John Blackburn’s Post

Here's what everyone (especially creators) can learn from Dave Chapelle. It’s about how NOT to get screwed over in business: At 28 years old, he signed a terrible contract with Comedy Central. They helped him make one of the biggest shows ever: Chappelle’s Show. After the show ended, Comedy Central really raked it in. They aired reruns to millions. They sold streaming rights to Netflix and HBO. So…how much did Dave make from that? Nothing. $0. Zilch. And it was perfectly legal. Why? Because he signed away his name, image and likeness. In perpetuity. All to Comedy Central. No ownership. No residuals. No right to even use the name Chappelle’s Show. I see this SAME language in many brand deal contracts we get for Jon. Even worse, we speak with many creators who overlooked this just like Chapelle did. So what can you do instead? #1 - Limit usage of your name and likeness in connection with a specific promotion #2 - Limit usage for a specific time period (example: up to 90 days) #3 - Require approval and charge for any additional usage of your content

What's a movie or TV show that never gets old, no matter how many times you watch it? I have a few favorites depending on my mood (a bit like with music) Unusual suspects The 1000-foot journey Chef Think like a man What's your favorite? Be the CEO of your life, work smart, earn more, live better. Yvonne #coaching #gettingthingsdone #productivity #maximizeyourpotential #strategy #ceoofyourlife #WorkSmarterNotHarder #BusinessSuccess

The real winners and losers in this year's Emmy nominations Emmy nominations were revealed on Wednesday morning, and while FX and Netflix made out well, other services and networks faltered. FX’s Big Day: The big winner of the day was FX, which scored 93 nominations, the most in the network’s history. Expected FX heavyweights The Bear and Shogun each delivered the most nominations in the comedy and drama series categories, respectively, while surprise series and actor nominations for What We Do in the Shadows and Reservation Dogs were the icing on the cake. Still, Netflix, due to its sheer breadth of titles, earned the most nominations of any network or streamer with 107. Who got snubbed: Though Shogun and The Bear dominated most categories, Cosmo Jarvis, who played a British expat in Shogun, was denied a nomination. Meanwhile Abby Elliott, Oliver Platt, and Matty Matheson didn’t make the cut for their performances on The Bear. Other acting snubs included The Gilded Age’s deep roster of Broadway talent and Ella Purnell for Fallout. Paramount and Showtime, meanwhile, missed the cut on all but a limited series score nomination, falling short on titles like Lawmen: Bass Reeves and The Curse. The Oscar halo: The recent nominees and winners from this year’s Oscars were a mixed bag when it came to the Emmy nominations. On the one hand, Oscar winners Robert Downey, Jr. and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, as well as nominees Lily Gladstone, Jodie Foster and Ryan Gosling scored nominations for their television performances. But Emma Stone, Annette Benning and Paul Giamatti all fell short for their respective series, signaling an Oscar nomination isn’t a surefire route to an Emmy nomination, too. For more . . . read the full story on The Ankler. This story is published in partnership with The Ankler, a paid subscription publication about the entertainment industry.

👇 The truth about recording the "perfect" podcast👇 What if we told you that even Broadway actors don’t strive for flawless performances? A 2 1/2-hour musical has about 3 million notes, according to American actress & singer Idina Menzel — who famously starred as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway. She strives to hit 75% of them. Not 100% 🎶 (If you’re familiar with Idina, you already know she is a Tony winner and is even called the “Queen of Broadway.” She is clearly at the top of her craft.) Meanwhile, some advisors believe they need to hit every single note in every single recording. We encourage you to give a good performance that includes the Perfect Content Formula – storytelling, entertainment, education, and a call to action – but realistically, you’re not going to nail it every time. Perfectionism is an illusion, but content burnout is real. Embrace being imperfect. Embrace being who you are — and showing that to your audience. ~~~ In an interview with Southwest Magazine, Idina said 💬 “Being a perfectionist, it took me a long time to realize that if I'm hitting 75% of [the notes], I'm succeeding. Performing isn't only about the acrobatics and the high notes: It's staying in the moment, connecting with the audience in an authentic way, and making yourself real to them through the music.” ~~~ Your audience is tuning in to learn about you and to learn from you. Your unique quirks and so-called flaws are part of what makes a podcast an intimate, trust-building conversation. These are the notes your audience wants to hear. Be Your Own Loud 📣

