless. Adidas claimed that Payless copied Adidas' signature three-stripe pattern with a four stripe pattern as well as other similarities. Henn says that Payless is "the world's largest retailer with 5,000 stores in the United States." Based on that fact and their revenue, Henn revealed that Adidas was awarded $300 million at the conclusion of the case. There were 268 styles of shoes involved in the case. Henn says that the interesting part of this case was that Payless relied on the advice of counsel if they should produce the shoes and their attorney's gave them the green light to produce. Payless sold $400 million worth of their knockoffs, so Henn feels that what Adidas was awarded was still low. When discussing the case, Henn says that they needed to focus on is the question "is this infringement? is the mark strong?" Henn also used a commercial tactic and included the commercials as evidence. The first commercial he showed was of a game show asking the teams which of four brands used three stripes. It's consumer knowledge that it's Adidas and any shoes that look similar will be thought to be Adidas. It's the visual marking that makes Adidas recognizable. They also showed athletes that use Adidas to show how revered the show company is to not only everyday consumers, but also to athletes.

All of the podcasts helped me to gain a better understanding of considerations I need to build my company. I need to be aware of the attorney I'm choosing as well as avoiding any copyright and trademark issues. My attorney needs to be able to fit with my company and have an interest in the future of it. When dealing with copyright, I need to get all of the proper licensing and have protections against any kind of file sharing. Lastly, the trademark court case brought up many great points about what I need to avoid when designing items and that owning a trademark is beneficial to protect my brand.

Legal Issues For My Business

Designing a business plan concept has been difficult because I change my mind every other month. Yet, I developed an idea that I believe I’m happy with. My plan is to create a website that streams only music videos. Think Pandora/YouTube cross. Developing a website with other people’s content comes with several liabilities, one being copyright on the Internet. An example of this is the case of Viacom vs YouTube.

In this case, YouTube was alleged to have “distributed illegally copied videos that were uploaded to the site by individual users” (Arcamona, 2010). New York judge, Judge Stanton ruled that YouTube simply has to remove videos that infringe on copyright upon discovery of them. Since 20 hours worth of video gets uploaded every minute, I feel this was a fair ruling. Viacom threatened to appealed. The case called into question the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). DMCA states that producers are not liable under “Safe Harbor.” Also, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act says that producer’s are not accountable for the comments their users post. Both DMCA and Section 230 provide great arguments for YouTube. Scanning through 28,800 hours of video is impossible to do in a week and assigning someone to the task would be torture. I agree with the ruling, if Viacom is so worried about copyright infringement, then they can police it themselves. If they find something, YouTube will take down the video without a fight.

            

Another area I may be liable in is how I make income. Some sites use ad revenue to pay for their business. Pandora for example, did that, but got in trouble for how their ads were displayed. Fowler Woods LLC vs ten online-radio websites and web applications consisted of Fowler alleging that these sites infringed on a patent for showing ads while audio was playing (Meyer, 2010). One would think anybody could do this, but a team did in fact come up with the idea and protect it, meaning to use this concept, I’d have to pay Fowler Woods LLC and get permission. Seems ridiculous, but it’s true. If you want to investigate the patent, the number is 6,351,736, and it’s titled “System and method for displaying advertisements with played data” (Meyer, 2010).

            

One website that I got inspiration from was Ruckus and their Ruckus Music Player. Ruckus tried to combat the issue of piracy on the web. According to an article published by Reuters, Big Champagne Web consultant’s estimate 1 million free songs are swapped every day (2007). Even though this article was published four years ago, I’m confident that the amount of free songs swapped among peers has quickly grown. People use the Torrent sites frequently, downloading music and movies. It’s the old cliché “If it’s free, it’s for me mentality,” yet it hurts the industry people love. Revenue streams come from elsewhere because music sales are unreliable. Yet, the judicial system still tries to cut down on piracy. In the Pirate Bay Trial, the four men accused were sent to jail and each had to pay $905,000 for copyright infringement. In my business, I need to be extremely careful about gaining permission and what could be downloaded. Being a legitimate site like YouTube gives me the protection I need to grow my business. Torrent has the looming threat of being shut down because of their known dealings distributing copyrighted material.

            

Reviewing these past cases helps to make wise business choices when creating my business. Copyright is a huge issue on the Internet and needs to be taken seriously. I’ve learned that even the smallest details need to be considered so that way I am not sued, like the online-radio sites and applications, because I didn’t know about a patent or trademark previously in place.


Meyer, 2010
Arcamona, 2010
Pirate Bay Trial
Reuters, 2007

Al Schlesinger's Experience with A&R's

As a master’s student, I have a foggy direction of where I’m headed in my career. I never came from a musical family, I’m the only one who has an understanding of the music business, and roles within the music industry are not always clearly defined. I found myself searching for answers that the Internet could not begin to supply with just a simple search of terms. I knew I had to go to the professionals for some guidance. When I heard the great Al Schlesinger was arriving on campus to meet with students, I knew that speaking with him would be a great start.

