One of the biggest problems with the music business (or any business, for that matter) is that you’re never quite sure who you can trust. People talk a lot; the difference is some can back up their talk, while others simply can’t.

And other times, not only can they not back it up – they go to the extreme to create an entire façade.

Fakes.

Frauds.

One of those frauds is Antoine Keane a.k.a “Dominic Edmonds”.

I got contacted by this guy a couple months ago about doing some consultation work for his independent label, SRB/WongGee Records. He claimed to have distribution with Warner Music and that he had some family inheritance which he’s invested into his company (he claims to be the son of Babyface’s brother, Kevon Edmonds).

Obviously, I hear people run their mouths often, so to be honest, I didn’t really pay this guy much mind at first – but he continued to hound me, so I finally decided to take a call.

After speaking to him for 15-20 minutes, I grew even more suspicious about him and his character.

I know some trust fund babies who share similar characteristics with this guy (they talk a lot… A LOT) but sometimes actually do have capital to invest in their ideas. I really wasn’t sure how to read him, but I figured I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

Anyhow, over the next few weeks, while I still had some suspicions about him, some of what he was saying was actually checking out. He told me Lacey Schwimmer from ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”, is making her music debut and that he had just signed her.

I didn’t believe him, until I noticed some press coverage announcing her signing to his new label, WMS/WongGee, as well as video of her in the studio with him (he’s the skinny kid sitting down eating chicken). That offered me some proof that maybe – just maybe – this guy checks out.

As some of you know, I decided to close my old business in September, so when Antoine a.k.a Dominic asked me again for consultation work, I told him I was no longer for hire. He insisted that I join his team and help him run things.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked to help run an indie, but obviously given the fact that I had just closed my old business to focus on other goals, I refused his offer.

He continued to persist, hoping I would change my mind, but after realizing that I won’t budge, he asked if I could submit any tracks for Lacey’s project.

That’s when we really started talking.

I sent him a couple tracks (from some producers I work with) and after a few days, we agreed on a placement. After that, he started calling me every hour of every day.

If he couldn’t reach me by phone, he’d send me a message on Blackberry Messenger. If he couldn’t reach me on BBM, he would email me.

When we would talk, he never had any updates on the placement. No Producer Agreement, no recording itinerary, no payment – nothing.

He would try to keep me on the phone for as long as he could just to talk about random things. I got suspicious.

Is he just trying to find out more about me?

Does he suspect that I’m suspicious about him and he’s trying to break down the barrier?

What’s he doing?

Everytime I’d mention the paperwork for the placement, he would offer a new excuse and a new delay. Half of his excuses didn’t even make sense. I began to suspect maybe he’s just a rich kid who read one or two books about the music business and now wants to play “industry”.

I was extremely skeptical about the validity of Antoine/Dominic.

Then, I got an email from someone warning me about Antoine a.k.a Dominic, confirming all the suspicions I’ve had about him. I decided to take it a step further and contact a few others whom I knew he had been in touch with.

The second I brought up his name, they all reacted extremely, telling me their experience with this guy.

Fake distribution, fake assets, fake affiliations… fake bank accounts.

Let me repeat that once more – FAKE BANK ACCOUNTS!

Some of the affiliations Antoine Keane a.k.a Dominic Edmonds claims are Babyface, Kevin Liles, Rick Rubin, and Chris Lighty. He even registered an 800# which he’s set to display Chris Lighty’s name on the outgoing caller ID.

Dirty!

If you get a call from someone claiming to rep Chris Lighty – check your sources!

In the past week alone, I’ve been in touch with several others who have all been contacted by Antoine Keane a.k.a Dominic Edmonds (Antoine Keane probably isn’t even his real name either). They all share similar stories about his claims and their similar suspicions.

Fortunately, I wasn’t taken as many of the people I’ve been speaking with have been. I only lost time – others lost their money.

Babyface & Kevon Edmonds’ family don’t know of him. Kevin Liles & Chris Lighty never heard of him. None of his claims are real. Beware!

By the way, I’m not the only one reporting this dud. Gyant from GyantUnplugged.com has also posted about this wannabe.

The music business is littered with snakes and trash-talkers, but it’s also a relatively small network, when discussing the people involved.

Everyone knows everyone.

And even those whom you don’t know – it’s usually not that difficult to get in touch with them. So when someone like Antoine Keane/Dominic Edmonds attempts to bamboozle others, we will find out – and we will air you out.

Sorry dude, game over.

–

The past few weeks have been intense – to say the least.

