Randi Reed Bio

Randi Reed     
Founder/ Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
Music Business Consultant, Internet Publisher, Writer, Speaker

Randi Reed is a music business consultant who specializes in live music industry troubleshooting. But that’s only half the story. “Trouble shooing would be a better description. My job is to find the problem, resolve it, and teach clients how to avoid more problems in the future. I want musicians to win.” 

Randi Reed also has a flair for making lemonade out of lemons. Case in point: in early 1997, in the midst of a platinum level career in booking, artist management, and concert promotion, she was sidelined by the autoimmune disease CFIDS. Battling vertigo,  dizziness, and cognitive issues, but still undaunted, Reed started an online resource for unsigned and independent musicians--while confined to bed. "I'm really stubborn," says Reed. "I just refused to allow the disease to keep telling me no." A few name and format changes later as she recovered, that online resource evolved into MusicBizAdvice.com, an online magazine in web publication since 2003. 

Born in the Midwest and transplanted to California's Coachella Valley in her early teens, Randi Reed  began her music career at 16 as a singer and songwriter in a local band.  “My singing career was short-lived, but it definitely affected the way I work with musicians,“ says Reed. “I was passionate about music, but I had constant throat problems and didn’t love singing enough to be miserable. By then I was co-managing our band and enjoyed the behind-the-scenes aspects, so I decided to go into management. My parents probably thought I’d be a novelist, or maybe write for Rolling Stone." (Reed is a former college journalism award winner.)

Advised early on by a prominent talent manager to learn as much about as many different facets of the music industry as possible, Reed set about learning the business “from all sides of the contract—everything from working at a music store, to working for a symphony during the day while working with local metal bands at night, to writing another artist’s fan club materials.” Meanwhile, she immersed herself in the local music scenes in Southern California and Arizona.  

Her national-level break came in the form of an internship with illustrious concert promoter Danny Zelisko. It would prove pivotal in every sense of the word: half a decade and a move to Los Angeles later, in an odd twist of fate Reed would work for a Pollstar Concert Industry Award winning talent agency--for an agent responsible for the booking territory covering Zelisko’s venues. “Both sides of the contract, totally unplanned," says Reed, who had originally applied for another position within the agency. “I couldn’t have asked for better experience in major concerts.”  Meanwhile, she continued to work on a variety of music industry projects, including a stint assisting a Billboard Top 10 pop metal artist she declines to name. “That it was brief was a blessing,“ says Reed. “Had the Internet and social media culture existed as we know it today, I would have known they'd been through six management companies in three years, and who knows how many agents. No one was talking because of confidentiality agreements, so I only had half the story going in. Let's just say it was a great learning experience!"

Fast forward to 2014, and management performance audits and music industry background checks are some of the services Reed offers in her role as a music business consultant. But whether checking out that new manager a band is thinking of hiring, or helping indie musicians sort out issues that can arise from trying to road manage themselves on tour, or showing artists ways of improving their live performances, or even advising a non-profit about planning a benefit concert, one constant remains: for Randi Reed, it’s all about live music.

But does she miss singing? "Absolutely not! But I'm grateful it taught me what it takes to go onstage, and what it feels like when the show's going really well, or how part of you just wants to die when your voice gives out in front of a crowd. That's why I'm so passionate about helping musicians succeed."

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Artists Worked With:

Concerts produced by companies Randi Reed has worked with are mentioned in several books about rock and roll, including The Dirt by Mötley Crüe, Walk This Way: The Authorized Biography of Aerosmith, Planet Rock by Lonn Friend, and The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx.

Clients of firms Randi Reed has worked with, concerts produced by firms she's worked with, and artists she's worked with in a variety of capacities include:

