Probably the most important goal for any musician to have in this industry is to fine representation. Yes we can represent ourselves, book shows, print our albums and so forth. However, while it is fun to be in control of your career you will inevitably hit a ceiling that your own abilities will most likely not be able to penetrate. There are of course exceptions to this but for the most part you will at some point hit this ceiling. I have had to run a lot of my own career spending countless hours contacting venues and trying to book shows as well as take care of my guys and make sure they are paid for their great work. When I have hit the ceiling from time to time I try to use that moment to develop a new skill I haven't had or needed before to get around this obstacle.
Again, there will be a point though where you can no longer dodge the obstacles in the way and you need representation. A manager, entertainment lawyer, business manager, booking agent & publicist are all parts of this puzzle. If you are lucky enough to have all of these elements, congratulations to you! That is truly wonderful. The reason these representatives are so important to your career is that they literally represent you, your name & your brand. They are also a bridge to deal with all the clubs, venues, record labels, band members, deals, sponsorships, etc. One of the reasons this is so important is that people with "connections" have the background, knowledge and clout to open doors that you yourself would have no luck or be eternally turned away from. This is so important because it allows you to create and handle the artistic side of your career and they handle the administrative side.
The most important thing to remember is though that you have to find the RIGHT people. One bad link in the chain can cost you everything and I do not only mean money. It can cost you your money, image, music, reputation and career. So when you are selecting these key personnel take a lot of time to research them, get references, ask people who may know them etc. If the deal they put before you looks too good to be true, as the saying goes, it probably is. I know how difficult it can to work forever and spend countless nights slaving and you constantly get nothing, and then all of the sudden it feels like the savior has come to save your dream, only to hustle you if you aren't careful. Again I am not trying to be cynical but this area is so critical, you HAVE to be careful. I myself have run into these people after years of work and you have to take a step back and read between the lines.
Now comes the Closed loop. Today the music industry is slightly different than it used to be. While artists are still being discovered, a lot of labels and managers want you to lay all the ground work before they will even just meet with you. This does make sense to a degree because with all the internet piracy, lawsuits and economy most people including companies don't want to take a chance on something that could cause them to take a financial hit. Most labels won't even listen to your demo because back in the late 80s there were a bunch of song writers sending in submission tapes to major labels to try to sell their music or to get a record deal themselves.
A problem arose when several songs from artists on those labels were sounding a little too close to some of the demos sent in by the songwriters trying to get a deal. (This was totally alleged by the song writers and this doesn't mean this was occurring at all) Regardless they labels were sued to the point where they plain just shut off that in flow of new material to discover new artists and now you will hear a VERY familiar sentence from virtually all labels "We don't accept unsolicited materials." This can be incredibly problematic and frustrating for new artists TRYING so desperately to make it in the industry. The problem now is you usually can't get a record deal without a manager and you can't get a manager without a record deal. Again there are exceptions to this but you will see this formula more times than not. But this being said, you have to keep sending in your submissions to find a manager. If you catch the ear of a manager they will listen. You just have to keep at it. Don't put all your eggs within one basket. As my mom always says, "The more fishing lines you have in, the more chances you have to catch the fish". Same with finding a manager or booking shows.
I know a lot of this can seem daunting and over whelming but you can achieve your goals with the more knowledge you have in your toolbox.
www.joevitalejr.com
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