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• Is the business side really that evil?

  2008-12-03 12:59PM / 標準BLOG / 會員可以看
  6個評論

  I wonder what it is that distinguishes "artists" as "artists" and "business" as "business" with a finite line drawn between the two categories and no blending of the two identities.
  
  Rather ironic, if you consider how many talented artists are out there who are also incredibly good business men/women. But if you were to ask them, they'd always say, "I'm an artist, not a businessman/woman," as though there's this horrible stigma attached to the idea of doing business. Just think about Gabriel Lee's recent post. "Evil" businessman? Come again?
  
  Like most good little ABCs, I started playing classical piano at the tender age of 7, competing in state-wide classical competitions, since that is what ABCs do. By age 13, I was in a little girl group that was in talks with RCA before it was bought by the monster that is now SONY, and by 14, I'd given up any pursuits as an actual artist to promote and support my favorite bands instead.
  
  My passionate love affair with promoting artists started out of a very pure, simple need to want more of my friends involved in the music I enjoyed. It started as young as 11, when I started building websites for the pop boyband Hanson. You remember them? Mmmbop?  I was totally crazy about those boys and I wanted more people to be crazy with me.
  
  As I wrote in a previous blog post on my other blog:
  
  

  "At that time, I obviously had no idea what I was doing was marketing. But every fan page is essentially a marketing tool, an incredible vehicle of promotion for any artist. It provides the artist with exposure, and allows other fans or would-be fans looking for information about the artist to learn more about the artist. Fan sites are incredible, and integral to the careers of artists, especially emerging artists who are still struggling to gain footholds in the industry.

  When I was 13, I became exposed to the world of gothic and industrial rock, and at that time I began to actively participate in street team activities by making home made flyers and passing them around. At that time, I didn’t even know what I was doing was “street team” activity, as I wasn’t part of an official street team. I simply made up flyers and cold marketed with them in an attempt to encourage people to attend one of my favorite band’s shows. It was fun, exciting, and I loved the fact that what I was doing might actually help out that band."

  Some of us involved on the business side of the music industry aren't all evil money making hungry sharks that have no passion for the music and don't care about the artists. Some of us genuinely enjoy working with the artists and feel happiest when we see the fruits of our labor.

  Exhibit A: X Japan Reunion

  My team worked tirelessly, some of us going days without sleep to pull this off. For an international ticket sale that had never been done before in Japan, completely unprecedented and untested, we only had 10 days to figure out how to do it, how to set it up and market it, and only 5 days to actually facilitate it.

  Let's just say, that was probably hands down one of the top 10 most stressful experiences of my entire life. But it was also one of the most fulfilling. Fans from all over the world bought tickets to come see X Japan, and when we arrived at the Tokyo Dome on Day 1 of the 3 day spectacular reunion, we were greeted with the sight of over 50,000 fans waiting to see their favorite artist.
  

  

  Where's Kuri? Good question. Virtual points for anyone who actually can find me.
  

  

  Here I am with Christina, EMG's International Relations Director, working the ticketing will call.
  

  We actually had the chance to meet a huge chunk of the fans who flew into Japan worldwide just for this event, and seeing everyone there really was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. It made every moment of frustration, stress, screaming at the computer or over the phone, keyboard mashing, and lack of sleep totally worth it at the end of the day.
  

  Not because we made a shitload of money or anything like that, but because we were able to help make so many fans happy, and witness the reunion of one of Asia's most phenomenal bands of all time with a global audience. My heart knew we'd made the right decision when I saw fans laughing, crying, standing in anticipation, waiting for that moment they'd wanted to see for so many years. It was incredibly fulfilling, and I was grateful for the experience. 

  Exhibit B: Juno Reactor

  The Juno Reactor 2008 Tour of North America was yet another one of those insane breakneck campaigns that I can't believe we did. After a meeting with SUGIZO (of yet another legendary Japanese band, LUNA SEA) in Tokyo on September 2nd, I flew back to NYC on September 3rd with only one mission in mind: to help promote a very unpromoted tour. Juno Reactor, the artist that brought you the awesome soundtrack from movies like The Matrix, would be flying out to their first stop in Mexico on Sep. 16 so we really had no time. But because I've always been a huge supporter of anything SUGIZO involves himself with, we agreed to help Juno Reactor as much as we could.
  

  With a small, dedicated team, we worked our behinds off in a full scale online/offline marketing and publicity campaign and even went as far as press scheduling and setting up and running publicity events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City.  None of us got much sleep, but it was incredibly fulfilling knowing that we were responsible for boosting all ticket sales dramatically. It was also really great seeing so many fans come out to see SUGIZO perform with Juno Reactor across the United States. I was also rather happy to see how many people bought his newly released album, "COSMOSCAPE."

  What I was most happy about was how grateful SUGIZO and Juno Reactor were for all of our hard work. To know that the artists we supported and worked so hard for were very appreciative of everything we did was an incredible feeling, and through the process I realized that it's impossible for artists to thrive without the support and the skills of management, marketing, and publicity teams who essentially make their careers happen for them. 

  Talent is an incredible gift, but without the right resources to bring it to the eyes and the ears of would-be fans, it's a wasted gift. Without the proper channels of communication and the proper means of distribution, there's no way any amount of talent, regardless how large it might be, might somehow turn into a successful career.
  

  But for those of us who truly embrace artists and entertainment, for those of us who thrive and feel the most amount of joy by helping another succeed, or creating their success, there's something so special and meaningful about the experience that no amount of words can quite articulate.
  

  

  Here I am with a few members of Juno Reactor before their NYC stop.
  

  The business side is integral to the artist side, and in a way, I think those of us who are most passionate about it are also artists, because we make the business itself our art. We aren't just pushing numbers and trying to get the biggest deal or make the most amount of money; instead, we are holistically working together with the artist to help them as much as we can in realizing their dreams and ascending higher in the world of entertainment.
  

  Some of us get involved in the creative process -- determining the look and feel of a campaign, graphics, imagery, etc. Others of us find outlets for that creativity in the media. But all of us are ultimately creating -- we're pouring our passion into that creation, and if all we create is the success of the entertainer we work so hard for, that alone, is still creation.

  And that's what matters most.