Christian Gregertsen's Leadership Portfolio

I have reached the last month of the Entertainment Business Master Program. For this month we had only two assignments and equally many mandatory attendance days. Our first day of attendance was our course introduction. The second mandatory attendance was the presentation of your business plan to a panel of teachers.

Leadership Portfolio – Creating a Blog That Reflects Upon My Journey Through Full Sail

The Leadership Portfolio is an assignment where you reflect upon the leadership abilities gained through your education at Full Sail University. It is open format. I decided to do a web page because we live in a digital world and my background is in software development and online businesses. This blog is a result of my journey through Full Sail and I had a great time looking back at and reflecting upon the twelve previous months that flew by like there was no tomorrow.

I am very excited knowing that I will hold my Master of Science: Entertainment Business in just a few weeks.

Business Plan

During this month I also finalized my business plan created in the previous month as well as created a PowerPoint presentation to accompany it. Creating a business plan from start to finish was a very good exercise that I am sure will come in handy in the future as I always seem to have new ideas for tech startups. I feel that with the education Full Sail has given me I will have a very strong foothold in a highly competitive environment.

The complete business plan document can be found here: VXGaming Business Plan Compiled 1.0b

I have also attached the slide-show for my final presentation:

It is finally time to start wrapping things up. During this month we create a business plan from start to finish. It might seem like a daunting task to develop a thirty page business plan in just a few weeks, considering most business colleges devote an entire semester to this. It really is not that difficult of a task though as long as you spread the work out. As long as you stay on track and write a few sections each day the task is very achievable. The number one thing I learned this month is how much easier it is to complete a complex task by working at it at a steady pace, rather than trying to do it all in one setting [ok, maybe I didn't really learn since I'm putting the finishing touching on this Leadership Portfolio right before the deadline].

Leadership Portfolio Assignment – Reflection

In any case, for this class we were asked to write an essay reflecting upon our time at Full Sail University and the difficulties we went through when writing our business plan.

It was a great opportunity to reflect on what I had learned so far.

Developing a business plan from scratch consists of a lot of hard work and challenges.  Normally it takes months to develop a business plan. However, at FullSail University in the Business Plan Development class we are asked to create a business plan from start to finish in less than four weeks. This makes it a daunting and time sensitive task.

Luckily, every class up to this point has been building up for the creation of our business plan in one way or another. This started with Executive Leadership, our first class in the Entertainment Business Master’s degree, where we picked a concept to develop as a business throughout our 13-month program. Even though every class has been leading up to the development of our business plan, the creation of it was not a road without obstacles.

When writing a business plan thorough research is one of the key components to success. You may have the greatest concept in the world and you may truly believe in it, but it means nothing to an investor if you do not have the numbers to back it up. Unless you have a large stack of cash hidden in your mattress you are likely to need outside investors to fund the startup of your business. Typically this money is used to cover startup expenses and the working capital required to keep your newfound business operational until it starts to generate revenue. A solid and well-researched business plan coupled with a well-prepared pitch is one of the best ways to find these investors.

When creating the business plan for VXGaming LLC, a game development company based out of Atlanta, GA, I ran into several challenges. VXGaming will be developing an online multiplayer tournament system called the VXGaming Pay To Play Platform. It is a plugin for existing first person shooters that enables players to not only play for fun, but also for profit. After installing the plugin and creating a VXGaming account the player is then able to pay on VXGaming enabled servers. Each match on a VXGaming enabled server has an entry fee. At the end of the match the winning player is paid out 90% of the collected entry fees.

One obstacle that I ran into is that there are currently no other gaming companies offering a similar service. This made it very difficult to do competitor research and a market analysis.

I overcame this obstacle by identifying indirect competitors and focusing on those instead direct competitors. As an example, even though the game Call of Duty, does not offer a tournament system. The players who play Call of Duty are the same first person shooter players that I am targeting. Since these consumers are a limited resource Call of Duty become an indirect competitor even though we do not offer the same services.

Another obstacle I encountered was finding out the exact demographics for first person shooters in the United States. I was able to work around this obstacle by interpolating results from various sources. As an example I was unable to find out how many gamers in the US play first person shooters (FPS). However, I was able to find the total number of gamers in the US as well as the percentage of video games sold that was a FPS. By multiplying the percentage of sold FPSes by total gamers I was able to estimate the number of first person shooter players.

One thing that definitely made the creation of the business plan easier was the introduction to business plan subjects throughout each course of the EBMS curriculum. While all the courses helped, I felt that some helped more than others.

One class that really helped me was Finance instructed by Ron Cooke. During this class we learned how to structure the finances for our company. The creation of our Pro Forma in the Finance class saved me a lot of time during Business Plan Development as most of the numbers were transferable. The Finance class also taught us a lot about how to approach investors. I am also a big fan of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad textbook that was part of the required reading for this class. Having a solid grasp of how to structure a business for profit is an essential skill that Ron Cooke taught extremely well.

Another class that I felt I learned a lot from was Advanced Entertainment Law, taught by Cassie Willard. Even though law and legal is not a major part of the business plan, I felt that this class helped me address and research potential legal issues that directly correlate to my business idea. For my case study for this class I researched MDY Industries vs. Blizzard, Inc. This case ruled that you can classify anti-cheat technology as a copyright protection device and that tampering or disabling an anti-cheat device is a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. One of the major threats to my business plan is that cheaters or exploiters will use hacks to gain unfair advantages against other players. Because of the ruling in the MDY vs. Blizzard case there is now a legal precedent that enables me to legally make anyone caught hacking the system directly responsible for damages caused.

Overall, I feel that each and every class has been a building block towards the development of me as a leader. I enjoy being in control and assuming leadership positions. In order to be a successful leader you have to possess many traits and skills including integrity, dedication, humor as well as strong communication skills. The courses in the EBMS program are not only built to enhance these vital skills in a classroom environment, but also in the real world through networking assignments, such as interviews.

