Making sense of the music business in a digital age.
A little while ago, I mentioned that I wrote a post on another site a while back, explaining my motivation for starting this blog and naming it makingthemogul.com.
Well, I found the post and am posting it here to share with you guys.
Dustin from Think2wice (Check it out. It’s one of my favourite spots to visit online.) asked “How Did You Come Up With The Name Of Your Blog?” to members of a Ning site called, The Urban Blogger.
I came up with the name of mine a few years back actually. When I started my first internship at a major label, Donald Trump and NBC had just launched the show, The Apprentice, and everybody used to joke around that I was “the real apprentice” due to my strong work ethic and never-lose attitude.
I always thought there should be a show that mixed The Apprentice with Making The Band. A show where people compete to make it in the business side of the music business.
We ended up getting one TV series that was almost amongst those lines, BET’s “Ultimate Hustler”. I say “almost” because the show didn’t seem to have a defined goal; if you win The Apprentice, you work for Donald Trump, if you win Making The Band, you get signed to Bad Boy, but if you won Ultimate Hustler, you won a car, a new wardrobe and I think some cash.
Didn’t make much sense to me.
We also had AOL’s web series, “Tha Biz”, which was more along the lines of what I wanted to see, but it was only aired online and didn’t receive much of an audience.
I figured if nobody else is giving me the content I want to see, then why not create it myself. I decided that a blog was the best format for me to deliver my story. I might incorporate video and other elements into the blog later on, but for now, the blog is my main platform.
So my blog is my version of the show/story that I always wanted to see – the journey of a young professional in the music business…..makingthemogul.com.
That’s what I posted on April 6, 2008.
Now, MTV & 50 Cent are launching the same concept with their new show, Mogul In The Making.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not hating. I’m actually looking forward to seeing the show. I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of us who have thought of the exact same concept.
It seemed really ironic that we’d have so many reality show concepts and yet it took this long to launch this one. I’m happy they’re finally doing it though, although I just hope it’s executed up to the standards I always envisioned a show like this being.
Personally, I think it would’ve made more sense to have someone else rather than 50 do the show. Again, don’t get me wrong; 50’s definitely been doing his thing and has been making millions upon millions doing it; but we all know him firstly as a rapper, and as someone who’s name only became relevant within the past few years. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ came out in 2003. That’s only 5 years ago.
Like a true mogul, 50 is certainly proving to be successful in multiple avenues, however I would have like to see MTV partner up with someone whose history and success spans a longer timeframe. Somebody like Russell Simmons, Chris Lighty, Steve Rifkind, Jimmy Iovine, Steve Stoute, Lyor Cohen, L.A Reid, Jermaine Dupri, Jay Z or even expand the Making The Band franchise and have Diddy do it.
These are all people who’ve been breaking all kinds of records and making historic movements since before the new millennium.
As a fan and viewer, those are the people I’d like to see the show air with, but as a decision-maker, I agree that 50 Cent will achieve higher ratings than most of the people on my list; especially since most of them are not entertainers themselves and don’t have the massive fanbase as does an entertainer like 50.
I’m actually disappointed in the prize for the winner.
They’re giving away scholarships.
Not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but if someone comes up with a great product/idea, has maximum exposure from MTV, and wins, they’re supposed to just forget about the idea and go to school.
I think the prize should be to help them launch their business, or at least give them a cash prize to do whatever they want with it.
The prize for the show is a scholarship? I didn’t know that.
I agree; scholarships are great and I appreciate the fact that they want to enable higher learning, however a scholarship seems like an out of place prize for this show.
The concept of a mogul in the making is someone who has already built a solid foundation of tools and continues to develop themselves as they implement their current knowledge and gain more insight.
A scholarship prize doesn’t fit the concept of the show. You’re right – they should be assisting the winner of the show to launch their business or idea. They’re already offering a platform for these contestants to showcase their abilities, why not complete the concept and offer them a platform to launch their business.
Doesn’t make much sense.
What’s A Record Deal Worth?
