Conquer Entertainment

AOL Musica Says ma MyWorld is the New Competition for iTunes

2010-02-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Did you get the memo?

Click on link below as we begin to Conquer the competition...

AOL Musica Says ma MyWorld is the New Competition for iTunes

Facebook Pages vs Facebook Groups: What’s the Difference?

2010-02-06T15:24:00.000-08:00

If you're wondering if you should start a fb group or fan page, this should help.

Check out link!

Facebook Group vs Fan Page.

Just another way we are helping you Conquer the world...

Music History for February 5th

2010-02-05T06:48:00.001-08:00

February 5th:

1957 - Over 5,000 fans greeted Bill Haley when he arrived from New York on the liner Queen Elizabeth at Southampton, for his debut UK concert tour. Billy Haley was the first American rock artist to tour the UK.

1958 - The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences formed a New York chapter. NARAS is better known as the Grammy Awards organization.

1965 - Screaming Jay Hawkins arrives in UK for tour. Stage props include a coffin.

1967 - Due to a Musicians' Union ban, the Rolling Stones were not allowed to play their hit "Let's Spend the Night Together" when they appeared on an ITV show.

1977 - Iggy Pop signs to RCA.

1998 - Elton John and Stevie Wonder played at the White House.

2001 - Juliet Peters appeared in a London court accused of making death threat's to singer Billie Piper. Peter's had made threatening telephone calls to the singer threatening to decapitate her and burn her body.

Information of Digital Music from Redwood Capital

2010-02-03T13:59:00.000-08:00

This report focuses on the fragmented and rapidly changing digital music space, and continues Redwood Capital’s ongoing coverage of the digital media sector. This report covers many specific areas within the digital music distribution chain, including e-commerce, streaming, subscription services, mobile applications, Internet radio, search engines, social networking, gaming and artist direct distribution models. Various trends are reviewed from both an M&A and financing

perspective.

To see more of the report, click on the link...

http://www.futureofmusicbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/redwood.pdf

Key trends and challenges for digital music

2010-02-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Written by Dave Kusek, Vice President at Berklee College of Music

Here is a list of 9 trends and challenges that were recently published as part of an overall report on Digital Music by Redwood Capital. You can download the entire report here. What I find most bothersome about all of this is that it is a very backward looking, rationalization and justification about the collapse of the recorded music business and the fantasizing about protection of the label’s assets and proliferation of the traditional business model. While it may be a good snapshot of some of the major issues the industry has faced and a good way for people to orient themselves, this is hardly the way to think about the future. No wonder the investments made in music startups over the past decade or so by the VCs and Investment Bankers have not panned out. If this is the way VCs and investors look at the world of music, I got to tell you, we are all in a lot of trouble.

I have pitched and have had many deep discussions with investors over the years about the music industry and have learned one thing that is holding the entire industry back. Investors say they care about the music business, but when it comes right down to it, they don’t care about the musicians. Not one of them would bet on a new label or artist driven business model. They all wanted to back technology or distribution, but not musicians. Pathetic.

I have taken the liberty of annotating some of these “treneds and challenges” below:

1) Rampant Piracy Continues

Despite a decade of aggressive attempts by the industry to reduce illegal downloads and peer-to-peer file sharing and preserve what remained of the old model, the biggest challenge facing the industry is still the fact that consumer attitudes towards paying for music have been forever changed, especially amongst the ever-important younger demographic. This places tremendous pressure on industry players to provide the consumer with an experience that exceeds that which can be achieved illegally and for free. The solution likely lies in packaging music with other products and services that consumers expect to pay for, such as mobile phone service, Internet connections, ringtones, concerts, merchandise, etc., and taking advantage of improvements in broadband speed and access to provide a service that can’t be replicated for free.- Certainly this is true for recorded music and something that we predicted nearly 8 years ago in our book on the Future of Music. However you cannot expect a healthy market when you have to “package” what you are trying to sell with something else as the primary means of distribution. New forms of music experiences would certainly trump “bundles”.

2) Strategy of Major Labels

Despite numerous attempts to cut out the labels as middlemen, and the potential damage they have done to their relationships with the public after years of suing their customers, the major labels still have tremendous clout in determining the fate of the various new distribution models and emerging companies. While backing by the major labels by no means guarantees any degree of success, opposition from the labels is an obstacle that is extremely difficult to overcome. That being said, many of the larger players today began without the blessing of the labels, but once they became too big to ignore the labels were willing to make a deal. – Again I would argue this perspective assumes that the existing music, the existing catalog is more important than the new music, or the music yet to be created. Tens of millions of dollars have been wasted and countless hours of negotiation sunk into trying to secure licenses to existing major label content by many companies trying to recreate the distribution model for an asset class in severe decline. I will go out on a limb here and say that the new music matters far more in the future than the existing music, and that licenses from the major labels are far less valuable than the labels think they are. Perhaps an order of magnitude less.