Amongst a heavier-than-usual workload, slicing my thumb like it’s deli meat, and several personal engagements; I also came to a serious decision and milestone in my career. After 4 years of pouring my blood, sweat and tears into my own business, I’ve decided to close shop.

It was not an easy decision, by any means, however it was a decision that was desperately needed.

When I announced my decision via Twitter and Facebook, many people misunderstood and mistakenly assumed I was giving up on my career and walking away from the music business.

Heeeelllllllll no.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  It’s actually quite the opposite.

The fact is, running a small business with a full-time (and part-time) staff meant that I had to make decisions that were beneficial to the company as a whole – rather than just my own priorities. This was a reality that I understood, embraced and gladly obliged to from the very beginning. However, as time passed, I began to feel frustrated with the direction it was taking and the lack of freedom I had. I was no longer focused on my own goals and had lost much of the passion I began this venture with.

Starting (and running) your own business is supposed to be about fulfilling your passion and making a living out of it – and yet, I felt like I was stuck in a job that I didn’t even enjoy. Luckily, I’m a (relatively) young guy – I can still afford to switch up gears without hitting too major of a bump.

For the past few months, I’ve been evaluating and re-evaluating everything that I have been doing and everything that I wanted to be doing. Some of you may even remember one of my TwitterRants, when I publicly vented about this very situation.

To make a very long story short, after a lot of reflecting, I realized I was actually contributing to building my own obstacle. The bigger I grew my business, the bigger of an obstacle I would have to overcome in order to fulfill my own goals.

That’s why I closed the business. I needed to stop holding myself back. I needed to give myself the freedom to pursue my own goals.

Sometimes we get so caught up, we fail to realize that we’re actually moving backwards while mistakenly assuming that we’re moving ahead.

That’s pretty much the gist of it. I didn’t give up and I didn’t walk away. Those who know me personally would never assume so, because it’s simply not in my character to give up – ever.

I’m simply remixing my current situation to ensure my longevity and success.

With a great deal of relief and excitement, I can say that I am no longer for hire.

I may decide to continue doing consultation work in the future, however my primary focus right now remains on my own ventures and my own priorities, and I will continue to do so under the Rockstar Branded name.

I am eternally thankful to everyone I have had the opportunity of working with over the past 4 years; the staff at MEG/Rockstar Branded, our clients, vendors and affiliates, and everyone else who I have had the pleasure of encountering over these past few years. I look forward to working with some of you again in the future and wish everyone all the best.

“Quitting while you’re ahead, isn’t the same as quitting.”

Regarding what’s next for me, I’d rather not spill the beans yet, however, stay tuned to my blog and we shall continue on this journey – together.

Hope you’re ready for the next episode…

*UPDATE:* It seems like quite a few people are still misunderstanding the situation. Let me clarify once again; I am NOT quitting the music business. I have simply decided to work independently now rather than keeping a full-time staff, and am focusing on my own ventures (STILL in music), rather than making myself available for hire to work label priorities. That’s the change I’m making. There is a major difference between simply closing down a company and walking away from the music biz entirely. So once again, I am not going into another field; I am simply closing my consulting company and putting my attention on my own projects (again, STILL in the music business). I hope my excessive repetition has cleared up any and all confusion. Thanks again.

Source: Flickr

Okay, so I’m working on 2 new series for the upcoming weeks (the very first being Producers Week, back in March).

The first one is coming in about 2 weeks and will discuss some of the companies and websites that are leading “Music 2.0″ (I really don’t like that term, but it’s the quickest way of expressing what the next series is about).

If you guys have any questions that you’d like answered involving selling music online, generating awareness online, etc – just post your question in the comments section below and I’ll pose them to the panel of interviewees.

Also, I want to know who you guys would like to see featured on MakingTheMogul.com. I’ve already featured some great people, and have a few others lined up, but I want to know who YOU want to see featured. It could be a specific person, or it could be a specific position – whatever the case, just let me know.

My blog is about information, ideas and discussion. Everybody has an opinion about the music business, but there aren’t really many outlets to actually DISCUSS these opinions and for the next generation of business professionals to hear from others; so I’m hoping you guys treat this like your own blog in certain ways.

We won’t learn much by staying idle and quiet – so tell me what you want to see, and what you want to discuss.

*Note: I know everybody wants to get their shine on, but if you’re going to suggest yourself or somebody on your team, etc – please state why and what area you or your friend can offer REAL insight. I don’t do advertorials – I just want to share information and help us all learn something.

