Raising a #SeedRound in 2016: 94% of VC funds go to Men, 6% to (white) #...

New vlog! Since the last post, we have been in Forbes, in Bloomberg, and to Rio & back w/ a few gold medals in tow! :):





Written version via #Medium!: https://medium.com/@emwizzle/raising-a-seed-round-in-2016-94-of-vc-funds-go-to-men-6-to-women-ae0a8bcdb6fe#.t0ab3uk4p



Help hire our (female) CTO & beyond HERE: https://www.Crowdfunder.com/Dreamfuel



THANK YOU!!!!! xoxo

Raising a #SeedRound in 2016 by Emily White

Raising a #SeedRound in 2016, by Emily White: Friday update

Raising a #SeedRound in 2016, by Emily White: Manhattan pitch meeting Tuesday!

Raising a Seed Round in 2016, By Emily White.

Austin Bliss

In March I traveled to Austin for what I believe was my 10th SXSW in 11 years.  Despite barely drinking and walking / biking everywhere; as many know, SX is a BEAST.  No matter how healthy one tries to be, it is an insane zoo of people and a massive influx of stimuli.

Thus, I was super psyched when I had time to squeeze in a yoga class the Sunday of Interactive to help get my head and body focused for the upcoming music week.

I looked into Wanderlust yoga, but unfortunately (though understandably), their space had been rented out for the week which I realized when I saw Whitesmith comedy client W. Kamau Bell speak on a panel for Pivot.  Google's new Maps is very frustrating to use and one can't search by distance from a location any more but amazingly I spotted a small red dot about a mile away from my hotel when searching for the nearest studio.

I was very pleased to have found Practice Yoga Austin on the East side: http://practiceyogaaustin.com/.

I took a Vinyasa II-III (re: not for beginners) at 1:15 on a Sunday.  It was a substitute teacher and I absolutely LOVED the class.  The instructor did two postures that were new for me; which is always nice, but they weren't new in the sense that it felt too modern and trying to change tradition.  It was a great experience and I felt loaded with prana, especially for an express type of class.  That being said, it did run about 15 minutes long; which I feel is important to note, especially for midday (or morning or evening) classes as many folks are on a schedule.  But I didn't mind :).

I ended up talking to the owner while I was putting my shoes on who explained that they were new and were going to work on their SEO.  Additionally, he had thought of closing during SXSW, but I encouraged him not to.  Both the locals and folks in town need a space to decompress during the madness, and also send a little love back out to the world.

Thus, I give Practice Yoga Austin 4 out of 5 stars.  Yay!  xo

Why "The Princeton Mom" is Bad for Girls

The day before Valentine’s this year, The Wall Street Journal posted an op-ed titled “A Little Valentine’s Day Straight Talk.”  Had the year of the piece not been listed at the top, one might think this was a post from an era long gone, reprinted as an April Fool’s Day joke.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t April 1st, nor the year 1950.

Select quotes include: “for most of you the cornerstone of your future happiness will be the man you marry.” And “You're not getting any younger, but the competition for the men you'd be interested in marrying most definitely is.”

Of course this is laughable to many folks who have the intelligence and life experience to know better.  And this is not to take away from women and men in which getting married is a goal they want to prioritize early in life.

What scares me about this piece being printed in a National newspaper, and on a website with a large global readership, is how it affects young girls who are already dealing with enough decisions, insecurities and pressures in their lives.

I have traveled the world, lived life on my own terms, and am presented with incredible personal and professional opportunities on a daily basis.  Above and beyond all, I am happy.

I come from a supportive, but middle-class, Midwestern family with loving parents who have been married since my mother was 19.  Getting married young worked for my parents.  Yet what it provided for me is the option to choose my own path in life, in love, and in a career.  

Beyond my nuclear family, I’m grateful for for everyone and everything that came before me which granted me the perspective to view what I have as limitless opportunities and choices in life for personal and professional growth.

What's wonderful about our world is that there is something for everyone.  The same path isn't going to make every individual happy and we need to be celebrating humanity’s, especially girls’, right to diversity, uniqueness, finding one’s own path and thus, their happiness.

Who I am now at 31 is an evolution of who I was in college.  I can’t help but smile to think what would have happened had I married any of the young men I dated in college. We all (men included! :)) evolve and change and grow.  That is life- it is exciting and is natural.  If you have found someone in which you can grow and change with together for decades; that is incredible.  Stick with it.  But most of us live in reality in a modern world and are quite content continuing to experience life in whatever way we want.

