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Clay Aiken – A Project For September

By musicfan123 · Comments (8)
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010


Update

The new information for this project can be found at

NATIONAL INCLUSION PROJECT – PEPSI REFRESH

It is September 1st and it is the first day of voting for The National Inclusion Project at The Pepsi Challenge.  This is our opportunity to help raise money and support for Clay Aiken’s very own charity.  It won’t cost anything to help and it will take about 1 minute of each day.

In an e-mail, the National Inclusion Project wrote:

The Pepsi challenge is a month-long activity with each registered person able to vote daily through email, Facebook, and/or texting. We have entered the competition for $50,000 and there are 10 winners each month so there is plenty room for our partners and the Project to win.

Please help us achieve success with the Pepsi Refresh Challenge! We need you to vote daily and encourage your friends, neighbors, and anyone else you can think of to vote. You do not need to have a Facebook account to participate, but you will need to setup an account with Pepsi at www.refresheverything.com. It will take only a couple of minutes and then login daily to vote. To sign up for a daily email reminder, visit us at www.inclusionproject.org/pepsi.

Together we can do this and continue to make a difference in the lives of children, thanks for your continued and dedicated support!

According to Aron Hall, the director of Services at the National Inclusion Project, the Pepsi Challenge does not give out the complete details until the last minute.  So, the first place to get the instructions will be in the daily reminder from The National Inclusion Project.   And, of course, we will publish all the details as soon as we get them.

Aron was kind enough to send us a wonderful letter he received from a parent.  He said we could share it with you.

“I just wanted to personally thank you for making room this summer for Jonathan to participate in the inclusion camp.  He absolutely loved it.  He liked the routine, games and counselors and of course friends he met at the camp.  He was the camper of the day for a few times and we were so proud of him.  It has been more than a week since his last day at camp; he continues talking about what he would have done now at the camp if he were there.  I think he gains more confidence and has gotten more comfortable being around with other kids.  I think we made the right move.  You have done a wonderful job in finding all those energetic, helpful and enthusiastic counselors.  Again, I can go on and on about his camp experience and have nothing negative to say about the camp.

We thank you for providing such a wonderful camp for our children.  Please take care and we’ll see you next summer.”

This is why our votes are so important!!


So………lets put this challenge at the top of our “to-do” list.  AND, don’t be surprised when we remind you often about the importance of voting this month.  I believe we will all feel  good as we watch  our votes make a difference!

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Categories : Editorial, NIP/TBAF
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Clay Aiken – The Ever-Evolving Music Industry

By musicfan123 · Comments (16)
Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

The Bandwidth Music and Technology Conference is an annual gathering of music, digital music and media leaders who gather to explore the ever-evolving music industry and how people discover, purchase, and interact with music.  The sixth annual Bandwidth conference took place in San Francisco on August 19th and 20th.

The aim of the conference is to bring together the brightest minds in music and technology.  This year, it was especially interesting because most of the major music labels attended the conference. Interscope, Geffen A&M Records, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Hollywood Records, Sony Music and Warner Bros Records all participated in the conference. In addition, super tech savvy music distribution companies were there. The biggest names in the music tech field like Cisco, Wal-Mart, HP and Twitter also mixed it up with both old and new players in music.

Since the conference took place in my area, I thought I might like to attend the two-day event.  Then, I found out that the fee for the two-day event was almost $700.  Instead, I have been reading reports of the conference on the Internet…………FREE!!

During day one of the discussions, the following data points were shared. These really opened my eyes.

The latest on Twitter…

• # of tweets, daily: 70 million
• # of tweets, monthly: 2 billion
• # of registered users: 145 million
• # of account sign-ups, daily: 300,000
• @amazonmp3 followers: 1,489,543
• Michael Tilson Thomas followers (@mtilsonthomas): 1,754 (famous orchestral conductor.)

(Source: Matt Graves, Communications Director @ Twitter. AmazonMP3 and Thomas followers sourced directly. )

The latest on photos…

• # of photos uploaded onto Facebook, monthly: 2.5 billion
• # of photos uploaded to Facebook, annually: 30 billion
• # of approved photos typically needed by a band, 2000: 6-9
• # of approved photos typically needed by a band, 2010: 300-400

The latest on YouTube:

• #2 search engine in the world (of all engines, separated from Google)
• # of videos rotated by MTV, during its 80s prime: 30-40 per week
• # of views for Tyler Hilton’s cover of  ”Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon: 748,099

The latest on apps:

• # of downloaded apps, App Store: > 5 billion (as of June) 
• # of artist apps typically downloaded: < 100,000

(Source on YouTube, photo and apps data: Jeremy Welt, SVP of New Media, Warner Bros. Records.  Total downloaded app statistic from Apple.)

