By Bruce Edwin
Bruce Edwin is CEO of the A-list firm Starpower Management
LLC, publisher of The Hollywood Sentinel, and also a film
producer. His services, based on his years of expertise and
success in the music and film industry are sought out and used by
some of the most powerful companies and stars in entertainment.
This ongoing article series, a precursor to his upcoming book, is
his way of giving back to models, actors and bands, with free
education- that in its totality and with its unabashed honesty-
cannot not be found anywhere else. Free.
British Pop Singer Eliza Doolittle (pictured here), in addition
to being truly talented, engages greatly with her audience, and
puts on a great show. Wearing baby Tees and short shorts while
having a great figure hasn’t hurt her publicity
either.
WHY MOST BANDS & SINGERS FAIL
99 percent of all bands that have made it through my door end up
either flaking or getting dropped. This is reflective of the
music industry in general, and the reason why most singers or
bands fail to be a star.
FLAKE: The reason most bands or singers flake (or models or other
talent for that matter) is usually for one of several reasons.
Either 1, they do not take themselves or their entertainment
career seriously, and do not treat it as a job. Show business is
just that; a business, and if you show up late, try to
re-schedule, or miss all together, you will not impress those who
are trying to help you.
EGO: The second reason bands flake is that they are waiting for
the agent or manager or other industry person to call them. Days
will go by, then weeks, then months, and the band or singer still
will make no effort to reach out. Why? Ego. They feel that if the
agent or manager or label really needs them, they will call, and
they consider themselves so great that the agent or manager or
label or similar person will call them. Guess what? Unless you
are already world famous, making millions of dollars, probably no
one needs you as a band or singer. That may be harsh, but true.
In fact, probably no one that can really truly make you a star
will even want you bad enough to call you more than once if you
owe them a call or if they tell you to call them.
100 PERCENT OF NOTHING IS STILL NOTHING.
If you want an agent or manager to rep you, and you are fortunate
enough to get them to your studio or gig to check you out,
don’t start complaining about their percent and ask if
their percent is negotiable. Unless you are already a star,
it’s not, and even if you are a You Tube phenomenon then it
still probably isn’t. Besides, would you rather have 80 or
85 percent of something you would never have without the agent or
manager, or would you rather have 100 percent of nothing?
I’ve had too many potential clients have to learn the hard
way that 100 percent of nothing is a lot smaller than 80 percent
of something after I refused to sign them, and their ego was too
big to allow them to come back with a changed mind. Those are
often the people that run around town saying how I and others
they failed to get signed with did nothing for them. Or better
yet, my favorite, how they fired us. Get real.
I JUST FIRED MY AGENT.
One of the biggest running jokes in Hollywood for an agent or
manager to hear from a model or actor is that they just fired
their agent or manager. Could you imagine going in to a job
interview to be a doctor, lawyer, or salesperson, and telling the
hiring manager that you fired your last employer? You would sound
as if you were smoking some crack if you said this, right? And so
why do so called talent tell us the same thing? “Oh, you
know, I fired my last agent, he wasn’t doing any thing for
me!” Or, “Well, I actually just fired my manager, she
wasn’t doing her job, so I am interviewing new managers
now!” Excuse me, you’re not even freaking SAG! The
fact is, most of the people that have told me they fired their
agent or manager often got rejected by the agent or manager they
claim they fired.
When someone tells us that they just fired their agent or
manager, that usually tells us, A, they have no agent or manager,
and probably never did, or B, cannot get along with people, or C,
have an ego that is far bigger than their talent, or often all of
the above. When a so called model or talent ever tells an agent
or manager they fired their last agent, unless they are Brad Pitt
or the like, the rep should have four words and four words only
for them, which are; “There’s the door
kid.”
I MANAGE MYSELF
Another running joke in this town that agents and managers hear
is when wanna-be talent tells us that they are their own agent or
manager. “I manage myself.” They say. “I do
better than any agent or manager can and get myself work,”
they say. “Oh great, than you don’t need me,
goodbye!” “Wait, wait! No, I didn’t say that,
they plead, I could use a little help…”
If someone tells us they manage their own career, that tells us
one of several things, A, they have no career to manage, B, they
cannot get along with people, C, their ego is bigger than their
talent, or D, all of the above. Does the President of the United
States tell his party, “You know man, I don’t need
you all, I am just going to run my own campaign all by myself
this year.” Of course not. Even the president of the United
States knows that in order to be the president, he needs a team
of team players to help him rise to the top and stay there. If
the president of the United States isn’t too important to
have a management team, then what makes models or talent think
they are? If you want to stay at the level of low importance,
then keep that ego blown up and keep telling yourself and others
the silly line that you are managing yourself. But if you want a
truly successful career, then get a real manager, agent, and rest
of your star player team.
INVITES
If you are a band or singer and do get the agent or manager at
the club or studio, get them a drink. I recently had a band rep
ask me if I wanted a drink, after I drove across town and paid
for parking to go see them, which I agreed to, and then, when the
check came, she had bailed, and the band asked me for money. Uh,
dude? That is rude. Which brings us to a hard fast rule in this
town that you must know and follow, and if you don’t
you’re a schmuck.
IF YOU INVITE- YOU PAY.
