House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday that the public health insurance option will not be included in a package of fixes to healthcare reform legislation.

Pelosi's comments throw a wrench into liberal efforts to reintroduce it to the bill. She shut the door on a possible pathway opened by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who said earlier on Friday that he would "aggressively" push senators to vote for the plan if the House included it in the fixes.

"We had it, we wanted it ... it's not in the reconciliation," Pelosi said at her weekly press briefing. "It isn't in there because [the Senate doesn't] have the votes to have it in there."

Momentum had been building to reintroduce the government-run plan. Over 40 senators have endorsed a letter sponsored by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) that called for senators to pass the public option using the budget reconciliation process.

But the number of senators who backed the plan falls short of the 50 needed to pass the package, assuming Vice President Joe Biden votes to break a tie.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a public option supporter, said last week that he will push for a public option in a separate bill should it not be included in the current legislation.

House Democrats are planning to pass the Senate bill and a package of fixes to it, which the Senate will pass using the reconciliation process, allowing them to sidestep a Republican filibuster with a simple majority vote.

The most recent survey by The Hill shows that Pelosi and President Barack Obama need to sway many Democrats to clear a bill by the end of next week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) removed the public option from the Senate's bill in December because he could not attract enough centrist support for the overhaul with it included.

Pelosi gave solace to supporters of the public option, saying that its intent will largely be fulfilled with other provisions in the bill.

"While it may not have a public option, we have a purpose of the public option served by the exchanges" and other reforms, she said.

The Speaker expressed hope that the House would vote on the bill by March 21, three days after the White House's deadline, but said that lawmakers are prepared to take as long as necessary to finish their work.

Pelosi repeated that the House will start working in earnest on finishing the bill once they receive the Congressional Budget Office's score of the proposal.

"I am hoping it will be in that time frame," she said of the March 21 date, "[But] we stand ready as long as it takes to pass a bill."

The House's ability to pass the Senate's bill, however, partially rests on assurances House Democrats want from their Senate counterparts that they will pass a series of fixes to it. Many House Democrats wants several changes made to the Senate's bill and want special deals for certain states stripped from it.

Pelosi remained confident that her rank-and-file would get what they wanted.

"There are certain assurances that we want and that we will get from them before we take a vote," she said.

President Barack Obama is delaying his overseas trip scheduled to begin on March 18 for three days so that he can focus on healthcare. That decision gives House Democrats a few more days to hold a vote before Obama leaves.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/86447-pelosi-public-option-will-not-be-in-health-bill

WASHINGTON — At a time of heavy international pressure on Iran, the State Department said on Thursday that the human rights situation there had “degenerated” since the disputed presidential election last year.

In a toughly worded analysis, the department cited killings of election protesters and acts of politically motivated torture, beatings and rape.

“An already poor human rights situation rapidly deteriorated after the June elections,” said Michael Posner, assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor, as the department released its overview of human rights around the world in 2009. “At least 45 people were killed in clashes,” he said.

The voluminous report, an annual assessment called for by law, also broadly criticized practices in China. Mr. Posner called them “poor and worsening.” The report cites increased repression of ethnic and religious minorities, increased detention and harassment of activists and public-interest lawyers, and continuing repression in Tibet.

It also criticizes the Chinese government’s control of the Internet in that country, though the report did not include the complaints early this year by Google executives about a series of major cyberattacks originating in China. Beijing has vigorously denied having any role in those attacks.

Mr. Posner said that in places like China and Iran, “connective technologies” had proved to be double-edged. While they allow a ferment of sometimes spontaneous organizational activities by dissidents and government critics, they also give governments “greater energy in curtailing freedom of expression.”

In Iran, an opposition Web site reported on Thursday that a prominent political activist who was arrested on June 12, the day of Iran’s disputed presidential election, has been released from prison.

Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister, was released on Wednesday in what was called a “leave from prison,” the Web site, Jaras, reported. Mr. Tajzadeh received a hero’s welcome, and pictures circulated on the Web of two leading opposition figures, Mir-Hussein Moussavi and the former president, Mohammed Khatami, visiting him at his home.

Hundreds of opposition activists have been arrested since the presidential election, and most of them remain incarcerated. Human Rights groups have said that none are released unconditionally and that most have posted hefty sums for bail and are summoned regularly to appear in court.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York based group, announced this month that at least 52 journalists remain in prison. On Thursday a lawyer for Saeed Leylaz, a prominent journalist and economist, said that his client’s sentence had been reduced from nine years to six, a term that human rights groups said remained indefensible. The sentence for Bahman Amuwee, another journalist, was reduced from seven years to five, the rights group http://www.rsf.org/&ei=LlyZS7OkCZK1tgeEtfiwCQ&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CA0Q7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3DReporters%2Bwithout%2BBorders%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D6XV%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official">Reporters without Borders said.

The criticism in the State Department report was not limited to authoritarian or developing countries. The State Department expressed its "growing concern" over discrimination against Muslims in Europe, noting in particular a Swiss ban on the construction of minarets.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in releasing the report, insisted that the United States holds itself to the same standards it uses to assess other countries.

There was, in any case, criticism for some countries closely allied to the United States.

Even as the Obama administration works to bolster the Afghan government for an eventual American departure, the report described the existing rights situation there as poor. It listed problems like extrajudicial killings, torture, poor prison conditions, restrictions on freedom of expression and discrimination against women.

The election there last year was marred by “serious allegations of widespread fraud,” the report noted.

