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1. Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership – Online This class was the class that helped set my expectations that I had with beginning this Masters program. This class helped me understand how determined one needs to be to become successful. It helped me understand and measure the many levels of success. It seemed as though this class was preparing us mentally for the journey we were about to embark on through this program as well as life. I really appreciated learning about grit and having a passion and determination to pursue your dreams. I must say that I’ve always been very passionate and determined to fulfil the things that I put my mind to. Now that I’m here finishing up the very last class of the program, this goes to show that my determination to succeed is honest and the journey to mastery does not stop here. 2. Executive Leadership- Online This class I was able to study the 48 Laws of Power and also study others who we look up to and who are considered leaders within our area of interest. There are many ways that one can be considered a leader. We were able to explore the many different leadership styles and which style would be best used within certain domains. Prior to taking this course I was not aware of any different styles of leadership. I really enjoyed being able to research and write about one of my favorite artists/entreprenuers Beyonce Knowles. Though the course director didn’t quite agree on why I believed that she is a leader within the entertainment industry, I feel as though everyone have their own definition of who they believe is considered a leader. I learned a good amount of information from this class and I will definitely used what I learned within my future roles in leadership. 3. Project and Team Management – Online This was one of my favorite classes. I was able to learn how to plan and put a project together. For this class I decided to work on my project for an EP that I am releasing soon. My favorite assignment was putting together the excel project time management sheet which helps keep track of how far along the project is coming and what still needed to be completed. I was actually able to use the chart that I created and presented it to my previous job to show that I have the ability to plan and execute my goals effectively. Learning about team management was a great experience as well. I think it’s good to know how to work within a team environment and also being able to manage a team. It was great learning about managing risk and also how to work out any possible situations that can happen within a team setting. My personal favorite conflict resolution method is mediation. Being able to listen and understand each party and working the issue out. This is a method that I’d use for my future business. 4. Business Storytelling & Brand Development- Online Prior to this class I did not understand the importance of having a personal brand versus a business brand. I learned that your personal brand is what people see on an everyday basis. From how you walk to how you talk. You are the walking version of your own personal brand. If you are a business owner, you are also a representation of your business brand. In this class we were able to design our personal and business logos. My personal logo is now listed on my digital leadership portfolio. I really love having a personal logo because as a brand, no one else can be identified with that logo but myself. It’s a very positive representation of me and it shows my personality. My logo for my business 79th & Lyrix is still under construction but will be available soon. 5. Entertainment Business Finance – Online I honestly struggled in this class. I was never good at math and this was by far the most challenging class within this program. However, I learned a lot of helpful information as far as how to manage the funds of the business and how to calculate break even points. We were able to create a pro forma sheet of how much it’ll cost to start my business as well as how much I would actually make in my first year of operation. It was great going over the importance of understanding that your business may start off in the negative during the beginning stages of the business but you can continue working harder to increase those numbers. Though this was a difficult class, I still managed to learn as much information as possible that I can apply in the future. I think it’s very important to know and understand your own business finances to avoid anyone taking advantage of your lack of knowledge and using your funds for their own good. So I’m grateful for this course and everything that I learned from it. It really helped me understand how complete the financial sheets for the Business Plan Development course. 6. Digital Marketing- Online Digital marketing is used heavily in today’s business industries. Most marketing is done online instead of through hard copy or physical distribution of marketing advertisements. For my business 79th & Lyrix, I decided that using the digital marketing method to help market my business was the best option. I learned how to create and use the SEO through my website and track the activity and clicks from potential customers I also learned how to set up key words and phrases that’ll help people search and locate my business for their inquirers that match what we do. Social media is a very good platform to use to help market your business. There are many options to help promote such as sponsors. With sponsors you’re able to pay to have your add promoted through the social media platform. The add will appear if the user searches and likes similar things that relate to your business. In my case, my business will be promoted to users that are interested in music. 7. Negotiation and Deal-Making – Online I liked this class because I was able to understand how to negotiate deals. When watching a few videos we discussed, I liked that the situations were realistic. Since my business is a music production company, the majority of the time we will be negotiating with the client on their project. So having the information needed to know how to write a contract and negotiate it was well needed for me and my business. I learned that it’s ok to disagree and not to back down if you don’t agree with something. This is the point of negotiating. I know that I am going to be using all of the methods and information learned in this class for my future business. The goal is to land a deal and continue to work with the client in the future. Building that trusting relationship is very important. 8. Product and Artist Management- Online I learned in this course how to manage an artist and products. I loved this course because we were able to explore the roles of being an artist’s manager. I created a teen pop star that was becoming an adult pop star. The product I created for her was a makeup line and heel collection. I thought these were 2 great items that helps with the transformation of a teen to a young woman. This course was really fun and helped me understand how to be creative and manage artists and products. The assignments were very fun and full of information that’ll be helpful in the future. 9. Advanced Entertainment Law – Online My favorite class! I took this course in undergrad at Clark Atlanta University and I could not wait to take this course. I loved that we were able to interview individuals within the entertainment law industry. I was actually able to land an opportunity to shadow with a great entertainment law firm here in Atlanta! I really liked studying the many court cases and decisions of issues that can occur within the entertainment industry. Key things I learned was copyright infringement. This is one of the biggest cases within the music industry. I felt it was very important to educate myself on the matter because it could possibly be an issue my business can run into in the future. I will make sure that all of our music is copyrighted before being released. 10. Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution- Online I have greatly enjoyed this class. I was not sure what to expect when entering the class. I was never familiar with the process of publishing media and distributing it. I liked the fact that we were able to work on actual projects that allowed us to prepare actual query letters, book proposals, and press kits. This class really helped with preparing me for the steps I would need to take in order to properly publish my future work. For most of the assignments, I used my mother’s book as the content that I would be working on. I also acted as the manager of my mom for the query letter we drafted in week one’s assignment. I researched the many ways to pitch your content to agents. I must say, I researched a lot of different query letters that many people wrote to locate an agent. Some were plain and simple, straight to the point. Others sounded very desperate and provided a little bit too much of the content ahead of time. All in all I am using this information learned from this class to help my mother pursue landing a publishing deal for her novel. 11. Business Plan Development – Online I was very nervous about this course. However I really enjoyed being able to put my entire business plan together. It was difficult at times but I received a lot of help from other class mates and the course director himself. Developing a business itself is not easy so I knew that the business plan would also be a challenge. Though it was tough I managed to come out on top and was well prepared for the last and final class of the program. 12. Final Project: Business Plan - Online I can’t believe I did it! I actually completed my final business plan and the entire Entertainment Business Masters program! This is a great feeling as I am the first in my family to receive their Masters. I am very excited for my future and the official opening of my business 79th & Lyrix. Thank you Full Sail University!