If you ask someone to meet you at a club or restaurant, you had
better be prepared to offer to buy them lunch or dinner, or if at
a bar, a drink. And if you are not prepared to do that, then you
need to be very certain to tell them at the time of your
invitation. Just straight out tell them, I would like to buy you
a dinner, or I would like to invite you to a drink, not dinner,
or I would like to invite you to meet with me, but I am NOT
buying. The same goes for models and actors inviting out casting
directors, directors, producers, agents, or managers, which is a
good idea by the way. And don’t assume that just because
you think they have more money than god that they should and will
pay. They won’t. Again, you invite, you pay.
BE ON TIME: I’ve said it a
million times and I am saying it again. You must be on time in
this business. For an actor, one foot of film can cost thousands
of dollars, add to that the cost of catering, union, crew, and
more, and your one minute late on set can cost production over
ten thousand dollars. If you are late to an audition, people will
consider that you will be late to work, and you generally will
not get the chance to prove them wrong, you will simply get no
chance. The rules for bands with regard to being on time are not
much different for actors. You must be on time.
BE POLITE TO EVERYONE
If we see you treat the waiter or waitress or secretary rude,
then we figure we are seeing your true colors, and your big grin
for us is just an act. Treat others how you would like to be
treated.
DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE CONTRACT
One band recently expressed concern to me about the exclusivity
of a contract. Look, if someone is going to help make you a star,
by getting you signed virtually overnight to a major record label
that may grant you worldwide distribution of your material and
tour support, do you think they are going to ask you to sign a
napkin, or will they want a tight contract ensuring that they
will get paid and rewarded justly for the hard work they do for
your behalf? If we work, we get paid, and yes, it may be for
years in case that first album is a flop- deal with it, or make
yourself a star instead.
Do go over anything you sign with some one more business savvy
than you, ideally an attorney if you don’t comprehend it
all, before you sign. But also remember, that contract you get
offered will most likely be non negotiable, and there may not be
another deal as good for some time- if ever. If you don’t
trust them, you shouldn’t sign any way. My firm these days
lets clients start with a non exclusive agreement as we get to
know each other and build trust, and then usually they end up
asking me for an exclusive contract.
DON’T DEMEAN AN AGENT, MANAGER, OR PRODUCER'S WORK
I had someone I was negotiating with as a producer once complain
to me that I was asking too much to get paid for just making a
phone call in order to get paid a lot of money. I no longer deal
with people that are this insulting if I can help it, however
what I used to say to them was this, and that is what you as a
band or talent must realize; it is not just one phone call. It is
countless hours of hard work, at our desks working for you for
free, for no money down, with the hopeful trust that you will be
reliable, deliver, and not try to rip us off or bail after we do
great for you. Additionally, it is not just those countless hours
and many, many phone calls, follow ups, letters, e-mails, and
sometimes in person meetings on your behalf. It is our years and
years of toil, labor, education, trial, error, and hustling year
after year, to amass the knowledge, contacts, reputation,
databases, and experience we possess. That is why the A-list
agents, managers, and producers get paid. Acknowledge the value
of those working or considering to be working for your behalf. If
you do not acknowledge our value with your words, actions, and a
contract, then you can be sure that we will not value you much
either.
DRUGS: Drug and alcohol use was something that used to be a more
standard part of the music business. Today, when we hear rockers
like Ozzy tell kids how drugs and alcohol fried his brain and
tells kids not do do what he did, somehow, it makes sense. Stars like the talented "fill in the blank" don’t look cool for their partying; they just look weak and stupid. And they are a financial liability not only to themselves, but to their record label, agent, and manager. When Atlantic Records asked me years
back if I knew of some good bands they could consider signing,
they asked if some of the ones they liked had drug or alcohol
problems, and they asked me if I knew what drugs they did. That
was in the 90’s. Today, drug and alcohol abuse is even less
wanted and less tolerated than it was twenty years ago, and it
wasn’t much then either. Demand that your band members
clean up and if need be, get in a program to do that. Call my
office if you want a referral to a good place to help with
that.
SEX: Another thing a label once asked me was if a band had any
diseases or health problems. I have been on cross country tours
with rock groups before and there were groupies waiting for them
in every city. If you want to live long, you need to be safe
sexually, and you must also think of other people out there. Get
tested, and stay safe. If you play the field, use condoms.
BE CLEAN: The music industry is one of the dirtiest areas of
entertainment because the performer may be up on stage running,
jumping, doing the splits, dancing, stage diving, and carrying
on, then traveling for hours on end in a crowded car, van, or
bus. I have interviewed tons of bands, and the most respectful
ones either talk with the press before the show, or clean up and
shower before they go out in public. Be clean when you do a
meeting or meet the public or press when possible. Obviously, if
you are running from stage to your dressing room and dozens of
kids are chasing you trying to rip off your t- shirt, that is hard
to avoid, but do your best to make a good, clean
presentation.
SMOKING: Stop. You will not only live longer and smell better,
but you will have more energy if you stop smoking. Smoking looks
about as cool as pounding a nail in your head; although I have to
admit, Hellraiser is a great film. And if you gig in a place like
Los Angeles, you can’t smoke in most venues here
anyway.
Don’t miss the next issue as I give you tons more advice
that you should know in order to do great in this industry. As
always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me on the
front page of this site.
© 2011, The Hollywood Sentinel, Bruce Edwin.