The Most Heard, Least Known Composers In America
On the gambling floor at the Cosmopolitan with PMOL Directors Adam Routh and Patrick Wilson
Paul Gulmans – Music Director, The Netherlands
Noelle Alanis with FOX KVVU On-Air Promotion’s Sergio Rodriguez and Tai Howard
Little Elvis at The Palms
We came, we saw, we ruled the Roulette table. NAB 2013 was quite an experience…. from DTS’s 11.1 Surround Sound Headphones to the American Idol judges that seemed to be at every session. But alas we were not there to purchase the latest technologies or try our hand in a singing competition but rather for a chance to meet clients, colleagues and eat pricey dinners on the company credit card!
Special thanks to all our sub-publishers for sitting down with us – particularly Fred and the lovely Lynn Woods at Red Igloo, Jean at Music for Productions and Paul Gulmans at Music Director who still does NOT eat fish despite us taking him to a seafood restaurant…
Also, station owners Carole and Peter Kozloski from WAGM for a fantastic breakfast, Adam Routh and Patrick Wilson of PMOL for their lovely bottle of scotch that still hasn’t made it onto the boss’s desk, and of course the On-Air Promotion boys at Las Vegas’s KVVU-TV for showing us around town Tuesday night and introducing us to Corona martinis (very fancy)!
Finally what a great creole meal at Emeril’s with Fox Business’s Ray Lambiase and CNN design guru Jonathan Kemp.
And, of course we met Elvis – he’s much shorter in person!
Until next year, hope to see you there!!!
So an interesting thing happened last week. A very good, but only moderately popular* TV show that was cancelled in 2007 (!) was very suddenly brought back to life by its loyal fans. Granted, it’s only coming back as a movie and not a full TV series, but it could kinda change everything. Rob Thomas (no, not that one) the creator of Veronica Mars decided to give Kickstarter a try … and the response was instant and huge.
But before I go any further, just what the heck is Kickstarter?!? In short, it’s “a funding platform for creative projects.” Backers pledge money to creators so that creators can complete their project. In return, backers receive … whatever they were promised by the creator of said project. And here’s the really great bit: If a creator doesn’t reach their funding goal, no money exchanges hands. A backer’s pledge is not collected until the end of a set time period, and then only if enough people have pledged enough money to reach the monetary goal set by the creator. Think of it as pre-purchasing a product that will only exist if enough people decide they want it.
Okay, back to Veronica. As I said, the response was incredible. Rob had set his time limit at thirty days and his goal at $2,000,000 … and reached it in roughly nine hours. Keep in mind, this money was pledged in small amounts by over 50,000 people. So for about forty bucks, a diehard (no, not that one) fan could help bring his/her favorite show back to life … no ‘record label’ required … and receive in return not just a movie version of their favorite TV show, but also some very interesting exclusive merchandise. Like I said, it kinda changes everything.
So what does this have to do with anything? Well, while Kickstarter has been around for a few years, this really proves in a pretty public way that it really works. And that opens up a whole new avenue for independent musicians and artists of all stripes. No longer do you have to rely on record labels or wealthy patrons. Now, you can go straight to your own personal social network (virtual and flesh & blood) and whatever fan-base you may have cultivated, and use those connections to fund your project. It also exposes your work to an audience that has never heard of you. Plus (and this might be a bit of a negative, actually) you’ll learn very quickly just how much support your supporters are actually willing to give.
But don’t take my word for it; go check it out. There are a lot of really creative people out there offering some pretty cool projects (everything from music to art books to card games to innovative electronic devices). You may find something wonderful from someone you’ve never heard of that you just can’t live without. Here’s one to get you started 
* okay, for a UPN show it was VERY popular, but we’re talking UPN here
“Music education is being stripped from our nation’s public schools at an alarming rate due to budget cuts,” Keith Hejna, Communications & Outreach Coordinator for Little Kids Rock says. “It’s up to the adults to stand up for our children’s right to rock… and ensure that they receive music education, which is vital to their development as students and human beings.”
That’s why we’re so excited to support Little Kids Rock. Here at Stephen Arnold Music we know a thing or two about writing a good tune; and we know what a blast it is when we’re hitting all the right notes. But we also know what it takes to get there: a lot of hard work – from bleeding fingers to ringing ears – a little luck, and that first person to say, “Here you go!” and put an instrument in your hand. The first part, that’s all on you. But Little Kids Rock is on a mission to make sure every kid gets the chance to rock by getting instruments and music lessons into the hands of underprivileged school kids.
“Little Kids Rock is an all-volunteer organization that’s very efficiently run,” says SAM president Stephen Arnold, “It’s amazing how far they can make a dollar go.”
