“I hope that you’re ready / As I have the intellect to know that the internet is going to kill the telly” (Charlie Sloth – Tim Westwood Freestyle)

Takeaway:

Will the internet kill the telly? I doubt it but to ignore it would be silly. When I say ignore, I don’t mean awareness,  I mean not doing anything about it. We are definitely seeing a shift with individuals/brands priorities on which medium to concentrate their efforts of promotion, research and entertainment on. As access to the internet has become easier, this will ...

[click to read more]]]>

“I hope that you’re ready / As I have the intellect to know that the internet is going to kill the telly” (Charlie Sloth – Tim Westwood Freestyle)

Takeaway:

Will the internet kill the telly? I doubt it but to ignore it would be silly. When I say ignore, I don’t mean awareness,  I mean not doing anything about it. We are definitely seeing a shift with individuals/brands priorities on which medium to concentrate their efforts of promotion, research and entertainment on. As access to the internet has become easier, this will only increase. The downfall though is more content doesn’t equal better content.

Charlie lived by this lyric and by ignoring TV and concentrated on the power of online. It resulted in some incredible results for him including one of the most watched internet series and Radio 1 Hip Hop Dj.

It all goes down to Facebook credits. If you don’t know what Facebook credits are then it is a virtual currency you can get from Facebook that allows you to buy stuff within Facebook, mainly being used in games like Farmville or The Sims. The more credit you buy, the more you can do/buy/exchange etc. ...

[click to read more]]]> I’ve been saying this for a while now and after the changes on Facebook last week and a couple of other articles I have read, all of a sudden my “conspiracy theory” doesn’t seem so wacky.

It all goes down to Facebook credits. If you don’t know what Facebook credits are then it is a virtual currency you can get from Facebook that allows you to buy stuff within Facebook, mainly being used in games like Farmville or The Sims. The more credit you buy, the more you can do/buy/exchange etc.  So here is my conspiracy theory:

• Hypothetically speaking you can buy £10 worth of Facebook credits. Now lets say £10 was worth 100FC
• You see a DVD (Inception) you would like to buy from Amazon that costs £10
• Facebook does a deal with Amazon and other vendors to say that people can now buy products with Facebook Credits allowing the virtual currency to be used outside of the walls of Facebook
• As part of the deal, Facebook offers discounts and can agree prices/deals with vendors
• The DVD (Inception) you like costs 80 FC, which has a value of £8
• You buy the DVD with Facebook credits for the value of £8 rather than using your credit card and paying the value of £10
• Once this happens, Facebook has created a global currency………..Now you can see the real power of Facebook.

Sounds crazy right? Bit unbelievable? Well Big Brother on Channel 5, the 1st UK TV show to use Facebook credits has essentially done just that. To call it costs 36p per vote(land-line but mobiles are considerably higher) but to go on Facebook and buy Facebook credits it costs 7p per vote…5 times cheaper than calling from a land-line.

Now i’m not saying this will happen but everything is in place for it to happen. It just goes down to the deals they can potentially make. Is this a bad thing though? For us we could be getting huge discounts and great deals right? ….But  for someone who has studied the history and value of currency (not money), this to me is pretty damn scary.

Thoughts?

My mum HATES most of the music I listen to, so I wasn’t surprised she said this within 30 seconds of getting in my car.

Since I went to New York in the summer of 1989, I have been fascinated with Hip Hop music and the culture. I remember listening to cassette tapes of one of my all time favourite rappers, Big Daddy Kane, and whenever he swore, I would turn the music down so no one could hear. However, when I used to “rebel” ...

[click to read more]]]> “Do you have to listen to all this swearing?”

My mum HATES most of the music I listen to, so I wasn’t surprised she said this within 30 seconds of getting in my car.

Since I went to New York in the summer of 1989, I have been fascinated with Hip Hop music and the culture. I remember listening to cassette tapes of one of my all time favourite rappers, Big Daddy Kane, and whenever he swore, I would turn the music down so no one could hear. However, when I used to “rebel” I would pump up the volume on those same tracks as I knew it would annoy my mum….but it was all love at the end of the day .

