Saturday, March 6, 2010
A Little Time
She needs a little time. She needs time to think things over. She needs time to evaluate her life up to now. She needs time to decide about me. She needs to see if we can ever re-connect. So much anger. So much pain. So much neglect. But 30 years is hard to walk away from. Especially since she knows how much I still love her. How much I still count on her.
Oh, she's right -- I would be okay without her. But it wouldn't be the same. I would be the host of the ball -- the bell of the fox hunt or the yacht race -- the life of the party. There would be all kinds of women who would want to get close. There always has been. But I was never tempted, not even for a minute. It was her I loved. It was her I wanted to be with.
She's coming on the 19th. She's coming to take a look. At me. At my new life. At how she might fit into it -- if she could fit into it. I have tried to fit into her life -- I can't. Too much Wall Street, too many bistros. No horses, no dogs, no sporting life, no elephant tusks or heads, no bird shooting or waterfowling.
Time will tell. I'll give her all the time she wants.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Market Holes
The Old Lion began his business hunting career in development -- business development, corporate development -- I had to spot new business opportunities for Viacom, Westinghouse, UPI, , all of them. New revenue channels. And fast -- since it was always growth stage companies/operating divisions that needed new revenue fast.
Old Lions hunt only one animal -- marketing holes, and especially new marketing holes into an emerging asset class. Only in an an emerging asset class do the business dynamics provide significant financial leverage; balance sheets of growth stage companies are understood and properly valued; and because Old Lion fees are in whole percentage points, not basis points.
The only lions who grow to become Old Lions are those who recognize market holes. Recognizing that down that hole is the next big thing. The market where there is huge opportunity within 2 to 3 to 5 years -- where the slope of the growth is steepest.
I believe intellectual property, especially video copyrights is the next big market hole. I believe this because I have spent almost 5 years scouting and hunting the terrain. I say this having written patents on ip and portfolio structure. I say this having studied ip in Zurich (Switzerland is the greatest creator of ip in the world) and in Tokyo (Japan has the greatest administration of ip of any country in the world). And I say this having spent 5 years meeting everyone in the industry -- getting their insight, understanding their businesses and needs.
In video, the principals are professional and successful. Title is generally clear. Only bigger players can play -- it costs $5M just to transfer 1500 hours of film to computer file and $1.1M for a one hour documentary. The sell side is robust because video is in huge demand with all the new digital channels evolving. And the servicing and management of huge amounts of video is ready to be handled by the new tools and capabilities of the next generation search engines, servers and their networks, and browsers.
Rock on.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Cross Over Video
Any new production project my firm gets involved in -- especially if we are expected to financially participate -- I require that the project have "cross over value" ("COV"). Value that comes from 2 (instead of just one) channels of distribution/revenue -- a commercial/entertainment value, and, a non-entertainment/intellectual property asset value.
We are about to invest $500K in a docu-drama about the Black Panthers. It's explosive. My baby boomer generation is revisiting those times when we, as a nation, was on the verge of a populist revolution. Today, the Tea Party represents 20% of American -- in the Summer of Love it was 40% -- it was Iran, ie, young, educated, cosmically conscious, fearless. Our Black Panther project is insightful as to the lengths the government will go to bring down the hammer to squash revolution. The Tea Partyers should be wary. I told my client, we should all be afraid.
My firm is going to find co-producers who will participate in the production funding in exchange for certain distribution rights. HBO for pay tv, Discovery for basic tvc, and so on (Note Bene: These firms are examples only. No deals have been made. No discussions undertaken.) We will keep the digital rights and the copyrights. We will create value from both.
The digital rights we will license to cell phones, e-books, and digital networks that deliver to single, hand-held devices. The copyrights we will hopefully have Ocean Tomo make into a financial product(s) to sell on their intellectual property exchange. I say hopefully because their financial strategy and product structure have yet to be proven out, and their exchange's launch has slipped. Nothing fatal I hope, because they have made me a big believer -- in fact, I think their concepts and initiatives are brilliant.
The Black Panther project -- created from the Black Panther library/collection -- has real historical, one of a kind value. The kind of historical value surely of interest to the Smithsonian. If the library is donated to the Smithsonian, as I hope it is, to be cared for as an important piece of American history, it's tax value will be substantial. If the one of kind video, photo's, printed material are copyrighted, its value will be assured for the next 100 years -- and it should provide the Black Panthers with recurring, redundant revenue.
