Wow! I have thoroughly enjoyed my class this month. My
Advanced Entertainment Law class has truly taught me so much over the past four
(4) weeks. I am quite excited about finished this Masters Program and launching
my new business. Because my business will focus mainly on artists and musician
management, I want to be sure that all of my artists’ relations be dealt with
in a proper manor. Before taking this class, I knew that it would be necessary
for me to acquire an Entertainment Lawyer.
I have been afforded the opportunity to learn so much from
Attorney McCallum, even before an interview. While I could have
focused on advice for starting my business, I decided to focus on advice that
would be useful, as it relates to artist management. Because artist and
musician management encompasses so much, it is recommended that I began with
only management. In my original business plan, I looked to begin with
management, marketing, and merchandising. I realize that because I will be new
to the industry, I do not want to bite off more than I can chew. I want to make
sure that whichever platform I choose to stand on holds very sturdy, as opposed
to having multiple platforms with less foundation.
As it relates to artists management, it is imperative that I
first build a relationship with the artist. While it is the thought to maintain
a business relationship, when it comes to management, the manager must know
their artist and have their best interests at heart. When that working
relationship is established and continually built upon, it makes way for more
trust to be built between the two parties. Trust is definitely a major issue
when it comes to managers and their artists. It makes communication so much
easier, especially conversations in contracts, etc. I have also learned that it
is imperative to thoroughly dissect every contract, whether it’s a contract I
am issuing, or one that is issued to us. Many times, individuals will try to
pull quick tricks in the form of contracts. It is easy to avoid these tricks if
one makes sure to really understand the components of the contract, and also
have a prior knowledge of contracts that are similar. This will help us to
easily recognize a component of a contract that is not “realistic.”
