Board Meeting Minutes March 2021

MINUTES

Colorado Music Business Organization Board of Directors Meeting

Sunday, March 7, 2021 – 7:00 p.m.

Zoom Meeting

1. Called to Order at 7:16 p.m.

Present: Barb Dye, David Barber, Annette Cannon, Tracey Chirhart, Johnnie Johnson, Jamie Krutz, Sheena Morgan, Alex Teitz

Absent: Angela Whaley(excused), Lee Bagby, Clark Hagan

Guests:

2. Consideration and Approval of the Minutes of January 3, 2021: David Barber so moved, Annette Cannon seconded. Approved with minor corrections. [Note: No board meeting was held in February due to the Super Bowl being at the same time.]

 

3. Treasurer’s Report:

Income received:

Membership $ 30.00 (Harry Tuft – Denver Folklore Center)

Interest on Savings: $ .02 (January & February, 2021)

Total: $ 30.02

Expenses paid:

Bank Fees for Jan. & Feb. $ 28.00 (checking fees) (Barb will contact bank)

Paypal fee: $ 1.50 (for Harry Tuft)

David Barber: $ 400.00 (reimbursement for new COMBO computer)

David Barber: $ 120.00 (website hosting for one year)

American Voice Mail: $ 92.45 (for the year 3/01/21 – 2/28/2022)

Todd Myers, Esq. $ 10.00 (reimbursement for Sec. of State registration)

Facebook ads for Jan. $ 12.00

Facebook ads for Feb. $ 25.00

Mailchimp for Jan & Feb.    $  63.90 (e-mail list as below)

                                Total: $ 752.85

Mailchimp: $10.49, 1-500 subscribers; $20 up to 3,000; +$1.46 taxes = $31.95 per month

Checking Balance: $ 1,438.51 (as of 2/26/21)

Savings Balance: $ 503.23 (as of 2/26/21)

PayPal Balance: $ 322.94 (as of 3/7/21)

Grand Total: $ 2,264.68

Treasurer’s Addendum: Barb reported that she talked to Will, the manager at 1^st

Bank on Friday, March 5, 2021, about the $12 charges on the checking account.

Will said the bank’s rules were that we needed to keep a minimum of $1,000 in the

account. However, we only need to keep $300 in the savings account as a minimum.

So Barb transferred $500 from savings into the checking account so that we will not

be incurring those $12 charges. Will agreed to refund the $24 in extra charges for

January & February 2021 so we’ll also need to add $24 back into the checking

account balance.

4. Membership Report:

Current Paid Members: 20 (16 individual, 2 businesses, 2 bands, and Board Members)

New Members:

Supporter: None

Individual: Harry Tuft

Band: None

Business: None

Laurie Dameron renewed today March 7

Add to newsletters – Join COMBO – Sheena to make template

Sheena reported that these members have not renewed for January yet:

Rod Tanaka

Sheena reported that these members have not renewed for February yet:

Laurie Dameron

Sheena reported that the following memberships are up for renewal in March:

Kerry Pastine – Barb to call her as individual or band

Cass Clayton has not renewed

(Please note that the board voted at the March 2020 meeting to suspend renewal notices until a later date due to the coronavirus shut down. These names are for reference only).

Sheena asked to start sending out renewal notices again. We approved this starting in March. Decision is send notices with offer to renew and get additional months, along with 1 free song entry into songwriting contest.

Membership “Welcome Surveys”: Sheena reported that we received 0 surveys in January, and 1 in February.