In conclusion, I feel that the skills learned throughout my education at FullSail (both my Bachelor in Game Design and Development and my Master in Entertainment Business) coupled with leadership skills acquired in the military makes me a very strong leader for the world of tomorrow.

This class is one of the first of its kind and it is constantly evolving. We were taught about the history and future of mobile marketing. We focused heavily on cellular evolution and how to best use advertising mediums of the future in order to enhance your business.

One assignment we had for the class was to compare three different media delivery methods:

New media delivery methods are constantly being developed as technology evolves. There are often advantages to the new technology compared to older technology, such as greater interactivity or a brand new way to deliver content. When adapting to new media outlets we are not only presented with new opportunities, but also challenges. Three media outlets that substantially changed how media is distributed are radio, television and the Internet.

Prior to the invention of radio there was no way to get remotely broadcasted content into your home. In order to listen to music you would have to either attend live concerts or listen to records.  One of the advantages of radio was that it exposed people to new music. Record companies were initially skeptical to radio. They feared that record sales would plummet as the public would no longer have to purchase records in order to listen to songs. The effect on record sales actually turned out to be the opposite. Songs that got a lot of radio exposure had increased record sales.

The invention of radio did not completely replace existing music delivery methods such a records and live concerts. Live concerts provide a sound and experience a radio cannot reproduce. Records remained popular because it gave the end user more control than with the radio since they control what songs they wanted to listen to and when.

Radio was a great media outlet for advertisers as it reached consumers directly in their home. A challenge advertisers may have faced is trying to convert print and movie ads to a format that translated well over radio. If the content sounded dull or bland a potential customer would likely just switch to another channel. One lesson learned from radio advertising is that content delivered to the consumer has to be relevant and interesting; otherwise it will be ignored.

Another medium that brought broadcasted content into homes and businesses was television. After it’s inception consumers could for the first time in history watch movies and broadcasts from the comfort of their own home. Prior to its invention people had to go to the theaters in order to watch movies. Television did of course not completely replace movie theaters as people still enjoy going to the movies for various reason including a bigger picture, better sound, ‘movie experience’, and earlier release dates.

A new marketing opportunity that presented itself through television was the ability to have both picture and sound with the advertisements. For the first time consumers were presented with visuals of products in the environment of their own home. As television evolved the number of channels increased, spawning niche channels with a very target demographic. An example of this would be a golf channel. Through niche channels advertisers are able to reach a very specific demographic. A challenge advertisers may have faced when first developing TV ads is the difficulty of keeping them relevant and entertaining. The general public typically hates advertisements. They are quick to change the channel if an advertisement bores them. I think one lesson learned from television ads is the power of rich media content. An example of this would be a restaurant chain telling a story about the experience of its restaurants while displaying its tasty products. The consumer is more likely to purchase a product they can see, than one they only hear about (Cebrzynski, 2008). As mobile technologies become more advanced this delivery of rich content can be carried over to mobile devices.

Another technology that revolutionized the way we receive and interact with media is the Internet. Unlike radio and television the Internet allows for two-way communications. We are now in direct control of what content we want to receive. The Internet did not replace any of the traditional media outlets.

A marketing opportunity that presented itself with the invention of the Internet was the ability to deliver targeted ads to the users browsing. An example of this are the context based text-ads provided by Google Adsense. They automatically target keywords found within the content of a website. A challenge advertisers may have faced is designing ads with two-way communication and interactivity in mind. I think a lesson learned from Internet advertisements that can be carried over to mobile is that ads that engage the user interactively are more likely to get their attention.

In conclusion, TV, Radio and the Internet provided new opportunities for advertisers. Even though they were faced with new challenges they learned to adapt and utilize the new media outlets to their full potential. As new technologies evolve advertisers will continue to embrace them.

With the knowledge gained from this class I now know how to take advantage of text messaging campaigns in order to achieve highly effective targeted marketing.

This month we learned the basics of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and various Internet Marketing methods. This is a field that I have a lot of experience in already, but I felt that the material help reinforce the knowledge that I already possessed.

In order to rank highly in search engines we learned about the importance of high quality content and relevant target inbound links to your site.

Our Leadership Portfolio assignment consisted of a keyword analysis of search terms that we wanted to target for our business plan. I research potential competitors to VXGaming LLC and determined how hard it is to rank organically for various keywords. We then presented our research in class. My slide-show is attached below:

For this class we learned about current publishing and distribution methods as they relate to entertainment and entertainment business. We learned about the structure and composition of both artist and movie deals and contracts. We also extensively researched how media is constantly evolving through online digital distribution methods and social networking.

The Leadership Portfolio assignment we were given for this month was to interview someone that works with media publishing and distribution in order to further our knowledge about the subject.

I was lucky to secure a phone interview with David Luntz, President of Nunchuck Games.

In order to further expand my understanding of publishing and distribution within the gaming industry I decided to interview someone with experience in this field. I was able to schedule a phone interview with David Luntz, President of Nunchuck Games, who I got in contact with through a mutual friend. His daily activities include making sure the company is running smoothly (financially, personnel, team mechanics), managing development teams, communicating with the publisher/distributor, and coming up with creative concepts.

David Luntz is an industry veteran. He founded z-Axis gaming in 1994. They are most famous for the Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX series and BMX XXX. Activision, a major game publisher, acquired z-Axis in 2002. Under the ownership of Activision, z-Axis produced Call of Duty 3 (2003) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). In 2006 David Luntz formed a new company named Nunchuck Games. They have released a game called Ninja Reflex for the Wii published through Electronic Arts.

I asked David to explain how publishing typically works in the gaming industry. He explained the difference between dealing with an external publisher (z-Axis before being acquired by Activision) and dealing with an internal publisher (z-Axis after the acquisition by Activision).