3) Legal Complexity

Many US copyright laws were written when the only form of music distribution was printed sheet music and as such, obtaining the proper licenses from all relevant content owners is extremely complex. Given the relative youth of the digital music industry, the law is being written and applied haphazardly and has been difficult to interpret. International differences make it difficult to offer consistent products on a global basis. For example, currently Pandora is legal in the US, but illegal in the U.K, and vice versa for Spotify. Developing a business plan in this environment is extraordinarily difficult. – Of course this is true if you are building a business based on catalog. New labels and music companies that are forming to support new artists can completely eliminate this issue by creating licenses for their content that bundle all the rights in one global license that can be easily acquired. By using this strategy, new content businesses can outrun old content business and begin to take over the landscape.

4) The End of DRM

The recent decisions by the labels to finally eliminate digital rights management for many applications should represent a landmark change for emerging growth companies in the music space. This greatly reduces a longstanding barrier by allowing compatibility of content and devices across platforms. By decoupling content and devices, consumers can now download a song from their choice of providers and listen to that song on their choice of devices. - Excuse me but the labels had nothing to do with the elimination of digital rights management. That was eliminated long ago when people began trading MP3 files while all the attempts to distribute “legitimate” digital music failed. This is just the labels saying uncle.

5) Mobile Strategy is Critical

Whereas it has been extremely challenging for content owners across all digital media sectors to monetize online content, consumers do not expect mobile content to be free to the same degree because they have been conditioned to pay for such services. Therefore, we believe that online models that don’t have credible mobile strategies will continue to struggle, and killer mobile apps will prosper. We believe that one of the primary reasons for MySpace’s acquisition of Imeem was Imeem’s mobile capabilities. - Here I agree with the basic premise that a mobile strategy is critical, although have yet to see one that works. Do people really want to listen to music on their phone? Is that the killer app? I expect that something far better is around the corner, more integrated into your life at the moments where you can and want to listen to music. The damage being done to people’s hearing by the “Ear Buds” sold with the iPod and nearly every other mobile listening device is limiting the experience and holding back the growth of mobile music more than anything. MP3 sound like crap. Ear Buds are destroying people’s hearing. No wonder hardly anyone wants to pay for digital music. Anyone who focuses on improving the sound quality of mobile listening will find a explosive opportunity.

6) Dominance and Importance of the iPhone

With iTunes’ almost 70% US share in digital downloads, and the iPhone quickly taking market share in the smartphone category, alliances with Apple and/ or apps on the iPhone have become critical to success. Rhapsody, Spotify and Sirius have all launched iPhone apps in the past few months, and MOG’s is expected shortly, and this should give each an important boost in marketing their products. Without the iPhone app, customers would have had to spring for another device to use those services. With customers hesitant to even pay monthly service fees, adding a hardware requirement would have been an insurmountable obstacle in reaching a large customer base. We believe that Apple has been smart in its willingness to approve apps even from services that compete with iTunes. – I love my iPhone, I think it is the coolest thing ever invented. But I also know that worldwide, the iPhone is just a speck on the landscape of mobile phones. Will Apple really dominate this space over time? I doubt it very much. The vast majority of people cannot afford to buy Apple products.

7) Importance of Wireless Broadband

The widespread availability of broadband in the home and the office in the past decade has enabled computer-based downloading and streaming to develop entirely new methods of discovering, purchasing and listening to music. Many of the previously mentioned business models revolve around this experience. However, the next frontier for the developing models is to take the experience mobile without frustrating consumers. Now that consumers have accepted that cell phones are also music players, the market for mobile music has dramatically expanded, given that 139 million smartphones were sold worldwide in 2008 (Source: Gartner). To date, while streaming services such as Rhapsody and Pandora are a great way to listen to music at one’s desk, the experience on a mobile phone is mediocre at best, given dead spots and dropouts, and in the case of Rhapsody, low bitrate streaming. We suspect that many early adopters have tried these mobile services, only to get frustrated and go back to listening to MP3s on their iPods. Spotify’s and Slacker’s ability to cache playlists may prove to be a good workaround until wireless broadband availability and quality catches up. – I am a firm believer that you do not have to worry about storage and bandwidth, that they will always expand faster than you think they will. Agreed.

