A stadium not welcomed

So over the thanksgiving holiday this past weekend, I spent it with my family that came in town from New York. We are all football fanatics and although sometimes the woman in our family hate it, cause sometimes we tend to go a little over board by watching football while seated at the dinner table. It’s okay, the still love us. Well back to the conversation. While speaking after dinner about sports we came to a very bitter conversation about the Miami Hurricanes and the reason why they had to move out from a stadium, which was their home. Where they won 5 national championships and broke numerous of records in. To a stadium that was originally a baseball stadium and the now share with the Miami Dolphins. All of this because the Miami Marlins wanted to tear down the Orange Bowl and build their own stadium in those footprints. They wanted to build this multi-billion dollar stadium for a team, which has had the worst record in major league baseball in years, who has only won 2 World Series in the history of the franchise, and they did not want to take a dollar out of their pocket. As a result taxpayers ended up paying for this stadium. It created the biggest out rage in the community like never before. A football community at sorrow while the execs of the worst baseball team in the league happy. What’s wrong with this picture? Who are the ones who buy tickets to watch the games at the end of it all? Yes, the citizens in this community who had no interest in this project in its entirety since day one. So I ask myself was this a good business move? I sincerely do not think so at all. What I do think though is that if you’re a politician you must be very happy right about now.

Industry interview

So this last week I had the opportunity to interview a great friend and colleague of mine. Pierre Hachar the owner of the hachar law firm in Miami, Florida. Besides the fact that there are not many “entertainment” law firms in Miami, the hachar law firm is definitely one of the most successful ones in town. Pierre represents various Latin artists such as; Jencarlos Canela, Grupo Treo, Pitbull; and many more.

Although the interview was very long over lunch at one of Pierre’s favorite restaurant, Jeronimo’s Bar & Grill. I am going share with you guys some of the highlights of our conversation.

BA: So Pierre I know you have been involved in a major part of the deal-making step when working with your artists. What is your favorite part of the whole deal-making process?

Pierre: You know although deal making can be quite stressful at times. It requires a lot of patience in order to be successful, I think that my favorite part would probably be, when I get to the “nitty gritty” if I may say. Basically, I present the little things to the other party that would most likely make them to agree to what I want them to agree to.

BA: Now, it is more common to negotiate on things that either your clients or the client you are negotiating with have a problem with something. How do you go by separating the person from the problem?

Pierre: Well it’s very difficult when you are trying to negotiate something that has to do with a specific person. In many cases I try to make my statements as general as possible without mentioning the persons name.

BA: You previously said, “It requires a lot of patience in order to be successful”. When it comes to positional bargaining how do you do?

Pierre: That’s a key in that type of tactic. As a negotiator they are going to try and rip you apart in order to change your position. You just have to stand your ground firmly and not change your position.

BA: How do you reach a mutual benefit when negotiating?

Pierre: It’s very rare to reach a mutual benefit from the gecko. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want. You have to give in order to receive. So with that said if you give just enough. You will probably get enough back that you will reach a mutual benefit.

BA: Who has been your favorite client to negotiate for?

Pierre: Pitbull. He is a great man, and just a crazy guy. Jaja!!

Crazy mind games!

So this past week has been a very interesting one for me. I have been in and out of the emergency room. The weird thing about it though is that during all of this my mind has been really working hard. I came up with a few ideas for the studio. I don’t know if it was because I was under distress that my head started thinking about something else in order to not feel the pain that I was under.

The point that I’m trying to figure out here is if the creative mind works better during negative situations or not? For some reason that is the way my mind seems to work. I have been trying to brainstorm for a long while now new ideas and innovations to make my studio the next big thing! Unfortunately, this industry is very competitive. If you even want to try and survive in it, you need to stay up to date and make sure that you are at least at par with your competitors. Always be a thinker and come up with new ideas that others don’t know of.

You see the brain is very interesting, although you might not be thinking about something at a specific time. Your brain is thinking about all the way in the back of your brain and when you least expect to think about it, it will pop out in front of you. Take advantage of those moments and take actions with your thoughts it is the best asset that anyone can have.

Don’t let your brain deceive you; use it to your advantage in order to be more successful in you career. Be creative, be innovative, be the competition that no one else wants to have. Remember to keep your thoughts to yourself until you publicly execute them so no one will steal your ideas.

