To be a great artist manager – to be a great leader

Benjamin Zander, a famous conductor, gave an inspiring TEDTalk about leadership, music and people. Much of what he says is the foundation for a great leader, in any field, but since he is a musician and breathes music, it fits perfectly for a leader in the music business.

“It’s one of the characteristics of a leader that he not doubt for a moment the capacity of the people he’s leading to realize whatever he’s dreaming”, Zander says. He speaks about how crucial it is to believe in your team as much as you believe in your own talents and capacities. His analogy with Chopin’s piece and how the composer struggles to go from B to E, to finally “get home”, as Benjamin says, is magnificent.

It is the perfect analogy for an artist manager, who has to believe in their artist and work with them, planning for the long run and never losing sight of the goal desired: “getting home”. Benjamin mentions his experience as a conductor and how the realization of what the job was finally struck him when he was 45 years old (and how this moment affect him): “A conductor depends, for his power, on his ability to make other people powerful”.

How big is this? The realization of knowing that to be powerful you have to empower others. Success is then measured by the “shiny eyes” around you, how many successful people you have surrounding you, and not by money or fame.

Jon Landau did this brilliantly with Bruce Springsteen. Their relationship is known to be one of the best in the music business, so that Springsteen, when inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thanked Landau for all his work. “I’ve seen the future of rock and roll management and its name is Jon Landau. I’ve got to return the favor there. That quote was … a mite burdensome for me, but as he often said, ‘That’s your job.’ But Jon’s given me something beyond friendship, beyond guidance — his intelligence, his sense of the truth, his recognition of my intelligence. We were worlds colliding. His creative ability as a producer, an editor, speechwriter earlier this evening, his ability to see through to the heart of matters both professional and personal, and the love that he’s given me has altered my life forever. What I hope to give to my fans with my music — a greater sense of themselves, and greater freedom — he with his talents and his abilities has done that for me. There’s no ‘thank you’ tonight that’s gonna do the job, and it’s a debt that I can’t repay, and one that I treasure owing.”

Negotiating for life

Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all negotiators. Some of us may not do it on a professional level, dealing with mergers and big contracts; but we all have a least one negotiation a day: either where to have dinner or which movie to go see at the theater. We all have the skills for it, it is natural and we actually do not stop to think about it while we are in the process of it. But some people do – and they do it as professionally as possible.

Marci Ducat is one of them. A journalist and partner of PR company Página 1 Comunicação, located in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, she has over 20 years of experience in the market, a MBA in marketing and management and a lot of negotiations in her career. From deals with partners, to daily negotiations with one of her 32 employees about salaries, projects, deadlines; and also all the contracts with the company’s clients, Ducat deals with all the steps of preparation and the outcome of a negotiation on a regular basis.                

         

I talked to her about some of the main stages of preparation for a negotiation, the desired outcome and how she looks for mutual benefit in the process. About separating the people from the problem, for example, a situation more common than most of us realize, she said: “I try to put myself in the person shoes and look away from their personality. I try to understand what their interests are and how can I contribute to them, so we both can get what we want out of it”.

         

Ducat made clear how important it is to stay away from bargaining and dwelling on positions, since she values the relationships the most. In some cases, she said, she would settle for less profit, thinking about the future of a strong relationship with the other party: a strategic client to the company’s portfolio, or another asset the negotiation can grant her. She points out: “that’s perfect mutual benefit. I might not get exactly what I was looking for in a number figure, but I have a strategic partner on the way out that can give me good publicity, for example; and the other side spent the money they were willing to. It’s a win-win”.  

         

What about your BATNA? Ducat says she always has her BATNA figured it out and ready to go, in case the negotiation does not go as she was hoping for. But she rarely discloses it. “If you know what your BATNA is, the ideal is to lead the negotiation so you can get a better deal than that, but with the reassurance you have a plan B, just in case”, she concluded.      

Crowdfunding and its wonders

For a while now we hear more and more news of new companies and products relying on crowdfunding to start their businesses. The idea is simple: raising many small amounts of money from a large group of people; and websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo are platforms that make the whole process even easier.

