Here’s a shocker for you today! It’s not always about views, money, marketing, budgets, or knowing the right people. Sometimes it is much simpler than all of that. Sometimes the artists just lack basic attributes like being considerate and respectful. And respect in the music business will open doors you can’t imagine and disrespect will equally push away opportunities of a lifetime.
What is considered being respectful in the music industry?
Respecting people’s TIME above all else is considered respect in this business. Time is money. Just take a look at these numbers: entertainment lawyers charge from $250 to $500 per hour, DJs charge $30 to $100 per hour, recording studios charge from $30 to over $200 per hour, sound engineers charge from $20 to $50 per hour, vocal coaches charge from $30 to $400 per hour, and we’re not even mentioning producers, choreographers, managers, stage coordinators, booking agents, publicists, writers, marketing consultants, etc, etc, etc. Sincerely, if your intention is not about paying the person you’re talking to, kindly stop wasting his/her time. By wasting an hour of conversation with you, they’re wasting an hour of networking they could have used towards getting booked by another PAYING client because to stay in this business you have to pour back a lot of what you made. So the costs are always there, but the income is not. And we all remember time wasters, aka money thieves. And we won’t deal with you again. And we’ll ignore and most likely remove and block you on all social media. It doesn’t matter how extraordinary your music is. If you’re wasting professionals’ time, you will be remembered and slowly doors will get shut one by one for you and you won’t even realize what happened. Thieves are kept out of this business so don’t be one.
How do you stay respectful when dealing with rejection or higher fees that you can’t afford?
As all independent artists, there will be plenty of times you’ll be told NO or given a much higher rate than you anticipated. The worst you can f*cking do is not answering back AT ALL. That is just garbage behavior, unprofessional, 100% disrespectful, and offensive as well. If that person gave you the time of the day and listened to your request, has given you an actual response, even if it is one you don’t like, say THANK YOU for your time and be a nice person. There’s nothing that will piss off more a music business professional than having invested time and effort into hearing you out and then getting no gratitude for it. Seriously, it’s the fastest way to get blacklisted for good. We’d rather deal with someone who says “I’m sorry I can’t afford your services right now but thank you very much for your time”, than some d*ck who thinks his/her music is the best thing since sliced bread and doesn’t bother to say a small thank you. Being kind these days actually pays off much more than you think. Listen to your grandma.
What else is deemed as disrespectful in the music business?
Openly talking sh*t about other musicians and industry professionals. If you disrespect someone else like that, you’ll disrespect me too if something should go south. Look at how Keri Hilson’s career ended because she disrespected Beyoncé. How all former members of Destiny’s Child that openly dissed Matthew Knowles or his daughter NEVER recovered and were never able to musically get back up on their own. How Nicki Minaj lost tons of media coverage and press connections because she became a verbal savage on her Queen Radio. And on the contrary, how Cardi B is able to maintain her position of power because she NEVER attacks first, she ONLY defends herself when public accusations are brought up against her persona. And watch how Kanye West will now lose TOO MANY relations in the business after he took that video where pissed on his Grammies. He just sh*tted on a whole industry that’s made him famous and without whom he would have never stood a single chance. DO NOT ENGAGE IN HATEFUL BEHAVIOR UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE! If someone did you wrong in the industry, call the cops. If you were robbed by a non-existent radio station, call the police. If you were sexually harassed by a producer, call the police. If your contract hasn’t been honored, sue the people who did you wrong and solve it legally without public attention to it. The louder you become about your issues, the further away people place themselves from you. We’re all afraid of disrespectful behavior and we don’t have the time to get to know you in order to give you the benefit of the doubt. What gets out from your mouth, is what sticks in people’s mind about you as a musician. So make being respectful an absolute priority because suddenly, people will even start seeing your music differently and you might even get help for FREE.
Blue Rhymez Entertainment 