It’s been a minute since I’ve updated my blog, but that doesn’t mean I forgot about you guys.

My workload has been crazier than usual lately, but it should be calmed down again after this week…

Hopefully.

Anyhow, I just wanted to give you guys a quick update, since many thought I was M.I.A and a few started putting my pic on milk cartons. I’m still here, just busy – but things are calming down again, so I’ll post more often.

Also, one more thing:

I’m often asked how many social networking sites I’m on & how many accounts I have; since I seem to be opening new accounts almost daily. While, I admit that I do join new sites often, I mainly do so just to test them out and see what they’re all about, their potential, etc. There are very few of these sites that I actually bother sticking with.

Still though, I decided it would be a good idea to keep all my links in one location. So, I updated my homepage, MoeArora.com,with links to my main accounts on different social networking sites and my 2 blogs.

Yes, 2 blogs.

I have this one, MakingTheMogul.com, which focuses on my journey in the business side of the music business, and I also have a Tumblr blog – which I’ve been using more often nowadays.

My Tumblr blog a.k.a blogaveli.com is mostly for daily ramblings and other content I feel like sharing (funny videos, interesting links, throwback songs, etc). Check me out there & if you’re on Tumblr, make sure to add me.

I’ll update MoeArora.com with other links when I find myself distracted intrigued by another site.

In my last post, I said I’d be gone for a week, and yet – I haven’t posted in 2 weeks.

My bad.

I didn’t forget; just got sick when I got back & been playing catch up on a ton of work.

Atlanta was great (as always). Got a lot done and met up with a lot of great folks.

I didn’t end up getting any pics or video (even though I brought my Flip Mino HD with me EVERYWHERE I went). I just can’t get in the habit of stopping what I’m doing to capture it. It’s like documenting life as opposed to living life.

I guess I have to get used to doing that – for the blog’s sake.

Anyhow, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

I’m heading down to Atlanta this morning, so I won’t be posting anything here for a week.

I’ll try to snag some pics and video, but I’m generally not the type to stop what I’m doing to take a pic/video, so no promises on that.

If you’ll be in town for the Core DJs Retreat or any other reason, make sure to hit me up and let me know.

In the meantime, I’ll still be updating my Twitter account, so you can add me there to stay updated/connected.

Peace! (until next week)

I just wanted to drop a quick post to give a major shoutout and thank you to the homie Zilla a.k.a Mr. I Built Tha Innanets, for helping me make some changes to the site that I’ve been struggling with for the past 3 weeks.

As you can see, MakingTheMogul.com has a whole new look to it. It’s not stopping here though, as I plan to make a few more changes in the layout and design, as well as the content. (I haven’t finished tweaking all the colours & etc, so it won’t remain as dark as it is now)

I think this site will always be in some constant state of development though. I like changing things up and keeping it fresh, so this is my outlet for that.

Also, I want to say thank you to everybody on Twitter who offered their help when I mentioned that I needed some help with the site; namely @mizrik, @webpres, @robo3k & @littleavenue. You guys rock and I really appreciate all your help!

Btw, what do you guys think of the new Twitter section on the top right of the page? I did it myself, so I’m proud of it lol. (Roll over it with your mouse)

Let me know what you think; I’m interested in hearing your comments.

Thank you to everybody who submitted tracks for the Young Money beat submission.

Over 250 beats were submitted, and amongst them were some certified bangers!

The winner was supposed to be announced yesterday, however due to Young Money’s busy schedule with the tour, the winner announcement will be delayed. 250 beats is more than we expected and quite a lot to go through while touring the country.

I don’t want to offer any set dates as to when the winner will be announced, in case that deadline can’t be met; however I’ll try to arrange it with them to go through all the submissions & choose the winner as soon as possible.

Thanks again and best of luck to everybody who entered!

As I prepare for Producers Week next week, I felt like something was missing.

I’m already featuring interviews with hit producers, and producer managers to offer incredibly valuable information for aspiring producers looking for some industry insight. But it still felt like something was missing.

Then, I opened up questions for everybody to ask Midi Mafia any questions by leaving them in the comments right here on MakingTheMogul.com.

Still, I felt like something was missing.

I wanted to offer something else to complete the circle.

You’re already getting incredible insight and information from Producers Week. But what about an opportunity to place your music? That would complete the week.

I won’t lie to you, I completely freestyled this idea about 2 hours ago, so with the little time that I have, I wanted to create something that could benefit any upcoming producer.

