RIP Kevin Dubrow

When I was a geeky 7th grader in suburban New York I discovered MTV in its infancy on cable TV. And though I became familiar with, and even grew to love, all the British New Wave bands they played, I was a hard rock kid. If you didn't love bands like Rush, AC/DC, Van Halen, and (for some reason I still can't truly fathom) Genesis, then you might as well have been on Mars.  Def Leppard was on its way, but before they exploded a veteran L.A. club band called Quiet Riot stormed the charts and opened the floodgates for every loud, obnoxious band playing on the Sunset Strip to come into our radios, our living rooms, and our arenas.

Kevin Dubrow was an obnoxious loudmouth, and Metal Health was never surpassed by Quiet Riot, but in his memory everyone out there who loves their 80s metal ought to crank that album up tonight in his memory.  Cum On Feel the Noize!

This message is directed at my many MySpace friends who are artists and/or songwriters. 

My company, Kohan Music Group (KMG), was set up with the goal of bringing together great music and corporate brands through various channels.  My background is in this area working for both Sony BMG Custom Marketing Group and Universal Music Special Markets.  I've built up a substantial and growing list of contacts at corporate brands, advertising and promotion agencies, music supervisors, etc...  So, basically, I've been selling music products and promotions to these types of contacts for eight years.

I am in the process of looking to sign on several independent labels and publishers as clients with the goal of acting as a rep company to the types of contacts I mentioned above.

But I don't think that, even as relatively vibrant as the indie label scene is right now, I can limit what KMG is doing to working just with companies.  I am reaching out to you, the artistic community, to see if each of you, as individuals, might like to hear more about what I can do for you to help exploit your music (whether it be masters or copyrights) through these various channels.

No artist or songwriter can simply rely on having a big artist cut your song (even if the label works it as a single) as the one sure path to economic success.  These days, if you're in the artistic community, you need to be agnostic in terms of the numerous revenue channels available to you - but you also need access to take advantage of those channels.  You also need to have those catalogs actively worked and pitched to key contacts.  KMG plans on providing the access, the know-how and professionalism, and the drive to help you succeed that are essential to maintaining and advancing an artist's career.

I invite you all to reach out to me via e-mail at peter.kohan@verizon.net or send me a message here on MySpace and find out if KMG's services would be something you, or your management or label, might be interested in hearing more about.

I'm still figuring out the model of how I would work with indie artists and songwriters, but I'm sure I'll have something concrete together by the end of the holiday weekend.

I'm serious as a heart attack about this effort.  I LOVE doing what I do, and I do it well.  I hope I can help some of you garner some exciting opportunities through KMG's activities.

Thanks and have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Peter

I found this piece today surfing around the New York Times and figured I'd pass it on to anyone interested in reading it.

It's not an unfamiliar argument used by political hacks - that by listening to country music and country radio you'll find out a lot more about mainstream America than polls or other ways of measuring the temperature of the electorate.  We all know that along with "soccer Moms," "NASCAR dads" and other sometimes-not-so-accurate stereotypes define how politicians see portions of our citizenry.

My take on the article is that country radio per se reveals only the tip of the iceberg about an artist's or songwriter's political views or leanings, because country radio only plays such a small sliver of the country music pie in the first place.  A song which has a conservative stance on an issue like national defense or supporting the troops might be on the same album where an artist decries domestic violence or rails against the corporate world.  So while a politician and his or her campaign can draw some inferences from the country radio and album charts - they had better beware making too many simplistic assumptions.  it's not like Corker just stomped Harold Ford, Jr. in the Tennessee '06 Senate race, nor did Jim Webb just out and out crush George Allen in Virgina.

Anyway, just thought you might like to check it out to see how, once again, some people are trying to link the music so many of you create to the national political landscape.

So, in case you don't read Lefsetz, his commentary today on Jermaine Dupri caught my attention.

It seems Jermaine blogged on The Huffington Post about how he's tired of Jay-Z getting dissed for not putting up his new album up on iTunes because he doesn't want the album to be purchased track-by-track.  Jay wants the album to be listened to from beginning to end, uninterrupted and in his desired track sequence.

I comment on HuffPo every once in a while when someone there brings up music biz-related issues.  I attempted to comment there today in response to Jermaine's blog, but for whatever reason my comment never showed up online.  Color me offended.

So here, for your viewing pleasure, is my full response to the blog from Jermaine Dupri...

"Every album is created for you to hear the next song, especially on rap albums. Rappers make intros on their records for a reason- they want you to listen it to set the mood and get ready for that second song."

That's complete bullshit Jermaine, and you know it.  I'm sorry.

There are waaaaaaay too many albums out there in every genre which seem thrown together haphazardly, and intros and skits on rap records don't do a damned thing except take up file space.  Have you ever bought an artist's greatest hits record and EVER heard the skit which may have led into a single on that greatest hits CD?  NO!  Because they are completely superfluous and excessive.

I used to joke with several colleagues that someone ought to put out a "greatest rap skits" compilation - it was a joke because THERE ARE NO GREATEST RAP SKITS!!!