Most studios dealing with external publishers are small independent studios working on one game at a time. These studios are always dealing with cash-flow issues. If your money is coming from angel investors you might run out of money if you run into any issues and go over budget. In a lot of cases you are receiving money from the publisher directly. They typically give you an advance and buy the product for a set fee when it is completed, or they fund the project and you get a percentage of sales. You run the risk that the publisher withholds money from you, or pull the plug on your project if they get cold feet. Another major issue when dealing with an external publisher is that you are typically working on just one game at a time. That means that when that game is completed you need a new concept, new investors and a new distribution deal. During the down time between projects it can be hard to pay employees, meanwhile firing all of them and then rebuilding a team when you are ready to start a new project is not a viable solution either.

Dealing with an internal publisher eliminates the cash-flow issues experienced when dealing with an external publisher. However, being part of a larger company you give up some of the freedoms that come with being an independent studio. David said that sometimes publishers try to force their way of doing things upon the development teams. This can break the team efficiency as the teams typically have already established a way of doing things that work well for them and are resilient to change.

Next, we discussed retail versus online publishing for video games. David said that online publishing for video games is steadily becoming more popular. It was not until cable/DSL became mainstream it became a viable solution due to the sheer size of a video game download. Online distribution is more cost-efficient as there are fewer middlemen. With online distribution you do not have to pay a retailer, neither do you have the manufacturing, packaging and shipping costs associated with a physical project. One advantage however to retail distribution is that you reach more people as they physically see your boxed game in the store.

Finally, I asked him about where he saw the gaming industry heading in the future. He thinks online distribution will continue to grow. While PC games dominate online downloads, console games are still typically sold as retail only. He predicts that this will change in the future. As far as technology is concerned, the focus right now is on input devices and how to make games more interactive and more engaging.

So what did I get out of the interview? I learned a lot about the different distribution and financing models for video games. It is clear for my company that I want to focus on online distribution. Retail distribution is not the right solution for my product because it will turn out to be cost prohibitive. I also feel that I built an important networking contact. Before ending the interview we talked about some of my own work in the industry (I have a lot of experience doing security consulting for game companies) and he seemed intrigued. The gaming industry is very small and tight-knit and it is likely he will be a valuable contact in the future.

The opportunity to interview someone who is a veteran in the gaming industry was very valuable to me and it was also a great opportunity to further extend my network.

This month turned out to be my favorite course during the EBMS program at Full Sail University. Our teacher, Cassie Willard, was extremely talented. She managed to cram so much legal information into our heads in such a short time that I was simply amazed. Every day we covered a new aspect of laws. This is the single month at Full Sail where I was introduced to the most new concepts and I really enjoyed it.

We were given a chance to research and present legal cases in front of the class. For our Leadership Portfolio assignment we were to research a legal case that could be applied or affect your business plan.

Researching a Legal Case [MDY Industries vs Blizzard Inc.]

One of the main risks and concerns associated with my business plan for VXGaming LLC is the risk of hackers cheating in order to gain an unfair advantage. In order to determine how to deal with potential attacks I designed to research MDY Industries vs. Blizzard Inc.

That resulted in this research paper: Research Paper – MDY Industries vs Blizzard Inc Case Analysis and accompanying presentation:

Leadership Portfolio – Interviewing a Lawyer

When starting a new company it is critical to have the proper legal representation in place in order to avoid issues down the road. I was tasked with interviewing an entertainment lawyer in order to better prepare myself for starting a business after graduation. I decided to interview Erik Hart, a California lawyer, as it is one of the states where I am considering opening my business.

Erik Hart was playing division 1A college football when he decided he wanted to go to law school in order to become a sports agent. When it came time for him to get his second year summer internship he sent out 400 resumes to various sports teams and entertainment companies/agencies. Out of the 400 applications he only heard back from 2. The first one was the Los Angeles Raiders. They offered him an internship, but it would be split between Los Angeles and Oakland as the team was moving that summer. The other was Roger Corman, a producer and director of low-budget movies. He has given many people their start in the show business including Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Dennis Hopper, and Robert De Niro. Mr. Corman’s company was across the street from Eric’s best friend in High School. He took the job and stayed at his friend’s apartment for the summer. By the end of the summer he had decided that making movies was a lot more fun than dealing with sweaty football players. Eric’s first paying job was with Aaron Spelling’s Spelling Entertainment. He then proceeded to work for Paramount Pictures. Eventually Eric established his own practice where he has been working for the last 8 years. His primary practice is the production of independent motion pictures. Some of the items he deals with are copyrights, contracts, and first amendment issues.

When asked about a “shining moment” in his practice, Eric confidently responds that he has had a lot of them. In 1998 Gene Autry and Roy Rogers passed away within months of each other. At the time Eric worked for Spelling Entertainment who owned the library of the old “Republic Pictures” studio who made the classic cowboy movies from the 1930s and 40s. It was his job to help the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) get the legal clearances for the footage in a special “memorial reel” for the 1999 Academy Awards. Val Kilmer presented the reel that Eric had had a hand in making. He was honored to have a small part in recognizing the legacy of those two actors.

I asked Eric about what major legal liabilities he was aware of in the software industry. He stated that in his opinion the law of the software industry is a mess. His two primary concerns are the issues of infringement and piracy. In his opinion some of the early software cases set some bad precedents that have made the effective prosecuting of those crimes even more difficult.  He also stated that the law is very slow to keep up with new technologies. In his opinion it is like a game of cat and mouse, where the law is always playing catch-up. Over 10 years ago, when he first got started as an entertainment lawyer, one of his first jobs was to find out how to legally exploit his company’s properties on the Internet. The contracts they had in place, some of them over 50 years old, had never envisioned such technology. There were no places to look for guidance, as the courts had not yet set any precedents. As an example Eric decided that streaming videos on the Internet had the most in common with television broadcast rights. Affected parties are still to this day fighting over who gets paid what from digital streaming media.

