I was talking on the phone today with a friend of mine who was catching me up on all the run around she had recently been getting in her music career and past business dealings. People taking credit for other peoples work, making themselves out to be someone or something they’re not, people with a good track record who had fallen on hard times and done stuff they shouldn’t have-you know, the usual runaround type stories. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of this in the music business-always has been and always will be. So, how do you avoid it? I don’t think there is a formula per say, but here’s some things I have learned along the way.
Don’t do business with assholes. Blunt, isn’t it? Every time I think back on a situation that makes me red, it revolves around a personality that was never a team player, always focused on themselves, wasn’t honest and in general and really not pleasant to be around. Stay away from people whose ego is bigger then they are.
Pioneers die with arrows in their backs. I attribute this one to Mike Krohn. He said this in passing one day probably ten years ago and it always stuck with me. When you’re in any type of competitive environment, practice the art of listening. Don’t always throw your ideas out there first. Listen, take mental notes, observe the people your dealing with. If you’re like me and have 1000 ideas a minute (thank you ADD, OCD or whatever they call it these days) keep them to yourself. Rationalize, plan, weed some of them out-maybe even decide to keep some of them for a later date. Then bring your ideas to the table. Otherwise you might turn on the TV one day and go “Hey! That was my idea!”.
Lastly, trust your gut. We all have dreams. Sometimes it’s hard to keep our desire to succeed in check when a break comes along that looks to good to be true but might not be in our best interest. The never ending dangled carrot. Take a step back. Sleep on it. Talk it over with someone you trust. Then decide how to move forward. There will always be other opportunities. Just because there’s one staring you in the face doesn’t mean it’s always right for you.
I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Hunter S. Thompson. It’s been adapted over the years to fit different parts of the entertainment industry but it always holds it’s own. Here’s an abridged version: “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” Touché Dr. Thompson.