As for Iraq, the report noted an overarching reality: that violence had significantly decreased last year. Still, it listed numerous rights offenses, including arbitrary killings, disappearances, torture, poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrests and inadequate protection for refugees.

Mr. Posner also signaled some trends of global concern. One was the increasing efforts by some governments to curtail local advocacy. “No less than 25 governments in the last couple of years have imposed new restrictions on nongovernmental human rights and other organizations,” the report said.

Another was governments’ misuse of national-security or emergency legislation to broadly curtail civil liberties. He said Egypt, Russia and Sri Lanka had all been guilty of this.

Yesterday I, like many of my fellow Americans, lost several hours of my life that I will NEVER get back watching the "Blair House Dog n' Pony" show that was the Health Care Summit. The purported idea behind the "summit" was for Republican and Democratic congressmen to engage in a free and open exchange of ideas for reforming our health care delivery system with the President and members of his administration. On the surface this is what appears to have occurred, but as we're all too well aware, appearances can be deceiving. Since this Administration and Congress took power, that seems to have become the RULE itself, not the exception it was once thought to be. What became readily apparent to me, however, was that what was happening had absolutely NOTHING to do with health care reform at all. What health care "reform" is, and has ALWAYS been, is a naked power grab by the federal government of the United States. It is the latest in a SERIES of grabs, by this government for federal control of private businesses and industries with the SOLE aim of increasing the POWER of the federal government. This is FASCISM by definition.

American Idol has just started its ninth season. Paula Abdul is gone, Simon Cowell is leaving after this season, and the drama began to unfold even before the first episode aired last Tuesday night. Its business as usual for Fox, 19 Entertainment, Simon Fuller and crew: Delivering much more than a partially entertaining show, they have packaged the magic of a delusional dream.

Packaged it first in the individual sixty minute episodes, and then spread out to a full season. Many of the thousands of contestants are drawn in under false pretenses, without having an understanding of what is really happening or what it actually means to be “the next American Idol”.

The old one

For the previous and much longer blog I wrote about at the beginning of last season, see http://musicindustrynewswire.com/2009/01/20/min963_215014.php. This entry is more of a summary, with a couple other thoughts that many don’t don’t consider – or don’t say out loud if they do.

Still the same make and model of foolish hope and unrealistic dreams.

I couldn’t make myself watch the season opener, so I decided to catch a few of the auditions on Hulu the following morning. It is the same old game with different names and faces.

After nine years, it is the ignorance of those “potential” idols that makes me rant and the uber fans I truly find annoying. I can still watch in the early episodes now and then. I can enjoy seeing the unjustifiably inflated egos get crushed, I can marvel at the ones that can’t conceive not making it to Hollywood since they are already stars in their own right.

I know a few other viewers that check in just to laugh at the absurdities. It is fun, it can be entertaining, but at the same time, I don’t watch full episodes and I turn it off all together after the initial auditions. One reason is that I am old, and when you reach a certain point, those absurdities only go so far. Another reason is that I am simply not much of a fan.

The freaky fans.

You know the ones. What’s the word I’m searching for… “Psychotic”, that’s it. Kind of like a quote I once heard: “I got no problem with Jesus and I got no problem with Elvis, its just some of their super fans that piss me off.” I feel the same way about the conspiracy-ridden American idol fans that post on message boards. How this is rigged and why didn’t so and so go further and how could they not send this person to Hollywood... They seem to have lost all perspective and be completely beyond the reality that this is a TV show.

That’s right Virginia, it’s entertainment!

It is a TV show. And a TV show is not going to be about the best singers in the country competing against each week after week, episode after episode. That would be boring. First rule of entertainment: Thou Shalt Not be boring.

“Can you believe this or can you believe that?” That’s not boring. That’s market appeal. That’s what draws the 30-some million viewers that watched on Tuesday night. That, in short, is A SHOW.

So, let’s go back to that boring best singer competition and pretend it is a TV show. Add in personalities, egos, people that down right suck, insanity, tempers, contestants crying, contestants screaming, contestants cursing – and then bathe it all in a hot pool of hopes, dreams, delusions of grandeur, spotlights, the taste of fame, the promise of riches and popularity, oh and yes, a few very truly talented singers sprinkled on top. Now you have a TV show, an entertaining, high grossing, well-produced show that has been going nine years strong.

Did I say strong? I lowballed it. Stronger than most people will ever know when you figure in the back end, what is actually going on behind the scenes with the contracts and all that small writing that no one pays attention to anyway.

So those people that claim there were better singers who should have gone farther than this person or that person: they might just be right – but at the same time, the person who didn’t advance might not be very interesting. Welcome to entertainment, being interesting is kind of important.

In the end, American Idol is about entertainment, selling ad time and keeping viewership up. It is not about carefully honing in on the best possible talent out there. The show’s concept feeds off a jaded and unrealistic view of the music industry.

Still, they aren’t lying to anyone. You have to sign a contract to audition, and you give up many rights pertaining to your name, your music and your career. But, come on! Who cares about all that? Who actually reads the contract all the way through? These people are signing on the dotted line to get on the list. The few that do move forward will later learn about the details spelled out in all those paragraphs above that dotted line.

I’m not saying watch the show or don’t like the show. I am just saying it is a TV show. It is not the catalyst that many make it out to be. For the average contestant, it is not going to change your life or make it better. It is not going to be your ticket to riches. It is not going to make all your dreams come true. For more than 99% of them, it won’t even bring that cherished 15 minutes of fame. It doesn’t work that way. After 8 complete seasons, there are only about 15 idol contestants with successful and self-sustaining careers (even with those horrible controlling contracts).

