MINUTES
Colorado Music Business Organization Board of Directors Meeting
Sunday, March 6, 2022
- Called to Order at 7:03 p.m.
Present: Alex Teitz, David Barber, Barb Dye, Annette Cannon, Tracey Chirhart, Jamie Krutz, Tony Molina. Johnnie Johnson
Guest(s): (Maurice Avatar)
Absent: Maurice Avatar
Consultants: Clark Hagan, Angela Whaley
- Approval of the Minutes of February 6, 2022: David Barber so moved, Alex Teitz seconded. Approved (with corrections). Approved
- Treasurer’s Report:
Income received:
Memberships (Paypal) $ 125.00 (See Membership Report)
Interest on Savings: $ .01(February 2022)
Total: $ 125.01
Expenses paid (Ck = check; PP = Paypal; BW = bank withdrawal, checking acct.):
Bank Fees for February: $ 2.00 (checking fees)
American Voice Mail: $ 92.45 (fee for renewal of voice mail services)
Ninja Forms: $ 39.00 (sign-up fee; $9 p/m after; billed to David)
Paypal fees (PP): $ 4.98 (See Membership Report)
Facebook (PP): $ 29.53 (ads for February meeting)
Zoom account for Feb.. (PP): $ 16.30
Mailchimp for Feb. (PP): $ 33.00 (note price increase from $31.95)
Total: $ 217.26
Checking Balance: $ 1,088.66 (as of 2/28/22)
Savings Balance: $ 1,003.34 (as of 2/28/22)
PayPal Balance: $ 642.19 (as of 3/03/22)
Grand Total: $ 2,734.19
Shanica cashed her check. Google will start charging us (probably) in March or April $6.29/month per email account. David has deleted several e-mail accounts/addresses that we aren’t using in order to save money. Mark@, Ombudsman@, SongContest@, Sheena@, Membership@- All were rolled into and forwarded to Info@ E-mail account. We still have BarCode@, Admin@ President@ David@
D. Membership Report:
Current Paid Members: 50 (31 individuals, 5 businesses, 13 bands, and 1 Supporter)
Renewed Members in February:
Supporter(s): None
Individual(s): None
Band(s): None
Business(es): None
New Members in February:
Supporter(s): None
Individual: Larry O’Connor
Band(s): None
Business: Color Coded Media Group, LLC (Bryanne Mitchell)
Up for Renewal in March:
Supporter: None
Individuals: Mark Friedman (Mad Dog), Jenn Cleary,
Bands: Dave Perlowski, Last Call Romance (Emily Petitto)
Businesses: Come Out & Play (Lyndsey Laroe); Gold Label Artists (Dana McElwain)
Membership “Welcome Surveys”: Turns out members were filling out the forms but the forms were not forwarding. David signed up for Ninja Forms at a cost of $39 + a monthly fee of $9 which should solve the problem of us not receiving completed forms. Debit cards & Dave getting access First Bank account before Barb leaves. Bellco, use credit union. Too many fees.
E. Unfinished Business:
- Bar Code requests: None. [Will come thru on new Ninja Form] Discussion of Ninja Form and pricing. May need to change in the future. Jamie may help with solution.
- Upcoming Programs:
a.The Guitar Show/Voltage Expo is scheduled for Sunday, March 20th. Volunteers to work the booth are Annette, Tracey, Jamie, and Maurice. The combined Expos are to be held at the Delta by Marriott Hotel & Convention Center at 120th & I-25, starting at 10:00 a.m. and open until 4:00 p.m. Cost: $5 per person, kids under 12 free. (Tracey & Barb will meet on 3/13/22 for Tracey to get the display stuff).
b. Monday, March 28, 2022: The Program Committee has planned on the topic of “Music NFTs: What Are They and How Do They Work?” Confirmed panelist so far is Michael St. James, one of our favorite speakers. Maurice has suggested his friend Chase McQuade who has a lot of knowledge of NFTs. [Note: Julian Lennon is about to make a small fortune from “selling” his dad’s memorabilia as NFTs!]
