Negotiating, it's a part of life

I originally designed this blog, thinking that I wanted to be a tour manager, hence The Tour Life name. Now I look back and think, that’s not what I’m good at. Road life would probably chew me up and spit me out. I was determined yes, but misguided. I should have stuck with what I was always skilled at, Artist Relations. I learned skill sets needed for that area throughout my four years at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. I learned how to talk to people, how to mediate, how to deal with pressure, and how to deal with difficult people. I didn’t realize it then, but I was learning important lessons about negotiating.

The other day, I was speaking to my mentor Clarence Crisp (former Director of Student Activities at Mansfield University), about the artists we worked with and how we dealt with situations. “Miller, you were always my second in command,” Clarence said. He knew he could count on me because I would be professional and work as long and hard as needed. We met some terrific acts where the biggest negotiation was booking the artist and finalizing the rider based on Mansfield policies. Other artists, such as Third Eye Blind, and their manager gave us a rough time. But with the combination of “good cop” (me) and “bad cop” (Clarence), there wasn’t a situation we couldn’t smooth over. He’d always send me in first, all dressed in my security shirt and “war paint,” to make the first impression. Really, who wants to yell at a young, polite blonde? Then if I didn’t have the authority or needed assistance, Clarence would come through. Yet, Clarence rarely had to be “bad cop” because he towered over everybody. Yet, his interpersonal skills were what smoothed over any problem. He was kind-hearted and cooperative, as long as the other person wasn’t unreasonable. There were some high demands during the course of 3EB, but we stood strong. Clarence’s philosophy was always “this is their home for one night, so treat them right, show them the best hospitality you can, and they’ll put on a great performance.” This of course was within reason.

After talking with Clarence, I decided to interview someone currently in the field: Dale Rock, Full Sail University Artist Relations Director. I was also able to interview Jen Tackett, Full Sail University Artist Relations Coordinator. I wanted to compare my past experiences with how the professionals dealt with negotiating. Some background about my interviewees: Dale Rock came to Full Sail University after gaining experience on the road and owning his own business. He became a lab specialist in audio and then became a course director for Show Production while also taking on the role of Artist Relations Director. Jen Tackett graduated from Full Sail University with an Entertainment Business Bachelor’s Degree. She was hired to help Michelle Bunker (who was Artist Relations Director at the time) with booking. When Bunker left the position, Rock was hired and Tackett began booking both studio sessions and live sessions. She became interested in the field after being involved with performing arts. Tackett felt that if she “wasn’t going to be in a band, she wanted to work around them.”

Rock and Tackett tend to use the “good cop, bad cop” tactic when dealing with artists. Credited toward his military background, Rock never let’s emotions get in the way of a deal because it affects decisions. They deal with a variety of musicians, so they all need to be handled similarly. “I let them vent, but I stand my ground. I let them know it’s my decision because I’m responsible for the students. Policies need to be followed so it doesn’t go against student’s curriculum or put student’s at risk,” Rock said. “Artists either do what I want, or don’t do [the session] at all. Student’s curriculum needs to be met first. If Full Sail is left vulnerable, then I didn’t do my job.”

Artists that do no cooperate with students, whether it is in the session rooms or at Full Sail Live, may not be invited back. “A small temper is okay because it’s like the real world, but we want them to be reasonable, not over the top,” Rock said. Tackett added, “material is for students and use for educational purposes.” Coming to Full Sail means that artists get free studio time. This saves them on tracking expenses because students do all the hard work. “If something’s wrong they’re welcome back, if they had a good attitude,” Rock said.

Rock’s strategy is one that is beneficial for Full Sail University and students. Since Full Sail is an educational setting, negotiations within a college are different than negotiations with a label. Yet mutual gain for both artist and Full Sail lies in the deal that has been set. Free sessions; money saved for artist to invest in other areas. Full Sail obtains a range of excellent clients and its students gain hands-on experience. The value of standing your ground as a negotiator still leaves room for mutual gain, and strong individuals working on behalf of Full Sail University and its students.

