I'm always talking about the upside of doing what I do and singing its praises - but it's not all giggles and unicorns.... There are negatives that balance everything out.
People are always hitting me up asking how I got into promo and what it's like and I always tell them the good stuff, because who am I to discourage anyone. Here's a more realistic picture:
THE CONS OF DOING PROMO:
1). IF I CHOOSE NOT TO WORK WITH SOMEONE, THEY GO APE CRAZY!!!
Saying "I don't book shows" is basically the equivalent of open-hand slapping somebody's mama clean across the face. I can't count the number of times people have SNAPPED OUT on me over the phone, via facebook and myspace and email..... I don't know what it is. I'm always tactful and professional and I let them know that it's nothing personal, but booking shows is not one of the services I provide..... then I get the 'Hollywood' label, or people think I'm stuck up.
I mean, if you went to the hairdresser and asked them to paint your house and they said NO, would you snap out on them??? NO, because that's not their job to paint your house.
eh....
2). CHASING PEOPLE AROUND THE CITY (and the internet) TO GET COMPENSATED!!!!
While it is a blessing to not have to work a traditional job and still make pretty good money and be able to buy the things I want - it's a pain having to chase people around to get my money. 80% of my clients are exemplary and pay me right on time - half up front - with no problem. Of those, about 50% go above and beyond the call of duty and not only pay me, but give me free merch as well - no complaints.
Then there's the other 20%. Some of them will pay me the half up front and never get around to giving me the other half..... until they need more promo, at which time they BEGRUDGINGLY give me the rest of my money.... these are the people I now have to get everything up front from. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but after getting screwed over, you lose that softness.
Some of them will make me run around the city, northside, southside, dowtown, westside and KEEEEEEP sending me off..... just to get what I'm OWED. All hours of the night - going from club to club, studio to studio.... If I did that to people when they wanted promo, I'd be labeled a b-word or people just wouldn't work with me.
And then there's small fraction of a percentage that has never paid me a red cent. That hasn't happened in over a year - and I had to learn the hard way that people don't respect new blood in the 'local entertainment industry' (whatever that means). I had to get up on my business savvy QUICK to make doing what I loved lucrative - which brings me to my next point.
3). GENDER & AGE DISCRIMINATION!!!!!
This is a male dominated industry... not only that, but it's ruled by OLD HEADS. What is an OLD HEAD, you ask? An OLD HEAD is a man who's older than any person still trying to be in the entertainment industry should be... he's set in his ways, bitter, and hates it when new blood comes around. He won't open any doors for you, if you try to open them yourself, he stands in your way, or does his best to shut them..... and again - he's OLD as DIRT.... not everybody falls into this category. And most people who do, you'd never know it, because they're sly about it....
Me being female and starting this when I was 18, FRESH OUTTA H.S., I was PUBLIC ENEMY #1. A lot has changed in the past 2+ years though. Some of the people who gave me the hardest time when I started are now my best clients, some people who I thought were on my side I don't even associate with anymore, some people who didn't respect me then have grown to respect my work ethic and know now that my resume precedes me and speaks for itself - and speaks VOLUMES.
It's been a long time coming though, so if you see me getting love, it has not always been like that. And it still is not as sweet as it looks.
4). YOU CAN NEVER TURN IT OFF!!!!!
Sometimes I feel like I'm on call. Part of this job is to be available at all times. Everybody has my contact info, and I wouldn't have it any other way - that way whenever somebody needs promo, they know how to reach me SEVERAL different ways, and hopefully, I'm the first person they think of.
On the flip side, this industry doesn't exactly have traditional hours. DJs stay out until all hours of the morning - I've kind of grown out of that.... at 2am, I'm usually sleep, going to sleep, or doing promo and not wanting to be bothered.... that doesn't stop people from calling you and giving you every detail of the event they want you to promote.
The other part is random people calling me......... RANDOM. I love it when I get a call and it turns into business. That's love. But sometimes people I don't know and have never met call me and just ............ want to shoot the breeze I guess. (DISCLAIMER - I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST RAPPERS - you guys make the world go round lol) I always find myself talking to rappers I've never heard of, and probably will never hear from again, that "just want to get their name out there" or "build their buzz in these streets"..................
............................
I don't work with artists anymore for a reason.... no one in the local MUSIC industry seems to have any money. And if they do have money, they have just as much of an ego... or it's drug money (which I have no problem with, it's just as green).
Or they don't see why you should get compensated for your services - and they act like they're doing YOU a favor....... not the case.
Or their music sucks.... and that's a deal breaker for me. I don't care if you're sitting on a US mint - I'm not attaching my name to anything that I wouldn't personally cosign.... sometimes If I don't personally like something but I could still appreciate it, I'll get some outside opinions on it before I sign on....
The random calls from obscure rappers at ungodly hours still crack me up though. Seriously, I should make my voicemail into a comedy show.
5). IT'S A SMALL WORLD!!!!
I found out very quickly that you have to watch who you associate yourself with. If you work too closely with someone that has a bad wrap, it's REALLY REALLY REALLY hard to shake off and get out of their shadow... people who have known me from the beginning know who I'm talking about, but I won't get into that. Once I built my own rep, it was all good though.
It didn't take me long to figure out that everybody knows everybody else - whether or not people are best friends or just acquaintances - everybody knows everybody and their business.
When I was more heavily into the music side of promo, this problem was RIDICULOUS.... there are so many cliques and factions in the Chicago Urban Music Industry. Everybody kind of pretends to be cool with each other, but that's not how it really is. That's part of the reason I don't do the music thing too much these days - it's all politics and maneuvering.
6). FAKERY!!!
I'm not the type to push up on anybody. If anything, I have more of a reputation for being distant and kind of standoffish... I'm never going to sweat you, no matter who you are or what you've done. There was a point where I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed - and everytime I met a new NAME in the industry, I just wanted to be their best friend - that phase was short lived to say the least..... I now know that NAMES are just that, NAMES...
Cool points can't pay bills so you can keep them. I'm upfront. If I want to work with somebody, they're going to hear it from me in those words... we don't have to hold hands and go galloping through a field of wild flowers. We can do business and move on. If you're cool and a real person, we might become friends in the process... WHO KNOWS???
That being said, after a little over 2 years at this, some people are still laying it on as thick as ever. Same bright-eyed, bushy-tailed over enthusiastic foolishness. Just be you.... it's too tiring to be under the act. People know when you're just trying to get on their good side anyway. Don't do yourself the disservice of such tomfoolery. This behavior can best been witnessed at 'industry' networking events. Try to make it to one if you want a good laugh. There's an art to networking - being yourself and putting all your cards on the table.... it works wonders.
7). LIES LIES LIES
People love to name drop. People love to claim connections and experience they don't have. I've even been accused of it. But my resume/past & present client list is posted everywhere and anyone is welcome to check up on it. My clients are all highly accessible people and they'll tell you what it is.
Anywho - there's alway somebody who claims to be buddy buddy with someone who can PUT YOU ON. I don't even claim to be buddy buddy with a lot of my clients. In most cases, it's strictly business. Just because I've worked with someone doesn't mean I can get you in the door with them..... but if you let some people tell it, they sleep in the same bed with celebrities every night.
When I first started, there was this creepy guy who used to tell me he could further my career by introducing me to Teefa and Mike Love and Chi-Blizz... and he used to just rattle off names as they came to him. He didn't know that I had already worked with Teefa and knew Mike Love through a bi-monthly event I was promoting..... come to find out, this creep didn't know them at ALL.
The rumor mill is no joke either. It's really no worse than in any other situation though. If I sold bedazzlers door-to-door, there'd still be rumors about me so......
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