EDITORIAL: Famous – The Building Of A Brand Pt. I (By Chris Shaban)

hyperadmin | Editorial | Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Here’s my official disclaimer: This is WAY more entertaining to read HERE. Not to say that it’s not entertaining to read it here, but THERE the footnotes actually work how they’re supposed to (a la pop-up video style)!

Anyways, here’s Part I of Chris Shaban’s latest edition of his Footnotes series: Famous – The Building Of A Brand. The last one was called In Defence Of Drake which you can also check out on Chris’ blog if you missed it the first time. And without further ado:

What’s Happening my good friends?  Welcome back to footnotes* and, more importantly, Welcome to 20T0[i].  As you can see, we have revamped things around here so that you can feel a little more at home[ii].  I have had a very eventful couple of months since the last time I posted up here, but I’m sure that we all have, and I can sincerely say, it is great to be back.  With all of our 2009 articles counted as ‘research[iii]’, you can say that this here is the OFFICIAL launch of blog.farbeyond.ca.  Please check back each and every Friday for a crisp, new joint.  And to keep that freshness sealed in, we have started a little something new to increase the fun you can have while here[iv].  It’s an FYI on the music game, and it’s called The Biz 101.  Since I don’t intend to stay two feet in long enough to hate it, I thought I’d try and drop some jewels for the new generation that may want to tackle The Biz as a career.  Hope you likes…

The Biz 101 – First Lesson: Swimming with the Sharks

“You’re going to need a bigger boat[v].”  Yes, that iconic phrase from one of the worlds most famous movies may seem hilarious in the ‘Avatar’ world we currently live in, but don’t let it’s truth pass you by.  See, what Brody meant as he uttered those words carries the same meaning into this line of work.  He was speaking in fear, but he was really talking about preparation.  This music business is quite exciting, full of lots of opportunities and really cool people, but move carefully as to not fall in love quickly.  It can also be a very dark place filled with incredibly self-centred and immature individuals[vi], that for the sake of the analogy, we’ll call ‘Sharks’.  These folks believe they are entitled to things that they are not and when money or pride becomes involved, these Sharks will flip faster than Tila Tequila deciding which gender she will attempt to seduce that day[vii].  Don’t get me wrong folks, that’s not complaining, I would be content with the path the Lord is taking you down[viii], but unfortunately there are others who won’t be.   When lies, innuendos and attacks become as common as non-preferred stock, I would suggest pulling your oars in the boat and changing course.  I’m not saying bail on the business, but maybe get you a fishing gaff or something[ix].  Take it from a guy who has swam with the Sharks and lost a proverbial limp or two; ears open, eyes peeled, handshakes firm, word is bond… and get yourself a bigger boat.

Life lesson – It is much better to be underestimated than correctly recognized[x].

Okay, first edition of The Biz 101 is in the books[xi]…. Let’s keep it moving.

So I’ve heard that you want me to write about something I actually have experience with, and not what I can guess about Drake or Jay[xii].  So, I thought, what is the perfect topic for me to talk about that will keep our F3’s[xiii] engaged?  Do I stay on music, do I dive into the business world, or do I try and bridge the both of them together?  This is what I came up with….

In any business venture that I have been a part of, no matter what my main function is to the company, I find myself, to some degree, assisting with brand development.  Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you I’m good at it[xiv]cause I’m no Pizza Pizza[xv], but I do know a little something about making things stick and being different without being too different.  And hey, on the other hand, this is a music-dominated site so….

I present the first edition of footnotes* 20T0:

Famous – The Building of a Brand

Okay folks; please put your tomatoes down.  I can already hear many of you saying, “You’re just writing this cause he’s your friend” and ‘This footnotes* blog is just to promote your company’s work”.  Yes and Yes, God forbid I do something that makes complete sense.  However, it’s a good thing that my friend who does work with my company is also the first independent solo artist in the history of Canadian Music to be nominated for a Juno Award[xvi] and a MuchMusic[xvii] Video Award off a debut EP[xviii].  So he may be a good choice for a Branding/Marketing topic don’t you think[xix]?

When people would ask me why Pete and I started this blog, my personal answer was always the same: to be an outlet of my feelings on certain topics[xx], but also, it was going to be my opportunity to let people peek a little bit into my world[xxi].  Well, for now, it will continue to be the conduit to express my opinion on the topics I write about, but I am going draw the shades on the window into my life, cause it really isn’t important[xxii].  However, these next three pieces on Famous may be as personal as I’m going to get.

My relationship with The Kid started in September 2008.  I had just left my gig at Trader and Pete and I were knee deep in the creation of what would come to be known as FarBeyond.  While I was deciding what my next step in the corporate arena would be, we set out to try and service some of the areas in the music business that are not as readily available to independent artists, and to do so with no genre borders[xxiii].  I thought that, seeing as how I had already done this once before, it wasn’t a bad way to make some passive income while I kept negotiating with three very willing and interesting suitors.  In the two months that we had already put in, Munrizzle[xxiv] and I had excellent relationships with many different bands and soloists, and I loved that, but my music is Hip-Hop, and, as they say on ‘Dallas’, we were coming up with dust holes.

