Culture – Ursula D.

Helping to make unspoken words, spoken again.

Currently, Seniors at Babson College, Misha Lau and Rebecca Jiang are Southern Californians of Asian American descent, ready to take on the world of gaming.

Misha and Rebecca are two dynamic women that, combined, have a wealth of professional knowledge and life experiences that have set them up for business success. Misha works in marketing at a tech start-up and enjoys cooking and learning how to play the ukelele, while Rebecca is looking to pursue a career in the hospitality industry and hikes and thrifts in her free time.

The idea for their card game Unspoken Words was dreamt up during a gap semester from college the two took in the Fall of 2020. To maximize their gap semester, Misha and Rebecca decided that they wanted to start a business and gain real-world experience of what the process of starting a company is really like. The two went back and forth on what idea that they wanted to pursue, yet always came back to a common theme- both women being Asian American and descendants of immigrant parents. The duo recognized some challenges that came along with being raised in their culture, the biggest one being how distant they often felt from their parents. Misha and Rebecca wanted to open the discussion around difficult familial conversations and needed an ice breaker, hence…

Unspoken Words was born.

Unspoken Words is a card game that is meant to facilitate conversation in a low-stakes environment, meant for players to have fun and grow closer. We’re Not Really Strangers, served as an inspiration to the founders, who liked the concept of a game focused on creating connections and changing one’s perspective.

To play the game, a player chooses a card and reads the question provided out loud, with everyone participating being encouraged to respond. A question falls under one of the five categories within the game that is dedicated to the immigrant experience, being: Culture & Immigration, Relationship, Childhood, Reflection, Identity. There are also 20 action cards incorporated into the deck that add a fun element of action to the game. Some of Misha and Rebecca’s favorite cards from the game include:

“What did you do for a living before you immigrated?”

“What was it like growing up as the youngest, middle, or oldest child?”

Misha and Rebecca have poured their heart and soul into the game, fine-tuning the card prompts by playing the game with their own families. In doing so, the two have learned so much about their families that they didn’t know before, which has helped to form closer familial bonds.

Rebecca, whose family is from mainland China, learned that her mother lived through the Tangshan earthquake in 1976. Rebecca’s mother lived in a neighboring town from where the earthquake hit the hardest and victims of the quake were being sent for medical treatment. Similarly, Misha learned that her father grew up relatively poor and, in order to pay for college, worked multiple part-time jobs and slept in his car just to get by.

Unspoken Words symbolizes the unspoken words that exist within relationships.

For Misha and Rebecca, this came in the form of “I am proud of you and I love you”. Throughout this game, however, the two realized that those unspoken words were tangible and put into action rather than said out loud.

For Misha and Rebecca, the process of creating this game has been more about the cathartic journey than the destination, some of the most rewarding aspects of starting their business being speaking to individuals within the board game industry as well as their prospective customers. The individuals that they have met within their industry have been so willing to share advice with them and connect them to others in their network.

“We really came into this experience wanting to learn and we have learned more than we ever thought that we would”, says Rebecca.

While Misha mentions the fact that she got to talk with a counselor who deals specifically with immigrant families and usually uses vague question cards for families to help them work through issues that they might be facing and is extremely excited about the game and its ability to help her therapy practice. Similarly, in speaking with over 30 children of immigrants, who have struggled with similar relationship challenges to Rebecca and Misha, the founders have felt encouraged to make their game into a reality.

When asked about what Misha and Rebecca hope their players will take away from the game, the two responded that they want those who play their game to learn at least one thing new about their family they didn’t know before. They also hope that the game sparks future conversations and that those who play will feel more comfortable to ask questions. The two mentioned the fact that it took a lot of courage for them to play the game with their parents, yet it allowed for incredible vulnerability and has established the groundwork for more open conversations.

What about the future excites the She-EOs?

The launch of their Kickstarter in May, an exciting milestone that the two have thought about since the very beginning. Misha and Rebecca are also so excited for the day that they receive their prototype and are able to play their game with the signature Unspoken Words cards.

Can’t wait to get my cards in the mail very soon the two of you! *wink, wink*

Contact Misha and Rebecca:

Instagram

Website

Facebook

Twitter

The music of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Historically, the music industry has been shaped by its means of consumption. In the 1970s, when the vinyl record was predominantly used, the music publishing and recording businesses gained widespread attention for their profitability. Large companies began to buy into the industry and made large investments in this creative sector, considering it to be “an acceptable risk” (Baskerville, 9). Investments in music enterprises continued into the 1980s, as the invention of the compact disc or CD overtook vinyl and consumers quickly replaced their record collections with CD releases (Baskerville, 10). During this time, the recording music business saw its peak in terms of profits as a result of high margins in music purchasing. Consequently, there were heavy investments in all aspects relating to the musician, such as scouting, development, production, promotion, touring, and management; everyone wanted to become involved in the artist life cycle to take their piece of the profits. The musician exerted the majority of their energy into their craft, while various business-related roles were outsourced.

The invention of the MP3 in the 1990s was the first format to begin to disrupt the traditional music order. What made the MP3 unique was the fact that it could be “compressed into files that could be distributed over the Internet freely (in every sense of the word), a new form of mass media became, in part, a medium controlled by the masses” (Baskerville, 10). Consumers could share and duplicate their music themselves using a computer without needing to even go to the store or shell out extra money. This illegal form of digital distribution was done by peer-to-peer networks, facilitated by companies such as Napster and Grokster (Baskerville, 13). With music being listened to, copied, and shared for free, “global recorded music sales dropped by nearly half in the following decade,” causing the music industry to cut costs and look for alternative methods of profitability (Baskerville, 13). Labels lost their ability to control this underground market and take their fair share of the profits.