We lost one of America's funniest people yesterday, America's everyman,  comedian Bob Newhart.  Truly one of a kind. A real treasure who will surely be missed. Newhart was a walking masterclass in how to leverage your own unique voice. He had an instantly recognizable delivery, a halting stammer that both endeared and entertained.  His style wasn't the "norm" and yet he was amazing and ultimately loved. It speaks to authenticity shining through in a powerful way. It's easy for us to discount those that are different on first glance. Our bias kicks our butts at times. In conversations about the great TV sitcoms of the 70's and 80's, other comedians would talk about his timing. His ability to freeze time in conversation allowed the audience to simultaneously cringe and empathize. He often said, if he'd been cast in a sitcom that wasn't his own show, he surely would have been relegated to the role of 'straight man', but his timing and appeal were so great he redefined what a comedian could do.  "I like to get laughter out of the least and I think one way you do it is by giving the audience some credit for some intelligence," he said. Fun fact: While working as an accountant, he'd horse around with friends and call into DJs for a laugh. Someone at Warner Brothers reached out to ask if he'd be interested in recording an album. The problem was, he'd never done standup comedy. With only two weeks to prepare, he wrote and recorded 'The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart' at his debut set. It became the first comedy album to reach number 1 on the charts! #leadership #bobnewhart #authenticity #voice #comedylegend

I always take time to read Ted Gioia, usually about music, but this article expands on culture in general. I hope it doesn't come to this, but there are certainly stark warning signs. Consider the movie business: * Disney is a state of crisis—where everything is shrinking (except the CEO’s paycheck). * Paramount just laid off 800 employees—and wants to find a new owner. * Universal is now releasing movies to streaming after just 3 weeks in theaters. * Warner Bros actually makes more money canceling films than releasing them. The TV business also hit a wall in 2023. After years of steady growth, the number of scripted series has started shrinking. IMO we all should find a way to be creative, whatever small thing it is.

New Post: SiR Lays Down His ‘Heavy’ Burdens: The R&B Star Talks New LP, Rehab & Kai Cenat Controversy - https://lnkd.in/gDvvQ46F - Four years ago, two-time Grammy-nominated R&B crooner SiR guest starred in Issa Rae’s Emmy-nominated cultural phenomenon Insecure. In that episode, titled “Lowkey Movin’ On,” SiR and fellow TDE artist Zacari perform their single “Move” ahead of Issa’s career-shifting block party; it’s one of those priceless TV moments where a fictional story pays tribute to the real city in which it takes place, this one being Inglewood, CA. Now, with the release of his deeply introspective and self-confrontational new LP, Heavy, SiR is lowkey moving on from a life-altering five years of destruction and healing.  Related SiR Breaks Down His Five Favorite Tracks From New 'Heavy' LP: ‘It’s Some of My Most Honest Writing… 03/25/2024 Heavy – a harrowing project that features contributions from Ty Dolla $ign, Anderson .Paak, Ab-Soul and Isaiah Rashad – marks the official follow-up to 2019’s Chasing Summer, a record that boosted SiR’s career to a new level of fame and success while also serving as one of the strongest efforts from that era of contemporary R&B. Where Chasing Summer was an ode to languid, sun-soaked West Coast soul – bookmarked by collaborations with Jill Scott and Kendrick Lamar – Heavy is much grittier.  Between the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. presidential election, the past half-decade has been nothing short of monumentally transformative for most of the world. For SiR, those kinds of world-shifting events served as mere backdrops to personal crises that threatened to upend the very life he built for himself. “I was taking the attention I was getting and using it the wrong way for selfish purposes and eventually that started to affect my home life in a way that I couldn’t talk about,” he says. “The only way I knew how to medicate or get through all of it was to self-medicate. And we know what drugs do. Don’t take long, you know? I have to learn these lessons the hard way.”  As a result, TDE CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith held up the release of SiR’s new record until he was sober, both literally and emotionally. “We always going to put our best foot forward at TDE, that should be an understatement,” SiR says. “We’ll wait five years if we got to. When we come, we come correct. We had to take a step back and reevaluate.” That approach has drawn ire from some TDE fans – remember how some fans reacted to the delays leading up to SZA’s SOS? — but it’s proven to be an effective one. SiR’s stint in rehab brought him back home to himself. The poems he wrote during his stay and duri