38 Special
Aerosmith
After 7
Air Supply
Al B. Sure
Alan Thicke
Alice Cooper
Alice in Chains
Allman Brothers Band
Anne Murray
Another Bad Creation
Anthrax
Arcade
Arsenio Hall
Bad Religion
Barbara Streisand
Barry Manilow
Beach Boys
Bell Biv De Voe
Ben FoldsBen Harper
Big Daddy Kane
Blind Melon
Bob Saget
Bob Seger
Bobby Brown
Bobby Collins
Bobby’s World
Bobcat Goldthwait
Bon Jovi
Boyz II Men
Brandy
Brett Butler
Brian Setzer Orchestra
Bruce Springsteen
Bryan Adams
Buffalo Tom
Bugs Bunny on Broadway
Butthole Surfers
Candlebox
Carrot Top
Catherine Wheel
CCR
Celine Dion
Charlatans U.K.
Cheap Trick
Cher
Cheryl Crow
Chris Rock
Cinderella
Circle Jerks
Clawhammer
Collective Soul
Coolio
Corrosion of Conformity
Creedence Clearwater Revisited
Crowbar
Cry of Love
Dana Carvey
Dance Hall Crashers
Dave Collier
David Lee Roth
David Spade
Dean Martin
Dennis Miller
Diana Ross
Dinosaur Jr
Dokken
Dolly Parton
Don Rickles
Dr. Dre
Echobelly
Ed O’Neill
Eddie Money
Edwin McCain
Elayne Boosler
Ellen Cleghorne
Ellen DeGeneres
EMF
Erasure
Everly Brothers
Extreme
Failure
Faith Evans
Faith No More
Fight (Rob Halford)
Flaming Lips
Flotsam and Jetsam
Foghat
Four Tops
Frank Sinatra
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
Freddie Jackson
Fuzzy
G. Love & Special Sauce
Gallon Drunk
Gary Moore
Gene Kelly
George Benson
George Carlin
George Wallace
Giant Sand
Gigolo Aunts
Gin Blossoms
Gipsy Kings
Glenn Frey
Gods Child
Goo Goo Dolls
Grateful Dead
Gregg Allman Band
Hammer
Hazel
Heart
Heavy D. & The Boyz
Helium
Helmet
Horace Brown
H.O.R.D.E.
H.O.R.D.E. Festival
House of Love
Howie Mandel
Imperial Drag
INXS
Iron Maiden
Isley Brothers
Jamie Walters
Jars of Clay
Jay Leno
Jean-Luc Ponty
Jewel
Jill Sobule
Jodeci
Joe Walsh
John Pinette
Juliana Hatfield
Julio Iglesias
Kate Clinton
Keith Sweat
Kenny Rogers
Kings X
KISS
KORN
Kris Kristofferson
Laundromat
Lemonheads
Lillith Fair
Liz Phair
Liza Minelli
LL Cool J
Lollapalooza
London Suede
Lorrie Morgan
Louie Anderson
Loverboy
Luke Torres
Madonna
Magic of MGM The Lion Roars
Manhattan Transfer
Manic Street Preachers
Marry Me Jane
Marsha Warfield
Mary J Blige
Meatloaf
Megadeth
Method Man
Michael Bolton
Michael Crawford
Michael Feinstein
Michael Nitro Band
Michael Richards
Michel’le
Monster Magnet
Moody Blues
Morrissey
Mötley Crüe
Mudhoney
Neds Atomic Dustbin
Nelson
New Edition
Nirvana
Notorious B.I.G.
O.M.D.
OzzFest
Page/Plant
Pantera
Patti Lupone
Paul Revere & The Raiders
Pavement
Pearl Jam
Pennywise
Peter and the Wolf
Pink Floyd
Possum Dixon
Primus
Proclaimers
Prong
Pulp
Raffi
Ray-J
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Redd Kross
Rickie Lee Jones
Rita Coolidge
Rita Rudner
Rob Halford
Rob Schneider
Robert Plant
Ronnie Milsap
Rush
Screaming Trees
Sex Pistols
Shari Lewis & Lambchop
Sheryl Crow
Shirley MacLaine
Silverchair
Sinbad
Six Finger Satellite
Slaughter
Slayer
Smooth
Snoop Dogg
Social Distortion
Sonia Dada
Sonic Youth
Soundgarden
Southside Johnny
Sponge
Stanley Clarke
Sting
Stone Roses
Strutter
Suddenly Tammy!
Sugar Ray
Superchunk
Superdrag
Susan Anton
Sven Gali
Swervedriver
SWV
Take 6
Tammy Wynette
Teddy Pendergrass
Testament
The Badlees
The Boredoms
The Cramps
The Exploited
The Mommies
The Muffs
The Rat Pack
The Who’s Tommy
Third Eye Blind
Three Dog Night
Tina Turner
Toadies
Todd Rundgren
Tom Poston
Tommy Tune
Tony Danza
Turtle Island String Quartet
Unwritten Law
Usher
Velocity Girl
Vent
Versus
Vince Neil
Warner Bros. Family Entertainment on Ice
Warren Zevon
Waterdog
Wayne Kramer
Willie Nelson
Winger
Wu Tang Clan
Yoko Ono

 
Contact Randi Reed:


Website:
http://www.MusicBizAdvice.com

Mailing Address:
Randi Reed
MusicBizAdvice.com
2219 West Olive Avenue #136
Burbank, CA 91506

Media Contact:
Jinjer Hundley
jhundley@musicbizadvice.com

Business Inquiries:
Randi Reed, MusicBizAdvice.com Founder/ Editor in Chief
rreed@musicbizadvice.com
 
Randi Reed / MusicBizAdvice.com on Social Media:

• Randi Reed on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice
• MusicBizAdvice.com on Pinterest

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.

