Soundstr in RockHouse Live Key West

RockHouse Live Key West is one of the Soundstr family members in Key West. Ultimately there will be multiple boxes to handle the different zones for this location.

With each install, we get more validation that a correction is needed in music general licensing. By first putting never before available tools in the hands of businesses, and then to songwriters and artists, we hope to leverage data to reduce licensing fees, make sure the correct stakeholders are paid, and lower the cost threshold so more businesses will become licensed.

RockHouse Live Key West is located on the corner fo Duval and Green, in the heart of the downtown Key West Historic District. Check it out! #musicfairness #musicrevolution #soundstr #rockhouselive #keywest #paradise

Soundstr: Congrats to the Blue Room!

Big congrats to The Blue Room for being the latest establishment to join the Soundstr VNUE INC #MusicRevolution! With each install, we get more validation that a correction is needed in music general licensing. By first putting never before available tools in the hands of businesses, and then to songwriters and artists, we hope to leverage data to reduce licensing fees, make sure the correct stakeholders are paid, and lower the cost threshold so more businesses will become licensed.

Check out the Blue Room when you can - awesome place, great ambiance and a tasty menu! #vnueinc #musicfairness

Soundstr: Congrats to GameOver Arcade Bar

Congrats Terry Tongumpun and GameOver Arcade Bar for becoming the newest Soundstr installation and a supporter and advocate of our #MusicFairness movement. VNUE INC is going to change the general licensing industry one business at a time. Check out GameOver If you have a chance. This place is really cool, has tons of games, craft beers, a large outdoor patio, and food!

I want to add to this post that Terry has been a strong supporter of RockHouse Live for many years - and I will do all I can to support his business. This really is a VERY cool spot with VERY cool games.

Soundstr: Congrats to the Crossing Bar & Grill

Congratulations The Crossing Bar & Grill for joining the #MusicFairness movement and installing VNUE INC's Soundstr to help make sure the performing rights organizations are held accountable and to ensure the right artists and songwriters are being paid for public performances of their compositions. By generating real data never before available from our groundbreaking platform, we are putting the power in the hands of business owners to argue for better licensing agreements (which in turn will encourage more businesses to become licensed) while at the same time creating a vehicle for stakeholders like songwriters and publishers to ensure they are receiving their fair share of general licensing royalties. In the future we hope to implement a pay-per-play model that is more of a "utility" than the current archaic blanket licensing scenario.

The Crossing is a fabulous bar and grill and I thank Betty Rowland for bring on the cutting edge of our #musicrevolution. If you have a chance, head down to Olive Branch, MS and check them out. Great food, awesome live bands, lively karaoke, and good people!

VNUE is out to change the way music licensing is done, one business at a time. #soundstr #vnue #soundstr #livemusic #DoTheRightThing #songwriter #artist #musicbusiness #musictech #mrt

Soundstr: Congrats to the Downtown Tavern

Congrats to The Downtown Tavern and my good friend Melanie Lupino for joining the #musicrevolution and installing VNUE INC's Soundstr!

By joining our movement, Melanie is helping to make sure the correct songwriters get paid and to hold performing rights organizations accountable. For the first time, VNUE is putting the data in the hands of the business owners and the stakeholders to help the business owners argue for a lower reasonable licensing fee and for artists and songwriters to be properly compensated.

#MusicTech #MusicFairness #MRT #LiveMusic #VNUE #soundstr #dotherightthing

VNUE Update and CEO Musings - June 2022

I know many of you are hungry for updates.  Frequent updates.    I think it would be helpful to shine a little light – a little reality – on where VNUE is at in its development.  I know you would like a lot more information and communication, but it can be challenging at times.  And, I can’t just go answer a bunch of questions in a Q and A or anything like that because we do have competitors emerging and validating the market, and I do not want to be put on the spot.

There are a lot of opinions in here, which I will clearly note, combined with factual information. 

First – I am six years into this venture, and have been a straight shooter since day one.  I am not doing this for my health – I could have a rosy corporate gig somewhere else and go home at five and kick my feet up.  But that ain’t me.  I will take the roller coaster, thank you very much! 

Those of you who have been with me for a long time know this.  I am as dedicated as they come if not more than 99% of the population.  I work night and day in my passion (music and tech) and I was motivated to do this with VNUE because I truly do want to change the world, and I think we have the ability to do it.  For each of you that invested, you put your trust in me and into the company, and for that main reason it drives me even harder to make it successful.  Moreover I understand fully what we are doing and why we do it, because I am a musician (my entire life) and understand that world better than most tech guys who try and jump into the music business.

So let’s start with StageIt.  This was with a huge amount of effort, time and money – and a longer than we expected and more expensive – acquiring StageIt.  This was an opportunity that fell right into our consumer products and in fact our B2B products (Soundstr) – which I will explain later.  It took six months, and in what we thought would be pivotal – brought real revenue to the company, something that we had not seen since before COVID – the market barely blipped!  And I will give you my opinion on that too, in a few.  The acquisition of StageIt fits into our broader strategy in terms of revenue and rights management opportunities in the business.

What maybe you are not aware of is that we are not a huge faceless company with an army of people to work in big parallel paths spending huge piles of cash.  This company has survived and even thrived to a degree on a small, focused staff of top-level industry professionals, and has been extremely thinly funded until thankfully we developed a relationship with our investment bank, Network1 Financial and GHS.  This was a HUGE moment for the company, getting away from the dilutive and predatory convertible note lenders, and the recent commitment for $10mm is fuel in the tanks that will help us get to the next level (also will be discussed in a bit). 

Importantly – you should not see this as a dilutive event.  This is where we have the funding to build value by execution.  With no funding, we cannot execute.  For the last several months, we have been hampered because the StageIt deal took so long, our existing S1 effectively timed out (and which was barely utilized).  So we had to put another one together.

Those of you have been with me for a while now know that I was able to turn around the company from a low share price of something like .0003 to a high last year of around .04.  That’s an insane amount of value building and I will do it again.  How did I do it?  Execution, elimination of debt, reduction of convertible debt, etc.  Razor sharp focus.  This was a truly brutal process and the result showed in the share price. 

And this was after my first rough couple of years catching a full two years worth of financials up from prior management; digging the company out of a lot of bad debt; acquiring set.fm; acquiring Soundstr; and personally making deals such as Rob Thomas with Matchbox Twenty, which is now set for 2023 (please no monkeypox pandemic!)

Now, what you will again see, is that with fuel in the tanks, we can build the value, execute and end up with hopefully a higher market valuation than before.  We have always been disadvantaged because our level of funding has been so low.  That is absolutely changing.  I am sure you all know we are undervalued, too.  If this was a private company, our valuation would easily be in the low to mid eight figure range.  Easily.  This is again an issue with the OTC markets platform, particularly on the pinks.