I won't be the same at 40 or 60 or 80 and I can't wait for those life experiences.  Thank you to my parents and the women and men who came before me who laid the path for the freedom of life choices I now posses.

Susan Patton may think that dating different types of people is a “waste of time.”  For me, they’ve been blessings and incredible learning experiences.  I’ve had a blast with the “bad boys,” learned a ton from the “crazy guys.”  The married men she references still hit on me (and they are often young), prompting me to wonder if men also receive antiquated advice on “marrying young”- before they are fully formed adults who have discovered what they want and who they want to be.  

As for The Princeton Mom’s comments on age and “competing” with women in their 20’s?  Give me a break.  I’m not “competing” with anyone.  I live a life of supporting young women and finding partnerships that satisfy areas of my life as an equal.  As to Ms. Patton’s superficial points, I look better in my 30's than I did a decade ago.  I can now create time to prioritize health and I love to exercise and eat well way more than I did while in school.  Not to mention that I can afford whatever I want in those areas due to a career of my own control and making.

Girls, there are men who respect you as equals and they are plentiful and wonderful. Pursue what you want, but always know that you have a choice and that the options in all areas of your life are limitless.

I hope Susan Patton has a fulfilling life with her husband, whom I assume she had to have met in college in order to be doling out such advice.  I am all for monogamy and blissful unions.  I am thrilled for my close friends who met loving partners in college and have great relationships.  But please do not tell girls what to do.  We are the first female generation with choices and I am loving it.

Fierce Compassion in Cannes

For the past 5 years, I have been lucky enough to travel to the South of France for the annual MIDEM conference, were the music industry's global community comes together.

MIDEM is INTENSE.  When done right, it is packed with meeting after meeting, speed dating style.  I love working with the conference and this year they asked me to interview Seymour Stein, which was a complete honor.  In addition to the above, I am currently overseeing or running three companies and had a slew of social engagements as well as professional events to attend during the week.

Thus, as always, health and balance is as important as ever.

I was thrilled this year to score an Airbnb apartment not only 2 blocks from the conference center, but also literally across the street from a yoga studio:

For the second year in a row, I attend an evening class on the day of arriving; which of course felt great after a long-haul flight.

I love the layout of this studio.  There is a giant Om symbol that one faces in class with a large Buddha painting to the right and a Buddha statue by the door to the studio.  There is free yogi tea near the changing rooms and a slew of yogic texts.

The teacher on this Friday evening was female and introduced a pose I had never done before.  Kind of a twist (literally) on pigeon.  I'm generally quite a yoga traditionalist as the practices have been around for thousands of years; so why change them?  But this posture felt great!

Most of the other classes I took were led by what I believe was the male owner.  He is wonderful! Super into it and taught different style classes back to back with some new things that were impressive.  The teacher's passion shone through with his "LIVE, LOVE, YOGA" tshirt and the fact that he was not creepy.  (Sometimes male yoga teachers just can't help it, hate to say it....).

All was great all week and doing yoga in French was a blast.  The teachers were nice enough to include some English, but I didn't mind following along and trying to listen for Sanskrit words.

However, I didn't end the week very well.  After my interview with Seymour Stein, I was looking forward to winding down with an evening class.  The schedule was confusing as it had 6:15 and 6:30 listed.  I was running late due to work flowing in from the U.S. and turned up at 6:35.  The teacher, understandably, was NOT happy about this.  I thought I was only a few minutes late, but it turns out I was 20, which is definitely rude and I felt like an obnoxious American :(.

Instead, I took myself out to dinner at Brouette de Grand-Mere, which was epic and I highly recommend: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187221-d1790776-Reviews-Brouette_de_Grand_Mere-Cannes_French_Riviera_Cote_d_Azur_Provence.html.  Thanks to Dick Huey @ Toolshed for the recommendation!

I'm going to have trouble rating yoga studios as all yoga is wonderful and I feel grateful when I can do classes while traveling.  But wrapping up a great week on such a bummer note, makes me dip this studio down to 3.5 / 5 stars, even though I blame myself.  Clearly I need to be more mindful about getting to class in time and I'll make it a priority at this studio in 2015 as I've already booked lodging nearby so I can return and hopefully have an equally solid MIDEM 2015 :). xo

First Ever International Yoga Class / Studio Review - Health Oasis @ Koh Samui, Thailand - 4 out of 5 Stars

Hi!

One reason I got into yoga after my college swimming days wrapped, is it was something I could do anywhere in the world at any time.  I have done yoga next to tour busses in parking lots and in the middle of town squares in England.

