In these times of major label mergers, downsizing, the slashing of label rosters, and thousands of record company jobs being lost over the last three years–not to mention the enormous sea change and seismic shifts that technology has wrought–comes one of the most disturbing reports we have come across. It further reveals just how profoundly out-of-touch certain companies TRULY are when addressing the problems within their own record divisions.

The Financial Times reported ‘Warner Music paid its top five executives more than $21m in salary and bonuses following last year’s $2.6bn acquisition of the US music group by a private equity consortium.’ The article points out that Edgar Bronfman Jr, the Chairman who led last year’s buy-out, received a $1M salary and $5.25M bonus. Lyor Cohen, head of the US recorded music business, received $1M and $5.24M in salary and bonus, respectively. Paul Rene Albertini, head of Warner’s international operations, was paid $1.25M in salary and a $3.15M bonus. Departing Warner/Chappell CEO, Les Bider, received a $2.44M total payment.

These payouts include further guaranteed bonuses or change of control payments. According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, last year’s total executive remuneration was more than three times higher than Warner Music’s $7M operating income for the 10 months to September 30th. The management payments reflect Warner’s success in cutting costs following last year’s sale of the Music Group by Time Warner. The company expects to deliver $250M of annualized savings by May this year, achieved mainly through 1,600 job losses.

What is so truly disturbing here is that it speaks volumes about the value system of an owner of a company that would pay its top-five Record Executives more than three times the amount of operating income for a ten-month period while dismissing 1,600 employees.

What the article failed to mention was that in addition to the employee layoffs, Warner Music Group also dropped 93 of the 193 artists signed to Warner Labels in the US, approximately 47% of the artist roster during this same period. If the financial health of a company is truly so dire that it calls for these kind of dramatic and severe cuts for the financial well being of the company, how does one justify the kind of staggering bonus payouts to the top five executives in the company? Don’t get us wrong, we have no problem with executive compensation when it’s tied to actually rewarding performance, but in this case, one is truly hard pressed to grasp or to understand what is actually being rewarded. The claim that the Warner Music Group will save $250M of annualized savings mainly through the decimation of 1,600 jobs is not something that we think should be financially rewarded.

On Feb 11th at the Grammy Foundation Entertainment Law Initiative luncheon in Los Angeles, WMG Chairman Edgar Bronfman spoke to the 460 attendees of the luncheon, “We must employ our creative imagination - and we must resist the temptation to conduct business as we always have - by experimenting with new approaches, new structures and new relationships, so that we can move more quickly and appropriately respond to the ever-changing marketplace.”

He went on to request that music attorneys bring a new level of creativity to the deals they forge. “Your willingness to join with us is critical to the success of our industry.”

If only he had “resisted the temptation to conduct business like we always have” and not given so much to so few while so many went without. In business, as in life, you lead through example. Mr. Bronfman, with all due respect, you need to have to have your own house in order before you have the credibility to make a request like that to the creative and legal communities.

In an open letter to Warner Music Chairman Edgar Bronfman, Carlos Anaia, a five-year Warner Music Group employee in London who was leaving the company wrote, “We understand that you took on a huge task to turn around the ailing, forgotten division of AOL Time Warner, but informing the already morale-drained staff (via a third party - The Financial Times) that the salary and bonuses that the top five executives took individually equal more than 20 times my total lifetime salaried income (assuming I started at 18 and retired at 60), is somewhat more than insensitive. If you want to make us feel like maggots, you succeeded. Paul-Rene Albertini gets paid $4 MILLION in total? Hello!!? The only deals we are all aware of have all LOST money. Walt Disney Records? It’s still more than $15 million unrecouped. Milan Records? A French turkey. Need I go on? What deals has this guy done that actually MADE money?”

Throughout my own career in the music business, and especially in the last ten years, I’ve always been fascinated by the extremely disproportionate amount of money paid to CEOs in the Entertainment Business. Being in the music business for twenty-five years, we’ve seen Major Label CEO salaries/benefit packages go from $200,000.00 - $500,000.00 in salary and bonus payments in the mid 1980’s to literally ten-times that amount, and more, just eight to nine years later for the same job.

