MUSIC INDUSTRY CAREERS vs. JOBS

...Do you know the difference? 

Most of us here in America have jobs. For years, most of us have been successful at getting jobs, losing jobs, and centering our lives around jobs by going to work.  We go to work for 8-16 hours a day, 5-7 days a week.  Most of us don’t like what we do, but we do it for the money in hopes of providing a better life for our family and ourselves. Even our own economy is fueled by jobs and the unemployment rate can show how healthy or unhealthy our economy is. Some industries suffer from having more jobs than they have positions to fill and other industries are just the opposite. They have more people applying for jobs than they have positions available to fill. Well, the music industry is no different. You can try to find a job working in the music industry or you can work hard to establish a career. My question to you is, do you know the difference? In this clip, Chris Rock gives a very funny interpretation about what he believes is the difference between a job and a career.

The minute someone says, “I’m about to quit doing this so I can go pursue my dream or start a career”, what’s the first thing we say? Even if we don’t say it, what are we thinking? Some of us are thinking, “That’s crazy or I don’t know if I would do that!” If not that, we think or say something very, very similar. This actually happened to me in a true story about a friend of mine in college. I didn’t get to speak with him before he left, but it was rumored around campus that he had left school to pursue his career and follow his dream. I remember thinking, “I don’t know if I would have just dropped out of school like that…!” Well a few years later I remember going to the movies and as I’m watching this film, I see my friend in one of the scenes. I remember saying to myself, “Wow, he made it…!” I remember feeling excited and very happy for him. It wasn’t long after that, I remembered the thoughts I had about him leaving school to pursue his career. I thought if he had not left school, it is very possible that I would not be looking at him on the big screen. As I continued to think, I began to do a self-examination and I realized that the only difference between, he and I was that he found out his passion and he pursued it and became known for it. I was known around campus for having a lot of jobs and being very busy. My friend’s name is Christian Keyes. Please check him out; he’s doing some really big things in the entertainment industry.

As I look back on what I was doing then and what I’m doing now, I’m finally in pursuit of my passion and fulfilling my purpose. I now reflect very often on something my pastor says and he states, “… I learned early on not to work for money, but to work for purpose…” I truly believe that this is the difference between having a job and having a career in the music industry. A job is something that you will look for and your primary purpose in doing that job will be for you to receive a check. A job in the music industry is temporary. It may or may not last very long. After finishing one job, you will go in search looking for the next job. However, if you choose to have a career in the music industry, discover early on your purpose for doing music. Find out why and what you are most passionate about. You may not make music, but you would like to hold a position in the music industry, whether it is in management, promotions, etc. As you seek out opportunities and are afforded a chance, perform in that position in a way very few can do it the way that you do it.  This type of effort will help you establish a career. When you have a career, you will have the opportunity to affect people in a way that no one else can. Careers have more long-term and permanent life long impact. It is my hope that you choose to pursue a career in the music industry and not only look for jobs. By doing so, you will have an opportunity to make the world a much better place simply because you’re in it pursuing your purpose!

-The Mike Sears

ARTIST MANAGEMENT 101: How Do I Manage…

for ARTIST and MANAGERS

Artist Management in the music industry is a really big deal. As an artist, choosing a manager is serious business. A manager to an artist is like gas to an engine in a car. Without the gas, the car will not be able to get very far. Pushing or pulling can move the car, but it will only take it so far before it loses momentum.  Gas in a car is the difference between a car that is moving up and down the highway and a car that is sitting somewhere stranded on the side of the road. This is how a manager should work for an artist. A manager should help fuel an artist’s career. A manager should help an artist get further in their career. It should be farther than they would if they were pushing or pulling their career by themselves. A manager should be the difference between an artist sitting idled or stagnant and an artist whose career is moving forward. As an artist, the choice you make in a manager is as serious as the choice you made to purse your career. You will not learn everything about managers from watching television. Although TV can and will give you some valid information, it’s not all true and it’s not all facts. It’s always a good practice to talk to someone who has the experience you seek. A couple of people I suggest you look up are Michael Blue Williams and MarcOswald who both can give you some valid information about artist management.  Another good person to listen to is Professor PaulAllen. You should also do your own research. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. However, daunting of a task it may seem, research can save you a great deal of time and money. Here, I would like to discuss three things concerning artist management: the relationship, the roles, and the results.