FLASH: The 64th Grammys Award Show has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 3rd at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Time: 6:00 until 9:20 PM MDT. Anyone want to host a Grammy Watching Party? [Note: We moved the Board meeting to Monday, April 4th]
http://www.grammy.com
[Reminder: Barb will be out-of-the-country from March 16th thru April 15th during the March general meeting and the April board meeting. Annette and David will run the meetings. Barb will set up newsletters ahead of time for delivery on Thursday(s), using previously published articles that were of extreme interest and pertinence to our membership (“The Best of …)]
c. April 18, 2022: The Program Committee decided on the topic of
d. Monday, May 23, 2022: (Memorial Day is 5/30/22) Program TBD.
e. June 2022: TBD – (The 2021 informal gathering at Illegal Pete’s went over well!)
3. Web (and Social Media) Reports – David (as of 3/02/22):
- Current Email Subscribers: COMBO has 2432 subscribers which is down from the 2,439 reported at the last Board Meeting. As of the 2/24/22 newsletter, we had 24% opens and 9% click thrus.
- Twitter Account Followers: COMBO has 7640followers which is down from 7,648 followers from the last report.
c, LinkedIn: 129 Followers, 1 new follower in the last 30 days. – Tracey Chrhart has volunteered to take this over.
- Facebook Analytics (March 2,2022): Page Views: 50, down 38%; Post Reach: 2037, down 43%; Post Engagement: 166, down 59%; Page Likes: 10, up 0%; Page Followers: 10, down 9%.
- Google Analytics Report: In February 2022 there were 5022 sessions, which is up 43% from February 2021 when we had 3523 sessions. (Spike? None). The most view article in February was/colorado-drops-vaccine-requirement-for-large-indoor-gatherings/ which was viewed 342 times (move down to end)
Reminder – Our Facebook address is:
http://www.Facebook.com/ColoradoMusicBusinessOrganization
4. Songs on the COMBO Spotify Play List for February 2022: Tony has sent new list and on homepage. Roma Ransom – Colorado artists not members Spotify list.
5. What is a “Member”? We discussed our “Members Only” description. There are not only “paid” members but we have “honorary” members and “Lifetime” members as well, not to mention “Business Members”. We will also need this in time for the next Songwriting Contest to clarify who is eligible to enter with/without paying the fee.
David suggested “subscribers” for those who are only on the mailing list and “members” for those who have actually paid dues for the current year. Therefore, the “paid members” would be eligible for a free entry in the Song Contest. We discourage board members from entering the contest to avoid any “conflicts of interest”.
6. COMBO Members Only Video Uploads: Update on YouTube rules? We need this info before we can upload the Showcase video. Discussion. We don’t worry about rules. YouTube is private and not monetized. URL to watch video only for members. Avoid posting videos of live performance. Don’t post music. Tloop has same problem with one of his artists.
7. Ombudsman Program – Annette Cannon: Music is coming back. One guy made a post about venue changing amount of money the day before show. Dickens Opera House cancelled show day before because of not enough tickets sold pre-show. Artist needs to have contract. New venue – Dirty Pit Craft House. Formerly Boardroom.
8. Meeting Space Ideas: Board & general meetings to continue on Zoom until the pandemic is pretty much over. IHOP at Belmar?
9. Promotion/Advertising: Facebook ad for February meeting. Barb also put notes for the meeting out on several Facebook groups’ pages.
10. Board Member Bios: David added these to the website. Thank you so much, David!
11. COMBO Organization By-Laws:
ARTICLE VI
Standing and Special Committees
4. Proposed Clause: Individuals and/or Committees may present fund-raising events, such as a concert, using COMBO’s Not-for-Profit license but with the understanding that at least fifty percent of the profits will go to the general COMBO fund. The other fifty percent will remain with the individual and/or committee for their future use. This rule does not apply to other entities such as outside groups like Riot Fest or the Warped Tour whose agreements shall be on an event-to-event basis with the COMBO board.
