Music Business 101: Pen and Paper

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First things first, music business 101:

Let’s talk about music training (particularly contemporary popular music and practical training) which is ideal for developing a range of generic skills that employers in other industries are looking for. Work discipline (e.g. the rigors of instrumental practice, or programming electronic tracks)

The following list is the most valuable tool that you will ever need to be successful in business. It doesn't matter what field of business you're in, it's just good business sense. And, w'ere providing it to you for FREE! Quickly jot down the following list. You will need it to refer back later:

1. Written communication (e.g. writing lyrics, promotional material, web site development etc)
2. Oral communication (e.g. performing to audiences; working productively with fellow musicians, production personnel and business associates; doing media interviews, networking)
3. Entrepreneurship (e.g. getting gigs, selling merchandise)
4. Negotiation (e.g. of the roles of fellow musicians in ensembles; establishing agreements and fees)
5. Personal presentation (e.g. grooming, style creation, image creation)
6. Cooperation, teamwork (e.g. rehearsing; working in the recording studio; working with production teams)
7. Leadership (e.g. leading a band, directing an ensemble, running a recording session)
8. Creative thinking (e.g. composing, arranging, experimenting, improvising, developing promotional material)
9. Research, analysis (e.g. of musical practices, of music industry operation, of markets)
10. Problem solving (e.g. involvement with complex technology systems)
11. Sense of historical process, contextualizing (e.g. from study of history of music, intellectual property and media legislation, technology development etc)
12. Project management (e.g. organizing a gig, a recording project, a tour)
13. Strategic management (e.g. planning a career in a complex industry)
14. Crisis management (e.g. coping when things go wrong in a studio environment, at a gig, on a tour)
15. Time management (e.g. meeting deadlines; scheduling rehearsals, gigs, media appearances, travel arrangements) 

OKAY: Are you ready to get started?

Another reason for industry and education planners to develop advanced training for the popular music industry is the possibility of enhancing the economic prospects of a given country. I find the analogue of sport and the arts to be instructive. We strongly urge our clients to enhance their creativity, performance, technological, and business skills to become commercially viable as a musician/artist.

This is where a professionally trained, qualified and savvy "talent booking agency" like the Big G Artists Agency, LLC, is so detrimental and advantageous to your success. We can carry your burdens for you to free up your mind and time that will allow your natural creativity to flourish.

Next, let's talk about higher education that's supposed to promote values that are arguably absent in the commercial sphere (e.g. ethics, caring for people and the environment, connecting professionalism/business activity with the community -- giving something back). When was the last time you donated your time at a fundraiser? Not only are you helping others in need, you are also putting yourself in situations to book more gigs. Especially, if the media has anything to say about it! Just think about all the free publicity that you will get for volunteering for a worthy cause. Priceless!

The notion of formal training for contemporary popular musicians is often misunderstood. Traditionally rock and pop musicians have not been institutionally trained but have alternatively developed their own skills and products within an informal training culture. Typically musicians are self-taught, develop their basic skills by exchanging ideas with like-minded people, practice hard in their bedrooms and maybe take some private lessons. Their knowledge of how the industry works is usually based on the experiences of being exploited, and of struggling and often failing in the small business of being a professional musician: the so-called "university of hard knocks".

However on the next level of success it can be argued that there is a quasi-formal training process at work. Managers, particularly good managers, groom and train their bands or solo artists in a structured and purposeful way. Record companies (such as the classic case of Motown in the 1960s) often take this a stage further by employing specialized trainers for the skills and personal attributes relevant to particular genres of musical entertainment.

Is there a need for university or technical institutional training of musicians?

The raw creative and performance energies of young artists may be spoiled by today’s minimal standards required to be a successful artist.

The desire to succeed in the cut-throat music industry may be stressful on an “up-and-coming” artist.

Lastly, identity, notions of authenticity and personal vanity are confronted in the training process. Good performance (or composition, production etc) doesn’t just happen, you’ve got to analyze it, experiment, work on it , practice it, perform it, analyze your performance, re-work the ideas etc. What may appear to be "natural" is actually highly "contrived" or self-conscious (e.g. what to do with your hands, or the microphone, how to move on stage, what you say to your audience, how you construct an improvised solo etc.).

The successful practitioners of one era are not necessarily the best teachers or curriculum advisors in the next. Sometimes, the raw realities of the music industry do not mesh with your values.

There are different types of musicians:

The producer who tries to make something out of what’s already there, maybe enhance it, but not try to change it too much.

Reading charts: most popular musicians learn to play music by ear, either imitating recorded music or learning originals from their co-musicians. Charts are a legacy of the jazz era. They are anachronistic in the post-MIDI era.

Writing charts: Frank Zappa characterized classical music training as learning to write in forms that "cater to the entertainment needs of deceased kings and popes". Learning to write charts in different popular music styles is probably the contemporary version of this phenomenon.

Have we gotten your attention? Let us raise the bar!! If you are an artist, musician, entertainer and/or etc. We want a shot at putting our best foot forward to represent you. Allow us to show you up, in your best light!

"Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards..." Tony Robbins

The most important thing is what you demand of yourself. Write down all the things that you will no longer accept in your life, all the things you will no longer tolerate, and all the things that you aspire to becoming.

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