Kelli Richards July 30th 2008

President & CEO of The All Access Group

Pyramind offered a special treat with this installment of it's guest lecture series, "Planning for Success" on July 30th, 2008 with Kelli Richards, a twenty five year veteran of the music industry and sitting member of the SF Chapter of NARAS' board of governors. Having gained invaluable experience during her time at Apple Computers and EMI Records, she shared a crystal clear vision of the future of the music industry with the students, as well as practical steps for both the aspiring and established artist in today's entertainment market. Whether espousing the pitfalls of selling your publishing, or describing a virtual concert idea in the form of a USB bracelet, or even giving concrete steps for marketing an indie band, Kelli was a wealth of knowledge and is a powerful insider on the workings of today's ever morphing record labels. She spoke at length about the "Artist 360" model which she has long been a proponent of.

Beginning her career at a very early age (and inspired by the Beatles' producer George Martin) Kelli wanted to be a music producer as long as she could remember. Her rise in the entertainment industry eventually lead her to meeting and working with such luminaries as Triumph, Todd Rundgren, and Julian Lennon. In the 1980's she was one of the main forces behind the focus on music and film by Apple Computers and helped bring many important artists to the EMI record label. Truly a force of nature and not to be missed, the tools and insight provided by Kelli in this podcast should be required listening for any Pyramind student and should not be missed by anyone considering a career in music!

This was one of the most amazing presentations in this series, and Pyramind hopes to bring Kelli back for another presentation later in 2008 or in early 2009. Her frank insights were embraced by all of the students, and as many of the technologies she spoke about become the "norm" in today's music industry, Pyramind hopes she will pay a few more visits to 832 Folsom Street. Thanks from everyone in attendance Kelli...