The Pitch - Part 2

Silly Me

The After Story* For all entity transactions (i.e. leases, sales, purchases), the entity's name must be listed as the transacting party on any documentation. The owner, or a duly appointed representative, will have to sign any agreements, but only in a representative capacity.� This cohort would carry on the �new� standards of Rock music.On the day of my meeting, I received a warm welcome from the RCA staff. A listening session had just adjourned, and the A & R staff were mulling about. There were Suits lingering outside the conference room in a heated discussion. Bob Jamieson came over and introduced himself and asked me to wait a few minutes more. About an hour later, I was escorted into his office and was left to myself for a bit. This was when I studied the photos and memorabilia to get a sense of the man to whom I�d submit my business proposal. Eventually, he returned and we sat down to talk.Don�t Let The Door��Hit You On The Way Out!Following are some key guidelines to keep a business entity doing business and increase protection from personal liability. Please note that these guidelines are not comprehensive and an attorney should be consulted to provide complete guidance.� Next, major labels get fat and lazy, like well-fed pigeons in a park. They forget their core A & R values and focus only on the easy, short-term money. In part, they accomplish this by spending money on marketing and advertising (Remember Vanilla Ice, Millie Vanilli and CMC Music Factory?) It was easier for the business to pedal the junk they already had and jam it down the throat of the consumer. Creatively speaking, they were only interested in music that was cheaply produced.Meat and PotatoesIn preparation for my impending meeting, I asked RCA to send me information and recent releases. Soon, a package arrived containing recordings of newly-signed bands, lists of current tours, and a breakdown of on-going projects. I studied and listened. Those days, RCA was rudderless and seemingly, had no interest in Rock �N� Roll. I had been in an RCA band years earlier and personally felt that the company was asleep at the wheel. The cds in the package were disappointing. Overall, it appeared that the label was too busy following trends instead of creating them.People who write books are faced with these prejudices so often that they soon come to take them for granted. They know that publishers and the people who work for publishers are entitled to their own opinions, and some writers even come to believe that years of experience in such a setting gives the person magical powers for knowing what the readers out there are clamouring for. Strange. If you listen ' I mean really, really listen, pin back your ears and listen ' you will hear the strangest thing. Nothing. Readers don't talk. They don't shout and they don't demand. Occasionally one will write a letter to a publisher, usually to complain. That tells you nothing, also. It tells you what one person thinks, what about the other thousands who bought the book? No, the only real feedback that publishers ever get is called 'sales'. If people buy a book it's because they want it. If they don't want it, they don't buy it. So, if publishers really understood their audience, then they would never fail. Every book that was issued would sell just as many as the Traditional Publisher predicted, no more, no less. It doesn't happen. That can only mean one thing. In truth publishers are usually surprised by sales ' either too few, or more than expected ' for one reason only, because they don't know what readers want. Not today, not last year and certainly not next year. That's just the way it is. It's an unpredictable business.Unfortunately this example illustrates the second problem ' nonsense. If the publisher had said she didn't like the sex scene, that would have been understandable. That's her prerogative. However, she didn't bother to do that. She resorted to the line that 'the readers' wouldn't like it. How did she know? Had she asked any? How on earth could she conceivably come to the conclusion that they would have shared her unease? What research is being done to confirm such a view? What focus group is meeting and having such discussions right now? None. None and none. As always, people who start work at Traditional Publishers soon find themselves awarded the powers of a god. They instinctively know 'what the public wants'. Disturbingly, it often coincides with their own particular bents, foibles and opinions. What else?The most terrifying result can be an "alter-ego" or "piercing the corporate veil" action wherein the owners of a business entity may be held personally liable for the bad or negligent actions of the entity. Formality failure may also lead to an entity being denied for needed operational financing or a missed opportunity to sell the business because the buyer was worried the true health of the entity was not as advertised.� In the 80�s, industry returns skyrocket when formats change from LP to CD. The lesson to the executives? �The more I sit back and relax, the more money I make!�Hey, but I�m the guy with no business background. Silly me.