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The latest news from Jeremy Larochelle, MBA

Volume…what makes a good entertainer GREAT!

Jeremy Larochelle

 

As someone who books bands for a living, I can’t believe I am going to say this. “Acts that don’t actively monitor their volume drive me nuts.”

 

There I said it.

 

Now, I am specifically speaking to the artists who perform in “background music scenarios.” Performance spaces in hotel lobbies, small bars, and restaurants that typically don’t focus on the entertainment (e.g. they don’t have a stage and dancing isn’t encouraged). In these situations, it is crucial that the artist pay careful attention to their volume as they are not the center of attention. Unfortunately, many newer performers have trouble grasping this concept and I believe that inexperience is to blame.

 

If you were to observe a veteran performer against a greenhorn in a similar environment, you will likely see what I mean.

 

Thanks to years of trial and error, veterans have been psychologically conditioned to accept the fact that they are not the focus of the room, which places them in the proper headspace to handle the gig. This comes through in everything from their song choice to their banter with customers and even how they read the room. As such, a true club pro will read a “background music” gig differently. If they see patrons leaning in too close to talk or notice the overall volume has increased. They will intuitively pull back the dynamics to restore order. The true masters will even alter their song selection choosing keys with darker…less bright characteristics such as D over E Major.  Notes that don’t conflict with the timbre of the average speaking voice and thus raise the overall decibel level in the venue.

 

As mentioned, seasoned pros typically fair better in these situations. However, other psychological factors come into play.  Artists still seeking the coveted “record deal” will have more trouble adjusting to these situations as their professional focus is to break through the noise and get noticed. As such, many have (rightfully so) adopted a mentality where they seek to command the stage and everyone’s attention. Chances are if an entertainer has more original tunes in their catalog than covers. They may be inside that headspace and the booker should enact more due diligence and proceed with caution.

 

A final word of warning is this. When vetting an act propositioning you for a gig. Many will say anything to earn the job and that includes telling you that they can meet any volume requirements.  It is always best to look beyond their puffery, especially if you notice that they are less-experience or more focused on the original music track of their career.

 

As for you artists out there. Don’t be discouraged by these gigs. For one, they can supplement your career and put food on the table.  They are also an excellent way for you to better your room-reading skills and ability to perform at softer volumes, thus increasing your overall dynamic control. These skills will come into play in other avenues of your career.

MBA’s – The Mad Scientists Behind the Scenes

Jeremy Larochelle

 

I don’t think many get it.

 

I know I didn’t ten years ago.

 

Maybe it is because the “MBA” has lost its luster, and in some ways it has. However, for those who have successfully completed the program. We seem to understand just what an MBA entails and the knowledge it provides.

 

MBA students study leadership, operations, corporate social responsibility, project management,  international business, and marketing among other areas. All subjects you could pick up with a general Bachelor Degree. What sets the MBA, a graduate degree, apart from its predecessor is the depths to which MBA students dive into each subject. And, surprise, it’s not just reading, but a whole lotta’ math folks.

 

Much like traditional scientific studies, MBA’s collect and categorize information, create their thesis, and try to disprove said thesis through mathematical analysis that includes algebra, calculus, and plotting lines on a graph among other things. Through this information, the MBA trained mind can tell McDonald’s that if they lower the price of fries by 12¢ soft drink sales will rise by 4%. Teach Target leadership how to calculate the optimal order quantities to reduce overhead costs associated with held inventory. Or Amazon executives where to place the best distribution center in Europe based on mileage, load weight, product lead time, taxes and physical coordinates among other data points.

 

As a society, we like to celebrate great entrepreneurs like Jobs, Page, and Bezos. All are of the genius caliber and have become brand names in their own right. They created something from nothing and rose from the ashes just like any great movie plot, which is probably why we gravitate to their stories.  However, at some point, these great leaders needed to onboard people who understood the science behind doing business to complete the left brain/right brain development of their global entities. Perhaps more importantly, by bringing on leaders to “run their business,” these great minds were able to focus on creating new products, entering new markets, or even exploring their own blue ocean opportunities. As a result, their astonishing leadership skills and the scientific training of their top-level managers birthed dominant public brands.

