Concertgoers typically receive a program as they enter the concert hall. Frequently, orchestras include several concerts in a single printed program, so the programs are small booklets, rather than just a couple of sheets of folded paper. These booklets contain the music program, information about guest performers, an orchestra roster, music notes about the compositions being performed. After a quick glance at the evening’s program, it can be easy to ignore the rest of the booklet as unimportant or routine. Boilerplate in contracts is like those concert program booklets. Contracting parties may view them as repetitive and unimportant. This article is one of several discussing contract “boilerplate” provisions and why those provisions are important.
Read MoreMy cats have “contributed” to my articles by walking across my keyboard as I work. I was less thrilled with the cats when one left a dead mouse as a present on my stairs. A recent Kennedy Center audience might have appreciated my cats’ hunting skills. In addition to music from the National Symphony Orchestra, “entertainment” was provided by a mouse in the concert hall.
Read MorePlaying in a pit orchestra is very different from performing in an orchestra on stage. For the uninitiated, an orchestra pit is located in between the front row of chairs and the stage. Typically, the orchestra pit floor is at least 4-5 feet lower than the floor of the seating area, usually sunk low enough that only the top of the conductor’s head is visible to those on the stage. Frequently, the pit will be even lower so that it is entered from and extends below the stage so the winds and percussion typically will be sitting under the stage
Read MoreToday, a rite of passage for many fourth graders it to choose a musical instrument to play. Children learn about three major instrument groups – strings, brass, and woodwinds, each of which has within it several options suitable for elementary school students, including violin, viola, and cello for the string instruments, trumpet, trombone, and baritone for the brass instruments, and flute, clarinet, and perhaps, saxophone, in the woodwinds. New business owners face a similar dilemma in selecting the type of structure to use when forming the business.
Read MoreRecently, while in the midst of a managing a complicated commercial real estate closing, I took a few hours off to attend an orchestra concert. During intermission, while orchestra took a break, a string quartet played in the lobby. It was then that I realized that the typical commercial real estate transaction frequently has at least 15 different roles and is much more like an orchestra than a string quartet.
Read MoreImagine you are a professional musician who is building a performance career. You hire an artist manager to promote you, obtain performance gigs, and to negotiate contracts for your gigs for a period of five years. You hire an artist manager to promote you, obtain performance gigs, and to negotiate contracts for your gigs for a period of five years. Your manager’s primary compensation is a percentage of the compensation you receive from your gigs, plus reimbursement of certain of the manager’s costs. This arrangement is designed to incentivize your artist manager to work hard to get you as many bookings as possible as soon as possible.
Read MoreSustainability simply means the ability to be maintained or to continue. Today, we usually think of sustainability in the context of energy or the environment. However, sustainability also is important to every individual and every business, because without a sustainable foundation, the individual or business will “burn out.”
Read MoreMost people have heard of Antonio Stradivari, who likely is the most renowned violin maker of all time. Few outside of the violin world, however, have heard of Francois Tourte, who developed the modern violin bow and has been called the “Stradivari of the bow.” Just as the violin student may overlook the importance of the bow, the real estate investor may overlook the importance of financing options and structure.
Read MoreMy son started at age three playing a 1/32 size violin, which with an eight-inch body looked more like a toy than a violin. A few months ago, my son traded in his ¾ size violin for a 7/8 size instrument, which is valued at 20 times the price we paid for that original 1/32 size violin nearly nine years before. When we made the most recent violin purchase, I realized how our “investment” in violins is like real estate investment.
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