When the i/smart phone was invented (Thanks Steve!), to me the maps app was basically a yoga class finder.  No matter where I am in the world, it has been generally easy to find a yoga class.  This is one of my favorite things to do while traveling as it's an interesting way to integrate to the local culture. Last year I took classes in French, Portuguese, Spanish and assimilated into the business crowd for an express class in Brisbane; to name a few.

I figured it might be helpful to the yoga community to provide reviews of these global studios, so here is my first attempt.  Will try and keep it up!

My first review is of the daily 8:30 AM class at Health Oasis in Koh Samui, Thailand.

I was told by my Airbnb host that there was a studio within walking distance, and this turned out to be it.  Instant bonus points for the studio having the same name as my favorite band as well as a Nirvana Nevermind baby parody for it's logo.  However, it was difficult to locate the class times and price (250 THB / about $7.50 USD) on the website.  Note that this resort is a general health center for detox, fasting, cleansing and weight loss; so to be fair, it's not solely a yoga studio.

Health Oasis offers one 1-hour yoga class a day, every day at 8:30 AM.  This is awesome in theory, but I was working U.S. business hours this week and therefore only made it to two classes.

The class was great.  I thought the teacher led a nice balance of relatively advanced and vigorous vinyasa intertwined with solid options for the beginners.  Kudos to the resort's residents who were fasting and doing a yoga class!  I would probably pass out if I were in that category.

The major win for this class / studio is that it faces the ocean.  The class would really have to suck for me to give it anything less than a 4 star review for this alone.  The temperature in Koh Samui in January is pretty much perfect in general and I can't imagine a more ideal setting to practice in.

I *almost* knocked the review down to 3.5 stars as when the instructor was advising we make some punching motions that aren't really traditional asana ala Tae Bo, he repeatedly told us to not punch like a "ladyman."  This example didn't make any sense considering I am in better shape than all but one guy in the class (who looked like a Marine).  It wouldn't be cool to say we shouldn't punch the air like a "flabbyman" either, but come on.  I did approach the instructor after class to nicely let him know that the term "ladyman" is offensive and probably not a good term to use.  I thanked him for the class however, as at the end of the day; it's a great class and even after an hour, I was feeling the prana.  A solid hour class can be a difficult balance to teach and Health Oasis does the job.

Thus, I give Health Oasis' 8:30 AM daily beach yoga class (taught on a platform, not on sand) - 4 out of 5 stars.

Check it: http://www.healthoasisresort.com/koh.php

Next up!  An attempt to put into words my 8 day silent vipassana retreat at my favorite place in the world: Jungle Yoga in Khao Sok National Park.  

Till Then,

@EmWizzle xo

Adventures in Lap Swimming & Internet Dating

This has been an amazing year.  The last two months in particular have had a particularly high energy level, which is not necessarily a good thing, but we're always learning and I'm looking forward to these experiences culminating in the facilitation of various creative endeavors into the Fall.  Hopefully the cooler weather (at least in the Northeast) will cause some people to chill out and relax in general as well.

One element of my adult life that I feel is consistent enough for me to consider a regularity is that I frequent Adult Lap Swim at two of New York's public pools.  When I first mentioned this to an a high level swimming colleague, the answer was disbelief ala "You swim in public pools??"

But in reality, the New York Parks department is truly amazing.  It's $150 year to have access to a slew of pools and gyms throughout the city and outdoor pools are free in the summer, including McCarren's epic pool in Williamsburg that (thank you!!) the city invested $50M in: http://www.mccarrenpark.com/.

When I was a young teenage swimming thousands of yards a day, I remember seeing all of the out of shape swim parents watching us.  At about 13 I thought to myself "I should consider doing 1,000 yards a day when I'm an adult.  That is easy for any real swimmer and truly a good workout if done consistently by an adult."  Thus in my ideal world, every evening I don't have an event or dinner to attend; I go and swim my 1,000 yards.  Sometimes more; but always at least that.  It's such a quick workout at the end of the day for someone like me / most of us that has limited time and always feels great.

As someone who has grown up (literally) in and around pools; it is an atmosphere that I feel completely comfortable in and feel like I have an understanding of the basics in running a pool. Particularly in my music business career but hopefully in life; I'm all about things that make sense.  However, my experiences at Lap Swim as an adult, don't always make sense.  I can't guarantee I'll commit, but I will try and blog about my "Adventures in Lap Swimming" from time to time; even if it's just via Tweet and even if Mike Gustafson is my only reader (not a bad sole reader though :)).