It is a way to get investments without having to pay the interest fees that come with bank loans, or giving up equity to your company. You just reward contributors with gifts or discounts in merchandise or services: it is about communities building things together, people feeling part of the business. And, most of all, it is merit based: you have to work really well on your product to convince people to donate money.

Entrepreneurs find the alternative so interesting and reliable that they are coming back to the platforms for seconds and thirds campaigns. While Kickstarter and Indiegogo are open to all kind of businesses, that is a specific platform that deals only with live entertainment. “Queremos” is a Brazilian-based website that crowdfunds concerts all over the country. Funded in 2010 by a couple of friends that were not pleased with the concert scenario in their hometown, the project has grown and produced over 36 successful concerts ever since.

The process is also simple, although a little bit different from the other websites mentioned before. You can get involved with Queremos as a fan, an artist or a producer, meaning you can go beyond funding: you can actually make the event happen. The response from the public has been more than positive, and the co-founders have appeared on TechCrunch, Ted and other media sites.

These businesses models are a perfect example of two great important things in the live entertainment world: engagement and reward. How artists engage with their fans, how the fans can be a part of the process and how they are rewarded… All of these play a very important part. But that is something for another post. 

Elizabeth Gilbert and creative work

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of “Eat, Pray, Love”, a memoir that became an international bestseller. In 2009, she gave an inspiring TED Talk about the anguish that comes with any creative work and the fear of never been successful again.

“Yes, I am afraid”, she admits. Afraid of never writing another good book again, afraid of the worst possible feelings that might come with that. But she wonders why these fears and doubts always come with any creative work? Why do artists everywhere have a reputation of being unstable? Why do we have to pressure ourselves in a way that no other professionals do?

She goes back to ancient Greece and Rome; she mentions Africa and the works of Socrates, the dance feasts for God and which kind of relation people had with these moments, with these works. They used to believe that when someone did something impressive, unbelievable, amazing, it was a glimpse of God. It was something that came from outside of their minds, helping them complete the task, amazing viewers with their abilities.

Gilbert pleads that we go back to that, that we release ourselves from the anguish and discomfort of never being good enough again, of already having a great success and not being able to top that.

It is something simple that makes total sense: people deserve cheering even if they tried but could not complete it; if they gave their best and put all of themselves into their projects. It is important to see it as something that gives you fulfillment, not as something that has to be the most amazing thing ever done. When we are able to release ourselves from the pressure and rigidness, maybe we will do even better work. And that counts not only for artists, but for everyone that puts all of themselves into their passion.

Gilbert gives a simple, inspirational and funny speech, using examples from fellow authors and going back in history to support her point of view. She inserts smart jokes in her talk, and her narrative pattern is definitely “leading people into the future”. She wants change.

How I worked for a major concert – and what I learned from it

I took a class in 2012 about event planning and production that gave me a real job experience: I got to work backstage on the Maroon 5 Overexposed Tour in my hometown, back in Brazil.

I was the only one that accepted the teacher’s offer to go see the making of the event (which up until today seems odd) and I ended up having the chance to help with the dressing rooms after one of the staff members didn't show up.

After a tour of the venue and being introduced to the crew, I started working. Stocking up refrigerators, making sure everything was just like the band required, going around fixing lamps and cleaning the Maroon 5 yoga lounge, going to the supermarket because someone forgot to buy Adam Levine’s tofu, helping the crew with cables, moving stuff around… I did everything I was asked to do and I couldn’t be more excited.

I learned that there are a lot of details involved to put together a major concert like that. I could see how important it is to rely on someone else’s work, considering that yours might depend on it – how important it is to trust that people are doing their best, and that being said, how crucial it is to have the right people around you.

I also could see how difficult dealing with fans can be, especially in stressful situations. The concert was delayed in over three hours due to some of the band’s equipment being held at the airport, but the fans waiting didn’t know that. It was a poor decision from the organization to keep this from them, because being left in the dark caused revolt.

When they finally decided to make an announcement, a lot of fans had already left, which caused major problems with tickets refunds later on. One of the senior producers went on stage and explained the situation once the equipment got to the venue – and it was incredible to see how fast people can work and how fans are committed to their idols. It was a wonderful concert, after all the trouble. For me, a great work experience that went beyond seeing my favorite band live.