The Music Business Money $$

As I was doing an assignment today for my new class that I started this week. We had to read a whole financial background of an existing business and recreate their income statement. After further review of the business and the information that they provided us, it has really opened my eyes. I’ve come to realize that like anything in this country, it’s all about politics. It is unbelievable how much money in taxes is being taken away from this business. They started off as a small business in a community in the Central Florida area. They were fortunate enough to build off of success and be one of the most successful corporate entertainment companies to exist in today’s age. Because they have become so successful and have created more jobs for those in the community, they are being indirectly penalized, by paying more in taxes.

Now I know that we are currently in the middle of the race for presidency between our current president Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. I don’t want to make this post a controversy or political or anything. But, I just cannot understand how a president can allow something like this to happen to companies like this one. I mean its companies like these that keeps our economy moving and what gives people jobs. I mean I really cannot understand this. This is outrageous!

I also look at it on another point of view too. I mean what would our government be like if they did not have money to fund all these programs that they are offering the citizens of this country. I guess it’s really a catch 22 huh?

It really makes me wonder up to what point this country will go to. All I can say at this point is that the Americans really need to think about the economy of this country and what’s best for the benefit of this country at this point.

Unions, should I join or not?

Mostly ever industry in today’s society have there own associations to affiliate with, whether it’s for political or religious reasons. Each association usually has different departments or teams, which do different things within the community or even at a legislative level. Some industries don’t have an association like that does things in the community or anything; instead we have what we call unions. For example, the elevator industry has their union, which is called the International Union of Elevator Constructors (I.U.E.C.). It is funny that I am actually talking about this specific union, because my brother is actually part of this union himself.

Now many have mixed feelings about unions and how they work. For example, my brother has been in his industry for over 15 years already and is the regional supervisor for all the jobs that are being done in the South Florida area. Last year he was laid off for about 9 months due to today’s economy and the depression that we are going through. The union’s job is to come in and find him a job when he does not have one. Well after paying $500 in union dues monthly. The union was not able to find him a job at all.

Ladies and Gentlemen the point that I am trying to get across to you guys is that all unions are not the same. The industry that I am in which is the Recording engineering sector is very different than many. Yes, although we are unionized, our union is much different than many of the other ones. For example, the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.), has many community groups that work in different areas. The main group that they have which I love and I am actually part of is “Musicians on Call” this group is a group of musicians that go out periodically to local hospitals and visit the patients by going room to room and signing different autographs and sometimes even performing for the patients. Another great thing that this union does for its people is in the legislative level. They recently just passed a bill in the state of Florida with the help of Senator Anitere Flores, to give the right to engineers of intellectual properties.

Yes, like any other union that exists it does have its dues that you have to pay but at least it is not $500 a month. Our dues are paid annually. Another thing that this union has that I am not to happy about is that if you want to work in this industry you are obligated to join the union no matter what. No studio will hire you as an engineer if you are not part of the union.

In result, all unions have their pros and cons but sometimes you have no choice but to be part of the union of your industries choice. Although not many of them do a great job. I believe and feel that the union that I am in is the best one of all, for both the workers and the community.

How to live before you die

Have you ever thought of how to live before you die? After watching the commencement speech by Steve Jobs at Stanford University. I have started to create a new perspective at life and the way that I look at it. You see Steve Jobs is just not an average guy that people look up to. At least not in my life, He created the best computer platform to have ever existed in which I am currently using. The Apple MacBook Pro.

During Mr. Jobs’ speech he spoke about his personal life growing up being an adopted child. He explained that his biological mother wanted to put him up for adoption because she wanted him to go on to college one day. He went on to say that once he started his collegiate there was nothing about it that really interested him about it. 6 months into college, Steve decides to drop out and do what he loved best with his friend. After 9 months of working on a project with his friend he created the company “Apple”. After releasing their first desktop computer he found out that windows decided to copy his idea and release their own version of their desktop. This is when the real competition began.

After years of working with Apple, the companies’ board of directors decides to fire Steve and go with his friends’ idea of moving on with the company. Since he was fired from his own company he created “Pixar Animation”. “Pixar” went on to release the first computer animated movie “Toy Story” which became a very successful movie. Since the release of the movie Steve created another company called “Next” which developed computer processors. After a few years of the “Next” era for Steve, Apple came along board and bought the company meaning that Steve once again was with the Apple Company as a CEO.

