The ultimate question becomes: What do artists need to create to keep themselves safe from becoming undone?  Because stories like Whitney Houston’s are not uncommon.  Stars rise and fall with the fickle tastes of fans, and when an artist is as meteoric as Whitney, the fall to the ground is far and long.  Her difficulties were not only exploited in the media, they were – to some degree – exploited by Whitney herself, choosing a reality show as a vehicle for her brand.  Under the best of circumstances, that road is twisted – just ask the long list of reality stars held up to public scrutiny (and editing and distribution).

Whitney Houston made courageous leaps long before Being Bobby Brown, battling for sobriety and most recently reinvigorating her career and her brand.  She took the brave leap from music to film.  “The Bodyguard,” with Kevin Costner is what leaps to everyone’s minds when we talk about her film presence, but for me, it’s her more subtle performance in “Waiting to Exhale” that always got my attention, because it was far from her own journey.

Seeing Whitney play an icon, even as beautifully as she did so in The Bodyguard, was not a stretch.  It was believable because she was believable – always authentic in her music, to see that embodied in the film was wonderful, but not a surprise.

But in Waiting to Exhale, amidst a great ensemble of veteran actresses like Angela Bassett, well that’s where we saw her acting chops come out.  The softness she delivers her parting line to an outdated lover, the laughter she joined, but did not dominate – every piece of that film showed a side of Whitney – a collaborative side – that we seldom saw as a superstar.  From every high note, performance to performance, she was what we demanded she be – an icon.

I think we all agree that Whitney Houston was far more than that. She courageously took on great, collaborative projects, most recently in the remake of “Sparkle.” I’ve had the great honor to be friends with Oscar Winner Irene Cara – the actress who crossed that same barrier and brought Sparkle to life the first time.  I know from years and years as a coach, working with top artists that celebrities crossing media barriers from film to music to producer and back again is a difficult and amazing journey.  They risk failure in a far more public way than mere mortals.  But it’s the courage and the vulnerability to take those risks that keeps artists alive – in every definition of the word.

I think, now, in the end, like Michael Jackson and Amy Winehouse, our job now is to let Whitney Houston rest. The drugs – the chaos – the heartache – it’s all over. Like a great painter, only her artistry lives on.  We have to remember that  she was, of course, a real person – someone’s daughter …someone’s mother.  She belonged to them.  But if you connect the dots to the music…and the rest of her work, the legacy belongs to all of us.

Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

Over the course of only 8 weeks, I have found myself at just as many events, conferences and product launches with clients and colleagues. One of the highlights of this time was definitely the KidScreen Summit on February 7-10, in NYC. My client PlayTales, a leader in children’s books as interactive apps, formally launched its US presence at this event. Another highlight was my panel discussion at Pollstar Live! Pollstar is all about industry leaders and newcomers alike have a unique opportunity to share information and improve business practices and fan experiences. I’ve also been privileged to be the Talent Producer and Celebrity Wrangler for that event for over ten years now. In January, I also spoke at the NAMM Social Marketing Mini Conference – on “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud” and at a dinner and networking event in Los Altos, called “What Do You Media” for the prestigious ACG gathering of CEOs and senior execs in the Silicon Valley illuminating myriad facets of what “media” means today and across the coming years.

I was also privileged to be the guest for “In The Hot Seat” with Larry LeBlanc for CelebrityAccess, which profiles entertainment leaders from around the world in a Q&A form. It was very exciting, and I invite all of you to click over and read the interview today!

While being on the cutting edge of the tech and digital revolution is not at all new to me, the next year is poised to present some of the most innovative and exciting opportunities to participate at top industry events. I look forward to seeing some of you at the San Francisco Music Tech Summit today, at Digital Music Forum East in less than two weeks in NYC, plus at the many other exciting gatherings and summits already on the calendar AND yet to be developed (including Digital Music Forum East in NYC, Alley to the Valley Summit, Silicon Valley Capital Club, New Digital Economics, Digital Hollywood, among others!)