I also asked him about what some of the major pitfalls and things to be on the lookout for when starting a software company were. He said it has all of the pitfalls of a regular business start-up (corporate formation, capitalization, business planning, investors, SEC issues, labor/employment issues, etc) in addition to some other problems such as anti-trust and market saturation issues. He said the most difficult task is proper capitalization and funding, especially after the dotcom bust and with the current state of the economy. As the economy continues to crumble, a lot of investors are holding onto their money in order to stay as liquid as possible for when things start to turn around. He says that raising capital from third parties can be a legal minefield for inexperienced businessmen.

He could not give me any general rates for entertainment lawyers, as it varies from lawyer to lawyer, depending on experience, expertise and contacts. He said some charge a few hundred dollars an hour while others charge a lot more. I also questioned him about the importance of networking in the entertainment industry, as it seems that is how he built his way up the ladder starting with the internship for Roger Corman. He said to never underestimate the power of networking. The entertainment industry is very small, a lot of people know each other and that’s how you advance.

Overall, it was very interesting interviewing Erik Hart. He has a lot of experience in the entertainment industry. However, I don’t think he would be a good fit for my company since his practice is specialized towards films and moving-making. After reflecting upon the interview I realize the importance of getting the proper legal representation when starting a company. If you try to do everything yourself in order to save up-front costs it could end up hurting you in the long run. I also find the networking story of how his internship sparked a career very inspiring.

Managing is often one of the first tasks associated with being a leader. Month seven was split into two halves. During the first two weeks of the class we learned about artist management, during the last two weeks of the class we learned about product management.

You might think that artist management does not apply to someone like me who is in the software industry. However, that is not the case. When thinking of an “artist” or “talent” many people automatically assume you are dealing with a singer or an actor. However, anyone, that you manage that you use for their creative talents can be considered an artist. In the gaming industry some of the artists you have to deal with on a day to day basis are graphic artists, 3D modelers, sound effect composers, etc. During this month we were taught many necessary people skills for dealing with talent. We were also introduced to some basic law concepts.

During the second half of the month we learned how to create, package and distribute a product from start to finish.

The Leadership Portfolio assignment for this class was to interview a product or artist manager. I decided to interview Ken Pavia, owner of MMAagents. Through this interview I learned a lot about what it takes to become an artist manager.

Tell me a little bit about your background.

I am the guy behind the guy behind the guy.

I graduated from UCLA in 1989

And the University of Miami School of Law in 1991

But I am a Sports Agent not Lawyer

Get it straight

Representing athletes is my calling.

It is my profession

It is my obsession

When I am not working it is my hobby

A fighter interests are served best by me

PERIOD.

I love to negotiate.

But then again everyone has a plan.

Until they get punched in the face.

Literally or figuratively.

2. How did you get started in the entertainment business?

I went to law school to better prepare to conquer the world as a sports agent.  While I often had side deals to help supplement my income and build the practice, I began the agency the first day out of law school in January of 2002.

3. Why did you choose to get into artist management?

It was my calling from an early age.  Try as I did to be a pro athlete I was always restricted by natural ability, hard work can only take you so far.  With more brains then brawn, a knack for stats, and the gift of gab it was my calling.  It chose me.

4. Who was your first artist that you managed?

The first few clients were football players that were fringed guys at best.  They were a lot of work.  I think my very first was a Tight End out of Miami that never really made it.  My first real clients were hockey players.

5. Who have you managed in the past, who are you currently managing?

I represented primarily baseball and hockey players for 12 years.  I also had football players, basketball players, and golfers.  No really big names even though they made quite a bit of money: Jerry Spradlin, Terry Yake, Rick Burleson, Brian Warren, etc.  Now I own the biggest agency in MMA, MMAagents.  We represent 55 elite level fighters.  Our roster is available at www.MMAagents.com.  We are the best AND second best MMA agency in the business.

6. What have you learned as an artist manager?

The lessons are too numerous to describe.  The most important lessons in my 18 years of management are… teach the client that it is not going to last forever so enjoy it and save, be humble, listen always, and most importantly DON’T LIE EVER.  The repercussions of being caught in a lie are much worse then the short term benefits realized from that lie.

7. What are some of the mistakes you have made?

Again the mistakes are too numerous to list.  The ones that come to mind are don’t get too close to your employees because they will get complacent and comfortable, get everything in writing, and don’t lie.  I made the mistakes that led to these conclusions.

8. What skill sets does an artist manager have to possess?

The most important is interpersonal skills.  You have to be a people person, an actor, educated so as to be able to adapt to all situations, and you have to have a marketing gene in you body.

9. What are some of the daily tasks that you have to deal with as an artist manager?

Everyday I make a To Do and Phone call list yet everyday it seems like I spend my time reacting to problems and opportunities.  This requires organization, and the ability to adapt on the fly.

10. How do you resolve conflicts with your artists, for example if there is a disagreement.

We as agents are more mediators then advocates.  Part of the skill set necessary to succeed in this business is the ability is the ability to solve problems on the fly.  This crosses over with the interpersonal skills though.

11. If you could manage any artist in the world, who would you manage and why?

Probably A-Rod.  He makes 250 million over 10 years so the commission on his contract alone would be 12.5 million.  But the ancillary opportunities associated with him would probably double that.  It is nice to be at the top of the food chain because instead of finding and cultivating opportunities you field them because they are coming to you.  The ones that are not suitable can be passed to your other clients.  We have that now in out firm but our sport, while growing like no other in our lifetime, is not at the level of baseball.  We are still missing a few zeros at the end of the checks.

12. What makes you stand out from the competition in entertainment management?

Experience.  I have created departments in my firm that model some of the bigger firms in other sports.  We have a legal department, a sponsor department, a compliance department (commission compliance, contract and travel), and a PR department.  We are staffed to handle any issue and we are efficient.