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Business Plan Development

My original goal for this course was t o learn how to properly put together a business plan. Every class prior to this class has indeed been very helpful when understanding the different sections of the business plan. I was very appreciative that the course director provided examples which helped me get a glimpse of how the business plan should look and how long it should be. I honestly had no idea that a business plan could become 25+ pages long. However after completing all of the sections in the business plan during this course, I have a great understanding why.

Everything that I expected from this course has been met. I plan to officially implement everything I learned from this course and previous courses to my future business 79th & Lyrix Inc. which is a music production company. I had a better understanding of how to handle the financials of the business by completing the financial sheets. I will say I was a bit confused as to what I needed to do but as I began to input totals for my business it started to make sense. This information was very similar to the Finance course.

I’m excited for the final course of this program and being able to put the full business plan together. This has been a great year and I am very happy and proud of myself for being able to make it this far. I have learned so much from each course. I am excited to implement all of the information that I learned from each and every course into my business. I have already made plans on actually getting the business up and running. I see my business flourishing in so many ways, thanks to the awesome professors that were there and helped when I had a hard time understanding things. 79th & Lyrix is coming soon!

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CEO Job Description

We are looking for a Chief Executive Officer or CEO to supervise and control all business aspects of the company. As the CEO, you will be the first in command in the company and responsible for giving the proper strategic direction as well as creating a vision for success.

To succeed as a CEO, you must be a vigilant manager and an inspiring leader. The ideal candidate will have a business mindset and will be able to see the “big picture” in a variety of settings. They will take actions to enhance the company in all areas and elevate its overall potential.