And, during this time – when I was working on reducing convertible debt, reducing debt overall, etc. – we had applied to be uplisted to the QB.  Long story short, the OTC jerked us around for months, providing various reasons they would not uplist us (mainly they were worried about the convertible debt), even though – on paper – we met all the requirements and paid the fee.  By the time we addressed the concerns and after having gone back to them several times just to be told they wanted even more (translation: me working day and night to get the convertible debt off the books and make them happy), the price point had once again slipped below a penny.  Argh!!  Can you feel the frustration?  So it wasn’t because of lack of trying, believe me.  It was incredibly frustrating and still is.

And this is exactly why my strategy is to uplist straight to Nasdaq. 

I have made no secret about this.  It is where our company needs to be – and partly (in my opinion) is why the shares don’t respond like you think they would.  We need to be on one of the big trading platforms, which will in turn attract the right analysts and coverage, and in turn, more eager investors. 

And by the way – no, we are not planning a reverse split.  It ain’t in the works.  Our plan, however, is to channel a large event/deal along with a $15/20mm raise, with an uplist.  That’s the only time we would reasonable consider a reverse split.  It is the only time it makes sense.  We all know that if you do it on the pinks or QB, the price just slips further. 

So, again for those who do know me, they know that I believe in organically getting the price where it needs to be through execution and focus, and then only taking a step like that when there is a real and bona fide reason to do so. 

Further to that, my commitment as it has been is to limit dilution as much as possible – but at the same time execute so that the share value builds.  Dilution is just fine if you grow the pie – and therefore the slices are worth more.  I am and always have been very cautious.   And hey, as I have said before – this is a long-term play.  It is not an overnight thing.  Lots of folks sold Apple before it went through the roof (hell I wish I had bought it – as a longtime Apple user and Steve Jobs fan). 

I am not offering you stock advice, but you see my personality, my drive and may passion – and that of my team, and with the tech we are working on, you can make your own informed decisions.  And again – my opinion should NOT be used to buy or sell VNUE shares, but rather so you understand a little of the philosophy that I operate under, as well as my peers in the company.  Our personality if you will.

And, as you know, we have gone after certain bad actors that have caused unnecessary dilution by taking advantage us, and I will continue to do so.  I’m a fighter, if you haven’t figured that one out yet.  No one is going to take advantage of this company, my team, or me, and the only reason we didn’t go after them before is we didn’t have the financial resources to do so.  But we are getting our legs now…

In short though, this is not your fly-by-night OTC public company that puts out bi-weekly press releases on some insanity, but rather a group of highly experienced, passionate folks that come from the tech and music sector that want to make the world a better place with extremely complex and sophisticated technology, and therefore, the business we are pursuing is something that takes time for adoption, particularly Soundstr.

What many of you also may not understand about Soundstr is that it is truly complex.  It is not something that you can hire some guy like a used car salesman go out and try and sell.  Traditional strategies like magazine ads are not useful.  This is relationship driven, and the music and entertainment business is a relationship oriented business to its core.  This platform requires C level conversations, which are happening frequently, but it does take time. 

Not only is Soundstr complex in regard to the sophisticated functionality and the platform itself, which has been enhanced significantly in the last several months – but also in the path that we must take in order for it to be widely adopted, and the strategy to do so.  And, those paths (multiple paths) are not those that can be done in a day, week or a month.  It takes time – and it takes time on multiple fronts. 

We are in fact pursuing several VERY large deals.  But I can’t talk about that yet, because we are public.  And these deals take TIME, planning, and importantly a decent amount of “dry powder” (funding), which we haven’t had until fairly recently.  

I do always release news to you when we have incremental successes and something to actually discuss, but you are just going to have to wait and when we have something more substantial or big to talk about publicly, believe me, we will.  Until then – hey, if you want to sell – that’s all you.  But if it tells you ANYTHING at all about my commitment to this company, and to you, I have never sold a single share of VNUE stock.  Not one.  Ever.

There are always naysayers out there, and on these OTC platforms especially, those who deliberately try to foster doubt into the heads of investors, in an effort to manipulate the stock price (yet another reason I am pushing hard to uplist to Nasdaq).  Nothing in fact fires me up more than someone who tells me “you can’t do that,” or “it can’t be done,” or worse yet, “you don’t know what you are doing,” so go right on ahead and criticize me for my lack of Twitter acumen (I hate Twitter and it is why I generally do not get on social media unless I absolutely have to), or if you believe you are the end all be all in the area of MRT and our Soundstr MDM Platform, by all means, please share your knowledge with me, and I will be happy to keep an open mind.  I am actually always open to other ideas – but I do believe we have a very good handle on where we are at in VNUE, and are on the right path, even if we cannot share every single detail with you.    

Case in point.  I will never forget my very first investor meeting, for my first startup in 2000.  I had invented what was called “Rapid Network Deployment,” which automated the configuration of network devices.  I pitched it to a roomful of investors, packed in fact.  One guy asked, with a smirk, “Why hasn’t anyone else done this?”  And my answer was simply this: “Because they didn’t figure it out.  I did.”  The rest was history – we raised $12mm in under three months, and eventually the company sold to EMC Corp.

So, you can either believe we know what we are doing – or not.  Personally, for those of you who have been on this journey with me, I hope you do.  I hope that my efforts and that of my team will make your investment have a 10x or more return.  Patience is a virtue.

And finally, quite frankly, anyone who wants to criticize me for continuing to practice my art – music – I will not use the phrase I usually use to tell you what you can do with that comment. 

The music that I play keeps me sane, I’ve done it my entire life, and I am not going to stop.  It’s that, or a shrink’s couch, and I would personally rather sling a guitar than pay a shrink.  A happy, relaxed and focused CEO is a good CEO.  And, at the end of the day, I hope my music touches people in a positive manner.  Take it or leave it.

I hope this has given you a little more insight as to where we are with VNUE, and you see the future we are creating.  In the last year, with StageIt, and the partnership with Network1 and GHS, this is a monumental game-changer that the company has needed.

Think of us like a little Skunk Works.   McDonnell Douglas’ famous top secret development shop for the most sophisticated aircraft in the world.  The tan-ish building in Palmdale, CA that looks boring as all hell, and for a long time sits completely silent, but BAM out pops the SR-71 Blackbird. 

Thanks for your support and belief in VNUE.  And remember – Stay Hungry.  Stay Foolish.

Safe Harbor Statement

This blog may contain forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues and any payment of dividends on our common stock, statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods and the other risks set forth in Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed from time to time. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in the expansion of our existing and new service lines, noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein. Stockholders and potential investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Note to VNUE Shareholders 4/19/2022

VNUE shareholders... I LOVE you guys - truly I do - and I appreciate your love of this company and exuberant support of me and my colleagues.... and as much as I appreciate direct messages that land in my various inboxes, you know I cannot answer those due to SEC regulations. I wish I could!

That said, I think it is important for you to please remember my mantra that I have lived by since I took the helm in 2016: Rome is not built in a day. This is a long term play - and I won't release news that isn't "real". We are not a typical OTC company that tries to pump its price by putting out BS. I do not read the message boards. We are a REAL company, with a bunch of passionate techies and music guys, who are out to make a difference in the world. And that folks is really hard work. I also know a lot of you like when I do videos or Q and A's. The fact that I have NOT done one in a while is not because I have not wanted to - it is because we have been very, very hard at work on a number of initiatives. I will plan on one in the near future, probably an actual interview.