13. What is your biggest accomplishment in the entertainment industry?

Running the biggest firm in my chosen sport.

After compiling the Questions and Answers I prepared a presentation for class:

I love to argue… err I mean negotiate! Negotiation and Deal Making was a class that I enjoyed very much. I thoroughly enjoy debating as it is much a mental game of outsmarting your opponent and coming up with a clever ways to persuade them into getting what you want. During this class we had a lot of in-class negotiations in a role-playing scenarios, where you and partner were both given a background story and a goal to accomplish. You then had to negotiate with the other person in order to get what you wanted.

Two of the main things I learned in this class is to never let your emotions get the best of you. It is very important to keep your calm during a negotiation even if it does not go as well as you would like it to. The other thing I learned is to always get a verbal deal in writing before celebrating. During one negotiation I was able to trick a classmate into agreeing upon very unfavorable terms. He then later claimed we did not have the deal in writing when he found out everyone else in the class was willing to offer him a much better deal.

For our Leadership Portfolio we could pick between two assignments. The first option was to go out in the real world and negotiate a deal. An example of this would be going to a car dealership and negotiating the price of a car. The other option was to interview an experienced negotiator and then write a memo about the interview. I went with the second option and decided to interview Joe Black, a rapper from Atlanta.

TO: Suzann Bain

FROM: Christian Gregertsen

RE: Interview with Joe Black

DATE            : 3/21/09

The situation

The task was to set up a meeting with an experienced negotiator and deal-maker in my chosen field. Even though my bachelor is in Game Design and Development and my primary focus in the past has been on software development I am also interested in music. This was the reason I decided upon the Entertainment Business Masters instead of the Game Development Masters after carefully weighing my options. I spent the last year in Atlanta, GA, which is rapidly becoming a hip-hop epicenter. During my time in Atlanta I met hip-hop and R&B stars such as Young Jeezy, Ne-Yo and members from Outkast. During my time in Atlanta I met up with Edrick Bohannon also known as Bo, CEO of 24/7 Entertainment recording studio. We lived in the same high-rise and I let him use one of my cars for a photo shoot, we have kept in touch ever since. I decided that I wanted to interview either Bo or one of his artists to learn more about record label negotiations.

Choosing an appropriate negotiator

After contacting Bo I found out that he was extremely busy this week working on a music video for one of his artists, Black Frost, so I decided to interview one of his other artists instead. I decided to interview Joe Black, an up and coming artist I met the last time I visited 24/7 Entertainment’s studio. He is currently working on getting a record deal. He has been with 24/7 Entertainment for 1 year now and has a 50/50 contract with 24/7. He uses their studio and resources; in return 24/7 Entertainment gets 50% of any generated entertainment revenue. I called Joe Black to inquire if I could interview him. He said he had no problem being interviewed. We decided to do an email interview with a follow-up phone interview. The purpose of the email interview was to get most of the desired information in a written format for my records, and the phone interview would be for any clarifications I needed.

The negotiator’s background

Joe Black was born and raised in Atlanta, GA, on the Westside of town. He always had an interest in music and played drums in elementary school and the 1^st year of middle school. Joe Black did not originally aspire to be an artist. He was very athletic and had dreams of becoming a professional baseball players. He had been getting interest letters from colleges after his freshman year in high school and had attended junior Olympic games two years in a row. However since he had been playing sports since he was 4 years old he lost interest in it. Joe Black says that, “like most inner-city youth” his interest shifted towards getting money now, rather than in the future. He says that the possibility of street dreams became more realistic than the possibility of childhood dreams because you see and live them. By the time Joe Black graduated high school in 1996 hip-hop was becoming mainstream with labels like Death Row, Bad Boy and independent labels such as No Limit. Rap became the new hustle. Joe Black recently recorded a song with Ray Lavender called “Kick Rocks”. He has also recorded several studio quality solo songs including “Rubberband Grandz” and “Somebody”. In 2000 Joe Black was part of a duo called Blue Kollar. They went through numerous meetings with Ghettovision/LaFace, and K. Wales from Worldwide Entertainment/Priority. They finally sat down and had serious negotiations with Dallas Austin from FreeWorld/Capitol. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson, TLC, Pink, Madonna and Gwen Stefani. However, they decided to not take the deal. As a solo artist Joe Black decided to partner with my friend Bohannon of 24/7 Entertainment. Joe Black currently has interest from Def Jam and Atlantic. Shakir Stewart, former Vice President of Def Jam had extended intent to sign him first quarter of 2009. Unfortunately his life was cut short by suicide. Shakir had been instrumental in signings of current Def Jam stars such as Young Jeezy and Rick Ross. A signing with Def Jam would certainly have skyrocketed Joe Black’s career as an artist. Def Jam is still interested in Joe, however Shakir’s death has been a major setback for the negotiations. In February Joe was flown up to New York to meet with Darrel “Dow” Jones, current vice president of Atlantic Records. Mr. Jones has also expressed intent to sign Joe. Joe Black is being flown to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks to meet with Shawn ‘Tubby’ Holiday, an A&R rep from InterScope records.

