Music publishing is a lucrative business.  For years songwriters, and their labels relied on selling albums, and licensing their music to other outlets, in particular, commercials, TV shows, video games and movies.  In fact, I produced a show that relied heavily on music licensing.  The show’s premise was the untold story of musical songs.  It was a great idea but altogether difficult to produce.  To secure the rights to a song you must pay the music publisher, the writer and the performers. I know I summed it up in one sentence and I wish it had been that easy to produce, but it wasn’t.  In some cases the permissions were difficult to obtain and in other instances the fees requested for the license would have…

There’s no hiding the fact that NBC is at the bottom of the ratings heap.  Clearly an hour of prime-time with Jay Leno was not the answer to their problems.  So, he was cancelled and now they’ve got an entirely new line-up for the fall.

UNDERCOVERS : From executive producer J.J. Abrams  (Alias, LOST, Star Trek).  This one hour drama features a seemingly typical married couple who own a small catering company in Los Angeles.  However, secretly the duo are two retired CIA spies.  When fellow spy and friend goes missing they are reinstated.  “Undercovers” has been described as a mix between “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and “The Bourne Identity.”

THE EVENT: An emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an everyman who…

There’ a new series being produced.  It’s a form of entertainment that will combine television programming with the web and social media.  The backers behind this new venture are established media giants.  I believe it will either be a game changer or an idea whose hype was bigger than its content.

THE PLAYERS

Ben Silverman
Producer and Television Executive
Founded Reveille Studios in 2002 and produced such hits as The Office, Ugly Betty and The Tudors.

In 2007 he became Co-chairman of NBC Entertainment.  In 2009 NBC chose not to renew his contract.  I’m guessing the network was disappointed with the ratings under his helm and expected to see the kind of genius he displayed at Reveille. The reason for his departure from NBC…

I came across a very interesting radio interview on NPR with Edward Jay Epstein author of the new book The Hollywood Economist.  He made the interesting observation that movie going has changed since the 1940’s.

“In the 1940s, [going to the movies] was the national pastime. Approximately 67 percent of the American public — every week, on the average — went to a movie. And they didn’t just see movies — they saw newsreels, they saw cartoons, animation, shorts, a second feature — but it was their weekly pastime. Today, less than 10 percent of the public, on the average, go to the movies in a week.”

I don’t have to go back as far as the 40’s.  I can take a…

When creating a Production Schedule start backwards from the delivery date. Whether you’re using sophisticated scheduling software, or you’re just using a gigantic wall calendar,  begin with the delivery date. Otherwise you’ll be working on that production schedule for the rest of your natural born days.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE ORDER

1.  Deliver final master to the network
2.  Create all the deliverables for the network. (Contracts, final scripts, releases, DVD copies, etc.)
3.  Close caption your show
4.  Mix your tracks
5.  Final on-line edit
6.  Rough cut delivered to the network.  Factor in the various executives who will need to weigh in, comment and approve.  You’ll need time to get their comments, make the changes, deliver those changes, and then…

I’m going to have to answer yes to the above question.  I’ve seen ad agencies get carried away by producing  commercials that are so creative and outside the box that they forgot to sell the product, and in some cases the ad doesn’t even tell you what the product is.

The basics of Marketing 101 are to get your product known and get it sold.  Therefore, it would seem obvious that the purpose of a commercial is to sell the product.  It doesn’t matter how many Clio awards one wins for best ad of the year, what matters, or what should matter is moving the product into the hands of the consumer.  I know, as creatives, we don’t like to hear words like sales, profit,…

By Marisa O’Neill

Today’s Guest blogger  is Marisa O’Neill.  Yes, we look a bit similar – that’s because we’re identical twins.  Marisa is a television line producer by day and by night she’s my go to girl for what’s the latest in television.

Did ABC shoot themselves in the foot by introducing two ongoing series with complicated mythologies and a never ending guess who done it plot? I’m talking specifically about V and Flash Forward.  I admit I was interested at first, and did my due diligence by watching each episode.  I was a bit intrigued, applauded their high production value, set design, editing and often times the acting and writing. When their last episodes aired I wanted to know more. Then, they left the…

Guest Post by Tyler Weaver

The ingredients that have thus far made up the concoction I call a  career can be described, in a word, as “mucho.” Drummer. Orchestral percussionist.  Composer.  Film composer.  Filmmaker.  Add in a dash of non-profit management and my newest seasoning – critic – and the pierogie that is my hyphenated mish-mash of a career takes on a distinctly saucy turn.

Since September of 2009, I have cast a critical eye on J.J. Abrams’ FRINGE and David Shore’s HOUSE for Anthony Schiavino’s Pulp Tone website.  Last month, I began reviewing the new Mark Valley/Chi McBride/Jackie Earl Haley-starring series, HUMAN TARGET.  They are three distinctly different shows (though not without their similarities), and reviewing…

What happens when a network affiliate goes rogue and decides to air a college basketball game instead of LOST? Well it ain’t pretty. The following announcement appeared on WWAY-TV’s website under “Programming Notes”.  The station is an ABC Affiliate in Wilmington, North Carolina.

We will be airing an ACC game Tuesday night from 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm (UNC  vs. Georgia Tech)
Lost will air at 1:06 am Tuesday Night / Wednesday Morning.
The Forgotten will air at 2:06 am.
You can also watch these shows Wednesday via the ABC Video Player – which is on the top right side of www.wwaytv3.com.

Clearly the station has lost their way because the post received a flurry of negative comments, like the one listed…

By Tyler Weaver
Tyler is a filmmaker and a writer.  This article first appeared in MULTI-HYPHENATE a  blogazine he created,  featuring articles by the new wave  of creatives.

Judy Berman’s article from Flavorwire, “Why is Indie Film Dying While Indie Music Thrives?” has, to say the least, stirred some argument, such as Filmmaker Magazine’s Scott Macaulay in his response “How Cool is Indie Film?” and all over the Twitterverse.

I don’t think “indie” film is dying at all.  I think it’s being reshaped – the very definition of “indie” is undergoing transformation in that there really is no single definition.  Everyone has their own.   “Indie” film has a bright future, but I think one thing needs to happen before that…