The goal is to drive the company’s development within music scoring and entertainment, and guide it towards long-term success. We want to hire a leader who shares this passion and has a proven track record of growing music production companies.

Key Responsibilities

·Develop high quality business strategies and plans ensuring their alignment with short-term and long-term objectives.

·Maintain a deep knowledge of the film, music, and television markets and industry of the company.

·Represent the company as required, including attendance of important functions, industry events and public meetings.

·Lead, motivate, and advance employees to develop a high performing managerial team.

·Oversee all operations to ensure they produce the desired results and are consistent with the overall mission.

·Enforce adherence to legal guidelines and in-house policies to maintain the company’s legality and business ethics.

·Analyze issues and occurrences, and provide solutions to ensure company survival and growth.

 Key Requirements

·Proven experience as CEO or relevant education.

·Experience in developing profitable strategies and implementing vision.

·Strong understanding of music composition, production, and management principles.

·Familiarity with diverse business functions such as marketing, PR, finance etc.

·In-depth knowledge of general music scoring and management best practices.

·An entrepreneurial mindset with outstanding organizational and leadership skills.

·Analytical abilities and problem-solving skills.

·Excellent communication and public speaking skills.

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Ent. Media Publishing & Distribution - Professional Blog Post

          The latest trend in the music industry is being an independent artist. Artist such as Chance the Rapper have made being an independent artist a popular move within the music industry. He has set new goals and records that many independent artists have always wished to fulfil and now see that it can be fulfilled. Today in 2017, an unsigned artist is eligible to be nominated for all music categories within any music award association.

           Chance the Rapper is the first independent rapper to be nominated for 7 Grammys, and the first independent artist to win 3 Grammys. It was a bittersweet moment for Chance as he accepted each award and also having the chance to perform a medley of “How Great” and “All We Got” alongside fellow Grammy winners Kirk Franklin and Tamela Mann (Grammys, 2017). Chance The Rapper’s 3rd mixtape, Coloring Book, became the first album to chart on the Billboard 200 solely on streaming, hitting number 8 (Grammys, 2017).

           Independent artists have been around for years. There are many artists who do not believe in signing long term contracts in order to fulfil their dreams as music artists. For example, Ryan Leslie is another well-known independent artist that has refused to sign many recording contracts that were offered. Instead, he writes, produces, and performs his songs independently and has gained a large fan base and name within the music industry. Ryan Leslie has done collaborations with Ne-Yo, Kanye West, Fabolous, Lloyd Banks, Chris Brown, LeToya Luckett, Mary J. Blige, Donell Jones, Cassie, JoJo, 112, and many more (Kellman, 2016).

           Another great independent artist is Macklemore. The duo group has been independently distributing their music through Alternative Distribution Alliance, an independent music distribution arm of Warner Music Group, since 2009. The group feels as though in today’s music world, there’s no need for a recording contract. The music industry is changing and evolving. There’s always a new trend or platform created that allows independent artists to distribute and promote their music.

           Macklemore is one of the top independent hip hop artists (Nguyen, 2015). Their album, The Heist, debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200 selling 78,000 copies in its first week (Nguyen, 2015). The album later went on to hit platinum status by March 2014, making Macklemore one out of only four new rappers to sell a million copies of one record (Nguyen, 2015). The other 3 rappers were Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Nicki Minaj (Nguyen, 2015).

           The music industry really is evolving. There are many different streaming services such as Tidal, SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora. These are the best five music streaming services (Hall, 2017). According to Hall, Spotify is the best streaming music service, but its competitors aren’t far behind. Streaming services allow independent artist to stream their music to the public. Chance the Rapper streamed his music for free, meaning listeners were able to download his mixtapes for free. Most streaming services require a monthly subscription that could range from $9.99 to $15 a month. However the music can be downloaded and listened to for free.

           Some streaming services like Spotify allow you to have a free subscription, however with the free subscription you will only have access to a certain amount of songs. Most new releases from major artist require you to update your subscription to a paid monthly subscription. For independent artists, the streaming services are helpful for getting your name and music out to the public. This helps with promoting the music for any upcoming shows that the artist will perform.

