As was witnessed with many cases, including the Napster cases, copyrights are a huge force in the music industry in terms of protecting a certain product or service from being stolen. Its seems that in an industry that has a more cultural influence than structural, it becomes more difficult for a copyright to protect a certain product. Copyrighted music creates billions of dollars in profit every year and these profits bring in the majority of the money in the music industry. Music is heavily guided by creative expression so it almost seems infeasible to establish copyrights on many of the ideas put forward. This becomes a question of where one should draw the line in terms of establishing a new product or idea and allowing its free use. It is generally accepted that musical ideas stem from ideas within their cultural boundaries so, to what extent should copyright laws affect what is one's property, and what is a shared musical idea?

In recent years it has been a fairly popular debate to consider the effect internet music is having on the cultures which bring in the business. There is an abstract notion of a certain “space†which refers to the idea that distributing music in its hard-copy form lends itself to creating an environment of listeners. There are many studies taking place to determine any sign of a cultural change over the years, as music is increasingly distributed over the internet. This study is very abstract and it could be impossible to figure out, yet it is an important issue to raise. Since music is a product of the environment and relations within this environment, how will the internet affect is quality of business? If, one day, music becomes an internet based market, then this should have a major impact on culture which could in turn affect the business of music as well as its marketing. Ever since rock and roll sprung from what we call “roots musicâ€, the 50’s through today have allowed for a certain cultural space that utilizes marketing techniques like the popular “word-of-mouth†concept. If the internet breaks down the cultural relations which have popularized music thus far, it is questionable whether or not there will be a negative impact on business in the future.

One issue, which Bolman and Deal highlight in Reframing Organizations, that seems to come to mind when considering entrepreneurship in Music is the element of surprise. One key fact in managing and organization is that what is expected may not come. The music industry is governed by an incredible amount of external forces and success seems to come from a high rate of selectivity among consumers. This is why the phrase “expect the unexpected†is put to good use when used to describe the music industry. When a producer and an artist want to put an idea out in the open market, it is imperative to understand that expectations can be replaced with a completely different scenario. And, the only way to navigate success through this scenario is by implementing a more adjusted attitude: the use of a business model that takes into great deal the forces which affect any outcome. This idea can help determine different rates of success in the music industry.

One of the best marketing tools any band or producer can use is the internet. The internet is becoming the leading method of buying and selling products and in turn, it is becoming the best place to “become known.†These days, one of the best things a band can do is set up a website. In Jeffrey Fisher’s article, “Eight Ways to Promote Your Music Industry Careerâ€, creating a website is listed as number 7. Even if the band’s intentions is not to sell music, it is key for them to get their name out and with millions of people surfing the web, there is no better method than setting up a website. A site that includes information about the group, concert dates, and even contact info would serve as a great foundation towards recognition. Another efficient tool, also mentioned in the article by Fisher, is “word of mouth.†This seems to be another sufficient method of gathering a fan base and possibly a large pool of customers. With proper use of the internet, as well as self-promoting, any band can reach marketing success.

I was reading a passage on Marketing in the music industry and I learned a little bit about an interesting topic: The Elevator Statement. This idea focuses on the importance of marketing one's products in a unique and concise way. This concept can apply to anyone in any business yet it seems to be a growing necessity in the business of music. The name is derived from a simple scenario. If you are on an elevator and someone is interested in learning about your product or service what are you going to say in the few seconds of conversation time? The fact of the matter is, the only thing that should be said is the distinguishing element of your line of work. It is a question of what makes you different (not necessarily better) from everyone in the industry that you are competing with. In the world of music it is becoming increasingly important for bands to market themselves and not only sell their music, but sell the idea behind the music. It is essential for a band to market themselves in a simple and identifiable way. This technique is not only becoming popular, but the Elevator Statement may soon prove to be the key factor that determines a band’s success.

In an upcoming stockholders meeting for Google, it will be voted on whether or not Google will do away with its two class stock structure.

It seems that there were not just voter irregularities in our national elections, but in corporate elections as well.

Spending by companies to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley law decreased on average of 44% for the past year.

Ivan G. Seidenberg, of Verizon Communications, was given a large pay raise this past year.

Recent studies have shows that companies may want to cut back on giving their executives such large pay raises.