The Internet soon became a thriving hub of fans who were distributing music and sharing their opinions about it. For, “[i]f the 20th century was about discovering new audiences, the 21st may prove to be about finding new, better, and… profitable ways to connect with them wherever they are and through whatever medium they desire” a new challenge for artist and record companies alike (Baskerville, 10). As communities and cultures quickly formed, artists were eager to become a part of connecting with these audiences in an intimate way like never before. Music streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and YouTube, which require a paid subscription for use, were soon popularized and would regulate online music listening.

Not only did the Internet change the method of consumption for music, it changed so much more, as this digital revolution provided aspiring musicians with high-quality tools for producing music with inexpensive methods of personal promotion. The Internet also created access to self-education in areas such as marketing, production, and networking, where an aspiring musician can learn a host of information from online resources. Whereas there used to be many gatekeepers and an extremely high barrier to entry, those walls have been lowered and a music digital democracy was formed. Yet, this shift does not come without many challenges for the artist. Currently, anyone can put their music online, significantly increasing competition within the industry and making it difficult to become noticed amidst all of the noise. Musicians have also needed to take on business roles that they may not be accustomed to handling, such as their own marketing, promotion, and music distribution. This will take away from the musician focusing on their art itself, the core of their work. Now, it is not enough to be talented, one must know how to curate themselves as an artist in order to make a living as a musician and to become recognized by significant players within the industry.

Similar to how the digital revolution has changed the musician, it has also altered the music consumer. Consumers of this new generation expect instant access to music, which is often “perceived as being free of cost” (Baskerville, 20). Fans, who were never used to purchasing CD albums or songs in the iTunes store, view music listening as their right, without a willingness to pay for what they are receiving. Subscribers to Spotify, for example, can pay as low as $4.99 a month or listen for free with advertisement interruptions (Music). Consequently, labels have poured money into creating merchandise and massive world tours for artists, to re-engage the listener and have them invest in music experiences over virtually free, passive listening (Naveed).

21st Century Record Companies

Record companies play a new role within the 21st century music industry, given that the traditional use of the record company has been regarded as expensive and unnecessary. Whereas before labels focused their energy on scouting, developing, and creating a star, all costly tasks, musicians can now do this themselves. Consequently, record companies have shifted their strategy to “an increased concentration of the ownership and control of the market for recorded music. Another, and connected, strategy consists of shifting the costs of producing records to musicians and other actors involved in the creation of music” (Mazierska, 7). Now, the value that record labels can provide are their financial resources as large conglomerates and extensive networks, two key components in the musician’s venture. “The record companies have the resources to get your music heard above the noise of all the other artists out there,” including experienced marketers and relationships with streaming services and radio stations as well as massive amounts of data, which can help with artist’s strategy development (Passman, 77). Every platform requires a pitch and record labels have access to every platform. Record labels also have the funds to provide artists with exposure or help in funding large tours, yet are now more selective with whom they invest in because there are lower margins to be made in a given artist. Everyone is taking a risk. Consequently, record companies have shrunk their artist development efforts and A & R divisions. Considering that artists have the ability to grow a significant repertoire and following, to mitigate risk in artist investment, record labels invest in promising, emerging industry performers and a “common pattern is for an artist to get to a certain level, then move to a label because they feel they need the company’s resources to take their careers to the next level” (Passman, 77).

As a result of this “do it yourself” revolution, musicians can often undervalue the continued importance of the record company and their role in artist success. If the musician is undertaking so much on their own, why would a large corporation need to become involved? This may be true for smaller artists, where, “[i]f you’re a niche artist and you’re happy with selling your music to a small niche group of fans, you don’t need a record company and if you can make a living doing gigs promoting yourself directly to your fans and selling your music (genre limits your potential audience) you will make more money doing this on your own” (Passman, 76). Yet, for those who strive to have a broader group of people hear their music, record companies still have a crucial place in helping achieve this success.

We’ll see if this still holds true in the future. My bet is that the industry is on the precipice of a massive shift, just waiting for a disruptor.

Stay tuned for next week’s article on “Who is the 21st Century Music Entrepreneur?”

Citations

Baskerville, David, and Tim Baskerville. Music Business Handbook and Career Guide. 11th ed., SAGE, 2017.

Mazierska, Ewa, et al. Popular Music in the Post-Digital Age : Politics, Economy, Culture and Technology, Chapter 12, et al., Bloomsbury Academic & Professional, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/babson/detail.action?docID=5607552.

“Music for Everyone.” Spotify, www.spotify.com/us/premium/?utm_source=us-en_brand_contextual_text&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=alwayson_ucanz_us_performancemarketing_highsubintent_brand+contextual+text+bmm+us-en+google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIveiQ3bDZ6AIV0-DICh2eKACCEAAYASAAEgL9iPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds.

Naveed, Kashif, et al. “Co-Evolution between Streaming and Live Music Leads a Way to the Sustainable Growth of Music Industry – Lessons from the US Experiences.” Technology in Society, vol. 50, 2017, pp. 1–19., doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2017.03.005.

Tag: Culture

CEO Sit Down: Misha Lau and Rebecca Jiang on Unspoken Words