By the way - those of you who may comment publicly now and then on my music (which I do notice), I would like to make clear that I've been playing music for a very long time, and it is an indelible part of my life. I have actively played through every startup and company I have been involved with. I've been playing some form of music since I was six years old. It is the way I release stress, and remember where the joy is of playing music and making people feel good (hopefully) and touching folks in a positive way. This also helps me to recalibrate and push harder for VNUE. My life is ALL about music! It is one reason that I personally have a good grasp of what artists really need and want in an industry that is traditionally predatory toward musicians.

So, to discuss VNUE, again, our long-term play is evidenced by the fact that 2021 was the best year ever for us (so far since I took over in 2016) and 2022 is already set up to be even better than that!

Here are a few general facts to that effect:

- Our convertible debt is at a record low. Our overall debt is low.

- We posted a $2.9mm profit for 2021 mainly because of my ability and persistence to reduce that debt and get rid of deliverables. While not cash, the balance sheet is WAY better!

- Soundstr is the best it has ever been, exceeding even our own expectations. Our outreach has started to be more aggressive now that we crossed a few important thresholds.

- StageIt is already 100% incorporated into VNUE. Those revenues are flowing into VNUE and will be reflected in our next Q. Currently NON-audited revenues are around 200K a month give or take - which is double what VNUE brought in during the entire year of 2021.

- We have already implemented measures that ensure StageIt is at minimum, break even, although I think our numbers will be better than expected once we really get our groove.

- We have a plan to bring a bunch of known artists onto the platform, while providing great service to existing artists on the platform and restoring confidence that some had lost prior to the acquisition.

- We have plans to integrate Soundstr, Set.fm, and StageIt, so that we can track music in real time for those utilizing our services, regardless of the source (which extends obviously to radio, venues, online radio, and much more).

- We have an awesome investment bank working with us.

- We have a bunch of deals in the works - sorry I can't say more about that yet. But - I think I can say this - if you think VNUE is going to stop at one meaningful acquisition, think again. That much I CAN say. And I think you should agree with me, StageIt is a pivotal moment in the history of VNUE.

****My personal opinion - not that of VNUE or our board - is that I love this company, and love what we are doing. It has been a struggle sometimes, but anything you believe in can be a challenge. We have come a long, long way. I believe you will see things start to accelerate. We are getting our legs, and we will get our wings soon - and after that, our warp drive engines! Obviously I have seen some pressure on the stock. It is unfortunate that some folks want to sell - but let them. That means people who believe in the company and our path will pick it up, and in my mind, those are the folks we want in our camp.

Again - much love and appreciation to you!

Zach

VNUE, INC CEO Issues End-of-Year 2021 Update to Shareholders

VNUE, Inc. today announced that its Chairman and CEO released an update to shareholders as follows:

Dear Shareholders and VNUE followers:

So much has happened this year, although a lot of it has been behind the scenes, I thought it would be helpful to provide a short summary of the progress that has been made in 2021, as I have done in past years, and also to set the stage for 2022.

First and importantly, I know many of you are eagerly awaiting the close of our acquisition of StageIt (Stageit.com).  This has taken longer than we thought, mostly due to complexities in accounting matters and the required independent audit.  We had hoped to complete this prior to end of the year, but I feel more confident than ever that this deal will finally close within the first two weeks of January, hopefully even sooner.  There have been no issues with our acquisition plan whatsoever, and StageIt continues to operate and generate significant revenue. 

Needless to say when the transaction is completed, this will be a watershed moment for the company, further crystallizing my vision of a company that has multiple artist-centric technologies and platforms, that combined, provide a complete suite of products and services to artists, labels, and creators such as writers and publishers.

In other news, also I am sure you are eagerly awaiting, Soundstr has reached the point where we are actively in discussions with numerous groups, large and small, including radio and brick and mortar venue groups, and in fact several more Soundstr Pulse units were recently deployed to a number of radio stations.  More units are being prepped to go out as we speak.  Progress has been made to the point where Soundstr Live Identification is over 75% accurate – which is a significant feat and a huge step up from, well, zero.  And recorded music identification is near 100% for all practical purposes.

The combination of being able to identify both live and recorded music via our Music ID Sampling Services, Music Identification Streaming Services, and our Soundstr Live Identification Services, does indeed set the stage for VNUE to be the largest and most accurate aggregator of music consumed in public spaces in the world.  We are building a music rights and data marketplace that will offer a variety of packaged products:  The Soundstr Marketplace™.

As you know, in 2016, I stepped into the role of CEO of VNUE, and went to work addressing a multitude of challenges that we faced as a young company.  As a going concern, the company was behind in its SEC filings, did not have what I would consider to be viable technology, had zero revenue, several prior legal issues, and very little resource.  Additionally, there was a substantial amount of old debt on the books.  Within a relatively short amount of time, we brought technology, revenue, and world-class talent into the company.

Of course, it didn’t help that COVID reared its ugly head in the middle of our progress and sucked nearly two year’s worth of business off our books.  But, as a silver lining, this helped us focus on Soundstr development, and to identify opportunities like StageIt, and unlike many other companies, we survived.

As of today, we only have a small amount of convertible debt on our books, and we have been 100% current on our filings since we were able to catch everything up in 2017.  As a fully reporting company, this is vitally important for investor trust and continued growth.  Convertible debt reduction is something that the OTC Market Groups repeatedly told us we had to lower in order for them to approve our pending uplist to the OTCQB, which I was able to do through determined program of converting some of that debt and in other cases convincing our largest debtor and longtime investor to move his remaining debt to a “non-convertible” type of note.  Within one year, we took this debt down from almost $2mm to where it is now, which is about $635K.  Over that time our stock price has gone up and down, and after all that time and work, we are now just under a penny – which is the threshold to uplist to the QB.  So as we continue to execute, we will patiently wait for investors to respond to our positive work, continue to set our targets on this goal – although we are also exploring more direct paths to Nasdaq as well.

Many of you know that we have also filed litigation against a former alleged “toxic lender.”  These types of lenders prey on small companies like ours, when these companies have no place else to turn, and in our case, aggressive trading hammered our stock price down to almost nothing while apparently reaping them hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits off of relatively small notes.  They seemingly profited off the backs of our hard work.  It took a full year to recover our market value (and then some), but we did so without executing a reverse split or any artificial means – nothing but execution and sheer determination. 

Well as it turns out, the SEC isn’t taking too kindly to schemes like these alleged “toxic convertible notes,” and has been finally cracking down to put an end to the practice.  There have been several definitive actions by the SEC against these types of lenders in the last couple of years.  Further, there have also been several positive decisions by the courts, siding with companies like ours, that indicate these types of lenders are predatory in nature and, in many cases, allegedly usurious and acting outright illegally.  Importantly many are alleged to be acting as “unregistered dealers,” which is a direct violation of securities laws, and something we were completely unaware of when approached by what we thought were legitimate “investors.” 

