Respect, Honesty & Fairness

There are a lot of things about the music industry that are great but there is one thing that I just can't stand and that is the promotion of greed. The one thing you have to understand is that no one man/woman can make all of the money. There is truly enough to go around. It is important to maintain your levels of respect, honesty and fairness at all times, especially when doing business. One might think that this greed is only a problem at a certain level but it seems to be an issue at ALL levels. I work with a lot of people and for the most part I try to only work with people I think I can trust. People hire me based on my ability to get a particular job done. I am always thankful for the work but what becomes frustrating is these people want me and my ability but they have a problem paying me what I'm worth. I'm not one to over charge people or even have an ego about money. When someone asks me to do a job, I just expect them to be respectful, honest and fair with what they are paying me. For instance: I've been in situations with people that I have known for years and considered my "friends" and they have gotten gigs which paid ten to fifteen thousand dollars but they would call me and only offer to pay me a two or three hundred dollars. Now I know that you can never count another man's money and you get what you negotiate but some of these people seem to be OK with paying us three hundred dollars and after they pay expenses they take home five to seven thousand. Most people will say that's good business but I say that it is dishonest and unfair and it becomes ever more frustrating to have to haggle with your so called friends over fair payment. What you have to realize is that if you pay the right people the right way you will always see your business and your presentation improve. When you develop a reputation as someone who is fair, you will find that your career and financial bottom line will vastly improve but to the contrary, if you develop and reputation as an unfair dishonest person then this too will affect your outcome. Let's face it, there are no secrets in this business. When you mistreat one person they spread the word and you will never be able to truly hire the best of the best because they will feel like you are always out to beat them for a dollar. I also understand that every artist has overhead and expenses and as the the person that is creating and booking the gig they deserve more of the profit. I just think you should be fair. It is not really fair to have your sidemen working hard for you to deliver a great product and have them walk away having only made a pittance compared to what you make. Now I know that a lot of band leaders and promoters will read this and say that it's only business and two to three hundred dollars is a good wage for any musician and to those people I say remember that karma is a real. I've seen very talented musicians struggling to get to the next level in terms of quality and quantity of work but they just can't seem to break through. What they don't realize is that the universe only gives you back what you give out and if you live your life always trying to take or undercut people the universe only allows that to happen to you. The bottom line is when you treat people with respect, honesty and fairness it comes back to you one hundred fold. We have to draw a line in the sand and refuse to work for people that will not pay us fairly even . . . no, especially if these people are our friends. People say that business is not personal but I beg to differ. It is personal because I take my well being and financial status as serious as the next man and when you try to devalue or under pay me, you are taking money off of my table and yes that IS personal. It is also important to remember that money does not buy or erase respect. What I mean is that just because you choose to pay someone well doesn't give you a right to disrespect them or cross their boundaries. Man this greed thing is real! Let's stay focused and remember not too LOVE money but make it and use it to better our lives and those around us. Make that money, don't let it make (or destroy) you. It's always best to just show respect, be honest and treat people fair. Now go and enjoy this journey the RIGHT way.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Point Of View

As I enjoy growth in my career, it often challenges my thought process. As a creative person I am always seeing things through a kind of idealistic prism. Business and creativity can really make strange bed fellows. It is all about adjusting your point of view. How you proceed in a particular situation is all based on how you perceive it. In order for us as musicians/artists to truly achieve our goals, we have to be able to honestly look at where the industry is and how we fit into it or better yet how we will make it fit us. The term music business is truly an oxymoron but we have to be able to look at ourselves as two separate entities at all times. There has to be the creative side which is the driving force. This is the side of us that remains pure and unconcerned about anything other than getting our art expressed. There also has to be the business side which can take what we create and understand how to market it and make money from it. Even though you don't want the pursuit of money to corrupt your creative being, you still have to understand that in order to get to a certain level you have to make a business plan based on YOUR profit. You simply have to decide in what and where to invest your time. Let's face it, we can not become wealthy or even live comfortably by just playing club gigs. We have to find a way to take those great shows and great music, that we sometimes give away for free or at least at a cut rate, and figure out how to package them and market them to the masses in a way that will allow us to make money even while we sleep. This can be done via Internet marketing but it has to be consistent Internet marketing. You have to build a fan base and create a profitable brand not just a brand. You can create a brand that is recognizable based on exposure but is it making you money?For example: you can be branding yourself by playing clubs and gigs but if you are not developing a fan base that is willing to spend money on what you have to sell then you are wasting your time. It's simply about looking at what we do differently. We are in control! We have to see ourselves in this light not as followers or beggars waiting on managers, attorneys and labels to give us something. We have to change our point of view and see ourselves as deserving. Most of us don't believe that we deserve to be wealthy and that is evident in our daily actions. If you want more out of your life and career, you simply have to change how you look at things. There is beauty to behold and success to be had if you can only SEE IT! Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011

Mind Your Associations

One of the biggest mistakes we make in pursuing success in the music industry or any industry is that we don't connect ALL of the dots. Achieving something is all about your mind set, environment, influences and associations. The latter is where we often times miss the mark. It is vitally important that we mind our associations. We have to choose who we associate with based on where we want to be, not where we are and definitely not where we've been. I mean when you where twenty years old, hanging out at the club every night or weekend might have been cool for twenty, but at thirty or forty your level of socializing should change. When we were younger it seemed that we chose friends just based on emotion, even if you knew someone had different goals, beliefs, morals or energy. To truly become successful in any field, every thing you do must contribute to that end. Even how you spend your down time. If your goal is to be a wealthy label owner or entertainment attorney, I seriously doubt if spending your free time at the dance club is really going to improve your stock. It's all about networking and you have to consistently put yourself in places that will grow your network and career. Successful people don't usually hang out in place that don't contribute to their growth. It's all about consistently raising your own exposure by going to more industry events such as those sponsored by The Recording Academy, ASCAP, BMI, . . .etc. It also seems that being able to play some golf is a must. Lots of big deals are made on the links. You can have just as much fun but in this case you can truly party with a purpose and trust me you end having a much better time knowing that you are networking, having fun and learning all at the same time. Another thing to remember is that we are always being watched and people judge you by the company you keep. You can't hang out with a certain type of person and say well what they do is on them, no it's on YOU too because birds of a feather really do flock together. This association thing is so deep that it even transfers to your personal life. People also take notice of the type of person you choose as a significant other and how that person carries themselves. Choosing the wrong personal relationship can ruin your career because that person represents you ALL of the time and if they are loud, rude, profane or unruly, this can be a strike against you because it says a lot about your ability or inability to judge character. Understand that there are NO days off from building your career, brand and network. This is your passion so you have to treat it as such. It's time to grow up and raise your levels of association. Watch how it changes your life. Enjoy the journey.

The Truth

All Rights Reserved by Airtight Productions 2011