Promoter - The First Steps

Do you know anything about sound, lighting, props, and backdrops?
If the answer to those questions is no, then you may want to do some research in these areas.  These items are critical to a successful show  You want to able to create an unforgettable show for you audience, and you do not want to leave those details totally in the hands of the artists as one artist's lights, sound, and/or props might interfere with another artist's lights, sound, and/or props and you will need to able to resolve these issues with minimal stress to each artist's camp.  Do you have a successful relationship with a printer for postcards, posters, banners, and other promotional items?  If not, you may want to establish one since these printed items are necessary for the successful promotion of the event.

One: Make yourself known to the media.
It is just as important for a promoter to make himself.herself known to the media as it is for a publicist or manager, and for the same reasons.  In order to ensure that your press releases are taken seriously when sent to the media (Print, Radio, and Television), you must first get to know the people who will be receiving the information and let them get to know you.  you must establish yourself as a legit promoter representing a legit company promoting a legit event,  Write a letter of introduction about yourself, the company you represent, and the types of events you promote.  Let the company know that you will be sending in press releases, and/or show reviews periodically, and that you would appreciate their time in reviewing and responding to your requests.

Two: Make yourself known to Venue Owners.
In order for you to be able to coordinate and promote and event, you need to establish a relationship with the owners of the venues where you wish to have the event.  You need to establish yourself as a legitimate promoter, and demonstrate your past success as a promoter.  If you haven't promoted an event in the past, then you need to provide some type of evidence of your reliability and your ability to make the event a success,  Remember for the venue owner(s) this should be a money making event, and you have to be able to demonstrate that you can indeed make the venue money.  You also must demonstrate that you have the ability to line up professional acts  You should have a professionally put together Promotion Kit that includes a professionally written bio on yourself, a professional headshot (this is not only for artists), any press clippings from other events and letters of reference from other venue owners, record labels, and artist management companies.  Contact the venue owner(s), and set up a meeting with them to introduce yourself and preset your Promotion Kit.

Three: Make yourself known to record Labels, and Artist Management Companies.
In order to coordinate and promote an event, you must have creditable artists for the event.  You must establish yourself as a creditable promoter with those responsible for the careers of the artist(s) you wish to promote on your ticket.  It works the same with these companies as with the venue owners, you have to prove to them that you have the ability to generate revenue for their artist(s).  Again, you want to contact the owner(s) and presidents of these companies to set up a meeting to introduce yourself to them, and get their agreement to allow their artist(s) to appear on your ticket.

If you've got work to do, Get To It!

Manager - First Steps

If you decide to embark on the career of Artist Manager, you have one very critical decision to make - Do you want to be a manager or do you want to be an artist?  In order to be a successful manager, you cannot also be on stage with your artist.  It is your job to make sure that everything that is going on before, during, and after the show runs as smooth as possible for your artist.

One: Understand what your job is.
You must understand that your job is out of the limelight.   You cannot successfully manage your artist's comfort if you are on stafe performing with them.  Your job will be to make sure that the dressing/changing area is soothing to your artist, and that any and all items needed to relax the artist before and after the show are in place.   You will need to make sure that the sound system has been checked out and working properly, that any and all stsge props and backdrops are in place and working properly, and that all lighting effects are in place and working properly.   If a DJ is being used to play the tracks to which your artist will be performing, you need to go over the schedule of songs and the timing with the DJ if they are not your regular DJ.   If there is a band that will accompany your artist, you need to go over the schedule of songs and the timing with the band to make sure that the performance goes off without a hitch.

Two: Make yourself known to venue owners.
In order for you to be able to make sure your artist(s) are stress free during an event, you need to establish a relationship with the owners of the venues where the event will take place.   You need to establish yourself as the artist's manager, and that you are only concerned about your artist's comfort while at their venue not to make others uncomfortable.  Remember, for the venue owner, this should be a money making event, and you have to be able to assure them that you nor your artist will interfere with the venue's ability to make money.   You also must demonstrate that you have the ability to handle your artist without it becoming a production while at the venue.   You should have a professionally put together Event Kit that includes a professionally written bio on yourself and your artist(s), a professional head shot of yourself and your artist(s), and letters of reference from other venue owners and your artist's record label(if signed to one). Contact the venue owner(s) and set up a meeting with them to introduce yourself, and present your Event Kit.

Three: Make yourself known to other artist management companies.
I know this sounds like a conflict of interest, but in most cases there will be artists from other Management Companies on the event ticket with your artist and in order to prevent any conflicts at the event it is best to know the management for the other artist(s).  You want to know who the other artists and managers are that will be in the backstage/dressing area with your artist(s); mainly for security reasons but also to build an amicable relationship in case you end up on multiple tickets together or a national tour.  You also want to make sure that any props that you have will not interfere with the other artists performance and vice versa.   You want to be able to successfully coordinate time with your artist(s) and the media and fans, and not step on the toes of the toes of the other artists that are on  the ticket since you don't know when you will be appearing on the same ticket again.   These relationships are important since you don't want your artist(s) or yourself developing a reputation as difficult to get along with, and thus limiting the number of people who are willing to work with you.

