Music Business Blog by Jason Feinberg

Testing… Testing posting a blog entry via email… Cool.

Just any FYI for those of you starting to come up in the biz – working with celebrities t’ain’t always what it’s made out to be. Now simply knowing celebrities is usually cool (at minimum interesting). But working with them certainly can range across the spectrum from mind-blowingly-lovely to utterly horrific.

I’ve said it before – to successfully work with celebrities, you have to be 95% business and 5% fan. No more, no less.

A while back I mentioned that I’d be writing business tips that I have learned from the Sopranos. Here’s the first:

Be Consistent.

When Chris Moltisanti goes on a round of collections and someone’s payment is a little light, he’ll casually inform them that he’ll be back in three days, and wants the rest of the money plus interest.

Without fail (except when he was shot and was in a coma) he is there three days later, expecting the rest of the money plus interest. If his client doesn’t have it, he charges a fee – a broken arm, a black eye.. (Hopefully your industry has fees that are a little more legal). Rarely do people pay light. Why? Because he is consistent. And his clients know it.

It is essential for you to be consistent. By continually delivering, your clients build a trust in you that almost assures you future business, referrals, and a much easier time working with them. It builds a strong bond when your client knows they can rely on you to come through; this is a bond that smart companies strive for. Achieve it by showing consistent accomplishment.

Here is an excellent article from a recent Guerrilla PR Newsletter.

Excerpt:
According to a recent report from Cambridge, Mass.- based Forrester Research, a full 20% of America’s millionaires never even set foot in college.

Self Educated….

- Billionaires: 18
- U.S. Presidents: 8
- Astronauts: 1
- Noble Prize Winners: 10 (6 Literature, 2 Peace, 1 Physics, 1 Chemistry)
- Olympic Medal Winners: 61
- Oscar Winners: 61 – Best-Selling Authors: 55
- Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients: 13
- Congressional Gold Medal Recipients (U.S.): 12
- United States Goodwill Ambassadors: 2

(Statistics are from levinemedal.org)

In the words of Napoleon Hill, “In order to achieve success, it doesn’t take more classes, more seminars, or more sermons. It doesn’t take reading more books… what it takes is “A BETTER USE OF WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE!”

I could rant on and on, I could talk about “Flesh Peddlers” (Employment Agencies), or “Hope Brokers” (Motivational Speakers), or “Free Money” (Credit card companies, or grant writers, ad nauseum)… but I won’t.

Instead, I will give you a brief synopsis of what DOES work….

Full Link:
http://www.guerrillapr.net/Guerrilla_PR_Insights_PassAlong_Newsletter-MoneyMakingLies.html

A significant value of being an intern:

Seeing the acceptable difference between what your boss says and what your boss does.

Quite often they aren’t identical, but the difference is essential to conduct day-to-day biz.

My marketing company has teamed up with Steve Vai’s label Favored Nations and Vernon Neilly’s label Boosweet records to bring you the The Six-String Extravaganza giveaway. We’re talking MAJOR prizes here – guitars, software, gear, and more. Check it out, and please pass it along to all your friends and family!

From about 15 to 20 I was goth. And one benefit from that, the interest in looking at both the lighter and darker sides of life, gave me a very early realization about the finality of our lives. From that, I developed – as I got older – a true understanding about what is truly important in life and what is worth simply stepping over. I think that is one characteristic that led me to be able to start and lead a quickly growing business.