So, I made a quick call, and – well, how’s an opportunity to place one of your beats with Young Money sound?

Don’t say I never did anything for you! :)

Submit your music and the winning track will be chosen for an upcoming mixtape project by Young Money.

Here are the rules:

1. You can submit up to 3 beats max.
2. Include only mp3 or zip attachments (with mp3s inside). If you must use a file-hosting site, please use zShare. (MySpace links will not be accepted)
3. Please name your tracks with your name and some kind of track name or number. (We don’t want to spend 3 days looking through everybody who submitted tracks called “Beat 1″)
4. Please submit full tracks only. 30 second snippets will not be accepted.
5. Managers are allowed to submit tracks for producers they represent, however must include the producers name (you’d be surprised how often they forget)

Remember, this is your chance to have one of the hottest groups on the planet record to YOUR TRACK, so only include your very best material!

The deadline to submit beats is Friday, March 20th at 10pm.

To submit your tracks, please email youngmoneybeats@rockstarbranded.com.

The winner will be announced on March 31st, 2009.

I’d like to announce that next week will be Producers Week, right here, on MakingTheMogul.com.

Producers Week will feature interviews and features with some high-profile producers and producer managers, as well as a report on this Saturday’s “So You Want To Be A Producer” webinar, presented by In The Know Seminars. (If you haven’t already registered for In The Know’s webinar, please do so by clicking here.)

As part of Producer’s Week, I would like to invite all upcoming music producers to post your questions for hit producers, Midi Mafia.

Whether you want to ask about getting into the game, selling beats, or plug-in selections, this is your opportunity to get insight and advice from Billboard charting producers.

Please leave your questions in the comments section below.

The deadline for questions is Saturday, March 14th, at 6:00pm EST.

I’d like to address some of the questions and comments raised regarding my Twitter Exclusive Experiment, where I premiered “Throw It Back” from Mack Maine ft. Lil Wayne on Twitter.

I know it’s been over a month, but hey – it was the holidays.

Better late than never :)

The Use Of Lil Wayne’s Name
While most people realized that I simply put Wayne’s name first, there were still a few people who thought I was misleading.

To make it clear, I never stated the song was “Lil Wayne featuring Mack Maine”, nor did I state it was a Lil Wayne song – I wrote Lil Wayne Exclusive.

Granted, some people may not see a difference between “song” and “exclusive”, there is a difference; especially in the mixtape scene.

Countless of emerging artists have used the ploy of stating that their song features a major artist such as Jay-Z or Akon, when it fact it’s simply a verse they’ve taken from a previous recording and placed it on their own mixtape song.

The term “exclusive” was stating that this song features original content from one of the leading artists on the planet right now, Lil Wayne.

This is common terminology amongst the hip-hop community, especially when discussing mixtapes and “street singles”.

That’s it.

Getting 14,000 Downloads Without The Appeal Of A Major Artist
A lot of people made the same comment over and over, “your experiment only worked so well because of Lil Wayne’s name. You can’t do that with an unknown artist”.

And they’re right.

I wholeheartedly agree that the number of downloads would be far less significant if it weren’t for the association of Lil Wayne.

That’s why I used this particular song to try this experiment out with; it had the right appeal.

I didn’t do this from an independent artist’s standpoint; I did this from a marketing standpoint.

I wanted to test out the viral nature of Twitter to promote music.

My angle was more of a test to compare Twitter/social media exclusives compared to the impact of sending exclusives directly to major online outlets via email blasts & the like.

I’ve been testing out different variables with blog promo and online marketing in the past year, so this time I wanted to see how effective it would be to offer something directly to everybody at the same time. This way the excitement of having first listen of an exclusive was as intense for eager music fans and online tastemakers as it was for bloggers who rushed to be the first to post it & send out their email blasts.

To test something of this nature, I can’t use a no-name artist with no appeal. I needed an artist with a strong enough fanbase to at least test the waters.

Luckily, I had a song from that featured one of the biggest artist’s in the industry.

I see it as “testing the waters” to new ideas of using social media for music marketing.

There are so many “Music 2.0 gurus”, however in my humble opinion, the digital landscape evolves far too quickly to really become a guru or expert at it (and most of those who do spend enough time becoming an expert at one of these sites, are often focusing on a site and/or tool that has already passed its prime).

My main motif is to just experiment with new ideas and use all these pieces to build new and innovative marketing strategies. For major and independent artists.

Free Downloads Are Great But How Do You Monetize From It?