 

 

So, Your Kid Wants to Be a Rock Star...Plus Waylon and Willie and Distraction By Critics

As promised in my previous entry, I've finished the piece I wrote in the wake of Justin Bieber's arrest. You can read it here, or access it from the Features page of MusicBizAdvice.com.

It's an article I've had in mind for years, but it never came together until Bieber's arrest pushed me into finishing it. Its original title was "Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Rock Stars," a takeoff on the song recorded by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson (written by Ed and Patsy Bruce). Corny title for an article, I know--that's why I killed it. It referred to an old industry joke that pops into my head whenever a rock star does something stupid.

Readers, I have to tell you...This whole Justin Bieber thing enrages me. To say I'm so tired of seeing this happen to young celebrities doesn't even begin to cover it. That's why it took a few days for me to post the article: I needed to calm the f*ck down. (Some rewriting was in order, too: the line, "My, what a great big ego you have" probably wouldn't have gone over too well with the party it was directed toward.)

Even if you don't have kids who want to be in the industry, I hope you'll read it. There are things in it that have needed to be said for a long time, that no one is saying. It will probably piss some people off, and I'm fine with that.

By the way...When I point you to an article, I'm directing you toward the content of it--not saying it's my best writing. This blog and the writing style of my articles on MusicBizAdvice.com are slightly cleaned-up versions of the way I actually speak when I'm talking with friends. As most people do when they speak, I use fragments and and begin sentences with "And" or "But". In writing for this blog and MusicBizAdvice.com, I come up with wild punctuation combinations to convey the rhythm of my speech. I also use the words "a lot" a lot because unfortunately, I say it a lot. ;-) (Hey, It takes a lot of work to write this "badly"!)

I mention this to get ahead of the critics who may try to shut off a discussion that needs to be had. Whenever I write something that pisses someone off, the response is something like "poorly-written." It's a petty way of creating a distraction--often orchestrated by someone's publicist--to change the subject and focus the attention on themselves.

You're too savvy to fall for that, however, so when you see something like that, just consider it an inside joke amongst ourselves and have a good laugh. My friends and I do. Years ago I used to have dreams about hitting them over the head with my well-worn copy of A Grammar Book for You and I...Oops Me while shouting "Page 258!" so that's progress.

Meanwhile, here's Waylon and Willie singing "Mammas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys."

I hope your year is going fab so far,
RR


Follow me on Twitter @MusicBizAdvice .






 

Justin Beieber's At It Again: Another Michael Jackson? Plus, When to Worry About Pissing People Off

I wrote this the other day while watching coverage of Bieber's latest antics.--RR
So, Justin Bieber got arrested yesterday.

Justin's been making a lot of bad-boy news lately. Am I surprised? No. One day he sped through my neighborhood before actually getting caught at it. I recognized his very recognizable car on the news a few days later, when he did get caught.

How innocent that all seems now...Except that I knew then that we'd be here now.

I have much to say about all this...I wrote it, but as always when I write quickly, it needs to breathe first before being posted. Stay tuned...

It will probably piss some people off.

"OMG!!! You're pissing people off! Are you sure you want to...???" 

Yes.
People. It's the music industry. Pissing people off comes with the territory. If you can't handle people getting pissed off at you when you say something, you probably shouldn't be in the business. (Or any business, really. Or perhaps you might want to consider life in a solitary cave, because at some point, someone will be angry with you.)

As a business strategy, trying to avoid having people pissed off at you is one thing. (Particularly when stockholders are involved.) But on a personal level, there are far more important things in life to worry about than random people getting angry at you. (Should you go out of your way to behave in a way that's likely to piss people off? No. That would make you an obnoxious a**hole.) But I digress...

Someone just texted to tell me Justin posted photos of a side by side comparison of himself waving on top of a car, with a picture of Michael Jackson waving on top of a car. This confirms my first thought the other day when I awoke to hear Justin had been arrested for DUI:

Michael Jackson all over again. Except, Michael was much older when he really started to unravel. Michael made it to 50.

If things continue at this pace, Justin won't have that luxury. And he's nowhere close to having Michael's legacy.



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