95 Theses
we want to do 3 things:
find great talent
help them to create and promote their art
make sure everyone gets paid
our principles:
we will be diverse, equitable and inclusive across all strata of the business
we will make sure everyone gets paid their value
we will staff our teams and projects as diversely as the communities we exist in
95 Theses:
follow the artist
get artist approval on everything
tell the truth in advance
don’t be afraid to argue
benevolent dictatorships are okay
ideas are the second hardest part of this business
executing ideas is the hardest part of this business
you cannot create the perfect storm, it is what you do with it
you know lazy marketing when you see it
get lots of rest
be inside the artist culture
grow the artist’s culture
the best you can do is edit with an artist
you are not the artist
embrace and learn as much as you can from a No
operate in artist cycles, not product cycles
labels pay for dinner
artists should know how their money is being spent
everybody eats
get people paid on time
lists are dumb
press starts to pay attention once you do your thing well
packaging should be able to stand alone as its own art
parental advisory stickers can be dope
“yes and” through problems to get to ideas
eschew stockholm syndrome with outsiders
demand answers from outsiders
fight, advocate and resist for what is fair
always talk like your artist is in the room
avoid goat rodeos
give people what they were not expecting but need
trial and error and learn
tell honest stories
tell authentic stories
tell stories
avoid industry rule #4080
be honest
share budgets with artists
agree with artists on how you spend money
suggest, do not mandate
be nice to tour managers
do not ever say “if we get film use, could be a game-changer”
do the drive or wake up with them before you ask an artist to do any morning promo
artists are not lazy when they do not wanna do promo, they are human
eat more vegetables
use less plastic
compact discs sound great in a car
send posters to venues two months before tour dates
process can be beautiful and creative
process can be suffocating and harmful
algorithms are good
algorithms are bad
find someone who knows how to game algorithms but don’t rely on them
vinyl is niche but important
indie record stores are community and vital
non-commercial radio stations are the galleries of the music business
platforms like spotify and amazon on the museums of the music business
artists’ mental health is the biggest priority
be nice
the industry is whack
the industry can be necessary
sense and remove bullshit
art is not competitive
art is not a sport
do not chase trends
chase artists
listen to metal machine music once
crying in meetings is brave
don’t be a dumb record label.
the final 15 we make with our clients…