Most recently, a major alleged toxic lender lost their motion to dismiss the SEC complaint against them and their various entities, which means the SEC can proceed with their enforcement action wherein they claim that the group made more than $61mm in profits from selling OTC Markets Group issuers stocks received through convertible notes while not registered as a dealer.  Of note is that the same attorneys winning these favorable decisions are indeed our attorneys representing us in our litigation.  Bam!

Filing this litigation was not an easy decision on our part but there are two sides of a public company – running the company and its core competencies, and also running the business of being public and doing our best to protect shareholders.  In filing the litigation, we hope to recover some of the lost value perpetrated by these lenders, and also help to put a rhetorical nail in the coffin of nefarious lenders who attempt to do this to others.

I will say these five plus years have not been a cakewalk, and as I have always said, it takes time and razor sharp focus to build a real company, and to set the stage for greater things to come.  The new year, 2022, I believe is going to be our moment – the initial culmination of these years of sacrifice on the part the VNUE team and patience on your part – and I am very, very excited about what the future holds.

Thank you for your support over the years, and thank you for your belief and support in VNUE, in me, and my team!  Happy New Year!

All the best,

Zach Bair
CEO & Chairman
VNUE, Inc.

Safe Harbor

This press release may contain forward looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks as well as uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues, statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods.  These risks and uncertainties are further defined in filings and reports by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Among other matters, the Company may not be able to sustain growth or achieve profitability based upon many factors including but not limited to general stock market conditions. Reference is hereby made to cautionary statements set forth in the Company’s most recent SEC filings. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in our expansion of our existing as well as new service lines noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. Additional service offerings may expose us to additional legal and regulatory costs and unknown exposure(s) based upon the various geopolitical locations we will be providing services in, the impact of which cannot be predicted at this time. 

XXX

Update from CEO Zach Bair - 12 Apr 21

CEO Update – April 12, 2021

The following is from our CEO, Zach Bair:

Dear Shareholders,

I’ve recently had a barrage of questions from interested parties about the status of the company, Soundstr, etc.  I cannot reply to individual emails, as you know, so I thought I would provide a quick update.

First of all, have no fear.  Everything is going as expected, if not better, with recent results showing that we are identifying almost 100% of the monitored music ingested into Soundstr.  The only exception of course is that our touring side of the business was zero for 2020 due to the pandemic shutting everything down, as noted in our filings, and therefore we lost out on a lot of revenue that we expected.  The revenue from the touring would have provided us more budget in order to accelerate completion of the first phase of Soundstr and its deployment.  As a result of this lack of revenue, Soundstr development and deployment has taken longer than we would have liked, but we are actively in discussions with several parties, both large and small, to that effect.  We do indeed have some units in the field, too., including another one that will be installed shortly at the recently opened RockHouse Live Clearwater Beach.

And, importantly, we have a signed term sheet for institutional funding, in the high 7 figure range, and we are in discussions with a number of other interested and credible parties too.  We expect this funding deal to close within approximately 30 days.  This will greatly accelerate what we are able to accomplish with Soundstr and allow us to enhance development on our other technologies.  When this is closed, we will report on it.

I know many of you are eager for news.  As I’ve often said, and will continue to say, VNUE is a technology company.  Development cycles are lengthy, especially with brand new technology, and therefore there is not daily news to report like many small cap public companies.  No news is good news, as they say.  And I do not like putting news out just for the sake of news.  This is a long-term play folks.  And there are things we just can’t talk about yet publicly.

I’d also like to point out that everything we are doing in VNUE results in added value for the company and shareholders, and in creating a true multimedia technology company that checks all the boxes.  For example, the recent announcement about VNUE Radio ties directly to what we are doing with NewHD and working to solve the issue of monitoring streaming radio stations with Soundstr, which is in addition to terrestrial radio, physical locations, etc.  This is a huge issue in that industry, and by working closely with NewHD, we have insight as to what those problems are specific to that segment and how to solve them with technology. 

Furthermore, we are tying together several elements with this initiative to create even more revenue opportunities – our artist services division, Soundstr, content from DiscLive and set.fm, and VNUE Radio.  And, let’s not forget RockHouse Live International, of which VNUE has a 4.99% stake, and which the first location in Clearwater Beach is going absolutely gangbusters.  By leveraging the ability to utilize VNUE technologies in a high-profile new concept, we have the ability to showcase our technologies and how they can work together and realize revenue from that relationship as well.  Just for clarity, VNUE has a stake in not just the Clearwater location but all future locations, and will enjoy revenue from these operations.

This is my fifth year as CEO of VNUE (anniversary is in May).  I knew that it would not be a cakewalk when I joined, and we indeed solved a huge number of corporate problems within the first 18 months of my joining, but I also have known that the business problems we are looking to solve with Soundstr when we acquired that tech two years ago are monumental and would not be something that happened overnight.  And, of course, no one expected a pandemic to bring the world to a standstill.   Despite these challenges, have still accomplished a massive amount of work and progress with a very little resource, where many companies would have thrown in the towel, and we did not.  We have an exceptional team, all of whom are successful in their own right, and are equally dedicated to the future of VNUE.

I’d also like to point out that I’ve always been keen to grow the value of the company organically, rather than through artificial means, such as reverse splits or paying for stock promotion, the latter of which I find to be distasteful.  In early 2020, we took a massive amount of dilution from a couple of smallish notes that traded out – “expensive” notes that we had to take at the time because we literally had no other options available to us.  Because of this, our share price hit an all-time low of .0001 around May of that year, which was devastating to me at the time after pouring my heart and soul into this company.  However, I resisted calls to execute a reverse split, as well as those promising to “get our share price back up,” and instead, focused on old-school execution.  Because of this, the stock eventually recovered, and has since traded as high as four cents.  Also, the vast majority of our minimal funding since then has come from a long-term friendly investor.  So, to be clear, we have zero plans for a reverse split, and my plan is to continue to organically grow our company through execution and sheer determination.  This is how you build success, and true shareholder value, even if it is difficult.  There are no short cuts.

So to summarize – we have a term sheet for funding in the high 7 figure range which should close within 30 days; Soundstr is working well and is in the process of being deployed at select locations/businesses and development continues to add important revenue-generating features; touring should kick back in this year to a degree (at this time matchbox twenty is still scheduled too) with many artists looking for revenue, and should be full steam ahead again in 2022; we will experience new revenue streams from VNUE Radio, which will be professionally run and managed by NewHD Media, and which will also help us to flesh out issues in rights management for online radio streaming; we will continue to grow our artist services division and expect to sign more artists and will realize revenue from this channel; and lastly, VNUE will enjoy revenues from RockHouse Live International, starting with the Clearwater location and all future locations globally.  All things considered, we are excited about everything that is going on, and hope that you are too.

So my personal opinion is that patience is a virtue.  We are working hard to further our initiatives and continue our slow march forward.  I realize there are probably folks looking to make a quick buck from a bump in the share price after some positive news, and for those folks, more power to you; but in reality, and again it is my opinion, those who persevere and are long-term holders stand the most chance of enjoying true success along with the hard work of those in the company.

Thank you for your continued support and belief in VNUE.  As I’ve said, let’s change the world together – for the better!