8 ) Consumers Remain Willing to Pay for Exciting New Technologies and Products

Consumers have proven that they are indeed willing to pay for new products and technologies that enhance the music experience or provide new uses for music. The tremendous initial growth of the ringtone market is one example. US ringtone sales grew from almost zero in 2002 to a peak of $714 million in 2007, before dropping 24% in 2008 (Source: SNL Kagan) as consumers ultimately figured out how to create ringtones on their own for free. iTunes has created new value added products that sell at a premium, such as iTunes Pass, which automatically delivers all new product, including exclusive extras, from a specific band to its fans, and iTunes LP, which adds album art, videos, and other extras to an album purchase. Shazam is another good example. Shazam is the second most popular music app on the iPhone and claims 50 million users. Shazam is a unique technology that enables users to use their mobile phone to identify and tag any song they hear in public or on the radio and immediately purchase the song. The app is so popular that Shazam is now charging customers $5 for the premium app, and is limiting free users to five tags per month, and its usage is accelerating. - Completely agree. This is in line with my basic premise that the new stuff matters far more than the old stuff, and if you can deliver a unique experience to a fan, especially one that is fun and sounds incredibly great, they will eat it up.

9) Convergence of Models

Most streaming services also offer the ability to purchase tracks either with their own ecommerce model or with links to others, most often iTunes and Amazon. To date, most ecommerce models have not offered streaming services, likely out of fear of cannibalization as well as licensing requirements. We believe that as streaming catches on with a broader audience, the e-commerce players will have to offer both. Apple is now more likely to move in this direction with its purchase of Lala, and increases our level of confidence that the streaming model is the wave of the future. - I believe as we wrote about in the Future of Music,that a utility model is the only way to make money with recorded music in the future. Until music become always on and always available and feels like it is free to you, the market will continue to decline. It is not so much the convergence of models but the ascendance of a model that will work. The broadband mobile carriers are the ones that can make this happen. It is a winner take all business strategy for the company with the balls and commitment to bake paid media distribution into their basic business model.

Tips - You are in charge of your success.

2010-02-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

Accept the fact that you hold your future in your own hands. Every path you take, ever corner you turned was a choice that was decided by you, and only you. Regardless of what happened down that path, or around that corner, it was your decision that took you to that point. There may be numerous blocks in the road or paths that are turned down, but that is a choice you made. You alone are responsible for your success, as well as collapse. You are creating your own decisions in life daily, make the right choices, and surpass the obstacles that are placed in front of you.

2010-01-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

Watching the Grammy's wow! Some excellent performances. Usher, Celine D, Carrie & J Hudson killed. That was fantastic!

Justina Conquer Entertainment artis will be on Radio Show

2010-01-31T17:08:00.001-08:00

Conquer Ent Artist Justina wl b on 89.5 fm U can tune in from anywhere wsou.net Drumatik Sounds w/DJ Stigz 10p-12a TONIGHT

Official Launch Party Is 2night! Friday Jan 29th, 2010

2010-01-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

Come join us as we celebrate Conquer's 1st official launch party. Ma members and Conquer guests free all night!

(below taken from previous blog)

It's official...It's official!

Pro Bowl Weekend 2010

Miami Heat's DJ Irie will be headlining at Conquer's World Conference party in Miami on Friday January 29th, 2010. Also DJing will be NYC & Conquer's own DJ Shadow ReD. The party will take place at Klutch Nightclub (see below for info). There will be free admission all night for Ma Distributers and Conquer quests. Conquer gifts will be given throughout the night and you will have a chance to hear music from some of the Conquer artists that are on the compilation album. This is Conquer's 1st official party so you will not want to miss it! (Be part of history) Doors open at 10pm and we advise everyone to arrive as early as possible to avoid long lines. The party is promised to have people talking about our new venture as we Conquer the Music/Entertainment world. See you there!

Klutch Nightclub

10pm-4am

136 Collins Ave

Miami Beach, FL

33139

305-531-4643

Road Trip...

2010-01-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

Don't be afraid to chase your dreams!

Dan Q & Stevens Duplessy of Conquer will be making their road trip to Miami from New Jersey today. This long 24hr drive will be sure to have action packed adventures leading up to World Conference. (Ehh, Virginia traffic!--lol) They will be stopping in North Carolina to pick up Tyrone Fuller, another Conquer member. Moral of the trip/story, "If you follow your dreams, you will be sure to reach your destination." Let us wish these brave souls along with the countless other Ma distributers a safe journey as we all meet at the promise land of Miami Beach to work hard and party harder!
Conquer Your Dreams!!!! 2010

Tips - When in doubt, Over Prepare

2010-01-27T06:50:00.000-08:00

You must appear, sound, and be professional. Remember, you are the CEO of your own music company. In every appearance, a live show, public speaking, playing, the only thing you can do is improve. Practice until you think it’s perfect, then practice it more! Every opportunity presents a new possible path to take; you can never be ready enough for that. Remember, you must be an effective social media marketer, reach out to fans, and run your company. Simply put…Be Professional About It!

Conquer Entertainment's Schedule for World Conference

2010-01-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Conquer Family, listed below is the Conquer Schedule for MarketAmerica's World Conference 2010. We will also have a booth located in the arena. Thank you for all your support and we look forward to making this event a success with you.