Recently, the heads of some of the largest institutional investors, joined by UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, signed the "Principles for Responsible Investment."

The most effective way to make the university famous is advertising. There is many ways to advertise the name and advantage of the university. Like Case, they made a TV comercial on MTV, and it was showed everywhere in the United States. It actially costs a lot, and most universities cannot do that. So, what is the most profitable and reasonable way to advertise the university effectively? The main target of the advertsement is students. So, putting advertisement on the magazines and the newspapers students usually read is reasonable. Put as much information as possible on the limited advertisement spaces. It is hard but if the advertisement looks nice, it could be more effective. Even if it costs a lot, if the university can get much more students than before it started advertising, it could be profitable because tuition from lots of students is much more expensive than the cost. Advertising is difficult function of marketing, but it is also very interesting. I would also like to relate with university marketing and think of how effective the university can advertise.

As a manager of a university, understanding faculties' feelings is one of the most important roles. I strongly think it is. Therefore, I interviewed a couple of teachers at ELS Language Centers Cleveland. I was interested in how teachers are feeling and how they are motivated. To provide an ideal working environment, I need to understand what faculties seek. To make ideal relationships between faculties and office workers, I need to know how they are feeling. We do not want them to leave because of the bad working environment and bad relationships with somebody. It would be the best to assign peer evaluations to everybody is working on the organization. If everybody is honest to tell what is going on at the back, it would be very useful information to make the environment better. I would like to be responsible and would also like to be an ideal manager in the university.

The economic structure for universities is most like pure competition. Although some universities are not having a good management, there is not still any monopolizing university. All universities have different advantage and disadvantage and also have a lot of opportunities to become top schools. At this time, how should universities compete with their competitors? First, universities need to hire high-class faculties and good office workers. The faculties improve students' knowledge and office workers do an effective marketing (let me talk about university market strategy on the next blog entry). Universities need to bring their advantage to the fore using the multi media and the mass communication. Most likely, universities can do these things the best can name on the list as a top universities.

Both Case Western Reserve University and Surugadai University aggressively focus on studying abroad. Case has a lot of connections with countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Surugadai University also has connections with universities in America, Europe, and Oceania. For the future, languages are the most useful tools to communicate with people. Today, English is being focused on in Japan, and a lot of people go to the countries speak English as a native language. I strongly want to support students are interested in learning foreign langauges. Languages help people break the barrier of communication. I would like to make connections with more universities for any kind of departments. At this time, there will be a lot of advantage for both the students and the university such as knowledge and experiences for the students, and relience and friendship between the university and universities in foreign countries. As long as there is advantage for both the students and the university, there is no way to hesitate to extend the connections. I will just go for it!

College students in the Untied States extremely want universities to produce entertainment activities much more than Japanese college students do. Japanese students prefer to do part time jobs besides having fun with friends on campus. This is because most Japanese universities do not have dormitories, and students live off-campus. For the reasons, as soon as classes end, they go back to their residences and go out to work. Therefore, entertainment in Japanese colleges is not as needed as in American colleges. Let's think of this way. No universities are focusing on entertainment in Japan right now. It could be a very effective tool to bring students. People love having fun. Before it becomes common, universities better start thinking about it and discussing with some organizations such as university student government and other student associations. Start a new business!

Employment is one of the most important job for the universities. Universities usually would like to have high-quality professors and office workers have management skills. Professors are like star players in NBA. If there is a very famous professor in my university, it is like LeBron James in Cleveland Cavaliers. Fans want to watch LeBron's fantastic plays so go to Gund Arena to see him. I think it is about the same thing. Students want to learn meaningful subjects from famous professors and think of enrolling a university has a very famous professor who teachers classes they are interested in. Office workers are also very important. Universities are more like business organizations than normal educational systems like public elementary schools. Therefore, they definitely need a good management condition. Accounting, marketing, and PR skills are strongly necessary. However, Hiring good professors usually costs a lot more than hiring office workers. It is completely the same as hiring basketball players costs so much more than hiring office workers at basketball teams. Universities need to negociate with professors. They might want high wage, good environment to do their researches, and something else. At this time, universities think how the professors are worth. Both professors and universities need to get and give up something. It is very difficult to make a right decision, but it is also very interesting to consider of employment.