Music Business Blog by Jason Feinberg

Here’s a quick tip that is EXTREMELY valuable, be you a slave to the music industry like me or in any other business-oriented field.

Any time you are on the receiving end of an email from an executive (at any company), pay very close attention to how the email is written. Notice how they address it – are they formal, concise, or do they skip that all together? Do they use capitals, or is it all lowercase?

It is especially valuable to be doing this once you are past the “getting to know you” phase. Everyone is a little longwinded then – it is once you’ve been introduced and it’s time to get down to working that the real beauty of this comes out.

Time is valuable, and by studying how busy executives craft emails, you might get some insight into how to make your correspondence much more efficient – and possibly more effective. Just as they don’t have time to write long and “perfect” emails, they also don’t have time to read them.

Food for thought, I hope.

Here’s one that too many people learn too late – Deadlines are essential.

Without a deadline, your project has no specific priority. I repeat – No Deadline = No Priority.

You may know the priority – it might be blatantly obvious. But without a specific deadline, the priority doesn’t take shape. You cannot carve a distinct path to reaching the goal if you don’t have an idea of when the goal must be achieved.

And don’t even get me started on procrastination. Not setting a deadline is the easiest way to procrastinate yourself right into the unemployment queue.

For a small project, set a final deadline for accomplishments or deliverables. For a large project, set an overall deadline for delivery, but also break down individual tasks into sub-deadlines – this is useful to both keep you on track and chart progress along the way. Also looks good to your client/boss.

Last night I remembered a story that I wanted to share.

In 2000 I was working at a software company in Seattle. I was doing that during the day and recording bands at night. I enjoyed it, it was a young and modern company and I learned a lot about management.

I joined the company when it was 6 people. I was the 13th person ever to work there. It grew and grew, to about 65 people.

Well, as most other Seattle computer companies around that time, it became bloated and was spending far too much money.

One seemingly normal day, I get a call from the President’s secretary telling me to meet him and two other managers in his office in 15 minutes, no matter what I was doing.

So the three of us go to his office. First thing he says, completely stone faced, is “I am laying off 2/3 of the company in 30 minutes.”

I actually laughed for a millisecond – figured he was joking or something. I was the only one laughing, that’s for sure. He was dead serious, and basically told us to go for a long walk and come back whenever we wanted, later in the day.

So the three of us walk down to the pier and get beers and french fries. We talk all about the company, how we’ve all watched it grow over the past year or two.. They had been there even before me, so we all had really watched things get out of control.

Eventually we walk back to the office, and find the remaining 15 or so people there in a meeting. It was surreal, that’s for sure. The boss basically said “Now we’re at a reasonable operating size. For those that stay, you have a solid job. But if you have any doubts or plan on being anything less than a 100% team player, get out now.” And that was really it. We all went back to work and things were fine.

Learned a TON from that job.

Dear readers, I have to ask a favor..

It’s really time I start spreading the word about this blog. I’ve had so much positive feedback from so many of you, and I really want to try to reach out to an even bigger audience.

So, if you are able to spread the word about the site, I would greatly appreciate it. Link on your websites and in your blogs, email it to people that might find it of interest, post in on relevant message boards..

You can link to here: http://www.musicbusinessblog.com

Thanks in advance..

[ Subliminal Lesson: This is called Viral marketing. Good stuff. ]

Sometimes a few CDs go under the radar that really do need to be heard. So here’s a few discs from the past year or so I suggest checking out.

Gang Of Four “Entertainment” Reissue – Whoa. Classic early 80s CD from a legendary (yet often overlooked) group. I love so much from the British post-punk movement (Joy Division, Chameleons UK, these guys) and this is a fine example of the genre at its prime. Thoroughly innovative, scorching lyrics that demand your attention and thought… Phenomenal. Remastered with 8 bonus tracks. Get it now!!

Dead Meadow “Feathers” – Definitely one of my favorite releases of 2005. Black Sabbath meets Pink Floyd meets Led Zep but all rolled up in 2005. Riff-rock for stoners, but also just very smooth and vibe-laden.. Easy to put on and just listen to. Very few records can boast that. Would go well after listening to Coldplay’s X&Y when you want to continue grooving but need something with more of an edge.

Morrissey “You Are the Quarry” – I don’t care what you say about Morrissey or The Smiths, this record is great. If you are big fan already (such as I was) you’ll be very happy to see Moz has not only delivered what we know and love, but taken it a direction far more pleasant than some of his latter solo CDs. The live CD and DVD that came out around the same time are also excellent, featuring many songs from this CD (as well as numerous Smiths’ classics). Essential.

From everyone at OTMG, we want to wish the friends and family of those affected by the London attacks our deepest condolences.

Whenever something huge goes wrong at your job, think of this – in 10 years, when something sparks a memory of the event, how big a deal will it seem? If the answer is “barely” then you can remove some of the stress you are undoubtedly feeling. Still be on your toes, as the present still needs tending, but keep things in perspective.

Yeah, it’s already one of those days!

To a great 4th, and continued success for all of you this year. Halfway done, plenty to go.

After working a few 12 or 13 hour days straight, it’s nice to just watch television for a few minutes to unwind at night. I’ve never been much into television, but since my fiancée is a TV producer it’s a bit hard not to catch a fair amount these days.

Glad that Six Feet Under is back. Depressing as anything, but brilliant.

Didn’t really enjoy Hit Me Baby One More Time – it had some good performances (Wang Chung doing “Hot In Here” being my favorite) but overall I wasn’t impressed. I work with a TON of 80s artists that could have done much better. Funny thing, I am starting a campaign soon for the original drummer of Missing Persons, Terry Bozzio.

Reno 911, welcome back. It was a long break without you!

There are two shows I have been waiting (im)patiently for. One is now back on – Family Guy. And I am thankful every day for that. It’s nice to see the fans can make a difference – the DVD box sets sold so well that the network took notice and ordered a new season. Excellent.

Second on that list is Sopranos. Cannot WAIT. Season six starts next year, and it will be a long time to wait. I am always watching the Sopranos – I have all 5 DVD box sets and one disc or another is usually in my player. I can watch those episodes over and over again and never get tired. Best show ever.

Alright, that was a fairly useless post, so let me add something valuable – if you don’t subscribe to the Indie Bible E-Newsletter you are missing out. Every month they send out an email with 40-50 new places to market your music for free. Use it!!