Throughout the 1990’s, the amount of money and compensation paid to CEOs and other top executives at film studios and major labels continued to reach new levels of financial absurdity, especially in the area of severance packages (the part of their contract that kicks in if they are fired or “leave the company for any other reason”). You want to know how absurd it’s gotten? It’s to the point now where if you really stop and think about it, there’s no real incentive for CEO’s to try and succeed anymore, other than ego (which we do not underestimate as an extremely powerful and driving force in this business).

Why? Because today, we live in an era where more often than not, the consequences of failure for a CEO have become far too financially lucrative! If you don’t believe me, look back over the last ten years and think about all of the labels that have had regimen changes such as when EMI made Charles Koppelman CEO of its music division only to have the entire EMI label close down a few years later with over 135 employees losing their jobs (many with just a two week notice) while Koppelman exited with well over $30M along with other contractual compensation.

Consider also the revolving door of CEOs appointed by Gerald Levin (then CEO of AOL Time Warner) to run Warner’s music division in the mid 90’s. Between 1994 and 1998, Warner hired, promoted and fired Doug Morris, Bob Morgado and Michael Fuchs to run the Music Division. Each outgoing executive cost them between $15M - $25M.

Of course, let’s not forget the very well-documented hiring (and very public exiting) of Michael Ovitz, who after eighteen months as President of The Walt Disney Co. (on a multi-year contract) left with over $96M in compensation and stock options - a matter that became a very public battle last year when the stock holders took Disney to court over this enormous payout to Ovitz). Think about it - this works out to about $533,000 a month, or maybe only $213,000 a month after taxes. Not bad for eighteen months’ work, if you can get it.

Today, more often than not, this is something contractually sanctioned by the corporation. It’s destructive, I believe, because as we’ve seen over and over, especially in the last four years in other industries, the consequences of these types of compensation packages DO NOT promote any sense of commitment, devotion or loyalty to a company, its growth, financial well-being or even in the most extreme cases (e.g. Worldcom, Enron) its very survival.

So what could possibly be the primary reason corporations continue to do this? It’s driven, we believe, by a core yet completely misguided fear that no one else is capable of doing the job — NO ONE!! Consequently, these executives have to be given whatever they ask for! Nothing reflects this mentality more clearly than the often-obscene severance packages you see CEOs carrying away when leaving or being fired from a company.

A further manifestation of this mentality in the business is reflected in the hiring of the same CEOs and executives over and over again regardless of their track records or past performance levels. As we always say, “the names in this business never change, just the addresses underneath them.”

This practice of rotating top executives further creates the very powerful perception that there are very few people who can actually do the job. In 25 years of being in this business, we’ve never believed this, yet this deeply held belief is very difficult to change, especially at the highest levels of a company.

A few years ago at a party, I asked a CEO of a major label why this practice seemed so prevalent at the top executive levels of the music & film industries and the response was astounding. He said, “What you have to understand about the decisions to hire executives at that level is that very often the boards of the company hiring them are much more comfortable with someone who’s already had the position and done the job regardless of their past track record than someone they don’t know regardless of their ability!”

It was a sobering statement to say the least from someone who really understood this process and the mentality that goes into these choices. It also provided real insight into why so few companies today have any executives that go up all the way in the ranks. There are a few, such as Jason Flom, Sylvia Rhone and Jordan Katz, but not many.

So, the question in the boardroom today needs to be, “How can we inspire a level of dedicated commitment and accountability in our top CEOs to grow the company we’ve made the consequences of failing so financially lucrative?”

In this day and age, when so many of our firmly held beliefs about the way things are in the music industry are continually being broken apart and we’re repeatedly being challenged by the brutally sobering new financial realities in the post-merger major label world now emerging: (Viacom’s $18 billion decrease on their radio station valuations; Sony and BMG merging their recorded music operations worldwide; the fracturing of powerhouse NYC law firm Grubman, Indursky & Schindler, once one of the largest and most powerful law firms in the music business, who recently had one of its name partners, Paul Schindler, depart to a competing law firm as well as laying off several attorneys), it’s a very powerful statement of just how out of touch and destructive corporate values like the financial compensation packages at Warner Music are to even their own financial well being and survival.

