Here is a short list of things people will need when trying for a career in performance - this is my opinion, so take it at "whatever" value.
I'm writing this piece because i'm surprised at how many very skilled young guitarists are out on youtube who yet don't know that they need these other elements to succeed.
(1)the Product.
music is a product you sell, but the sellable* product is made up of many factors - like many other businesses . .
I consider Rock to be the main venue in Music Business, because even if a Product is branded otherwise, the business elements which contribute to its creation are rooted in the businesses which came out of the Rock industry;
So, a group will need to have these, for point 1(please note that not all are fundamental, and there are ways to get around the lack of one of these, but these are the targets that everyone should have)
Technique
Looks
Awesomeness
Songwriting
Lyrics
Production
Business Mentality
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
explanation: technique is the ability to play instruments and sing; after all, it's music you sell, so being able to perform it is important; plus, when you perform live, this becomes more important than ever. Looks are a major selling point, not everyone has them and they have been proven over time to be the (second?) biggest selling factor of all - this element should be run parallel with PR, obviously. Awesomeness is a stupid word to encompass showmanship, charisma, PR stunts, stage setup, lighting, costumes, and everything else that is visual yet stricktly about the musicians - videos count too. Songwriting is different from techinque, extremely precious yet rarely necessary - and can easily be subcontracted, if a good budget is in. Lyrics help selling only when they are keyed to product placement - market niche image; it hardly pays to sing about romance in a grindcore band, does it? Production ought to be self explanatory, yet the burden falls on the business leader, so it's here instead of part 2. Business mentality is when a group has a business leader, an effective business plan, a solid model, and business discipline - thus producing more sellable product for the budget. A business mentality is also where the business leader seeks out and obtains the most "shelf space" (gigs) as a priority over anything - sell even if you suck.
(2) Image
this one is short.. if you can understand it:
Market Niche product placement
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Selling" music is something which often escapes musicians altogether - you are creating a consumable product, and as all consumables, you need Location, Location, Location. The three "L" are what product you are selling, who you sell it to, and how you sell it to them - in catering, it would go like this : pasta, from a restaurant, in goodge street. trying to sell the right product to the wrong people will not cut it, nor selling it from a horrid venue; by extention, sale techniques, presentation, all make up LLL.
Music sells when it is well packaged, presented, and when it stimulates the appetite for its consumption, so chose your target audience, package it (and yourself - see point 1, many aspects of yourself make up the product, not just "the music") so it appeals to them, and make sure they can buy it.
(3) Business Enterprise Structure
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
When selling music, you will need to head a large structure, composed of bus drivers, hair stylists, photographers, managers, agents, promoters, and so on. Your choice is simple (or is it?) : the ones which provide you with the biggest cash flow. End of story - do not compromise you cash flow for artistic integrity .. even if most musicians do the opposite.
(4)Time and Money Budget
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Working in music takes both, and trying without is doomed to failure - if you have no funds, don;t attempt a music business venture, for it will fail you.
That's it.
Not as complicated as it sounds, but subtle, here is a recipe for success that will never fail you (unless your band's name is Anvil);
Good luck, and To Futures Bright !!
*Blogspot's dictionary doesn't recognize this word :/
Friday 27 May 2011
Sunday 15 May 2011
Esther Ku
Today i got the giggles (i'm mildly in love) for Ester Ku
she's smart, funny and - in my eyes - incredibly beautiful. Also helps that she's a cool 10 years younger than me .. yummy.
Still working with barbells, trying to get to 3x3x30@ 12.5Kg
Maybe if i shape up really a lot, i can land a chick like that :p
Saturday 7 May 2011
The Life of a Restaurant Manager
I'll try to make a long story short; Recently i'v been trying out for a position as "Team Leader", which is a fancy name for Assistant Manager, with a big company, Withbread to name names, and going through the job description with the Manager i had clouds of dark thoughts going through my head.. that can be summed up by the word "boring".
Yep, instead of thinking how hard the job is going to be, my head was already on the "oh this is going to be tedious".
If you have any experience in the restaurant business you will know that a manager's job is anything but relaxing - essentially, you are a waiter who also does a million other things, and generally speaking you are the onoly one who really gives a crap about the business, with everyone else interested in one of the following, instead : Tips, Not Working, and Getting Out.
Withbread instead have a structure in place where managers do the management, and staff does the work, which is .. nice, if you think it can work, but i have my doubts.. if only, for the fact that i believe in "lead by example", and after all, what a restaurant really needs is really good staff, if hey had that, management needs would be minimal.
So, Withbread's managers do exclusively the management work. And apparently, so do many other businesses, here and elsewhere.
In fact, i was watching once again an episode of Kitchen Nightmares USA, and Gordon walking in to be greeted by a formidable looking lady claiming "i am the manager"; my thoughts were "and so you take the blame for everything that's wrong in here". But apparently no, a manager doesn't actually manage the restaurant.