Some background on Schlesinger: He is a music attorney with an emphasis on intellectual property. He served as Chairman and President for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for two terms. He has also taught music business courses at UCLA and Full Sail University. The accomplishment that I formulated most of my questions around was his experience working as an artist manager and dealing with A&R representatives while managing the group Bread.

Schlesinger revealed that he was practicing law in the 1960’s; he had David Gates (lead singer of Bread) as a client. In 1968, Gates told Schlesinger he wanted to bring some friends over and perform for Schlesinger. After performing, the group wanted Schlesinger as their manager. Schlesinger wasn’t sure if he wanted to accept the offer, but after seeking advice from another attorney, took on the band.

A&R representatives are the people in a label that you have to sell your group’s sound to; in the 1960’s and 1970’s, which was by cassette tape. Schlesinger met with Elektra Records where both he and Bread were impressed with the company, the artwork, and the caring nature the label conveyed. Schlesinger took a three to four demo to Elektra’s headquarters in New York and presented it to their A&R who loved Bread’s sound.

Schlesinger has seen A&R do a complete 360 since the ‘60’s. “A&R started 30-35 years ago,” Schlesinger said. “In the ‘60’s it was about cassette’s, in the ‘70’s disco came along and changed everything. There were no record sales, so A&R’s were getting fired. It became about the live show. A&R’s had to travel to concerts to see if the live show was marketable. They would bring the public relations representative, the marketing representative…it became a company decision. It took six months to a year to sign an act.”

It seems as if the signing process was simpler 30 years ago; acts could be picked up off of a few songs. Now, it’s about the complete package and the value the artist(s) would bring to the company in terms of dollar signs. A&R’s have to be confident in their decisions because the burden of who to sign is no longer as simple as the talent’s sound. Interviewing Schlesinger helped me to see how far the industry has come since the days of Bread, and how A&R’s developed.

When you’re young, you feel invincible. The world has endless opportunities, and you want to try them all. I know that’s how I felt in undergrad. I broke out of my once shy and reserved shell and became a “jack of all trades.” I learned the in’s and out’s of broadcasting, journalism, and public relations. I learned how to manage others in order to pull off a successful live concert. I learned what stress was and maxed it out. I also learned what I was most passionate about; working with artists.

Taking four years of undergrad taught me many things that helped build my resume. In hindsight, it was a fun ride, but redefining goals and narrowing them to what I really want is more important than trying everything. You have to figure out what you want most, such as, in your career. I had no idea until last month. I knew my interests and skills, but I didn’t know where they fit in the music industry. I tried graphics; eh, that was okay, I am proficient at Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. I tried AVID video editing; yeah I can handle that, but it’s boring. I tried writing straight news stories; great articles, but I felt like nobody read them. Live concerts were the only time I was truly excited about working.

So I knew how to narrow my passion based off of feelings, but how else could I figure out what I wanted post graduation? Where did I see myself in five years? What did I want from my career and what path should I take? Mindtools says that setting goals improves short-term motivation (2011). You need motivation in order to achieve your goals that you set in place.

Step 1 of mindtools says that you should set lifetime goals (2011). Basically, this covers all aspects of your life, things that you want to achieve before you die. This is like a brainstormed bucket list that gives you the big picture, spanning many years. A tip mindtools provides is setting a personal mission statement to focus goals (2011). Pick goals that you know you’ll achieve; distinguish what you really want from what you’d like to do. Ask yourself, am I going to make time to pursue this or not? Get serious with yourself. You don’t want an overwhelming list, because you’ll never look at it again if you do.

Step 2 talks about setting smaller goals. Mindtools suggests creating several plans that help you to reach your lifetime goals starting with a five-year plan, then a one-year, six-month, one-month, and lastly a daily goal sheet (2011). Everything should go back toward something you have set forth for yourself in your list of lifetime goals. After you have all of your goals broken down further, don’t forget to review them. Hang them up somewhere you’ll see them. Write them down in places that you’ll know you’ll look at them. If you’re trying to lose weight, hang a goal on the fridge to remind yourself to back off the ice cream. For the long term plans, review them once a month and alter as necessary.

If your goals seem too vague, write them using the SMART method: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time (mindtools, 2011). I want to lose five pounds in four weeks. (Your monthly goal) How will you get there? I will run 20 minutes on the treadmill and eat healthier foods and portions everyday.

Other tips that mindtools provide are make your goals positive, use the SMART method, prioritize from most important to least important, write them down where you’ll see them, stay small because large goals are overwhelming, set action goals you can perform, and make sure you are capable of achieving them (2011).

