2020 People You Need To Know In The Music Biz
The career of a professional drummer is a long journey, and you’ll meet a lot of people along the way. No two professional musicians will tell you the same stories about their lives, but some common threads run through them both. You need to be prepared, so DRUM! Magazine has compiled the following list of the people that you’re likely to meet along the way, as well as offer advice on how to deal with them. Here’s a preliminary tip — some are out to help you, and others have ulterior motives. The trick is to be able to tell one from the other.
1. Your Drum Instructor
At least one person will show you the ropes, even if you are mostly self-taught. A good drum instructor will teach you what you want to know, but a great drum instructor will teach you what you need to know. For example, a 13-year-old kid only wants to play rock songs, but a great instructor will also encourage the student to learn how to play a samba. Best Approach. Treat with the utmost respect, as this person is doing more than teaching you to play a beat. He is teaching you to love the drums.
2. The Kid Who Is A Better Drummer Than You
There is always going to be someone who can play faster or with more finesse. Some will flaunt it just to “one up” you. Best Approach. Who cares? You play because you love playing. Just have fun (and if you’re the kid showing off to make someone else feel bad, well, stop it!).
3. Your First Band
Unless you’re in Silverchair, this won’t be your last band. You will write awful songs that you think are great, and perhaps your friends will cheer for you at your high school’s annual talent show. Best Approach. While you may look back and laugh when you’re older, this is when you begin leaning how to play well with others. Don’t damage friendships when the inevitable break-up occurs.
4. The Band That Is Going To “Go For It.”
Now you’ve graduated high school or college, and have decided that you want to pursue a career in music — or more accurately, you want to make it big. You’ve put together a band that you think has the talent and the songs to become successful. You’re ready to change the face of music. Best Approach. Your bandmates will be the most important people to you over the lifespan of this band. You will spend more time with them than you will with anyone else. You will write, rehearse, tour, eat, and possibly live together. You will love them like family, but will also fight with them like brothers. Learn patience.
5. Manager
Your job is to write and perform songs that make people listen. Your manager’s job is to help you get your music out there, and make smart decisions about everything. He is involved with securing and negotiating all agreements (recording, publishing, merchandising, etc.), deals with booking agents and attorneys, and is your liaison with the record company after you land your big deal. Best Approach. Choose a manager that you can trust, but also one who believes in the band, gets the job done, and can take you to the next level. Your manager works for you, and not the other way around. You may find a manager early on in your career, or you may start searching for one after you have label interest and your options have expanded.
{pagebreak}6. Booking Agent
So how do you get shows? The booking agent will book your band at a venue at a negotiated price, and makes his money by taking a predetermined cut of this price — typically 15 percent. You get shows without having to do the legwork, and the more money the booking agent negotiates for you, the more money he makes. When your band becomes a big success, the booking agent puts together the tour dates and find promoters to buy the show (see “promoter” below). Best Approach. Some booking agents are honest business people and others are slime. I always keep them at “arms-length” which is a legal term for keeping your relationship entirely professional and always put everything on the table. Make sure you know the specifics of each deal they make, and don’t be afraid to push them for more money for the band.
7. Club Owner
Club owners are usually concerned with only one thing — the bottom line. They want to know how many fans your band brought into the club, how much booze they consume, and if it was a profitable night. If your numbers are good, you’ll likely be welcomed back. Some club owners will give bands a second chance after a slow night, but each time you return after a bad show, you’ll be watched that much closer, so it becomes increasingly important to draw a good crowd. Best Approach. A band that acts professionally will always leave a favorable impression on a club owner. Show up on time, introduce yourself to the owner and his wait staff, make friends with the sound person, and cooperate with reasonable requests by the club. Put on your best show every time you take the stage, and do not go onstage drunk. Also, remember that the people you meet on your way up will be the same people that you see on the way down. That being said, club owners are also notorious for shorting bands money on bad nights, so be ready to stand your ground.