You see, a restaurant is - like many other businesses - a system : 1) money is used to buy food and to transform it into the sold product 2) the product is sold to the customers 3) the cycle repeats. Other subsystems include the cleaning of the premises (part of 2), the serving (also 2), the cooking (part of 1), keeping all the structure functional , i.e., bills paid, machines working, etc.. (part of both 1 and 2), customers booking and table orders (part of 1 & 2), and so on. In my short experience, the person who makes sure the system works is called a Manager; if the general consensus is that this isn't the Manager's job, ok then, i will admit i am wrong, but then i am curious as to who exactly does that.
Or perhaps people think that this role can be split amongst different people, but then it leads to problems that we see happening every time a new episode of Kitchen Nightmares airs.
To be fair, there are many problems a new food business can have, but when we look at Kitchen Nightmares, the problem is always the same - in Chef Gordon's own words, "the food is shit".
Now, customers are normal people - believe it or not - and they *will* put up with poor service; hey, there's even a famous restaurant back home where the waiters yell obscenities at the customers (properly called "The Insult"), and it's packed every day.
But if the food's bad, there is no way you will stay afloat - nope, you'r going under.
End of story, i have a really, really hard time understanding what keeps today's managers from successfully managing a food premise : you know what the system is, if the food is bad, where can you go to locate the problem ??
Right, the Chef.
And if the Chef is bad, what do you do ?
I have never had an instant of hesitation to fire an inefficient staff person - people would not put up with a mechanic, a doctor or a plumber not doing their job properly, but for some reason they are willing to put up with a chef that is incompetent and/or does not perform properly.
In the end, dear Gordon, it's not the Chef who deserves a bollocking, it's the Manager; their very job description is "take shit for everything that happens here", and if you are not able, or willing to do it, don't call yourself a restaurant manager. It's an insult to those of us who really do the work.
Cheers,
Bokken
Yep, instead of thinking how hard the job is going to be, my head was already on the "oh this is going to be tedious".
If you have any experience in the restaurant business you will know that a manager's job is anything but relaxing - essentially, you are a waiter who also does a million other things, and generally speaking you are the onoly one who really gives a crap about the business, with everyone else interested in one of the following, instead : Tips, Not Working, and Getting Out.
Withbread instead have a structure in place where managers do the management, and staff does the work, which is .. nice, if you think it can work, but i have my doubts.. if only, for the fact that i believe in "lead by example", and after all, what a restaurant really needs is really good staff, if hey had that, management needs would be minimal.
So, Withbread's managers do exclusively the management work. And apparently, so do many other businesses, here and elsewhere.
In fact, i was watching once again an episode of Kitchen Nightmares USA, and Gordon walking in to be greeted by a formidable looking lady claiming "i am the manager"; my thoughts were "and so you take the blame for everything that's wrong in here". But apparently no, a manager doesn't actually manage the restaurant.
You see, a restaurant is - like many other businesses - a system : 1) money is used to buy food and to transform it into the sold product 2) the product is sold to the customers 3) the cycle repeats. Other subsystems include the cleaning of the premises (part of 2), the serving (also 2), the cooking (part of 1), keeping all the structure functional , i.e., bills paid, machines working, etc.. (part of both 1 and 2), customers booking and table orders (part of 1 & 2), and so on. In my short experience, the person who makes sure the system works is called a Manager; if the general consensus is that this isn't the Manager's job, ok then, i will admit i am wrong, but then i am curious as to who exactly does that.
Or perhaps people think that this role can be split amongst different people, but then it leads to problems that we see happening every time a new episode of Kitchen Nightmares airs.
To be fair, there are many problems a new food business can have, but when we look at Kitchen Nightmares, the problem is always the same - in Chef Gordon's own words, "the food is shit".
Now, customers are normal people - believe it or not - and they *will* put up with poor service; hey, there's even a famous restaurant back home where the waiters yell obscenities at the customers (properly called "The Insult"), and it's packed every day.
But if the food's bad, there is no way you will stay afloat - nope, you'r going under.
End of story, i have a really, really hard time understanding what keeps today's managers from successfully managing a food premise : you know what the system is, if the food is bad, where can you go to locate the problem ??
Right, the Chef.
And if the Chef is bad, what do you do ?
I have never had an instant of hesitation to fire an inefficient staff person - people would not put up with a mechanic, a doctor or a plumber not doing their job properly, but for some reason they are willing to put up with a chef that is incompetent and/or does not perform properly.
In the end, dear Gordon, it's not the Chef who deserves a bollocking, it's the Manager; their very job description is "take shit for everything that happens here", and if you are not able, or willing to do it, don't call yourself a restaurant manager. It's an insult to those of us who really do the work.
Cheers,
Bokken
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)