Kelli Richards was born and bred in Cupertino, Silicon Valley. It's where Apple's headquarters is based and where she spent ten years as an executive.At the age of eight, she knew she wanted to become a record producer. There was a slight problem though, she was female. Richards said, "It was a lock-out field" despite California being progressive.On evenings, while attending high school, she studied recording techniques for four years.
Her career started with a focus on the music industry. To get through college, she worked at Guitar Player and Keyboard magazines in her hometown and then moved to Los Angeles to work for EMI Music as a young executive after she graduated. She was then recruited to launch the music focus at Apple. She spent a decade driving all of Apple's music and entertainment initiatives.Richards is a powerhouse woman. She's a consultant, mentor, speaker, producer, coach, author and is president/CEO of The All Access Group. She also brokers deals and has a bestselling eBook called The Magic & Moxie of Apple–An Insider's View.
She facilitates strategic business opportunities in digital distribution between technology companies, established articles and celebrities, film studios, record labels, and consumer brand companies to foster new revenue streams and deliver compelling consumer experiences.She said as a woman she chose to be involved in fields that are heavily dominated by men."I was one of those rare people who knew what they were gonna do from a very young age, eight years old."I wanted to be a record producer and work with big artistes recording their albums. And I studied seriously for four years in high school but I was the wrong gender, that's a field that's closed to women so I wound up doing other things to channel that energy," she said in an interview on May 7 at the lobby of the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, Port-of-Spain.Richards spent five days in Trinidad and delivered several lectures to filmmakers, authors, musicians and other interested stakeholders on digital media and how they can market their work online.Her visit was sponsored by the US Department of State under the Embassy's US Speakers Programme.Under this programme, local organisations partner with US experts and renowned people in their respective fields, who share their knowledge locally.
'Ignore gender issues...just do the work'
Richards stands out in a male-dominated world.After leaving Apple, she went out into her own practice in the music and entertainment industry. She focuses on consumer entertainment initiatives working with "all kinds of new technology" and new forms of digital distribution to reach audiences and new ways to make money for content creators.She's also had a 25-year career channelling her record-producer energy as a talent producer. Richards has been producing award shows, celebrity concerts and fund-raisers. She produced the Bay Area Music Awards, more commonly known as the "Bammies," for almost 20 years, and for ten years produced the Poll Star Awards.
Richards also produced Adopt-A-Minefield Benefit Gala with English musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles.She's a thought leader in content distribution through digital strategy, published several books and articles, has a monthly newsletter and a weekly radio show online with close to a million listeners.But she admits she is not a workaholic. "It's a lot of activity to juggle but it doesn't all happen at the same time," she said.Richards said as a woman she stands out in a heavily male-dominated world. She said, "There aren't many women doing what I do.
"So I have found a way to not let the gender issue get in the way. I just do my work."Her advice to young, female executives and professionals who are trying to cope in a male-driven environment was to do their best."Do what you do, have your vision and set your intention."
Digital distribution isn't new
Digital distribution began in the early to mid-1990s.There were forward-thinking and progressive people whom she said saw that the Internet could change "everything" before mobiles, tablets and smartphones."The Internet by itself was going to be able to squash traditional distribution strategies or at least level the playing field."So that it used to be before the Internet, if you were a musician, you had to be signed with a record label or you would never be heard by an audience."If you were a filmmaker, if you weren't distributed by a studio, you would never have your work seen by anyone," she said.She added that if an author did not go through a publishing house, "forget it, it wasn't going to happen."Richards said the Internet changed the landscape."Ever since 1995, I have been driving new ways for content creators to reach their audiences...for artistes to see themselves as the brand and create a brand for themselves and build anaudience."She said by doing that they could keep more of their own money because the "middleman" who used to make everything happen, was keeping the bulk of the money."I realise that in certain parts of the world, including in Trinidad ad Tobago, that you might not be as far along as we are in the US."And even in the US, there is still evidence of people trying to hold on to those older models when in fact, the audiences moved to these new platforms."