8. Live Sound Engineer
Your sound engineer will run the soundcheck before shows and set sound levels for the main speakers, adjusting as necessary during your performance, so that the audience gets the right mix. The sound engineer also controls your monitor, so you can hear your bandmates. Best Approach. Some are great and work with you to make sure that you are happy. Others don’t seem to pay much attention. If your luck runs dry you may be in for a night of arguing.
9. Music Attorney
A music attorney can help your band find a manager, shop your material to labels, try to get the A&R reps to your shows, and file the necessary information for copyrights and trademarks. They also negotiate most contracts related to your musical career (such as deals for your services and merchandising, management agreements, band agreements, licenses, etc.). Just as importantly, they are there to try to get you out of sticky situations, including bad deals that you signed before acquiring their services. Best Approach. The trick is to find an honest attorney that is up front with you and cares about the band. There needs to be a mutual level of respect between the band and attorney. You don’t just call your attorney after you’ve already gotten yourself into a bind and expect him to get you out. Lines of communication need to be kept open, so issues can be resolved before they develop into problems.
10. A&R (Artists & Repertoire) Rep
The A&R rep finds new talent for a record company. Once they’ve been sold on your band, they must convince their bosses to share the same enthusiasm. Conversely, the A&R guy has to persuade the band to come to their label. Once that is done, the A&R rep will be your liaison with the company throughout the recording process, right up to the point where the CD is ready to ship. Best Approach. Treat your A&R rep the same way you want him to treat you. This could be the single most important person (outside the members of the band) with whom you have contact. This person has decided that your band is ready to move on to the next level, and will put his reputation behind your music. Do not take that lightly. This is a bridge that you don’t want to burn.
{pagebreak}11. Business Manager/Accountant
You’ve got a record deal that gave you a nice, fat advance and you’re about to start recording your album. After that, you get some more money from the label to shoot your video and tour. With all this money changing hands, you need a business manager who will keep track of the cash flow. Best Approach. Go with a firm with an established reputation. The most important issues with a business manager are (1) You should receive statements on a regular basis that explain where the money comes from and goes to (2) Your calls should be returned when you have questions about the statements, and (3) You should feel comfortable with the answers you get to your questions.
12. Producer
A producer’s job is to pull the best possible performance from the band I the studio. They help the band choose the right recording studio, put together the recording budget, and oversee the various people working on the album (engineers, studio musicians, etc.). You might be able to choose your own producer, but it’s more likely for the record company to have the final word. Best Approach. While a good working relationship is helpful, it isn’t necessary. Many great albums have been recorded amidst constant battling between the band and producer. It is important for a band to walk that line between staying true to your artistic vision, and working with the producer to create an album that will be commercially viable (which is the label’s goal).
13. Engineer
The engineer’s job is to get the sounds from the instruments in the studio that the band and producer want. They set up the mikes and work the board, but typically do not contribute ideas to song content or performance. Best Approach. Ego check! Don’t abuse the engineer if your sound isn’t always perfect. If something doesn’t sound right, work with the engineer to fix the problem. Remember, most producers begin their careers as engineers, so the engineer on this album may be the producer on your next album.
13. Mixer
No, this isn’t the guy who makes you your jack and cokes when you’re done recording. The mixer takes your great recordings and makes them better. Often the producer will also mix the album, but not always. You may never meet the person who does the final mix — since the tracks can simply be sent to him in a digital format, he can work his magic on them and send them back. If you do meet with the mixer, you interactions may be limited. Therefore, this makes the working relationship easier to maintain. Best Approach. Your job on the album is done by the time the mixer starts working. He wasn’t there to tell you how to do your job, so my advice is to step back and let him do his job. Have faith in his ability. If you disagree with the final product, you can take that up with the label and try to find someone else to mix the album again.
