Tuesday, November 14, 2006

OK..Lots to talk about today and of course have some stories for you as well which I think you will enjoy in my new feature JACKASS v KINDNESS and you should look for that later today, BUT I wanted to comment a bit on the K-Fed Britney sex tape stunt, etc..

I need to start off by saying that I think Britney is a great person and one of the funniest people I have ever met. The other thing is that she is very intelligent..love makes people blind and she got suckered by K-Fed plain and simple..but as a businesswoman she knows what she is doing and when I have dealt with her, she has been incredible. I have not spoken to her since she got married because she kind of withdrew from the business part of her life..Right after she got married I had some talks with one of her "people" about a new product but nothing ever came of it and I honestly think she just was not that interested in anything but marriage...I hope now that she is back doing her own thing that I will have the chance to sit down with her again and get to know all the inside info..we shall see..

Anyway, the way I started in the entertainment part of the business was actually even before law school..I put myself through college and law school working in the music industry and it is where I made my mark at the beginning and allowed me to branch out to other areas now...So I want you to take everything in the News of the World Story with a grain of salt..Do I believe there may be a sex tape? Yes, because of Chaotic and because it was allegedly taken at the time of the honeymoon....Is it worth $50 million? NO..and no one will pay that..The math does not work and it would never recoup that much....As soon as one person buys it, the tape will be all over the internet..Yes, people will still go out and buy it and everyone will see it, but it will NEVER be like the Pam and Tommy Lee tape which was available even on spank-o-vision in hotels..If this was the pre-internet, then yes it would command a high dollar amount, but more like the $10-15M range..

The other thing about the article which makes me question the whole thing is the estimated net worth of Britney..They say she is worth 65 million pounds which is almost $130M dollars and that is just way to high..

To make money in the music business you need to (a) write your own songs and (b) tour frequently..Now, because Britney is so high profile she has opportunities other singers do not have such as endorsements and products like her perfume, etc..That being said, for the most part she does not write her own songs and she has not been on tour since she got married..

See what happens when a singer writes their own songs and when they do not..

Lets look at a Kelly Clarkson song "A Moment Like This" which was her very first single and is now used for Sandals resorts..Kelly did not write this song..It was written by a man named John Reid I believe and therefore no matter who sings this song in the future, John Reid gets paid and Kelly Clarkson does not..When Sandals wanted to use the song, John Reid got money and Kelly clarkson did not except for any added benefit that people may have gone out an bough her CD after hearing the song again..(on the commercial it is not sung by her)

Lets look at another Kelly Clarkson song from that same first album which was also very popular.."Miss Independent"..Kelly actually had a 33% share in this songwriting credit and so from now on, 40 years from now if someone sings this song, she will get a little money as well as a VERY smart business woman named Christina Aguilera...yep..

According to court documents, Britney's income the year prior to marriage was about $20M which was also her highest grossing year ever..That is probably about right..But it is also before taxes and payments to people like me and her management team and publicists, etc..She got paid so much that year because of endorsements and album sales and touring..Lets look at how much money a nobody artist can make touring..

Rick Springfield---3 or 4 hits almost 30 years ago now makes anywhere between $5,000-$10,000 a night in concert and with all the Indian Casinos and other 80's nights, etc, I am sure he could play 100 nights a year easily, if not more..This is someone who WAS really good and really popular but in the very early 1980's and can easily make almost $1M a year..Britney makes about 50 times that amount each night she performs but she has NOT performed for the last two years..

There is just no way that Britney could have multiplied her net worth by 400% over the last two years without any of these major income sources and with her still spending money at presumably the same rate she was prior to the marriage, if not waay more considering the two kids, extra staff, and K-Fed's excessive spending..

All of these tactics being played out are just a way for K-Fed to get more money out of Britney than he is entitled to by the pre-nup..Ms. Wasser who is Britney's attorney and who is a hottie as I have said before is VERY, VERY good at what she does, but I would imagine this is going to settle before very long..

OK, I just had to say all that and most of you may not care, but I promise you nasty celebrity stories later today so you can have your fix..

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

FYI, Rick Sprngfield is still performing on average 100 shows a year...many songs heard are a selection of his 17 billboard hits, along with newer music, and his price for a night of entertainment is $50,000.00. You really should try and get to one of his shows, you would be pleasantly surprised

ent lawyer said...

I went to one of his concerts this past summer and enjoyed it very much..And thank you for the update on how much he charges..The numbers in Pollstar were different and it is my fault for assuming they were accurate..

meltish said...

I am newly obsessed with your blog... I don't even know how I found it! Thankyou.

ent lawyer said...

glad you like it..let me know if you stop liking it or are no longer obsessed..lol

Anonymous said...

very good entry.

i've been wanting to work at a record label for some time as well. any tips on how to get started/which labels are the best?

ent lawyer said...

record labels are kind of like anything else..you need to find the right fit..do you want to work at a label that caters to groups like Mel above or other indie type groups? Do you want to work for a huge label or a smaller label within a large label..If you let me know what kind of music turns you on and if you like big companies or smaller companies..and what you want to do for the company, now and in the future..I can give you an idea of where to apply and who you need to talk to..

Anonymous said...

i like a mix of mainstream (but still GOOD) and indie-ish music (although not too hipster/scenester-ish).


i'm thinking labels like warner bros., columbia, RCA, and EMI, but if you have any suggestions please let me know.

what i want to do is basically just get a sense of how the music industry works. i'd be interested in being an A&R person or a talent scout. i want to see how bands get signed, how they're marketed. really, i just want to learn all this stuff because i want to go on to be a rock journalist for publications like rolling stone, etc. so i really do want to see how it looks from the inside looking out.

thanks!

ent lawyer said...

indie-leave me your e-mail address and I will write to you offline..

Anonymous said...

sure, my e-mail address is ng2130@columbia.edu - the name's Natalie, btw :)

Unknown said...

Great blog, I love it :)

What do you think about Britney hooking up with (ugh) Paris Hilton? Good, bad or irrelevant with regards to her divorce and custody issues?

Anonymous said...

What do you mean Rick Springfield WAS good? He STILL is! Not only does he still rock 'da house at those casinos and other venues, he is one of the nicest, nonpretentious guys one could ever possibly meet! He's good to his fans and we in turn are good to him, and we his many other die hards are happy to contribute to that $5-10K a night he makes...so how about some respect? BTW he wraps circles around ole Brittney i-forgot-my-undies Spears!!!

Anonymous said...

one more thing: Rick looks damn hot for someone who is approach 60! Brittney looks washed out and she's not even 30 yet!

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