Closing in on a Masters

WOW! It's been SO LONG since I've blogged. I told you I wasn't good at these things! haha

I wish I could say a lot has happened or changed since my last post in November. I guess a lot has happened, it just seems small and insignificant compared to the grand scheme of things. So where to start...

I'm in my final semester of grad school. April 30th is my final day of classes. At that point I will take an exit exam and (assuming I pass) will graduate on May 14! My time in Miami has FLOWN by. It seems like only yesterday I was packing up the U-Haul and moving down here. With graduation, comes the job search... which will begin this week. I must say that the current economic condition doesn't have me too optimistic about finding a job. But, I intend to be successful. haha (10 pts for the reference, anyone?) At this point, I'm not going to be picky. I'm searching for jobs in 4 or 5 main areas: Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Austin and Miami. Of course, if I find a job elsewhere I'll be open to moving there. At this point, I'm just looking for a job to get my foot in the door and see where it takes me. My main areas of interest are publishing, music supervision and artist management... but that is by no means an exhaustive list. I could see myself doing other things too!

Other than the job search, stressing about paying bills and the such, I'm just finishing up my degree and looking forward to ending my time in school. The fam (minus Scott) will be in Miami... so it'll be fun to share Miami with them!

I'd write more, but I need to get to a meeting. I'd LOVE to tell you that I'll post again soon, but look at my track record. So maybe you'll hear from me in a few more months. OR. Maybe something amazing will strike and really motivate me to blog. We'll see.

Until later.

Leading @ The Pursuit

The Pursuit

Wow... So it's been a super long time since I've blogged.  A lot has happened since leaving the internship in NYC and coming back to Miami.  I'm extremely busy with school, my assistantship and Cat 5 Music Publishing.  It's all good, but busy.  

One of the things that brings me back to the blog is my quest to raise support.  I have been invited to join The Pursuit Christian Church as a part time staff member.  I will be leading worship and assisting in the worship planning.  

As you may or may not know, The Pursuit is a very new church (9-10 months old) and does not have the resources to pay their staff.  So, I need to raise support to get paid.  If you are interested in supporting me, I would love to hear from you!  I have sent out many emails and have talked to a lot of people... and I will continue to do so until the support is raised.

Unlike other church planters/missionaries/(insert label here), I am only seeking support through May... which is when I graduate.  We will see what God has in store for me after that point, but I am only seeking commitments through May '09.

I will be posting videos and information from The Pursuit here as often as I can... so that you can remain updated and informed on what's happening in here in South Florida.

If you have any questions or are interested in becoming a financial supporter of our church, then please let me know!

Thanks for visiting! 

-Eric

Weeks 5-7: E-Pod Internship

With weeks 5-7 of the internship under wraps, and week 8 half done because of the holiday (4th of July), things at Epic have begun to slow down.  I'm still working on the two different street teams.  The Dedicated Crew seems to be going strong!  People are writing in almost every day to tell about the flyers they are handing out, the shows they are going to, etc.  They seem stoked.  We sent them a package which included stickers, a "mix-tape" CD, and some other goodies.  Package two will include more of the same and some I (heart) DC t-shirts.  The team is really into spreading good music and promoting whatever we give them.  On my end, this team has been kind of slow lately because we're just watching it grow, responding to emails, etc.  Other than cutting and copying from handbills, I haven't done a lot with this project lately.  

The street team for The White Tie Affair, via the management website of FanCorps, is interesting. The team sat stagnant for some time and nothing much was done.  The fans didn't have a lot of communication or information regarding what they were suppose to do, how to promote the band, etc.  Since Ryan and I have taken over the team , we've been trying to regroup everyone and re-energize them!  It's been hard.  We have seen record growth for membership over the past month, but people don't tend to do much once they join.  Part of our job is to send out "orders" each week that encourage promotion of the band in some way. We've also begun sending out emails to the team in hopes that some more communication from NYC will help get them motivated.  In the meantime, profiles have been checked and those members that have been inactive or have never logged in are being deleted.  We want the team to be as streamlined and productive as possible... unfortunately, this means cutting out those who haven't been involved.  Once the membership has been whittled down to those who actually want to help, then we might move to a model more similar to the Dedicated Crew for a more interactive experience.  Maybe that will help!  We're definitely trying to find news ways to excite and motivate.

Other than that, things have been pretty slow.  Not a ton of work, but I guess that happens when you're interning.  Because of that, we may start doing similar work for a new artist named Lenka. (Check her out!) 

More to come soon... It's hard to believe but I head back to Miami 3 weeks from today.  The weeks have flown and it seems like my time in NYC will be done before I know it.

Weeks 2-4: E-Pod Internship

Things got busy... and, as usual, I forgot to post. :)  So I'll do an update of the past 3 weeks in one post.  Actually, it's 2 weeks.  For week 3, I was sick and then travelled to Indiana... so I only worked one day. :)

As I said, the last few weeks have been very busy.  The E-Pod is almost at full capacity.  We've gone from 2 people in my first week to 8 people this week... and 2 more will show up next week.  It's a full crew; 5 of which are UM students! So it's been fun meeting new people and collaborating with some friends as well.