If you have an event you’d like me to participate in, or a panel or keynote to deliver, please reach out to me directly at Kelli@AllAccessGroup.com

Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC 

Huge thanks to my friend Melissa Wilson, for calling me the “human bridge” between music and tech (and a rainmaker – always a word we embrace at my company!) on her most recent “NetworldingBlog”.  To read the entire piece, please go to http://www.networldingblog.com.

According to http://www.investopedia.com/, A rainmaker is any person who brings clients, money, or respect to an organization based solely on his or her association.

Enter Kelli Richards, my friend who is a maestro at strategic rainmaking.  Her passion is bringing opportunity to both music and tech worlds by being a “human bridge” and has successfully done this for at least two decades…   Read on…

Larry LeBlanc is widely recognized as one of the leading music industry journalists in the world. Before joining CelebrityAccess in 2008 as senior editor, he was the Canadian bureau chief of Billboard from 1991-2007 and Canadian editor of Record World from 1970-89. He was also a co-founder of the late Canadian music trade, The Record. He has been quoted on music industry issues in hundreds of publications including Time, Forbes, and the London Times. He is co-author of the book “Music From Far And Wide.”

As the digital revolution reaches what seems to be an absolute frenzy of technological advances and debuts, more and more we’re seeing the cross-platform promotion and collaboration around product distribution. The latest (and one of the biggest) entries into this virtual world is set to be Suzanne Collins’ popular novel, “The Hunger Games.”

According to Digital Media Wire, Social game developer, Funtactix has partnered up with Lionsgate around the movie’s debut this spring The Hunger Games Adventures is set to launch on March 23, the day the first movie opens in theaters.

Lionsgate started the cross-digital campaign months ago with “The Capitol” a web presence for the government of Panem, where “The Hunger Games” stories take place. They also created a strong social media launch, featuring a YouTube channel in addition to other social spaces.

The Hunger Games Adventures game is set to be a strong player in the multi-digital branding of the three Lionsgate movies. Players move through The Capitol and the key Districts in the story, becoming more engrossed at each level of game.

“As a company that wants to align itself with the most beloved entertainment properties and passionate fans in the world, joining forces with Lionsgate on The Hunger Games was a very easy decision,” said Sam Glassenberg, CEO of Funtactix.

This isn’t the only foray Funtactix has made into the world of branded film releases.  They recently created a game built around the Mission Impossible franchise.

Since its founding in 2006, Funtactix has earned an industry reputation for rapid innovation in web-based gaming. They were first to deliver connected 3D multiplayer action gaming through  deeply-integrated avatar-based games.

They’re also poised to release The Hunger Games Adventures through Facebook as well, and with a following of millions and the realm of Harry Potter coming to a close, it will be interesting to see where Funtactix – and other branding gaming companies – will reach as the digital revolution continues to evolve.

Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

For anyone not familiar with Hulu yet, at its core, it is simply an online video service providing formally, commercially produced content, such as movies, television shows, clips, and other content, coming in from a very wide variety of sources, such as FOX, NBCUniversal, ABC, Criterion, A&E Networks, TED and a very long list of other content providers.

So why, after four years of great digital distribution, am I writing about Hulu?  Because they are about to take a huge leap of faith and add another original production to their arsenal – original content is a journey that even Oprah Winfrey herself can tell you is fraught with danger.  So in addition to movies and primetime TV hits such as Modern Family, The Simpsons, Glee, The Office, etc., etc., etc., viewers can also download Hulu’s own creations (A Day in the Life and The Morning After), as well as their newest addition, “Paul, the Male Matchmaker” (launching on Monday, February 13^th exclusively on Hulu).  The launch date is no accident – the 10-episode comedy is a mockumentary about a socially inept man who inherits a matchmaking service – who then does out brutally honest dating advice in the sincere belief that he is helping women find love.

Actor/writer Paul Bartholomew (Mad Men; Yes, Dear), who stars in the series, said, “This show is for anyone who has ever been set up on a horribly misguided date by their sister, friend, co-worker — and then been blamed for it not working out. Which is basically everyone.”