14. Product Manager
A product manager creates the marketing plan for the album. He works with the band on imaging, promotion, tour planning, video development, and helps determine the number of copies of the CD to initially ship. His main objective is to present the material to the public in such a way to maximize the sales among the targeted audience. Best Approach. The band or personal manager should talk almost daily with the product manager while the marketing strategy is being developed, and the band should take an active role in determining how they will be presented to the public. Be open to your product manager’s ideas, but also defend the image the band has already created. Obviously you are doing something right if you’ve made it this far.
15. Publishing Company
Whenever one of your songs is performed publicly, you are entitled to a performance royalty. Your songs are registered with a publishing company like BMI or ASCAP, and they issue blanket licenses, monitor performances (by parties other than the band), collect royalties, and pay them to the band. Best Approach. You should always be nice to the people who collect money for you. ASCAP and BMI both have showcases for up and coming bands that are affiliated with their companies, and they help artists who are on the rise. Once you make it big, you won’t have as much contact with these companies.
{pagebreak}16. Publicist
The band wrote songs, the label signed you, your album is recorded, mixed, and set for release, and the product manager has developed the marketing strategy. Enter the publicist, whose job is to create a buzz in the press. The publicist will compose a biography and press releases, pitch the band to all types of media (television, radio, magazines, etc.), and provide advance copies of the album for review and promotional reasons. Best Approach. You need to work with the publicist to help promote the album and entice people to buy it. It is a synergistic approach — the publicist sets up the promotional opportunities and you follow through by providing access and doing interviews.
17. Endorsement Company Artist Representative
The endorsement company artist rep looks for new product endorsers, signs them to limited deals, and acts as a liaison to service the endorser’s needs through the life of the agreement. The most famous drummers will always receive star treatment, but less well-known players who get endorsement contracts typically don’t receive free merchandise, and instead get the opportunity to purchase equipment for a greatly reduced rate. The more you promote their product, the more likely it is you’ll move up on the endorsement evolutionary scale. Best Approach. Drums are expensive. If you’ve got someone who is going to give you discounted and/or free merchandise to promote their line of equipment, you’d better be thankful. But if you’re at the level where you are being considered for an endorsement then you have something to offer the company as well. Don’t be afraid to negotiate.
18. Tour Manager
Your band is finally going on tour to support the newly released and promoted album. Personal managers rarely go on tour with the band, especially those from the large management companies, so your tour manager deals with all of the day-to-day tasks on the road, from booking hotels, to planning traveling routes, to checking into the venues, to waking the band up to get them on the road the morning after a show. Best Approach. When your tour manger wakes you in the morning to board the bus, and you’ve been up late the night before partying with “visitors,” don’t throw your alarm clock at him. Remember in the end a successful tour is a team effort, and you hired your tour manager to keep the ears lubed. Work with him as much as possible, and be thankful that you don’t have his job.
19. Promoter
The booking agent sells your band’s live show to buyers in different markets that are called promoters. They negotiate a price with the booking agent (which usually includes hotel rooms, tour riders, a local stage crew, transportation to/from the hotel, ’runners’ to work with the band, etc.), then book the venue and promote the show. Their main objective is to sell enough tickets to cover their expenses. Anything they make over their costs is profit and is how they make their living. Best Approach. As a band member, you won’t have as much contact with the promoter as your booking agent, personal manager, or tour manager will have. When your show rolls into town, you’ll meet the promoter for that day’s gig. He has done a lot of work to make your show successful, so take some time and hang out with him, and then deliver one hell of a show, so he will buy another show either at a later date.
20. Drum Tech
The day you are able to hire a drum tech will be the greatest day of your life! Your tech sets up your kit, tunes your drums before each show, helps the sound crew set the drum microphones, and makes all adjustments necessary for you to have the best possible show. During the gig, he’s right beside you to adjust equipment that shifts or falls while you’re playing. Best Approach. Make sure that you hire a tech who understands drums and who can do the job night after night. Tuning drums is an art, and you need to sound your best every night. And once you’ve got your own tech, be thankful that he’s there, because the rest of us are jealous.