Thursday January 28th, 2010

6:00pm Conquer Entertainment & UnLabel Owner Program (Empowering Emerging Artists Everywhere — the New UnLabel Owner Program) by Amanda Ridinger and Dennis Franks

6:15pm Performance by PM Dawn

Friday January 29th, 2010

9:55am Performance by Justina

2:00pm Performance by Shiragirl

6:00pm Performance by Rodrigo

10:00pm Conquer's Launch Party at Klutch 136 Collins Ave. Miami, FL

Saturday January 30th, 2010

8:00pm Breakout Training F - Conquer Entertainment: Rockin' the Music Industry by Amanda Ridinger

9:00pm Breakout Training F - Conquer Entertainment: Rockin' the Music Industry by Amanda Ridinger

Tips - Learn How to get and keep your focus.

2010-01-26T06:41:00.000-08:00

In order to fully accomplish this, you must learn, know, and remember who you are throughout your voyage into the music industry. Do not divulge the first thing that comes to your mind. Think about what you’re going to say, then say it. Everyone has many diverse things going on in their lives, and regardless if it is the music industry, or daily lives, this is something we can all profit from. The most important thing to remember when working with other people, the most pleasurable conversations is with people who identify who they are, and where they desire to be.

Follow Conquer and it's team members on Twitter...

2010-01-25T13:27:00.000-08:00

Be sure to follow the Conquer team on twitter!

- Conquer Entertainment:

www.twitter.com/ConquerEnt

- Amanda Ridinger- Boss Lady: www.twitter.com/blue4amanda

- Dan Q - Boss Man:

www.twitter.com/Q_daniels

- Jamar Brown - Director of Field Development: www.twitter.com/jbconquerent

- Stevens Duplessy - Social Networking/Artist Relations/DJ: http://twitter.com/DJDupless

- Elsi Pacheco - Head of Events:

www.twitter.com/bbgalas

- Mo Varasteh - Artist Relations/DJ:

www.twitter.com/JerseyaMmO

- Carina Palillero - VP of Photography:

www.twitter.com/CarinaPalillero

Conquer's DJ Shadow ReD offers a free mix...

2010-01-24T16:27:00.000-08:00

Conquer's own DJ Shadow ReD has offered his club demo mix for free download. This is the mix that got him a lot of work in the NYC area and he is allowing us to send it out exclusively. ReD will be spinning along side DJ Irie at Conquer's World Conference party at Klutch in Miami on Friday January 29th, 2010. Stay tuned for other mixes that will be available for free download.

Link to download: http://www.mediafire.com/?zmnyommmfro

An Artsist Perspective - Jack Johnson

2010-01-24T06:47:00.000-08:00

Rollingstones.com has published interviews with some of the top artists out there today. They broke down how different artists feel about what is going on, and their thoughts on what is going to happen in the industry. Here are some excerpts from those interviews:

(source: www.rollingstones.com)

What has music done for you in your life?
Music generally makes me want to go outside. Music makes me want to get out and go on a hike or take my kids kayaking or motivate to do something extraordinary. I think music has the power to break through. Like Kurt Vonnegut said, "God bless music."

What changes do you see coming in music, stylistically or technologically?
The difference now with technology is there's the ability for people to hear any kind of music they want to hear. Whatever type of music you're into, there are resources to find it and to find all the good stuff. Before, it seemed a little harder to get turned on to really good stuff. Now, with the Internet, by word of mouth you can say, "Have you heard this band," and type it right in and there it is. Before, you'd have to be like, "Oh, I'll try to pick that up next time I'm at the record store." And then you probably forget. It's just right at our fingertips now, so that's the positive side of it.

What advice do you give to young musicians?
It seems like a really good time to get into music, as far as trying to get your music heard. You don't really need to have the backing of a major label anymore, you can do it, get your music on the Internet, and that word of mouth thing can happen. That was a huge part for me before I even had a record out. People started trading our stuff online. Once we had a record, people would have me sign a burned copy and say, "Sorry it's burned," and I didn't really care. If people were getting the music, I was cool. I thought technology was helping spread it around. I always hear people say the music industry is in trouble, and it probably is, but as far as getting your music heard, it seems easier nowadays.

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future?
Very optimistic. It's an interesting time and it's so hard to tell what's going to happen. Whatever we have to deal with, I believe in joyful participation. Quoting Joseph Campbell, "No matter how down you can get or how overwhelming the world can become, you have to have joyful participation and just try to make the best out of every moment that you have and do the most positive work you can in the world."

source: www.rollingstones.com

Tips - DO NOT GIVE UP!

