Negotiations through the eyes of an Artist Manager

What most people don’t understand is that artist management is a skill that some lack. I say down with Sonya Mixon, former artist manager for 69 Boyz, 95 South and 24K. While talking with her we touched on the topic of negotiations. Sonya Mixon began in artist management by accident in 1993 with 69 Boyz, 95 South and 24 K. She has worked with “Thrill The Playa” as well as “CC Lemon Head”. She has encountered various negotiations for them such a Artist Deals, Production, Tours, Management and even Endorsements. When it comes to negotiations Pastor Sonya Mixon expressed the use of making sure of “having a plan before approaching your negotiations”, “researching your opponent”, remaining stern and to the point as well as having leverage over who you are negotiating with.

Ways that she went about this was through having an iron clad contract as well as “rider” for your artist. Also by knowing what your client is worth, what they are looking for and what they are capable of you are able to approach any negotiation confident that the person is going to agree with you.

She has negotiated several things from venue contracts, endorsements, and even production deals. Pastor Mixon has had to negotiate at one point a production that began at 5 million dollars and eventually ended at 3 million dollars. In this deal the label wanted to only offer 2 million dollars, her client requested 5 million. When the negotiations finally ended they approached a deal of 3 million dollars which ensured that each producer (3 of them) were allotted 1 million dollars each to produce an album. In order to be certain that your negotiations are successful in the artist management field you have to know your clients market, know what other artists offer, the industry, know what the client is looking from the negotiations as well as what the person you are negotiating with is ultimately looking for.

Funding a project isn't easy....check out these 10 tips to acquire sponsorships

Entering the music business as an up-and-coming artist and sometimes even as established artist can be very financially consuming. When you are attempting to fund an album, as well as properly market and promote it, it can really eat a hole in your pocket, even when you have the capital to do those tasks. One sure way to attempt to remedy that is to seek sponsorships. “Sponsorships can provide a win-win situation for all involved - a way for businesses to reach consumers more effectively utilizing integrated marketing; and an avenue for musicians to acquire funding for their tours and/or projects. ” --Jeremy Rwakaara

When approaching companies or individuals for sponsorships you have to be very careful due to them, for good reason, being selective with the spending of their funds. When looking through some of the resources I use to enhance my management skills I came across an article titled, “10 ways to make your project more attractive to sponsors” and found it extremely useful.

In the article they provide 10 ways to make your project more attractive to sponsors and to put yourself in a different category from others artists that may also be seeking sponsorships.

1. Be able to clearly identify your audience, their loyalty level and buying habits - apart from buying your music/merchandise and attending your shows (e.g., the highest percentage of your audience members are 34-55 year old females that buy health products; 16-25 year olds that participate in sports events; 40-60 year olds that like to travel etc.).

2. Identify the benefits, properties and/or rights you own as well as how to package and market them to the potential sponsor (e.g. copyrights, patents, trademarks, service marks, merchandise, logos, mailing list, talent, event, image etc.). Know which benefits will be most useful to the sponsor and keep your fees reasonable.

3. Be clear about the type of image you project. Sponsors will associate with projects that fit with the image they are trying to establish and cater to the demographic they are trying to reach.

4. Know something about the company(s) you wish to partner with. Know what their sales/marketing goals and challenges are as well as what they have sponsored previously.

5. Create/Produce a project that is appealing to the media. Companies prefer projects that can attract TV coverage, especially if their logos and/or products can show up in the broadcast.

6. Be open to bundling your project with other companies/individuals that have more clout than you if you don't have enough marketing power or media attraction on your own. Keep in mind, however, that you must also limit the number of companies that you attach to the event/project. Conflicts (and conflicts of interest) will occur when sponsors compete or don't match well with other co-sponsors.

7. Enable and help your sponsor to measure the benefits that you are offering. Your project won't attract sponsors unless the sponsors can generate measurable business returns from their sponsorship investments. For example, if 50 people that attend your concerts also purchase products from one of the sponsoring companies using coupons handed out at the concert, that result can be measured and credited to the sponsorship campaign.

8. A project/event that has the potential to be long term or spread to different markets will be more attractive to sponsors than a one-time event-taking place in a single location. In other words, a tour covering several cities, regions, or countries is more attractive to a sponsor than a show occurring once in only one city.

9. Prove that you will deliver the benefits and follow-through promised to the sponsor. Whoever is administering/organizing/managing your project should have their "house in order". In the same way that sponsors sometimes fail to pay the fee promised to a project - project owners often fall short on their end of the bargain.

10. Be willing and able to tie your product(s) into the sponsor's existing promotional campaign. If you feel queasy about creatively integrating a sponsor's logo(s) and product(s) into your show/tour, then you will have a hard time attracting sponsors.


Again these are just options that you can utilize when attempting to acquire individuals to sponsor your project. The process can be a tedious and asking for assistance is sometimes needed when trying to become the best artist. Developing sponsorships with individuals can form a partnership that last throughout an entire career. At some point we all need a little help. Never be afraid to reach out to properly skilled professionals. Forming a strong team is essential to success no matter whet your profession is.