Enjoy the show, sure. But understand you’re watching a Judy Garland movie from the 1940s, not a blueprint to pursue a real singing career in the real world.

© 2010 Loren Weisman

Watch out for Loren Weisman’s "Realistic Music Careers 101 Seminar" coming to a city near you and Loren's book “The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business” coming in March 23rd, 2010. For updates and information, visit http://www.artistsguide.net for more information on the book.

For more information on Loren, bookings or press inquiries, please contact his publicist and agent, Jenée Arthur at Rellihan Satterlee. Email: jenart@relsat.com Phone: 206-588-1998

Support and help can be a funny thing. If some one offers to help someone, most would hope that they are helping to get that person moving forward to a better place, closer to success. Or perhaps delivering some of the tools or resources (including, yes, money) that will lead to bigger and better things. However, there are those that become enablers. Their intentions are good, but they may end up hurting more than they help.

Everyone has heard the old joke, “what do you call a drummer with no girlfriend? Homeless!” It’s funny but also, in a number of cases, true. There are numerous aspiring musicians that are supported by their family, their girlfriends, their boyfriends and plenty of others when it comes to money. That is not always a bad thing. If communication is good, if expectations are clear, and the guidelines for support are set in place before a dollar changes hands, that help can be worth its weight in gold. That help can bring the artist to the next level if they are struggling. It can make things a little easier. It’s not a golden ticket, it’s not a back door from paying dues and learning invaluable lessons. It simply makes a long hard road a little easier for a few miles.

The right help

When the musician is getting help while he or she is doing all they can do help themselves, you have a good healthy situation. As the potential helper, ask if you are you giving money for something specific and something that will make a difference. Is there a budget in place? Is the musician planning for both the best and worse case scenarios? Lastly, is this going to help both in the short term and long term? If the answer is yes to all these questions, you have a good situation where helping out will actually be that: helpful.

Whether you are making a donation, a loan or an investment, the clearer you and the recipient can be, the better. Define clearly where the money (or whatever) will go and what it will do. By having an understanding among all parties as to who you are helping, why you are helping, what you want to see out of it, when you will be paid back or time frames if it is a loan and how it will benefit the artist, you magnify the benefit for everyone involved. Now, some people have very generous hearts and may genuinely feel they “don’t need to see anything out of it.” But even so, they will want to see their gift or loan actually help. They will want it to have the most positive impact it can, right? Just as the helper is being generous to the musician, it will help ten fold if the musician is held accountable, if they clearly understand there is an obligation in accepting a gift—the obligation to use it well, to deliver on the donor’s aim of making things better. When the above is not clearly stated and clearly understood by both sides, it can lead to the wrong help.

The wrong help

Everyone has heard the stories or seen the examples: The musician that is mooching off of a girlfriend, family, or others. The musician that expects everything to be taken care of for them so they can “concentrate on their art”. The artist who has absolutely no awareness how they are using and abusing those around them. You have seen the movies where the musician is laying on the couch explaining what he needs to be feeling or what has to happen as the girlfriend is paying the rent. Outside of the movies, it’s also the phone and the electric she’s paying as well, in addition to paying his tab so he can drink at the local music clubs or bars under the amazing guise of “networking”.

Another typical scenario: the musician that looks to use given/donated/invested money for the things that are not going to help his career. That particular artist that feels eating expensive meals out, hanging out in bars or spending money on clothes will some how fast forward their careers. These are the people that are just seeing it as spending money and not having consideration for how you are trying to help and flat out abusing that help.

Then there is that attitude of “help me now and I will bring you with me as I become a millionaire.” You take care of me now and I will take care of you later is the other one I love hearing. It is pure crap, and yet many people waste their time, their money, and their patience not-really-helping (aka “enabling”) these musicians to go on doing absolutely nothing.

Recently, I interviewed a number of women that dated musicians: successful, failed, and aspiring ones. The stories are a book in themselves. The things that were said, the promises made, and the explanations given for the lack of forward motion when they came back looking for more.

In the end, those helping lost their money, lost their relationships, lost their trust in these artists (which carries over to all artists in most cases, every drummer gets the bill for that one in the joke). And for all that loss, nothing improved for the artists. It isn’t a zero sum equation, where at least this person’s loss does some good over there. Everyone loses because of these supremely selfish individuals.

This goes for both sexes, too. Women do it too. People use people, it is an unfortunate and simple fact of life. The best thing you can do is watch for situations that are not clear—and which resist your attempts to clarify what is being asked and to what use it will be put. If it seems a little shaky, go with your gut feeling.

Conclusion

If you are going to help out, then make sure it is truly helping and not enabling. Make sure the details are there. Make sure the clarity is there. Make sure everyone understands the details. Whether it is written out or verbally discussed in depth, the answers to those HOW, WHY, WHAT and HOW questions above need to be clearly understood by everyone involved. Set goals, set time frames. Set worst case scenario plans. If you are supporting a guy while he is in the studio, make sure he is getting a job as soon as he gets out of the studio. Basic things like that.

Watch out for those that might use you, take advantage of you, and potentially end up hurting you. To the musician, remember every minute of every day that that is a human being with wants and needs of their own who is helping you, not the life support for a wallet. Show that you are worth that investment and/or worthy of their generosity.

Do not enable a musician with serious delusions of grandeur. It’s that simple: Don’t feed the energy creature. Don’t let them cost you a small fortune to further the bloating of a big ego. I am not saying don’t help or don’t be generous. DO give, DO be generous. But DO look first. Look at what you are doing, how you are doing it, and if it really will be helpful.