This was a mixtape song. The concept of mixtapes are not as familiar outside of the urban genre, however to sum it up quickly for those not in the know; it’s a promotional tool.

Mixtapes are used as a free (mostly) promotional tool to raise awareness of an artist (or DJ, producer, collective, etc), therefore developing a bigger fanbase and higher anticipation for any future releases, tours, merchandise or other revenue streams the artist may be anticipating.

Rather than relying solely on well scripted bios. press releases & storylines to build awareness for an artist (a.k.a “buzz”), hip-hop artists will often promote their music with music.

Genius, ain’t it?

So regarding how you monetize a mixtape song, it’s the same as asking how to monetize a music video that you can viewed for free or how to monetize free promo swag that’s passed around.

I didn’t create the concept; I just use it when needed.

Can This Be Done On Other Social Networks/How Many Followers Do You Need For It To Work?

Yes, I definitely believe this can be achieved on other social networks; whether it be an existing social network or one that we’ve yet to all flock to.

Also, you don’t need 10,000 followers for this to work (Twitter refers to people who add you to their network as “followers”).

At the time of this experiment, I only had about 600 followers on Twitter. I know some people with almost 10,000 followers but they wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.

Why?

Because the quality of your network is far more important than the quantity of your network.

There are social network spammers who get trigger happy with the Follow button, in hopes that the more people they follow, the more people will follow them.

But follower numbers don’t necessarily equate to a good network.

All these “network spammers” do is create mass followers and then use their account for relentless promotion. Their followers (myself included) have learned to just glance past their tweets or even unfollow them.

I’m by no means a “social media professional” or anything of the like, but it’s not that difficult to figure out that people don’t like to be spammed.

In my humble opinion, one of the keys to social networking is right there in the name of it: you have to be social and you have to develop a real network.

Why does that concept seem so hard to grasp for some?

I’ve introduced several artists to Twitter and in all honesty, only a handful of them are approaching it with the right mindframe. The rest only post promotional messages and then complain to me that they only have 40 followers and haven’t seen the benefit of being there.

If you’re an artist, of course you’re going to want people to know about your music, but don’t forget that it’s still a SOCIAL network.

If your name isn’t Jay-Z, people will need a good reason to pay attention to you. So don’t just spam them, talk with them.

Talk to people and interact. If people care, they’ll find out more about you and might actually respond when you do post a promotional message.

That’s what I did. I interact with my network, I engage in conversation with them often, and now we’re seeing the results of how they supported me when I decided to promote something.

14,000 Downloads Isn’t That Much

Okay. To some people it might not be that much.

But think about this; I posted a message on Twitter telling my network that I had a Lil Wayne exclusive, another message saying that I wanted to try an experiment, and then at 11pm on a Friday night when the majority of young, hip-hop fans are out with friends, I posted one last message with a link to the song.

Those few tweets resulted in over a dozen retweets in the span of ten minutes which resulted in over a dozen popular websites & blogs posting the song – which finally resulted in thousands of downloads.

No major push.

No month long build-up.

Just a couple tweets.

It might not be the biggest download total you’ve ever seen, but 14,000 downloads in 48 hours, for an upcoming artist, based on those few tweets on a Friday night isn’t too bad.

And remember – this was just an experiment I decided to do at the last minute.

At least I’m trying new things. That what matters, isn’t it?

You already know what I’ve been going through with my web hosting issues lately, so I’ll spare you the recap (you can view my previous posts) and get right into it.

I received a lot of great referrals and have spoken to a TON of hosting companies over the past 2 weeks: BlueHost, MediaTemple, Choopa, DreamHost, SurpassHosting, GoDaddy, etc. The list literally goes on and on.

I contacted ALL of them. It took me forever but I did it. One reason was because I wanted to really get my feet wet and find out what was being offered but also because I wanted to understand what I needed.

I’m not the most technical person in the world but I can tell when someone is just trying to sell, so I contacted them all to ask them the same questions over and over again so I can hear multiple replies and learn about this stuff.

They say the only way to learn something is to ask questions; so that’s what I did.

The main thing I learned from all this: the web hosting industry might be very competitive, but it’s not very innovative.

What I mean by that is, they all pretty much operate the exact same way. It’s more or less the same technology, used in the same ways and only priced & marketed differently to drive competition.

They’re not setup to “think differently”.

Here are two small but important things I’ve learned about hosting:

There’s No Such Thing As “Unlimited” Bandwidth

“Unlimited” is just a sales pitch to attract people like me who don’t want to look at a bunch of technical specs but just assume that we’ll be covered.