2010-01-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

Do not let all your hard work go in vain. Things will get difficult and you will be told no hundreds if not thousands of times. You will be critiqued, and possibly criticized. Use that as your fuel to move forward. Every negative or remotely pessimistic thing you can hear from someone is worth its weight in gold. Listen to it, learn from it, and use that to better yourself. Turn all the negativity into momentum fuel, and excel in your expedition.

Conquer's World Conference party with Miami's own DJ Irie!

2010-01-22T02:26:00.000-08:00

It's official...It's official!
Pro Bowl Weekend 2010

Klutch Nightclub

10pm-4am

136 Collins Ave

Miami Beach, FL

33139

305-531-4643

DISTRIBUTION PACKAGE

2010-01-21T04:06:00.001-08:00

Conquer Entertainment™ has launched its distribution package, and with the formal launch being announced during the World Conference at the end of January, now is the time for you to gain maximum exposure. There will be approximately 50,000+ Customer Managers from all over the world, in attendance, that will be introduced to this new aspect of their business for the first time, and will be pushing the sell of all artists’ music that is available on the M.A. MyWorld Web Portal to help promote their own business.

What does this mean for you? For the low ANNUAL PRICE of $39.99 (that’s right annual, not monthly), you can upload an unlimited amount of music and allow your career to take off, as not only will you have yourself pushing the sell of your music, but Market America’s complete force of over 180,000+ Customer Managers. In addition to this, we offer the following to all artists who sign up:

$0.50 per $0.99 download- a higher return rate for you then most competition sites.

Direct Deposit-Unlike all other sites, when someone downloads your music, you will have the money direct deposited into your account. No waiting for months to receive a check for your music!

Non-Exclusive Rights-This means we do not limit where else you can place your music outside of our site, nor do we own rights to any music you upload. You created it, why have someone limit where you can have it!

Band Unique Web Site- Offers all bands that sign up their own exclusive URL, with a profile page. You will be able to post a profile picture, bio, upload videos from youtube, and even link your social networking site.

30-sec preview before downloading.

Please take the time to check out www.mamyworld.com and see what is new with Conquer and get signed up today. If you have any questions, concerns, comments or would like additional information, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to working with you and seeing you on the Conquer website.

Thank you

An Artist Perspective - Adam Levine

2010-01-20T07:26:00.000-08:00

(source: www.rollingstone.com)

How did you make your earliest connections to music?
I think you go through different phases of music appreciation when you're a kid. It starts with what your parents listen to, in the car or at home — even in the womb. For me, that was all Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Who, Simon & Garfunkel, Fleetwood Mac. Thank God my parents had great taste in music. When I was seven or eight, I got into Michael Jackson and pop music, and then around fifteen, I got more rebellious and started listening to stuff my parents didn't like, like Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Soundgarden and all that stuff. Those bands were my heroes. The previous generation had Zeppelin and Sabbath and we had Nirvana and Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. But as I got older and didn't have a deep masculine baritone, I started listening to Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Al Green. I figured that stuff was so much better for me to emulate, and it was really a renaissance in my musical life. I felt like it was the hardest thing to sing like that, and so I had to try to do it. Rock and roll music basically was dead to me. A thousand copycat versions of Nirvana and Pearl Jam ruined it for me.

How do you think the music business will change in the next decade?
It's a very greedy, artist-exploiting business, and I think it will fall hard so it can rebuild itself with a better business model that is slightly more fair to everybody involved. But, yes, I do think that right now the music business is crumbling. Artists are starting to take back control from the labels, which is great. We have record labels to thank for a lot, but we also have them to blame for a lot. The major labels are scrambling right now and trying reactionary measures. Like, if you sign a record deal now, they take a percentage of your touring revenue. Bands are getting grabbed by the balls before they even sign a record deal and the grip on their balls is even tighter than it used to be. I think it's only a matter of time before everyone is on an indie label. Because music isn't going anywhere and the business is being forced to take a look at itself. It needs to go through this phase: Eventually, the scale will calibrate and the business part will ultimately survive, but I think artists will end up in a better position than they've ever been.

( Source: www.rollingstones.com)

This Day in History - January 20

2010-01-20T04:18:00.000-08:00

Today the song "Judy in Disguise (with Glasses)" by John Fred & His Playboy Band topped the charts and stayed there for 2 weeks. (1968)

Today the song "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks. (1990)

(Source: datadragon.com)

Tips -Be true to who you are, and what you are trying to say.

2010-01-20T04:17:00.000-08:00

If you have a vision, and a purpose, do not sway from who you are, and what message you are trying to portray. The people that make it big let you know who they are in their lyrics. Be who you are unique, exciting, special, provocative, fascinating, original, inventive, and interesting. The people, who stand out and are themselves, are the ones that truly make it.