And because each dollar counts, we’re donating $1 for each new “Like” to the Stephen Arnold Music Facebook page. Help us raise $5,000 for this awesome charity. You can’t buy a guitar for every kid out there, but with just the click of a mouse you can make a difference in the lives of some extraordinary kids.
Happy New Years everyone. Wow, 2012 just blew on by over here at Stephen Arnold Music and we are ready to rock n’ roll once again in 2013. We have another exciting year of Sonic Branding and News Music mapped out ahead of us and it’s all because of you guys — the best clients ever (you know who you are). We look forward to our continued creative collaborations and wish all of you a wonderful 2013.
One of my clearest memories of early youth is my dad imploring me to pick up an instrument, any instrument. A deep regret of his had always been being musically “un-inclined”, so it was important that he bestowed the opportunity of music lessons upon his kids. It was, he would say, “akin to learning a second language”.
Last week I was scrolling though some pictures of a Facebook friend and came across the one below. Immediately it brought me back to the early 70’s when twice a week, under the Suzuki Method, I was learning how to play the violin.
It was my choice, the violin… it came down to that and the piano. I went with the fiddle mostly because of the velvety plush interior of the carrying case, seriously. It was soft to the touch and rich in color. Combine that with the look of the antiqued, dark red/brown varnished finish of the instrument it was carrying… it was a sight to behold, a very intense visual for a kindergartener, and I was hooked (temporarily).
Shin’ichi Suzuki was the inventor of the Suzuki method. After growing up working in his father’s violin factory in Japan, he championed the basic philosophy that all children, given the right environment, have the ability to learn a musical instrument. This isn’t to say that everyone will reach the same level of achievement, but the capacity to learn music is there, much like learning a language.
To Suzuki, and my dad, the key was getting an early start…
So at five years old, about the same time I was learning the alphabet, I was introduced to this new language. From kindergarten through 6th grade I was eager to get better and diligent: I learned to read music, I was a member of a small orchestra, and I performed in bi-annual recitals. I can remember playing Twinkle, Twinkle and the theme from The Flintstones in early recitals and by my 6th year playing Bach and Mozart. I was actually becoming a schooled violinist.
For some reason, the summer before 7th grade, I quit. I don’t know if it was peer pressure (how foolish if it was), or the cumbersome act of carrying the thing to school for six years, or just plain burnout. Whatever the reason, it was a decision my dad told me that I would regret one day. And was he ever right…
These days I am constantly reminded of my decision, as I’m surrounded by professional musicians at “the office”. But even if I didn’t go to work every day at a music studio, I would still support Suzuki’s school of thought that learning music as a child fosters discipline and a work ethic that crosses over into academia and life. Maybe this answers why I stopped making straight A’s in middle school.
Suzuki himself said it best:
“I want to make good citizens. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart.”
You can learn more about the Suzuki Method here »
Stephen Arnold, the big guy over here at Stephen Arnold Music, was recently profiled in the summer edition of “Dallas Hotel Magazine”. This in-depth article covers Stephen’s roots, his thoughts on Sonic Branding and why it is so important, the reason for writing his book “A Story of Six Strings“, technology, connectivity and life today at SAM!
Just click the link below to download a PDF of the article:
Stephen Arnold Dallas Magazine PDF
Most trade shows, no matter the industry, can be summed up in a handful of trite sales adages: “Putting a Name with a Face”, “Meeting and Greeting”, “Distinguishing Yourself from the Competition”, “Enhancing Company Awareness” and finally “Selling the Sizzle not the Steak” (maybe not so much the last one, but I heard that line once and I’ve always wanted to use it).
For us, the second annual PromaxBDA Station Summit Conference in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago proved to be much more. This particular conference is special to us in that our direct audience base attends. In turn, many of our clients are there as well as our wish list of future clients. It’s an intimate setting for us to mingle with the fantastic creative groups we talk to on a daily basis from Texas and get in some real face time (yet another sales adage).
On top of all that, we had fun the Stephen Arnold Music way! See for yourself…after all, a picture tells a thousand words.
Stephen Arnold Music’s Noelle Alanis with Tim Sanders, WTWO – Nexstar (NA)
Beats Headphones Winner – Cuck Moffit, KBSI – Sinclair (AS) with Stephen Arnold.
Mary Frances Purse Winner – Kimay Bloch, WTNZ – Raycom (NA)
Fender Road Worn winner Doug Vanderhoek, KYOU, Fox 15
Harp Guitar Winner – Tim Sanders, WTWO – Nexstar (NA)
A warm “Thank You” to all of our clients, friends and colleagues who shared time with us at this year’s Station Summit!
Billboard Top 100