There’s always a cap, but if you are on a shared account, chances are your website won’t see the type of traffic to ever see overages anyways.

Unlimited Bandwidth Does Not Equal Unlimited Resources

Given the fact that there is no real “unlimited bandwidth”, that still doesn’t make note of system resources.

Photo Credit: John Morris

On your computer, you might be browsing the net on Firefox, listening to music on iTunes, chatting with friends on AIM and typing a document in Word. Each of these programs uses up resources on your computer.

Same thing applies to web servers, but instead of just one person using these programs, it’s everybody who visits your website that uses these programs.

Not only that, if you’re on a shared account, you’re probably sharing that one server with about 700 other customers. So imagine all of your visitors, plus the visitors of all those other 700 customers.

That’s a massive flood of people.

So that entire audience is accessing your site and therefore using a piece of your server’s resources. On a shared account, you only get a certain percentage of those resources allocated to you. By adding resource hogging plugins or getting a spike in traffic, you can end up going over that percentage and your account will be temporarily suspended so that the other 700 sites on your server remain uninterrupted.

Imagine the amount of traffic you get from the front page of Digg.com. That amount of traffic will definitely create major downtime for you like it did for me.

My account was knocked off for a good 20 hours as I searched for solutions while still doing my best to do my actual work, which at the time was managing 3 short-staffed events (hell on earth).

My old webhost, HostGator, continuously tried to sell me a $300/month dedicated server as a “solution”.

$300 a month?

I barely pay $300 a year right now!

I kept trying to explain to them that this was the first time my site has ever experienced that type of traffic and that I truly do not require a dedicated server.

This is a PERSONAL blog. I don’t update it multiple times a day or even daily.

Hell, sometimes I don’t even post for a week or two.

I don’t sell ads on here and I don’t put any budget into promoting it. Only word-of-mouth & word-of-mouse. That’s it.

Keeping that in mind, while my web traffic is decent for a personal blog, it in no way compares to NecoleBitchie.com or NahRight.com. So a $300/month dedicated server would be a little overkill for my needs; especially since I don’t run any ads on here like I mentioned.

Before I get a bunch of replies from tech folk breaking down all the technical reasons why most web hosting companies are  set up that way; let me say this:

I don’t care.

People shouldn’t have to conform to technical limitations; technical solutions should be made to meet consumer needs.

So before leaving a comment or sending me an email telling me about how servers are built and why there is nothing on the market to cater to my needs; understand that I’m not the type of person to accept those kinds of limitations. That doesn’t make any sense to me.

As long as it takes, I will hunt for a solution.

All I wanted is a hosting account where I could be equipped with enough specs (bandwidth, storage, etc) to keep me running smoothly on a daily basis and also be equipped to handle occasional spikes in traffic like the one I experienced.

Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently, it is.

For the technical reasons I’ve specified above, no web hosts were able to attend to my needs and all started pitching me $300/month accounts or told me to take my chances with a shared account but will experience another suspension if I get any more Digg-like spikes.

So basically, pay a ton or hinder your site’s potential.

Luckily, I was able to find one company that works differently; MediaTemple.

Apparently, they created their own system to handle situations like this. Instead of being setup on a server with limited resources, I’m setup on a “cluster grid” with access to resources on other systems throughout that grid. So my site can access the resources it needs whenever it needs it.

Think of it like this: rather than only having access to the clothes in your closet (most hosting companies), you can have access to all the clothes in the mall (mt).

Interestingly enough, when I spoke with a few of the web hosts mentioned above, some of them even recommended that I go with MediaTemple. I didn’t understand why until a few of them began to defining me as a “prosumer with custom needs”, which they (and apparently 99% of the hosting companies) are not equipped to service.

Not because they’re not good; but because they’re not setup to serve this niche (even though I believe this isn’t as niche as they may assume).

Most hosting companies don’t create their own technology; they just buy, maintain and sell it in packages.

Luckily, MediaTemple is setup differently.

This isn’t an ad for them; rather this is my expression of relief that I was able to find what I was looking for.

Many people have been messaging me about this whole ordeal and asking which host I ended up choosing and why; mostly because they face similar issues and need answers.

Well, MediaTemple was my choice. So far, they’ve been great at helping me get all setup and I hope to see it continue down this lane.

