RS 2: Katy Perry

No matter what people say, money is the driving factor in the business world. It’s behind all business activity and is the force that makes these corporations work. Today, the Internet has made certain corporations change the way they do business in order to make a profit. In particular, the music industry is facing a direct impact from the Internet; illegally downloading music, free radio stations, and websites like YouTube.

This podcast proved how record companies are having a difficult time profiting from sales and had to change the record deals as result of the Internet. Record companies used to be able to sell millions of albums and end up in the black. But now, it’s not as simple as that. A lot of songs are bought through iTunes where people only buy 1 song at time. With just that alone Apple has to get a cut, the artist has to get a cut, and song writers have to get a cut; All from the simple 99 cent song. Therefore, the record company only gets a very small percent.

The example that this podcast uses is Katy Perry, a popular artist who has hit 5 top songs on one album. The most top songs on one album since Michael Jackson. So clearly, Katy Perry is worth a lot of money and you would assume the record company would be making a lot of money. Unfortunately, the record company seems to be making the least and not profiting.

Overall there is a lot of money involved in the music industry. The only way to keep record companies from staying out of the red is a new kind of record deal. This new deal is known as the 360 deal, where the record company gets a small percentage of everything the artist is involved in. From the merchandising, to the tours and everything in between the record sale will become the least significant. This new record structure is completely changing things up in the music industry and will be interesting to see how the record companies profit.

What I found most interesting about this podcast, was the amount of money that record companies make in comparison to the artists- or lack of money. Other record companies supporting artists that barely make one hit song must be feeling this impact even worse. Its fascinating to see the way the Internet is changing business from so many different aspects. 

RS1 HOW TO BE A GENIUS

 “You can do anything if you put your mind to it” is a quote we've all heard at least one time in our lives. The article, How to be a Genius, by David Dobbs supports this infamous quote and further substantiates it by including notable people who have succeeded through tedious practice.  With that, Dobbs explains how a genius is not simply born a genius; rather that intelligent human only becomes a genius by practice.  The term genius is a misconception we have about one’s intelligence in the society that we live in.

It’s common to assume people are born geniuses but the factors that lead to genius are more than just the attributes, talents and attitudes one is born with. A genius has a mixture of “natural ability, quality instruction, and a mountain of work” according to the author. The findings presented in this article explain how Albert Einstein, Tiger Woods and Mozart had the potential to succeed, but only exceeded through practice and extreme effort.  Tiger woods is clearly an accomplished golfer, the author points out how woods is amazing on the golf course but he was  “swinging a golf club before he could walk, got great instruction and practiced constantly from boyhood”.  Woods clearly has a talent but without practice he wouldn’t be anywhere today.

            A genius is not born, nor is a genius quickly created into an outstanding, accomplished person in a couple years.  The author ruled, “It seems you have to put in at least a decade of focused work to master something and bring greatness within reach”.  With that being said, the rule supplements the example of Tiger woods swinging a golf club before he could. With years and years of experience a notable golf professional was born. Additionally, Dobbs explained a study of over one hundred accomplished people in all different fields took at least a decade to practice or study to reach their goal.

            While the idea that nobody is born a genius is clearly explained throughout this article, there are definitely traces of attributes that people are born with to make one successful. “It happens because some critical things line up so that a person of good intelligence can put in the sustained, focused effort it take to achieve extraordinary mastery.” Evidently, it’s not that your born a genius but your born with some talents or skills that need to be further developed. One can be born with talents or intelligence and never try to succeed or work towards bettering their skills. The author claims that dedication is more important than innate talent.

            To obtain the level of mastery that a genius achieves a great amount of hard work is necessary. The author states that hard work leading to success could encourage your or overwhelm you because no matter what hard work is both encouraging and overwhelming. Sometimes we fail a little before we succeed, which can be and that can be encouraging or overwhelming depending on your outlook. I find this reading to be encouraging along with hard work leading to success to be encouraging. Working hard to be successful is one of the most satisfying and encouraging aspects of effort.