Harry Tuft

5. Unfinished Business:

1. 1. • 1. Bar code requests: None

1. 1. • 2. Upcoming Programs:

a. March 22, 2021: Chuck Morris with AEG and is now the director of the new Music Business Department at CSU (Colorado State University), Fort Collins, has agreed to speak regarding a variety of subjects including his plans for the MB courses at CSU.

b. April 19 /26, 2021: Subject: Consider asking club owners/ managers what their plans are for the year at this time, i.e., Peter Ore, Carla Jordan, Chris Thomas, Sandra Holmes Watts, Mark Sundermeier, Tony Mason, or Paula (Roxy on Broadway). Dani Grant from Mishawaka. How ‘bout Erik Dyce who was with Denver Parks, “owner” of Red Rocks? Article? Paula, Sandra Holmes, Carla Jordan

Barb – management workshop – free to members, fee to non-members $10?Paypal

Note: During a discussion in January, only two members were unable to attend a board meeting on Sunday, April 4^th which is Easter this year. So our board meeting will be held April 4^th. Annette & Johnnie will be excused.

e. May 17, 2021: Songwriting Contest – Rob Roper, Pro-judges

3. Web Reports – David (as of 3/7/21:

1. Current Email Subscribers: COMBO has 2527subscribers which is down from the 2,544 reported at the 1/03/21 Board Meeting. As of the 3/4/21 newsletter, we had 12% opens and 4_% click thrus. Whitney Houston Sings Star Spangled Banner biggest article

2. Twitter Account Followers: COMBO has 7693 followers which is down from 7,694 followers as of the 1/03/21 report.

3. Facebook Account Activity: COMBO has a total 1489 “likes” which is up from 1,482 “likes” as of the 1/03/21 report.

d. Google Analytics Report: In January 2021 there were 10333 sessions. January 2020, 2058 sessions. Trafficbot.live sent most traffic – 5000 sessions. Error January 2020 not collecting data for 2 weeks. February 2021, there were 3079 “Sessions” which is up 14% from February 2020 when it was 2703probably due to Google analytics error when we didn’t get any tracking in 1st week of Feb 2020. The most viewed article (249 sessions) in February 2021 was a story regarding Whitney Houston Numbers down 25% from last month.

e. Facebook Analytics – David Barber: Over the last 28 days Page Views (100) up 20%; Post Reach (6395) up by 124%; Post Engagement (351) up 24%; Page Likes (11) up 83%. Page Followers: (13) up 117%

Reminder – Our Facebook address is:

http://www.Facebook.com/ColoradoMusicBusinessOrganization

 

5. Songs on the COMBO Spotify Play List for March 2021: David Barber

● Nina Storey – Fly

● Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Ronnie Brooks – All True Men

● Deadly Alliance, Hot Rard, Saint Pen – Eagle DA Mix

● Steve Son – Denver

● Rob Roper – Misfit

COMBO Spotify Play List for February 2021 by Lee Bagby

• $20 bill (For George Floyd) – Rekha Ohal
• That Was Then [unplugged] – Hold Me Hostage
• Blues Ain’t Nothing – Mad Dog Blurs, Big Willy Palmer
• I Don’t Like Crying – Steve Son
• Phase of the Moon – Cass Clayton

6. COMBO YouTube Channel Uploads: Last meeting on YouTube for Members

7. Ombudsman Program – Annette Cannon: Nothing.

8. Meeting Space Ideas: On hold for the time being. Still in COVID “stay home” mode.

9. Designation for Funds: Nothing at this time.

10. Purchase of Promotional Merchandise Items: Nothing new.

 

11. Promotion/Advertising: Facebook ads for January “Grammys” and February “Management” meetings.

12. Girls & Science Expo: They went to a “virtual” format this year but we were not contacted. Barb and Anna Frick discussed this with Christen McFarland from the Recording Academy and we are going to have to push the matter for next year. Jimmy Kimmel honored soundgirls.

