The Importance of the RIAA

            RIAA, Recording Industry Association of America is an organization that supports the creative flow and financial future of the major record companies.  The RIAA members are music labels executives, and personal.  The members of the RIAA are responsible for creating, manufacturing and distributing around 85% of music heard in households.  RIAA also helps protects copyrights and the First Amendment rights of artist and music labels.  RIAA conducts consumer, industry and technical research, and they also monitor and review state and federal laws and regulations to make sure music labels are in compliance.  Another role the RIAA plays in the music industry by certifying Gold, Platinum, Multi-Platinum and Diamond sales awards.

            The RIAA plays an important role in the music industry because of all the support they give to the music labels.  If you are an independent music label the RIAA can be a great asset to your music label.  Sometimes it can be hard for an independent label to know the intellectual property laws that protects them.  Also, many independent labels do not have the money to pay for lawyers that can help protect them and make sure they are not making any infringements with intellectual properties.  The RIAA can provide information to help you protect your music and how you bring your music to the market.  Also, the RIAA can by a great place to start networking, and getting know people in the industry.  The RIAA provides a list of all their members on their website, and the are many leading industry record labels as members.  Becoming a member of the RIAA will also help your record label look professional, and can make you stand out over some of your competitors.  RIAA is a reputable organization, and is well-known in the music industry and this would be an organization that anyone who is trying to make a career in the music industry should join.

Kellie B.

Importance of Having a Business Plan

The excitement of starting a business can take over your everyday thoughts.  You can find yourself at every waking hour thinking of an idea for a business or thinking of all the products you might need to start your business.  All these thoughts can be overwhelming to some, but to others these thoughts keeps their drive going.  Then as you keep thinking of everything you need to start this business; you think about the dreadful business plan you need to do before you actually start.  So like many people do, you decide you do not need a business plan.  Well, I am here to tell you that a business plan is needed in order to have a successful business. 

            You may look at writing a business plan as a long and tedious process, but the business plan is the road map to your success.  If you do not take time to make this road map for your business, then how will you know what direction your business is going?  In an article on intuit, they state gathered information during your planning process can help you see potential risks and develop strategies for dealing with them before they occur.  In a perfect world you would never occur any issues while running your business, but the reality is; you will.   So this business plan will allow you to address these issues head on, and will not slow your business down.  Also in the intuit article it mentions how you can use your business plan to get investments.  You can get investments from banks, venture capitalist and angel investors.  Your business plan is your vision, and in order to show you vision you must write you vision down.  You may think of a big extravagant proposal or plan when you think of creating your business plan.  But your plan can be very simple,with a description of your company, projecting numbers for your company, and what is your target market.

            This has been one of the issues I have struggled with while starting my entertainment company.  Our company had a vision, but we did not write this vision down.  Now as owners we are working backwards and putting this plan together, but we have already spent a lot of money.  Our company cannot get this money back, but if we would have had a business plan we could have foreseen some of these issues that we are coming across now.  So remember, you must have a business plan in order to know where you want to take your company, and your business plan is the VISION for company.  

Kellie B.