All the best,

Zach

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues and any payment of dividends on our common stock, statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods and the other risks set forth in Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed from time to time. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in the expansion of our existing and new service lines, noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein. Stockholders and potential investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  Stockholders should not utilize opinions expressed in this press release as their sole reliance for decision making concerning the buying and selling of the Company’s securities.

VNUE CEO ZACH BAIR PROVIDES YEAR-END UPDATE

UPDATE AND COMMENTARY FROM VNUE’S CEO ZACH BAIR

Dear VNUE Shareholders,

After we announced the Beta testing of our Soundstr technology, a huge milestone for the company, there have been quite a few questions about how things are going, etc., and maybe a little chance for you to get to know me better.  I believe we picked up a few new shareholders too, so thank you for that. 

Here are a few of the questions we have received, and my answers and a bit of dialogue for you.

How are the beta tests going thus far?

The beta tests are doing great.  Data is being produced as expected, and music is being identified 99% of the time or above.  The main reason for these tests (other than to make sure we can identify music) is to make sure the install process is as seamless as possible, and we are working with our beta testers to get this process down to an art form.
 

How many Units and stations are involved in the beta test?

We have approximately a dozen in total so far, with more being added.  This number is being kept deliberately low for now, so that we have time to interface with each of the beta testers and get feedback.  We do expect these beta testers to turn into commercial clients, however, and one of the testers actually consults for a couple hundred radio stations, many of whom are anxious for the technology.
 

Will additional funding be needed to move to the next phase?

Yes.  As we have stated publicly, we are raising a $3mm round of funding for the next phase.  This will be accretive to the value of the company, most likely a strategic partner or a preferred offering of some kind, either an equity or a debt instrument, based upon how the participants want to structure the investment, or possibly through a commercial agreement with a potential client (or clients).  The good news here is that we already have 400+ units in our warehouse that will be ready to go to their new homes, so we will be able to scale relatively quickly.  To be clear, we are mainly focusing on radio first, although we are also testing in a few physical locations too.

When is the expected completion date of the beta test and the expect month of the full launch?

We expect to start our launch sometime in the 4th quarter, as I’ve mentioned previously.  This is somewhat dependent upon our funding, and also to a small degree, dependent upon our third-party partners.  But, that said, I believe we are in good shape.

Are there plans for a share buy-back in the future?

As many of you know, I believe (as does my team) that we are extremely undervalued.  We do in fact hope to be able to do some kind of a buy-back and reduce some of the shares on the market once we have our funding round closed, which will be a step toward correction.  As I have also stated publicly, we had to take a few convertible notes at a time when no other funding was available to us, and therefore took dilution that no one wanted.  The plan was to have our preferred round in sooner, so that we could simply pay off these notes that have since converted, but unfortunately, as we all know, the COVID hit.

Do you intend for the share structure to remain the same?

At this time there are no immediate plans for any corporate actions to change the share structure.  I’ve always said that my goal with VNUE is to build value through execution, and that this venture is a marathon, not a sprint.  I will repeat that often.  That said, I have publicly stated numerous times that we want to eventually uplist, for example, to NASDAQ, where value can truly be built, and in order to do that we may have to look at some capital changes at that time, or when we are able to close a major funding round ahead of that.  But for the time being, our plan is to continue slogging away. 

Can we get more frequent updates?  Do you have news?

As I’ve said before, we put out news when there is really something to talk about, and I cannot talk about anything to you individually that has not already been made public.  Technology cycles can be long and difficult in some cases, and in our case, we are trying to change the world (so to speak), so that does take some time.  Rest assured that even when there isn’t news to report, that there is important work going on in the background toward our goals.  We do not put out fluff.  I am however going to try and provide more frequent updates and commentary.  We are a very small team, pulled in many directions, but I will do my best to provide more communication, through press releases, and/or my blog on the VNUE website.

I have seen news about your music.  How does that impact VNUE?

Well the good news here is that everything I do is about music, and everything I do has a positive impact on VNUE by design.  It is all connected.  What many of you may not know about me is that I am a serial multitasker, including being a musician, like many of my colleagues in VNUE.  Some people call me a “renaissance man.”  Maybe I had ADHD as a kid, I don’t know (back in those days they simply called it “ADD” ha).   I’ve probably had about 20+ interviews in the last several weeks about my efforts in suicide awareness, a super important cause for me, and my single, “Ordinary Girl.”  In almost every one of these interviews – some of them with high-profile bloggers, or on radio or TV, I am asked about Soundstr and how in VNUE we are trying to get artists and songwriters paid.  This has been a topic of very high interest.  The response has been incredible and has helped raise VNUE’s profile substantially.  I will take every opportunity provided to me to talk about what we are doing, and how we want to change this industry.  I’ve seen a number of you follow me on my artist Youtube channel as well as the VNUE channel (where I repost many of these interviews), so thank you for that, and again, thank you for your belief in what we are doing with VNUE.

To view press clips and some of my interviews, see below.  Going forward, each time I am interviewed I will also try and included this in a VNUE alert.

I’ve also heard about another project you are working on?  Any impact there?

Correct.  I have recently partnered with the former president of Hard Rock Café International and my advisor Jock Weaver to roll out my restaurant/venue/bar concept, RockHouse Live, internationally.  I started RockHouse many years ago and have a couple of locations that have basically been prototype locations.  It was my direct experience with RockHouse that provided me the passion to take on the very broken royalty system status quo, and to eventually facilitate the acquisition of the Soundstr technology and put us on the trajectory that we are on now.  Jock took Hard Rock from a small $750k business to a $200mm enterprise valuation.  Of course, as you can see, this also ties directly into VNUE, which has always been my plan (remember - everything I do is music related).  Importantly, each location will feature VNUE’s Soundstr technology, as well as our set.fm “instant live” recording functionality, so that patrons can go home with a copy of what they just heard, and so that songwriters and artists whose work is played in the venues will actually get paid.  This is a very tech driven concept, and VNUE plays a large role in it.

What is your philosophy when it comes to VNUE?

I love this company, I love this team, and I love what we are doing as a business.  I do not believe in artificial value-building through corporate actions or through other means typically leveraged in micro-cap companies.  Some “companies” (and I say that term loosely) create a churn, a cycle, where the principles pound out convertible notes, reverse the stock, and do it all over again.  This is not VNUE, and not my philosophy.  VNUE is a real company, with valuable IP, and honestly the best executive team I have ever worked with.

When I took the position as CEO of VNUE four years ago – when it barely had a pulse, with no actionable technology, no funding, and lagging two years behind in its SEC filings, I knew this was going to be a big challenge.  But I also knew that I could bring my past experience, relationships, and technology knowledge to bear, and eventually build real and sustainable value.   Remember – “marathon, not a sprint.”

VNUE is not a “shell game,” as I call it, to me or my team, or our supporters.  We ferociously believe in this company, all of whom are currently taking small or no salary.  We want to change the way an industry has been done for a hundred years.  We want to get artists and songwriters paid.  We want businesses treated fairly when it comes to what they are charged for music licensing. We want to fix a broken and unfair system.  This is what drives me more than anything.  Disruption.  Positive change.