© 2010 Loren Weisman

http://www.braingrenademusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/lorenweisman
http://www.twitter.com/bgellc

Watch out for Loren Weisman’s "Realistic Music Careers 101 Seminar" coming to a city near you and Loren's book “The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business” coming in 2010. For updates and information, visit http://www.artistsguide.net for more information on the book.

For more information on Loren, bookings or press inquiries, please contact his publicist and agent, Jenée Arthur at Rellihan Satterlee. Email: jenart@relsat.com Phone: 206-588-1998

It has often been said that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Certainly this statement has been proven true at various times in recorded history. Few could argue that the Jewish patriots who died in the mountain fortress of Massada were freedom fighters, yet to their Roman overlords they were undoubtedly thought of as terrorists, and criminals. One of the earliest and more heroic of the "freedom fighter" genre, is Robin of Loxley, aka Robin Hood. This "outlaw" is still considered by many to be the protoypical freedom fighter and folk hero, but to the political establishment under the Regency of Prince John, he was undoubtedly considered an outlaw and a terrorist. But we need not look so far back in history or so far away as there have been more than a few notable examples of the Terrorist/Freedom Fighter dichotomy right here in the good old USA.

So I guess its official, technology has killed our social interaction. I don't think this is a new concept to anyone but it is out of hand now. It's bad enough we don't call people anymore to talk on the phone or just chat, we all use e-mail or text messaging or even twitter and Facebook! We are a society that fits awkward into social events because kids today have not had that regular one on one interaction many of us grew up with. Where in our days people would talk into the night on the phone, now they just text each other. What is really being said is lost in a text message. How many of you have experienced this? You get an email or text and have no idea what the inflection of the comment is, then you get mad because you thought the person was saying it one way when they were really saying it another. We all know the conversation between humans has changed but this is also getting filtered to other parts of our lives.

In the past few years we have lost telephone operators and customer service reps. How many of us have heard the phrase "I'm sorry I didn't get that. You can say HELP, CUSTOMER SERVICE," etc etc. Automated systems have limited our interaction with live people and frustrating us to get answers to our problems.

More recently this trend is moving to large social gatherings like Movie Theaters. You heard me right, Movie Theaters. Now personally I like going to the theater, it offers an experience seeing a movie. The sound of popcorn, the couple talking behind you, the sticky floors, the laughter of the crowd. Sure the place may have some annoying aspects but that is part of the "experience" of the theater. Technology is making the theater a possible future Historic Landmark. Many ON DEMAND cable services are offering films in your home THE SAME DAY it is released in the theaters. Would you go through the hassle of heading to the theater if you could watch it at home? It saves you money and mayhem, so why not? I just think it is a bad idea. We saw a similar trend in the past few years as video stores and music stores started to dwindle as more and more DVD mail services began and downloadable content grew. Don't you miss going to the store and finding a film to watch? Exploring the music sections of your favorite record store? Looking at the box covers, talking with someone in the store about the film and what they thought about it?

We are social beings that need to be around others and events like going to the movies, the theater or even talking on the phone need to be experienced and kept in our society NOT shoved out or replaced by technology. The technology isn't bad; it just needs to not take over us.

Free stuff! Everybody wants it. Getting free gear and being able to say "I endorse so and so" is a very interesting topic, and one that is often approached from the wrong angle with the wrong intentions that deliver the wrong results. First of all, a lot of people talk the talk but don't walk the walk. These people claim to endorse companies that have no idea who they are. There is a fine line and a fine, keen difference between a musician that exclusively uses a product and that musician actually endorses a company. I find it completely foolish when people lie about their endorsements, or overly advertise that they are endorsed, but do not mention any of the elements that are involved in endorsing a product.

Simply put, whether we speak of you endorsing a product or a product/company endorsing you, we are talking about you as marketing avenue connected to that product/company, an avenue from which they can gain exposure and revenue. It is the endorsers' responsibility to exclusively use a given product, of course, but also to use it in a way that showcases the quality of that product and the quality of the player (ie: you!) that is now associated with the product. An ideal endorsement is more than the sum of its parts: both sides gain.

It’s not all about a free ride

Endorsements are not about giving free or discounted items to nobodies. As harsh as that sounds, if you are not signed, not touring, not teaching on a high level, or not in a media spotlight that could influence others around you, then you do not make an attractive candidate for endorsements. It is crucial to think about what you can do for the product and its company, not the exposure and "street cred" you get in return for having an endorsement.

It is also a good idea—no, make that a very, very good idea—to make sure you have a solid definition of your potential endorsement.

Artists that come to Brain Grenade Entertainment claiming to have endorsements often raise immediate red flags. We wonder if they are just talking trash, if they bought something directly from the company, or if they are under consideration for the endorsement. One of the first things we do when an artist claims to have an endorsement is to check that product's artist roster: 9 times out of 10, they are not listed. Often, the people that we might know from that company have never heard of these artists or their bands. Then leaving the question of “what else are they lying about” laying on the table.

That's why it is important to put out a strong, defined, and honest image. We don't check to be jerks. We check because a lot can be said in a bio or a one sheet of a band that might be untrue but is not easy to verify. This is. When someone claims to have an endorsement, it is something that can easily be checked. If it doesn't check out, all the other information the artist supplied and all aspects of their presentation is called into question.

Therefore, even if you are in the process of getting an endorsement but are "not quite there yet," don't advertise it. If you do mention it informally, give your contact point in the company, demonstrating that you know such things will be checked, and talk frankly about how it is coming to fruition.

