The NEW Business Plan....

Que in the choir!!! The clouds have finally parted and the sun is shining bright once again with my future business plans! The past 3 months I have been extensively researching what I thought was an excellent idea. The original plan was to start up a cable company that has a somewhat "a la carte" system. With this system customers could choose which channel they wanted in their cable packages. If you only watch ten channels, the you should only have to pay for ten channels, right? The idea seemed unsurmountable, and I was completely sold on this idea....until I found out that it JUST WONT WORK!! According to all of my previous research, this idea is far from new. In fact, for the past 15 years, many have been trying to get this "idea" to work, only to get shut down time and time again by the FCC.

So, with that being said, in order for me to really get a grasp of this business plan, if I was gonna change it, I needed to do it now! So the wheels in my head slowly started to turn...and turn...and turn. And then it hit me!! As an aspiring artist, I thought to myself, "what if there was a place where up-and-coming artist could hone there skills and showcase their work?" The first thing that popped in my head was the now deceased historical club CBGB. So many artist were born there. Yes, of course this has been done before, but I think I have a bit of an edge. You know what that edge is? Location, Location, Location!!!

Here at Full Sail, there is a PLETHORA of unsurfaced talent. So many students have dreams and ideas that they may like to express outside of a classroom setting or a "classroom style" studio. This venue would serve as a launching pad for so many artist. Recording Arts students in particular, may want to showcase their new tracks to an audience. They could book a night at my club, and have somewhat of a listening party. Do you and your struggling band need a place to rehearse? Come on down to _______. Umm, okay so I haven't figured out a name yet. To be honest I really haven't fully figured out this plan. This idea though, is a starting point. The wheels in my head have begun to turn once again!! Hallelujah!!

You can tell the choir to sit down now.

The Entertainment Cut-back

     Have you ever noticed that your favorite television shows are airing seasons that are becoming shorter and shorter? For example, I usually expect to enjoy 22 episodes per season of The Office, whereas now, networks have slimmed that down to 15. If you're not really a tv kind of person then consider this; remember when albums were released that had at least 16+ songs on it, whereas now you'd be lucky to squeeze out even 12 songs from your favorite artist? This is a problem that I have noticed for a couple years now. Are these companies simply cutting out the crap, or can they not afford it?

     I find it almost sad that audiences have to wait almost a year for a season to air, only for the season to wrap up 2 months later. A perfect example of that would be The Game. This was a show that originally aired on the CW network. It was a mediocre show that was eventually cancelled. By the power of the viewers it was resurrected under BET network. From the month of September until its air date of January 11, BET advertised this show heavily. When it aired, it became BET's highest ranking show in history, only for the season finale to be over by March. A lot of people, including myself felt cheated that we had to wait that long only for a snippet of a season.

     Well the problem here is that these production companies simply cant afford to bring you the entertainment that they used to. With cuts being made left and right from every angle, it is more economical for a company to cut back on their expenses, even if it does bring them in revenue. With that being said, networks only purchase one season at a time with less episodes. One of my favorite shows Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia has been renewed for a 6th season, and FX only ordered 13 episodes. THIRTEEN?? Thats it?? If you look at it from a viewer stand point, its a rip-off. However, from the network's point of view, it is a more economical move.


From the music standpoint, I personally prefer ten great songs on an album versus eight "ok" songs and five "filler" songs that shouldnt even be on an album. With that being said, I personally agree with the record label cutbacks. As a person who still buys albums, (why do I feel like the stone age when I say that?) there is nothing I hate worse than buying an album, only to like about 3 out of 12 songs on it. With less people buying albums, record labels are starting to realize that you cant sell us crap and tell us its apple pie. Well, not me anyway.