SUNDAY MORNING CHRISTIAN RECORDING ARTIST TESTIMONIES

Jontez - Musician & Actor (Photo credit:  Shari Geffen) The music of multi-talented and versatile performer, Jontez, is a bold blend of pop, R&B, hop-hop and Latin rhythms.  A rising star in contemporary Christian music, he is no stranger to success.  Jontez is a former member of the multi-platinum group God’s Property, a high octane Gospel youth choir. He’s opened for artists like Amy Grant, Jaci Velasquez, Point of Grace and Erykah Badu. Voted one of the Top 10 New Artists to Watch in 2005 by ChristianityToday.com, three of his songs will be included on the new, nationally syndicated TV show, Rosarito Weekend, which will air in the fall of 2006.   His solo debut, “And So It Is” met with critical acclaim when it was released in late 2005. Jontez will launch his acting career in the upcoming feature film “Woman to Woman,” which will be written and produced by Obba Babbatunde and directed by Emmy Award winning actor and director, Bill Duke.  You can learn more about these projects and more at www.jontez.net. Three things happened in my life that have convinced me that there is a God, that He is real and that I have a personal relationship with Him.  I don’t need a preacher to convince me... I lived it out. My grandfather was my pastor for my whole childhood.  We had a very large extended family, and everybody attended church together.  There was a whole army of us! At a very young age I developed a strong and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.  I lived in a small town about an hour south of Dallas.  When you grow up in a smaller community, youth group is your social life. I was involved in everything – I was the youth president, I organized youth camps and implemented a lot of different programs at our church.  I was the responsible one, the one everybody looked up to.  I was the one who was the good example to the other students.  But by the time I got into my late teens I was tired of it and no longer wanted anything to do with leadership.  Frankly, I was tired of being a role model.  It was a lot of pressure and I didn’t want the responsibility. In other words, I went into a mode of rebellion.  I rebelled against God and what I knew He had called me to do.  My mom said, “You can run, but you can’t hide.  If God has called you to it, then you’d just better accept it.” My mother, always the faithful prayer warrior, got down on her knees and prayed that God would do His work in me again.  And it happened, God did  work in my life - but not until he’d brought me through some trials and taught me that He is ultimately in charge. In the early 2001, my 18 year old sister found a lump on her shoulder.  I’ll never forget the day we sat in the doctor’s office and found out that my beautiful little sister had lymphoma, a particularly deadly form of cancer.  They had found a fist-sized tumor in her chest that had developed around her liver and grown all the way up to her shoulder. She’d had it for at least two years before they found it and by then it was all over her body.  Her disease was terminal – she didn’t have long to live. It was hard watching her go through chemo and squirm in her bed because the pain was so bad.  And it was hard watching her go from being a vibrant, beautiful young woman to basically nothing. Chemo treatments cause you to lose all of your white blood cells and it’s important that patients avoid being exposed to any bacteria or they could get really sick.  Now, I’m the kind of person who gets busy when tragedy hits.  So, when my sister was undergoing treatment, I went to my mom’s house and cleaned it from top to bottom, bleaching and disinfecting the whole entire house. When I got back to my apartment that night, the seriousness of the situation finally hit me.  I realized why I was doing everything that I was doing – that my sister was really dying.  I remember crying so heavily that I wasn’t even able to physically hold myself up.  I slid down the wall in my hallway until my face hit the floor. At that particular moment, I learned one of the biggest lessons of my life. At that moment, I told God, “If you decide to take my sister away from me, then so be it.  I will love you the same.  Whatever you decide to do God, I’m 100% behind you.”  My love for God wasn’t predicated by what He did or did not do for me.  It was based on my absolute love for Him.  It was the hardest thing to be able to say that, but I meant it.  Of course I prayed for my sister to be healed, but from that point on, I accepted His will – whatever it was. In September it was time for the next phase of her treatment - a bone marrow transplant.  The doctors tested me and all three of my brothers, but none of us was a match.  A donor was finally found and my sister was prepped and ready to go ahead with the procedure.  When all of the preliminary tests and examinations had been done, the doctor dropped a bombshell... My mom called me at work that day with the news. The doctors could find no trace of cancer in her body. She wasn’t in remission, it was like she’d never had cancer at all!  The disease was completely gone – the only evidence they found was some scar tissue where the tumor had been. I didn’t know how to react.  I wasn’t used to getting good news, every day she’d gone farther and farther downhill.  It had been cloudy for 9 months, and then all of a sudden the sun came out. I was amazed – I mean I had seen the x-rays and she definitely had cancer.  She’d gone through chemotherapy for God’s sakes! And then miraculously ... it was gone! I know God is real. One of my dreams had always been to visit New York City.  