The first thing to address is the signs that indicate "Fast," "Medium" or "Slow" at Adult Lap Swim. Speed is of course relative.  As soon as I start to get frustrated with not-so-fast people in the Fast lane, some giant experienced male swimmer comes in and completely dominates my workout, literally swimming circles around me.  However, to really swim in the "Fast" lane at lap swim, I believe the following traits should be adhered to:

1.  No sort of "mask" should be worn.  Your call if you want to go sans goggles in a chlorinated pool, but masks will not be tolerated as it doesn't make sense for any reason.

2.  I feel the same way about "trunks."  Yes, there are rare exceptions, but even the fastest swimmer is going to be creating a lot of drag for themselves if they're straight up wearing shorts.

3.  One of the Metropolitan pool lifeguards (the lifeguards there are a definitely another blog post at some point...) disagreed with me on this today, but generally I think that anyone who is unable to do a flip-turn should not be in the "Fast" lane.  Consider it the equivalent of a lap swimming time standard.

These are just a few of the requisites I think should be in place to do one's laps in the "Fast" lane at lapswim.  There are more.  And when I thought this the other day at McCarren when there were some particularly slow trunk wearing / no flip-turning / mask people (triple whammy!) in the Fast lane, it turns out 2008 Olympian and super elite 200 Flyer (aka my event) was in the lane next to me.  Instant Karma for me internally ragging on the lap swimmers in my lane as she can definitely kick my butt.

That's all for now on Adult Lap Swim, but there will be more on this hopefully.  Topics include reactions to my daily 200 fly, the aforementioned indoor pool lifeguards, the "Aquatic Specialists" at the outdoor pool (I want one of their shirts please) as well as the rule at the indoor pools in which one must dry off after the shower and before they walk across the locker room.  This requires a lot of shower gear / towel planning and any violation incurs the wrath of 2 Parks department women who literally stand near the showers instilling fear into any lap swimmer who dares to violate this policy.

In other news, I started Internet dating this weekend.  Being a ridiculous planner, all that means is that I finally set up a profile (I did once before with friends, but my energy wasn't in it).  I am ALL FOR internet dating as a concept, particularly for people that don't want to like just go to bars; which can also include older / real adults.  My hesitations included not wanting to (gasp!) be on the computer at the end of the day as we all stare at screens all day and feeling like I was filling out a Myspace profile for myself (which I believe stems from OkCupid's blue color-scheme reminding me of Tom-era Myspace in it's heyday).

However, it's great to see how the normalcy of Internet dating has evolved and the whole thing made me smile.  I can see how like just about everything else in our lives, there is a way to integrate online dating into how I usually meet guys and it's nice to mix it up.  Frankly I just like the idea of interfacing with people who I don't work with as my career is inherently social by nature, therefore I know and meet tons of people in general; but ultimately it is work related.  I saw a guy on OkCupid who gives people sailing lessons around the New York harbor.  How fun! Hopefully he doesn't also work for a music publisher as well or something.

If anything, I couldn't help reading up on the founders of OkCupid as the site is definitely cool / normal and obviously wildly successful, particularly in Brooklyn / NYC.  I thought the site getting bought for $50M (apparently the number of the day) seemed low, but it turns out one of the founders is now the CEO of Match.com; so clearly there is a larger game plan at work. I'm sure Sam Yagan is smart enough to understand the brand / marketplace difference of a site even called something like "Match.com" as opposed to the OkCupid's (dare I say it!) hipster vibe. Apparently as long Christian Rudder's creative vision continues to be incorporated, OkCupid's vibe won't die.  Fingers crossed.

Love,
Emily

P.S. - The photo above isn't of me but came up in Google Images upon searching "lap swim internet dating."

A Touch of California and France in Austin

Sydney Wayser recently moved to L.A. This is where she grew up but she has developed the vast majority of her professional career in New York and France, so the laid back vibe and warm weather of Southern California has definitely brought about change.

This change has led to new friends, new experiences, new writing partners like Luke Prichard of The Kooks, new tours like the one she is currently on with The Hush Sound and Last Royals, new team partners, and some incredible new music that we are mixing as we speak.

Because Sydney has been writing, recording and re-adjusting to life in her initial homeland, we weren't going to bring her down to the chaos of SXSW this year. But the chaos pulled her in on tour and here we are.  Perfect timing as I caught recent shows in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall as well as in Pomona, CA and Sydney has developed from my intern to a powerhouse on stage. It's so exciting and truly warms my heart to watch.