Finally, original, full-length commercially produced web series’ are starting to find a foothold – and a distribution portal like Hulu is exactly the venue to bring enough attention and a strong enough fan base to move audiences to show up week after week. Rock on Hulu, we’re looking forward to where you go next – and to watch the competition as it comes alive and rises to the occasion to bring web TV to life!

Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

But that’s about the ONLY thing in the music industry that is constant, everything else has been thrown up in chaos, redefining itself almost daily – often faster than even the most tech-savvy consumer can access – and certainly faster than artists and labels can learn. It’s not just the distribution and technology either; it’s the ever-shifting rights and monetization. Throw in the shape-shifting virtual and social spaces, and we’re looking at a virtual whirlwind of talent, tech and timing.

This is a time when mentors and leaders become uber vital to an artist’s process, and events like Digital Music Forum East (and West) become a beacon that attracts both the futurists and the icons of the industry.  This year’s Digital Music East happens in only a few weeks in New York and focuses on the five most vital parts of the industry today: Music-Tech, Rights, Distribution, Monetization and The Future.

Each series includes a number of 15-minute presentations by the top leaders and innovators in the music industry and panel discussions on hot topics, including:

Music and the Social Web
Music, Money & Innovation
New Technologies & the Artist
Rights & Licensing: If I Wanted to Reform Music Copyright Law, I Would…
What’s Next In Digital Distribution Models?
Monetizing the Music Experience: It’s Not Just About Selling Music Anymore
Predictions & Provocations about the Future of Technology & the Music

I will personally be speaking on “Taking the Crowd to the Cloud,” and basic info and tips on social media for indies and legends, the subject of my recent Amazon #1 bestseller on 2/23 at 11am. I was amazed to see how many artists did not know the variety of social spaces available to them, like podcast creators and streaming radio opps, such as BlogTalkRadio, and writing my eBook was a chance to provide a starting point for those new to the social space and Direct-to-Fan distribution.

Because in all fairness, even for the seasoned veteran in social media, this is a space that can raise even the portals to the highest of highs and then dump them when the next great triple E ride comes along, like the death of MySpace and the rise of Facebook.  And don’t think it can’t happen again.  Or UNhappen.  MySpace’s new benefactor, Justin Timberlake himself, is poised and ready to become the darling of real-time web TV – according to him at least.  “The future of MySpace is about what you’re going to do. About who you’re going to become,” he said in a brief presentation. “MySpace TV is the first foray into that future.”

MySpace TV will still encompass the site’s library of 42 million songs and 100,000 music videos, and it will enable instant communication and huge search-ability around them between friends.

Who knows where MySpace TV will go from there?  “As the plot of your favorite drama unfolds the joke of your favorite SNL character plays or even the last-second shot of your favorite team swishes the net, we’re giving you the opportunity to connect your friends to your moments as they’re actually occurring. This is the evolution of one of our greatest inventions, the television,” said Timberlake.  For the millions of artists who had invested their time and music and audiences on MySpace, I hope he’s right. 

Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

You can walk around the cabin of an airship, open the windows and actually stick your head outside! A true perspective changer for all of us, believe me. The thousand mile view of the world below can truly open up your vision, and as we passed over Stanford University, I began to think about Steve’s commencement speech and his advice, to stay hungry and stay foolish. A lifetime ago, I was part of the Apple MBA program. Only a handful of Apple employees were privileged to be part of that experience – a fully-accredited MBA program paid for by Apple, run on the Apple campus and offered during work hours. Apple’s commitment to inspiring the best thinking in their leaders was remarkable.   

I am never far from Apple, even though my work there – which helped launch Apple’s entry into music – was two decades ago. In addition to my MBA, like all Apple Alums, I’ve experienced some of the best collaborations in my life on that campus. Something powerful entrepreneurs and executives try to bring to the table every day – but often fall short. It’s what makes Apple Alums continue to seek one another out. We’ve lived the results of stellar commitment, amazing collaboration and such out-of-the-box thinking that we literally changed the world. That is enough to shift anyone’s perspective, even long after moving on to new adventures and successes. And like the airship, it created a lifelong, thousand-mile perspective.