Last weekend I was in the car with my mum and I had Kanye West “Monster” track playing. He started rapping:

“Gossip gossip / N-ggas just stop it / Everybody know (I’m a muthaf-cking monster) / I’ma need to see your f-cking hands at the concert / I’ma need to see your f-cking hands at the concert”

My mum gave me the “mum” look aka I know you are a 32 year old man but i’m still your mother and I don’t want to hear this swearing. I acknowledge the look but didn’t switch it off as I wanted to listen to the words of the song and see how often he swore. I didn’t think it was that much until I actually started hearing the song. It got me thinking that since working at BBC 1Xtra, where cleaning tracks to make them radio friendly was part my job, I have never paid much attention to swearing within a record as it is natural to me.

What I Learnt Today…..

a) My mum and I will never see eye to eye on my music taste

b) There is a time and a place to listen to music that may offend people, even if the track is great.

For many of us the idea of going to the gym everyday can be daunting…but the idea of staying fit is something that we all want to do.

Sometimes going to the gym can be problematic for us: long busy days, not near a gym, slight injury, knowing when to eat as not good to exercise on a full or empty stomach etc etc. One of my goals is to improve my heart rate so a few weeks ago I asked myself;

“How can I ...

[click to read more]]]> They say the hardest part about using the gym is actually going.

For many of us the idea of going to the gym everyday can be daunting…but the idea of staying fit is something that we all want to do.

Sometimes going to the gym can be problematic for us: long busy days, not near a gym, slight injury, knowing when to eat as not good to exercise on a full or empty stomach etc etc. One of my goals is to improve my heart rate so a few weeks ago I asked myself;

“How can I simplify this process, stay healthy, design something that isn’t time consuming and not have to go to the gym everyday?”.

With the help of a PT from my gym, the internet and previous experience, I decided to try Fartlek training. Fartlek training is a form of interval training, ie, burst of exercise for a short period, rest for a short period and repeat (Wikipedia explanation of Fartlek training). I have been doing this consistently for 2 weeks and I am seeing the benefits already.

Here is a simple regime that can be done 15 minutes everyday from home or gym to help improve cardio:

1. If you have an iPhone, download this free app. If you have a phone with an app store look for interval/fartlek training apps. If not, get a stop watch or clock.
2. Decide on the exercise you want to do – I started with Burpees but kept getting a head rush so now I either do jumping jacks or running on the spot.
3. Decide on the time limit – I do 20 seconds intense running on the spot and then rest for 10 seconds.
4. Decide on how many times you want to repeat exercise in a set – I usually do 5 times, ie, 20 seconds intense running, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat 5 times. Again it is up to you.
5. Decide how many sets you want to do – Right now I am doing two sets, ie, I do point 4, twice.
6. Rest 2/3 minutes between sets
7. DO IT!!

The key thing here is discipline. You need to commit to this daily or every other day.

Last year I made a pact with myself to do 1 extra press up, sit up and squat a day and I stuck to this for a year and didn’t miss a day. It was far from easy but after a while the exercise was not the difficult part, it was actually psyching myself up to do it. However, once done I would always have a sense of relief and the same is happening with this new exercise. What helps me is thinking about the end goal.

What I Learnt Today Was…

….that going to the gym is not my priority. Getting fit is my priority. Still try and go to the gym but if I cannot, I can still find 20 minutes or less to do this very simple exercise. No excuses.

Note: I am not a personal trainer or Doctor so if you have any medical conditions please see a professional first. This is designed as a suggestion that could potentially help you with your busy schedule.

10 years later I found myself on a panel in Rotterdam talking to a hungry audience who wanted to ...

[click to read more]]]> I remember 10 years ago I was sitting in the audience at a seminar listening to Dame Dash (Rocafella Records) speak about the music industry. He sounded so compelling, exciting and inspirational that I wanted in. Throughout that seminar, I heard a lot of people speak about their jobs, how we could do it too and potential steps to take. I listened carefully, took loads of notes and put them into action.

10 years later I found myself on a panel in Rotterdam talking to a hungry audience who wanted to break into the music industry. I also made sure I sat in the audience of some panels as I still love learning and hearing people’s stories. The main takeaway I had from all the speakers was that within the 10 years from being an audience member to speaking on a panel, NOTHING HAS REALLY CHANGED. The advice was pretty much the same:

• Network and get to know people
• Don’t be shy
• Have a great team around you
• Have a great product (Mainly for musicians but relevant for everyone)
• It’s a business based on relationships
• Work hard

….and a few more. The game has not changed. Technology has made things different (I wouldn’t say easier), but overall whenever I go to conferences on this subject the same factors always arises….and I think it is a good thing. If things kept on changing then it would be impossible to keep up. Knowing this key steps can help stop people learning more and more and just do.