Thoughts About A Financial Future...

Financial literacy is so important in today’s world because everything is changing at a faster pace. People want to buy the newest technologies or bigger, fancier cars. Yet, not everybody can maintain the level of income needed to purchase these items. Living paycheck to paycheck is the norm, unless you’re an entrepreneur.

               Entrepreneurship seems like a difficult idea to grasp, that only the intelligent and elite can handle. Really, it’s not. You just need a solid idea that is so unique it catches everyone’s eye. Then the money will start coming in. Seems easy, but finding that niche, that missing piece in a specific industry can be tough. It may be nowhere near where your passion’s lie or what you studied in school. The idea needs to be well thought out in order to be successful, emotions aside.

               I never thought I’d be interested in entrepreneurship. I felt like I was a financial dummy. Learning financial literacy was the first step in opening up my eyes to the world of investments and small business. I know I want to make my own business, but I’m still in the planning stages, striving to create a unique enough idea that it’s a worthwhile investment and will create cash.

               The other issue is money. I, like most masters’ students, am broke. It’s hard to create a business with no money. So funds need to be built up. The idea of investing money is the stock market also seemed like a crazy idea that was out of my league, but is an attainable goal. Think about it this way, you have the chance to get paid, just by buying into a company, and watch your money grow. Both my professor and my financial advisor at Charles Schwab have the same advice, buy low, sell high. And hang in there when the market drops because it will always go back up.

               Another way to increase cash is to buy assets. I never knew what an asset was until taking my Entertainment Business Finance class and reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. Asset equals money in my pocket. Who wouldn’t want that? Buy I need to buy something that will do that for me, like stocks, or create some type of business. My financial advisor believes that in the future, people my age will need at least $3 million to live day to day. A person in her 60’s can’t even live off of $50 thousand today.

               All of these financial realities are something to consider. Do you want to live paycheck to paycheck, or do you want to take charge of your financials? I want to take charge and feel I can because I became financially literate.

As I was reading through my RSS Feeds today, I found an article the caught my interest: Indie bosses and experts react to Citigroup’s EMI takeover. This takeover occurred Tuesday, February 1. I researched an article by Billboard.biz to gain background information on the buyout. Basically, Guy Hand, who owns Terra Firma private equity group, bought EMI in 2007 for 4 billion pounds. The debt due to Citigroup (3.4 billion pounds), could not be provided by EMI. So, Citigroup gave them an alternative, “debt-for-equity swap.” This deal decreased the debt by 65%, bringing it down to 1.2 billion pounds with approximately 300 million pounds available in cash. (Billboard Staff, 2011).

So now a bank owns a record label, what’s going to happen? EMI has signed artists such as Lily Allen, Beastie Boys, Lady Antebellum, Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, and Thirty Seconds To Mars (EMI, 2011). There has been an array of reactions from influential people in the music industry. Alan McGee, former owner of Creation Records commented that, “The problem with Guy Hands buying EMI was that he bought it in 2007, at the height of the market. It’s like buying a house at the wrong time, obviously you’re going to lose money when the market dips” (NME, 2011). Peter Quicke, CEO of Ninja Tune label, felt that “EMI handled the last 10 years of the recession badly” (NME, 2011).

Another speculation, Ben Cardew the news editor of MusicWeek noted, was that Citigroup might break up the company (NME, 2011). Yet nobody can tell for sure what will happen to EMI. A question that came to me, Bob Lefsetz a music industry analyst, commented on: what would happen to the artists? Lefsetz believes that “new acts will be stranded,” but artists who are now involved in the industry will be fine. “If you’re developing, you’re screwed,” Lefsetz said (NME, 2011). Only time can tell what will happen to EMI and the artists it supports.

