This last week has been absolutely insane, but in the best way possible. I have a tendency to say yes before I even know what I am getting in to. However, this past week it has been my most valuable tool. Just before Valentine’s Day I was asked to help book some artists for the holiday weekend at a local restaurant. Not only was this my first opportunity like this before, but it was also extremely short notice. If there is one thing I learned from this experience it’s that I should keep a blank To-Do list or a set of questions that need to be answered before every show. This would ensure I have all of my ideas organized and have completed everything to make sure the show goes as smoothly as possible. (Be on the look out for this in an upcoming blog!) I also realized most shows are booked on a short timeline, similar to the one I worked on, so it’s important to be able to go with the flow and just do the best with you’re given circumstances. While this isn’t really my strong suit, I will be experimenting with ways to accommodate the best of the both worlds for the future.
Also this week, our college put on an music honor festival for the hundreds of high school vocalists and instrumentalists. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to reach out and network a little bit with some visiting high school music directors. (with some help from my Music Business professor!) I highly recommend to anyone interested in the management side of the music industry to just meet and introduce yourself to as many people as possible and let them know what you’re interested in doing. Not only do you get experience, but you both end up with getting contacts. Win win.
During the last three days I was also able to shadow our current sound and video guys to record master classes, faculty performances, and the honor band and choir performance! This leads to another important idea, learn as many music industry trades as you can! The more you can do, and can do well, the more likely you are to get the job. Sound and video wasn’t really what I thought about when I first started looking at artist management, however, I can see how valuable the skills are for the future.
Overall, it was a week filled with wonderful experiences and multiple great learning opportunities!
Until next week,
Emily
Emily K Johnson 