These are the kind of projects I like doing. In fact, the Old Lion only does projects that interest him, that are important to him, that have some real value to mankind because they are historic and compeling and break new ground. Or what's the point?
Rock on.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Preparing Presentation Platforms For Licensing
This blog has nothing to do with the formality of making music, video, photos or publishing into a registered copyright or financing their acquisition. That has been left to earlier blogs. This is all about how my firm prepares and presents significant, valuable, historic video, photos, digital publications, and music collections for sale and/or licensing.
In an earlier blog published this month, I explained how a photo or film negative, or a music recording master, or a word file is ultimately reduced to a computer file. I took the reader through the process of getting the product into a computer file -- it is the computer file that is the final product for distribution. Okay, we now have a computer file. Now what? How does the distributor receive the product to evaluate, qualify their interest, and ultimately make a sale or licensing decision? How do the multiple decision makers, located worldwide, receive, review, and give their input on the content -- and I mean "all" the content no matter how many hours or images or downloads of pdf's?
There are 3 ways to get the entire collection to multiple targets with multiple buying influences to qualify their interest: DVD's, an external hard drive, or host a web site with the entire product. By far, my firm prefers hosting the product on a encrypted FTP server with a front end proprietary browser that allows a viewer to stream the collection in its entirety, or isolate sections or frames, or provides Qicktrip videos, pdf's photos and publications, and that allows encrypted music downloads. Don't get me wrong, we still prepare and send out DVD's, we still send out entire plug and play external hard drives, we still prepare Artforum quality materials -- but in the end, everyone wants the product -- all the product, the entire collection -- delivered to them via the web. And we prefer they get it that way too not only because it is easier, but because the lower resolution used for presentation reduces the temptation or opportunity or chance of theft.
When a transaction is ultimately completed and the final product is delivered, it is in HD DVD tape if purchased; computer file if licensed; and on DVD's if a copy is needed for exhibits in agreements or licenses or if there is an escrow requirement. DVD's degrade after 5 showings which makes them convenient as exhibits. Photos are in the form of commercial digital negatives.
All of the above are included in my firm's fee or billed separately if so negotiated. As I have said in many blogs, it is my firm's processes that is one of the true assets of the business. This is one of our core processes.
Rock on.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Standing Guard
All Old Lions stand guard over past loves. They can't help it. Once they have given their hearts to a certain woman, they forever watch over her. They assure that nothing bad happens to them. That no matter what they can count on the Old Lion to be there with all his and all his tribe's resources. To fight to the death. No matter what. The Old Lion understands they appreciate it -- especially the "no matter what" part.
In Chicago the Old Lion is much stronger because of the many allies he has in the City and the potential to direct outcomes. Nothing really bad will ever happen to the Old Lion in Chicago. His Father was President of the Italian American Legal Association. He had input into judicial appointments. His bother was an ex-cop turned lawyer turned judge and now retired. Another ran the family's bank group and now is with the pre-eminent investment bank in the world. The Old Lion is known and understands the unwritten rules of the Chicago jungle. Obama rules. Rules where everybody talks to everybody starting from the ward precinct captain who talks to the Mayor, who talks with the Illinois Congressmen (House and Senate) who talks about Pat Grotto, "Whose kid is the investigative reporter at the Trib, who lives in the 24th Ward", who talks to the Illinois Congressmen, who talks to Rahm Emanuel, who will if required and because Pat Grotto is a long time loyal 24th Ward Democrat will talk to the President of the United States about Pat Grotto's issue. Chicqgo, Man. Chicago. Chicago, a city that does more pure business development of new assets and trading platfoms like intellectual property than any city or country in the world. A city that gets things DONE. A city that is not mean spirited, is not run by Puritans who came over on the Mayflower. A city that looks out for its own.
As Ted Turner said to me walking down Michigan Avenue in front of the Wrigley Building when defending his decision to start CNN, "Grota (that's how he pronounced my last name), man, you either have to be a god damn leader or follower, or you need to get the fuck out of way." Chicago is the leader, New York is the cautious follower, and the EU just needs to get the fuck out of the way.
Lock and load. Saddle up. Helms Away. Rock on.
