The Publisher’s Process: Interview with Vanessa Lynn (Part II)

I recently had the opportunity to interview Ms. Vanessa Lynn. Ms. V is what I call her and the V stands for virtuous, vivacious, and victorious all wrapped up in one. She has over 20 years of experience in the play industry as a writer, director, and producer. Recently, she decided to write a book and in the second part of our interview, I was able to speak with her about that process. I asked her about her book and she explained that the name of the book is,

http://www.vanessalynn.info/

"Beyond the Chitlin' Circuit, The Ultimate Urban Playwrights Guide". The book is a compete guide for anyone who is currently or aspires to produce scripts independently. It takes you from creating and writing the script, to casting, to production, to teamwork, marketing, budgeting, and crisis management, all the way to DVD production. She stated that she also shares her personal success and failures in the book. It's a complete guide she states. I then asked her if she had any other publications that she was currently working on. She said, “Yes, I'm working on "Dating For Grown Folks, A His and Hears Guide for Dating Over 35". She stated that it's a dating guidebook for singles that find themselves confused in this internet infused dating world. It's a far cry from passing a paper asking for a number. It's practical tips from a man and woman's point of view.

As we got deeper into the conversation, I was able to ask her about being a published author and she was able to explain to me what her process was for writing your book and then how she got it published and out to the public. She stated that it took about a year to actually write the script, and re-write and re-write again. She also got critique from friends in the industry that she trusted. Once that was done, she got it professionally edited. She made mention how incredibly important this step is and how this step should never be missed. She then had to have it typeset for the size and print of the book, and lastly the graphic work was done. She self-published her book through Amazon and also made it available on her website.

Lastly, I asked her what her take was on finding a publisher vs. self-publishing. She stated that it is very rare that an author will get a publishing deal. It's just as rare as a singer getting a major record label deal. She believes that the best thing to do is self-publish a high quality project, promote yourself, get your name out there and establish yourself and after that then connect with an agent.  She said, “Never wait on an agent to get your work out!”

This was some very vital information that Ms. V shared about her  publishing process that lead to the success of her first book. I hope that reading about and following her journey might also assist you in yours. Please keep up with Ms. V by going to her website at www.vanessalynn.info. You may also be interested in joining her playwright organization or learning more about her annual conference. You can find out more information at http://www.upunetwork.info/.

http://www.vanessalynn.info/

Getting A Deal: Interview with Vanessa Lynn (Part I)

People are always talking about trying to get a deal. This is what you used to have to do in order to break into the entertainment industry. If it was music or film and if you were an artist or an actor, in order to do big business you had to do it with a big company. Majors were what they were called.  Competition was steep as many went through a lot just to hone their craft and the expectations were high. In order to break into the industry, the goal was to get a deal. Well today, getting a deal is still a big deal, but the route one is able to take in order to achieve getting a deal in the entertainment industry has changed. Technology, digital media, and social media have leveled the playing field for many. One young lady who has been able to benefit from these changes is Ms. Vanessa Lynn. She’s a native of Detroit who is an accomplished playwright, director, and producer. She’s recently been featured on News One Now, with

Roland Martin on TV One and has a hot new DVD of her hit stage play “Boss Lady” that is currently in stores nationally. This play is set to return to the big screen, Thursday, June 5, 2014 at The Main Art Theater, 118 N. Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48067, to commemorate its one-year anniversary. All this has been made possible with the help of a national distribution deal. Ms. Lynn got the deal. Recently, I was able to speak with Ms. Vanessa Lynn and she talked about her success and how she was able to get a deal.

First we talked about her accomplishments as a playwright and then her current distribution deal. The first question I asked was how did she accomplish that deal? She stated, “All my DVD's were professional recorded to high quality standards, I've recorded DVD's in the past that weren't so up to par. But I did it similar to the book, I originally put my DVD's on Amazon and they did well, this lead to an actual distribution deal, but I had to make the investment and put in the work first!” She talked about how important it was for her to invest in herself and to also believe in herself. She worked hard and with Amazon allowing her to have her work placed on their site allowed her to get noticed and led to her deal.