The tragedy, and I use the classic definition of tragedy as “a fall from greatness due to an unseen flaw in one’s own character,” (and labels truly don’t get much greater than Warner Bros., Elektra & Atlantic, historically speaking), is that the leadership at the Warner Music Group in the most profound sense just does not get it! They truly don’t see it. They still believe, “this is the way our business needs to be run.”

This isn’t so much a case of “corporate greed,” but rather something that has become much more pernicious, especially in the last ten years, and that’s this pervasive mentality of “I truly don’t care as long as I’m taken care of.” The Enron & WorldCom scandals are absolutely classic text book examples of this mentality on a grand scale in every respect!

As Bob Lefsetz, a leading music industry consultant and writer so aptly said recently, “To be this out of touch is to demonstrate you should not be running this enterprise.” And in a creative industry like music that has always thrived on innovation (radio, TV, CDs, the Internet, iPods, satellite & internet radio), and in a time where such rapidly developing and emerging technologies are creating dramatic changes in the culture at an alarming pace as well as creating incredible opportunities and challenges, what great artists starting their career in music would want anything to do with a company that cares more about itself and its own survival than it does about the artists and music on the label?

Is it any wonder the Major Labels Market share continues to stagnate? Or that their ability to break new artists has reached an all time low? This is exactly why major labels in their current state have no future in this New World Order. If they are to be a part of it, they’re going to have to reinvent themselves in a completely new way that reflects the world and times we live in today, not some fantasy of the past.

In closing, I’m reminded of a quote that a brilliant man named Breck Costin once said: “Always remember that your fantasies have to die before your dreams can come true.”

Ritch Esra
818-995-7458
ritch@musicregistry.com

About the Author

Ritch Esra is the publisher of the Music Business Registries.

Alot of people who received zimmer hip lawsuit applied in their hip cup replacement surgical processes are determining that there are difficulties that far surpass the average expectations for recovery. These poor people are experiencing a lot of uncalled-for pain for longer time periods, facing revision surgical processes and increased medical costs, and losing income by being taken out of the workplace at their regular jobs. Although Zimmer Holdings, Inc. is claiming that that their hip cup implant in no way defective and not to blame for the faulty surgical procedures, several unfortunate people are filing lawsuits against them and obtaining settlements.

During October, 2008 Zimmer declared that it had reserved $47.5 million to pay for claims they had received. Many docs are not positive that the zimmer hip implant is good to go and without problems. In fact, when Zimmer offered up on-line training to surgeons in order to teach them what they said were more precise methods for executing the implant operation, roughly 1/2 of the MD’s declined to take part. Therefore, the whole state of affairs remains to be trying for all patients attached, but none more than the hundreds of poor people who are expecting revision surgical process due to problems with their implant experiencing failures.

These hurting people definitely merit some aid and restitution which obviously is why product liability attorneys are suggesting and telling them to start the filing of lawsuits. zimmer metasul durom has been paying some of these claims, too. Nevertheless, even if the money they are being offered by all standards seems reasonable, in many cases people are resolving too fast and without provision put in place for reoccuring troubles if pain returns. Without waiting to find out what an actual case is worth, individuals might find themselves incurring alot more expenses out of their own pocket when further issues or pain return.

For anyone who thinks they probably have a claim against Zimmer may consider checking into it. If you think you could qualify, you should probably visit a lawyer to verify this info. Try to find a lawfirm that covers across the nation and who has a main focus on litigation against defective medical devices. This law firm has taken out all the risks and has setup a special section to uncover the details and process claims against Zimmer and win substantial settlements for their clients.

If your orthopedic Dr. informs you that you will need to undergo a revision surgical operation to correct your Zimmer Durom hip replacement device, contact an lawyer immediately.