The negotiator’s deal making techniques

Joe Black stated that most label executives set up meetings to get to know artists on a personal level. He states that it is important to be yourself, his music portrays his character and lifestyle, and therefore it falls natural to him. Joe believes that it is important to separate personal interests and business, even though this might be hard when negotiating. It is important to not get too emotionally involved in the negotiation. He always tries to imagine himself in the position of the person he is negotiating with in order to anticipate their moves. He says it is important to differentiate yourself from the pack. If you are just like everyone else then there is no reason a person should choose to deal with you over someone else. He says when negotiating he doesn’t necessarily try to ‘sell’ himself, but instead tries to figure out what the other party wants and if he matches their criteria. He says there is no point in making yourself out to be something you are not in order to make a deal, because the deal would be made under false pretenses and eventually fall apart. Before going into negotiations with a label Joe Black researches both the label itself and its executives. He researches what projects they have been behind before, whether they develop new talent or hop on bandwagons. He tries to find out if the person he is negotiating with truly loves music or got the position he is in through networking. In the music business you can encounter both executives that love music and ones that are pure number crunchers. Joe Black says that one thing he admired about the late Shakir Stewart was that he loved to get new talent that he saw potential in and develop it. He says that if Shakir signed you and put energy behind your product it was almost guaranteed to be successful. He says that when negotiating with labels he lets Bo do most of his talking because he doesn’t want to come across as an artist “who knows everything”, but that he will speak up on issues he disagrees with. He says he tries to concentrate more on the music than the meetings. He says its important for him to let the record executives know how true he is to his music and how much love he has for it. He says that you need to figure out what ‘vision’ the label has for you and to make sure it matches your own. If you compromise on your ‘vision’ you become an unhappy artist. Since 24/7 Entertainment is a self-contained studio the label does not have to do a lot of work. They have their own recording equipment, their own producers and release their own mix-tapes in order to build hype. The main role of the label is publishing. This is a big plus for the labels as it minimizes their risk and costs. Joe Black also increases his own value by letting the label know that he writes music and that he could potentially write music for the label’s other artists as well. He states that even unsuccessful negotiations should be viewed as successes because hopefully you learned something from them. His final piece of advice is that when negotiating you should take your time and not rush into things.

What I learned about negotiation from the interview

We talked about the importance of networking. The Atlanta music industry is extremely tight-knit and almost everyone in the industry knows somebody that knows somebody. Knowing the right people can be used as leverage when negotiating. We also talked about the importance of finding mutually beneficial goals. For example, one artist might feature on another artist’s track for free, but the increased exposure mutually benefits both artists. One thing I learned was that it is important to make yourself as valuable as possible to the other party. You must make them believe that they need you. If you want a deal to go through you should try to focus less on how they can help you, and instead focus on how you can help them. Another item we talked about was how critical it is to take a genuine interest in the other party. Displaying interest in someone else is one of the best ways to make him or her interested in you. I also learned the importance of not rushing a deal or compromising your own values.  No deal is always better than a bad deal.

What I learned about myself from the interview

I learned how important it is to network. You never know when you might need someone for something. The more people you know the more likely you are to succeed in life. I used to be a lot more introvert than I am now. In middle school I did not like to interact with strangers, I did not network and had a fear of public speaking. I feel like none of those fears are there any more. I also learned more about how label executives operate. Even though the music business is not my primary focus I find it fascinating and could definitely see myself being part of it in the future.

Present what you learned about the role of emotions

I learned that it is important not to get emotionally involved when negotiating. You want to think logically and act according to facts, not emotions. If you get emotionally involved it could ruin a deal. A typical example of this is if you cannot agree on terms you might get angry. If you get angry there is a chance that you will start attacking the other party personally. If this occurs the other party might not want to ever deal with you again. However, if you remain calm you can walk away, think things over and then come back to the table for renegotiations.

Present what you learned about the role of research/preparation

One thing that Joe stressed is the importance of doing research. When negotiating a deal you want to research both the company and the person you will be negotiating with.  In the example of a record label you want to find out what type of artist they typically sign, what they expect out of the artist, the terms and conditions of deals they have signed with other artist, etc. You can never be too prepared. It is important to picture yourself in the position of the person that you will be negotiating with. The better you can imagine yourself in their shoes, the better you can anticipate the questions he or she might ask. This allows you to prepare answers for these questions prior to the meeting.

Present what you learned about the role of communication

Communication is a key concept when negotiating. You want to communicate as clearly as possible. It is crucial that both parties clearly understand each other. You should for example, avoid using sarcasm when negotiating. One of the best ways to go about a negotiation is to have the other party clearly define what they are looking for, then letting them know how and why you fulfill their criteria. It is important to call the other party ahead of time to reconfirm an appointment and make sure the time and agenda for a negotiation has not changed.

Conclusion

I learned a lot about negotiating through this interview. Some of the key items that stand out to me are the importance of research, not compromising your ‘vision’, and the importance of patience. I enjoyed this exercise and found it to be very useful. It also clearly demonstrated to me the importance of networking.  At FullSail the importance of networking is stressed so much that it almost becomes a cliché, however, everything they tell you about networking is true. Networking is key to success in the entertainment industry.

We also had to do a PowerPoint presentation in class on the person we interviewed:

The fifth month we learned about globalization and its impact on the entertainment industry. We were taught about various cultures across the globe and how to conduct business with other countries. During class-time we did a lot of role-playing where we took on roles as businessmen from various countries.

For the Leadership Portfolio assignment for this class we were asked to view a 30 minute video or podcast on an entertainment subject matter that interests us and write a review and our own take on it. I decided to watch a TEDtalk by David Perry discussing the future of videogames.

The talk by David Perry hit very close to home as I have had a lot of the same experiences as witnessed by this excerpt from my assignment:

There has been a tremendous evolution in videogames. Me being an 80’s baby and game developer myself I have watched and experienced everything addressed by David Perry and Michael Highland firsthand. I got my first computer, a Commodore 64 at age six. One year later I was writing my own programs in BASIC.  Being born and raised in Norway I learned my first English words, “if, then, else, etc” through programming. My childood consisted of Legos, PC games, Nintendo, Commodore 64 and Amstrad. From an early age I taught myself how to develop something from nothing, given the right tools, whether it was a Lego spaceship or my own application. In many ways my generation is the first generation to grow up with interactive on demand entertainment.

The complete assignment can be downloaded here: Global Business Strategy – Review of TEDTalk by David Perry

We all know that the key to running a profitable business is to have more funds coming in than going out. However, in order to properly determine the profitability of a business you need to have your finances in order. During this month we learned how to create business financial documents, a pro forma, as well as how to approach investors in order to raise capital for your business.