In case you missed her recent video premiere for "Come Aboard" directed by Abraham Vilchez-Moran, you can view it HERE thanks to our friends at MTV. Additionally they premiered the clip as the track was featured on the season finale of said network's Catfish. Thanks Allison, Kristin and SONGS! :).

Don't miss Sydney in Austin as she helps us close out SXSW 2013 after two epic performances yesterday.  She'll be performing at The Deli's Hangover Hideout @ J. Blacks today at 5:30 PM (710-B W.6th St.)  Yay!

B2B Preview @SXSW 2013

I have the absolute honor of both moderating and speaking on a SXSW panel this year.

I rarely seek out speaking engagements (believe it or not...) but took the initiative this year to put a panel together because of a fascinating topic I was witnessing in my every day work. Legends like Ringo Starr (a real live Beatle!) were on Twitter because of forward thinking team members such as the incredibly inspiring Elizabeth Fruend from Beautiful Day Media. Artists like Urge Overkill, who had toured with Nirvana at the height of Nevermind in the 90's were now self-releasing, maintaining ownership of their masters for the first time in their careers. Labels like ABKCO are strategizing the releases of not only active artists on their roster such as Eric Burdon, but are figuring out how to market The Rolling Stones' material to an entirely new generation. Meanwhile artists like Greta Morgan of The Hush Sound and Gold Motel have grown up with their fans online over the past decade watching them evolve from Myspace to Facebook to Twitter to Tumblr and turn into real deal adults from awkward teenagers before her very eyes.

Thus, we will be highlighting what is working for artists in their 20's to artists in their 70's in the modern music industry on Legends and Digital Natives on Music Industry 2.0

Come by and join us in Room 10C at the Austin Convention Center (500 E. Caesar Chavez) at 3:30 on Friday.  Can't wait!

Shortly after, I'll be joining friends from Rhapsody on A River of Cash or Up The Creek?  a.k.a. this panel is about streaming, which in short, I am pro because our industry has FINALLY legalized music in a way that makes sense for the public and I'm happy to remind everyone that our content is competing with free.

I am bummed I had to miss our Comedy panels, but I'm sure W. Kamau Bell and Janine Brito were genius on Why Comedians Don't Give a Fuck if You're Offended and I'm equally bummed I had to miss the always amazing Kevin Avery on Make Your Brains Twerk, Blacks in Tech. Maybe next year I'll get to Austin in time for Interactive!

See you at the Austin Convention Center this Friday.

Much Love,
Emily xo

Readymade Austin

Last year we launched a label, publishing company and film division for and around all things Brendan Benson called Readymade.

Brendan is a critically beloved and fan adored solo artist, co-frontman of The Raconteurs, world-class producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, father, husband and more.

This year marks the debut of Readymade's first ever SXSW showcase. I think even Brendan was impressed when I reminded him today of who was on the lineup: the Godfather of his son: Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons, Nashville's finest: The Howlin' Brothers, our first signee: Young Hines, all the way from Ireland: The Lost Brothers, in addition to a special appearance by the legendary Eric Burdon (courtesy of ABKCO). Did I mention Brendan Benson is also playing?  Obviously we are really looking forward to Friday night :). Our inaugural show kicks off at 8 PM on Friday at The Stage on 6th (508 E. 6th St.).

If for some reason you are in Austin and can't make our super awesome showcase for some reason, the Readymade artists are ALL OVER Austin.  The entire schedule can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/events/516230685095879/

Additionally, Brendan is playing special sets at the Paste Magazine party tomorrow at 2:30 PM also at The Stage on 6th (508 E. 6th St.) as well as a private party for D'addario at a mansion a bit outside of the city. Hit me via any form of communication other than Facebook message for the mansion show if you'd like to come as we have a handful of select guest spots.

Brendan will be previewing his 2013 material that we have been trickling out a song a month leading into a vinyl release for Black Friday.  Can't wait to hear these songs live and see who decides to sit-in with each other (a girl can dream) at the Readymade showcase....

Hooray!

Much Love,
Em Wizzle xo

A Mid-20's Reunion

[Then]

Don't call it a comeback, but The Hush Sound are about to release their first new material in over 5 years, much to their fans' delight.

I am so excited and honored to be working with Bob, Greta, Chris and Darren as they re-enter the music industry completely on their own terms.