No one at Apple has ever said to consumers or labels that people can't buy whole albums.  They can.  But they also give the consumer a choice to avoid paying for what each, individual consumer might deem as filler.  Secondly, iTunes also has a feature called "Complete My Album" which enables consumers who buy 1 or 2 tracks from a record to easily then upgrade to purchasing the full album if they so choose.  But consumers can't be dictated to in the digital world.  More than likely once a buyer gets a track or an album on iTunes, then they place it in their own, individual playlists, just like a DJ does.  Fall further down your slippery slope and then consumers won't be able to manipulate their own digital collections of music as they see fit.

Maybe what iTunes has proven is that record companies ought to be releasing music in different ways, that the album doesn't always work as the de facto configuration.  Your observation that without the album "... Otherwise all anyone would care about is making a bunch of ringtones..." doesn't fly because single-track downloads and the NOW series of compilations show that singles matter to people.  Not only that, but MANY rappers DO care more about their ringtone sales than their album sales: 1) some rappers sell more ringtones than albums or downloads, and 2) they earn more money off of ringtone sales than they do off album sales because there are no physical product costs to recoup.  The problem is that rappers go into the studio wanting to create hot ringtones instead of hot songs, and other than the ringtone hook, the track goes nowhere lyrically or musically.

Also, your analogy to the book publishing world is somewhat off the mark.  Publishers often place advance copies of a chapter(s) of a book into another publication such as a magazine to create advance hype for the book as a whole.

A better example to cite would be movies, where scenes of the movie are never sold piecemeal.  But a movie is much more of a story unfolding over several scenes than most record albums - MUCH MORE.  Even if you take some of the greatest concept albums ever produced in the history of music: "The Wall," "American Idiot," "Tommy," "Living for the City," "What's Going On," etc... the songs which were singles from those records can exist outside of the album on their own and have their own life. Maybe in theory a listener gets more out hearing "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" in the context of hearing the entire album, but... maybe some listeners don't need that extra context.

If hip-hop wants to really turn its business around, then the labels need to figure out how to streamline licensing of their rap catalogs, because while there is much demand for legit hip-hop in film, TV, and advertising, the tangled rights issues make it difficult for the labels and publishers to fully exploit that demand.

... can be seen here (user registration is FREE if you need to sign up).

I tried to give props to Nashville's indie scene.

Hosted By: Film Music Network
When: Wednesday Nov 14, 2007
at 7:00 PM
Where: Ripley Greer Studios
520 8th Avenue, Studio 16T
New York, New York|33 10018
United States
Description:
Film Music Network

Click Here To View Event

Hi there everyone - I am moderating this event Wednesday evening in New York. We just added Keith D'Arcy from EMI Music Publishing AND Martin Pazzani, CEO of Elias Arts, to the panel.

For those not in NYC - Please let me know if this type of event would be something you'd like to see in your home city (this means YOU Nashville friends!), then please e-mail me directly at peter.kohan@verizon.net and I'll let the powers that be at Film Music Network know.  Maybe we can set up another event for later this year or early in 2008.

Take care.

Peter

I posted a comment on David Ross's blog for Music Row magazine.  The site is subscription only, so I don't know if you'll be able to see it, but if you can please let me know what you think.

Click here.

So I set up a very perfunctory Facebook page - don't even have the URL here to give to you all.  From a first impressions perspective I can get around MySpace better and find more networking contacts here, but if anyone has any tips... or wants to find me and befriend me on Facebook - look for me under "Peter Kohan."

Take care.

Peter

I wanted to thank the team at marketing and management firm The Consortium, with special kudos to Mike Martinovich and Vic Sorrell, for helping make this trip so eventful.  Mike in particular has been a wonderful friend, introducing me to so many key players who I'm hopeful will end up being label clients of Kohan Music Group.

I also want to give props to ASCAP's Chad Green for being so kind as to offer up their Board room space for the two presentations I gave today.

Thus far Kohan Music Group has two label clients eager to sign on for our "special markets rep company" concept, and everywhere I go this week I am talking to eager and creative audiences.  So, hopefully more good news to come over the next couple of weeks!

I wanted to also add a few notes about a few members of the Nashville creative community I've been able to meet in person this week after discovering them here on MySpace.

MICHAEL DEAN CHURCH!!! Remember that name -  and someone sign this guy up for a label deal.  This cat has got such an amazing and unique vocal sound.  Other than Gary LeVox I can't think of another male vocalist in Country right now who has that super-charged vocal instrument that Michael owns.  If you listen to the tracks he has up on his MySpace page now you will hear an artist coming into his own, finding the material best suited for his vocal style.  Why is it that among female Country artists there can be several artists with that type of high-powered vocal style and pop/adult contemporary feel in the songs they choose, but we only have one male vocalist of the same ilk out there doing his thing?  Seriously - sign this dude!

I had dinner earlier in the week with singer-songwriters Jennifer Stokes and Garrett Parris (who is a staff writer over at Magic Mustang Music).  I happened upon them here after hearing their co-write "Forever," which can be found on Jen's Myspace page. 