I asked her if she had any advice for anyone new looking to get a deal. I wanted her to explain what they would need to do? She stated,” You have to have marketability and understand the market, know what distributors are looking for, study what is selling, build your own fan base and your own buzz, if you build it they will come!” She is so right. Whether you already have a deal or if you are working to get a deal, you still have to self promote. Self promotion establishes you and helps your audience get to know you better. Eventually, they begin to buy into you and your brand and it becomes easier to push your products. Now, that is another topic called branding we'll have to get into at a later date. Lastly, I asked her thoughts on what does it take to be good. She said that you have to be different, unique, offer something that's not on the market. She suggested not to copy anyone else's style, but to be the best YOU that you can.

I believe this was great advice and it was also great having Ms. Vanessa Lynn share some of her story. Please keep up with Ms. Vanessa Lynn at http://www.vanessalynn.info/ and support her current and future projects!!!

http://www.vanessalynn.info/

Attorney At Law (Part I)

In an effort to stay current with some of the legal issues surrounding the entertainment industry, I was able to catch up to and have a conversation with attorney Adrian D.Cranford, Esq.  Attorney Cranford has had the opportunity to work at a prestigious entertainment law firm here in the city of Detroit where cases were brought against DMX and Sean Puffy Combs. After a successful association with the Detroit Law firm, Attorney Cranford opened his own law firm. He has since negotiated film and television contracts, distribution, copyright, trademark, financing, and a wide range of music law transactions. In our conversation I was able to get some great insight on what to be aware of in the entertainment industry as I navigate through my own career.

I asked attorney Cranford what resources he would recommend for anyone to use to better equip themselves with business as well as legal information about the entertainment industry. He shared that he does not have a book that he recommends because there are so many books on the subject; however, he would recommend anyone serious about learning the music business to intern with an entertainment firm. I totally understand and agree with this approach. In most situations, experience can become your best teacher. Also, the skills you gain from an intern can give you qualifications that you can add to your resume and use to establish your career.

Another important question that I was able to ask attorney Cranford was how important the role of an attorney is to the success of an entertainment career? He explained that an attorney who understands the music business is very important because the attorney ensures that everyone on the team is under proper contract, which the attorney may have to enforce from time to time. In essence, he explained to me that an attorney is extremely important to an entertainment career. As I have talked about in the past the importance of understanding a contract before entering into one, an attorney can help make that process even smoother. 

Lastly, I asked attorney Cranford when in an entertainer’s career would he advise them to seek counsel from an attorney? He suggests that the attorney is the first person that needs to be added to the team because of all of the contracts that may have to be signed up front (booking agent, personal manager, accountant, etc.) This makes a lot of since. The attorney can really make a huge difference in how those other contracts come about and the quality of the contracts that have to be signed by each individual on the entertainer’s team.

It was great having the opportunity to be able to listen to attorney Cranford share his in-depth knowledge about the industry. He is definitely qualified in the area of entertainment law and the information he shared is very true. I plan to use what he shared in my own business practices and consult with him as well for his services. I would encourage you to check out his website. Again, it was truly a pleasure to interview attorney Adrian Cranford.

Lawsuits and Music

Lawsuits in the entertainment industry are a big part of this industry. Individuals as well as companies get sued for all sorts of things including royalties and compensation, performance rights, and contractual disputes just to name a few. It is really not enough to only be good at entertaining, but it is also equally important to understand the business of entertainment. Along with understanding the business, you should also know some of the laws associated with the doing business in the entertainment industry. Let’s take a look at a few recent legal controversies and explore some of the lawsuits that take place in the entertainment industry.

The first controversial lawsuit I would like to look at is a lawsuit filed by Marvin Gaye’s family against a company owned by Sony over a Grammy nominated song performed by Robin Thicke.  Marvin Gaye was is considered an R&B legend from the ‘70s and ‘80’s and his career was cut short when he was killed by his father in 1984. Robin Thicke is a current R&B star that is a singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. He is also the son of Alan Thicke who played on the hit TV show Growing Pains. Robin Thicke and his collaborators T.I. and Pharrell Williams produced a song called, “Blurred Lines”.  The Gaye Family claims that this song copied elements from Marvin Gaye’s original song, “Got To Give It Up”. This was a case dealing with copyright infringement. The two parties were recently able to settle the dispute and the terms of the settlement were confidential. During this controversial lawsuit I was speaking with a friend of mine who is also a producer and he suggested that the Robin Thicke song did not sound like it was copied to him. Whether or not the song was actually copied or not, the main thing to be aware that cases like these arise often in the music industry. Whenever possible it doesn’t hurt to get the proper permission to avoid having to be sued over it latter. It’s also important to understand what could happen if you produce a song that is significantly successful and that song closely resembles another popular song. Robins Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines” is estimated at selling 6.6 million tracks. The success of the song may be one of the major reasons why the family decided to go after him.