The relationship between an artist and the manager is like a marriage. The manager spends a lot of time with the individual they manage. There is a certain level of intimacy between the artist and the manager. The artist has to share a lot of personal information with their manager. Trust has to be established within the relationship as well. Both the manager and the artist have to trust each other and know that they both have each other’s best interest in mind. The manager represents the artist, but the artist represents the manager as well. For example, the manager may give their word that their artist has the potential to meet a set number of objectives when negotiating a deal for the artist. The artist then has the responsibility to fulfill those expectations, otherwise smearing the reputation of both the artist and the manager for future enlistments. Thus, trust is important along with integrity. Following through and doing what you say you’re going to do is important as well as doing what is right 100% of the time. Lastly, within the relationship communication is vital. Either party can’t afford to assume anything. The proper use of all communication has to be used via the telephone, cell phone, email, text, etc. All communications should be confirmed and followed up as well as followed through. The vision of the manager should be the vision of the artist. Wherever you have two visions, division is not far behind. It’s so important to stay on the same page and be in agreement even if it means you will have times when you will agree to disagree.

The roles between an artist and a manager are more like responsibilities. Understanding each other’s role helps keep everything moving forward in the right direction. As an artist you should try doing everything you can to be better than just good at what you do. You should work at being better than the rest and finding out what makes you different from everyone else. You should also have a vision for your career. You should have an idea of where you want your career to go. As for the role of a manager, there are very specific roles he or she must play in order to effectively orchestrate your career. Sometimes the various roles are all wrapped up in one person. Other times, these roles are spread out amongst several individuals. These roles include, but are not limited to the personal manager, the business manager and the road manager. Each role that is executed by the manager requires different responsibilities. As an artist, you should be aware of each role and understand each responsibility.

The results are what you should measure a manager by. What he or she says is not as important as what he or she does. It should be clear what things a manager has done to help improve and move your career forward. You should establish a plan with your manager. It’s even better if you have a written plan. This plan should include set goals and objectives. It should also have a proposed way to execute those goals and objectives along with a timeline. This way, you both have a checklist of the things you accomplished over a set period of time and the things you still need to work towards. This leaves less room for grey areas and you can also know for sure whether or not your manager did an adequate job as your manager. How a manager does what they do should also be equally important. You want a manager who operates with integrity. The music industry thrives on relationships. There is not a lot of room for burning bridges and doing people wrong. So, you definitely want someone who will help you build strong solid relationships that will help sustain you in your career.

The main thing is that you do your homework and make sure you don’t take this area of your career for granted. You also want to make sure you don’t make an emotional decision, but a wise one. A manager can either be a meaningful step or a meaningless stumbling block in your career. So make a wise choice. Get the help you need. Get your career moving forward. This is how you will manage to have a successful career!!!

-The Mike Sears

Let’s Make A Deal…The Art of Negotiation

Are you familiar with the game show that used to come on TV called Let’s Make A Deal? What about a more current show called Deal Or NoDeal? In both of these shows there are a series of negotiations that take place between the host and the contestants whereby each contestant is given the option to keep what they have or trade it in for a bigger or better prize. If the contestant chooses wrong, they could lose everything. That sounds pretty serious doesn’t it? Well if you have never viewed either one of those shows, maybe you saw the movie The Negotiator with Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. In this film, they are both highly trained hostage negotiators working in law enforcement. They are forced into a position where they have to negotiate against one another where hostages are involved in an effort to reveal the truth about a series of life and death situations. Ok, well hopefully now I at least have your attention and I can get you to see after reading a few short paragraphs that understanding how to negotiate in the entertainment business can be a very serious matter. With everything from contracts to copyrights to compensation to anything concerning making a deal, your negotiation strategies can make or break you.

Caleb Foster is someone who is highly respected and holds a very intricate position within the entertainment industry. Caleb holds to his credits a nomination for Gospel Announcer of the year at the 2010 Stellar Awards and was nominated for and won the Black Essence Award in 2010. With a host of other awards, accolades, and accomplishments he has earned over the years, he knows how to make the right deals and get the job done. Although he does not make the type of deals that could cause him to lose everything nor does he have to negotiate through a life or death hostage situation, he takes his role very serious. Throughout his daily routine as the station manager for the 1440 WDJR radio station in Detroit, Michigan he has learned how to master the art of negotiation. I was recently able to catch up with Caleb and ask him a few questions in an interview about his negotiation skills and here is what he had to say:

Q) How do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating? What tips do you have for new negotiators who are trying to do this?

A) In order to separate the problem from people you have to realize that the negotiation is business and not personal. The medical field is a difficult industry to communicate between people because they have to tell individuals information that might be uncomfortable. A doctor can give negative information to a patient and go on with his/her day because their delivery is not personal. A new negotiator should learn how to maximize the potential of the deal without losing morals or integrity. My solution in doing that is to always attempt to be beneficial on both sides. When that is not an option, realize that practices makes perfect. Every deal will not always go the way you want or expect so, make sure to gather all the pros and cons from each negotiation to compiles your data for future deals.