Note: As the manager, you may also have to assist with managing the others your artist has on payroll such as a Publicist, a Stylist, and a road manager if you are not always available to travel with your artist(s).

These are just the beginning steps to being a Manager, and as the industry and your artist(s) evolve so too will your job functions.

As always, I'm available for one-on-one and group sessions which go into more depth on the roles and responsibilities of a Manager.

Until Next Time, work on getting your Event Kits professionally done,
G

Publicist - First Steps

You wish to help mold the image of those on the front line in the entertainment business and have superior communication skills, for this is what it takes to become a successful publicist, then keep on reading!  You have to have to have the ability to communicate both in writing and verbally.   You have to be able to deal with temperamental personalities, as most artists are very temperamental beings.  You have to be able to maintain your composure when facing the media, promoters, venue owners, etc, especially if there is a potentially controversial issue surrounding your artist(s).  You have to be able to present a professional image for yourself, as well as, your artist(s).

First Step: Make sure your written requests look professional.
You want to make sure that all correspondence that you send out looks as professional as possible.  If you don't have any experience in writing professional press releases, take steps to find out what the media professionals consider a well written release.  Most media will let you know what their criterua are for accepting and publishing releases.   You can also research press releases on the Internet from other notable companies, and at most colleges.  If you want what you send to be taken seriously, you must make sure that the material is presented professionally.   If you don't have company letterhead, you should have letterhead created and use it for all hardcopy correspondence.

Update: Your electronic (soft copy) correspondence is governed by the same rules/regulations as hardcopy correspondence.

Second Step: Making yourself known to the media.
In order to ensure that your press releases are taken seriously when sent to the media (print, radio, and television), you must first get to know the people who will be receiving the information and let them get to know you.   You must establish yourself as a legitimate Publicist representing a legitimate company promoting a legitimate artist.   Write a letter of introduction about yourself, the company you represent, and any artist(s) on your roster.  Let the receiver know that you will be sending in press releases, requests for interviews and/or show reviews periodically, and that you would appreciate their time in reviewing and responding to your requests.

Third Step: Make yourself known to Event Promoters.
You need to let those that are putting on the events at which your artist(s)are performing know who you are, and who you represent.   It is important to form these relationships so thst you can work together to make the event a success, and these relationships, if handled properly, ensures that your artist(s) will be booked for future events.  You wil need to coordinate who will compose the media releases, and who will notify the media about the event.   Do not be concerned if the promoter wants to handle all media releases, it may work to your advantage if they have a better relationship with the media.   You simply need to provide them with the information on your artist(s), and your contact information which should be included in the release to be sent out.   You also want to establish this relationship so that you may have input on the setup of any pre- and post - event Meet-And-Greets with your artist(s).  This is important so that both you and your artist(s) are prepared for the event.   You want to make sure that you have plenty of items for your artist(s) to autograph and give away, and that you are present (although in the background) at the Meet-And-Greets in the event anyone from the media is present and wants to do an impromptu interview.

These are just the beginning steps to being a Publicist, there is a lot more to this position that I am unable to address in one blog entry.  I am available for one-on-one and group sessions which go into more depth on the roles and responsibilities of a Publicist.  Contact me at Prod@GStyl.com with Business Seminars as the subject.

Until next time, continue to polish your written and verbal skills
G

Welcome

Greetings! Welcome to my latest blog centered around careers in the Entertainment Industry. If you haven't read any of my other blogs, here are the links: Artpreneurs.Blogspot.com and GStylfire.Blogspot.com

As for this blog, we will focus on "Behind The Scenes" careers in the Entertainment Industry/Business.

Handling an artist and promoting events takes a lot of work, and is often an around the clock job. There are dozens of people to introduce yourself to and establish a relationship with in order for you to be successful in the entertainment arena, in addition to knowing your artist. Your relationship with these individuals directly impacts whether or not your artist gets "work", for if you are an artist Agent/Publicist/Manager and promoters or venue owners do not like dealing with you they will not book your artist for their events.

Whether you are representing an artist or an event promoter or a venue owner, you need to build professional connections with the media, artist management conpanies, record labels, as well as, others who represent artists, promote events, and own venues. These relationships are critical to your success for you will find yourself working hand-in-hand with them at all times in order to help propel the career of your artist, as well as, your own career in a positive direction, and should be established as soon as you decide to make the world of entertainment your career base.

  You must be easily accessible to anyone and everyone in the entertainment business, and be available 24 hours a day to accommodate the various time zones around the world. You must be well versed in the area in which you decide to specialize, and be able to hold a professional conversation at a moments notice. You should be able to promote yourself, as well as, the artists your represent, the events that you are promoting, or the venue that you own.

Behind the scenes careers for those who work with artists that will be addressed in this blog are:
Publicist
Manager
Agent
Road Manager
Stylist
Contract Negotiator
Attorney (will not be addressed in this blog individually due to the complexity of the position)

Other behind the scenes careers that will be addressed in this blog are event planner/promoter and venue owner (bar/night club/concert hall/banquet facility).

I've given you some things to think about, and I'll let those things sink in over the next few days before I give you more!

In the meantime, polish you writing and speaking skils for they are very important in this industry!

Until Next Time,
G