In the new media space, an artist’s presence in Twitter is deemed more important than having a Myspace page.  About three years ago, a Myspace page was required for any self-respecting band or superstar. Today it’s about how many Twitter followers and Facebook friends a band can get. This change from Myspace speaks to the speed of change in both the music and technology world.

The discussion that followed the presentation of all this data was, according to those in attendance, lively and full of heated discussions.  The different ideas and concepts of what the data means were pretty much dictated by old and new “players” in the music business field.

Another topic discussed during the conference was the decision by Universal Music to pull its music videos from MTV.   Instead of putting it’s videos on MTV.com, Universal will show its music videos exclusively online at vevo.com. The change will happen after the Video Music Awards on Sept 21. Vevo.com is the No. 3 video site on the web with 43.7 million viewers in June.

It was only a few years ago that in order to launch and promote their artists labels, managers and agents had to negotiate and sometimes beg MTV for slots. It certainly isn’t that way anymore. It seems the labels don’t even care about it anymore. For Universal and its artists, being exclusively on-line is just fine.

According to reports from the conference, the music industry seems to be excited and looking forward to the positive changes in the field.  Despite the uncontrolled decline of CD sales and the rise of online and offline counterfeiting, legitimate sales of digital music is continuing to grow.  According to Yobie Benjamin at the San Francisco Chronicle:

Artists, managers and agents are no longer under the thumb of radio or music TV program directors. They don’t have to pay payola for airtime. Today it’s about your Twitter feed, your social networking creds and your relationship to the music bloggers. SPIN Magazine and Rolling Stone used to be the holy grail of music stardom… Not anymore…

Agents do not waste their time trying to get the programming director of some rock and roll radio station to return their calls any more.

Mass media is being replaced by pin-point precise media. Music today is more focused on the audience of one rather than getting on some shock music jock’s playlist. And why not? A single person on Twitter can have 10,000 followers so the multiplier effect is astronomical. Hitting the right fan returns far more results than being on a Sirius satellite channel or a mention on Billboard magazine.

Besides being interesting, there is a reason for putting this information in a blog about Clay Aiken. It seems to me that we need to see these numbers and their meaning and realize that we can support Clay more by being a viable force on the Internet sites.  FaceBook and Twitter are now more important than ever.  If we truly want to support Clay, we all need to become familiar with these great sites instead of relying on our younger fans to do it all.  There isn’t one of us who cannot get a FaceBook account or be active on Twitter.  Yes, it will take a bit of time, but the rewards are worth every minute.

I did a quick look at the twitter numbers of some music stars…

*  Eminem has  1,416,455 followers

*  Lady Gaga has   5,754,535 followers

*  Adam Lambert has  613728 followers

*  Kelly Clarkson has  346,611 followers

*  Glee has   250,242 followers

*  CANN (that’s us) has   2,302 followers

Do you know how many followers Clay has?  Well, why not look it up?  I think you will be surprised!

What do you think?  Can we help each other and get more facebook and twitter support for Clay?

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Clay Aiken – Helping The World

By musicfan123 · Comments (15)
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Since Clay Aiken became an Ambassador for UNICEF, I have followed the work of the organization to help in my understanding of what UNICEF accomplishes throughout the world.

On Monday, August 17th, I received a letter from UNICEF, highlighting the needs in Pakistan and what UNICEF is trying to accomplish.  I know that Pakistan has been in the news a great deal recently because of the political turmoil they have endured in the last few years, but that is all I really knew.

I visited the CIA –World Factbook and found out a few facts on Pakistan.

  • Pakistan is in southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north.
  • In comparison to other countries, Pakistan is 36th in size.
  • Pakistan has frequent earthquakes, often severe, and often has major flooding in July and August.
  • Most of the population does not have access to potable water.

The following is the letter that I received from UNICEF.  The severe needs in this country made me get out my checkbook and I sent  in a check with a note that I did this in response to Clay Aiken and his work with UNICEF. Maybe you can do the same….even $5.00 would help.

“I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today.”
— UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, August 15th, 2010

Dear …….

Monsoon rains and flooding continued this past weekend in Pakistan. In their wake: 6 million children in desperate need. Countless children orphaned. Stricken with diarrhea and disease. Suffering.