I was finally able to take a trip with a couple of friends of mine in September of 2001, shortly after my sister was healed.  My coworker’s boyfriend went to New York pretty frequently, so I asked him where to get the best view of the city.  He suggested I go to the north tower of the World Trade Center to a famous restaurant called Windows on the World.  I wrote his recommendation down on a sticky note and put it on my computer. The plan was to go with my friends on September 9th and 10th and then drop them off at La Guardia airport on the 11th for their 7:45 a.m. flight home.  From there, I was going to go straight to the World Trade Center and check out Windows on the World.  But at the last minute, their schedule changed and my friends decided to take a later flight. I woke up to the phone ringing that morning. It was my mom, anxious to see if I was okay.  I was irritated, “Mom, I’m asleep, why are you waking me up?”  Then she told me to turn on the television.  When I switched it on, I couldn’t believe the horrifying scene at the twin towers... right down the street from the hotel we were staying at.  If my friends had stuck to their original schedule and taken that 7:45 a.m. flight, I would have been on the top floor when American Airlines Flight 11 flew into the North Tower at 8:46 a.m. I remember walking in NYC on September 11th.  Normally, Manhattan is loud with horns honking and all this activity going on.  That particular day, however, I remember walking down the street with thousands of other people, but everybody was quiet.  It was like a quiet panic – everybody was frantically trying to get off Manhattan, but too stunned to speak. It was surreal - almost an out of body experience.  The sky was full of smoke and ashes and the sirens were wailing.  And I could literally smell flesh in the air.  I’ll never forget it as long as I live. The freakish thing was going back to my office a few days later and seeing that yellow note still on my computer “Windows on the World, World Trade Center.”  I thank God that He kept me from being harmed that horrible day and pray for those whose lives were changed forever. There was a point after all of this happened – my sister’s healing and the 911 tragedy – that I got really sick.  I was terribly weak and just sick all over, I don’t know how many times I fainted.  I went to the doctor, but he couldn’t make a diagnosis, he said I was perfectly fine. But even though he said there was nothing physically wrong with me, I knew in my spirit that I had deliberately rebelled against God.  That’s what was causing my symptoms. Have you ever heard someone say something like, “You know, Grandpa just knew he was going to die?”  Well, that’s exactly  how I felt – like I knew I was going to die.  I could feel this oppression; this horrible spiritual battle going on that I had no control over.  It was almost like God had removed himself from me and said, “You can deal with this on your own.”  I never told a single soul what was going on with me, not my pastor or anyone in my family.  I kept it all to myself. One evening I went out to dinner with my record label.  I sat next to one of the producers, and his wife sat across the table from me.  They kept asking me if I was okay, I know I looked just terrible.  They suggested that I go home and relax.  Instead, I went to church.  I was on the worship team, so I was up on stage with the pastor when he said a collective prayer for those in the congregation who were sick. When he got done praying, I grabbed him by his suit lapels, pulled him up to my face and said, “Pray for me right now.”  That’s all I said.  You know what he prayed?  “I rebuke the spirit of death that hovers over you.  I speak the life into you right now!” When he said that, I busted out in tears ... how had he known?  And then I felt it lift – I felt the darkness and the oppression lift right off of me.  I fell to my knees right there in front of everyone and thanked God for what He had done. A lot of people don’t understand the spiritual side of life and won’t accept it.  To many, it’s just too scary and unexplainable. But it is a very spiritual world we are dealing with.  And warfare is real and is going on all around us.  I grown to realize that when you have God’s calling in your life, the enemy is definitely going to attack you.  To Satan, the worst thing that could happen is that you reach your destiny, because that would mean that God has had the victory. Throughout my whole life, I’ve known that the enemy has come at me, to try and stop what God had started.  That’s the devil’s job, to mess up God’s plans.  As believers, it’s up to us to hold our heads high and walk through the battle zone.  Just because we’re Christians doesn’t mean we won’t go through anything – it’s actually just the opposite.  God allows us to go through things so that we can know just who God really is in our lives. Before all of these bad things happened to me in 2001, I never would have been able to say that I would love God no matter.  I couldn’t say that until I’d been through the test.  Now I really know what that means, and I’m able to put myself completely aside and allow God to have His way in my life. These events helped me put my life back into perspective and to really understand that it’s not all about me.  It’s about God performing His will in my life.  And when I submit myself to Him, I know I’ll be a lot happier and live a much more successful life.  I’m just a fragile man, and I know I can’t do anything without God in my life.  It might have taken three huge, life-changing experiences, but yeah, God brought me back around.  And because of that, I know He’s real.