The colour white can be a fashionable choice for beds, although there are some who disfavour the colour. One of the only disadvantages of getting a white bed is that the dust will tend to show up more frequently meaning you will have to clean it more often. Nonetheless if you are considering of getting a new bed then you would be mad not to consider a white bed. Not only does it make the ideal centre piece in any bedroom but it will brighten up your morning

Since we are the only website completely dedicated to white beds, we can offer you some of the most competitive costs as well as having a great range of white beds to choose from. As white beds become more and more popular manufacturers make more styles, currently you can get white metal beds, leather beds, single beds, bunk beds and even cabin beds. With that in mind, you should be able to find a white bed frame to suit your every need whether it’s something elegant or something clean

So whatever kind of bed you are considering of going for then might we advise you take a look at some of our white bed frames. So whether you are looking for a bunk bed for the kids sharing or a fancy leather bed for your room we have it in white. With prices starting at just £100 can you really afford not to at least take a look at what we have to offer? White leather beds under £300, you won’t find that anywhere else

Internet Explorer 8, which is the latest version of Microsoft’s Web browser has revealed itself to the public recently. Compared with the old versions, many security issues have been tackled. It is also claimed that IE8 can perform at a much faster speed. However, what catches more attention from the public is how Microsoft will promote it using social media. Microsoft has been promoting IE8 on various social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter. It has better support for CSS standards, thus better render for MySpace layouts 1.0 and 2.0.

Last year, Microsoft splashed out a couple of million dollars to shoot a video featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. The company is employing the same strategy again this year, with a much smaller budget though. This time, the videos will be closer to the general public. A Ninja, Obama girl and some not-so-famous Hollywood stars will all make their appearance in the video.

The key of this promotion campaign is a rather amusing video. It features different characters talking about the history of the internet. The video can be found under the title of ‘IE8 net history’ on YouTube. Videos showing the users instructions of the new IE can also be found on YouTube. A discussion about IE8’s privacy mode is one of them. You probably already know what it’s used for.

An official page has also been built on Microsoft’s website to promote IE8. The page is compatible with literally all social media sharing options. The funny thing is if you’d like to view the site, you’ll have to install the latest version of Microsoft Silverlight which you will need to download separately. This may have some negative effects on the campaign which aims to attract more users for IE.

Considering this year’s video is more of a grassroots one, the possibility is that it will be received by the public better. We’re yet to find out whether it will be a viral video like the Bill Gates one.

Why democracy is important
“If we fail now…we will have forgotten that democracy rests on faith.”

So much emotion is wrapped up in those words, spoken by Lyndon B. Johnson at his inauguration in 1965. Lives have been sacrificed, dreams put on hold, and heroes uncovered in the efforts to uphold the precious treasure of democracy.

When the Pilgrim’s first stepped off the boat, their dream was freedom. Freedom to live, work and worship in a land where the government was not a tyrannical king but a body of free men elected by the people to govern and guide.

When we elect officials to political office, we are electing people just like us. People that we believe have the ideas that will shape our future and our countries future in the right direction. If we have faith in our dreams, it is our responsibility to encourage others who believe in that dream. Voting gives us the opportunity to participate in shaping our country in the same way that our country’s Founding Fathers have shaped our world.

Democracy is a government by the people and for the people. What is the reason for political and social movements? Why is it that we feel the need to impress upon others our belief systems? It all comes down to an eternal struggle for men’s hearts, minds, and souls. For centuries, men have been fighting for freedom. Whether theirs or another’s, the fight for physical or emotional freedom has been at the crux of every battle in history. However, the past few decades have seen a shift in people’s ideals and mental sanctions. The value of the knowledge of good and evil has slowly diminished into an age of no morality or care about fellow man. The view of the majority of people in the world is to do everything possible to further their personal careers at the expense of relationships, health, and belief systems. The important part of this realization is the minority of people who are looking at the world through a larger lens. Those are the few that will change the world. The question is whether they will change it for the well being of others, or for their own personal achievements.

What makes the Communists hold the upper hand in world politics? Why do they have such a strong group of followers even in light of the strengths evident in the view of democracy? First, we must believe that there is not only room for change but a crucial need for it as well. We must recognize which battles further the fight for freedom and which will take up valuable time and resources only to fail in the long run.