U2, Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz Team For Haiti Charity Song

2010-01-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

U2, Jay-Z, Swizz Beats are among the latest celebrities to come together in an effort to raise money for Haiti following the devastating earthquake that struck a week ago. The three are joining forces for an as-yet-untitled Beatz-produced charity song that is expected to be sold on iTunes.

"Last night we wrote a song ... Bono got a call from a producer, Swizz. He and Jay-Z wanted to do something for Haiti," U2's The Edge said on Saturday (Jan. 16) on the Dave Fanning radio show on 2FM. "So, Bono came up with the phrase on the phone, and last night we were here, we wrote a song - finished, recorded, and sent it back to them. So, that might be the next thing you hear from us!"

Swizz Beatz also confirmed the collaboration, posting on his official Twitter page over the weekend: "Me, Bono, Hova have something to say about Haiti. Stay tuned. I told you I was working on something amazing for Haiti. They need us!"

RECORD LABELS NOW WANT ALL OF YOUR MONEY!!!

2010-01-19T06:41:00.000-08:00

360 deals are contracts that allow a record label to receive a percentage of the earnings from ALL of a band's activities instead of just record sales. Under 360 deals, also called "multiple rights deals," record labels may get a percentage of things that were previously off limits to them, like:

Concert revenue

Merchandise sales

Endorsement deals

Ringtones

In exchange for getting a bigger cut from the artists they represent, the labels say they will commit to promoting the artist for a longer period of time and will actively try and develop new opportunities for them. In essence, the label will function as a pseudo-manager and look after the artist's entire career rather than only focusing on selling records.

360 deals are controversial for a lot of reasons. First of all, they're often seen a cynical money grab by labels that are facing dwindling sales and high overhead. The charge is that labels have survived a long time without these kinds of deals, so it would seem that they're suffering from a failure to manage their businesses and react appropriately to the changing industry - asking the bands to foot the bill hardly seems fair. Other people object to the whole "band branding" notion that makes 360 deals so potentially profitable for labels. A great example is The Pussycat Dolls. Sure, the branding has been a huge success - but where exactly does the music fit into the picture?

This Day in Music History - January 17th

2010-01-17T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today the song "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow topped the charts and stayed there for

a week. (1976)

Today the song "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbott topped the charts and stayed there for

a week. (1987)

Today the song "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden topped the charts and stayed there for

2 weeks. (1998)

(source: datadragon.com)

An Artist Perspective - Gerard Way

2010-01-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

(source:www.rollingstones.com)

Growing up, how did you make your first connections to music?

My parents didn't have records, they didn't have radios, and they didn't listen to music. My grandmother was my main connection to art and music. She could play piano very well, and she had perfect pitch. She's the one who pushed me to try out for Peter Pan, and I ended up getting the part. When I tried out, I realized I could sing, which was pretty interesting.

How do kids connect to your music?
I've always seen My Chemical Romance as the band that would have represented who me and my friends were in high school, and the band that we didn't have to represent us — the kids that wore black — back then. When I was in school there wasn't much other that the Smiths and the Cure, which was great, but a lot of those bands had since broken up, or didn't tour. There was no new wave of music that represented us.

What one artist do you see as important to the future of music?
Conor Oberst. His lyrics are phenomenal. I think he speaks for our generation. He started out as an angry young man from Omaha, Nebraska. From there he went out into the world and toured, and then that stuff crept into his lyrics, and now he's going back to being a little more human, with less social commentary. I love it all. He speaks to me.

Source: www.rollingstones.com

Tips-The opportunity to build a life doing what you love is a privilege.

2010-01-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

The life as a musician is one that many people dream of, but few achieve. You must work hard, be dedicated, and earn the right to live your life as a musician. With the chances of success being slim in the industry, you have to value the choice to live this life, and honor the opportunities that are presented to you.

The Decline of the Record Label Industry

2010-01-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

(http://uk.techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/broken_record.jpg)

A Few Reasons to Take your Career into Your Own Hands

As everyone knows the music industry is in the middle of a vast transformation. Record labels are merging and trying to avoid facing foreclosure, CD sales are down, and there are VERY FEW new artists being signed. Here are a few important statistics to remember:

· More than 5,000 record-company employees have been laid off since 2000.

· About 2,700 record stores have closed across the country since 2003

· The eighty-nine-store Tower Records chain, which represented 2.5 percent of overall retail sales, went out of business, and Musicland, which operated more than 800 stores under the Sam Goody brand, filed for bankruptcy.

· Consumers have bought more than 100 million iPods since their November 2001 introduction, and the touring business is thriving, earning a record $437 million last year

· And according to research organization NPD Group, listenership to recorded music -- whether from CDs, downloads video games, satellite radio, terrestrial radio, online streams or other sources -- has increased since 2002.

So as you can see with these statistics, the record label industry is in serious crisis, but the number of music being listened to, and played, has increased. It is time now for artists to think outside of the box, and take their careers into their own hands. Artists that make the big $ are stating in their lyrics that the record label is designed to keep the artist in debt.

