You're In The Music Business.....Time To Be A Business Person

Like it or not, if you are interested in how to make money with music, you are officially in the music business. Now, the “music” part of the phrase “music business” is not a free pass for showing up late, writing emails with incomplete sentences, smelling grungy for a meeting, and having disorganized finances. The “business” part of that phrase is the part we indie musicians often overlook. You’ve got the music bit covered.

So here’s the cold, hard truth: you are in a business now, so play the part. As a musician, I see more responses (which lead to more results) when my communications are clear and professional. I tend to be [annoyingly] persistent, so I want to make sure my messages are not annoying to read or decode. When I’m on the other end of those messages, I have an easier time reading a longer email that is well-written than reading a short-hand email, trying to figure out if the writer meant “there” or “they’re.”

If I had a penny for every email I get from an indie artist inquiring about career coaching that doesn’t have a greeting, punctuation, or decent grammar, I’d be on a plane to Tahiti right now. I stare at my computer screen, about to book a mentoring session when really, I want to scream, “Have you heard of spell check… or periods?”

But alas, my coaching sessions are not focused on proper grammar. They are, however, focused on getting results in your chosen career. And if that choice has led you to the music business, then there are certain things that will give you a leg up and impress those who are looking to purchase, invest in, or promote your music. How you present yourself sends very specific messages.

Don’t flake out

Read emails in their entirety. I had a coaching client send a payment to a completely wrong address because he didn’t read the whole email with the directions. The message this sends: I’m unfocused and flighty. You can’t count on me for important things. You probably can’t count on me to put the money you may give me in a safe place. Being on top of things sends the opposite message: I am grateful for your time and treat you with the respect you treat me. I am a good investment.

Be on time

People want to count on you. Every minute you are late (and don’t communicate it as soon as you know you will be late) has a negative impact on the person waiting for you, whether they admit it to your face or not. The message you send: My time is more important than yours. I’m difficult, and a diva. Being on time sends this message: I am grateful for your time and this interaction is important to me. You can count on me.

Craft your emails, don’t spit them out

This also goes for phone calls, texts, any type of communication. Show that you care about your interactions by using greetings, signatures, punctuation, generally correct grammar, capitalization at the beginnings of all sentences, and spell check. It can still be informal and have your voice, it just won’t be messy. Anything other than a perfect email says the following: I’m lazy, in a rush, impatient, and you need to work around me. Instead, you could send this message: I am educated, patient, and careful with my interactions. I respect you and what you are doing for my career. You can count on me.

Keep your receipts organized, finances clean

Do yourself and your accountant a favor and keep a folder of your receipts and important papers. I have one from Staples with 10 folders in it- I keep personal and music-biz related receipts separate so I can write off those items come tax time. I have a separate bank account for my music income, and a separate credit card. Many people won’t notice how you pay for your dinner, but the message to yourself is loud and clear: I am a professional. I am organized, business-like, and I have my act together. That’s how I roll.

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Cheryl B. Engelhardt is an established pianist/singer/songwriter who has toured the US and Europe, licensed songs to over a dozen TV shows, and who composes music for films, national ads, and CollegeHumor.com. Cheryl is the author of “In The Key Of Success: The 5 Week Jump-Start Strategy,” an incredibly effective, result-oriented eCourse for independent musicians who are serious about breaking through plateaus in their careers. Because you are a loyal Echoes reader, you get a ridiculous 70% discount off the regular price by typing in IHEARTDM in the “discount code” field.

[http://www.cbemusic.com/ecourse]

Cheryl’s next workshop will be held in NYC in August 2012. For more info, visit her website www.CBEmusic.com and follow her on Twitter @CBE.

A Few Father's Day Facts

1. Halsey Taylor invented the drinking fountain as a tribute to his father, who succumbed to typhoid fever after drinking from a contaminated public water supply in 1896.

2. George Washington, the celebrated “Father of Our Country,” had no children of his own. Researchers believe that childhood illnesses may have rendered him sterile. He did adopt the two children of his second wife, Martha Custis.

3. In Thailand, the King’s Birthday also serves as National Father’s Day. The celebration includes fireworks and acts of charity and honor – the most distinct being the donation of blood and the liberation of captive animals.

4. A.A. Milne created Winnie the Pooh for his son, Christopher Robin. Pooh was based on Robin’s teddy bear, Edward, a gift Christopher had received for his first birthday, and on their father/son visits to the London Zoo, where the bear named Winnie was Christopher’s favorite. Pooh comes from the name of Christopher’s pet swan (of course).

5. Kurt Vonnegut was (for a short time) Geraldo Rivera’s father-in-law. Rivera’s marriage to Edith Vonnegut ended in 1974 because of his womanizing. Her ever-protective father was quoted as saying, “If I see Gerry again, I’ll spit in his face.” He also included an unflattering character named Jerry Rivers (a chauffeur) in a few of his books.

6. Andre Agassi’s father represented Iran in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics as a boxer.

7. In 1950, after the Washington Post music critic gave Harry Truman’s daughter’s concert a negative review, the president came out swinging: “Some day I hope to meet you,” he wrote. “When that happens you’ll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!”

8. The voice of Papa Smurf, Don Messick, also provided the voice of Scooby-Doo, Ranger Smith on Yogi Bear, and Astro and RUDI on The Jetsons.

9. In 2001, Yuri Usachev, cosmonaut and commander of the International Space Station, received a talking picture frame from his 12-year-old daughter while in orbit. The gift was made possible by RadioShack, which filmed the presentation of the gift for a TV commercial.

10. The only father-daughter collaboration to hit the top spot on the Billboard pop music chart was the 1967 hit single “Something Stupid” by Frank & Nancy Sinatra.

11. In the underwater world of the seahorse, it’s the male that gets to carry the eggs and birth the babies.

12. If show creator/producer Sherwood Schwartz had gotten his way, Gene Hackman would have portrayed the role of father Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch.

13. According to a 2005 survey commissioned by TiVo, here are the top ten TV dads of all time: 1. Cliff Huxtable (The Cosby Show); 2. Sheriff Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show); 3. Pa Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie); 4. Howard Cunningham (Happy Days); 5. Ward Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver); 6. Jim Anderson (Father Knows Best); 7. Mike Brady (The Brady Bunch); 8. Tim Taylor (Home Improvement); 9. Reverend Eric Camden (7th Heaven); 10. Danny Tanner (Full House).

14. The Stevie Wonder song “Isn’t She Lovely” isn’t about a woman he’s lusting for; it’s about his newborn daughter, Aisha. If you listen closely, you can hear Aisha crying during the song.

15. Dick Hoyt has pushed and pulled his son Rick, who has cerebral palsy, through hundreds of marathons and triathlons. Rick cannot speak, but using a custom-designed computer he has been able to communicate. They ran their first five-mile race together when Rick was in high school. When they were done, Rick sent his father this message: “Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore!” Since then, they have run over 66 marathons and 229 triathlons as a team.

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