A Day In The Life (A Mile In My Shoes)

So for those of you who are curious and don't already know, here is a lil bit of info on what it is that I do here as a Video Marketing Representative at AristoMedia.

The whole process starts out by my boss Craig or I tracking down some artists that have put out new videos - often times the labels will approach us, but we like to continue to be actively searching anyhow. From there we have to contact the appropriate person at that record label and try and strike a deal for us to distribute and promote the video. If the record label chooses to have us promote the video, we then agree to track where and how often the video is being played, and put all of that info into one report every 3 weeks (for the extent of 2-4 reports). That's where you guys come in!

You guys have all by now heard me talking about tracking for this INO reel. This is why it is so important. These days you may notice video content has slowed down. This is because since digital distribution like Napster and iTunes and such have come into play, the music industry has been losing money. Now with the shifting economy, there is even less money to spread around than before, and record labels are being very careful about where they allocate said money. Thus, fewer music videos are being produced, and of those that are being produced, only a fraction are being distributed as deeply as they should be. For instance, many record labels are deciding to take distribution and promotion on themselves and end up only servicing videos to the Gospel Music Channels of the world. Now, while there is absolutely nothing wrong with Gospel Music Channel (I love those kids, they are one of my outlets, too!) it does leave all of the awesome Regional shows out of luck.

"What's this all got to do with me?" you may be asking at this point. Well, what we are trying to do is catch some of these big fish record labels (like INO, cough cough) and show them the value of all of our regional shows. We do that by showing them our tracking reports of how many households you guys hit and how many extra spins you guys are giving these vids. Then they will see how great you all are and what a value you are to their artist, and they'll have no other choice than to give us more videos!

BUT here's the other problem...INO is just testing the waters and doesn't want to invest a lot of their money yet, unless they KNOW that it will be worth it. So they sign on for a deal of 2 reports. That gives me 6 short weeks to try and get a hold of my 145+ outlets and get them to commit to playing these videos. That is not a lot of time at all!! Especially considering that you guys plan a lot of episodes in advance AND that even if I just sat on the phone all day and was able to reach everyone , I still wouldn't be able to get through all those calls in a day. And of course, you guys are very busy too and so you can't always answer the phone or respond to emails right away - i get that. Then add on that in those 6 weeks I am also working on trying to schedule interviews, plus making ecards, plus working some of the Country and Rock videos as well. Whoo!

So all of this is to say, I hope you understand that I'm not just calling all the time to bug you. The information that I ask for is important because you guys are important. And while it's a lot to do, it's a lot of fun because you guys make it all worth while. Getting to talk and chat with you, seeing how awesome you guys are and how much work you put into your shows. It really is incredible.

So there you have it. There is a bit of insight into what I do, and I am ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS happy to hear more about what you guys are doing, so never be afraid to share, and never be afraid to tell me if there is something I could do to make things easier on you. Cause I am here for you guys. On a side note, I do intend to get a blank DVD out to you all soon so you can burn me some copies of your show and give me some REAL insight into your magic.

Thanks all, have a good one.
~Rachel@aristomedia

A Mile In My Shoes...coming soon to a blog near you

Hey guys! I was going about my regular work day - creating e-cards, making phone calls (or "smiling and dialing" as my bosses like to call it) and doing my best to make sure that everything on my ever-expanding list is getting done. All of the sudden, i felt the need to blog.

On pretty much a daily basis I like to try and think about what it is that you guys are doing. Several of you I know have full time jobs in addition to running the video show (this I understand as my last year and a half of school was spent bouncing from all day classes to internship to waiting tables). So I try and be mindful of that as I go about my day and I try not to call too many times in any given week or couple of weeks, and I try to really understand what all you guys have to deal with when putting together a show. Some of you run talk shows and use the music videos as fillers, some of you have other formats of videos you use in addition to those Christian videos supplied by AristoMedia, and I consider all of this before I call and ask for tracking updates (just so you know). All of that being said I thought you guys may like a little insight into what it is that I do. So my next blog will feature a little more about that. I'd do it right now, but this blog has already become two paragraphs and it would be a ton to read all at once.

So that's all. Keep an eye out. I should be posting in the next few days. Oh, and hey guys? Thanks for reading. I really appreciate that. Bernard from 11th Hour in Connecticut called me the other day and brought up something I had mentioned in my blog and it made me super happy just to know that people were paying attention. So thanks, Bernard! and thanks to all of you out there reading. Feel free to drop me a comment or an email anytime.

With Love,
~rachel@aristomedia

In Stores Today!

Last night was Kevin LeVar's CD Release party!! His album "Let's Come Together" is now available in stores everywhere, isn't that exciting?

While I unfortunately wasn't able to fly to D.C. to attend, I was able to watch streaming online from kevinlevartv.com. That concept was really really neat. They had a live chat so that people like myself could type in and feel a little more like we were actually there. They had people watching from all over the world!! Kevin's performances were phenominal and I really enjoyed it. God Glorified Music was also kind enough to give a shout out to us here at AristoMedia and that was neat to see and hear. I hope some of you got that e-blast i sent out and were able to watch as well. I know Virgil Taylor from Virgil Taylor's Music Machine in Maryland had RSVP'd - I hope you enjoyed it Virgil!

Anyway, that is all for now, just wanted to throw a quick update to ya. There'll be more soon!

~Rachel@aristomedia

Well hello there, internet world. Long time, no see!

It has been crazy here lately, and I love it because it keeps me on my toes and makes time just fly by. Please forgive me if I've just showered you with emails, this INO reel is just a great opportunity for us to start gaining more major clients so I'm covering all bases.

We also recently met with some reps from Gotee records, that seemed to go well, but I have not heard anymore about it just yet. Furthermore, we are trying to get this Natalie Grant "I Will Not Be Moved" video out to you all, but the other vids that may or may not get on that reel to go with it are slowing us down a little bit. We are contemplating sending it off on its own, but won't know for sure what is going on until later next week.

Personally this week has been a little rough on me. I put in my 2 weeks notice at my other job. So I will only wait tables at the glorious Outback Steakhouse until the end of september. It is a little sad because the people I work with over there are all so much fun and I've been there over a year and a half now. But, it had to be done. Aside from that, we also had to put my puppy to sleep today. I say puppy, but she was 15. I've had her for the majority of my life and it is really sad to have to say goodbye, especially because I can't be there (in Illinois) to say it in person. But she is very old and was in a lot of pain, so that is for the best as well.

All and all though, I am certainly doing well, so I shouldn't complain. I hope you all have a great weekend, and I will be a little more up beat next time around. ;)


--Rachel@aristomedia