So with the change in times, It appears as though the digital music has taken over the industry and is thriving. This change may be bad news for the labels, however, appears to benefit the artists that are able to build their fan base, and work hard to get their music heard. You are NOW in control of YOUR future.

Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15137581/the_record_industrys_decline/print

VIDEO OF THE DAY

2010-01-15T18:45:00.000-08:00

ARTIST OF THE DAY

2010-01-15T18:34:00.000-08:00

The Second Look Band is an evolution in music. Combining more than 50 years of music experience and playing only the very best in Classic Rock, Contemporary Rock, and innovative body shaking Originals, the Second Look Band offers a sound that makes you want to take a SECOND LOOK! The band is comprised of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native, Dennis “Diesel” Franks (Guitar & Vocals),Greensboro native, David Williams (Drums & Vocals), and newly added band members, Jim Mayberry (Bass), and Chris Holt (Saxophone). Bobby "Bubba" Greene is a permanent band fixture as well -- handling "everything else" for the band including transportation, load up, load in, load out, set up, lights and sound, merchandise sales, logistics, promotion, booking and of course beer and drinks!Every opportunity to play music, whether it be clubs, private parties, corporate events, or festivals provides a memorable moment in some way for The Second Look Band. The Second Look Band has created many memorable moments together. From performing before an electrifying and screaming crowd in Miami Beach’s American Airlines Arena to opening for Edwin McCain and the Blues Brothers for a Fourth Of July Concert in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, Second Look Band has entertained thousands with their music and universal appeal attracting all ages to ROCK ON and shake their bodies!

Email Update...

2010-01-13T21:54:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank everyone for being patient with the email response process. While switching to another server, some of the emails were lost or misplaced. As to our knowledge, ALL emails have been answered and are up to date. We at Conquer Entertainment pride ourselves with excellent customer service. You will not be let down! If you have written to us and not received a response, please email me personally at stevens@conquerentertainment.com. Thank you, and see you at World Conference! (written by Stevens Duplessy-Social Networking & Artist Relations)

World Conference Miami

2009-12-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Look for Conquer Entertainment as we will be speaking more about our company to the Market America Family. There will be live performances & you will learn how to make money from the entertainment industry! Sounds interesting?... You will not want to miss us at Market America's World Conference at the American Airlines Arena in Miami! Be sure to keep a lookout for our compilation album that will exclusively be for MA distributers. January 28th -31st, 2010. A new year, a new Conquer!

1st official Conquer artist for download...

2009-12-23T17:06:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Jamar Brown for being the 1st official artist to be previewed on the Conquer download platform. We have been getting very good reviews about his music. You can find out more about "JB" by clicking on the link to download his music. Joins us, as we Conquer the Entertainment Industry! Copy & past link under the pic...

http://myworld.marketamerica.com/index.cfm?action=shopping.epCECustProduct&artistID=5238833

Shiragirl coming to CMJ09 !!!!!

2009-10-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Thats right Shiragirl is coming to CMJ09!! WHEN? Friday, October 23, 2009 at 7pm!!! WHERE? Public Assembly in Brooklyn!! Come down to the festival and also enjoy Suicide City and KISS KISS. Over the past 29 years, CMJ Music Marathon has rocked with the best of them. CMJ history is a veritable hall-of-fame list of thousands of artists representing diverse genres who have played career-defining shows at New York's legendary venues. So come and take part in making history once again!!

The video you all have been waiting for!! Shiragirl's "Sick Day"!!

2009-10-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

Don't forget go to http://www.mamyworld.com/ to purchase this exclusive release from Shiragirl!!!

Shiragirl debuts "Sick Day" on MaMyworld!!!

2009-10-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yes along comes another week of pure excitement to hear about the new release of Conquer Entertainments own Shiragirl's "Sick Day" !! I will be back on tonight to give you a featured link to the new Shiragirl VIDEO!!

In the meantime if you wish to purchase Shiragirl's new single go to http://www.mamyworld.com/ !!!

Shiragirl "Sick Day" single release party promotion!!

2009-09-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

Want to come to the exclusive single release party on a Yacht? Your mission is to promote Sick Day in the most unique way possible! You could hold a "Shiragirl" party, make a video, dress up like the video characters or come up with your ow...n idea! Send us a photo, video or link of your work You have until Wednesday evening at 6pm to complete this mission! The winner will receive 2 passes to the exclusive event!

Conquer Entertainment is calling all artists!!!

