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