I met The Hush Sound in 2006 when they were touring with The Dresden Dolls. Greta would come and knock on our bus door as our we tried to keep healthy on the road and she was welcome to join our "work parties" to catch up on her blog posts and songwriting. It didn't take long to fall in love with the band's live performances and Greta and I quickly bonded over a mutual love of Imogen Heap who I had recently tour managed and ultimately is how I met my best friend and now Readymade Records product manager, Laura Keating.

We'll be rolling out lots of exciting things in The Hush Sound's world over the next few weeks, months and hopefully beyond and although I can't spill all of the beans I can tell you to get excited about their new music. It is always fun to watch an artist or artists collectively evolve musically, which in The Hush Sound's case is extra awesome as what was not to love about the indie pop they crafted as teenagers into their college-age years?

Wise beyond their years now in their mid-twenties yet celebrating a 10th anniversary of their band, I can't wait for you all to see The Hush Sound this weekend @SXSW. I was spent some time with the band on the road in California last weekend as they make their way to Austin and they are ON FIRE! And the new songs are sick. The band's full schedule can be found HERE as they roll into Austin on Friday and Saturday smack in the middle of a tour with Sydney Wayser. Special thanks to Bearded Wonder Drew Potenza for holding it down on the road! What would we do without our beloved tour managers?

[Now]

Photo via http://instagram.com/talkingincircles

Much Love,
Em Wizzle xo

What I'm Excited about 10 years after my 1st SXSW

I'm headed to my 9th SXSW in 10 years.  In 2004, the festival was gravy for asking The Dresden Dolls if I could tour manage them, despite not really knowing what I was doing other than selling Tshirts. I learned quickly and ended up tour managing the band for years.

That first SX was an exciting and eye-opening experience of fashion, music, friends, and laid out a clear vision of what I wanted to do moving forward.

I remember running into my Artist Management professor from Northeastern who had given me a B for missing class too often for swim meets. Now I run a management company and manage a swimmer.  As I say on tour, it always works out.

This year we have 33 music events, 6 comedy shows and 5 panels. I couldn't be more proud of not only the caliber of talent that we work with, but also the quality of people that embody our rosters and teams. Everyone is working hard for the greater good of their careers and making wonderful art for what is hopefully a long time to come.

I'm on a direct flight to Austin from NYC right now and in the past, mingling with industry folks on the flight was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Now I smile as I see Dave Kaplan from The Agency Group on this flight as well as Greg Johnson from SONGS who signed Sydney Wayser a few years ago at this point. Last year it was Angus Baskerville next to me on my connection and Rick Krim behind me, whom I'd only ever emailed until that flight and it was great to meet someone who I knew was a longtime Urge Overkill supporter.

Every day of SXSW 2013 I'm going to try and spotlight something I'm looking forward to this year. We'll see how it goes, but the flight to Austin is such a great reminder of how SXSW is the epicenter for our industry to both hang with and meet new people to forge new relationships for our artists and beyond.

Just a glance of my color-coded schedule for tomorrow is a taste of a variety of experiences to be had at SXSW Music. (In my ideal world, I'd come down for Interactive as well, but we're always so busy preparing for the music portion, I don't see it happening unless they are the same week.) Thus, I'll be delving into indie label meetings at 9 AM tomorrow and will attempt to do a yoga class before hand (!). Various tech demos follow before afternoon party sets by Readymade artists The Howlin Brothers (2 PM @ Dogwood: 715 W. 6th St for Conqueroo/Guitartown) and Cory Chisel (1:15 PM @ Cedar Street Courtyard: 208 W. 4th St).  I'm looking forward to Spotify and Aquarium Drunkard's shows tomorrow before The Howlin Brothers play again at 10 PM @ Saxon Pub (1320 S. Lamar Blvd.) for Hill Country Live.

So what have I learned since my first SXSW 10 years ago? I've learned to put Emergen-C in my water on the plane as opposed to the jack and coke the guy next to me is drinking. I've learned how to get a decent hotel room. I've finally remembered to bring sunscreen, which Steve Ferguson is also welcome to. I've learned to rent a bike from Barton Springs Bicycles for $20 a day (they pick up and drop off with a helmet and lock at your lodging!) to get to shows on time and get some exercise. I've learned how to write and post a live blog from a plane. And I've learned to live in the moment. I've made my plan, and now I will enjoy my plan; not getting stressed if things don't go perfectly and taking a moment to delight in the unexpected.

Looking forward to what SXSW 2013 will bring :) xo

The Man I Loved/What A Life.