How do I get an endorsement?

Endorsements can help, that is no lie. It is additional marketing for you, and it can open up opportunities with that company and eventually many others. As an endorsed/endorsing artist, you/your group may be approached to attend or perform at trade shows, conferences, and other corporate functions. An individual artist who has an endorsement may also lay the groundwork for other members of their band/group to gain endorsement status as well.

Many larger companies want you to have a major label deal to be considered for endorsements of any kind. These companies are not the place to start. Do not hound them with full promotional packages that discuss why you are going to be the next big thing. That is wasted time, wasted packs, wasted stamps, and in the end, wasted money. You also blow your first impression.

Also realize that most companies have different levels of endorsements. This can help in your cause. If you were to ask for a free amplifier, chances are you are not going to not be taken as seriously as the artist that wants to develop a relationship with a that company and asks for a very small discount on the same amplifier in a detailed letter that explains how they would like to start a relationship with the company.

Below are the top five things that you should never say or list when you are looking for an endorsement. I have asked reps from companies that I have endorsed in the past what their favorite lines were. These were the top ones and a few of the retorts.

Top five no no’s

5. You need to endorse me, I am the next big thing and a lot better than a ton of people you already give free stuff to.

Most of these companies don't "need" to endorse anybody. You are already coming out of the gate with an oversized ego and giving the impression that you might be difficult to work with.

4. Your stuff is pretty good, but if you custom made it my way, it would sell so much better.

Opening up with how they need to change their products to your specifications and your design is an insult. Such rights are reserved for artists that have been with these companies for a long time or top-echelon artists with extremely high visibility.

3. My gear is from your company but it is in really crappy shape and it needs to be upgraded so I can sound the best I can and it will help your image as well.

So, you are already representing their product in a poor light and focusing your needs while not defining how the company might benefit from developing a relationship with you. This gives the impression you are looking for a handout for yourself and does not position yourself as a desirable endorser.

2. You need to put my name on some stuff, it will really sell.

First off, if you want your name on stuff, there are numerous companies that will, for a fee, put your name on sticks, picks and what ever else you might want. Named products are, and should be, reserved for the highest profile endorsers and clients of the company.

1. I don't use your gear right now, but if you give me a rig, I will only use you exclusively.

This is my favorite and this is one I, myself, have heard bands talk about. Now, for a high profile artist that may not be using the company's gear, switching over may bring that company desirable attention from some of his or her fans. As a local artist, regional, or up-and-coming, however, it really is over the top to ask and appears as though you are really just requesting a hand out.

Why should you be endorsed?

So, now getting away from the negative side of it, ask yourself a few of the questions any company would surely want answers to if they were going to consider you for an endorsement.

Why should they endorse you?

What do you bring to the table?

What market would you be able to reach that they are not already reaching? Or what market could you supplement and how?

Do you deliver the image that the company would want to portray?

Would your endorsement bring additional sales and more attention to their product? If so, how?

How will you be a continually effective endorser?

When you can answer these questions in detail, it will improve your chances of receiving a potential endorsement.

When you take the approach of developing a relationship with a company and proving that your endorsement will help them, this will in turn help you. So many artists are out there for themselves. Be different; show the company that you understand that it this is a business and that developing this relationship would be a smart business move for both parties. Taking a professional approach will reassure them that you are worthwhile to be involved with.

Begin at the beginning

Start small. Don't ask for a full rig or free stuff. Inquire about the different levels that are offered by the company and ask if you can start at the bottom. Explain how you can prove that you are a quality endorser. Again, this will show you are not selfish and that you truly are trying to develop a relationship with a company and product you believe in.

Which brings to the crucial point….BELIEVE IN THE PRODUCT. Do not endorse something just because you can get the endorsement. It doesn't really help them or you. Artists that have a history with a product or company, especially in pictures that clearly display the product and its label, show continuity and a long-standing relationship.

When I was first drumming, I played on Pro-Mark drumsticks. I played a model called the Simon Phillips 707's. I was a big fan of Simon and loved the ball tips of those sticks. I tried a couple different brands as a teen, but always came back to Pro-Mark and specifically to those sticks. Most drumming shots of me from the time I was 13 have me holding a pair of Pro-Mark sticks. So when I state that I have been playing Pro-Mark for 18 years, it rings true and the proof is in the pictures.

Why do you want to endorse that product?

It is also a lot easier to talk about why you like a product when you really actually like it. To tell a company their product is great or "I don't play anything else" is not really much of a line unless you are a top-level client. When it came to Pro-Mark, for me… "I found that the sticks have a great center balance, are well crafted and have a touch that I can't find in other sticks."

I have used Pro-Mark on the bulk of the recordings I have been on as a drummer and I always have a couple sets of the 5A's, 5B's, Elvin Jones Signature set, Hotrods, 3AL's and my old favorite 707's on hand for the drummers I produce in the studio to try to get different sounds and feels as well as turning other drummers on to the sticks.

This comes off a lot stronger than "they are good," and it also ties in the marketing elements.

Figure out why you like a stick, a guitar, an effect, or any product. What has it done for your sound, your writing, and your performance? See what can you add in a marketing sense that other endorsers may not have already?

Other elements you will need to add

Are you a solid player?

What is your experience?

What other drummers do you compare to or are influenced by?

Do you teach?

Covering a basic resume about your playing and your career to date as well as projects you are involved in can help with endorsements as well.

What makes your band stand out?