HOW TO CREATE A STREET TEAM

       How to Create and Manage a Street Team

Result:

A team of dedicated fans that help you get your music heard in more places and win more fans worldwide.

Overview

A street team is a dedicated fan base that wants to help you succeed. They can help publicize your shows, spread news about your album, and more. All you need are a few tools to get them started.

Related Categories: Mailing Lists

Estimated Preparation time: 1 week

Estimated Result Time: 2 months

Estimated Cost: Low

What You Need to Do This:

• A mailing list
• A Yahoo Group, Google Group, Ning, or ReverbNation account

Directions

1. Choose your collaboration tool.

You will need a collaborative communication tool to organize and manage your street team. Tools such as Yahoo Group, Google Group, or Ning are free but lack tracking and measuring capabilities unique to managing Street Teams (so they may require additional work to manage). Other options are services that specialize in street team and fan management such asReverbNation.

2. Organize the team.

Reach out to your fan mailing list and ask who wants to be part of your street team. You may want to give them something in return for joining.

3. Give the team a mission.

Establish a mission and define a time frame in which to acheive it. Missions can be anything from spreading your music, enlisting new fans, promoting a show, etc. Tools like ReverbNation will help you set deadlines and define goals for your team automatically.

4. Provide the team with the tools to carry out the mission.

Give them what they need to complete the mission. If you want them to poster the neighborhood, give them posters. If you want them to sign up fans on your mailing list, send them a link to the signup page at your website. Tools such as Reverbnation provide additional widgets for online campaigns (i.e. they provide the music players for your street team to post at their sites or other social networks).

5. Give the team a reward.

Be creative with your awards. Some ideas include giving them an autographed CD, sending them merchandise, or putting their names in the liner notes of your next album.

6. Measure everyone's progress.

You will need to define a way to figure out who accomplished the mission and deserves a reward. Tools like Reverbantion, handle this by creating unique widgets that track an individual's progress.

7. Reward those that accomplished the mission.

This is only one tool you need to kick off your music career: a must. At AMP OUR GOAL IS TO GUIDE AND MENTOR YOU ALONG THE WAY.  Use this valuable tool and you will see results. Always rule # 1: Have your product and branding in place before you get started. I will be writing a blog soon on how to get started on your branding and some of the tools you will need. Please comment and let us know what you need.

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AM I READY FOR A MANAGER?

WHEN SHOULD I GET A MANAGER?

How do I find a music manager?  How do I find a booking agent?  I just need to find someone to get my music to the next level.  I’ve heard these questions and statements before many times. Usually this is the proverbial cart before the horse adage.

Let’s start at the very beginning – do you have anything to manage?