2009-08-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Another conference has come and gone but one thing is still laying on the mind of Market America Distributors is the impact of Conquer Entertainment. With the new wealth of talent raising the roof at the Greensboro Coliseum, to C.E.O. Amanda Ridinger giving a presentation like no other. Showing that Conquer Entertainment along with Market America will be the leading Juggernaut to propel the music industry into the future. Check out the video below for Conquer Entertainments artist Blaq performing his exclusive "America" in front of a sold out crowd of over twenty three thousand people!!!

If anyone is wishing to receive more information about Conquer Entertainment, go to info@conquerentertainment.com or if you would like to submit a track of your performance email us at Conquermp3@gmail.com

Conquer Entertainment along with Market America are coming to the Greensboro Coliseum Aug 6th thru 9th!!

2009-08-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

Conquer Entertainment along with Market America are teaming up to bring you the first ever concert series of its kind at the International Convention August 6th thru 9th at the Greensboro Coliseum and featuring some of the best up and coming musical talent the world has yet to know, such as our featured artists Shiragirl, Black, and Cynthia Antigua. Some of you who attended the Miami Convention in Febuary may recall Black and Cynthia performing at the American Airlines Arena. We don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet, so we are asking everybody to come see the show and Amanda Ridingers presentation on Conquer Entertainment and how it works!! This new facet of our recently launched music Channel, called Conquer Entertainment through maMyWorld will allow unsigned, independent music artists and exclusive songs from top selling recording artist to sell their own music on the MyWorld Portal. It will also offer professional services to help emerging artists break through to the mainstream. This includes the opportunity to work one-on-one with Grammy Award-nominated producers, engineers, and artist! In honor and support of Market America's emerging talent, we're calling on all music artists within the Market America community for the chance to stay unsigned and get ready to sell and promote there music. We're looking for fresh talent in all genres and musical styles. This is a wonderful opportunity for unsigned and independent artists to gain some serious exposure at the next major event which is already sold-out and averaging over 23,000 plus in attendance! Interested? Here's what we'll need from you. Set up an artist profile in maChatterbox. Upload your music video/talent performance and/or provide a link to your music on your Chatterboard. Send to info@conquernetertainment.com asking Conquer Music/maMyworld to check out your music. Also if you would like to take our poll on Ma MyWorld of who you would like to see perform go to the link provided below:

http://myworld.marketamerica.com/index.cfm?

If you want to further see where the industry is headed check out these posts by leading News professionals and media outlets, and see why Conquer would be right for you.. Here are the links:

http://www.cpbn.org/node/14136

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/15137581/the_record_industrys_decline/print

http://www.futureofmusicbook.com/

Birthday Bash goes off without a hitch!!!

2009-07-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Conquer Entertainments own C.E.O. Amanda Ridinger just recently had a birthday bash on the Utopia III at Chelsea Piers New York City. The birthday girl was surrounded by all her friends, family and industry professionalls. The night was a glow with celebrity guest adourning the ship, along with a spectacular concert featuring the band Shiragirl, and Hip hop artist Blaq, and Cynthia Antigua. The evening was made even more spectacular with the ship pulling up anchor and crossing beneath the skyline of the classic nightfall along whith the wonderful welcoming atmosphere of New York City. If anyone wishes to send Amanda a congratulations go to www.myspace.com/wereverywhere, I want to send out a thank you to everyone who showed up and made this one of the pivitol moments in Amanda's life. Thank You All!!!

Conquer Entertainment is here!!

2009-06-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Calling All Artists! MA World Conference has come and gone. This event of unprecedented opportunity is marking the beginning of a new era for Market America and the Music Industry. Vice President of Internet Marketing Steve Ashley has introduce to us the exciting, new music platform that will be fully launched in the near up coming months! This new facet of our recently launched music Channel, called Conquer Entertainment through maMyworld will allow unsigned, independent music artists and exclusive songs from top selling recording artist to sell their own music on the MyWorld Portal. It will also offer professional services to help emerging artists break through to the mainstream. This includes the opportunity to work one-on-one with Grammy Award-nominated producers, engineers, and artist! In honor and support of Market America's emerging talent, we're calling on all music artists within the Market America community for the chance to stay unsigned and get ready to sell and promote there music at MA International Convention in Greensboro, N.C. this Aug. We're looking for fresh talent in all genres and musical styles. This is a wonderful opportunity for unsigned and independent artists to gain some serious exposure at the next major event which is already sold-out and averaging over 23,000 plus in attendance! Interested? Here's what we'll need from you. Set up an artist profile in maChatterbox. Upload your music video/talent performance and/or provide a link to your music on your Chatterboard. Send a to info@conquerentertainment.com asking Conquer Music/maMyworld to check out your music.....

Also check out the Ma MyWorld blog of the event here: http://myworldblog.marketamerica.com/post_5155974763640413157_8929142586025408176/mas-got-talent-do_you.htm

2009-06-29T11:11:00.001-07:00

The "New" Conquer Entertainmment blog is Coming Soon!!