The key to truly managing your career is to employ Emotional Intelligence and Situational Intelligence effectively. By utilizing these skills, you’ll find that…
Financial Planning
- Pay the Band (as a business)
- As a rule of thumb, it’s good to pay the band as much as any member of the band. If there are 4 members in the band, then the gig income should be split 5 ways. If you’re a solo artist and pay for hired guns, don’t pay them more than yourself — in fact, you should make at least twice as much as the hired guns, so that you can deal with operational costs.
- You pay your phone bill and rent right? So – the band has operational overhead like any business does. You need to be focused on how the band, as a business, can be a sustainable business. So, don’t forget to, pay the business!
- The Red Tape
- Speaking of overhead — here’s some of that operational cost that you need to keep in mind.
- Taxes, Insurance (Disability & Health Care), Retirement Plans, & Social Security
- ASCAP / BMI support
Teamwork
- Building Your Team, Keeping Your Team, Trusting Your Team. What does your team look like? What are you expected to do as an Artist? Who’s in the driver’s seat?
- Evolution of the Team: There will be turnover. How do you handle that?
Here’s an example of what a fully flushed out team for a national artist could look like
Core Team
- Manager:
- Booking agents:
- Example of a full service booking agency. The Agency Group
- Publicist (Traditional):
- Social Media Evangelist:
- Regional Street Team Leaders
- LA
- Montreal
- Burlington
- Boston
- NYC
- Video Production
- Webmaster/Web Designer:
- Photographer:
- Tour Manager:
- Co-writer: Itaal Shur
- Label:
- Publishing:
- Attorney:
- Investors:
Improvising Life
- Jazz as a metaphor for Business
- Those things that you want to be constant are actually variables
- Learn to be comfortable with that
- Be ready to take a right turn even though you were planning to go straight
- Don’t be so picky about your damned Ducks!!!!