Wednesday felt weird all day. It was rainy in New York with oddly heavy energy and I had a cold. I'm rarely sick. I didn't even go to yoga, which is a a staple of my post-work routine, especially coming off of a multi-city travel week.

But the seemingly odd unease and discomfort made sense in context when I read on Huffington Post that Steve Jobs had passed.

This is a man I had always loved. I knew loads about his life, ingested the majority of major interviews he'd granted, and believed in various areas of his visions from music to technology to philosophy. Across the board, Steve's ethos and output have had a profound influence and impact on my life.

I can't remember not being interested in technology and computers. But Steve made technology creative, he made it mind-bending, he made it productive and he made it fun. And that was just in college.

George Howard was my Recording Industry professor at Northeastern when the iTunes store opened. Prior to the launch, George asked us if he thought this concept would be successful as Apple's product and mindset traditionally appealed to a "different" kind of user, with a beautiful Powerbook sitting on his desk. He was so psyched when iTunes sold a million songs in its first week :).

Much has been spoken this week about Steve Jobs' legalizing the traditional music industry's woes of the digital revolution. And others marvel at how his products make him the Ford or Edison of our time. I am of course using his tools to communicate this to you. Everything from turning the above photo montage into a size and context for something I'm trying to express from typing on my sleek wireless keyboard. This is while I stare endlessly into my Apple LED Cinema display, run off my MacBook w/ my iPhone plugged in all backed up by TimeMachine. These are just a few of the reasons that Steve was the greatest entrepreneur of our time. (HERE are even more reasons that exemplify this statement.)

Steve not only made technology and the communication and content behemoth that is The Internet useful, he made the technology genuinely cool. WTF was a virus to me after The Dresden Dolls' bought me my first Powerbook, an adorable 13", perfect for tour managing and impressive to the stealth Apple Nine Inch Nails band/crew/team, who we were on the road with at the time. I mean Steve's software and hardware basically powered NIN's live show on that tour and Trent was one of the first to post a heartfelt Tweet on October 5th.

[Truth be told, I just took a break to grab a vegan cookie from Liz Lovely, who along with her husband Dan is another entrepreneur I greatly admire. Check out their story and definitely try their ridiculously amazing cookies.]

I co-founded a music company 3 years ago and haven't had a boss since. When I am consulting, laying out ideas for our company, creating companies within companies based on artists and their music, and designing strategies; a major factor in how I got to this place in time is via Steve's work and tools.

This is why Steve Jobs' death this past week was one of the heaviest deaths I've ever experienced and I never met the guy in tangible life. It does feel like the equivalent of John Lennon's death in this day in age, though I'm sure as a massive Beatles fan himself, Steve might disagree. However, who else could have an impact on society as large as John Lennon as the man who amplified ALL music and content for the world by digitizing it for the masses and forevermore? Steve made every piece of content in history accessible in a beautiful and fun package at home. We can now access The Beatles catalog via bit torrent (and legally now via iTunes) + infinity.

Steve Jobs is a man who took the time to explore India and the depths of Buddhism. Intertwine this mentality with business and you have someone who is going to work every day for the right reasons. Despite Apple's market share, stock, and above average consumer pricing, I always viewed Steve's outlook on business to be one with a heart, spirit, integrity and limitless creativity. He wasn't there for the money, he created because he had a belief and love for his output.

Steve even affected what is worn in the community I'm proud to be a part of as a music and technology type living in Brooklyn with colleagues in similar cities/communities. I take for granted that it's considered pretty normal to start businesses from a home, let alone a garage like Steve and Woz did.

Beyond Steve Jobs' cultural and product based influence, his biggest affect on my work is that he created a platform to do it.

I worked for Bob Ezrin in early 2008 and at first was told by Live Nation that I would have to work on a Microsoft based PC. Bob hired me in large part due to digital and direct to fan strategies I had laid out in the past. HOW THE HELL was I supposed to do this with boxy, cluttered programs such as Outlook and Windows in general? Obviously Bob agreed I had to be on a Mac and to justify this to Live Nation I wrote possibly the longest email of my life that maybe I'll post someday if it makes sense.

Thus, when we started our company, I bought myself a whole new Apple office set up and started what we've built from scratch off my MacBook.

Which is why when you heard that Steve had cancer or he looked too thin, you always thought it would be ok. Or at least I did. And in the meantime, what Steve built and launched in the past 15 years in particular is astounding. The Mac OS allows users to create, design, and grow in ways that you don't need to know code to understand. The products that carried the OS continued to evolve in varying degrees of digital capacity and physical mass. It showed me to never be satisfied with your latest idea but to keep creating and executing new ones. It has allowed countless musicians of all ages and levels to professionally record anywhere and distribute their content worldwide.