Interviewing a Banker

Our Leadership Portfolio task for this month as to interview a banker. I was able to set up an appointment and meet with Rudy Rountree, a personal banker, at a local Bank of America branch. I learned that they offer a wide range of services including checking and savings accounts and business loans. With the various account types and services offered it is important to do proper research in order to find the solution that is right for you and your business.

The complete assignment can be seen here: Leadership Portfolio – Interview With a Banker.

Through the interview I was able to learn about the various services offered through Bank of America, both personal and business. I was also able to learn more about the types of business loans available and the requirements for them.

VXGaming Financial Presentation

During our fourth month I also had to create a financial presentation for VXGaming LLC. As part of this presentation we had to create a Pro Forma for our business with profit and spending projections for the first three years after launch. We also had to calculate our startup costs. This was an extremely beneficial exercise and a presentation that I enjoyed doing. Parts of this presentation also served as a great reference for my Month 13 Business Plan Presentation.

The third month of the FullSail curriculum is when we dive into Brand Development. A brand can make or destroy a product. People often develop brand loyalty and will purchase products of a certain brand even if they are more expensive and of no better quality than a competing product.

For our Leadership Portfolio assignment for this month my task was to analyze the branding strategy of a competitor to VXGaming LLC. Since VXGaming LLC specializes in online gaming I decided to analyze Blizzard Inc, creator of the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft is the most popular online game in history with over 11.5 million monthly subscribers, and it currently holds 62% of the MMORPG market.

Here is the slide-show that I created for my Brand Analysis Presentation of Blizzard Inc:

SPCA

The second month at FullSail we learned about Team and Project Management. For our Leadership Portfolio assignment we were tasked with helping a Non Profit Organization free of charge.

We decided to help the Orlando SPCA.

We noticed that the SPCA had an outdated web presence. In order to help them we created a SPCA Orlando MySpace page for them and then handed over the login credentials.

The intention for this page was that potential adoptees could add the SPCA as a MySpace friend. The SPCA could then post pictures and blogs of all new pet acquisitions. This would in turn increase the rate at which homeless pets could find new homes and reduce turnaround time.

While it seems that the SPCA decided to not use our MySpace page, I still believe that it could have helped them tremendously if they had decided to use it in the way that we suggested.

Here is the document that we handed in containing our detailed plans: Leadership Portfolio SPCA

RISK ANALYSIS

One of the main subjects covered in this class was risk analysis. Even though the majority of new start-ups fail the risk of your business failing can be reduced through proper risk analysis. By analyzing each potential risk and coming up with a contingency plan you can increase your chance of success in a new business venture. The skillset taught to me in this class resulted in the VXGaming Risk Research Document. A detailed and comprehensive risk analysis of many potential risks associated with VXGaming LLC.

The very first month I had a class named Executive Leadership. The purpose of this class was to get us started on our journey towards becoming a leader of the future. We were introduced to the Leadership Portfolio, a project that evolves as I progress through the Entertainment Business Master Program at FullSail Univeristy.

Our first assignment for our leadership portfolio was to join a non-profit organization in order to enhance and develop our leadership abilities.

I decided to join SIGGRAPH (Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Graphics and Interactive Techniques).

Here is my original document: Professional Membership

After a failure to get in contact with anyone in charge of the FullSail chapter for SIGGRAPH I decided to join Toastmaster’s instead.

Toastmasters

Toastmaster is an organization whose purpose is to train people to become better public speakers. The FullSail chapter for Toastmaster’s meets every other Monday.

As a member of the Toastmaster Organization I was able to further develop my public speaking abilities both through giving speeches of my own and observing other speakers. My favorite speech that I did was my introduction speech. I felt that this speech helped me grow as it forced me to talk about myself, a subject that I can be uncomfortable with at times. Here are the notes that I had prepared for the speech in order to guide me along:

Background
- Name/Age
- Born in Stavanger, Norway
- Moved to Bergen, Norway, the 2nd largest city in Norway when I was 4
- 2 younger sisters [20, 22] living in Norway
- All my family is in Norway
- I speak fluent Norwegian and English is my 2nd language
- I first moved to the US when I was 11 and my dad had a job transfer.
- We moved to Houston, TX and I started in Intermediate school
- Stayed for 5 years through Sophomore year of HS at Clear Lake High School in Houston.
- Moved back to Norway when I was 16
- Finished up HS at International School where most of my subjects were taught in English
- After HS I served a year in the Norwegian Air Force
- Military service is mandatory for all males once they turn 18, even though it is fairly easy to get out of it if you really don’t want to go. However, claiming that you are pacifist won’t work as you have to do 18 months community service instead if that’s your excuse.
- After finishing up the military I started at the University of Stavanger for an Economics degree, however I dropped out after 3 months because I wasn’t satisfied with the subjects and the teachers.

- At the time I was running my own software company as well. Specifically reverse engineering software. I wrote a lot of tools that helped automate playing of popular Massively Multiplayer Online games such as EverQuest, EverQuest II and Final Fantasy XI. – I then sold the virtual currency online for real money.
- I have always been very curious about finding out how things worked. I remember when I was 7/8 years old every time I was home alone I would dismantle just about any electronics we had in the house whether it was our radio, kitchen applies or my toys to figure out how they worked on the inside.
- When I was 7 years old my grandma got me my first computer, a Commodore 64. I started programming for it in BASIC by age 8.
- Even when I was on vacation and not near a computer I’d bring a notepad with me and write code on the notepad.
- Since I was working every day with day code I decided I might as well go get a degree to have something official for what I do.
- Decided to go to FullSail for Bachelor in Game Design and Develop. Graduated valedictorian.
- After that I moved up to Atlanta, GA and pretty much took vacation for a year before returning to FullSail my Masters in Entertainment Business.