Resources:

http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/54801

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/citigroup-takes-over-emi-1005017112.story

http://www.emimusic.com/about/history/

Digital Impact Conference - How It Can Help You

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is an organization that brings professional public relations organizations together in order to help them network, gain professional recognition, learn from each other, gain intelligence from published works, and job search within the industry. PRSA has a conference coming May 5- 6 in New York, NY called The Digital Impact Conference. This conference will update attendees about the changing trends and technologies within public relations, to acknowledge social media traps, update about new social media outlets, and other topics.

This conference is important to the music industry because we live in a fast paced, technology driven world. Promoting online is important, but the campaign efforts can get lost among the thousands of sites. Yet, people gain a large portion of their information from the Internet, so public relations campaigns need to drive their customer base to their site over competitors. Also, Smartphone’s are an important part of today’s technology, giving people access to the Internet at all times. According to Sarah Perez in her article Social Networking Now More Popular On Mobile Than Desktop, she states, “more people are using the mobile web to socialize (91%) compared to the 79% of desktop users who do the same. It appears that the mobile phone is a better platform for social networking than the PC” (Perez, 2010). This has become true because social media is easy to use and easy to follow. Plus, it provides information within seconds keeping pace with people’s “I need to know now” mentality. Learning how to effectively get people to follow your social media sites is an important promotional tactic. Also keeping their attention so they continue to follow you is important as well.

Going to conferences, such as the ones PRSA supports, is a great way to keep on track with today’s evolving world. For anybody interested in promotions, PRSA provides useful information. Visit http://www.prsa.org/ to find out more.

Resources:

http://www.prsa.org/

Perez, S. (2010, Feb. 18). Social networking now more popular on mobile than desktop. Read Write Web. Retrieved from

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/social_networking_now_more_popular_on_mobi

le_than_desktop.php

When You Reach The Top...Then What?

Everybody has been creative at some point in their life. Sometimes the creativity has come easily, other times it has been a struggle to find even the smallest ounce. People may think that they are just having an off day, that the right side of the brain has taken a vacation, or their "creative juices" have all been drunk by the previous days splurge of brilliance. Yet, I have been inspired to think in a new direction after watching a TED speech by Elizabeth Gilbert. Gilbert is the author of Eat, Pray, Love. It wasn't until Eat, Pray, Love that she became a household name. But why wasn't she well known before? Gilbert credits it to a genius. I'm not talking about another person of high intelligence, but rather a creative force beyond our "realm," like a higher power, or a muse.

I was listening to WJRR 101.1 Sunday night and they were playing a half-hour devoted to Cage The Elephant to promote their upcoming release Thank You Happy Birthday. I caught part of an interview with one of the members who was asked about how the band felt about people expecting their sophomore CD to be as good as their freshman release. The member stated that it was difficult to live up to those expectations because the band deals with that self-concious feeling that the CD won't be good enough.  Even if you don't believe in a higher power as Gilbert hints toward, her overall message is still one that everybody can learn from. Gilbert wants us to accept that sometimes we hit a creative peak where, like in her case with Eat, Pray, Love, we are successful. We may never reach that level of success again, but we should not quit our job and fall into a depression over it. We should just continue to keep writing, dancing, drawing, etc.

Her speech inspired me because not only did she make a strong argument about altering our way of thinking about our own creativity, but you could tell she was passionate about the subject. Gilbert did her research to prove her point. She used historical references from Socrates, and the Greek and Roman way of thinking. She also incorporated modern stories from people she interviewed. Ruth Stone, an American poet, is one such interview that supports Gilbert's argument. The flow of the speech, sprinkled with bits of present examples and humor, kept me engaged with her telling of the genius and how she believes it should be viewed. Using the idea that after we have reached the peak of creativity and we should continue to live out our days as is normal, is inspiring because we should not live in fear of meeting a standard. Rather, we should live knowing that we have produced a solid piece of work and let it stand at that. That single piece of creativity was given all of the effort, and maybe a little help from a genius, to be what it became, a success.