I believe that the company should appreciate in value organically, through our continued execution.  And if you look at the history of the company since I have been CEO, we have accomplished nothing short of what I would call miracles on a razor-thin budget.  And, if you look at the executive team as a whole, we have all run big, major organizations and many of us in the entrepreneurial space have had successful exits.  That comes through hard work and focus, not shortcuts.
 

So – and this is my opinion of course – if you are in this for a short-term profit, which no doubt some of you are, then that’s all well and good and you might make a couple of bucks.  However, if you are in this for the long haul, and you believe in the company, there will be ups and downs along the way, but at the end of the day we have a huge market opportunity, the IP, and the team to deliver it, and I personally believe that together we can build incredible value.
 

It takes me back to the days when Apple’s share price was basically nothing.  I was always an Apple believer.  Steve Jobs, whether he knew it or not, launched my career.  His ethic was a role model for me.  His innovation was my inspiration.  And still, to this day, I am surrounded by Apple equipment.  But if I had bought some Apple shares back in the day… well, you know.

I’m not saying we are Apple.  But I am saying we have something pretty special here, and I hope you take the ride with me and my team.  Because, to me, this is where the real fun starts.

What do you do for hobbies?

Great question.  What’s a hobby (ha)?   Well, I don’t really have hobbies.  My work and music pretty much consume me.  I guess that is what you would call my “hobby,” although it can more appropriately be called my passion.  More than once I have been told that I am the most tenacious person someone can meet.  I love changing and disrupting (making better), and I love trying to change the world.  Every startup I have had – from my first, Voyence, to Immediatek, my first public company, to VNUE – has been about changing the way things have been done to improve the life of others and to make them happy.  To improving life through automation and innovation.  And I genuinely love that.  Before I got involved in startups, I was often told that I was trying to “automate myself out of a job.”  So, I am up at 6:30 every day and generally until 10:30 or 11 (later if I am working a VNUE client show or my own show).   And that day for the great majority is devoted to VNUE.  I also have fur babies (dogs), which I love, and try to walk them daily so I am not glued to a computer screen to the point of it being unhealthy.  I like to cook, and of course, play guitar, sing, and write music, and I go to the gym a few times a week (which is not really something I enjoy, but I know I must do).

In Closing

I hope that the above commentary and answers to some of your questions give you a little more insight into VNUE, our goals, and our ethic; and I hope this also gives you a little more insight into my personality and what drives me as well as my team.  For those of you who have invested with the company, thank you so much for your belief.  I want to assure you that each and every day we are working toward making your investment valuable, and I appreciate you being along for the ride.  For those of you considering an investment – I can’t tell you to do one thing or another, but what I can say is that we have an incredible opportunity, and we will be doing everything we can for VNUE’s success, so I hope you will join us in this adventure to make history.  But please remember this is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are no shortcuts.  There will be ups and downs, but together, we will get there.  And as I have quoted Steve Jobs before, “Stay Hungry.  Stay foolish.”  Because that is how we affect real change.

All the best,

Zach Bair

CEO

SELECT LINKS:

Noise11 Australia with Paul Cashmere - http://www.noise11.com/news/businessman-by-day-musician-by-night-zach-bair-channels-song-into-suicide-awareness-20200917

Rock Talk with Mitch Lafon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PObrh7X3kM0

Bladtcast with Christian Bladt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu3YjcdXY68

Dr. Music (Scott Itter) - http://drmusic.org/Zach_Bair_rev_intvw.html

Zach Martin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPPGt2887Hk 

News 12 NYC/NJ (suicide awareness) – http://newjersey.news12.com/story/42588948/musician-donates-portion-of-proceeds-of-new-single-to-nj-suicide-prevention-organization

Food & Bev (music, tech, pandemic) – https://www.fb101.com/2020/08/zach-bair-rises-up-to-meet-the-moment-fueled-by-the-pandemic-longtime-music-entrepreneur-tech-guru-releases-new-rock-single-and-ep/

WESH NBC2 – Orlando (suicide prevention) – https://www.wesh.com/article/song-donation-for-suicide-prevention-how-you-can-help/34273396

WMC NBC5 – Memphis (suicide prevention) – https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/10/08/stepping-up-memphis-music-artist-hosting-benefit-concert-suicide-prevention-awareness/

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected, including statements related to the amount and timing of expected revenues and any payment of dividends on our common stock, statements related to our financial performance, expected income, distributions, and future growth for upcoming quarterly and annual periods and the other risks set forth in Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as filed from time to time. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors. We have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses in the expansion of our existing and new service lines, noting there is no assurance that we will generate enough revenues to offset those costs in both the near and long term. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or other information contained herein. Stockholders and potential investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

XXX

A Quick Update And Thanks from VNUE CEO Zach Bair

VNUE Company Update - July 2019

I’ve had a few folks reach out to me recently for a company update, and suggest that we try and do an update periodically. Admittedly, I believe we should be doing just that, and given we have a smallish team, sometimes other priorities get in the way. So, I am going to make an effort to provide you with a regular update on how things are going.

The first thing I want to make clear to shareholders and VNUE followers alike is that VNUE is not a “short term” play. When I joined in 2016, I knew that this was going to be more of a marathon - based on the fact that we are tackling monumental problems that have existed for decades, in the case of music licensing especially. This is not simple technology, nor is it a simple business. It is all quite complex. But we have an amazing team that I am very proud to have working with me on our objectives. If anyone can do it, it is this team.

For those of you who may not read our press, we added Jim King to the team a few months ago as our CTO. Jim is a former “C” level executive at BMI, specifically in technology. He also is an entrepreneur and founder of a company called CoreRights, which had sought to work on direct licensing solutions for music. Jim brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to VNUE, not only because of his tenure at BMI and his understanding of their thinking, but also because he understands all the ins and outs of general music licensing in the real world. This was a huge add for us.

Another big win for us, as you may know, was landing Rob Thomas as a client for our consumer recorded products. Rob is the lead singer for Matchbox Twenty and is an international superstar. We are recording every show on his world tour, called “Chip Tooth Tour,” and releasing limited-edition, live CD sets to fans immediately afterward, as well as download cards and digital downloads via our set.fm technology.

Landing this deal did not come overnight. In fact, I have been working on it long before VNUE was even a thought. As some of you know, I have been doing live recording now for 15 years, through DiscLive Network, which is now VNUE’s exclusive partner, and/or through Abbey Road Live, which was the name that DiscLive took during the time we partnered with EMI. In fact - when you want to talk “marathon,” this is truly a perfect example. When I discovered what a cool product that the “instant live” recordings are, around 2003, I dove in head first. I have always believed that provide artists with additional revenue streams and the ability to control their own master recordings is hugely important. And in the early days, there was a lot of challenges, for example record labels worrying about our product affecting album sales, quality concerns, etc.

And through the years, we overcame a lot of those challenges, and in fact, through the natural evolution of the music industry, and digital technology, some of those challenges simply went away. As recorded music sales (CD sales) slipped, and streaming started taking off, we were already out there creating these experiential products, and doing “real” downloads, which paid off for artists and labels much better than traditional products.