Interests

- I have a lot of interests
- I live an exuberant lifestyle
- I enjoy listening to music. Especially hip-hop and trance, but I listen to most genres.
- I love traveling. I have been to the majority of the States in the US and most of the countries in Europe.
- I’m addicted to horsepower. I have only ever owned one car in my life with less than 500hp.
- I’m always looking for an andreline rush and you don’t have to ask me twice to go skydiving, bungee jumping or racing cars on a track.
- I also like going snowboarding, but I’m not very good at it and last time I went I broke my arm trying to show off for my girlfriend.
- In my freetime when I’m not out and about I’m usually to be found in front of my computer programming and working on projects.
- Lately I’ve been doing a lot of web development using Ruby on Rails, a web programming platform.
- My latest creation can be found at www.myitemtracker.com
- Product price tracker for anything found on Amazon. You basically set the price you are willing to pay for an item and if the item ever becomes available for that price it sends you an email to notify you. I’m also working on adding SMS support.

So what’s next?
- After graduation I plan on getting moved back to my condo in Atlanta before traveling to Norway for the winter to see my family.
- I have a couple of new tech startups I am working on so I will continue to pursue those.
- I also really want to learn Spanish and my parents have an apartment on the Southern coast that they only use for a few weeks out of the year. So I’ve been thinking about living there for a bit and be a beachbum and learn Spanish.
- Other then that I really just want to live a healthy, fun and prosperous life.
- TY for taking the time today to learn a little bit about me. If you have any more questions or want to network feel free to come talk to me.

This speech was also different from most of my other speeches done at FullSail due to the fact that it did not have a PowerPoint presentation associated with it.

I feel that my participation in Toastmaster helped to improve my public speaking abilities. It is not a skill that you learn overnight, but every public speech and presentation brings you one step closer to becoming a confident and professional public speaker. I will continue my participation in Toastmaster’s after I move back to Atlanta in order to complete the prepared speeches that I did not have time to complete during my time at FullSail.

PlayMine

Another on-campus project I joined was the 24-hour Playmine project hosted by Game Development instructor Keyvan Acosta (http://theplaymine.com/). The goal of the 24-hour Playmine project is to design and develop a video game in 24 hours. This is a nearly impossible task, especially when you consider that the “developers” are people that have never met before from various months of the “Game Development Program”. Some people are coders, some are designers, and each developer has unique strengths and weaknesses.

During one Playmine project we decided to create a 2D boardgame that explored the concept of cowardice. I was responsible for designing and developing the Artificial Intelligence required for the game. This resulted in me creating a breadth first pathing algorithm. I also designed a lot of the base code layout required for the game.

The Playmine project is definitely a good way to practice leadership abilities. You have to guide people in order to get them to do what you want to do, without making them feel that they are getting bossed around. People get very easily agitated as deadlines approach when things are not working properly and the entire team is lacking sleep.

The purpose of me joining the Playmine project was two-fold. First I wanted to get a chance to practice and maintain leadership abilities taught to me through my career at FullSail. The second purpose of me joining the project was to work with a team developing something in C++, a programming language that I have not used much since I graduated from FullSail with my Bachelor in Game Design and Development.

Ruby on Rails, Amacite, MyItemTracker and the Amazon Products API

Web development has been something that I have wanted to get into for a long time, but it was not until this year that I truly did something about it. I am the type of learner that can learn just about anything from reading books and tinkering with it.

I had a strong desire to learn the Ruby on Rails web framework as one of my future businesses relies heavily on it. In order to learn Ruby and Ruby on Rails I decided to order a couple of books from Amazon on the subject. After reading the books I decided it was time to put my newly acquired skills to the test.

Throughout every class at FullSail we had to write APA style papers. One of the things with an APA style paper that is extremely easy to mess up is the APA formatting required in your “sources cited”. For the first couple of papers I wrote I used the Son of Citation Machine in order to generate my citations in APA format. However, I quickly became annoyed at some of the quirks of this tool. For a book citation for example the author information had to be entered twice, this was redundant and unnecessary. I felt that while the tool was a great resource it could be improved upon.

I decided to develop my own citation generator; this resulted in the creation of Amacite. I wanted to make Amacite as simple to use as possible. Using “Son of Citation Machine” you had to enter title, authors, publishing location, publishing year, etc for each book that you wanted to cite. Through the Amazon Products API (Application Programmer Interface), I was able to develop Amacite in a way where the only information required is the name of the book or the ISBN. I then pull all the other required information directly from Amazon. I also decided to store all generated citations so that you can easily search citations generated by others.

I believe the creation of Amacite will help high-school and college students in citing sources. It gave me a unique opportunity to familiarize myself with Ruby on Rails and the Amazon Products API.

Amacite was also featured on ProgrammableWeb.com as “Mashup of the Day”.

After the creation of Amacite I also decided to create http://www.myitemtracker.com in order to further familiarize myself with the Amazon Products API.

MyItemTracker.com is a tool that allows you to track price changes on Amazon. You can search for any product in Amazon’s catalog and set your own “desired price”. If the product ever reaches that price level you are then notified by email so that you can purchase the product.

Other Outside of School Projects

In addition to the development of Amacite and MyItemTracker.com I have also been working on a proprietary Voice Over IP Platform.

The platform is very similar to the AT&T owned platform that powers Keen.com.

The first deployment of the platform is scheduled for Quarter One 2010.

The platform is developed in Ruby and Ruby on Rails and integrated with the Asterisk PBX server for call processing.

VXGaming – Business Plan Project

During our first month of the EBMS program we were also tasked with coming up with a business concept that we would develop throughout our Full Sail classes. We would then finalize the business plan in Month 12 (Business Plan Development) and present the business plan in front of a panel of teachers in Month 13 (Leadership Portfolio).

I decided to create a software development company named VXGaming LLC for my business plan project. VXGaming is a company that will develop an online tournament platform for First Person Shooters.

The initial proposal can be viewed here: Business Proposal