To evaluate our goals and be able to prioritize them effectively, we must understand the kind of world we live in. We must not only understand our beliefs, but the beliefs of others and the reasons behind their acceptance of that particular belief system.

The observation of other beliefs in the light of our own worldview is crucial and has its place, however we must try to look at other worldviews in an objective light. Not only what they believe, but also what has brought them to this place, and how we can show them our views in an understanding light. Too often, we seek to be understood without seeking to understand.

The Communists are preeminent in the field of recruitment and creating a sense of dedication to their cause. They harness the power of idealism, and the talents unique to each individual. They use the starry eyed dreams of youth, the willingness to sacrifice, the want of adventure and the devotion of every waking moment. True leaders give their followers a cause to die for, a sense of dedication and devotion, and then send them into effective, meaningful action.

We must train the followers of our movement, the volunteers of our organizations so effectively that at any time they are qualified to come forward and take a leadership position. Therefore, we must indwell in them confidence in their leadership capability, and educate them to be comfortable in any situation with others that hold their belief systems or those that are adamantly opposed to all they stand for.

We must be the best at everything we do. We must strive for excellence and never settle for second best. Our lives should be movement inspired from a fire within to express our beliefs to the world and set others free with the truth.

About the Author

Tenille is currently a freelance writer and editor. She is a former professional ballet dancer and actress.

Welcome to our “Year-End A&R (Artist & Repertoire) Rewind of 2004,” where we reflect on what occurred over the last 12 months in the world of A&R and to see the impact those events made in the music business. This is also a time of year when you begin to look forward with a strong sense of commitment, expectations and making plans for the coming year. But, as the great John Lennon once said, ‘Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.’

With the Sony/BMG merger, 2004 will always be remembered as the year the ‘Big Five’ became the ‘Big Four’ and don’t be surprised if we’re telling you about the ‘Big Three’ at this time next year! Last year will also be remembered for labels aggressively utilizing video games as a marketing vehicle for the launching of many of their artists.

It was a year when the public finally said “No Thanks” to the concert business in a very loud and clear way. The summer touring season, especially, taught some very painful and costly lessons regarding exactly how much the public is willing to pay to see an act and what they are no longer willing to pay! As a result, Clear Channel has removed service fees from its ticket prices and drastically reduced parking prices at many of its venues. The industry also learned some valuable and long overdue lessons about the number of acts the marketplace is able to absorb.

Of course, the most profound impact on the world of A&R as well as many other areas of the business was the closure of four major labels: DreamWorks, Arista, Elektra and MCA (although MCA was reborn with far less staff as Geffen). These closures accounted for the loss of over 600 jobs (35 in A&R departments).

In looking back over 2004, we’re reminded of the many conversations we had with various music business professionals on both sides of the Atlantic concerning the current state of today’s music industry. Without exception, there seems to be a very sobering sense that the record business we have known for the last 25 years is now gone. This is extremely troubling for many, sad for some and terribly exciting for others. I see these times as an incredible opportunity for a total and complete reinvention not just for record label A&R Depts., but for the entire spectrum of the music industry.

If you as an artist, band, agent, manager or any other music business professional cannot see that the old paradigm of artist development (the actual long-term process of building a career from the ground up) has been completely re-invented over the last few years, then you need to get out of this business. The old methods of doing things no longer apply. This may sound obvious to most of you, but you wouldn’t believe how many fairly well known music business professionals within the industry still believe that the only way an act can have a viable career today is to get that act signed to a major label.

What’s so sad is that these people who believe this (and there are many) can’t even see that the very system they feel can & will accomplish this for their artist no longer even exists! We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating - though no one will actually come out and say it (truth is, they may not even be consciously aware of it) — Major labels today, with very rare exception, are no longer willing to be in the business they have built over the last forty years. The train of thought today is that the ‘old’ process of signing, recording and developing talent takes far too long and is way too costly to achieve the results they desire in the time they have allotted.

As a consequence, whether intended or not, (and this is the part many simply can not see) is the major labels are now in the Promotion and Marketing business, but of course, only for those experienced artists who have already been developed that they feel can be turned into multi-platinum sellers. Well, that would be nice, but that just isn’t the world we live in anymore. Of course, there will always be platinum sellers in the future, but far fewer of them. Today, there are simply too many choices available.