Have you ever made a mistake on camera?🫣 I DID😙 I absolutely love the cameras—they feel like old friends to me. Every time the show comes around, I’m smiling, happy, and excited. There’s one story I almost forgot to share, and it's one of my favorites because I was confronted by a lesson I ready practiced on stage. It was one of those days when we were still all about the vibes. We went to cover a musical event at an Embassy, and because we didn’t have earpieces to receive instructions, I misread a cue. I actually walked off camera on LIVE TELEVISION😅. Thinking they were telling me to wrap up the show, only to realize the sign was made in error! My poor co-presenter He literally yanked me back, and I couldn’t help but laugh and say, "Why?🤣 Why would you stop me? Don’t you want us to get to the stage? Everything is happening right there on the stage!" That little moment saved the day, and we both laughed about how excited I was and the show went on smoothly . The lesson from that experience is that flexibility is key. No matter how prepared you are, anything can throw you a curveball—whether you’re moderating an event, leading a panel discussion, or presenting live. You need to be ready to adapt on the fly. ❤️ #FlexibilityMatters #LiveBroadcast #CommunicationSkills #EventModeration #MediaJourney #TheatreArts #ProfessionalGrowth #Adaptability #Resilience #PublicSpeaking #EventVeteran #MediaEntrepreneur #Leadership #Training #OlawumiHeavens #Storytelling #globalvisibilitychallengewithdrvivianmagnus

Finding motivation when you’re faced with such adversity every which way is daunting. But we need to find that motivation regardless! Amazing perspective from Cameron Arnett and his experience in the acting world for discovering it. #Motivation #Podcast

Just a week ago I went to Stockholm. The purpose was to watch the world famous standup comedian Trevor Noah's performance on the stage. As expected, he kept the audience captivated to his show for around 1.25 hours. One of my goals of the Stockholm trip was to see in person what he does so brilliantly that people get glued to the stage for quite so long. Here are my takes: 1. He prepares very well. The content preparation, the transition from one story to another and improvisation- all takes a lot of practice. 2. Clear voice (which takes long term commitment as well). While listening to Trevor, you won't require any subtitle. So, every connotation, pronunciation, emotion, sound, subtle indication- are very easily meaningful, no matter where you come from. 3. Right after entering, he searches for something very local to talk about. By ‘very local’ I mean something happening right there in the venue or in the room. This helps a lot to seize the audience's attention straightway. For example, he started to make fun of a person who sat near the stage. When he did that, everyone became awake & aware of the moment and started to search who's the person, what's s/he doing, what's happening there… That's one of the ways, he activates the audience. 4. Trevor concentrates heavily on humor around cultural references and differences. Who on earth doesn’t want to have light moments and smile around her/his culture? This is probably the lowest hanging fruit when it comes to finding a common ground, to have a discussion with anyone. 5. Here comes the biggest finding to my eyes: he comes back to his stories, sometimes more than once. Let's say he has apparently concluded a story. Then after let’s say 3-4 stories, he would tell something to remind you about that story. This way, a loop is created and audience's engagement with the content or story increases. 6. He doesn't jump to another story abruptly. That seemed to me as the most challenging part: weaving through apparently two unrelated pieces. Trevor does this so smoothly that you wouldn't even realize the change sometimes. 7. Attire is a medium of making a silent relationship with his audience. He wore a full sleeve shirt but not tucked in. The trouser looked ironed and comfortable. Altogether, it gave me a feeling of relaxation or informal dressup but also gave me the impression that he took care of his clothes. My take is: know the audience, know the timing, know what would they expect and plan your kit that would take you closer to them. 8. Whenever, he sees a scope, he tries to create a dialogue with the audience. Active crowd is always better than a passive audience. Interestingly even I, despite being somewhat an introvert, feel the need to talk a bit about myself. Trevor tries to create that space where people would feel comfortable to answering questions or expressing feelings. Wanna add/share your thoughts? Please feel free to do so. #trevornoah #communication #presentation #stockholm