13. Posting on Facebook: Sheena posted articles on

New Documentary Stars Rolling Stones Pianist and Environmentalist Chuck Leavell

Talent Buyer Tony Mason Was Headed to Dallas, And Then Came Covid

Stream Animal Collective’s Score for the SoundCloud-Rapper Movie, Crestone

Want Your Music in Wordscapes or Sudoku? Why Artists Are Buying Mobile Game Ads

Dave Grohl, Quincy Jones Join New NIVA Advisory Board

14. Board Member Bio’s – David & Sheena: Sheena still working.

15. Website Update – David: None

 

16: Storage for COMBO Stuff: Working on a date for Barb to move stuff. Call Lee

17. COMBO Organization By-Laws: We’ve approved changes to the first four sections. Barb read the following into the Minutes of March 3, 2021, per Roberts’ Rules of Order requirements.

ARTICLE V

Meetings of Members (General Meetings)

1. Regular meetings of the members of the corporation shall be held from time to time as shall be determined by the Board of Directors and notice thereof shall be given to members of the corporation at least three (3) days in advance by telephone call or e-mail message, or via such other procedure approved by the Board. Special meetings of members may be called by the Board upon similar notice.

2. The annual meeting shall be held in the fall of each year or at such other time as shall be fixed by the Board of Directors, for the purpose of the transaction of such business as may come before the meeting. Except as may be otherwise provided in these Bylaws or decided by the Directors, one-tenth of the members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business in any meeting of the corporation. A majority of the quorum is necessary for member action of items put before the members by the Board of Directors.

3. The Board of Directors may designate any place, either within or without the State of Colorado, as the place of meeting for any regular or annual meeting or for any special meeting called by the Board of Directors. Add in language about Zoom or other media??

4. Members may vote in person or by proxy executed in writing by the member or by his duly authorized attorney in fact. Such proxy shall be filed with the secretary of the corporation before or at the time the vote is made, unless otherwise provided in the proxy. Each person who has been issued a membership card, regardless of the type of membership (i.e., individual, band, business, etc.) is entitled to one vote.

Won’t discuss now. Paid members include people given memberships. Members in good standing.

18. California Law on Gig Workers: Update: Lots of complaints of lost income, loss of work, and of “corporate” taking advantage of the new law to cut benefits. Stimulus bill discussion. Johnnie EID Number Grant $1000/band member

19. Reopening of Bars, Clubs & Theaters: The state of Colorado has started allowing some to reopen in certain counties if they have succeeded in lowering the number of COVID cases in their areas. A lot depends on the population of their counties. As of this writing, more than 510,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19, with 5000 of them being Colorado residents. Red Rocks 2500 variance with sliding scale tickets

20. Songwriting Contest for 2021: Starts May 1^st. JUDGES? Send Barb your nominee! (Mark King kindly declined). 2 pro judges. See Reports – Denver Open Media

6. New Business:

1. Vintage Voltage Expo / Guitar Show / Toy Show: Will be held at the Delta by Marriott at 120^th & I-25 on Sunday, September 12^th. At this time, Barb plans to have a COMBO booth there. She hopes to work out a deal to trade a booth for advertising. The VVE (Dana Cain) is a paid member of COMBO. Duane Evarts with the Guitar Show was a member – we might want to send him a renewal reminder.

7. Reports

1. Book, Movie, and Featured Member(s) for February and March 2021: Book: The Velvet Mafia: The Gay Svengalis Who Shaped the Future of British Pop; Movie: Andra Day Transforms Into Lady Day in ‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’; Member: Harry Tuft. No choices made for March yet.

2. January 25, 2021 Meeting: Chris Daniels, Christen McFarland and Anna Frick. We asked Christen and Anna to speak as the Grammys were to be presented on January 31, 2021, but the show got postponed until March 14^th. They told us how the Grammys work and that the “voters” are members of the Academy which can be anyone who joins. Chris was nominated for a Grammy and he told us a little about that experience. We do have a Boulder, Colorado resident, Richard O’Neill, who has been nominated for his solo violin album in the “Classical Music” category. Also nominated are Ingrid Andress for her country album (she graduated from Highlands Ranch HS), Cory Wong, guitarist, who also graduated from UCB for Best New Age Album, “Meditations”, and Chris Manu, Choir Director at Arvada West High School, for Educator of the Year. Number of attendees: 24.