On December 8th I hosted a breakfast attended exclusively by a small, core group of Apple Alumni.  This was an amazing experience, and leads me to the planning stages of my latest coaching program, focused on Apple Alums and what we want to create next in the world and in our lives. 

As we are all painfully aware, there’s no other (active) forum like this out there, which enables Apple Alum to interact in a focused, empowering way, to share connections and ideas, and to support one another in achieving powerful goals in work and life.  The Apple Alum Coaching Program will engage alums in an alliance of confidential trust and synergy to solve current business challenges as well as take advantage of opportunities for growth with colleagues who share a common DNA. The connection to the Apple community is still key for many, and this program is the first of its kind to offer a forum of networking and synergistic alliances among Apple Alum who are characteristically “A-players”.

Here are just a few of the many Results and Benefits you can expect when this program is launched:

*Clarify purpose, goals, direction and legacyin your work and life.

*Gain powerful and empowering insights and feedback from kindred, like-minded peers that can propel you forward.

*Create a life of more meaning and authenticity that’s in alignment with who you really are and what you want to do in the world at this stage.

*Address whatever obstacles are holding you back from achieving goals.

*Learn to jettison things in your work or life that may no longer serve you. 

*Leverage best practices, tools, and resources to your own advantage.

*Develop (or renew) powerful connections in networking who you can team up with to create even more success during this next phase of your life.

I’m not 100% sure what the platform for delivering this program will be – whether it will be a high-end weekend retreat, a series of networking events, or perhaps a virtual platform, but I do know that it is sorely needed, and as an alum AND a coach, I’m excited about creating the space for it.

Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

Contrary to what the LA Times might think, however, the idea of educating and inspiring its people to open their minds and access their unique DNA is not a new endeavor at Apple.  Far from it, in fact; during my tenure, I was part of the Apple MBA program. Only a handful of Apple employees were privileged to be part of that experience – a fully-accredited MBA program paid for by Apple, run on the Apple campus and offered during work hours. Apple’s commitment to inspiring the best thinking in their leaders has always been remarkable.

Steve spared no expense creating AppleUniversity, tapping Joel Podolny, the former Yale Business School dean, to head up the effort, help Apple to continue to break the sound barrier and create its most difficult achievement yet, surviving the loss of Steve Jobs – a man who has become almost cult-like in his brand and contribution. In the 35 years since it was incorporated, Apple has become much more than a success story.  It is the star all other great inventors shoot for. At Apple, we didn’t just write the next chapter, we threw away the book and created something mind blowing and world changing.

In addition to my MBA, like all Apple Alums, I’ve experienced some of the best collaborations in my life on that campus.  What makes THAT kind of success and teamwork even possible? A lot of people have tried to answer that question – even Steve Jobs himself.  It is what Apple University hopes to discover, define, REfine and replicate in future employees. “The idea is to take what is unique about Apple and create a forum that can impart that DNA to future generations of Apple employees,” shared a former Apple exec who spoke anonymously in order to preserve his relationship with the company. “No other company has a university charged with probing so deeply into the roots of what makes the company so successful.” As Apple Alums we’ve actually LIVED what they hope to replicate…

As an Apple alum, I have to admit that it’s thrilling – one of the most important “inventions” to come out of Apple, in fact. You see, there’s a magic that continues among us Alums, and an uncommon connection that allows us to continue building amazing, powerful collaborations sometimes decades after our tenure at Apple.   And it’s something I hope to continue to keep alive and inspire in other alums.

It’s my own legacy project: To help those who share that Apple DNA to reconnect to the incredible talent base that Apple attracted and continue the conversation, the collaboration and the success.

To bring to life in 2012, a powerful, collaborative program designed to create synergy and stratospheric results.  As an Apple Alum, I know that the sky is literally the limit!

All the best,

Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

PlayStation Home is filled with hundreds of games – everything from pool tables and dart boards to full-on space shooters like Novus Prime: Escalation and massive online racing games like Sodium 2: Project Velocity. With Jack Buser at the helm, Home is leading the virtual world in community based user experiences, and doing an amazing job of it!