Steve Jobs concluded his speech by saying that all the events that he went through his life is the way to live before you die.

Is it really worth the wait?

Have you ever wanted to buy something that just came out, but everyone tells you to wait? I don’t know about you, but I know I’ve had that feeling. There have been millions of times where a new version of Pro Tools comes out and I want to go buy it the same day that it comes out. After many times that I crashed against that brick wall I have learned my lesson.

When new things come out it’s not the best thing that can happen. For example, when I made the stupid mistake of buying the new Pro Tools when it comes out. I had a huge problem because when I installed it. None of the plug-ins was compatible with the new version of Pro Tools. I was basically stuck and unable to work for about a month later that the third-party plug-ins started to send out updates so that they can work with the new Pro Tools.

Imagine the damage that something like this can cause to something else. Technology is very good, but at the same time it can harm you. Although we think that technology is revolutionizing quickly it really isn’t. Some companies wait for another company to make a move so that they can make their own move. We think that everything is independent in the world, when in reality we are not independent. We need one thing to depend on in order to move forward. We need something to follow. Although we want to be the leader, we will never be the leader as everything in life is a chain reaction. We do things that the people we look up to have already done in one-way or another. Unfortunately, our technology has not revolutionized enough for it to move forward by itself without following an example to do so.

Building the Booth

Last week I hired a contractor to build a booth for me in my home studio. We went on for a couple of days discussing the design of the booth and how we would make it look good in such a small space. I showed him some websites: Closet Vocal Booth. Also, some pictures of how it should look: Vocal Booth. During this conversation is when I realized what little knowledge the general public has of this industry.

I explained to him that we needed to use a lot of isolation in the walls so that sound would not bleed through. I also explained the urgency of a solid door. I explained that the booth inside needed to be nearly dead inside so that we can have good takes for vocals. Throughout the whole conversation he seemed very confused and dazed of what was really going on. I stopped and asked him what was wrong. He thought that building a booth consisted of putting up 4 pieces of 4 x 4 and that was a booth. I went to the local hardware store and I showed him the type of materials that we needed to use. As we bought everything he asked me what everything was for. By the end of the purchase $600 worth of materials he had a better idea of what was really going on.

The next day when he came in to start the building process the first he said to me in the morning was “Hey Bryant! I went online last night, and I did some research on this project. This is definitely a whole different world for me.” He went on with his day of work and many other days of work went by. The last day of work came by when the project was done and it was time for the business side of this lengthy project. I was ready with the cash in my hand to pay him when he said, “I have learned so much throughout these past couple of days, and how the music business really works. I would like to thank you for teaching me all of this. Just for everything that you have taught me I take that as my pay for my job, please do not give me anymore of your money.”

This is when I realized what true values this industry can teach to many others that has no idea of what really is going on. Why do people act so innocent towards an industry that can offer a whole lot to lots of people?

The Mixing World!

The common society might think that mixing a record is about moving a few faders and that’s it. Little do they know, that there are much more behind the job then just moving some faders. The main key instruments in this job are your ears. If you don’t have a good hearing, and cannot recognize key mistakes in the audio than you are not ready for the job. Once your ears are used to a routine when working on a project, and you change that routine out of nowhere than you’re in trouble. Just like the legend himself Chris Lord-Alge says, “I am getting to old to keep up with the technology always changing” (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles /cla.htm). Each engineer has his or her own style of working in the studio, and with what gear to work with. Although the technology keeps on changing it’s hard for us engineers to keep up with it, we have to stay with certain gear for a while so that we can adjust our ears to it, and conduct a proper mix. You see in order to mix a record the correct way. We have to play with all the frequencies involved in the instruments being played. When instruments are played there are harmonics that come out which is what we listen to. The frequency range our ears can hear is from 20Hz to 20,000KHz (http://www.dak.com/reviews/tutorial_frequencies.cfm). As engineers we basically have to adjust all the frequencies from the instrument in order for them to properly fit into this frequency range. See mixing a record is not just about moving some faders. It’s about adjusting your ears to the equipment you use to successfully adjust all frequencies into the frequency range that is every average persons hearing perception. In order for the public to enjoy the music we make.