I know – sounds like a stupid question, but is it?  I’m not asking you if you have lots of work that you could use help with, nor am I making light of the pure volume of work that is the creation of both recorded and live music.  What I am asking you is do you have something ready to bring to market that needs managing or are you still building out your product?

There is no shame (I’ll repeat it again) NO SHAME in being in the developmental phases of your career.  We live in an instant gratification kind of world, which is why when I write articles like this I know statistically that a majority of people won’t have made it this far because they were looking for a “get famous now” button.  Take your time and develop your product – this will help you rise above the MILLIONS of other people who went out to Pro Audio Atlanta, purchased their first instrument and recording gear, and had the first song they ever wrote up on MySpace the next day hoping for some kind of miracle which will never come.

Back to management – let’s talk about what you should have together before even considering approaching someone to invest in your career.  *** Notice I said invest because whether or not they spend a dime on you, management is an enormous expenditure of someone’s time***

Before approaching anyone to manage you - have most of these together:

1. No apology recordings of your music
2. Professional looking photos of you or your group
3. A basic – findable website (custom URL) you can update yourself
4. A Mailing list and a place where people can sign up on said list
5. A social network presence (twitter, facebook, myspace, youtube)
6. Live performance footage (preferably in front of a crowd)
7. A well written bio highlighting your accomplishments

These are the building blocks and the marketing materials you will use over and over and over again.  There are no words, no email sales pitch and probably not even naked photos of an executive in compromising positions that will get you taken more seriously than having the items above in place.  Many of these items can get pricey so do your homework and shop around, if you feel that any of these items are best done by work for hire.  Having these materials will get you more gigs, will get you taken more seriously by your peers and potential fans and ultimately (if you have a product people want) will help you build a business in music.

No matter what you do in this world you must know your craft and the business. If you want to rise to the top, you must work harder, and be prepared with a degree of passion that excites and ignites everyone around you. You must be connected to the community of like minded professionals. We all need help, a good consultant is invaluable. We offer that to you at AMP. If not AMP, FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE AND HOLD ON TO THEM DEARLY!

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Major record labels versus Independent

Record Label Share

Old Man, take a look at my life.

Let's digress for a moment.  Looking back at 2004, the global value of the record industry was 16.5 billion dollars.  Today it is 6.4 billion.   Were the labels on airplane mode, was their thinking on mute?  How did this happen?  I bet they know now what they wish they had seen then.  It's got to hurt.  The amazing thing is they still believe their own junk; or do they?  It's hard to tell.  They seem to continue to ride their dinosaurs. Oh well!

We at AMP believe their loss is our gain.  Who is "our"?  All of us independents! We are going to Rally together and become a major label, the likes of which no one has ever seen.  As we pool our network of information together, and unite to bring our music to the world, the dinosaur will become nothing more than a fossil and a distant memory.  Come join us at AMP, as we create this new business model.

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Comparison of Record Label Share within the Market between 2006 and 2008
	2006	2008
Universal	31.5	37.1
Sony	21.2	20.1
EMI	17.9	13.7
Warner	11.9	11.4
Ministry of Sound	2.2	3.6
Demon	1.2	1.7
Domino	1	0.4

Record Label Comparison

Posted January 9, 2010
Filed under: Record Labels |  Leave a Comment

Worldwide there are two different types of record labels majors and independents. There are only four majors: Universal, Sony, EMI and Warner Music, the majors operate worldwide in all/most territories. Independents operate in all different ways depending on their size, money (investible) and repertoire. Below is a detailed S.W.O.T analysis to show the difference between the to types of labels.