As someone new to the Nashville scene it was great to meet Michael, Jennifer, and Garrett personally, and it was also great to get the artist's point of view on some of what I'm doing with my company, and on the scene here in Nashville.

Thant's all for tonight.  Tomorrow I bid Nashville adieu and head back to New Jersey to plan the next phase of Kohan Music Group's operations and close the deal with the labels I've met with.

Take care Nashville - you've been a beautiful host!

Today was a bit of a lighter day, but still a good one.  I might get some consulting work from one company I wasn't even talking to on a pitch basis.

Wednesday and Thursday are going to be key days to continue to lay the groundwork for Kohan Music Group and to get the positive word of mouth going down here - even after my return back North.

My wife has to deal with our two year-old all by herself this week and work.  I just want everything down here to be positive so both of our efforts will be worth it.

More to come tomorrow.

HEY - I KNOW YOU ALL ARE READING - SHOOT ME MESSAGES AND BLOG COMMENTS - BLOGS NEED TO BE INTERACTIVE!

Take care.

Peter

I live about 15 minutes away from Newark Airport, so it make no sense to travel to any of the other NYC area airports... problem with that is Continental's only flight to Nashville in the a.m. leaves at 6:30 a.m. - brutal.

But, since my arrival, everything has been peachy - hotel had an early check-in room for me, Kinko's had my presentations ready to be picked up, Mike Martinovich and the team at The Consortium have helped in setting up some killer one-on-one meetings with some key people.

We had three productive meetings, one of which I know for sure is going to result in a client win for Kohan Music Group.  Hurrah!

Labels & publishers - You all need to check your e-mail inbox to check for invites to KMG's presentations over @ ASCAP HQ here in Nashville on Thursday.  We'll be following up with heavy phones to make sure you have this on your radar.

Drop me a line and let me know some of the hot shows in town this week; let me know if you want to meet up for drinks or dinner.

I'm hitting the sack - those early flights are a killer.

REMEMBER - Nashville friends - let's get together this week and network.

Good night all.

Peter

A few months ago I came to a decision to start my own firm after years of working for large labels.  It's kind of scary setting off on your own with nothing but your own faith in yourself and the encouragement of the colleagues and clients that know you well.

That being said I took a look at the music landscape to see where KOHAN MUSIC GROUP could find its niche.  In the special markets world in the record industry you have to know how brands intersect with music in their marketing efforts.  You also have to know how to squeeze every drop out of a catalog of music.  Masters and copyrights don't just act as annuities for labels, artists, songwriters, and publishers.  They have to be actively worked and pitched to realize their own, individual "long tails" of exploitation revenue and profits. 

So, as you can probably see just from checking out my MySpace friends, I'm making a heavy bet on Country music.  This may seem an odd choice for a guy from New Jersey who got his start working in jazz, but I'm a firm believer in having broad horizons and big ears... that, and some of Country's biggest stars are from Australia or Canada, so geography shouldn't be part of the initiation rites.

Some of what I see happening down in Nashville with the labels and publishers I've been speaking to is creative and exciting, while I see other parts of the business lagging due to inattention and, mostly, a nagging perception of what Country music is and is not in the eyes of the people I normally call my customers.

Country music is a pervasive radio format (even as radio's importance lessens in our culture) and CMT and GAC, unlike VH-1 and MTV, actually play music videos and develop programming promoting artists.  So corporate brands support these media channels through advertising and marketing programs on a consistent basis.  But it is all too rare to hear a TV or radio commercial spot featuring a major country artist, much less the artists beneath that rarefied strata. 

I did some informal polling with some friends of mine at ad agencies and music placement firms.  There is definitely an uphill battle for Country music as it stands vis a vis other types of music favored by creatives and agency clients, especially those in urban centers.

People in marketing, in general, don't see Country artists as individuals as much as they see them as "COUNTRY."  We all know there are big artistic, personality, and image differences between Brad Paisley and Toby Keith, or between Trisha Yearwood and Shania Twain, etc...  There's pop Country, twang Country, big hat Country, Southern rock Country, gospel/inspirational Country, Texas Country, tiki bar Country, singer-songwriter Country, R&B Country, etc..., but it usually all gets painted with the same broad brush by some agency creative choosing some piece of high energy techno rock for their :60 regional car dealer TV spot, and that brush carries a negative connotation, or at the very least a connotation of being a "less sophisticated" genre of music.  Bullshit - complete and utter bullshit.  And remember, these are the guys charged with being "creative."

KOHAN MUSIC GROUP is hoping to be part of the driving force behind changing these misperceptions.  The collaborative, competitive, and powerful creative forces in Nashville should be getting more than their fair share of opportunities in the advertising, special markets, and film & TV markets.

NOW... I want to hear some comments from you all.  What have your experiences been in working with the advertising/marketing community related to Country music?  Do you get proper support in your business if NY and LA are the main offices dealing with these communities?  I realize it's hard for some people here to make a public comment because it would be visible to all here on MySpace, so if you feel more comfortable responding to this post in private please send me a message with your thoughts.  DON'T HOLD BACK!  I want to hear from my readers!  Thanks.

Peter