As one 17-year old, the oldest of seven children, told a reporter this weekend: “My four-year-old sister is hungry and ill but I have no idea what to do, where to go. No one is there to help us,” he said. “Life was already so difficult, but now we’re doomed.”2

As the world comes to grip with the scale of destruction and misery left in the aftermath of Pakistan’s worst-ever natural disaster, UNICEF is there.

Thanks to the many generous individual supporters who responded to appeals last week, 100 metric tons of relief supplies arrived in advance of the weekend. The cargo contained nutritional supplies, health kits, midwifery kits and tarpaulins.

That shipment joined a massive relief operation that is only getting started. Below are just a few details of UNICEF’s efforts to date, pulling directly from the latest situation report:

  • Clean drinking water provided to 1 million people every day;
  • Oral rehydration salts and zinc tablets distributed to help 5 million people at risk of diarrhea and disease;
  • Vaccinations for measles and polio initiated in the more populated districts impacted by flooding;
  • High energy biscuits, dry rations and powdered milk distributed to women and children; and
  • Soap and hygiene kits distributed to more than 30,000 families.

Much more will be needed as millions still do not have basic essentials – water, food, shelter. Of those still in need, children are the most vulnerable. They cannot control their thirst, so they drink dirty water. That puts them at risk of diarrhea, cholera and other diseases. Marooned in tent villages, or wandering alone, many of them are traumatized.

As much as we have done together, more children still need our help. For the 17-year old boy who believes he is doomed and for the all the Pakistani children like him, UNICEF will continue to work tirelessly, day and night.

UNICEF’s response in Pakistan wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of individuals. You can feel confident that your donations are making a difference today in the lives of Pakistani children struggling to survive.

With gratitude,

Caryl M. Stern
President and CEO
U.S. Fund for UNICEF

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Clay Aiken – National Make Someone Smile Week

By musicfan123 · Comments (5)
Monday, July 19th, 2010

Did you know that yesterday began National Make Someone Smile WEEK (July 18-24)? That’s right. All across the country thousands of florists are delivering flowers to people in hospitals, nursing homes, and foster care centers to people who might not otherwise get any flowers.

Started in 2000 by Teleflora, it has become “the floral industry’s most successful charitable program. Last year’s program spanned 144 cities throughout the United States and Canada, more than 2,000 florists donated their time. Teleflora’s program delivered more than 35,000 bouquets to those most in need of a smile.”

According to the company, Teleflora will be donating more than 50,000 of their Be Happy Mugs to their member florists, who in turn will work with local wholesalers and growers to secure donated flowers. The florists will then use these flowers to design cheerful Be Happy Bouquets that will be delivered to those most in need of a smile – such as hospital patients, senior citizens living in nursing homes and assisted living homes, and recipients of Meals-on-Wheels programs.

So, what can we do to celebrate Make Someone Smile Week? Don’t you think it would be kind fun to knowingly walk around with the intention of making others smile? What a great way to raise your own positive vibe as well as the positive vibe of others. Besides, it’s hard not to smile yourself when you are consciously making another smile.

So here are some tips for how to bring about a few smiles…feel free to use them, tweak them, add to them or come up with you own.

1.) Share a sincere compliment
2.) Share a hug
3.) Tell a good joke
4.) Just smile at someone for the sake of smiling
5.) Make a funny face
6.) Break out into a song and dance
7.) Whistle the theme song from the Pink Panther
8.) Play Clay Aiken’s Tried & True for people (or any of his music)

Someone at the Red Recruiter had a fun idea:

This is somewhat of a Twitter challenge of sorts, but it would go like this…

Do one thing to make someone smile this week and send out a Tweet saying what you did.  Tomorrow, I will buy a complete stranger a cup of coffee at Starbucks.  Big deal, no.  Will it make them smile, hopefully.  Will it make me smile, yes.

So, to share it with everyone, you just want to make sure that you include the hashtag #smileweek in your Tweet.  This would be an example:

“Just bought a guy named Bob a cup of coffee at Starbucks. He smiled. #smileweek”

“Just picked up the tab for a young couple at Chile’s.  They smiled. #smileweek”

“Brought lunch to a man that lives outside of our building. #smileweek”

“Bought my wife flowers and delivered them to her office. #smileweek”

Just think of all the possibilities!

If I want to smile, I look at pictures of Clay who happens to have a great smile!!

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Clay Aiken – “It’s Only Just Begun”

By musicfan123 · Comments (12)
Sunday, July 18th, 2010

It is Sunday, July 18th………..the beginning of another exciting week for Clay Aiken fans.  There is so much to look forward to in the coming days.