Jack started his career as the “Tech Evangelist” for Dolby, a role that launched him as a leading voice in the worlds of tech and entertainment.  I asked him about that time in his life and his contributions to Dolby, the industry giant in sound technology.

Kelli:  Jack, talk to me a little bit about your work at Dolby – what did you feel your biggest achievement was as a Tech Evangelist there, and how has that work and that role carried over into your work at Sony?

Jack Buser:  Sure, well Dolby is a fantastic company.  I spent almost ten years there.  We did a variety of different things, from deploying Dolby sound for games to the point where now it’s very hard to buy a game that’s not supporting full-on Dolby surround sound… We also worked on online delivery of movie content, making sure that even though you’re just streaming a movie over the internet that you’re still getting that full theater experience.  And all three of these experiences are implemented in the best possible way in the PlayStation3.  It’s one of the big reasons I was so excited to come work here at Sony Playstation – because we have such a powerful console with the PS3. … You can actually watch movies through Netflix and Hudu and our own movie service in full-on Dolby surround sound.   And of course, surround sound in games… I mean, games on PlayStation3 are second to none, full high definition graphics and full on 7.1 surround sound.  I mean, we’re talking about the best of the best experience…

Kelli:  So you really went from the best company, in its niche and moved on to the best company in its unique niche.  You actually became something of a human bridge, unifying those two worlds in a sense…

Kelli:  Jack, we’re seeing some amazing collaborations in tech and gaming lately. I don’t know if you know this, but the artist Thomas Dolby literally introduced new music to his fans through a game called “The Floating City” a few months ago. Jack, do you see this marriage between gaming and other content producers – like musicians, for instance, being one of the next big things in gaming?

Jack Buser:  One of the most exciting things we’ve been doing with music lately is actually releasing music in the form of virtual items inside of virtual Home.  This is a whole new way of actually deploying music content.  Specifically, PlayStation Home users tend to be the most voracious consumers of media on the PlayStation3 Platform – and trust me, PlayStation3 owners are already a very self-selected group of folks that love their media.  And we’ve actually been releasing music specifically in the form of a virtual item – specifically in the form of boom box or a sound system or a radio – and you can actually take these boom boxes or radios and put them in your own personal space and have your own parties. The first one we ever actually released was in collaboration with an artist named 8 Bip Weapon, who is a chip tunes artist. For your listeners who don’t know chip tunes, it’s basically music made with very old gaming consoles.  … He became an overnight celebrity on PlayStation Home, as people bought his boom box, in the shape of an old school arcade game with huge speakers on it, just cranking up these awesome chip tunes….

Kelli:  I wonder how that translated into the real world in terms of sales.

Jack Buser:  I’ll tell you this, when you deploy inside a platform like PlayStation Home, you’re talking about deploying to a global audience of over 20 million users.  So there are very few platforms as effective at getting your name out there and getting you exposed to a large number of folks…

Kelli:  Of course, no secret here.  You and I have talked for years now about integrating music into more of the gaming experience….

Jack Buser:  And you’re seeing it in new ways.  It’s becoming much more flexible. In the early days of game audio, it was basically licensing your tracks into game soundtracks, but now there are so many different options, due to all these social platforms and all these new delivery mechanisms.  You know PlayStation Music Network even has an actual music service built in. I mean the opportunities are numerous on game platforms.

Kelli:  The other thing about audio and music that’s changed is that it used to be an afterthought.  You know, I was like, “Uh oh, wait, we need some music in there before we ship it.”  Now with the example we just used around what Thomas Dolby is doing, building his music AROUND the game, we’re seeing tighter integration and more forethought about it – as a strategy ahead of time.

Jack Buser:  Oh absolutely.  Music is so critical to the game experience today.  So many music tracks have just broke as a part of just being part of a hit game.  One of the things we’re also seeing in Home that’s super exciting is live concerts.  Where actually artists can perform LIVE, inside of PlayStation Home. You can actually see your favorite artists inside the world, live, playing your favorite song… the possibilities are almost endless. 

You can hear the entire interview series on her website at http://AllAccessRadio.com – just go to Resources and choose BlogTalkRadio.

Kelli Richards
CEO
The All Access Group, LLC