           The newest independent artist, Sza, has recently released her album Ctrl which has two current songs on the Billboard hot 100. “Love Galore” peaked at number 35 and “The Weekend” has peaked at 75 (Billboard, 2017). Sza’s music streams on Apple Music, Spotify, and SoundCloud. She has recently released an independent video for the song “The Weekend”. She has had previous albums released; however the newly found love for supporting independent talent is what’s new in the music industry.

           As an independent artist myself, I look forward to learning more about opportunities for indie artists. I also look forward to being able to participate in concerts and events that used to only be for recording contract artists. The music industry has a bright future ahead and it can only get greater from here.

 Resources

G. (n.d.). Chance the Rapper. Retrieved August 20, 2017, from https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/chance-rapper

Nguyen, H. (2017, January 19). Monetizing Yourself as an Independent Artist in 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017, from http://www.stopthebreaks.com/diy-artists/monetizing-yourself-independent-artist-in-2017/

Bradley, B. (2017, April). Talib Kweli Puts Being an Independent Artist in 2017 in Perspective. Retrieved August 20, 2017, from http://djbooth.net/news/entry/2017-03-30-talib-kweli-puts-independent-artist-in-perspective

Hall, P. (2017, June 22). THE BEST MUSIC STREAMING SERVICES. Retrieved August 20, 2017, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/best-music-streaming-services/

Kellman, A. (n.d.). Ryan Leslie. Retrieved August 20, 2017, from http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ryan-leslie-mn0000394013/credits

Nguyen, H. (2015, March 2). How Macklemore Went Platinum As An Independent Hip-Hop Artist. Retrieved August 20, 2017, from http://www.stopthebreaks.com/independent-case-studies/how-macklemore-went-platinum-independent-hip-hop-artist/

Billboard- Sza http://www.billboard.com/artist/6055739/sza/chart

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Entertainment Media Publishing & Distribution

I have greatly enjoyed this class. I was not sure what to expect when entering the class. I was never familiar with the process of publishing media and distributing it. I liked the fact that we were able to work on actual projects that allowed us to prepare actual query letters, book proposals, and press kits. This class really helped with preparing me for the steps I would need to take in order to properly publish my future work.

For most of the assignments, I used my mother’s book as the content that I would be working on. I also acted as the manager of my mom for the query letter we drafted in week one’s assignment. I researched the many ways to pitch your content to agents. I must say, I researched a lot of different query letters that many people wrote to locate an agent. Some were plain and simple, straight to the point. Others sounded very desperate and provided a little bit too much of the content ahead of time.

Another assignment that I thoroughly enjoyed was the actual book proposal. My mom was very excited when I informed her that I would be making a mock book proposal for her book. We were up all day putting everything together with all of her book information. Although the assignments were mock assignments, she is considering using all of the information I have learned from this class in order for her to land a real life publishing deal. She is even considering enrolling in Full Sail University herself once I graduate.

I learned so much information from this class, we still have a week left so I’m sure I will be put to the test again for another great project. The materials for this class are very thorough and well put.  I look forward to learning more and applying the information I learn to future products.

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Advanced Entertainment Law

This was a very great class! I have been looking forward to this class since I began my courses at Full Sail University. During my undergraduate years at Clark Atlanta University, I actually took an Entertainment Law course that was also just as fun and informational as this one. I have always been very interested in researching and learning about the many different legal cases that have happened within the entertainment industry. Especially within music.

I loved that we were able to listen and review actual court opinions on some cases that I have never heard of as well as some that I am familiar with. I was very happy that I was introduced to Gordon P. Firemark’s, Esq. Entertainment Law Update podcast. I have been listening to his podcasts ever since our Week 3 assignment. He is very well knowledgeable of the industry and also quite the character. The assignment was for us to choose to either interview an attorney within our industry or review a podcast. I actually did both but attorney Firemark seemed to be a bit more enthused within his podcasts than the attorney I interviewed in person.

I learned a lot of great information from this class. In undergrad, I more so learned about entertainment law as far as being an artist and knowing how to understand a contract and royalties. Within this class, I learned that plus more as far as the business side of things. It was really fun going over the sample contracts and reviewing the legal liabilities that could take place within my business. I really enjoyed the engaged couples trip scenario. I have never been on a game show but I am certain that people are required to sign legal documents that state the show is not liable for anything that happens to them while participating in the competition.