  • 2 Days until Clay is on Talk Stoop
  • 5 Days until Clay’s Timeless Tour begins in Asheville, NC
  • 8 Days until the Clay/Chaka duet premieres on Disney Radio
  • 14 Days until Amazon releases Tried & True DVD
  • 16 Days until the premiere of the special Clay Phineas & Ferb episode

Are you ready?

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Clay Aiken – Music Industry Woes

By musicfan123 · Comments (20)
Saturday, July 17th, 2010

It is a changing world for professional musicians today. According to the latest Nielsen research, only 2.1 percent of the albums released in 2009 sold even 5,000 copies – that breaks down to just 2,050 records out of nearly 100,000.  It seems that everyone in the process really takes a big chance and needs to have a back-up plan.  The latest research also shows that the record label still takes less of a risk than the artists.

Did you know that for every $1000 we spend on music CDs, the artist only gets $23?  At the same time the record label and distributors will share $870. Wow! Something is wrong with this picture, and there are many who believe that this work formula is about to change.

It seems strange that the musician that makes the music receives a minor part of the revenue while the business that has the job of helping the artist gets the big part of the pie. This distressing data by Nielsen research was published in an article on The Root titled “The Music Industry Funny Money“.

The research from this report indicates that the record labels get 63% of the music sales, the distributors get 24% and the band gets the remaining 13%. But if you look at the graph at the right, you will see that “the band” includes a whole team of people besides the musicians. Based on a performance group with 4 musicians, each of the musicians would get 18% of the 13% part for “the band” (or $23.40 for every $1000.00 in CD sales) with the personal manager, business manager, lawyer and producer getting their hand in part of the money.

Where does all the money go?  Why do the labels feel they can take so much of the money?  Here are a few of the places the money goes.  The following information comes from Don Passman, the author of All You Need to Know About the Music Business

SLRP: The suggested list retail price of a CD is currently $16.98, but retail stores have a wholesale price that is about $10. Once the retailer gets the CD, they can sell it for however much they’d like – ergo “suggested.” Artist’s royalties are a percentage of the retail price. The musicians get anywhere between 12 to 20 percent of the SLRP.

Packaging charge: Most Cd’s are in a plastic case so the label charges the artist for the case by immediately taking 25 percent of the SLRP.

Free goods: Labels discount the records so stores will buy them.  They do it in a roundabout way.  The label will sell the retailer 100,000 for the price of 85,000.  So, if the store sells all, the artist only gets paid for the 85,000.

Reserves: Retailers don’t want to lose money on the CD so they can return whatever copies they don’t sell and get a full refund.  The label doesn’t want to miss out on the money either so they usually pay the artist for only 65,000 copies out of each 100,000.  If all the CD’s are sold, the label will pay back the musician, but it usually takes years.

Distributor: Music distributors promote and distribute records. The major labels maintain in-house distributors and the distributor can take between 14.2 to 24 percent cut of the SLRP.

Songwriter/publisher: If a musician buys the song, the writer and publisher receives 9.1 cents for every copy of the song sold. They must split that amount.

Personal manager: The manager’s job is to guide the career of the artist. They get about 15 percent of the artist’s gross earnings.

Business manager: A business manager charges 5 percent of an artist’s gross.

Lawyer: Most lawyers charge hourly but some charge 5 percent.

AFTRA and AFM: These are the musicians unions. If an musician makes an album, he is required to join a union, which will then take $63.90 in base dues plus 0.743 percent of the artist’s first $100,000.

Record advance: If the label fronts an artist $75,000 to pay for whatever he or she needs to record an album, the artist then owes the label that initial $75,000, regardless of whether the record is a success or not.

Both musicians and record labels are starting to react to the new music business market realities. Musicians are leaving record labels in droves, to work on their own. Warner Music is starting a new 360 type of contract in which they offer to manage not only the musicians recordings, but also their other business ventures like concerts tours, social media, sales of accessories and t-shirts, etc, etc. This 360 contract is supposed to balance the distribution more evenly with the musician.  This contract idea is getting mixed reviews.  The musicians do not like this contract unless the percentages change in their favor.

The music industry and, in particular, record labels need to realize that the market has changed and the time for the record labels to make all the money is over. Musicians have been jumping ship due to these problems, and they need new models where the musician gets to make and control their music. If instead of trying to prolong the status quo, the record labels get ahead of the curve and think of new models that provide more fairness in the distribution of money, they will realize that there is still enough pie for everyone.

