“I hear it all the time, there’s not enough collaboration, ” he said.

The time is ripe, Olen believes, for a new approach in the creative industry, and sought to align his Chicago-based music company Rhythm Café with other independent companies to offer a flexible solution to the production and post-production world.  The result of his efforts has led to the announcement of the Chicago Consortium.

Olen’s opinion is that in this changing economy, a group of companies that work independently but also complement each other’s services can offer a creative and cost-effective solution.

 “Even though I’ve had a variety of job titles and responsibilities, I’ve seemed to find myself in a position of connecting the dots, a professional conduit if you will – matching the right artist, editor, composer, or all of the above to the creative direction of a project. The Chicago Consortium is designed to be a creative resource, and hopefully open the door to a new way to doing things,” said Olen.

 “For now, the Chicago Consortium is just a name, a way to illustrate to clients the potential and benefits that can be found in an alliance such as this. Eventually, the consortium may represent the companies under its umbrella and act as a freelance producer of sorts with core vendors. But for now, it’s the concept of collaboration that I hope to expand upon,” said Olen.”

The new endeavor already has a strong foundation of companies and services to build from. Jamie Vanadia, of Noise Floor, has positioned his audio post house at the cornerstone of the concept. 

“NoiseFloor was established to offer clients a flexible alternative to audio finishing. To me, the Chicago Consortium is simply an extension of that thinking,” said Vanadia.

Chicago editor Jeff Nolan added the second piece of the puzzle by setting up his Nolan editorial company inside the current Rhythm Café facility. 

"The Nolan business model is to morph into the specific needs of each job.  Change is the new constant in post, so the new studio needed to be as nimble and adaptable as possible.  We look at offline, online and graphics in a new way and the studio reflects that.   The consortium understands that thinking as well, so it's a great fit," said Nolan

Music branding firm C-Sharp Consulting not only grabbed a corner office, but asked Olen to join their partnership and help their clients (music publishers, record labels and independent artists) develop and execute licensing and marketing strategies.

Other innovative shops may soon follow. 

“I’ve talked to several production companies about being a part of this creative collaboration and I hope to finalize something shortly. We would also like to include an emerging graphics shop, a creative/development company, and more.  There is no limit to the services that can play a role in this new approach.  Individual companies don’t have to be in our building to participate, they just have to collaborate” said Olen.

With so many options available to the advertising industry, it only makes sense that there is an independent musical contractor out there.  The Rhythm Café is not obligated to work with any individual composer, which allows for the freedom to find the best possible match on a per project basis.

With an emphasis on customer service, quality of music, and building relationships through trust, the Rhythm Café earned the reputation as a leader in the industry.  It has produced award winning work for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Gatorade, State Farm, Adidas, Philip Morris, Maytag, Colorado Tourism, and many more.  Creatively, the projects have included an eighty-piece orchestra in Prague, a marching band in Los Angeles, a hip-hop track in New York, a gospel choir in Kansas City, and countless other sessions in Chicago.

C-Sharp Consulting brings to the table a wealth of experience in sales and marketing as they pertain to the music industry.  The founders of the company have had long standing relationships with key music retail executives, buyers, independent operators and senior management at both the national and independent retail communities.

“We see a new model for post production emerging. The large landlocked post house can’t be nimble and flexible enough for many of the new challenges and opportunities in today’s post.  We can work in our space, your space, on location, or any place we choose” says Jeff.  Their approach is to staff each project as per needed, from an alliance of post production artists. “We add and subtract the talent required as the project dictates. Therefore, we carry no extra overhead.  More of your budget goes on the screen, rather than antiquated costs,” he said.

“We used to talk about editing on Avid or Final Cut or whatever.  The tools don’t matter any more.  They are simply the price of entry,” says Nolan.  “I have all the editing tools.  They don’t have any value anymore.  It’s all about great artists and time.”

Nolan’s approach says that technology has enabled a few skilled individuals to complete the work that formerly required a large team of people. As in, why hire an army when you need a sniper.