This class was well needed and I really enjoyed it once again. I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t even realize that we had a summer break. Looking forward to my next class!

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PAM Mastery Journal Post

This was a very interesting class. Prior to taking the class, I never knew or understood what it really takes to manage product and to manage an artist. This course taught me a lot of information that I will definitely use for my future business and other businesses that I take part in. I think what stood out to me the most, or what caught my attention, was completing Week 3’s Product Planning Packet. There’s so much that goes into the creation and delivery of a product. There was so much information that I was becoming very nervous while completing the project. I watched the videos and read the instructions over and over to make sure that I was completing it right.

After I submitted my assignment, it felt good to know that I actually received great feedback from my professor and received a 98 on the assignment. Her feedback definitely help with the final project because I didn’t understand that when calculating your total product that will be in stores, you must calculate the amount of product that will be in however many stores and however many locations. I only focused on the amount of products that would be in 1 store in 1 location. So when I completed Week 4’s assignment, I was prepared to calculate the total products that would be available nationwide.

Overall, I really enjoyed this class. Each class gets more and more exciting as I am getting close to officially creating my business plan. As mentioned all of the information I learn within these courses, I will take and use them for my own business and help other current business owners that I know. I feel more prepared for real life business decisions. This was a great class and I look forward to another great month next month!

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Negotiation and Deal Making Online

This has been one of the most interactive classes so far. I’ve only had experience with contracts from working at my current job. We’ll normally help our merchants understand their contract and go over everything that is within the terms and conditions. I must say, I learned a lot from this class about actually negotiating a contract and landing a deal. I wasn’t aware of the many communication styles, types of contracts, and negotiation outcomes.

I thought it was pretty cool learning about my personal communication style. I took the test and received the Quiet Supporter. This was spot on as I am a very quiet person in general and I’m learning to speak up when necessary. I guess I don’t like having or being in uncomfortable conversations that I tend to just nod and agree most of the time to get it over with. Recently I’ve gotten in touch with my Commander style side as I have gotten fed up with how things work at my job. I indeed applied things I’ve learned from this class to everyday life.

I also enjoyed the research projects and mock negotiations. This was my first time actually speaking directly with another student from Full Sail University. It was pretty cool to know we were in the same city and have the same goals and aspirations. Working on the group project with Wayde was a great experience. I think we were able to work well together.

Lastly, researching alternative dispute resolution methods within the entertainment industry was very interesting. I never thought about going through a mediation process for certain situations that are known to become legal. It’s good to know that there are other ways to resolve issues without dealing with litigation. Once things become legal, that can bring negative attention to you and your business. You definitely don’t want to receive a bad reputation from a situation that could have been mediated during a negotiation. 

I’ve learned so much in this class and I’m excited to see what the rest of this program brings.

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Interview with Music Producer Moe Diggedy

   I’ve had the pleasure of meeting with a music producer by the name of Moe Diggedy. He’s been an active producer in the music industry for over 10 years. His most recent work was with a well-known rapper named Young Thug. He produced the song “Thief in the Night” which became a hit after being released in 2015. For this assignment, I wanted to take the time to sit down and ask Moe Diggedy a few questions regarding his work and negotiation style.

 Question 1: How has your experience been negotiating with artists in the music industry?

Answer: You know, every situation is different. I like to listen to the artist’s interests and map out the things that they want to work with. Normally my style is to go over the project, record it, and see if the artist is satisfied with the final product. Once the project is finish, that’s when I provide my standard producer contract which we’ll sit and go through. Every contract ends up differently because it’s all based on the project itself. If you just want to buy a beat, then we’ll negotiate a beat contract. If you’re wanting to purchase the beat and record, then we’ll negotiate an overall producing contract.

Question 2: How has your experience been working in the music industry overall?

Answer: My experience has been great. I’ve always had a love for music and producing. Growing up in Atlanta, almost every other brother on the street was producing tracks for artist like Gucci Mane and Shawty Lo. I quit my job 12 years ago to become a full time producer and I’ve never looked back. Some of my work has been featured on MTV and VH1. I not only produce for artist, I also produce for television shows. I’m excited about my next project, it’s with a very big name. Can’t disclose details yet but just know the past 12 years are finally about to pay off.