3. February 22, 2021: The Program Committee decided on a Management topic. Guest speakers were Dave Ratner, Esq., Nate Meese and Rachel Miller (7s Management), Tracey Chirhart (TAC Management), and Angela Whaley, manager of The Hollow, who also moderated the meeting. Angela had a relevant list of questions made up by the committee to ask the speakers which kept the program moving smoothly! They discussed the role of managers vs. booking agents, and the duties of a manager (everything!) We had a good Zoom attendance registering 40 people at one time. These attendees were entered on a list that David & Sheena are keeping in the Google Drive documents. Toward the end of the evening, Jamie related questions to the speakers that the attendees had asked on the “chat” feature and the guests answered those. Number of attendees: 40

Feedback on Artist Management Meeting, Feb 22nd:

Metrics:

Over 40 people attended the meeting

-Maintained a consistent count of 40ppl till the end of the meeting

50% of panelist returned the Post panel survey!!

Post Mortem by Administrators (the board)

Prep, prep, prep!- prep work made all the difference between a good meeting and a great meeting

Drafted Agenda and Questions– Having questions and agenda in advance allowed for better facilitating of questions by the moderator, ease with panelist in knowing what to expect, and keeping to on topic.

Assigning a chat moderator– Allows for the moderator to focus on the guests and running a smooth meeting. It also helps us to control runaway topics

Check-in sheet and Meeting Rules– Reiterating the meeting check-in sheet, muting, and chats periodically throughout the meeting helps keep expectations with late arrivals

“Thank you’s” in the chat- Thanking people in the chat for joining. It’s a nice personal touch and helps engagement

Slides- Well received and helped people understand where they were when entering and what to expect. Include a slide for how to join COMBO

Considerations:

– Workshop style- meeting (need to come up with a style and method for topic and

– Breakout rooms- Angela to help construct

– Self-Management- Dodged self management question… how do smaller acts manage themselves. Lets address this in another meeting.

– Closing script -Include the link and information on how to for join COMBO for Barb

– Survey via google sheet or WordPress

– Survey for newsletter and asking if we are doing a good job. Helps us track for goals and

Needs Improvement:

– Quarterly meeting planning as opposed to monthly. More lead time and

– Types of information we hope to get out about it- objectives include in the agenda

– Anecdotal stories that support the information being shared- note to panelist in agenda

– Diversity

– Consistency with brand and use of imagery

– Packaging all the assets ahead of time to provide to Barb

Survey Questions to Panelists:

Thank you for being a panelist for tonight’s COMBO meeting. We would like you tell us about your experience with the meeting by answering a few questions. Your feedback will help make us a better organization.

Very Satisfied = 5, Satisfied = 4, Neutral = 3, Dissatisfied = 2, Very Dissatisfied = 1

N/A = Void Response

1. How would you rate the meeting (overall)?

2. How would you rate the opening?

3. How would you rate the questions?

4. How can we improve the meetings?

5. Is COMBO hosting meetings about content and topics people find valuable?

6. Any suggestions of speakers or topics we should cover?

Overall 5 across the board! Good job team

David Ratner offered to help with any musician related legal topics in the future

Rachel suggested a topic on music publishing

4. Colorado Springs Meeting: Tabled due to the coronavirus pandemic. [Note: Sonia Kiva, a songwriter from CO Spgs, attended the Feb. 22^nd meeting. Good to see her again. A member of the U.S. Army, Sonia was deployed overseas for a year. We last saw her when we held a “Night at the Movies with Barb” back in December 2019.]