What makes you stand out?

Are you involved in charity/ music education work?

Do you tour frequently?

And what are you going to do for them?

Tell them what you would do for the company. Talk about how you will do additional marketing for them and then show that it is being done. Explain that you will have their logo or a mention that you endorse their product on recordings. You can also mention in early stages that you would be happy to put on the next release that you exclusively use the given product.

If you're the drummer, will you place the logo on the bass drum for shows?

Will you wear a shirt or other item at least once a week, advertising the product?

Will you reference it in your promo materials?

What other ideas can you come up with to justify the company standing behind you as you show how you will stand behind them?

The contact

Lastly, when connecting with the company, be respectful! Try to find out exactly who you are suppose to contact. Do not send emails to every address at the company. I have heard too many stories about this happening.

Bad idea. Bad. DON'T DO IT!

Inquire respectfully, ask nicely. See if the company is currently looking to sign endorsers, and if not, ask if there is a good time of year or better time than now to submit a letter or package. If they have a form, fill it out and send it to the appropriate contact. Just because you have heard your favorite star works with Mr. X. from your favorite company, this does not mean you should inundate this guy with your emails or calls.

If you do not hear back, do not continue to hound. Think! Is it during a convention or trade show period? This is not a good time to go after endorsements and most likely, these guys and girls are not at their desks. Doing a ten-day follow up by email is professional, if you do not hear back after that, leave them be.

It is not that these companies are being disrespectful, but they are receiving thousands of emails with the same requests as yours. They can't possibly get back to each person. It would take days alone to do that. Also if you continue to hound, you will be flagged and possibly ignored. In making contact, as I listed above, stand out in a good way: Explain why you want the endorsement and especially give the company a reason why they should want you.

Conclusion

Take these steps in a respectful and professional manner. Look at the idea of endorsement from all angles. If you can honestly answer all the questions and present in a professional manner, then you may be ready to apply for an endorsement.

If you are not, wait a while, get some more experience or marketing elements under your belt before you make contact. Your responsibility, originality, creativity and patience will help you and also portray you in the best possible light to a potential endorser. Being patient as well as preparing your materials correctly will give you more opportunities for longer relationships and better connections down the road.

© 2009 Loren Weisman

For more information on Loren, bookings or press inquiries, please contact his publicist and agent, Jenée Arthur at Rellihan Satterlee. Email: jenart@relsat.com Phone: 206-588-1998

It’s a hard thing to admit when you’re wrong. Whether it’s in an argument or approach, at work or at play, it can be incredibly challenging to suck it up and admit that it’s not someone or something else’s fault, but your own. You know the people who have a thousand reasons for why they’re not getting somewhere, and the reasons always have to do with all these other people and all these other things, but let’s be honest: the world at large is seldom solely to blame.

Fortunately, the sentiment can have a motivational flip side: whatever the situation, it’s clear that the approach or the execution is not working for you and not making things happen the way you want, and you’re ready to change it. You’re ready to examine what you can do to effect the desired outcome. This is a great place to get to, but it’s important to figure out exactly what you need to make it right, so you’re not just putting a Band-Aid on the crack in the boat.

Realization Translating into Action

So you realize that something or some things are not working. It’s time to identify and analyze what has happened and what hasn’t. You haven’t been getting all that many shows. The places you play are not drawing. Maybe your sales are on the decline or you’ve never really sold that many downloads or CDs at all. You took an approach and it’s clearly not working. So you blame the venue, the economy, the people who “just don’t realize how incredible the songs are and are fools for not buying.” No bullshit, got that in an email from an artist. This guy was insulting the entire music buying population because his music was “astonishing” and “industry changing.” For me, it sounded like a mix of Motley Crue and INXS. Not bad, though very poorly recorded, but the point is that this guy took no consideration of how he was distributing, how he was marketing, promoting or pushing his product. It’s about figuring out what was being done and how it isn’t working so you can begin to identify the problem as well as have a basic understanding of what it’s going to take to fix it.

What do you have to toss and what can you keep?

To start with, take stock of what you can use and what you have to toss in the methods and plans you have used thus far. This might mean a new logo or changing promotional items. It might mean a new attack plan when it comes to internet marketing or soliciting for gigs. You have to be honest with yourself in this phase. While it’s good to look at things that have been effective, don’t sugar coat it. Twenty great reviews from MySpace but no sales means something is not working. Knocking the socks off an audience for a night but not being invited back to play or not being offered another booking could be your fault and not theirs. Maybe you are playing too often in an area. That may need to be fixed. Maybe you’re getting great bookings but not selling anything at shows. Then the booking method is working and the things that need to be fixed relate to the sales at shows. Maybe you’re not working well with the venue or doing things wrong that you might not be aware of. These may need to be fixed as well.

Now, this is not to say that everything is your fault. Some things that you’re doing might be successful. If so, make sure to look at how and why they’re working and keep them on track while you concentrate on the parts that aren’t. It boils down to this: if you take the view of “it may be you and not them” instead of the usual “its not me, its never me,” you might find out some important information that will allow you to make things better for your shows, your sales and your overall career and profits.

Fix it Right the First Time

Take this seriously. For the things that aren’t working, it’s about an overhaul to make them right. Don’t use those small or rare successes as an excuse to short cut or only partially repair. In some ways, it’s like a tire with a hole in it: putting air in it constantly is going to be taxing and won’t actually take care of the problem. It may fix it for a moment, but the problem will only reappear later.