Question 3: What tips do you think would be helpful for someone interested in becoming a successful producer or artist?

Answer: Follow your heart. Follow your dreams. Take risks. I dropped everything I had to become a full time producer. You can do anything you put your mind to. If you’re going to do it, do it to the fullest. Don’t doubt yourself and don’t listen to others who discourage you. If you do what you love for a living, you’ll never work another day in your life.

   Meeting with music producer was inspiring. We have actually discussed possibly working together in the near future. It was a pleasure speaking with Moe Diggedy.

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Top 10 Social Media Management Tools

My original goal for this course was to learn the many different ways to manage social media platforms in regards to digital marketing. I already had a little bit of experience within using social media to promote certain projects I’ve worked on, but not as much of the information I learned after watching this course. This course taught me how to use social media through different applications such as Buffer, TweetDeck, and Everypost.

Buffer is definitely something I would use for my business. I like how it schedules content that you want to share that also includes an analysis of each post. This application gives you the ability to schedule the date and time you want your posts to be released which can also link to other social media platforms. I don’t think I would use the free plan for my business because I want to be able to select different times that I would like to make posts every day. $10 a day for flexibility is worth it.

I totally forgot about TweetDeck, I remember when the feature was released when I was in college. This feature is very helpful because you can see all Twitter activity at once. You’re able to see your tweets, the home page, your mentions, notifications, and messages all on one screen. It looks like a busy but clean and clear dashboard. I’d love to use this for my business because I’d be able to see how many people have viewed and retweeted my tweets and also I can see all of the mentions of people who are talking about my business.

This is my first time hearing about the application Everypost. It’s a good mobile application for making posts on the go. I like how you have the ability to make the same post for 3 different social media platforms at one time. You’re also able to edit the post to fit into the 140 characters for Twitter. I’d use this application while out at social music events.

Everything I learned from this course I would definitely apply for my future business as well as for my current personal brand. I’m sure by the time my business actually gets up and running there will be more applications just as good as these. It’s great to know there are many different tools outside of the main social media sites that could be used for digital marketing.

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Entertainment Business Finance Mastery Journal Post

When I began this course, I did not think that I would learn so much more than I do about business finance and funding my company. I remember from my initial post that I felt I had a bit of knowledge since my current job is a financial processing company. I guess because I’m more of a support agent for merchants who have issues with reconciling their billing and deposits, it never occurred to me how much it really takes to even open a business. We receive lots of calls of how they’re closing the business due to low sales or they couldn’t afford to get the business up and running.

           This course was extremely helpful. Although I didn’t do such a good job on one of the assignments, I actually learned not to second guess myself. A couple answers that were wrong, I actually had right the first time. I was never too thrilled to take math courses in during undergrad, never really thought I would need it. However I am grateful that this course has taught me everything I need to take into consideration when opening a business. I never thought anything about startup costs, total net income, gross sales, loans, interest, etc. I can honestly say that if I were to try and open a business without learning the proper financial steps to make sure its successful, I’d be in a lot of trouble.

           There are times at my job when merchants call to request loans to open their business and we’ll set a certain rate that they’ll pay off with their monthly sales. Taking this course helped me understand the process even more. I feel I can actually use the information I’ve learned during this course in my everyday life now. I’m thankful for the opportunity and looking forward to future courses and leading up to my final business project.

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Business Storytelling & Brand Development Review

This class taught me a lot more than I expected to learn. There’s a lot of researched involved when trying to define your brand and even creating a brand name and logo. Branding is true conditioning of your company and its purpose. I use to think of names off the top of my head but never thought to actually research the name to confirm if it had already been trademarked. I learned that your brand has to communicate with your target audience. It is very important when creating a brand that you know who your target audience will be.

I enjoyed completing the archetypes assessments. I never knew anything about archetypes at all. This class was the first time I ever heard anything about figuring out what brand falls under which archetype. It really helped me understand the many different business brand archetypes and which archetype best fits my company brand. I learned that my brand and company of choice I had in mind while taking the assessments were both defined as Creative Archetypes. I thought that was pretty cool and the results provided us with definitions of what each archetype means.  “Your goal is to realize a vision, hone your skill, express yourself, and promote individuality.” That was exactly spot on!