Plus – their logo looks kinda cool on my blog :)

*Note: I originally posted this on Tuesday, however my blog wasn’t fully transported to my new webhost, so even though it showed up in RSS feeds everywhere; that post has been lost in cyberspace. This is a repost.*

If you visited my site anywhere between 1am and 10pm yesterday, you probably saw something that looked like this:

Obviously, this had me in FUMES given the very recent issues I’ve been having with HostGator, so I contacted them via their online live chat.

This is how the conversation went:

HostGator Tech Support: Welcome to HostGator, how may I assist you? 

Moe: Hi. I’m having a major issue with my account right now. All my domains are being directed to searchportal.information.com 

HostGator Tech Support: When did this start to happen? 

Moe: I got a few emails about it overnight.. the first one being timed at 2am. I only noticed them now though. 

HostGator Tech Support: What is your primary name on the account and what are all the addon domains on that account? 

Moe: My primary domain is ——–. That one is showing up fine. Many of my addon domains, including my blog, MakingTheMogul.com, are being redirected for some reason though. None of my domains are up for expiration or anything of the sort, so I know it’s not that. 

HostGator Tech Support: One moment please 

Moe: Sure 

HostGator Tech Support: Ok it should be fixed now. 

Moe: It’s still doing the same in Safari. I’ll try in Firefox 

HostGator Tech Support: ok 

Moe: Nope. Still the same. I just checked on 2 different computers as well 

HostGator Tech Support: After looking into this it looks like there was a dns issue on the domain on our servers and I had that corrected you would just have to wait for it to propagate to our servers. 

Moe: How long does that take? 

HostGator Tech Support: it can take up to 12 hours. 

Moe: Wow. How did this happen? 

HostGator Tech Support: Well I am not sure I just noticed that on the server level and I corrected that. I am not sure exactly how it happened though and I apologize about that. 

Moe: Thanks for fixing it. I appreciate *your* help. It’s just too bad I’m having nothing but issues with HostGator these days. Definitely time to switch to another, more reliable hosting company. Bye HostGator.

And I did say bye.

I was already planning on leaving after my recent fiasco, but assumed I had a little bit of time to figure it out and wouldn’t experience any more issues now that things have settled down.

Instead?

I woke up to dozens of messages from people telling me that my website was being directed to a generic search portal.

WHAT? HOW?

I might not be the most technical person on this earth, but regardless of what nuances someone tells me about why something on a server messes up, the end fact is – it messed up!

Sorry, but that doesn’t cut it. I’m a results person. You can offer me free hosting in an attempt to accommodate me for major inconveniences, but what good is free garbage if it’s still garbage?

Bye HostGator.

I’ve already opened an account with a new hosting company and currently transferring over all of my sites & files.

I’ve gotten MANY great recommendations for web hosting companies via email, Facebook & Twitter, and have contacted all of them. In the past week, I’ve spoken to at least 25 different web hosting companies. Some of them offered great prices and come highly recommended as being 110% on their customer service and tech support game.

Although, I would have loved to go with any one of these hosts, only one was able to offer what I need. Even some of these other hosting companies suggested I go with them after I explained my wants and needs.

That says something!

Thank you to everybody who suggested web hosts to me via emails, Facebook & Twitter.

I’ll post tomorrow to tell you which company I’ve chosen and why :)

You probably notice the site looks different right now.

Unfortunately, I had some issues when upgrading to WordPress 2.7 and it somehow broke my theme. I’ve since reverted back to WordPress 2.6.2, however my theme was still having issues so I’ve just placed a temporary theme here in the meantime.

Also, I’d like to mention that since my previous post regarding my situation with HostGator, things have been much better and they have been quite generous to resolve this dispute.

Even as I encountered this issue with my WordPress install tonight, Zach K, from HostGator’s Online Support Team was very helpful and helped me get everything back up and running swiftly.

I’m making a note to point this out because not only is good service vital but even during a dispute, where my very latest post was a heavy criticism towards HostGator, they still helped me without prejudice.

That’s an admirable quality which I only wish other business people, especially some of us in the music business *ahem*, would practice more often.

So thanks again to Doug & Zach from HostGator for all their help; it’s really appreciated.

I’m hoping to have the new layout finished in time for the new year so in the meantime, please don’t mind the temporary look and disorientation of MakingTheMogul.com. All the content is still here and it’s still presented in a clean & easy to read format. It’s mainly only the sidebar stuff and maybe a few other minor kinks that will look a little off for a short period of time.

Thank you to everybody for all your responses & Diggs regarding my previous post about my Twitter Exclusive experiment.

Ironically, my report of this viral marketing experiment resulted in a very similar effect and quickly became a popular topic on Twitter & Digg.