So in essence, my VNUE marathon started 15 years ago, and is culminating in a company that is the vehicle to bring several important things together: music licensing and recognition, through Soundstr, and our consumer products - experiential products - which is what allowed me to get here in the first place.

I think what I am saying here is that those of you have invested, or taken interest, in VNUE, should be aware that the very short time that I’ve been involved, and my team, is nothing compared to the groundwork that has been laid before it. What may seem like an eternity - three years since I joined - is a very short time period compared with the 15 years that it took me to bring it to this point. And in those three short years we achieved monumental things on literally a shoestring budget:

• Cleaned up the company entity which took approximately a year and a half.

• Immediately leveraged DiscLive to create revenue opportunities for the company where none existed.

• Acquired set.fm to enable the company’s original call to have a digital “instant live” solution, and immediately landed Rob Thomas as a client for the first set of small shows in New Jersey (which gave us momentum to land the entire tour this year).

• Acquired Soundstr, which mirrored my own patents I had filed in regard to music identification. Soundstr was and is a huge win, and we are actively in development and testing, and have signed contracts.

• Brought on Lou Mann, former GM of Capitol Records, and former president of House of Blues Media Properties

• Brought on Jeff Zakim, former head of digital for EMI and Blue Note Records.

• Brought on Jock Weaver, former president of Hard Rock Cafe International (who took that company public), and who also founded TBA Entertainment, one of the largest live entertainment companies at the time.

• Brought on Jim King (above).

• Recently, signed a very important deal with Pro Music Rights, a small but aggressive PRO (performing rights organization) who is requiring our Soundstr devices and technology be utilized for every licensee they sign.

• Brought on John Madison, an experienced radio executive, as an advisor to the company, to help with our Soundstr model as it pertains to radio.

• Brought on Nan and Bob Kingsley as advisors, who are deeply affiliated in country music as well as radio.

• Announced the addition of Nick Lippman as an advisor to the company. Nick is half of the management team that manages Rob, as well as the late great David Bowie and others.

And there’s more.

My point here is all this occurred in a very short amount of time, with basically “bootstrap” level funding. And we are JUST getting started. The Rob tour is a catalyst for more and bigger tours. We are engaged in discussion on multiple fronts in regard to both more tours and Soundstr. It is frustrating because we cannot announce things before they happen due to being public, but with me knowing that YOU would like to know.

So please. Stay tuned, and bear in mind we are all “in it to win it”. And my commitment to you - as shareholders and/or fans of the company - is to do my absolute best to get us to the next level. There will be fluctuations in the share price, no doubt, but again this is a long term play (note to self: I should have bought Apple stock in 1991!) At this level, that is going to be normal. My plan - as I have stated publicly - is to build value and to get VNUE on to an exchange such as Nasdaq or Nynex, where the share price will correct itself and more accurately reflect our true value (we also know we are quite undervalued any way you look at it).

My team and I are all serious guys. We love music. We love technology. And most importantly, we like disrupting a business model that has been done the same way for a century. There is no reason that technology cannot change, help and improve it. Get artists and writers paid. Make it easier on the PROs. And create revenue streams for artists where none existed previously. We believe we have insanely valuable technology that once we hit our stride, will become apparent; and we have the team that knows what to do with it, and importantly, how to do it.

I appreciate you taking this ride with me. With us. It is a long ride, but as noted above, most of that ride started long before I became CEO of VNUE. :)

I hope I will see you at a show sometime, and I will make a point to get updates out when possible, on a regular basis.

In the meantime, rock on!

First Ever FaceBook Live Q&A with VNUE CEO Zach Bair

On May 1st, at 7PM Eastern/6 Central, we will be doing our first ever Facebook Live Q&A session with VNUE's CEO, Zach Bair. Here is his message to you:

Dear VNUE, fans, investors, followers, musicians, and music lovers:

Music is my life. Literally, every facet of what I do is about music. Since I was a little kid, driving my mother nuts on the piano, and even to this day, I still play and record music. Along the way, I have been very fortunate enough to combine two things I love very much - technology and music - and the goal in mind has always been to empower artists and to create new revenue streams in music. Three years ago I took the helm of VNUE and brought in the team and technology to *really* realize that dream to the fullest.

Many of you no doubt follow VNUE's press releases, and our rather dry and mundane corporate filings with the SEC. Yes, we are a publicly traded company (OTC:VNUE - clever symbol, right?).

What many if not most of you do not know, however, is the story behind VNUE, and the passionate and small group of guys and gals behind this company. Most of us are musicians (some platinum-selling), and many of us have had successful companies valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We are normal people, not "suits," who have come together because of our passion in this space. Normal, yet experienced and driven.

Yet we are all here and grounded because, even though VNUE is small and under-valued (hint: great time to invest), we believe that VNUE has tremendous potential, and we are in it for the long haul. What drives us is the desire to change the "status quo" and move the needle forward in an industry (music) that is reluctant to change. We have the team, desire, technology, guts and fortitude to make that happen. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be leading this charge, and how proud I am to have this amazing team around me.

This LIVE Q and A will give me the opportunity to tell you about VNUE, our people, and our products, and how much we believe in what we are doing, with our set.fm and DiscLIve.net "instant live" recorded products, and importantly, our Soundstr.com "music recognition technology," and how we hope to reshape the music licensing world and to ensure each and every rights holder gets paid for their work. I want to share this passion with you, and I hope to take some of the mystery out of what it is that we actually do.

So, on May 1st, at 6PM Central time/7PM Eastern, please join me for my first ever Facebook Live broadcast, right here on the VNUE page, at the end of which I will take a few questions. In the meantime I will encourage you to visit www.vnue.com, and our brands www.set.fm and www.disclive.net.

Pleas visit http://www.facebook.com/VNUEINC/ for the LIVE broadcast!

Respectfully,

Zach

Lack of Transparency in the PROs - Exemplified

No doubt anyone in the music industry who has anything to do with writing or publishing songs, and/or performing them, has heard of the issues that have cropped up in regard to ASCAP's "premium payments".  These payments, supposedly, are paid to songwriters to reflect the importance to ASCAP's repertory that achieve high level performances on radio, and to compensate members that have some type of a "prestige" value.

Recently, this has come under fire, with those in the industry starting to speak out - loudly - about it.  An article I came across in Billboard, entitled "At PROs, Transparency Shouldn't Be Just A Buzzword," by SMACKSongs president Michael Baum, went into great detail about this issue and how country hitmaker Shane McAnally's woes with ASCAP have put these payments into the spotlight.

To summarize the issue, McAnally notified ASCAP that he was leaving ASCAP to join another PRO, Global Music Rights.  Although he expected his payments to keep on coming - including the premium payments for which he was owed - he was shorted about a million dollars of what he had been anticipating.

He is now in a fight with the PRO to get what he was due, and promised.  And as is typical with ASCAP and the other major PRO, BMI, he got the run around.