Another controversial legal dispute happened a few years ago. In this dispute rap artist Eminem sued his record label, Universal Music Group over the way royalties were computed for digital music. More of the recent record labels have revised their record contracts to include digital sales. Unfortunately, when Eminem signed his contract back in 1995 it did not make provisions its artist for digital sales. The major discrepancy in this dispute is the difference between Eminem as an artist being paid a 50 percent  royalty for the license and 12 percent for a sale. This was the difference between millions of dollars that Eminem would either lose or have coming to him. A federal court jury had initially ruled in favor of Universal in this case and then that ruling was overturned after an appeal. It was then taken to the Supreme Court and they refused to hear the case so it remained in favor of Eminem. This is a clear case of understanding your rights as an artist. As I stated before, it’s not enough to be good at entertaining, but you should also understand the business. I think it is great that Eminem was able to recognize and stand up for his rights. His fight also helped others with similar disputes.

The last controversial dispute that I would like to look at the recent filing of lawsuits filed by the Recording Industry Association ofAmerica (RIAA) against 532 illegal file sharers. This was done in an effort to protect copyright holders and also keep things balanced for those legitimate online music services. As the digital age has moved in and literally taken over various industries including the entertainment industry, it’s important that the rights of copyright holders are protected. I think it’s a good thing that the RIAA is doing this. People work hard to make really good music and the music they create not only adds color to the world, but it allows those individuals to take care of their families. These actions by the RIAA will hopefully help cut down on the illegal activity of file sharing.

As you can see there is a lot of legal business that takes place in the music industry. There are also many legal disputes and controversies that arise when the law is broken or legal responsibilities are not adhered to. Hopefully this information will help you be more aware of legal issues that can arise and encourage you to become legally educated and also add the proper legal representation to your team. This should cut down if not completely eliminated the amount of controversial legal disputes you could find yourself in over the course of your career!

The Mike Sears 

NEGOTIATIONS IN RELATIONSHIPS

Recently, I have made several posts about negotiating. I believe it is a very important topic to cover and should not be taking for granted in the music business. Aside from the major deals that have to be negotiated including contracts, compensation, and perks, we also have to negotiate in the process of building relationships. Like most industries, the music industry is a business that is about establishing good relationships. In the time that I have experienced in the music industry, I have been able to establish some important relationships that have helped me establish my career and other relationships that are currently helping me further my career.  There are several negotiation techniques that I believe can actually be used to help foster productive relationships in the music industry.

Building strong lasting relationships in the music industry can be the difference between having a career and not having one. No one can do this business alone. You need people in this business in order to do this business right and be successful. The need for people in order to be successful means there is also a need for relationships. Negotiating the right relationships can be imperative to having a consistent long lasting relationship. There are also some negotiating techniques that can be used to maintain those relationships when problems occur. One technique is to separate the problem from the person. In other words, you should try to solve any problem that occurs without attacking the other person. Another negotiation technique that can be used in maintaining industry relationships is  to focus on interest and not positions. It’s easy to try to stand on your own position and argue your point as opposed to finding out the other person’s true interests. Finding out their interest and how their interest coincide with your interest can save the relationship. Lastly, it is important not to allow any negative emotions impede on your industry relationships. There are times when individuals will use dirty tricks for their own benefit. However, dirty tricks should not be used in return. Instead, you should try to redirect the situation in a positive direction to avoid having to sever the relationship.

Donald Trump who is considered a real estate mogul has a quote that says “I like thinking big. I always have. To me it’s very simple: if you’re going to be thinking anyway, you might as well think big.” I like this quote and I believe it is necessary in the world of negotiating. You really have to be able to think big and have confidence in what you’re going after in order to be in a position to get it. There are a lot of opportunities available in the entertainment and music industry. Everyone who desires an opportunity does not always get that chance. Some opportunities are missed and others are wasted. So when the opportunity comes to you and there is a chance for you to establish the right relationships in your career, I hope these negotiation tips prove to be beneficial to maintaining those relationships. I have learned this from my Negotiations and Deal Making Class at Full Sail University. This course has also helped me build a greater level of confidence. I look forward to negotiating greater relationships for myself in the future!

The Mike Sears