Don Felder: Advice From An Eagle

On Friday, December 3, Don Felder, guitarist for the Eagles, spoke at Full Sail Live. Felder was born in Gainesville, Florida. At age 10 he got his first guitar by trading a handful of cherry bombs to the neighbor across the street. While in school he started the band The Continentals with Steven Stills (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash). He also attended school with Bernie Leadon, who later became a part of the Eagles. Other events of importance during this time in Felder’s life were that he taught himself guitar by listening to songs over and over again. His father had bought an old reel-to-reel recorder that he taught Felder how to record with. This spurred his early interest in producing. Felder also gave Tom Petty guitar lessons, while Felder received lessons on how to play slide guitar from Duane Allman (Allman Brothers).

Felder moved and began working in a recording studio in Boston. He got the position because he said he knew he wanted to work there and would not give up. In 1974, Felder added slide guitar onto the song “Good Day In Hell” by the Eagles. The next day he was asked to join the band. Previously Felder had been touring with Crosby & Nash, but decided to take a chance on The Eagles. While with them he helped write hits like “Hotel California,” which he recalls writing the intro to when he was inspired, watching his family playing on the beach.

It was interesting hearing about Felder’s background and what lead him to join The Eagles who were a huge success. One of the most important messages Felder told the audience was never to give up, to learn what you want to do and do it well, and keeping pushing forward. I agree that these are important because I believe that the more effort you put into your dreams, something good will eventually come out of it.

Felder wrapped up his lecture by playing four well know Eagles songs, starting with “Hotel California.” He then did a Q&A session with the audience.

Review of AP Tour: Networking

Getting into the industry can be a hard battle to win, but networking can make all of the difference. I have been building my connections for a number of years now. Yes, it is a process, and you may get impatient, but it does pay off in the long run. One instance where this has worked is when I traveled to Hard Rock Live Orlando to see the AP Tour featuring Bring Me The Horizon, August Burns Red, Emarosa, Polar Bear Club, and This Is Hell.

A huge help in networking at this concert was interning with CI Records over the summer and keeping close contact with my boss, Jeremy Weiss. When I got to the venue, I decided to squeeze into the front row to enjoy the bands. I knew that a priority was to talk to the band August Burns Red, because we had a similar connection, Jeremy at CI. CI was ABR’s first label before signing with Solid State, and Jeremy is still close with the group today.

I began networking during the concert after ABR’s set, because I had not listened to Bring Me The Horizon, so I was not going to fight the true fans for my spot up front. Also, timing was right. Another tip for networking, just open your mouth and talk. Do not be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and meet new people. I went to ABR’s merchandise table because Jake, the lead vocalist, was doing a meet and greet with fans. I held back and let the fans have their time because I was there to talk, rather than get an autograph.

As I was hanging around the table, I began a conversation with a man standing at the This Is Hell merch table. I found out that he was a Full Sail University alumnus. Through that meeting, we kept in touch through Facebook. After talking with him, I moved on to the next table, Polar Bear Club. There I spoke with the lead vocalist, Jimmy. When initiating conversation, I told him how much I enjoyed his set (awesome band, please check them out!), and gave him my ‘Elevator’ or ’30-second’ speech. I told him about going to Full Sail and that I am an aspiring Tour Manager. I then found that we had a similar connection; his band played a show with my friend in The Wonder Years. He then was able to get me connected with his friend, a female tour manager, to ask her questions about the tour managing and the industry. Finally I made it to ABR’s table. Jake was ready to leave, he had been signing for what seemed like hours. Before he walked out I introduced myself and told him about my internship with CI. Before I left I made one more connection that night, I talked to a woman at the AP information table that was the Assistant Tour Manager for the whole tour.

By building all of these connections, I have begun relationships with these individuals. Building relationships builds your team. You never know when you will run into somebody you have met, and by networking, they have a better chance at remembering you. This team can then be called upon for advice, to ask questions to, or even suggestions on where to apply while job searching. Since I am an aspiring tour manager, I can ask what bands are searching for a merch worker or even a tour manager when job hunting. Keep in contact with the people you meet so they can get to know you. I believe in the idea that it never hurts to just talk, you never now who you will meet where and when.