Source: Artist management Resource

SUCCESSFUL PROMOTION IS THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS

When becoming established as either a new artist or when putting out a new album, promotion is the key to success. If your promotion team does not inform your fans correctly then the potential album can potentially flop. Being that I am an up & coming artist manager I look for different resources to help me effectively promote my artists name and music. I have been receiving “The Indie Contact Newsletter- A monthly resource newsletter for recording artists!” for some time now and they always have different tidbits of information that I have found extremely useful. The December newsletter was about 43 places to promote your music. The most inexpensive way to promote now with new age technology is through our online channels. The December newsletter breaks down their promotion contacts into 5 sections. 1. Publications that will REVIEW your music;

2. Radio Stations/Shows that will PLAY your songs; 3. Labels, Vendors and Promotional Services that will help you to SELL your CD; 4. Sites where you can UPLOAD your band's MP3s or videos; and 5. A wide range of Helpful Resources for recording artists.

            I will share a different outlet from each of the five sections. Depending on the type of music you are promoting is going to depend on which outlet is best for you. In section 1 we have “The Deli” (www.thedelimagazine.com)- is a website that is updated daily and covers various local music scenes. So far they are in NYC, LA, Nashville, Chicago, SF, Portland, Austin, Philly and New England. They also have a quarterly publication that focuses exclusively on the New York independent music scene. Section 2: there is “Who’s Next” (www.whosnextllc.com), an Internet radio that various industry executives listen to when searching for talent as well as fans.  Via “Music Registry” (www.registermymusic.com) radio promoters have helped hundreds of major artists in addition to indie artists with national radio airplay and charting. The currently have different artists that are on the Billboard Top 20, BDS, Mediabase, Media Guide and Radiowave. In section 3 we are exploring services to sell your CD, I chose to highlight “Dream Town Media”(www.dreamtownmedia.com) due to their cohesive digital marketing and social media campaigns. Section 4 offered a wide array of sites to upload music however I chose “SoundCloud” (www.soundcloud.com). They offer a platform that puts your sound on websites and even apps. Lastly, we have section 5: Social networks are beginning to shape how music is created, with “Indaba Music” (www.indabamusic.com) a networking platform was created for musicians around the world to network and make music together through online collaborations. The site has now grown to over 5000,000 musicians ranging from those who create music as a hobby to Grammy Award winners.

            I hope that you find this information useful in your endeavors to promote your music as I did for my clients.

 Source:

Indie Contact Newsletter

Developing your brand while giving back to your community

As a company, Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group wants to develop quality artists. In doing so, the best place to start is with the children. Many school programs are cutting out music from their curriculum. Without music in schools, there will be a decline in new quality artists and musicians. I began playing saxophone in the 5th grade and absolutely loved being in the band. It was a way to keep young people out of trouble while doing something positive with their lives. I was in the band for 7 years, all the way through to 12th grade. Those 7 years created some of the best memories I have, and the bonds I created with people are still strong to this day. While researching charities that we as a company could be apart of, it seemed fitting to choose VH1’s Save the Music.


The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that dedicates itself to creating an awareness that removing music from schools can hinder a child’s educational process, and to returning the education of instrumental music in public schools across America. Since it's founding in 1997, the foundation has raised more than $47 million towards providing new musical instruments to 1,750 public schools throughout approximately 100 cities in the United States, and has impacted the lives of over 1.6 million children (VH1 Save The Music, 2010).

Save the Music’s marketing strategy is far from ingenious. Save the Music simply joins major companies/businesses, influential musicians, recording artists, and even some athletes to put on productions and produce advertising campaigns to raise money for the foundation. When creating a brand for yourself, it is always best to pair with an already established brand to build your own brand name. Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group is currently working on two different brands: the branding of our artist, Fish Scales, as a solo artist; and the branding of ourselves as a new company. A partnership between the three will enhance the value of all.

Source: VH1 Save the Music website

What matters more than your talents?