5. Denver Balanced Breakfast: National BB ran a virtual showcase during SXSW this past week. News about a BB in Reno, NV being held the last Saturday of the month (as was Denver’s). Last post for Denver was in 2019. Reid Cameron Fox’s Facebook has a post on February 18, 2021 promoting his band Moon Hammer’s new album “Moonsongue” which also was featured on the Nat’l BB site:

Denver Band Moon Hammer Releases New EP Moonsongue

6. Denver Open Media: Program planned for Friday, March 5^th? No info on the website which has NOT been updated to even show their new address, only moving info. Tony Shawcross is listed as a DJ and as founder and executive director of the DOM Foundation. Barb called Denver Open Media about meeting. Sent note to Tony Shawcross. First Friday event – put on with grant. No grant. Pushing radio shows. Need more songs. DOM Radio. Songwriting contest CD’s and if you know judges. Tony Shawcross would like to be judge. Another dj will be a judge. Dave – songwriting contest not mastered, or fully professional. See how it goes. Jamie heard bands being charged for songs. Johnnie said charging for podcasts.

https://www.denveropenmedia.org/

 

7. Mental Wellness Discussion Group Meeting – Angela Whaley’s report: The group will be meeting on the 1^st & 3^rd Mondays of the month. The group is open to the public and everyone is invited to attend. 6-7pm via Zoom.

8. Women’s Groups

a. She.E.O.: Last post was by Cass Clayton on Feb. 21^st promoting her show at Dazzle. Nothing as far as “group activities” goes.

b. Women Crush Music: Nice to see that they posted a few of OUR articles re their organization!

c. Setting the Stage with Julie Gellar: Julie continues to send encouraging notes to song writers in the group.

d. Mountain Mamas Music: No updates since early 2020. They mostly offer camps or workshops.

e. Women in Music in Denver: Women In Music is the industry’s leading 501(c)3 non-profit working toward gender equity in music. Founded in 1985, WIM now encompasses chapters across the globe, from LA to India! More at womeninmusic.org. Post on 3/01/21: We want to know what you’re listening to! Drag & drop your favorites of the month into our new collaborative playlist by March 8^th. Interested in being on next month’s cover? Head to our bio for the form and give us a follow on Spotify

f. Soundgirls – Girls in Science DMNS: CBS Channel 4 Denver is running the Girls in Science Fair virtually this year. It will be featured all March and people can click on to see the various presentations that encourage girls toward the “STEAM” programs. Barb has spoken with Christen McFarland of the Recording Academy about sponsoring us and the Sound Girls Organization in 2022.

9. Colorado Music Network (on Facebook): Mostly posts by local musicians promoting their own shows.

10. Denver Musicians Network: Has this disclaimer: No sale posts. No open mic or open jam… must be a blues, jazz, funk / soul jam. Post gigs, need a sub for your gig, shows anything like that. NO DJ’s. No battle of the bands. No Electronic Music. No Hardcore shit. [Guess that leaves Barb out!]

11: Youth on Record: Monday, March 1^st thru Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at 12 AM MDT – 11:59 PM MDT; Price: Free · Duration: 23 hr 59 min; Public · Anyone on or off Facebook; The 3^rd Annual Music Matters March – 2021 (this campaign is the whole month of March!) Every $1 Makes a Difference and local venues, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, are coming together to make a difference for the whole month of March! Did you know Youth on Record is serving nearly 1700 students each year?

12: Amp the Cause: Amp the Cause is a Denver nonprofit organization that raises awareness about critical family issues and supports local charities. Since 2004, Amp the Cause has given over $9.8 million back to the community. Get involved today! Last post February 25, 2021. Is this organization “music centric”? Amp the Cause is the organization that puts on Denver Day of Rock as a fundraiser – https://denverdayofrock.com/

8. Items for Newsletters/Announcements:

9. Next General Meeting: Monday, March 22, 2021 7:30 pm

Don’t forget The Grammys Awards Show on Sunday, March 14^th – We have 4 artists from Colorado nominated! Support them!

10. Next Board Meeting: Sunday, April 4, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. Zoom conference.

11. Meeting Adjourned at 9 p.m.

/s/ Alex Teitz

___________________________________

Alex Teitz, Secretary