Scared Money Don't Make None

So I've been advising this company which wants to release an unsigned artist.  The artist already has one older sibling in the industry with some modicum of success, and the group behind this current effort wants to capitalize on the upcoming release of the older sibling's second album.

We've been doing this dance for the last couple of weeks, involving me trying to convince them about the proper way to proceed.  I've made it clear that in no uncertain terms, they're going to have to spend money.  As the saying goes, 'scared money don't make none.'  I've also made it abundantly clear, that if they're looking for favors, or expect people to come on board because of the 'opportunity' of working with this artist, they're tripping.

In my opinion, this kid has a chance to be successful.  He's young, has a great voice, a marketable look, but he doesn't have the kind of cache, where anyone will be going out of their way to put him on.  In this current climate, and with the labels folding, scaling back, and generally scratching their heads trying to figure out how to connect with the public (and generate record sales) any artist interested in making it in this industry needs to disabuse themselves of the impression that they're the 'next best thing.'

As I've said, there is always the potential that this kid will have breakout success.  But today he has nothing.  There is no demo, no single, EP or LP.  There is no website, Mypsace, Facebook or any other significant web presence.  There are no songs, no rehearsal schedule, no marketing plan, no producer, songwriters, stylists, management or any other critical piece necessary for this thing to come to fruition.

What there is, though, is a committed group of individuals, who recognize that they're out of their element, and require expert assistance if they are going to make their fantasy of success for this artist a reality.  They have already been through the older sibling's music industry 101, and are now completely versed on the bang up job the industry does with the uninitiated.  Due to the collective lack of experience they had (at the time this artist got their deal with the label), the artist got burned.  

The main reason I'm involved is because my boy called me one day, and told me to give these guys a call because they needed help.  While I can clearly see the potential, map a path to success and help them execute the plan, the reality is that I am not prepared to be second guessed.

I'm going to meet the principals today.  I expect that we'll hash out all the details, and I'll be able to put everything in perspective one time.  If not, I'm going to have to decouple from these cats.  As excited as I may be about anything, I'm no longer interested in waging warfare with my clients about what they should be doing.  I had enough of that in my practice.  I'll give my two cents, and leave it to you to decide what to do.  

I'm certain that this would be a much more interesting rant if I could talk in specifics (and not all this cloak-and-dagger non-specific babble), but for the time being, I can't.  However, if all goes well, I'll be talking about this act all the time, so stay tuned.

Basecamp, Get Organized

A few years ago, one of my business partners turned me on to this project management tool called Basecamp, put out by 37Signals.  For virtual businesses like mine, which rely upon multiple people in various locations always being up-to-speed, it proved to be an invaluable tool.

Basecamp is a web-based tool that lets you manage and track projects (or simply ideas) and quickly create client/project extranets.  Simply put, its a project management, collaboration and task software application.  According to their website, over 1 million people use it (and I wouldn't doubt it either).

Now I'm sure that there are other tools like Basecamp out there, although I have yet to come across them, but I felt like I was a caveman, carving messages in rock prior to my Basecamp introduction.  Simply put, Basecamp really helped me get organized, and enhanced my overall efficiency.

Not to say that I was some disorganized slob before, but its the difference between having my personal calendar, to-dos, appointments, files, emails, and various notes jotted here and there, and having all of these assorted loose ends in one place.  And the beauty of it, is that your whole organization can use it.

Basecamp is great in that it doesn't require you to learn anything new, and works with you where you are.  Alerts come directly to your email box (whichever email account you decide you want to use) and rather than having to log into some webadmin portal to respond or view messages, you can reply from within the email and your response gets posted in Basecamp.

Since being introduced to Basecamp, I've become a cheerleader for the web-based application.  I use it with all my clients and for virtually any project I take on.  It doesn't only aid individual organization, but groups as well.  We've got a network of over 60 producers world-wide.  Whenever an opportunity arises, we post up a message with all the necessary parameters, and within hours, we've got multiple submissions.

If you're already organized, then HOORAY for you, but if you're not, check out Basecamp and get organized.