5. Proposed Clause: (Paid) Members wishing to run events under the umbrella of COMBO must first have the event approved by the Board. This would include open-mic nights, showcases, fund-raisers, and other musician-centric events. Potential income distribution would need to be decided before the event is held.
Let’s vote on these tonight as we have bunch to go thru! Motion made by David Barber. Seconded by Tracey Chirhart. Approved.
ARTICLE VII
Office and Books & Records/Seal
1. The registered office of the corporation, required by the Colorado Corporation Code to be maintained in the State of Colorado, may be, but need not be, identical with the principal office of the State of Colorado, and the address of the registered office may be changed from time to time by the Board of Directors.
2. The principal office of the corporation in the State of Colorado shall be initially located at 1116 East 13th Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80218, and thereafter at such place as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine. The corporation may have such other offices, either within or without the State of Colorado, as the Board of Directors may designate or as the business of the corporation may require from time to time.
3. There shall be kept at the office of the corporation correct books of account of the activities and transactions of the corporation, including a minute book which shall contain a copy of the Articles of Incorporation, a copy of these bylaws, and all minutes of meetings. All records may also be kept by any electronic means available.
4. A seal for the corporation may be adopted and obtained at any time. In such event, the Board of Directors shall provide a corporate seal which shall be circular in form and shall have inscribed thereon the name of the corporation, the State of Colorado, and the words “CORPORATE SEAL”. (Take Out) – 2nd reading. Vote next time.
ARTICLE VIII
Contracts, Banking, Fiscal Year, Etc.
1. The Board of Directors may authorize any officer or agent to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the corporation and no evidences of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unless authorized by a resolution of the Board of Directors. All checks, drafts, or other orders for the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the name of the corporation shall be signed by such officer or agent of the corporation and in such manner as shall from time to time be determined by resolution of the Board of Directors. All funds of the corporation not otherwise employed shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the corporation in such bank or other depositories as the Board of Directors may select.
2. Only the Board of Directors may accept on behalf of the corporation any contribution, gift, bequest or devise for the general purposes or for any special purpose of the corporation.
3. The fiscal year of the corporation shall end on the last day of December in each calendar year.
There are 3 more to go…
* * * *
12. Potential New Board Member: Welcome Maurice Avatar to our meeting again tonight. This is his second time attending a board meeting and he has attended our general meetings. He also volunteered to “man” the booth at the Guitar Show! Our kind of guy! Maurice was not present tonight.
13. Membership Chairman: Barb has [hopefully temporarily] taken over the Membership Chairman duties. Again, this includes recording new members, sending them a “Welcome” letter, and keeping track of members whose renewal may be coming up. These duties seldom need to be done more than once a week – although we do have a bunch of people who join during the Songwriting Contest in the summer months. David & Barb met recently and David explained the Excel spread sheet that Sheena created which can be accessed through our Google e-mail and is easy to keep up.
F. New Business
1. Featured Members: Annette asked about featuring some of our members. Barb was doing this on a regular basis until the Song Contest last year when we were flooded with bios and new members! Annette suggested calling the section “Spotlight on…” which Barb thought was very good and appropriate for our organization. Tracey has volunteered to turn the bios into “articles” for Barb to post in the Newsletter as many of them are sent in a form not ready for publication. Thank you, Tracey!
2. Discussion on Memberships:
a. Annette & Maurice talked about the possibility of a Membership drive. Possible ways to help drive memberships and volunteers including a button on newsletter and/or website, and adding questions on the newsletter. Get names from guitar show for possible members. Shared on FB, will give list of who shared to…
b. Targeted committees or specialty group – Specialty Interest Groups (SIG) – Focus on getting specific type of members like business groups, tour managers, etc…
c. Discussion of a Volunteer Coordinator for recruiting and organizing member or non-member volunteers for events.
d. Focus on finding more Song Writing Contest judges? May 1. Tracey has some ideas of people.