How do you handle positional bargaining tactics?

Q) Can you give me an example of how you worked toward mutual benefit when you were negotiating a deal?

A) Most recently, I had a client who wanted more advertising airtime for less money than would normally be charged. He requested an hour and a half of airtime once a week for $200 per month. Our normal rate for what he asked for is $500 per month. I told him I would try to meet him somewhere along the way and knock his price down to $450 per month. He countered my deal with saying $300. I told him that isn’t possible but I would charge him $400 for the first three months and then $450 for the fourth month to give him time to get acclimated to a new system. He agreed!  

In the negotiation process, what do you see as the major difference between dealing with the specific interest of the involved parties vs. the positions? Interest vs. Positions

Have you ever had to deal with anyone who attempted to use dirty tricks when negotiating or have you yourself ever used any dirty tricks.

Have you ever had to prepare a (BATNA)? If so what was your process for preparing that (BATNA) Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement

Q) Do you consider yourself a good negotiator? If so what do you feel is your greatest attribute as a negotiator?

A) Yes, I consider myself a good negotiator. One of my greatest attributes I consider to be is the fact that I always try to make sure both parties benefit from the deal being negotiated. In a lot of cases the negotiating party wants to benefit themselves.

-The Mike Sears

What do you know about Music Industry Trade Associations?

It’s not enough just to have information about the music industry although it is important to be very knowledgeable. What’s most important about the information and the knowledge that you acquire about the music industry is that it is current as well as accurate. The music industry is constantly evolving from various formats to different standards and from what’s hot to what’s not. It’s important in the music industry to know who the decision makers are as well as the leaders in a particular segment of the industry. Trade and profession associations provide individuals with pertinent information that can prove to be vital to the growth as well as the sustainability of ones organization, business, or career within the music industry.

As someone who operates in the music industry in various capacities the Recording Industry Association of America is a good association to become familiar with. They provide important industry research including data on the industry as well as its consumers. They provide updates and important news reports about the industry. Lastly, they provide information on copyright basics, licensing & royalties, anti-piracy, audio technologies, gold & platinum album status, and current issues. However, because I work more closely to the Christian/Gospel Music genre, I would like to talk briefly about the Christian Music Trade Association, The Gospel Music Association, and The Gospel Industry Round Up Publication.

The Christian Music Trade Association was established in 1993, as a non-profit organization that exists to build community and cooperation among Christian & Gospel music industry leadership in order to address mutual issues and to maximize Christian/Gospel music's impact on culture. Their board of directors is comprised of  high-level executives from major record labels. They provide information about Sound Scan, music piracy, and give valid news up dates. They are also partners to and affiliated with industry leaders and decision makers like EMI (EMI Christian Music Group), Warner Music Group (Word Entertainment), Sony Music (Provident Music Group), and Universal Music Group (Universal Christian) just to name a few.

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a non-profit organization , founded in 1964, whose purpose is to educate, encourage, and promote the development of all forms of gospel music. As an umbrella organization, the GMA provides an atmosphere in which artists, industry leaders, retail stores, radio stations, concert promoters and local churches can coordinate and centralize their efforts for the purpose of facilitating their respective needs and interests. The GMA is also the host to the Dove Awards and they provide various conferences throughout the year to bring many of these industry leaders, radio stations, and artists together for networking and educational purposes. I’ve actually had the opportunity to attend one of their conferences and it was a great opportunity to network and gather some great information to help me build my business and career.

Lastly, The Gospel Industry Round Up is a publication that comes out annually and it is considered, “The Bible of The Gospel Music Industry”. Lisa Collins who at the time was the gospel editor for Billboard Magazine started it in 1993.  It was formed to fill the void of there not being any publications that looked at the who’s who and the inner workings of the gospel music industry.

The book includes:

•        The Latest industry statistics and sales
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•        “The Hot 100”, Gospel’s hottest artists
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•       Gospel record labels, radio stations, retail outlets and key churches
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•        Top Producers, songwriters, and choirs
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•        Management and Booking Contacts
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•        Key Events
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•         A look at gospel’s power brokers
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•       Insight from top gospel stars
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•       Tips on breaking in

Hopefully you can see the importance of having access to this type of information through the various trade associations and publications. The great thing is that the majority of the legwork and the gathering of information has already been done for you by the trade association. All you have to do is get connected. Once you are connected, you can use the resources that are available to propel your organization, business or career forward in your particular industry. So know that you know, have at it! I wish you all the very best and much success!

-The Mike Sears