One August afternoon as Pete and I sat in my basement, Century burning[xxv], he showed me a flyer he had just received for a party that would be taking place at Johnny B’s[xxvi].  It was a 9-0-Nickel production[xxvii], DJ’d by Ase and hosted by this dude named Famous.  Now Ase and I go way back because of my friendship with Neil at Substance, but Famous and I had only met once before[xxviii], so I thought, I might as well go check it out[xxix].  We reached the spot, showed Ase some love and started politikin’ with Famous.  I was up front that I didn’t really know much about him, but that I saw his videos quite a bit on MuchVibe[xxx].  He responded with, “Huh, I guess I’m not really doing my job then[xxxi].  I told him that I had been so wrapped up in a suit and tie for the last 4 years, if you weren’t on like allhiphop.com, hiphopcanada.com or had something to do with Jay-Z, I didn’t know who you were, so he shouldn’t feel bad[xxxii].  I guess, looking back now I know why he smirked, but at the time, he just answered with “thekidfamous.com, myspace.com/thekidfamous, IRapNow.com, Don’t hate me cause I rhyme different[xxxiii].”

And so The Saga Begins….


[i] I don’t know who wrote that first, but I saw it in a BBM from Melly before I saw it anywhere else, so that’s what it is.  PS – Good look on that Drake & Jigga track brother… BOUT DAMN TIME.

[ii] Or at the very least, not feel like you’re getting sold a College tour.

[iii] To see whether or not anyone gave a crap about what we write

[iv] No No No… Not that kinda fun.  There are other things that you can do on the internet you know.

[v] Jaws, 1975

[vi] Whan, Whan, Whan… I know… I’m not telling you this for my benefit, I know it already… This is for you young cats with big dreams… I’m just saying… Be prepared.

[vii] I mean, I guess it would be a tough decision considering you are now open to a much larger portion of the population if you can go after all straight men and all gay women wouldn’t it?  – Deep Thoughts… By: Jack Handey

[viii] I can’t say I would be extremely happy about the trails and difficulties, but that’s why we have the whole book of James to remind us of the benefits of a real life.

[ix] I mean, not literally… it’s all part of the Jaws/Shark thing I got going on here…

[x] Smart people, write that down.

[xi] These will show up every so often, of course, only if you guys care to read them.

[xii] Fair enough, although I don’t think I did a half bad job if I do say so myself.

[xiii] Stands for FarBeyond footnotes* followers just as an FYI.

[xiv] I’ll let others do that… 😉

[xv] I count that, 9-6-7-11-11, jingle as one of the catchiest melodies of all time.  Put them in Wikipedia… I think this is one of the top 5 brands in Canada – Hands Down.  Do your country proud and order a large double cheese Pizza from them RIGHT NOW.

[xvi] Again for the outside our country readers – That’s a Canadian Grammy

[xvii] While most around the world were saying, “I Want My MTV”, us in the chilly north didn’t have that option, and to be quite honest, I am happy about that.  I loved watching Much growing up and was more than proud to work for them when I was asked to host the VJ Search or even just to write some articles on their behalf.

[xviii] And if I’m not mistaken the only other person that was even close was Sam Roberts.  The reason I say he was close was because he released his real debut called ‘Brother Down’ I believe in 2000 (Someone at Universal or Maple hit me up and tell me if I’m wrong), and songs from that EP went on to be Juno and MMVA nominated, however that was not until it was released on a different album a couple of years later.  Not bad company to be in… and both born (in a flame) in La Belle Province!

[xix] At least I think that makes him a good choice.

[xx] Mainly music related, but served in a way that our post-secondary and corporate partners could digest.

[xxi] As I’ve mentioned here before, I am not on FaceBook or Twitter or anything like that.  I’m on the couch.

[xxii] I’ll tell you something, this world is full of lots of interesting and eventful people that have done much more impressive things than I have in my 30 years, MUCH more.  So please enjoy reading about their lives as much as I do, and lets not worry about this quiet white boy from Markham… whoops… okay, that’s the last piece of personal info I’m giving!

[xxiii] Our music portion was to replicate the set up of what the majors do, but in the minors, while still offering the 360 services needed to be relevant.

[xxiv] No one else in the world calls Pete that and I’m sure you can see why.  Heck, I thought it was a really cool name… 😉

[xxv] FYI – it was just me smoking… Don’t want to get P-Dog in trouble.

[xxvi] R.I.P. – I still have love for every single person that worked there and made our FUSION, Main Event, One Night Only and benefit concerts all a success.  Granted, this flyer was about 6 months before we did anything at the venue.

[xxvii] Shouts to my boy PJ

[xxviii] We were introduced at my buddy Elie’s B-day party (shouts to Glamour Ent) at Circa the month before.

[xxix] How can you lose with $3 drinks and a DD?

[xxx] Shouts to the big dog Gee Wunder…

[xxxi] Later in the night as the bar was closing up and those $3 had drilled a hole in my liver, we played a little game of ‘Name that Sample’.  I won by busting out ‘Children of the Sun’ by Mandrill.  If you don’t know the break, download it and fast-forward to the 3:15 mark to see why I won.

[xxxii] Please remember I said this… You’ll be quizzed on it in Part II

[xxxiii] And if you know Famous, you know that’s exactly what he said.

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  1. […] Previously: Editorial – Famous The Building Of A Brand Pt.1 (by Chris Shaban) […]

    Pingback by Cityonmyback.com » EDITORIAL: Famous – The Building Of A Brand Pt. II (By Chris Shaban) — January 25, 2010 @ 10:18 am

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