It’s fascinating to observe some of the most influential music publications out there today, such as pitchforkmedia.com and Blender to name two, which have hardly any mainstream artists in their Top 50 of 2004. Today, it’s all about choices. The future of this business will be thousands of niche artists selling fewer records much like cable television, which has a fraction of the audience, but is profitable! And this is the most profound difference from the past in terms of A&R signings and looking at what can and will work in the marketplace.

Under the old paradigm, the public (the majority of the time) only wanted what the major labels signed and sold to them (of course, that may have had something to do with what was available). Today, choices of music being vastly wider, a far more diverse artist selection available to us, not to mention the various new formats provides an almost infinite selection for today’s listeners and consumers. And, as most of us have known for years, the market is far, far broader than the major labels ever cared to acknowledge (yes, people between the ages of 30-50 WILL BUY MUSIC when presented with artists who they can connect with). How else could Ray Charles sell two million copies of a CD via a coffee chain, or James Taylor sell over one million Christmas CDs via Hallmark without his CD without even being available at retail? If either of those artists were at a major label, (James Taylor was with Columbia/SONY for 27 years up until last year) they most likely would not have sold more than 200,000 to 300,000 copies, tops!

These two examples provide an insightful illustration why several of the major labels are struggling today for their very survival. They truly can’t see what their customers want. But, in much deeper sense, they have no desire to get to know what their customers want.

Don’t get me wrong, there are several wonderful executives who work for the major labels, it’s just that the corporate culture at the top of most major labels is so profoundly out of touch with the times we live in, they cannot see their own part in the problems they face. The building of careers is a luxury of time to which they no longer choose to contribute. They really would like to THINK & BELIEVE they do, but the reality is the just the opposite.

The opportunities today are vast and limitless for those artists, bands, managers, and other individuals and companies who truly understand and embrace what is actually occurring, who can step back and see the decaying mechanism that many are still struggling to maintain for what it is - not only a crumbling business model, but an entire way of viewing the world in which we used to live, but no longer do! The personal, business and artistic successes we are seeing today are from those individuals who can peer through this fog of delusion and see the business as it actually is; not as they want it to be or hope it will become, but how it actually is! Those individuals are moving freely and creatively interacting with our new social order while others, including some politicians (and apparently a lot of voters), are still clinging to a world or a way of thinking that no longer exists.

Forward-thinking artist managers, agents, venues, indie labels and the artists themselves are the ones who have become (and truthfully have been for some time) responsible for building the next generation of career-artists. Careers are not supposed to be events that have huge a build-up and then are over like The Super Bowl. As we all know, the best careers (The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, Neil Young, U2) are long journeys that have been built on solid and viable foundations that can (and do) sustain a wide array of paths and experiences. Each of these artists was able to build extremely solid and viable foundations without a major label and in most cases, had no mainstream radio airplay at all. What these artists (and their managers) do have in common (regardless of genre) was an entirely new way of thinking and approaching the marketplace with regard to the development of their careers.

They all utilized new and non-traditional methods that did not have the luxury of an enormous marketing push behind it to create awareness. Most were lucky at the start to get Public Radio exposure and critical acclaim.

But today, with so many more marketing and exposure options available to artists (iPods, Internet radio, websites, non-traditional retail), the artists who develop and build careers for themselves won’t necessarily be household names in the first few years, but they will have a built a very solid base of fans that actually want their music and will attend their live performances. These artists will have built their followings over a long period of time, not through hype and over-exposure on MTV, VH-1 or other media outlets that in so many cases actually damage careers instead of enhancing them. More than ever, today’s youth culture is looking for something real, something it can feel a genuine connection with, not something it’s oversold on!

This is the tragedy of the major labels. They keep looking for the formula that will give them the huge multi-platinum sellers. Only problem is, we don’t live in that world anymore! The system today doesn’t allow these types of massive sellers like it did in the past. Today, we have FAR too many choices. And that’s their tragic flaw. Major labels do not see that the harder and louder they continue to market their acts, the more the audience they’re trying to reach doesn’t seem to hear them or care.

