The AvA Connection

🧠 Big Brain Learning Time: How do celebrities’ estates continue to make money longer after death?

It was reported this week that Sinéad O’Connor included in her will that she wants her family to “milk her unheard music for all it’s worth.”

After celebrities die, their estates (read more about the complexity of estates here) can still make money through things like royalties from their music, movies, or books, as well as licensing deals for their image or brand. AI has made this a far more complex subject.

Matt Belloni’s ‘The Town’ podcast recently shared a deep dive on the topic of “Making Millions on Dead Celebrities in the AI Age,” which featured an interview with Mark Roesler, a prominent lawyer in the evolving intellectual property arena. Would highly recommend checking it out.

Beyond AI, one of the more traditional ways estates of Artists make money outside of posthumous album & single releases is through music biopics. These can be LUCRATIVE:

Wait what about Timothée!!! Bob Dylan’s (very much alive) biopic A Complete Unknown has raked in $62.9 million globally since its Christmas Day release, making it the 12th highest-grossing music biopic ever.⁠

AI has introduced a whole new layer to this (listen to the podcast above), and we will be interviewing someone notable in this space in the next few weeks.

🐝 The Weekly Buzz

Something we never thought we would see? Live Nation, AEG the Azoff family coming together to produce an event in harmony. That’s exactly what we will see tonight with the FireAid benefit concert featuring 27 genuine headliners (thank god this is billed alphabetically) and streaming on every single platform imaginable. Surprised this isn’t on Clubhouse tbh.

Note: Dave Matthews had to pull out due to a family emergency 

Click on the banner below for ways to watch & donate:

Quentin Tarantino is pivoting from filmmaking to writing a play as his next project. “If it’s a fiasco I probably won’t turn it into a movie. But if it’s a smash hit? It might be my last movie.” Learn more about what may be Tarantino’s final project here.

Christopher Nolan’s all star cast for ‘The Oddysey’ just got even deeper with the ‘Uncut Gems’ director Benny Safdie set to join the ranks. The movie already includes Tom Holland, Zendaya, Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Lupita N’Yongo, Anne Hathaway, and more.

The Grammy’s added 12 new performers including Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Lainey Wilson, and Stevie Wonder. Previously announced performers include Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx & others. Also you can now bet on the winners?

SiriusXM continues to struggle & Amazon Music is hiking prices.

📞 The Call Log: Brandon Frankel, 33 & West

Brandon Frankel has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade, with roles in branding, marketing and consulting under his belt. He's worked at some of the top entertainment companies and agencies, including Cameo, Paradigm Talent Agency, CAA Music and Atlantic Records. Frankel currently serves as the marketing and branding head for booking agency 33 & West.

Our conversation is below:

AvA: What was your first job in the music industry? 

Frankel: I knew I wanted to work in the music business as a very young child (my parents thought I was nuts...and perhaps!), so I got myself a freelance photography gig while I was in high school at a little publication called "Midwest Beat". That escalated into doing interviews and red carpet coverage. I networked, and met a rep from Atlantic Records at a meet-n-greet, and my sole goal was to get an internship. Fast forward, on my last day I got offered to be a paid college rep. That escalated into going on a couple tours, and ultimately getting moved from Chicago to NYC HQ where I was managing Artist Development + Touring for a large roster of acts.

AvA: You’ve had a dynamic career path, moving between major labels, talent agencies, and innovative platforms like Cameo. What key factors have guided your decisions when navigating these transitions and shaping your own professional path?

Frankel: To be honest, my entire motivation is I LOVE music, and the artists that create it. I have always wanted to do something where I've felt I'm helping to allow artists to be able to do their craft (aka paid) while also enjoying what I do and feeling impactful. Bonus points in getting to make fans happy. So I'm constantly watching trends and where an artist is really making their living.

At first, it was labels. In working at a label having to recoup tour support  (which was the worst part of the gig), I realized the agents and touring were driving the bulk of their well-being. So I went to CAA Nashville to do tour marketing. Then I moved from CAA to The Windish Agency (which then became Paradigm) doing brand partnerships (with a side of tour marketing) which was a huge revenue and visibility generator for artists. After I left Paradigm, I was consulting for various companies (Sony Music, LiveXLive, etc) doing partnerships and strategy...and then the pandemic hit. Cameo was literally keeping the lights on for so many talent during a very dark time. Then cue NoCap which was doing live streams with real guarantees and branded tie-ins (I did a cool deal with Apothetic Wine x Bastille which was free to the fans).

From there, I joined 33 & West to run the tour marketing department where I can once again do tour marketing at an indie that's really growing rapidly, which is ultimately my absolute favorite. It's a balance of my passions.

AvA: What do you see as the biggest shifts in the entertainment industry today, and where do you think the greatest opportunities lie for young professionals?

Frankel: Community is everything. Artists that build a community within their fans can really thrive...I've seen artists do really great Discords to congregate them all. It's all about how to collect data, utilize the date, and then activate those fans. Laylo has been a great tool for that too. Social media is rented real estate...you need to own the data.

I think for young professionals, there's a lot of potential for creatives. More than ever, visuals and content are crucial to artists. Attention spans are fleeting, and there's such a demand on people's time and only so much of it. If you can harness creative ideas/visions and understand social trends, you can be wildly impactful to artists and the teams around them.

AvA: Reflecting on your career so far, what’s one mistake you learned from and one goal for your future self?

Frankel: Personally, I've always wanted more more more very quickly. Being hungry and juggling a lot can definitely help you get ahead very rapidly, but it's also important to maintain a healthy work-life balance. I think for me, I took on way more than I probably should have and my personal life suffered immensely, so I've made it a point to keep it a bit more even and I'm able to really enjoy what I do. It really took me meeting my now wife to really click.

A goal I have for myself is to help take a Latin music client from small clubs to Arenas, since this is a newer genre for me (and I'm now working on a bunch! Spanish is coming in handy after all those years of classes).

AvA: You recently became a dad! (Huge congrats) How have you balanced being a parent while continuing to focus on your career? 

Frankel: Thank you! It's been the most amazing 9.5 months of my life. I've been extremely lucky that my bosses have been so thoughtful and understanding, and have allowed me to WFH a ton in these formative months so that I can be present and involved. I won't lie- it's a huge challenge to be a full-time Twin Dad while also being a full-time tour marketer, but I just really dial-in my scheduling of my time, and make sure that I get everything I need to get done. It's actually worked out great, despite I'm exhausted :)

AvA: One piece of advice for someone just starting their career? 

Frankel: Network, network, network! Don't be afraid to reach out to people on linkedin for a chat. Go to industry events and mixers. 

AvA: 3 most memorable campaigns?

Frankel: Booking Major Lazer to perform the opening ceremony of the cricket finals in Mumbai, India was pretty wild (I went!), Yung Lean being one of the faces of Calvin Klein's global Fall campaign was pretty groundbreaking for him, and helping this Mexican rapper named Tornillo sell out his entire first-ever US run was pretty special.

AvA: If money was no object, what would your job/career be (outside of the Entertainment Industry)?

Frankel: Honestly, I'd love to be a personal trainer. I'm a big big fitness/weightlifting/HIIT guy (Love me some Barry's)

AvA: Book or podcast recommendation? 

Frankel: An oldie but a goodie (I've had zero time to read or listen to podcasts lately, sadly) is "The Mailroom"...wild!

👋 See you back here on Tuesday for a brand new selection of Entertainment jobs & news.

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