3. Original Music Radio Station: At the February Board Meeting, Maurice suggested starting a Colorado original music radio station. We mentioned that there are several including Chris K’s “Colorado Music”, and that Tony was putting original Colorado songs on the website player. Discussion: How to start radio with no money, etc…
- Website pages: Annette (not Annette) & Barb feel that our pages are a little bland. The front page only has a half-view of Red Rocks. And photos that Barb publishes with the newsletter also only show a half-view. Barb has asked David if maybe he could upload some of his photos since they are so good. David: No picture of the month. Move titling in picture (Annette). It will require too much work to rework picture on homepage on a monthly basis. Current picture helps with branding COMBO.
5. Destruction of Old Records: Barb has come across the Treasurer’s Notebooks from 2008, 2010, and 2012. The IRS says we only have to keep business records for 10 years. She would like to destroy these records. If nothing else, she would like to destroy the phone & rent bills, and bank records for these years. Please note that the bank records and newsletters have been saved electronically so we have “soft” copies of them. Discussion: No objections.
G. Reports
1. Monday, February 28, 2022: The program was on various ways of paying bands and how to get venues to pay their bands. The discussion was on ways income could be increased or other ways that would encourage the venues to pay the bands [better].
Jamie sent the payment models that Chris went over.
1) Door deal
2) Flat guarantee plus bonuses based on ticket sales
3) Zero guarantee plus percentage of gross (ticket sales minus promoter
expenses)
4) Guarantee vs percentage of gross deal, whichever is higher
5) Promoter profit deal – guaranty in bonuses based on ticket sales.
Attendees: Board members Barb, David, Annette, TLoop, Johnnie, and Jamie. Potential board member Maurice Avatar. Guest panelists Ben London (Black Fret), Dave Flomberg (City Park Jazz), Dani Grant (Mishiwaka), and Chris Zacher (Levitt Pavilion). Other guests: Larry O’Connor (new member), “LL”, Will Whalen, Steve Son, Laurie Dameron, Travis Daudert, Jenn Cleary, Bryanne Mitchell (Color Coded Media – new member), Aiden Clark, Nic Jay (Sick Dvck – Petals of Spain), Storm Gloor, Chris Kresge, Dan O and Chandler Holoday – total: 25.
2. Book, Movie, and Featured Member for February 2022: None. Barb did add a “Quote of the Month” from Judy Garland: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ~ Judy
3. Denver Balanced Breakfast: Meetings continue on Thursday afternoons by Zoom only and based out of San Francisco. Taking applications for Balanced Breakfast SXSW – March 17th & 18th .
4. Denver Open Media: Nothing at this time. https://www.denveropenmedia.org/
5. Women’s Groups:
a. Women in Music:
b. Womxn Crush Music:
H. New Business:
Johnnie’s grant from Redline. 2 grants. $10,000 & $2000. IRA group helps blind with websites not designed for blind.
Karen Gerdine (New Business) moved to Arizona. MGM Grand Promotion. Grammy watching party. Push Grammy party again. Sponsors to rent room.
Guest for program. Annette. Developed a booking app – Qoncert.com (Beta) IPhones. Wait for official rollout. Dave can reach out to him. Brian Godeaux aka Hypnautic. He has a huge following but app is only for Apple and still in development.
Tribute bands at DCPA. Tribute band only 1 band music vs Cover bands. Discussion of tribute bands and money they get.
I. Next General Meeting: Monday, March 28th at 7:00 p.m. Program on NFTs. [Note sign in time of 6:50 p.m.!]
J. Next Board Meeting: MONDAY, April 4th (due to the Grammys being on Sunday, April 3rd – 6:00 p.m.) at 7:00 p.m. Sign in time 6:50 p.m. via Zoom.
K. Meeting Adjourned at 8:29 p.m.
/s/ Alex Teitz
___________________________________
Alex Teitz, Secretary