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SEVEN KEYS TO EMPOWERMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY
Excerpted from Part IV Chapter 2 of CHAPTER 2 - SEVEN KEYS TO EMPOWERMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY Artistic ability, business acumen, proper spirit, and a non-profit
entity to handle all the details can provide the ideal foundation for
successful business. But just as a basketball team composed of extraordinary
players will not necessarily produce a championship, these elements
alone will not result in success without some governing concepts to
tie it all together and develop it properly. So in this chapter we’re going to delve into seven key elements
that are fundamental to career development and opportunity, especially
for those to whom artistic integrity and personal dignity are
of major importance. These keys are: I Partnership Let’s examine them individually while keeping in mind that there’s
a certain degree of crossover in each area. I Partnership Partnership is a fundamental component not only for the best
use of this book, but also in every aspect of good ethical business. The
key to this book and that fact is this: Every single relationship you have or will have in this business
is a partnership. Partnership is too often perceived to mean the mutual ownership
of some entity or concept. With you as the numerator and the
total number of “partners” as the denominator, the percentage of your ownership
of the partnership entity is derived. That’s as misleading as defining
music as just a succession of tones. II Planning Almost everything works by plan. As stated earlier, my experience
indicates that most musicians employ one of two “plans”: get
a record deal so you can get gigs; or get gigs so you can get a record
deal. These aren’t plans, they’re wishes. Just like playing on changes, business decisions have to be made
quickly and accurately. A slip-up can be rectified fairly quickly
with a few good decisions, and sometimes may even open up some new and
exciting
areas to explore. But everybody has to be on the same page so
the individual decisions won’t throw off the balance and synergy
needed to keep things cooking at full throttle. III Entrepreneurship Once the decision is made to get into the highly challenging
business of turning music into money, the concept of self-marketing is
a constant component. First and foremost, there must be no sense of shame,
embarrassment or dishonor in self-promotion. Our management approach has always been to design a business
plan based upon the artist’s musical vision, not to ask the artist
to make the music conform to a plan. With this approach to marketing,
an entrepreneurial spirit can be adopted that will be economically
productive without compromising artistic integrity or personal dignity. The only way to break the chains of exploitation that have plagued
jazz musicians since the music’s inception is to work together in
a spirit of enterprise and partnership. IV Continuity Just as a well-constructed solo requires a flow of ideas built
upon what comes before it with each ensuing statement, career
development demands a similar sense of structure. Too many artists and
managers embrace
a “let’s see what happens” approach to business. Whether
it may be a random mailing to colleges, an ad in a jazz magazine, hiring
a publicist or a radio person for a self-produced CD, or making an appearance
on local cable or even national television, the general “plan” is
to hope that somebody notices and something good will happen
as a result. But even if something does happen, it’s unlikely that a career can
be built upon that occurrence alone. It must be built upon in
a logical manner to produce lasting results. The key to this process is
continuity,
a step-by-step series of actions designed to establish an effective
foundation for development and manageable growth. V Objectivity Achieving true objectivity is an enormously challenging task.
The degree to which we fulfill our true potential on an emotional, intellectual,
ethical and spiritual basis is directly related to the level of objectivity
we achieve regarding our own place in the universe. Objectivity tells you whether the agent, manager or record label
is doing a good job on your behalf. It tells you whether drawing
an audience of ten people is a result of the clubowner’s failure to properly
promote the date, or of the artist’s need to gain greater recognition,
improve the music, or find another context. Objectivity is absolutely
indispensable in trying to understand your economic worth in the apples-and-oranges
marketplace of turning art into dollars. If you can’t sell two thousand
copies of a CD and you never draw more than 50 people at a gig, you can’t
expect disproportionate fees for recording or performing just because
the quality of your music deserves them – even if that high level
of artistry is objectively true. VI Confrontation A highly misperceived concept, confrontation is usually viewed
negatively as contentious, disruptive and damaging to relationships and
productivity. In reality, confrontation is simply recognition of something
that needs to be dealt with, and then dealing with it. In its most positive
application, confrontation is examining an issue and finding a solution
before it becomes a big problem that will most likely result in the unpleasant
form of confrontation to solve it further down the line. Confrontation is simply the discussion of things that require
certain adjustment, consideration or understanding by one or both parties. VII Barter When people think of barter, they think of some doctor in West
Virginia getting paid in chickens; or farmers swapping eggs for
corn. But barter is used even more often than cash in everyday life. Musicians
do that with one another all the time. The key is to understand
the value
of what’s being bartered from both sides’ points of view.
With that understanding properly in place, barter provides an
enormously productive method for musicians to work together for the benefit
of all.
In many ways barter is simply the negotiation phase of partnership.
You get what you need, I get what I need. By employing these seven keys in both the overall strategies
and day-to-day business, the artist or dedicated professional will develop
a significantly more manageable and effective methodology for productive
business. Published by Outward Visions Books |
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