The Business Model Fiddle and the Brand Identity Model were very helpful resources. It helps with breaking down each aspect of your brand. I think it really helped me with understanding there’s more to establishing a business than just providing a service and naming it. There were things I never considered when completing both models such as a brand positioning statement and a domain name strategy. These are definitely important things that need to be considered when creating a business. The most important thing I learned was the importance of protecting your brand name and how to protect your brand name. I really appreciated this course and I am looking forward to my future courses.

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Project & Team Management Reflection

This by far has been my favorite class. I learned so much during this class, things I thought I knew but I really didn’t. Each week was a test for me. I would read over the instructions and thought the assignments sounded pretty easy. However, when completing the Excel sheets and trying to follow all of the directions, I started to see how much work actually goes into creating a project. Since my project was an EP, I thought to myself that this wouldn’t be such a hard project. However, I was wrong. I never thought about conflict resolution procedures, risk management, budgeting, or timing.

When completing Week 2 assignment, I realized how things cannot always go as planned. Issues can occur during the project that can cause major setbacks. I also realized that I have to be realistic to the timeframe and scheduled tasks. On Week 1 assignment, I expected to have the project completed by 3/17/17. After completing the Work Breakdown Structure, the date of completion was now 5/28/17. It really shocked me while I was working on this assignment of how many things could go wrong from just recording and promoting an EP. This class has definitely prepared me for the reality when I do begin the process of creating an EP.

Another assignment I learned from was budgeting. Again, I thought maybe it’ll only cost a couple thousand dollars to get my project done and promoted. After completing Week 3’s assignment, I learned that it’ll actually be an estimate of $7K to $8K to complete and promote my project. I also learned that I’d actually make less money than what was put into the project after creating fictional ticket sales and EP sales for promotion. So to conclude, this class opened my eyes to reality. It’s not easy to be a project manager and there a lot of things that should be considered when taking on a project.

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Leadership Mastery Journal Post

After reviewing the readings and the GoTo Sessions each week, both Greene and Maxwell demonstrate excellent styles of leadership. My ultimate career path will be within the music industry which a very tough industry to work in. Greene’s leadership laws seemed to be more so “every man for himself”. It seemed like some of his laws such as Law 11 “Learn To Keep People Dependent On You” (Greene, 2000) expressed how to play the mind game to become a leader. It’s very cut throat. It’s either you win or you lose. The laws we covered along with additional reading I decided to do myself, Greene’s tactic is more devious and based on using certain forms of intelligence to achieve a level of power. Although there are many people within the music industry who may have followed Greene’s laws to get where they are, I don’t believe my leadership style would be of Greene’s. I believe in honest hard work and not just skating my way into a form of power.

Maxwell on the other hand had more so emotional and long term leadership goals. I want to be the kind of leader that exudes integrity and not focus so much on having power. Maxwell focused on the actual duties of a leader and how to conduct an effective team. Understanding integrity, problem solving, attitude, vision, people (Maxwell, 1993) are all things an effective and successful leader should know. I don’t believe it’s all about just having the title and power of being the leader which is what I get from Greene’s laws. It’s about actually being a leader and leaving a legacy behind. A leader is someone you look up to. I personally don’t look up to anyone who just flaunts their title. Be your title. Show me what you’ve while being in your position. Leaders leave paper trails, proof of change and issues resolved.

 Sources:

Maxwell, J. C. (1993). Developing the leader within you. Nashville: T. Nelson.

Greene, R., & Elffers, J. (2000). The 48 laws of power. New York: Penguin Books.

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Inspiration Post

I have looked at KeKe Wyatt as my personal vocal coach. I literally practice singing to one of her songs everyday. She is an inspiration to me as I am an aspiring R&B artist. I love that she is able to balance her marriage and work since she is married to her manager which can be very difficult within the music industry. She also touches on motherhood and the troubles that she has faced with losing a child. She’s an example that everyone is human and that you can overcome the things that have negatively impacted your life. I am very eager to hear her new album Rated Love Delux. 

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Here is the link for my 12 month Mastery Journey Timeline.

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Children show scars like medals. Lovers use them as secrets to reveal. A scar is what happens when the word is made flesh.

Leonard Cohen