Which is why today I'm running on Steve. As I was running on Steve the day after his death when I wanted to give in to my lame cold and skip speaking to NYU students on management in the modern/digital music industry. Instead it was a blast and I loved hearing the questions on the students' minds. And running on Steve not only inspires moving forward but the concept of forward motion in general. As it's wonderful to live in the moment, but not dwell in it and constantly grow to see what else can be created and launched.

I didn't even mention Pixar or the software he created at Next.

Sigh. I'll miss the man I loved.

PS - if you knew little of the above about Steve, just watch his 2005 commencement address @ Stanford for a crash course. Thank you.

Blog post mania

I've been blogging around the internet, but not taking my own advice and doing it directly on my blog.

Thus, here are links to where I'm spreading the blogging love:

Over at MIDEM, you can read all about how not to be overwhelmed by social networks, Twitter, tips, where streaming music is going, and all about me and HeidyV's adventures in the South of France at the conference. Also check out my post on Taking Risks, as not nearly enough folks do in the modern music industry.

I'm equally proud and excited to write posts for Hypebot once in awhile. If you don't know the site, you are missing out!! It's the go-to for the latest in "new" music industry & technology news. Bruce Houghton and Kyle rule! And have eyes and ears everywhere :). Anyway, here you can read all about how to conquer SXSW and why some artists want and like having managers. I am so in awe of both of the above organizations, I put time and thought into each blog post. Except for the "Case For Artist Management" post.

Hypebot asked me to respond from a manager's POV to a negative post about management and it took me all of 10 minutes to write and has generated more traffic and feedback than anything I've ever written. I'm sure there are many songwriters who have had a similar experience? :)

Ok, time for 6:30 PM yoga!!! It's a miracle, I'm usually solidly at the 8:15 PM class.

Much Love,

Em Wizzle

douchebag reunion via southern comfort food

Maybe someday I'll post the longer version of this.

But in the meantime, a boy named Blake completely blew me off when I was a 17-year old freshman in college in Boston. He was hott/vegetarian/probably straightedge/musician?, etc. aka the opposite of Hartland, Wisconsin. nice than not, like so many are.

FF to Brooklyn/now, I'm 27 and exhausted from an amazing week, so I order from Pies n Thighs for dankness delivered to my door.

Delivered by.... well he just looked like him. So I called PnT back to ask the friendly order-taking man what the boy in the green hoodie's name was.

Blake.

Obvi.

xo

UPDATE: i found 4 pages in a journal from almost exactly 10 years ago devoted to this dude. i forgot he existed! note to self re: current douchebags floating around: i probably won't care in 2020.

UPDATE #2: he added me on Facebook, ha!

Where Have I Been?

Traveling, managing, meditating, practicing yoga, going to shows, shopping at the farmer's market etc.

However, I also blog for MIDEM! It is truly an honor, however, it takes blog time away from here. Unfortunately this means I have to be slightly more professional and can't ramble on about how every Kate Nash lyric relates to my life, etc. But For industry geeks, you can read my posts HERE.

Or maybe Twitter really is "micro-blogging" and I generally only speak in a limited amount of characters.

Enjoy!

Much Love,

Em Wizzle xo

NYLA

Scenes from my favorite city in the world from this past week. Winter is pretty lame in general, but NYC remains rad. Where else can you hear Jay-Z and acoustic guitar and encounter a dancing Statue of Liberty all in the same hour?





Headed to LaLa land for a few days for Brendan Benson @ The Troubadour, but NYC always on my mind.

#NowPlaying
"Princess & The Pea" - Family of the Year (from forthcoming March 2010 EP)
"Who You Going To Run To" - Solid Gold (thank you Boy2MenMen2Wolf).
"Funeral" - Zoe Boekbinder
"Getting On My Mind" - Panic Bomber
"Light of Day" - Brendan Benson (wouldn't you like to know)

Best shows of Jan 2010
Hot Rats via iFerg @ Bowery Ballroom/NYC in January
Sydney Wayser @ La Maroquinerie/Paris - 29.01.2010

xo

PS - NYC'ers looking for fun this weekend should check out Sydney Wayser @ The Living Room on Friday as well as Emilyn Brodsky & Xylos @ Webster Hall Studio on Friday.