In this seminar held at Loyola University, New Orleans, George Howard of Loyola and ArtistsHouse interviews entrepreneur and Loyola student Matt Bauerschmidt about the ethical challenges of doing business in the music industry. George and Matt work through a case study taken from Matt’s own artist services company that involves balancing the internal values of his company (for example, that they will do nothing illegal) with the values of the genre they work in (hip-hop) – in particular a conflict over whether it’s ever acceptable to sample copyrighted work without copyright clearance.

Former President of the storied Rykodisc label and founder of Slow River Records, George Howard is an accomplished musician, producer, executive, and educator. He is also the author of several books, including Music Publishing 101. In this video tutorial, George demystifies the crucially important segment of music publishing.

George Howard, a record industry veteran and a professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans, speaks to a group of students about Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point, explains how the core concepts presented in that book can be applied in novel and useful ways to the way the music industry works today, and helps the class understand how to use “the tipping point” to redefine their own career goals.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans, begins his course “Music Business” 101 with a brief recap of the current situation in which the music business finds itself, and a discussion of the goals of the course from an artistic and business perspective.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans, continues his course “Music Business” 101 with a discussion on two fundamental concepts that you absolutely must understand in order to have any hope of succeeding in the music business – “The Hedgehog Concept,” and an unshakeable conviction that your music, or the music of the artists you are working on behalf of, must be heard.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans, continues his course “Music Business” 101 with an extended discussion of the three sides of the “Hedgehog Concept” – your passions, what you can do better than anyone else, and how you can make money – and how to turn these three things into a coherent, disciplined strategy for advancing your career in the music industry. He also delves into the second main goal of a music career – making music that has a lasting effect on the culture you live in, rather than just capitalizing on an of-the-moment trend.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans, continues his course “Music Business” 101 with a question-and-answer session addressing the concepts introduced in lessons 1 and 2. In specific, he further explains the “Hedgehog Concept,” why record labels and radio play are for all intents irrelevant to emerging artists today, how artists should go about deciding what team to assemble to help them succeed, and much more.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouseMusic, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a discussion of “connectors” (people who can bridge the gaps between groups of people to spread the word about something important, such your music) and “salesmen” (the people who are actually going to be selling your music to retailers, labels, and so on), and how to harness these special people in the service of your career. He also delves into Malcolm Gladwell’s concepts of “weak ties” and “the magical number,” which describe other ways to achieve the same goal – getting your music heard beyond your friends, family, and the bartender at your local club.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouseMusic, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a question-and-answer session based on lesson 8, which discussed how to develop a career strategy. Topics covered include: setting appropriate goals for your current situation; communicating your strategic plan to your band or client without alienating less-focused partners; how to distinguish “random acts of improvement” from legitimate shots at glory; and much more.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouseMusic, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a discussion of strategy – an overarching concept that Howard refers to as “the artist’s toolshed.” He begins by defining strategy and why it differs from what he calls “random acts of improvement,” and then discusses how to build a dashboard to track your progress, how to measure progress on the micro and macro levels, and how to review your strategies periodically to ensure that you are on the right path. Finally, he defines some archetypes which artists can use to help fit themselves into a career strategy that is in line with their talents, needs, situation, and goals.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse Music, concludes his course “Music Business 101” with a look back at the material covered in the previous nine sessions and some final words about motivation and success.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse Music, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a question-and-answer session on the nuts and bolts of figuring out and articulating your vision, values and core principles, how to use the “hedgehog concept” to help yourself arrive at your core values and competencies, how to proceed when your values aren’t in line with those of your bandmates or business partners, and much more.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse Music, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a seminar on how to articulate your core principles and goals – your overarching mission – and why having an explicit mission that is driven by your vision, values, and passion is critical to your success.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse Music, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a question and answer session based on the material covered in Lesson 9, on understanding how to stay current on industry trends, how to be innovative while remaining true to your core principles, assessing whether the goals you have set are the right ones and whether they are moving forward, and much more.

George Howard, Professor of Music Business at Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse Music, continues his course “Music Business 101” with a discussion of the importance of building a system for your career within which you are free to innovate and which you don’t deviate from. He describes how adhering to this system is a recipe for laying the groundwork for an enduring and successful career in music, and why embracing innovation – within the bounds of your core values – can add enormous momentum to your career. He also discusses the value proposition of presenting music to fans and why giving people exactly what they want is the surest way to get no word-of-mouth at all. Then, he explains how to harness your focus, motivation and master plan to devise one of several possible strategies that can break your or your clients’ music wide open.

Former Rykodisc label head and Loyola University, New Orleans professor George Howard speaks to a class about the economic and business realities that they as aspiring musicians and businesspeople need to face in order to succeed in today’s music business. Topics include: The economics of independence; how capitalism supports the arts; how technology is altering the economics of music distribution; the Long Tail and niche marketing; and how to use the machinery of a capitalist economy to sell your music to people who want to buy it.

George Howard of Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse continues his course “Music Business 101” with a discussion of how you, as an artist, can use some common-sense techniques and entrepreneurial strategies to shrink your world, focus your efforts, and get your music heard above the mass of thousands of other artists just like you.

George Howard of Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse continues his course “Music Business 101” with a discussion of why having a professional, engaging, amazing live show is your absolute, undeniable, number-one key to launching a successful, sustainable career in music He also addresses how to develop that live show (that is, how to give yourself a chance to suck) in a way that does not jeopardize your professional development, and how to capitalize on your live show as a linchpin of your overall marketing efforts.

George Howard of Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse continues his Music Business 101 series with an introduction to the all-important art of marketing your music to the people who need to hear it. He discusses the concepts of attraction and retention and how they apply to your music, delves into an exploration of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and how the concepts explored therein can be reverse-engineered to your advantage, and encourages you to dig into your own values and passions to discover what it is you should be trying to communicate to your growing fan base.

George Howard of Loyola University, New Orleans and ArtistsHouse answers some questions about the material presented in Lesson 6 of his Music Business 101 series, on how to market yourself efficiently to the fans who will buy the music you make. In particular, he expands on his discussion of Malcolm Gladwell’s “mavens” and their role in spreading the word about new music, how to handle your street teams, how to use technology to keep yourself in touch with your fans, how to prepare for a live show, and – most of all – how to keep your fans wanting more.