	Strength	Weakness	Opportunities	Threats
Major	Own distribution and publishing companies. Access to international distribution. Can influence radio play lists and provide a diverse range of genres. Unaccountable amount of money to back and offer artists. Access high level contacts business and musical. Able to add value to products	Unable to adapt as quickly as an interdependent. Declining sales result in low confidence and belief in business models. Communication issues throughout company sections. Stuck in old business models not looking to develop new ones.	Have the ability to take control of the online distribution industry. Can develop partnerships with big companies. If they can perfect the 360 deals offered in a very good position to create previous and lucrative revenue streams.	Changes in the way music is delivered and consumed. Business models not currently working to full satisfaction. Only happy to use tried and test formulas.
Independent	Can adapt to changes in the industry quickly developing new business models to work well in the present industry. Flexible in decision making.	Limited power to sign acts. Lack of resources. Need added value to make radio play lists. Less money to invest in acts and marketing. Distributed by the majors. Most indies cater for a certain genre or market.	Bands more inclined to sign to Indies as they allow artists to develop. Increase demand for music on behalf of the consumer.	A major often buys independents that dominate a market. The economic down turn and the state of the music industry is having an effect upon the birth of new and existing labels.

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

Have you received a letter from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) regarding music copyright infringement? Not sure what it means and what next steps to take? The following are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers regarding these legal notices. We hope you find this information useful and that it helps you to make an informed decision about what to do next and where to find legal music online.

1. I received a communication that says my Internet account was identified as having been used to illegally copy and/or distribute copyrighted material over the Internet. What does this mean?
   Music is protected by copyright. The unauthorized downloading or uploading of music is actionable as copyright infringement, even if not done for profit.
   
   Illegal copying and distribution of copyrighted music is often accomplished using “peer-to-peer” (P2P) software installed on individual computers, which allows your computer to exchange files with other computers that are running similar software. P2P services usually configure their software so that any files you download (and any other files in your “shared folder”) are automatically made accessible to anyone else on the P2P network that requests them.
   
   When you use such services to download and upload files, you are not anonymous. Whenever you connect to the Internet, your computer is assigned a unique “Internet protocol (IP) address” from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). This unique IP address is used to identify your computer as the source of available files to all other computers on a P2P network. The infringement notice you received is the result of your computer having been identified as engaged in an illegal transfer of copyrighted music. A notice was sent to your ISP identifying the particular infringement and the associated IP address. Your ISP determined from its records that the IP address was assigned to your account when the infringement was committed. Your ISP then sent you the infringement notice you received.
   
2. What If I didn't realize I was uploading copyrighted files?
   If you have P2P software installed on one or more of your computers connected to the Internet, it enables computers with similar P2P software to communicate with each other and transfer files. If you have P2P software on your computer delete it or, if you have a legal reason to use the software, delete any unauthorized files in your "shared folder."
   
3. What if my IP address does not match the one listed on the notice?
   That doesn’t mean that the notice is mistaken. IP addresses are not permanent; they change from time to time. Your ISP keeps records listing the IP address assigned to your account at any given time. According to your ISP’s records, when the IP address in question was identified illegally downloading and/or distributing the music in question, the IP address was assigned to your account. So, even if your account has a different IP address now, according to your ISP’s records it was assigned the IP address in question when the infringement occurred.
   
4. But I bought LimeWire Pro, or paid for another version of my P2P file sharing software?
   Paying for your P2P software, or paying for technical support for your P2P software, does not include a license or authorization to download or share any music you desire. In fact the companies that take your money often go out of their way to tell you in the fine print that the software or service you just bought does not authorize the sharing of copyrighted materials and that using it to share copyrighted material could result in the buyer being sued and subjected to substantial damages. They gladly take your money but make it clear that as far as they are concerned, the buyer will be the one left holding the bag if caught.
   
   However, there are a multitude of legal, affordable and hassle free places where you can find your favorite music in high quality formats. Please click here for a list of a number of legal and safe sites where content is available for downloading.
   
5. What do I do now to resolve this?
   First, you should look carefully at the notice you received from your ISP. That will tell you whether there are specific ISP - or educational institution – imposed penalties associated with receiving the notice and whether you need to contact your ISP or school administration about this incident.
   