While surfing through Ted.com, a compilation of videos where individuals give inspirational speeches, I came across a video from Jeff Bezos titled “What matters more than your talents?” This video was in TED’s section it calls “Best of the Web”. Where it groups all of their best speeches. Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, was asked to be the commencement speaker for Princeton’s graduating class. When he was younger his grandfather told him “It was harder to be kind than clever” And that we have gifts and choices. “Cleverness is a gift and kindness is a choice”, he explained. He also stated, “How many of you use your gifts? How you take pride in them is on you as a person. He had several points that he brought up that I felt correlated directly to me as a person. Bezos’ primarily spoke of a person’s character and how if is reflected not by the gifts that we receive at birth however by the choices we make over our entire life. I for one have made many different choices, all which have gotten me to where I am now, Receiving my masters at Full Sail University in Entertainment Business and founding an artist management company. Jeff Bezos had a vision, a vision to allow people to read and purchase books online in a more convenient fashion. Jeff had a very established job and did not want to be haunted by a decision of not trying. I myself have a vision. My vision is to represent individuals in the entertainment business. When the opportunity presented myself I did not too want to be haunted with the not trying, therefore I along w/my business partner went out on a limb and started Rising Phoenix Entertainment Group. As Jeff did we took the path that was less safe and pursued our passion. Jeff asks these questions at the end of his speech: How will you use your gifts? Will you follow dogma or will you be original? Will you live a life of Ease or adventure? When it is tough will you give up or will you be relentless? And last but not least, Will you be clever at the expense of others or will you be kind? I am choosing to use my gifts bestowed upon me for the good of my business. Life without adventure is a waste of living. In the Entertainment business you have to be relentless in order to persevere and become successful. And lastly, I personally feel there is a way for you to be clever w/o it being an expense to others. I always use kindness because in the end, kindness usually prevails.


http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_bezos_gifts_vs_choices.html

How to strategically form a management company

           When looking at the middle right corner of my blog you will find my RSS feed for “Music Think Tank.  On Nov. 9^th, 2010 an article was written about “Management in the Industry”. There were three different subtopics that were very interesting:  “Apply Strategy and Planning to improve Value by the Music Expertise, The focus of future research to Improve Management in the Music Industry, and Filters used to determine if I am the right fit with a potential client.” All of the sub-topics are essential to the music industry.

            The article begins to touch on the importance of strategic planning in order to ensure you create a business that others will want to be apart. When creating an artist management company you have to develop a mission statement that you want all of your clients to live up to when it comes to their music. You also have to plan out your path to success. May it be via marketing and or how you will distribute your music, it has to be an effective strategy for your music enterprise. Lack of planning can cause everything to work less efficiently and efficiently due to lack of targeting your correct audience. If a music enterprise does not properly plan their marketing strategies it can lead to resources being wasted and a product becoming less valuable. When a product is less valuable it will produce less revenue.

            In order to create a management company that withstands the ups and downs of the music industry you must remain focused and consistently research your industry for the “next big thing”. Change is inevitable in the music industry. You just have to plan accordingly so that you are not left behind. There will always be emerging technologies, whether it’s in the form of audio devices to music styles. As an artist and/or artist manager you must always research and be willing to adapt to the constantly changing industry. This seems to be a problem with some artist because they feel that if you crossover to “pop” music you are selling out. Swaying away from their original genre of music sometimes isn’t always bad for an artist or manager it is a way of re-inventing yourself and your music.

            Managers have to learn to develop filters. Not every artist is going to fit into the style of managing that you use and vice versa. When creating your filter you must decide before you actually sign an artist what you will be able to work with or not work with. Whether you would want to manage single artists or groups, artists who are already established or artists that are up and coming.  You should think of goals and aspirations as a filter when forming your company. Even though a particular artist may have the sound you want, take into consideration what direction the two of you are going.  Also the artist may want to know what your accomplishments are or what type of skills you can bring to the table.  All of this has to come with careful planning prior to the formation of your management company. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!

 




Source: Music Think Tank Blog

There is no "I" in TEAM! Build a foundation for success!!

           
Within the entertainment industry teams are going to be an asset to your business. Depending on what field you are in you will have various types of teams. “Street Teams” and management teams are essential to the artist management field due to the control they have over the promotions and the artist as a whole. However, the most important would be the management team, this could be made up of the personal managers, business managers, and/or tour managers.

“Street team”, is a term that is commonly used to describe a group of people and sometimes fans who actually “hit the street” to help promote an event, product, or artist. These are people that help bands, by giving out flyers, handing out CDs/freebies and sticking up posters. There are a number of ways to develop a street team from social media sites, to and/or but not limited to an artist’s website. The internet has become a medium to connect the “street team” with the fans without being in the streets. To create a street team an artist should develop a fan base, connect via sites such as Rootmusic.com which helps you establish a “Band page” for Facebook. Or even a FanBridge account. FanBridge enables you to enlarge your fanbase and your business. It gives you a number of easy tools and forms that let you collect information from your fans from anywhere in the world.

Management teams are the glue that hold the artist together. You multiple types of managers: personal managers, business managers and tour managers. The personal manager is one that manages all of the intricate details, from setting up jobs to working with the artist on an every day personal need. While a business manager would be a person who is responsible for implementing the policies and procedures of a business or part of the management company. They work more on the financial aspect of the management for the artist. Lastly we have the tour manager, their job is very important also. The tour manager is who is on tour with the artist and makes sure all of the venues are set up properly, the promoters have all of the funds in place, and the artist is attended to properly. You would want to make sure your management company has all of these in place when you sign the contract or has access to the proper resources because these are essential to a successful career.



http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=street%20team
http://www.fanbridge.com/
http://www.qfinance.com/dictionary/business-manager
http://www.rootmusic.com/