Life and The Love We Make

Working at the crossroads of music and technology, and being a talent producer for a couple of decades now, I've had the opportunity to work with a long list of amazing artists. The most meaningful interactions are often the unscheduled, random conversations that just seem to happen randomly. Some of those occur behind-the-scenes at events like Pollstar, where I got to shoot the breeze with my childhood idol, Davy Jones - who spent that entire conversation asking about my work, my family and sharing his own human, fun-loving side. He was an amazing soul and is definitely missed by all of us, as colleagues, and by me, as a friend. 

Moments of remembrance seem to be all around me lately.  While I was in New York for Digital Music East a few weeks ago two colleagues and I visited the 9/11 Memorial - a tough morning for all of us. Afterward, we talked about the amazing love that followed that day, and I shared my experience with Paul McCartney at the Adopt-a-Minefield Concert (a cause supported mightily by the late Princess Diana).

I was privileged to share a personal moment with Sir Paul after he performed "God Only Knows" and "Let it Be" with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Paul drove up himself in his black Mercedes before the event and we shared our experiences about many things, including his personal relationship with 9/11. I myself was headed to New York only a few days before 9/11, but cancelled the trip. Had I gone, I was scheduled to return on Flight 93 - the flight that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.  A million times I have considered this close call with awe and gratitude, to say the least.  Paul shared his own amazing story with me.  He was on his way to London to celebrate his daughter Stella's 30th birthday that very morning and was literally taxiing on the tarmac at JFK when the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Centre, and when all air traffic was grounded, McCartney's plane was ordered back to the gate.

Basically trapped in NY, Paul decided over the next few days to create a benefit concert, and the "Concert for New York City" was born. It was graced with a long list of stellar musicians (all personal friends of McCartney), including Elton John, David Bowie, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, among others. (An amazing documentary by Albert Maysles called "The Love we Make" followed McCartney around New York those few weeks before the concert, which happened only five weeks after the attacks.) One of the most notable moments in the film shows Paul standing on the stage at Madison Square Garden in an FDNY T-shirt. When he sang Yesterday in front of hundreds of firefighters and police officers, most of whom had all lost friends and relatives, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Some days, I know we're all led to the tears when we lose someone we love or celebrate difficult anniversaries, but I think Paul McCartney was definitely right when he shared "I just thought we could help with the music."    

Kelli Richards
President and CEO
The All Access Group, LLC

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"The Magic & Moxie of Apple - An Insider's View"

Watch for my forthcoming eBook:  "The Magic & Moxie of Apple - An Insider's View" (available soon on my website and wherever eBooks are sold).  A huge thanks to so many of my Apple colleagues and industry insiders who shared their thoughts and experiences with me for this project. If you would like to contribute, please contact me at news@AllAccessGroup.com by March 29^th.

Official.FM is the latest brainchild of self-proclaimed Music Tech Nerd, Jason Herskowitz. Official.FM hopes to become home base for music professionals, allowing them to upload and manage an entire catalog of songs easily with their desktop track manager, share that catalog on any website and any device, and create a streamlined process for fans to share that catalog. Bands and artists can use Official.FM's advanced statistics to know where, who, how and when music was heard or downloaded - and to collect email addresses for each download.

The Summit Global Network recently compiled the best information available on entering and succeeding in thevast China market. They pooled best practices and intellectual property, written by a collaborative team including Kelli to provide a global, pragmatic view of successful practices to efficiently and effectively establish a profitable presence. Download your complimentary PDF at http://bit.ly/ChinaBizWhitePaper  

EVENTS

 
Digital Media Summit - Toronto, Ontario - CA - March 21-22.  As the kick-off to Canadian Music Week, this well respected two-day digital media conference which brings together today's most influential Digital Media Leaders.

New Digital Economics - San Francisco, CA. On March 27-28, Kelli will speak at The New Digital Economics Executive Brainstorm Series is part of a research and industry transformation programme from business model innovation firm STL Partners focused on the Telecommunications, Media and Technology sectors. Supported by leading trade bodies, the Executive Brainstorms are held on a regular basis in different parts of the world to bring together senior execs to think creatively about new growth opportunities.   

Where is Kelli...

New Digital Economics - San Francisco, CA. On March 27-28, Kelli will speak at The New Digital Economics Executive Brainstorm Series as part of a research and industry transformation programme from business model innovation firm STL Partners focused on the Telecommunications, Media and Technology sectors. Supported by leading trade bodies, the Executive Brainstorms are held on a regular basis in different parts of the world to bring together senior execs to think proactively about new growth opportunities. Kelli will participate in the Entertainment section of the event to be held on March 28^th.

Silicon Valley Capital Club. Kelli is to be the esteemed guest and presenter on March 21^st at the The Women's Luncheon Series at the Silicon Valley Capital Club. Kelli will share about her role as CEO of The All Access Group, LLC and her experience in working with celebrity events.

Digital Hollywood - Marina del Rey, CA.  April 31-May 3, 2012. On Tuesday, May 2^nd, Kelli will lead a panel on Smartphones, Tablets and their impact in the digital space. Digital Hollywood is the premier entertainment and technology conference in the country.

 

If you have an event you'd like me to participate in, or a panel or keynote to deliver, please reach out to me directly at Kelli@AllAccessGroup.com