What I Learnt Today….

….was more confirmation of mastering the fundamentals. There is no right or wrong way to get into any industry and every panellist had to struggle in some way, shape or form. However, the ones that made it were the ones that mastered the fundamentals.

Special thanks to Henca, Charonne and all the New Skool Rules team, speakers and attendees. Thanks for having me.

I was in a coffee shop with one of my best friends yesterday, when 2 ladies sat down on the table opposite and started talking in Spanish. Whenever I hear someone speaking Spanish and it upsets me because it is a language I’ve always wanted to learn. My dad speak it fluently, my 3 years old nephew is saying words in this dialect I don’t understand, and I think being able to switch between languages is pretty cool.

I have 2 problems:

The list goes on and on.

I was having this discussion with a friend and I said that if there was a film title that described my life it would be the James Bond film, “The World Is Not Enough”, as I feel that ...

[click to read more]]]> Do you ever feel that no matter how successful you may be in a particular field, it still is not enough? This is a feeling I have frequently.

• Professionally – you can always have 1 more client
• Physically – you can always look better
• Mentally – you can always learn more

The list goes on and on.

I was having this discussion with a friend and I said that if there was a film title that described my life it would be the James Bond film, “The World Is Not Enough”, as I feel that even if I had everything, I would still want more. Damn this ambition!!!

I’m working on knowing when is enough. I even know the answer is that everyone has enough NOW and that doesn’t keep you from wanting more but it let’s you appreciate what you have…but it is easier said than done. It’s a challenge but one I am prepared to take.

What I Learnt Today Was….

….once I can really appreciate and be grateful that I have enough, then I will find true success.

It got me thinking about other sports and if I was a child, what would I want to watch and study to be a better sportsman in that particular sport. Here were my answers for my 3 favourite ...

[click to read more]]]> I was watching Dancing On Ice final (Don’t ask me why), when one of the male skaters mentioned something that caught my attention. They had to do the “Bolero” dance by Torvill & Dean and he said that every skater has studied this as a child growing up and that it was iconic.

It got me thinking about other sports and if I was a child, what would I want to watch and study to be a better sportsman in that particular sport. Here were my answers for my 3 favourite sports:

Ali Vs Foreman (Boxing)

One of, if not, the most impressive boxing performances ever seen. Ali showed courage, guts, mental strength, skill, stamina, accuracy and style to win this fight – all key components to be a great boxer. If boxing was my chosen sport, I would watch the “When we were kings” documentary about this fight over and over again.

Clip of the 8th round:

Michael Jordan’s game winner vs the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals

You couldn’t even write this script. Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, in his last game (for the Bulls) knew the world was watching and wanted to see what “Superman” would do. His team was down by 1 with around 20 seconds to go and the Utah Jazz’s best player, Karl Malone, had the ball. Jordan steals it from him and then goes and shoots the game winning shot….then retires (until he came back for the Wizards but lets forget about that). If you want to be a world class sportsman, there is one thing you need to do…STEP UP WHEN IT MATTERS. Jordan mastered this.

Maradona Vs England 1986 World Cup

Ok, not the hand of god goal, but the second one. In fact, if you look at Maradona as a footballer, he had everything that I would want to study. He was skillful, fast, strong, team player, could step up when needed, brave and most importantly, he was a winner. He won in Argentina. He won at Barcelona. He won the world cup…he even won at Napoli. Love him or hate him as a person, you cannot deny his ability as a football player and this goal captures this.

What I Learnt Today Was

…every sport has those key moments which will always live in the history books and is where parents would say to their kids, “I want you to be like that“. I am not going to be a sportsman but it opened up the question – what in my field of interest is my Ali, Jordan or Maradona moment?

Manager: “Sarah, can you make sure that you swap the hats so our new collection is out front please”

Shop Assistant Sarah: “Yep, I’ll try”

….”Trying is wanting approval for something you have no intention of doing”. (Lester Levenson)