The most effective approach is to identify the problem and solve it for right now, next week, next month and next year. It might take some time, some investment, some changes, but the work and the effort will be worth it. When things are more fluid and consistent, it allows you to spend time on your creativity, your music and the things you enjoy most. A little more work to make it right in the now will save you the time later.

What path to choose and what person to listen to

Figure out who can help you or what method might best suit you. When people have issues, they go to lawyers for advice and guidance. If it’s something that has to go to court, they might hire that lawyer for a longer period of time. When people have car troubles, they go to a mechanic. When people are sick, they see a doctor. The same goes for musicians: maybe you need that lawyer, that mechanic or that doctor to help you out in the form of a music producer, a music business consultant or an entertainment lawyer.

Find the right pro who can help you get on the track you want to be on. Make sure it’s someone who knows what they’re talking about and has a track record, especially a track record with the issues that concern you.

Conclusion

In a lot of ways, solving problems can be seen as a learning experience, whether the issue is in the recording, the marketing, the sales, the shows, the bookings or anything else. If you can truly gain expertise from a situation, then the experience--no matter how good or bad--is not all in vain.

Don’t half ass, don’t cut corners. More than likely, that’s why it went wrong the first time. Avoid the easy fix; those often are the ones that cause the most problems down the road. Take the time, have the patience and put the work into doing it right this time.

Organize and plan. You are not starting from scratch, but you have to scratch the previous start as well as the things you did or used that were wrong. Reset the plan to fix the problems completely and as best you can instead of just putting more air in a tire that already has a hole. Whether it’s a new tire or a professional patch, it’s about making the fixes and repairs to get you back on the right track toward the results you wanted in the first place.

© 2009 Loren Weisman

Watch out for Loren Weisman’s "Realistic Music Careers 101 Seminar" coming to a city near you and Loren's book “The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business” coming in 2010.

For more information on Loren, bookings or press inquiries, please contact his publicist and agent, Jenée Arthur at Rellihan Satterlee. Email: jenart@relsat.com Phone: 206-588-1998

As the holiday season approaches, and we get in to that thing about good will to all, all those other quips about being better people for a moment—which personally, I think should go through out the whole year and not just the shopping season (sorry, holiday season), I wanted to put out a quick rant (speaking of Good Will) that I’ll call Ten Tips that Every Musician Should Apply to Their Career. These apply to both the music and business sides of he equation. Many apply to those who are not musicians but work in the music business.

Hell, a few apply to anyone working in any business. So, New title: Ten Tips for Everyone Alive on the Planet.

Number 1. – Answer your emails.

Show a little respect and answer your emails. If you can’t respond at that moment, then acknowledge that you received it, let the sender know you’re backed up and when you hope to get back to them. Then, either list the email as unread, flag it, or mark a little notch in your calendar to respond to the sender when you promised. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I respond to every email. Sometimes it takes a while, but I get back to everyone I can that has a direct question or is requesting something. It is a common courtesy that I am sure you would want when you send out an email, so do the same.

Number 2. - Have the guts to address concerns or questions.

Kind of attached to number one, if you have a concern or a question brought to you and you are not sure how to respond or are afraid to give a solid answer, toughen up! If you need to say no, then say no. If you want to say “Maybe, but there is an issue I need cleared up before we proceed,” then say that. But the passive-aggressive non-responses, the runaround when people just delete an email, toss away a phone message, or avoid a confrontation is much more insulting than a flat out “No way.”

And you do not want to be insulting people, even if at this particular moment in time time, they are asking for something and you are in the position to say yes or no. Things change (see below). Things always change. Next time, it may well be you doing the asking. A polite, respectful “I can’t do that” or “I am not interested” goes a long way to making that later approach easier.

Show some honor and address questions, concerns, or issues without shoving them in a drawer and hoping they’ll go away. They never do.

Number 3. – If things change, then keep everyone informed and problem solve.

Things change. They change all the time. From a club burning down and a gig being cancelled to a deadline being changed or a payment being missed. It happens, and it happens all the time. The problem is that when things change, many people are affected. Too often, discomfort over the situation leads people to delay notifying everyone who will be affected. Nobody likes delivering bad news—nobody is happy there is bad news to deliver. But other parties still need to know.

If you are supposed to pay someone by a certain date, and something comes up where you can’t do it, TELL THEM! It may mean they will now be unable to pay someone else by a given date, and that is important information for them to have.

I have no problem with someone saying they can’t make a payment when it comes to my production fees or consulting fees. In this economy, it is almost a given that out of so many clients, something will happen to someone at some point. As long as they come to me and say “this isn’t happening like I thought it was going to, I am not going to be able to make that payment on the date we agreed on, but here is what I am going to do about it...” how can I complain? They are acting with honor, treating me with respect, and in many cases, backing it up with a partial payment that lets me know they take the situation seriously. That is a person I want to go on working with. In showing me respect, they just won my respect—and that’s an artist I want to do business with.

Take the initiative to make others aware when situations change—whatever the change is. If your drummer is in three bands and has a sudden conflict, share that information asap. Right now everyone has more options than they will two weeks from now. Be the communicator, the problem solver, the responsible adult, and in 6 months no one will remember what the bad news/stumbling block was, they will just remember who rose to the occasion, who was considerate of other people’s situations, and who must have left their phone off the hook that week.

Number 4. - Be on time or give a heads up.

Just like things change, things can come up that make you late to a gig, to a session, to a meeting. Still, with practically everyone having a cell phone, it seems crazy that someone who is running late cannot make contact with those who are waiting for them.

