The Current State of the Music Biz (Especially the Live Touring Industry)

In case you missed it, music business analyst / writer Bob Lefsetz sent out and posted this to his website:

http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2014/07/01/tiers/

I'm posting it here because if you're embarking on a music industry career, you need to see it. And it's far more comprehensive than I currently have the time to write. Bob's done it for you.

It's going to piss some people off, but his analysis is accurate. There are a couple of artists I might add to the mix, but that's quibbling.

I don't always agree with Bob Lefsetz, but this post is dead on. Even when we don't agree, I love that he tells it like it is and doesn't sugarcoat.

Artists tend to like to have a soft place to fall, so many of them have difficulty hearing the truth. Or sometimes they'll listen, but they want the information you're giving them to be heavily sugarcoated.

This is a tough business. Sugarcoating will kill you.

An eternal optimist myself, as a young artist I had to learn this early on, the hard way. I saw many people fall because people were afraid to tell them the truth.

Sugarcoating leads to things like pushing away people who care about you in favor of leeches who cajole you into investing in their projects and drain your money--or perhaps encourage you to donate to their favorite cult--while telling you everything's OK. They get away with this by seeming to protect you by only telling you exactly what you want to hear. (If you're an addict, they'll even keep you high while doing so.)

The person who can listen to information with no sugarcoating always has the upper hand, because they're hard to manipulate.

If you're the type of person who needs to have everything sugarcoated to get through life, start with your business stuff. Force yourself to read the realities of your business so you know what's going on.

You stand a much better chance of winning when you know what you're up against.

I want you to win. Bob Lefsetz wants you to win.

Start now, by learning about your business.

RR


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MusicBizAdvice Announcement Just For Loyal Readers Before the "Official" Announcement

Pssst...Hey, you! 

Yeah, you!

Because you're loyal readers of this blog and MusicBizAdvice.com, I'm telling you something no one else knows yet. I'm telling you even before the "official" announcement goes out:

Starting in June, MusicBizAdvice.com will accept Bitcoin virtual currency for our consultation services. 

Actually, me personally, because I'm the one insisting on adding this form of payment. That's only fair, right?

It's something we've been wanting to do since 2010, but the market wasn't ready. So, we had to put it on the back burner until I felt enough merchants were on board to make it worthwhile.

DirecTV's announcement this week that they're accepting Bitcoin through Coinbase is exactly what was needed, because Coinbase is our chosen Bitcoin payment processor, too.
 
Details to follow soon.


Risky from our end? Yes. But accepting Bitcoin for consultations is just one of many ways MusicBizAdvice.com is making it easier for bands to manage themselves, and for managers who are new to the industry to get better at it. Bringing good, client-centric managers into the industry is very important, because, who needs a stinkin' bad manager who doesn't care about their clients?

Meanwhile, here's a tip you can use now, regardless of where you are in the industry (or even regardless of your profession):

If something that looks cool and potentially helpful but the rest of the world hasn't caught on yet, take some actions toward implementing it anyway. Research it, do what you can without incurring much expense, if any, and keep it on the back burner. And tell no one.

If and when conditions are right, you'll be ready to act. If it never pans out, you're not out any money, and you've probably learned a lot.

Meanwhile, if you're about to head out on tour, rock on. :-)

RR



Follow me on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice .

Business and Life How-To: Builders and Wrecking Balls

This will serve you well in life, as well as in the music business:

Some people focus on building their own things up. 

Others, who are inept at building, focus on tearing the builders’ things down.

The ability to recognize the builders from the wrecking balls will save you a lot of headaches.

Wrecking balls are bitter people.

Builders are too busy building to be bitter.

Karma (or law enforcement) always gets the wrecking ball in the end.

In other words, wrecking balls only end up destroying themselves. 

:-)

RR

©2014 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com.