Doubt me? Just ask any 13-18 year old today and they’ll tell you. Or ask any 35-50 year old why they don’t buy CDs anymore and they’ll tell you “They don’t put out any artists who I can connect with.” Let’s face it, Norah Jones’ enormous breakthrough and continued success wasn’t a fluke, but rather a very strong indicator that the so-called “target demographic” (12-21 year olds) is completely out of touch with the times we live in. And for the record, Norah is another example of a recent career that was built entirely from this new paradigm of artist development - It is this particular phenomenon that I believe will alter the type of artists, regardless of style, that will emerge and be able to build viable careers for themselves in the coming years. Will these new Artist’s careers look like what came before? Not a chance! This will be the most difficult lesson for us as an industry to truly get. Letting go of what we’ve always held as the definition of success (Out-of The Box Top-10 radio hits, videos in high rotation on MTV, VH-1, BET, product endorsements for anything and everything, appearing in TV commercials, transitioning into motion pictures all within the first 12-18 months. Today, for those in the know, these things are no longer seen as a path to career longevity. These are all things we have seen over and over during the last 5 years that have hurt careers when they occur too quickly or without direction.

The new breed of artists and managers (and yes, there are a few who do think long-term) emerging today do not appear to see their clients’ careers with this same unhealthy compulsion. They have a solid grasp of who and what they are and have been able to map out a career path that is consistent with that vision. This is what will contribute to building careers, rather than destroying them.

A recent development in the Industry that we would be remiss in not mentioning is the recent trend of “upstreaming”. This is where an independent label develops an act from the ground up, and at a certain sales level, the act goes upstream to the major label system. The catch is, of course, that the smaller label will have to give up their acts to the major if the acts become successful. The great flaw in this scenario is that the major labels have traditionally thought that any act doing 100-250K on an independent label should be able to do at least three times that within a major label system. As we’ve seen over the last few years, ‘it just ain’t so!’ Most acts do not go from 150K to 500K in the course of one album. And there is nothing wrong with that. An act’s evolution (both artistic & commercial) is an organic process and a long one. We don’t expect our children to walk in their first six months, nor should we. Often, the problem with the major labels’ expectations is the unrealistic sales goals set for their acts simply because the act is now in a ‘major’ system.

So often we’ve seen labels set their spending based on totally unrealistic sales expectations. All too frequently, a label declares that its sales goals have not been met and drops the act. Is it any wonder that our industry has produced fewer and fewer career artists over the last fifteen years? That is also why all of the major label artist rosters have continued to get smaller and smaller.

The most fascinating aspect of this particular process today, is how many artists and bands truly WANT NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH MAJOR LABELS AT ALL! The illusion that a MAJOR LABEL CAN MAKE ALL OF THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE is over. So many artists today have seen too many acts during the last 10 years break up, implode or simply get lost in a system that they truly had no business being a part of in the first place.

If major labels are to survive in the future, they are going to have to come out of denial about the world in which we live and completely re-invent themselves. They are going to have to start seeing their business as it truly is today - not how they would “like it to be” or “how it was,” but how it actually is. As Werner Erhart so brilliantly said, “The Truth will set you free, but first it will really piss you off!”

About the Author

Ritch Esra and Stephen Trumbull are publishers of the A&R Registry and and several other music industry directories and may be reached by phone at 818-995-7458 or online at http://www.musicregistry.com

You may wonder what backup has to deal with Christmas..and yet, there is something you can benefit from here, too.

As the only way to enjoy your Christmas thoroughly is to spend your time as you want without anything interfering with your holidays, a scheduled backup has yet something to offer here.

When to backup?

Just set a scheduled backup to run on Friday evening and also on Saturday and Sunday of the Christmas weekend (if you do work or change your files during the holidays). The best time to run a Christmas backup depends, of course, on your backup schedule, but, generally, a Friday evening is the best time to run a single scheduled backup.

What to backup?

