The Music Business. Mind Your Manners!

The Advice On This page Comes From Years Of Experience:

BE RELIABLE:

The first and most important thing I learned was reliability. If you say you're going to be there, BE THERE!

If you are invited to jam or rehearsal, take up the offer and show up prepared with all of your gear and a positive attitude.

If you're booked in for a gig, you must show up.

What will happen if you don't?

Chances are you will never work in the industry again.

GENERAL BUSINESS

Make sure you have posters and bios ready for promotions and of course, demos of your music.

FINANCES

Record every cent that is earned and spent and don't have accounts with music shops and rehearsal studios, that's like having a credit card. You can get in to a heap of debt if not managed properly.

THE GIG

At the gig, arrive on time and make sure the crew you have (or have hired) for the night are professional and know where the venue is and know what they're doing.

There's nothing worse than showing up for a sound check and the crew are bumming around, taking their time and are an embarrassment to you, you're band and your agent.

When you arrive at the venue, make sure you find the duty manager and introduce your self. He or she is the person that's going to pay you and will be the person your agent speaks to about how well you went. They will more than likely be the person that decides if they want you back.

* If your agent books you in to some dinghy back street pub with a stage as a big as a mini minor

* If you're booked in somewhere 2,3,5 or 9 hours drive away

* If you have to leave work early to get there

* If you've been in bed for days with the flu

* If you've had all your gear stolen (happened to me!) find some replacement gear

* If your car breaks down, call someone, tell them you're going to be late and start walking

* If you're going to be late because you broke down, call the venue and let them know. Assure them you will be there but you will be late.

I remember one of the bands I was booking years ago. I got them plenty of gigs up and down the coast of New South Wales. These were the same gigs I had worked, and a lot of other popular bands loved doing.

Unfortunately, this band thought they were too good for the little pubs and clubs and asked me to find them more "reputable gigs" in the city.

The smaller venues (which were always the best gigs) weren't good enough for them.

I reminded them that the music business was something to respect and I gave them an ultimatum. Work the shows or move on. (Mind you they were a covers band, a pretty good one, but still a covers band!) Needless to say they were no longer signed up to the agency and I never heard of them again.

I know that all may sound a bit over the top but it's true. If you don't go with the flow and trust the people that are trying to help you, you'll find your self struggling to get the respect. It's black and white.

These guys wanted to start half way up the ladder instead of from the bottom. Working your way up the ladder is where you learn and perfect your art.

As you can see, the music business is very fickle and there's no excuses for not being reliable and professional. It doesn't matter what era you're form in the music business, the rules are always going to be the same.

Getting the job done takes a lot of work by a lot of people, so you should remember my golden rules of the music industry.........

There's only one way to do things, and that's the right way.

and,

If you're going to do something, do it properly.

These golden rules have given me a high enough standard that has helped me to achieve most of my music goals, and I'm still going!

The music business is heaps of fun and has plenty of opportunities as far as work goes.

You will remember these days for ever so make sure you have a ball!

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