When the time comes that you’ve achieved your goal, celebrate. Don’t go all wild a crazy, because then you’re more likely to lose all of the progress you’ve made. Instead, give yourself an enjoyable reward that is you way of patting yourself on the back, such as going out with friends to that new movie you wanted to see. But before you move on to the next goal, evaluate the one recently completed.  What went right? What went wrong? Did you achieve the goal in the time period expected? What was successful? What was unsuccessful? What could you have done better? Is this a goal that needs to be maintained (like dieting), how can you maintain it? Looking back at the path taken can help you strengthen future goals.

When I went through my undergrad, I had a vague vision of what I wanted. I was all over the place, skipping from one thing to the next. If I had taken time to focus on what I really wanted to achieve, I would have specialized my talents in one area rather than having a mash-up of skills. It was definitely a learning experience that I don’t regret, but now that I’m older and wiser, I understand how important it is to understand yourself and your goals.

Mindtools. 2011. Personal goal setting. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/page6.html

Negotiating, it's a part of life

I originally designed this blog, thinking that I wanted to be a tour manager, hence The Tour Life name. Now I look back and think, that’s not what I’m good at. Road life would probably chew me up and spit me out. I was determined yes, but misguided. I should have stuck with what I was always skilled at, Artist Relations. I learned skill sets needed for that area throughout my four years at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. I learned how to talk to people, how to mediate, how to deal with pressure, and how to deal with difficult people. I didn’t realize it then, but I was learning important lessons about negotiating.

The other day, I was speaking to my mentor Clarence Crisp (former Director of Student Activities at Mansfield University), about the artists we worked with and how we dealt with situations. “Miller, you were always my second in command,” Clarence said. He knew he could count on me because I would be professional and work as long and hard as needed. We met some terrific acts where the biggest negotiation was booking the artist and finalizing the rider based on Mansfield policies. Other artists, such as Third Eye Blind, and their manager gave us a rough time. But with the combination of “good cop” (me) and “bad cop” (Clarence), there wasn’t a situation we couldn’t smooth over. He’d always send me in first, all dressed in my security shirt and “war paint,” to make the first impression. Really, who wants to yell at a young, polite blonde? Then if I didn’t have the authority or needed assistance, Clarence would come through. Yet, Clarence rarely had to be “bad cop” because he towered over everybody. Yet, his interpersonal skills were what smoothed over any problem. He was kind-hearted and cooperative, as long as the other person wasn’t unreasonable. There were some high demands during the course of 3EB, but we stood strong. Clarence’s philosophy was always “this is their home for one night, so treat them right, show them the best hospitality you can, and they’ll put on a great performance.” This of course was within reason.

After talking with Clarence, I decided to interview someone currently in the field: Dale Rock, Full Sail University Artist Relations Director. I was also able to interview Jen Tackett, Full Sail University Artist Relations Coordinator. I wanted to compare my past experiences with how the professionals dealt with negotiating. Some background about my interviewees: Dale Rock came to Full Sail University after gaining experience on the road and owning his own business. He became a lab specialist in audio and then became a course director for Show Production while also taking on the role of Artist Relations Director. Jen Tackett graduated from Full Sail University with an Entertainment Business Bachelor’s Degree. She was hired to help Michelle Bunker (who was Artist Relations Director at the time) with booking. When Bunker left the position, Rock was hired and Tackett began booking both studio sessions and live sessions. She became interested in the field after being involved with performing arts. Tackett felt that if she “wasn’t going to be in a band, she wanted to work around them.”

Rock and Tackett tend to use the “good cop, bad cop” tactic when dealing with artists. Credited toward his military background, Rock never let’s emotions get in the way of a deal because it affects decisions. They deal with a variety of musicians, so they all need to be handled similarly. “I let them vent, but I stand my ground. I let them know it’s my decision because I’m responsible for the students. Policies need to be followed so it doesn’t go against student’s curriculum or put student’s at risk,” Rock said. “Artists either do what I want, or don’t do [the session] at all. Student’s curriculum needs to be met first. If Full Sail is left vulnerable, then I didn’t do my job.”

Artists that do no cooperate with students, whether it is in the session rooms or at Full Sail Live, may not be invited back. “A small temper is okay because it’s like the real world, but we want them to be reasonable, not over the top,” Rock said. Tackett added, “material is for students and use for educational purposes.” Coming to Full Sail means that artists get free studio time. This saves them on tracking expenses because students do all the hard work. “If something’s wrong they’re welcome back, if they had a good attitude,” Rock said.

Rock’s strategy is one that is beneficial for Full Sail University and students. Since Full Sail is an educational setting, negotiations within a college are different than negotiations with a label. Yet mutual gain for both artist and Full Sail lies in the deal that has been set. Free sessions; money saved for artist to invest in other areas. Full Sail obtains a range of excellent clients and its students gain hands-on experience. The value of standing your ground as a negotiator still leaves room for mutual gain, and strong individuals working on behalf of Full Sail University and its students.