A scheduled backup on Friday evening will make sure you have backed up all your important files (work documents, mail messages, Outlook and Outlook Express files, data files, etc.) so that you do not have to worry if something happens during Christmas. And if something happens to your files, you will have a backup ready.

Where to backup?

Probably the best backup solution is to backup to an external USB hard drive. This method is quick, reliable and cost-effective. If you have little data to backup, you can use a flash USB drive or a DVD, depending on the amount of files to backup, of course.

Backup, and may your Christmas holidays been as pleasant as possible.

The author of this Enjoy your Christmas with http://www.FairBackup.com The owner of a site, devoted to the backup theme. Learn how to backup easily, efficiently and securely with fairbackup.com

I always find that bluffing in online poker, and detecting bluffs, is a strange proposition unlike at the casino. Many poker players who considers themselves masters at the art of calling bluffs do so because they can spot a player’s “tell”; maybe they scratch their nose when they’re bluffing, or shift in their seat, or play with their chips in a certain way. Some tells can even be more obscure, such as in the famous poker movie Rounders, where the Russian’s tell was when he ate his Oreo cookie in a different way.

However, when playing online it is impossible to see your opponent, what he is doing, how he is breathing or moving around. Some might say that online allows lesser players to bluff more easily, because they can avoid the harsh staredown from the players sitting across from them.

However, the only thing you can effectively use to tell if a player is bluffing online is the size of their bets. This makes bluff detecting more scientific, rather than about feel. You can keep detailed records on players you are playing against about how much they bet or raise and whether they had a hand or not.

Certainly, most people will not go to those lengths to determine if someone is bluffing. In the end, you can use the same thing you would use to spot a bluff if you were sitting at a table: your gut instincts.

Virgin Media made a huge event out of the launch of their 50Mb fixed-line broadband service, residents of Bournemouth fought their way to become one of the first to get connected up to the newly-launched 100Mb fibre optic trial but once again, Korea seems to be making a mockery of the UK’s plans to establish a superfast broadband network across the country as it gears up for a mega fast 1Gb service.

Hoping to be established by 2012, the Korean Communications Commission has announced a strategy to give its IT infrastructure a boost at a cost of US $24.6 billion. So ambitious are the drafts for this improved broadband network, it has been estimated that a total of 120,000 jobs will have to be created in order to complete the work.

Already, Koreans can quite happily connect to their broadband at speeds of up to 100Mb - a godsend for the country’s eager online gaming community. Unfortunately, this is something that’s proving very hard to establish here in the UK.

If that wasn’t enough, the Korean wireless broadband network is said to be set for a boost, too. The Korean Communications Commission has also confirmed that it will improve its wireless broadband service to cope with speeds of up to 10Mb.

Wondering how far away your broadband service is from this 100Mb goal at the moment? Why not give your connection a speed test at www.broadbandgenie.co.uk/speedtest?

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Just think of the hassle that you would half to go through if you had to redo all the work on your computer for that day because of a power failure. Everyone thinks that they are safe because they are connected to a surge protector but yet that means that when you loose power your computer still has a hard shut down and all it does is help stop a power surge to hit your computer.

Can you just imagine that you had a presentation on your computer that you were working on all day and forgot to save it? Then all of the sudden the power goes out from an electrical storm and you loose all that days’ hard work.

Just how would you get through the presentation if you had to sit down and redo all the work that you already spent all day doing once when lets say that the presentation is first thing in the morning.

Here is a way to make sure that your computer doesn’t crash when the power suddenly goes out when you are working on an important project at work or at home. This UPS battery is something like a surge protector but it has a series of batteries in side so that you do not loose all power at once.

With the UPS battery you will have a chance to save all your work and safely shut down the computer before you loose everything. Just think of the pain and embarrassment that you would not half to go through when you don’t half to redo all your work a second time around.

Plus just think, then you would not be too warn out and tired from trying to redo all the work that night for the next day if you waited until the last minute to get your work done.

Do you think that everyone would be better off if they would get a UPS Battery for their home and office? Lets see it would be a benefit because then you would not half to loose any of your hard work because of a power failure from the weather or from an accident.

For more information about UPS batteries, please check out http://www.rechargable-nimh-batteries.info