   Additionally, as indicated in the notice, you should immediately take the following steps in order to prevent further infringing activity and to prevent serious legal and other consequences:
   • Discontinue downloading and uploading unauthorized copies of music.
   • Permanently delete from your computer all infringing music from all computers linked to the account (for instructions, see #7). If you downloaded the file from a P2P service or a website that seems too good to be legal, then it’s safer to assume it is not legal.
   • If you do not use P2P software for lawful purposes, delete it.
   • If you use P2P for lawful purposes (to upload or download files that you are legally authorized to reproduce or distribute), make sure the only files in your P2P "shared folder" are ones you are authorized to distribute in this way.
   • Secure your internet connection to ensure it is not being used in ways you have not authorized. For example, secure your home Wi-Fi network to ensure others are not accessing the Internet through your connection to download or distribute unauthorized copies of music, and use virus and spyware protection software. Visit the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team website at http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/ to obtain information on how to secure your computer in these and other ways.
   • Talk with family members or guests who may have used your Internet connection in ways you are not aware of.
   
   Remember, distributing files illegally puts you at risk for sanctions imposed for violating your ISP's terms of service as well as substantial civil and, in some cases, criminal penalties.
   
6. I've heard that P2P services can be risky. How are they risky?
   Many P2P services are used overwhelmingly to infringe copyright. P2P services are unlike most websites in that they enable files to be downloaded directly from any computer (“peer”) on the network, rather than from a single, centralized computer “server” or website. With many of these P2P services, when you download a file from another user, your computer automatically becomes a distributor of that file to others. When you use such services to download infringing files, you are not anonymous and you subject yourself to serious potential legal penalties and other sanctions.
   
   In addition, malicious users utilize some P2P networks to spread viruses, worms and Trojan horses (programs enabling hackers to gain control of your computer). Illegal file transfers can also expose your private computer files to strangers, increasing the risk of identity theft. To learn more about these risks, see the U.S. Federal Trade Commission webpage athttp://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt128.shtm.
   
7. I want to delete the copies of the unauthorized music on my computer. How do I do this?
   If you know the name of the title you are looking for, you can use the “search” function on most computer systems to search for your files by name. If you don’t find a title at first, try searching for one particular word of the title, or by entering the filename indicated on the notice. You may also use this same function to search by file types commonly associated with music (i.e., .mp3, .mp4, .wav, .wma, .aac, and .ogg files). Check your user manual or the “help” feature on your computer to find out how to use this function.
   
8. I've never downloaded an illegal music file? Why did I receive this notice?
   If you checked for illegal files and found none, and if you are sure that no one illegally downloaded any music using your computer, then contact the technical support staff at your Internet service provider.
   
9. What’s the big deal?
   Intellectual property industries - such as music, film, television and computer software - are central to the health and stability of the U.S. economy. For example, in 2007, the core copyright industries contributed $889.1 billion to the U.S. GDP, equal to approximately 6.4% of the U.S. economy.
   
   Who pays when music is stolen? Singers, songwriters, musicians, album producers, audio engineers, sound technicians, recording studio managers, and many others that contribute to creating the music we love, and who depend on a healthy industry for their jobs and their families’ income.
   
   Music theft also has an enormous impact on music fans around the world. It is estimated that 8 out of 10 albums never break even and fail to recover the costs of making and marketing the album. If music is routinely stolen and distributed over the Internet or on illegal CDs, then it becomes less likely that people will invest in the high quality music we love.
   
   Infringing copyright is against the law and increasingly easy to detect. These violations can affect your Internet account in accordance with your ISP’s terms of service, and can result in lawsuits against you by copyright owners, and under some circumstances even constitute violations of Federal criminal law. In short, it’s not worth it.
   
10. So am I being sued?
    No. The notice you received from your ISP about a copyright infringement complaint from us does not mean you are being sued. It is a warning that we have detected unlawful downloading or distribution from your computer and it is meant to put you on notice that this activity should stop. If you fail to heed this warning and continue to illegally download and share copyrighted material then you do expose yourself to being sued for damages arising from copyright infringement.
    
11. Where can I get the music that I want online legally?
    There are a multitude of legal, affordable and hassle free places where you can find your favorite music in high quality formats. Please click here for a list of a number of legal and safe sites where content is available for downloading. 

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