What do you think about the amount of money musicians receive ?

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Clay Aiken – 4th of July Fun

By musicfan123 · Comments (10)
Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Independence Day, commonly known as July 4th or the Fourth of July, commemorates the Continental Congress’ adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The document, primarily written by Thomas Jefferson, served as a formal announcement that the 13 American colonies were no longer part of the British Empire and would henceforth be free and independent states. Regarded as the birthday of the United States of America, the day is typically celebrated with parades, fireworks, ceremonies, barbecues and family gatherings.  By the way, can you name the 13 original colonies?

In 2004, Clay Aiken sang in Washington DC for the PBS Capitol 4th.  Besides singing the Star Spangled Banner, Clay sang God Bless The USA and Measure of A Man. The audience was huge in spite of the stormy weather.  We got lots of clack from that wonderful performance.

Practice

Performance

Videos

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Clay Aiken – Happy Canada Day!

By musicfan123 · Comments (8)
Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Do you know what Canada Day is? It’s Canada’s national day and is a federal holiday celebrating the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act (now called the Constitution Act 1867).  This united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into a single country called Canada.  In French it’s called Fete du Canada.

Canada Day has been called a few names in the past. It used to be known as Dominion Day, the First of July, Confederation Day and July the First. Canada wasn’t born on July 1st, but the holiday celebrates the events that took place on this day.

In 1982, Dominion Day changed to Canada Day after a vote in Parliament. Not everyone was happy about this change. Some people felt that a 115 year-old part of Canadian heritage was lost. But, the new name stuck and every July 1st, Canadians celebrate Canada Day. In celebration, Canadians have parades, fireworks, picnics, face painting and food.

The following are some interesting facts about Canada:

  • Canada was named from the Huron and Iroquois word kanata, which means village.
  • Canada has approximately three million lakes across the country.  More than 30,000 of those lakes are larger than three square kilometers.
  • Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs as a thank-you gift in 1945 for keeping the Dutch Royal Family safe during World War II.  The Nazis occupied the Netherlands until Canadian soldiers liberated the country in 1944-45.
  • The Bank of Canada issued the last $1 bill in 1989.  It was replaced by the one-dollar coin, known as the loonie, which came out in 1987.
  • The world’s only flying saucer launching pad is in St. Paul, Alberta.  It was built in 1967.
  • The largest mall in the world is the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta.  It has over 800 stores and restaurants, an amusement park, the world’s largest indoor lake with four working submarines, 26 movie theaters and a hockey-sized ice arena.
  • More than 75% of the world’s maple syrup comes from Canada.

Clay Aiken has performed many times in Canada.  He was there for the American Idol Tour during Season 2 and he has brought some of his tours to Canada.  He also knows Canada because of his close relationship with two Canadian friends, David Foster and Jaymes Foster.

Clay was a judge for David Foster’s Star Search and was a big hit.  The event took place at the River Rock Casino Resort in Redmond, BC on September 9th, 2006.  The next night, David hosted the “David Foster and Friends Charity Gala.”  Clay Aiken was a performer that night and helped David raise money for his charity by being a part of an auction.

On August 25, 2005, Clay performed at the Molson Amphitheater in Toronto as a part of his Jukebox Tour.  It was a huge success!!

I am sure that Canada is looking forward to August 5th, 2010.  Clay will be returning to Canada to perform at Caesar’s in Windsor, Ontario.  We expect you all to deliver lots of  “Clack!”

We all wish the best to all of our Canadian Friends.  Have a wonderful day!!

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For I love and cherish you all: Yesterday, now and forever. -Clay Aiken

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Poll Results

Which Songs are your favorites on 'Tried & True'?

  1. Unchained Melody (68%, 243 Votes)
  2. Crying (58%, 210 Votes)
  3. Suspicious Minds (36%, 129 Votes)
  4. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (30%, 109 Votes)
  5. Misty (29%, 103 Votes)
  6. Mack The Knife (27%, 98 Votes)
  7. Moon River (26%, 94 Votes)
  8. Can't Take My Eyes Off You (26%, 92 Votes)
  9. What Kind of Fool Am I? (25%, 89 Votes)
  10. It's Only Make Believe (23%, 83 Votes)
  11. Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (23%, 81 Votes)
  12. It's Impossible (22%, 80 Votes)
  13. There's A Kind of Hush (13%, 45 Votes)
  14. Who's Sorry Now (8%, 28 Votes)

Total Voters: 359

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