The web traffic was definitely the most that my blog has seen since I launched it back in February, however I was completely unprepared for the flood of traffic, which resulted in my website crashing, being temporarily suspended, being revived and then crashing some more.

After several emails, phone calls and online chats with my webhost, HostGator, I was able to get my site back up, but only after waiting approximately 20 hours for HostGator to bring it back online.

I’m quite disappointed and frankly disgusted by their poor level of “customer service” & “support” and have decided to switch on over to another web hosting company.

I’m thankful for all of your comments and will respond to them as soon as I have my web hosting situation resolved – most likely this weekend/early next week.

Thanks again

Did you see my social media experiment last night?

Rather than have any one particular website break a new song like in the past, I decided to break a new Mack Maine & Lil Wayne song via Twitter and have it spread organically.

I will do another post on Monday to discuss the results but for now, just check out the song and enjoy!

Click here to download Mack Maine ft. Lil Wayne – “Throw It Back”

[Update: The results of this experiment are in. Click here to read the results.]

I was so caught up with work recently, I completely overlooked a small, but meaningful milestone:

This past Friday, November 14th, was the 3 year anniversary since I’ve been a full-time employee of… myself!

Damn right!

I decided to start my own business 3 years ago and have been on my grind each and every single day and night since.

I wish there were time to celebrate, but as a result of all the time and effort I’ve put into it, I got work to do!

With that being said, I’m actually undergoing a few changes at the moment. As you can tell from the current header image, I’m currently re-designing my logo as well as the layout of the page. These changes will affect my blog as well as my business and I look forward to unveiling the new look to you shortly.

With that being said, even if I can’t take time off to celebrate properly, I can at least take the next 4 minutes to celebrate with all of you through the party that is this video.

I don’t drink alcohol though, so I’ll do my own personal remix and pop VOSS instead. Ha!

3 years! Wooo-hoooooooo!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jZmntdzFBY]

As I was doing my blog rounds today, I came across a post on DJ Lissa Monét’s blog, talking about a recent situation involving popular music blog, Palms Out Sounds.

As it turns out, Google’s blog service, Blogger.com, has recently begun a campaign against all music blogs hosted on their servers posting new music.

Even if you’re not hosting the file yourself but just posting a link to a file hosted elsewhere, you can be effected:

Google, the IFPI & the RIAA have begun a campaign against all the music blogs hosted on blogger.com – especially high profile blogs, like Palms Out.

This first started a couple of months ago, but only hit Palms Out about a month ago.

Without warning, Google removed three old posts from the blog, and offered no explanation. They then followed by removing Remix Sunday 131, and 132- and offered a brief explanation. Keep in mind, there is no actual copyrighted content uploaded by Palms Out that is hosted on any of Google’s servers, only hyperlinks. 

For more read the full post over at Palms Out Sounds.

While you’re at it, if you’re hungry for some new music, I suggest checking out The Difference mixtape by DJ Lissa Monét & The Legends League.

Today marks a truly unfortunate day, as Shakir Stewart has passed away.

Just earlier this year, Shakir was named Executive Vice President of Def Jam Recordings. Prior to his promotion, he served as Senior VP of A&R at Def Jam since September 2006 and as VP of A&R the two years prior.

Shakir passed away earlier today as the result of a suicide. More details are available at the moment, however given the unfortunate nature of this situation, I choose to leave it at that and simply extend my prayers to his family, friends, colleagues and all those who have had the privilege of being around him.

The music business lost a great man.

Rest In Peace.

One of my favourite sites online, Alltop.com, is known as a digital magazine rack for nearly any topic you can think of.

That’s the quickest way of explaining what it is, but for a more detailed explanation, read this post I wrote a while ago, or just watch this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c7knYqGwVo]

As you can see, it’s essentially a much easier way of organizing your news sources for topics of interest. I constantly visit the site to check on topics like Music, Blackberry, Mac, Blogging, Small Business, Branding, etc. (I use it quite a bit to say the least). 

For a while, I was hoping to see a Hip-Hop channel launch there; where you can see a mix of the top sites on the net mixed with other upcoming sites that show potential.

Being a major advocate of Alltop.com, I figured why not just copy a list of the sites that I have in my RSS reader and send them on over to Guy Kawasaki & Neenz Feleafine over there, in order to offer a launching pad for the channel.

Last night, the hip-hop channel became live!

You can now view all the top hip-hop news & sites in a quick glance. Make sure to check it out at http://hiphop.alltop.com.

And remember to bookmark it!