As I mentioned before, I am working with the street team and radio stations.  The street team has taken over most of my time as the task has split into two areas.  The first is working with Josh on a tour-based street team.  We developed a small team consisting of music fans from across the nation.  We are taking things back and doing it "old-school" style... which means we are not mass-mailing people.  We are using one-on-one interaction to spread information about bands, shows, tours, etc.  We are interacting with our people and getting them excited about the music without bombarding them with junk mail.  On my end I've been doing a lot of the administrative work.  Creating the email address for our crew (the dedicated crew), compiling and organizing member info, sorting through emails, etc.  This week we completed a package to each of the people in the group which will ship out on Monday morning.  The package contains stickers, buttons, a "mix tape", tour dates, and a letter from me and Josh.  I think the response will be huge and will hopefully help the bands.  We will be sending out a second package in the next few weeks which will likely contain a few CD's, more stickers, and I (heart) DC shirts.  Overall, this is a fresh new way to approach things and we think the response will be most excellent.

The second facet to the street team is a website called FanCorps.  It's a management tool which allows us to post shows and distribute "orders" to the members.  I'll be working on growing this team which is specific to The White Tie Affair.  The goal is to recruit dedicated TWTA fans to join and promote the band at every opportunity.  Holding steady at approximately 100 members, we want to see it explode and expand to a larger number of active participants.  The more exposure for the band, the better.  This is also a great way for fans to become directly involved with the success of the band.  Without fans and a street team, it would be hard for the band to prosper.  Luckily, the band is good and there are some hardcore fans out there!  I think it's only a matter of time before the band experiences some larger growth.

On to radio... another part of my job has been comparing the radio stations that are currently spinning The White Tie Affair to their summer tour dates.  I've created a spread sheet which details all of the radio stations which fall near a concert city.  Now that the list is complete, I'll be contacting the stations to set up interviews and events for the band.  We're also looking for creative activities/events for the band to participate in... if you have any ideas, let me know! :)

Last, but not least, is the over-arching goal of "the big idea".  What is the best way to gain exposure for the band.  What are some new marketing ideas?  We're thinking huge, new, and out-of-the-box.  Again, any ideas are welcome!

That just about sums it up in a nut-shell.  It's been a busy couple of weeks.  Yesterday we had the pleasure of attending happy-hour in the conference room.  The event was held to introduce a new band signed by Epic.  There was food, beverage, and the band (The Script) did a three song, acoustic set.  They were pretty incredible.  You should definitely check them out.  They hail from Dublin and mix great vocal talent with R&B riffs.  It's a whole new sound that is really nifty!  www.thescriptmusic.com  While you're at it, check out the band I've been working on too... www.thewhitetieaffair.com

That about does it for this installment.  A lot has been going on and there's a lot yet to happen! Should you have any creative ideas for marketing the band, send them my way.  Until next time...  

Week One at Epic

The first week of my internship has come to a close and tomorrow morning I will begin week two. It has been exciting so far and there seems to be a lot to get done!  I'm lucky to be working on marketing and development for a band that has some good music.  If you haven't done it already, check them out:  www.thewhitetieaffair.com  Give me feedback and let me know what you think about them.  Any great or crazy marketing ideas are welcome as well! :)  Really! Throw some at me!

Anyway... as there are many aspects to a grassroots marketing campaign, we have a few different departments within the internship.  The five areas are:  1) Online Publicity/Blog Promotion; 2) Lifestyle Online Publicity/College Marketing/Online Radio; 3) Viral Marketing/Social Networks/Online Street Team; 4) Video/Content Promotion/Distribution; 5)Strategic Partnerships.  As of now, I will be working on two main things as the summer progresses: helping develop a national "street team" and coordinating contests with college radio stations in tour cities.  I'm excited to be working with Josh Madden on the street teams as he has a great amount of experience and knowledge when it comes to the music business.  I believe I'll be learning a lot from him; so that's definitely cool.

Overall, the internship seems like a great tool for knowledge, experience and networking.  I'm stoked to be a part of it and am excited to see what the summer will bring!  More updates soon! :)  

The Arrival: NYC

I realize it has been awhile since I've blogged, for that, I'm sorry.  I'm bad at keeping things up-dated.  So, a quick review:

My first year of grad school has wrapped up.  It seemed to fly by and I'm looking forward to starting (and finishing) my final year.  In the meantime, I'm in New York City for the summer working with Epic Records.  My hope is to keep an updated blog throughout my internship that will keep everyone up-to-date on what's going on.  I'll post as often as possible and will include as much as I'm able to.

So, today was the first day of the internship with the Epic E-Pod.  The team will be developing a grassroots marketing campaign for a new artist: The White Tie Affair.  Check em out at www.thewhitetieaffair.com  Most of today was spent researching sites and meeting with a few jr. execs  concerning contesting and street teams.  I think I'll learn a lot, develop some great relationships and get my hands a little dirty.  Very exciting! :) 

I'm staying with an old friend and roommate in upper manhattan in the Washington Heights area.  The train ride into the Sony building is a little long, but not too bad.  It was a good opportunity to people-watch, reflect, and listen to some tunes on the iPod.  The commute home was a little longer (at the height of rush hour) but still not terrible overall.

What to look forward to tomorrow: more work on "street teams" and radio promos.  I built a decent foundation today and will build upon that when I arrive in the morning. 

More later. :)