Once again, it comes down to honor and professionalism. If you are scheduled to be somewhere or simply said you were going to be somewhere, then be there. It comes down to a simple awareness of and respect for other people. As soon as you know you are going to be late, give a call, send a text. “Running late” and your new ETA. It’s easy and it will show you in a very professional light.

Number 5. Get your gear off the stage when you are done.

I hear more bands bitch about this, and yet some of the same people that complain about other bands will leave their own instruments up on the stage while another band is waiting to load on. When your set is done, get your gear off the stage if another band is following you. There is a schedule to keep, whether the band before you loaded off fast or not, there is still a schedule. Be the better and more responsible group, and get your gear off stage so the night can continue.

Some bands say they need to promote and sell and connect immediately with the audience, and that is fine. Have one person with the least gear head to the audience while the rest of the group gets the gear off stage. Do it quickly, too. You do not need to take cymbals off stands on the stage if you are a drummer, you can take the cymbal on the cymbal stand off the stage so that next drummer can get moving on his set up.

The same thing goes if there is room in a club or venue side stage to set up some. Put together some of your set up so loading on can be faster as well. Get out of the selfish zone and consider the night, the other bands, and the club as a whole. You will get a reputation as a group that is easy to work with and professional, something that is a rarity in many places.

Number 6. - Follow up with booking agents, clubs and other bands.

A single gig can be more than a gig if you conduct yourself well. Playing one night with another band can lead to more than just that single show. Follow up with people, keep organized contacts and check in with them. Keep a spreadsheet or a file with the contact, how you connected with them, where they are and what your experience was with them. This is the real networking, and it predates the Internet, folks. This is networking in the most grassroots sense, and it can lead to many more opportunities than you realize. Send thank yous to clubs, cross link to other bands and stay in touch with people. Even if you take five minutes out of your week to keep in touch, update, or cross promote, you will create a larger more effective network that will allow you numerous opportunities instead of single one time events.

Number 7. - Stop f*%^ng over posting on Facebook and other network sites.

Stop with the stupid posts that no one cares about. Yes, maybe some larger scale stars can post, twitter and update about eating a Twinkie, but a fair amount of them have the fame and the celebrity status that draws people’s interest. For the rest of us, the technical name for that kind of post is "pointless crap.” Use quality, not quantity with your posts. While you think that all these people are reading everything you are putting up on Facebook, considert how many people have you as hidden just so they don’t have to read that stuff.

Separate your personal page from the music ones. On a music page, put up the info that will draw people to your links, your pictures, and your posts. If you are using it for a personal page, then by all means, do as you wish. But if you are trying to connect with other artists and fans, if you are trying to network and utilize the social networks as one more avenue to move yourself forward, then it is a professional tool, treat it professionally. Get away from the mafia wars, the farmer games, and anything that makes your page like a series of graffiti advertisements. As a musician, give them something that will draw them in as well as make them want more instead of giving them way too much information.

Number 8. - Be confident but not arrogant. Admit when you don’t know something.

Confidence is great, but arrogance can lock you out of opportunities and close doors that would otherwise be open for you. Too often, arrogance is clumsy camouflage for a lack of confidence or outright insecurity. Nothing is less attractive.

Lay back some on the arrogance and let your confidence shine through. Agents, venues, labels and industry executives are subjected to so much ego and arrogance-driven excesses every single day. By coming off strong, quietly confident and not over the top, you will be a breath of fresh air. You’ll be much for effective capturing the attention of whomever you’re talking to, keeping their attention longer, and being remembered afterwards in a positive light. There is simply no way to achieve that beating your chest and being an arrogant blowhard.

Number 9. - Follow the instructions when it comes to sending out packages , calling, emailing distro, etc.

File another one under “N” for “Not rocket science here”. If you are submitting music for licensing, going after a gig, a recording deal, an agent, a producer or whoever, follow the directions that are given on websites when it comes to soliciting materials. This is another one that predates the Internet. Everyone in every decision-making corner of entertainment is INUNDATED with hopefuls, wannabes, and actual legitimate applicants. They all have rules and requirements to keep this potential avalanche under control. None of them are going to toss those rules aside for you or look at your application favorably because you had to do it your way.

So, if someone has it written on their website to only send emails, then DO NOT CALL THEM. If someone has a certain format they require, then send your materials in that format. I have talked to way too many artists who send out things the way they want to send them out and ignore directions—and then wonder why they never hear back. It’s called attention to detail, and while you may still not have a response, you will at least be considered. You will not get that far if you walk in the door and announce yourself who cannot follow simple instructions.

Number 10. - Stop talking shit about other bands, people, etc.

Basically, be nice and shut your mouth. A lot of bands that rip on other bands get a reputation of being shit talkers. This is not a reputation you want to have. Be considerate. You don’t have to like everyone or everything, but as you are out there in the spotlight, in the media, and around many people who may like the person/band/thing you are tempted to bash, it is much better to keep your mouth shut. Be viewed in a positive light rather than one who is always ripping on other bands—bands which, incidentally, you may have to work with again in the future or who may be able to help (or hurt) you down the line. Be smart when it comes to opening your mouth.

Conclusion

This stuff is basic and yet often ignored. Try professionalism, open communication, attention to detail, and give consideration and respect to those you are working with. It can go a long way for you and your career.

© 2009 Loren Weisman
www.braingrenademusic.com
www.twitter.com/bgellc

For more information on Loren, bookings or press inquiries, please contact his publicist and agent, Jenée Arthur at Rellihan Satterlee. Email: jenart@relsat.com Phone: 206-588-1998