According to Baum, they repeatedly asked why the money was being withheld.  ASCAP responded that it "takes a long time" to manually create statements.  Baum pointed out that nobody ever cited a rule as a basis for withholding payments, or in fact that they were phasing out the payments.

Typical of snarky behavior that small venues are used to dealing with (when it comes to "blanket licensing"), no one said anything to the point that removing works would also mean leaving those monies at ASCAP, even while ASCAP continued licensing McAnally's work.

This is beyond snarky.  I would say it borderlines on illegality, but since I'm not a lawyer, I cannot make that assessment alone.  It sounds like Baum, however, is going to take this to the Justice Department, and I hope he does. 

This practice is yet another glimpse into the tactics that these organizations utilize to withhold money that songwriters, artists, and publishers expect - along with the already egregious tactics used to force mom and pop shops to license a PRO's entire catalog.  There is ZERO transparency.  They state that they are "protecting" the interests of their members.  But in my eyes, and moreover the eyes of more people every day, they see this as a money making machine and somehow, somewhere, someone is lining their pockets with the hard earned money of the songwriters and creators as well as the licensees that pay for it. 

Through our technology at VNUE and through education of the public, and working with organizations, artists, writers, and publishers, we hope we can help to facilitate change that will ensure folks are being paid and that the entire process is transparent.

Artists and Musicians Earning Potential: Time to think outside the box

As many of you know, I have been an artist advocate since before I even moved into the music and technology sector.  Having the benefit of being a performing musician at times (granted not at the level of many of our clients at VNUE), it is very easy for me to see and identify problems and current trends in the industry.  With the added benefit of having worked in technology, and constantly looking for solutions that will help artists make more money and give them more control over their art, I've been fortunate enough to create viable solutions and have a very good understanding of how to fit the pieces together.

But what many artists and musicians don't think about is this:  They are ultimately the sole decision makers when it comes to creating more of an opportunity to create revenue (income) for themselves.  They are the facilitator; and they can also be the roadblock.

For example, if you think you are going to make a record and strike a big deal with a label, guess what?  You're wrong.  Well, at least 99.9% of the time.  These days, things are a lot different.  Unless you already have 100K or more followers on your social media, a major label won't take a second look at you.  And even if you get a deal, you likely will still be relying on your touring income for years.

But there are other ways to take control of your career and make a good living, and even succeed.  Innovative solutions such as what VNUE is rolling out such as set.fm can help make that difference.  Utilizing Youtube and generating interest and followers is a positive strategy.  Old-school posters and flyers when you play your gigs are never out-of-style.

To be clear when it comes to set.fm, I'm not tooting our own horn, so to speak, but using this as an example.  You MUST be able to think out of the traditional box.

Set.fm is our technology platform that we use with VNUE to record major artists and release the content to fans right after the show via mobile devices and the web (this is in addition to our traditional physical DiscLive products).  There is no risk to the artist - we do a net split - and the artist gets the major percentage of a revenue share.  As we like to say in the business,  it is "found revenue," because the artist just gets on stage and does what they always do:  play music.

But did you know that our technology is available for ALL musicians and artists?  Musicians can download the set.fm "STUDIO" app, and utilize it to capture and upload pristine live recordings of their performances, and market it to their fan base.  Artists can set their own price, and have total control over the content.  You need only go to set.fm and sign up.  There is no cost.

The biggest thing for artists both large and small alike is getting over the jitters for putting something out that is live and "raw". VNUE has overcome this to a large degree because we mix and master everything on the fly for our clients - folks such as Peter Frampton, Devo, Blondie, Simple Minds (above), and others.  We have built up trust in that regard - quality unsurpassed.

For the average artist, however, you simply must be confident in your art, and treat it like a live broadcast.  It is going to go out, like it or not, right after the show (which is how you can increase your sales potential).  This additional revenue can help underwrite your tour costs, and provide additional exposure so you are not GIVING away your content to gain exposure.  You have worked hard for it.  Let fans support you buy buying it - and buying into you.

There are a lot of other opportunities out there too, today, to help you make money.  But you must be willing to think outside of the traditional box, and take some risks.  There is a glut of content out there, and everyone wants to call themselves an "artist".  You need to differentiate yourself, not just by your music, but by your effective grassroots marketing, and your strategies.  And you must tour.  Tour hard. Fans are built one by one, at each show - not by hoping you get a "LIKE" on social media, or a one-hit wonder on the radio (fading fast, folks).

At the end of the day, the industry has changed - but the work ethic to get to the top has not.  Work hard, play hard, and create a name for yourself.  Be smart, and use smart tools to help get you there.  Focus on that, and you stand a good chance of making a living at your art.

The subtle differences between "instant live" and a classic live album.

It often comes up in conversations with managers and labels that they are contemplating doing a "live record" release in the near future, and are therefore hesitant to do something with VNUE because of that.  Given the number of times this comes up, I thought I would take a moment and share the differences between VNUE experiential products, and standard retail-released CDs and other products.

Since the dawn of the record business, bands and labels have put out live records.  These albums traditionally capture the live excitement of the show, and fans have always loved this kind of thing.  However, with the advent of technology, and the Internet, we all know in this industry that recorded music sales overall have taken a fairly steady slide over the years.  This is highlighted by the recent announcements of such major retailers as Best Buy, who are pulling CDs off the shelves. Others such as Target are exploring the option.

Yet, bands and labels still opt to spend tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, to release traditional CD/DVD sets either D2C (Direct to Consumer) online, or through other means.  

What they do not realize is that the shift from this type of product to more "experiential" products - such as our instant live CDs made famous by DiscLive - is well under way.

VNUE, and through DiscLive and set.fm, our exclusive brands, produces live concert recordings in pristine quality, and releases that content to fans right after the show.  Typically we follow a tour and capture every night, so that fans get to relive THEIR experience, which becomes a cherished memory of the show with their favorite band.

What most folks don't know is that this is a completely different product than the aforementioned live record, and that content we record for fans on the night can then be repurposed to be included with the more classic DVD/CD set.  They are two different products, destined for two different audiences, yet by utilizing content we have already amortized in our business model, artists and labels can spend less and still achieve additional revenue from the original recordings we produced.

Case in point is our work with legendary performer Peter Frampton.  DiscLive (as Abbey Road Live), recorded over 100 shows with Peter on his "Frampton Comes Alive 35" tour, all of which were sold as limited edition collector CD sets, and are still available online.  After the tour was over, Peter went back and picked out his favorite songs from the shows along the way, remixed them, and released a CD/DVD set through Eagle Rock Entertainment. 

So, not only did Peter realize revenue from our experiential products, he also realized significantly more upside by offering the traditional CD/DVD combo after the fact.   Fans were able to get the product(s) they wanted, and the revenue opportunity was extended with a much lower cost factor by not having to send more crews out to record what was already being recorded.

I would encourage any artist who is considering a live record to reach out to VNUE first, to see how we can create a win across the spectrum by connecting the artist with the fans through our unique products, and pushing up the bottom line by leveraging our ability to repurpose content.  As I often say (and my co-workers probably are tired of hearing), our "instant" products are only the touchstone of the bigger opportunity.