 

Before I attended college, I was an entrepreneur. I learned everything from accounting, marketing, customer service, and management while also developing and delivering our products and services “in the trenches.” It wasn’t until nearly ten years later that I picked up my MBA. Every day I wonder just how much larger my brand would have been had I known this science behind doing business and how it could have helped predict, prepare, and position us for astonishing growth beyond what we already achieved.

 

At that time, like many, I was uneducated in the value of an MBA. The mad scientists behind the scenes of business.

 

 

The Risk Entertainment Buyers Face

Jeremy Larochelle

 

My business card says agent, but truth-be-told, I am actually a buyer.  A buyer is slightly different than a booking agent in that we purchase entertainment for a particular venue. Booking agents generally have a list of acts they represent and spend their days pitching them to various venues and guys like me.

Buyers are hired for their entertainment expertise, connections, and ability to negotiate better deals for their clients. Those deals boil down to less money spent versus more money earned (relatively speaking of course). To get to that point, the buyer plays arbiter for all parties in the negotiation until the deal is struck. Unfortunately, sitting in the middle of said deal means that the buyer assumes the post of whipping boy should anything negatively impact the transaction before, during, and after.

In most negotiations, the risk is generally carried 50/50. If I have a contract to buy widgets from Johnny, LLC and I fail to pay. It is my phone that rings off the hook. Flip the script and Johnny forgets to ship my widgets in time. It’s his ringtone that gets overplayed. In a buyer-backed deal, they would sit in-between Johnny, LLC and the customer and get to deal with ALL of those calls.

Entertainers often overlook the risks buyers face and nowhere is it more evident than in their sales pitch. “Book our band…we have 1,900 followers on Instagram.” “Hire us for your corporate event…we really like Propecia. Come on!…what do YOU have to lose?” These statements tell us that somewhere musicians and bands are landing gigs on pitches like this. Most of the time, this happens with smaller venues whose entertainment is handled by an overworked bar or restaurant manager. Unfortunately, this has done a disservice to entertainers who want to move up the food chain and eventually deal with buyers like me.

I immediately ask potential acts to fill out our entertainer application.  It is a great litmus test to see if the artist is professional enough to follow directions.  It also forces them to write down the correct name, URLs, and contact information, which results in fewer errors. *Hint…this is one of the reasons YOU fill out your forms at medical practices.

Then, I check out their videos, social presence, other venues they have played, and even Google the band to see what comes up. If everything looks good. The next step is to go see the act live.  I have discussed this before in another post called Using A&R in Venue Management, so I won’t bore you with the details. (But check it out…it’s REALLY good… my mom says so.)

If all the stars align, I book them for one of our venues, but on a trial basis of limited shows. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched a great band in one venue completely falter in another. This is because numerous variables come into play including everything from the gear we use to the side of town we are on compared to that of the band’s home turf. I also talk about this in my post Listen Through the Show. Check it. My mom digs that one too.

Experience has taught me that these extra steps greatly mitigate the chances of a bad show in our venue.  And as a buyer, mitigating those chances is the name of the game, so if you are an artist looking for a gig. Be prepared.

  • Have live un-doctored videos on YouTube or Vimeo ready to share.
  • Have a social presence and use it to show that you connect with fans through lots of likes, follows, post interactions, and updates from your crew.
  • Have a list of your upcoming gigs readily available online. Sometimes, dudes like me have a few free nights and are looking to see a band we are interested in.
  • Be patient.
  • Put yourself in our shoes. If I didn’t know you. Would you book my act?  Now support that answer with a big fat WHY?

Keep in mind. Booking agents, buyers, managers, and the venues we work with absolutely want you to succeed. Simply put, we all make more money when you do. The best thoroughly vet their potential acts to make sure we can prepare you for that success. Work with them and your gigs will only get better.