* NEVER commingle or mix personal money with a business entity's money. The business entity should have its own bank accounts for its own transactions.With the above in mind, here�s my theory and the essential points of my pitch:* Do not "milk" money away from an entity via excessive dividends or distributions. If the business entity cannot make its regular payment obligations in the ordinary course of its business following a dividend to the owners, the dividend should be reduced or avoided.In hindsight, I think things could have gone either way for me. Going out on a limb for my �pitch� was well worth it, and I�ve done it again since. From an early age, I believed that you had to be the best at what you do. That�s what really matters. This is a noble mission, but there�s a lot left out of that statement. There�s your roomate at Yale or NYU, the personal connections with your neighbors in Great Neck or Scarsdale, the charity your family supports, your handicap on the golf course, the size of your trust fund, your fraternity brothers, your dad�s Wall Street associates, your wife the banker, or the Board that your mother chairs. I�ve never had any of these �assets.� Instead, after my RCA meeting, I could feel the loafer heel on my forehead as I was repelled from the party boat.A Valuable LessonAn example of the former occurred to me just a few years ago. I submitted a plan for a novel and a sample of the work, consisting of several chapters. It was a murder mystery, a crime fiction novel. In the first chapter a record producer is shot. In Chapter Two, Mickey, the investigating hero, is mysteriously thrown across the desk by the deceased man's secretary as she tries to force him to have sex. The publisher was appalled. She said to me that 'most of the readers (of such books) were women' and that they 'wouldn't want to see sex happening so close to a scene of death'. Now, apart from the fact that the secretary's need was a trifle inexplicable to our protagonist too, I happen to believe that such an event was psychologically true. People often dive into sex when reminded of the shortness and uncertainty of life. Anyone remember World War Two? But that isn't the main problem. The fact is that this publisher went on to reject the proposal ' simply because she didn't like Chapter Two. That's the equivalent of a builder saying, 'You've got plaster coming off the wall in the kitchen. We're going to have to demolish the house'. No, the answer to the builder is to tell him to get his plastering kit out and get that kitchen repaired. The answer to the publisher is to cut Chapter Two and rewrite it the way she wanted it. Why wasn't I encouraged to do that?� Record labels invest in genuinely creative acts (like Pink Floyd and The Doors) who produce quality products, which then generate billions of dollars. This type of music becomes the industry standard for the Rock genre as well as for generations of Rock fans.* All business assets, including real estate and vehicles, should be held in the name of the business entity and, where appropriate, the entity's name must appear on any certificates of title or deeds.I began with my theory of a �New� Rock �N� Roll, satisfying a disenfranchised and older market. I spared no detail and spoke from the heart as if we were at a Happy Hour on our third round. As my pitch progressed, Bob became distracted by phone calls, impromptu meetings and paperwork. He also went out and spoke to his secretary for several minutes. When he came back, he had a copy of the original letter I had sent them, and was skimming through it. It was obvious that he hadn�t read it. It also became apparent that he had no idea who I was and why I so desperately wanted to meet with him. In addition, I didn�t get the sense that this guy knew much about music. I�d refer to bands or songs to demonstrate a point and was waiting for the �Yeah! I know what you mean!� type of response. Instead, Bob grew restless and fidgety. At the end of ten minutes or so, he made a polite excuse and called our meeting to an end. He looked like a man who had been tortured by mindless talk about music�by a musician no less. The horror!He places the certificate on his desk, soon to be completely hidden from view as he gets to the business of being in business. He fails to hold company meetings, uses his own bank account for entity matters and even ignores the renewal notice from the secretary of state.� Work to develop their music over a long period of time (think of the many albums Bonnie Raitt produced before having success). In other words, stick with the artist and allow room for some failure.Sadly, this scenario could be a potential reality for more Oregon business owners than people may realize. Too often, business owners who have formed business entities become lax in their observance of corporate formalities.The lesson I learned was this: Assess, acknowledge, move on. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don�t. Sometimes you�re handed your station in life on a platter, and other times, no matter how hard you try, you�ll never achieve your dreams and goals. If that�s the case, don�t make a big deal about it, just move on to the next endeavour. However, it is important that you continue to assert yourself. Do the hard work and don�t worry too much about the outcome. Two years later, in a strange twist, I became an elementary teacher in the NYC Public School system. In a way, I felt like I had answered a calling. Teaching and I fit like hand in glove. In another way, because of my teaching job, my music career was never better. Finally, I was able to say �no� to sub-standard or underpaying gigs. In addition, my schedule was suddenly full, which made my time more valuable to me and my clients. Surprisingly, leaving my old lifestyle was as easy as dropping a hot coal. Assess, acknowledge, move on.� This new process also stiff-arms the 30 and over audience, who�ve since found comfort in the �new� country music.

The lesson I learned was this: Assess, acknowledge, move on. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don�t. Sometimes you�re handed your station in life on a platter, and other times, no matter how hard you try, you�ll never achieve your dreams and goals. If that�s the case, don�t make a big deal about it, just move on to the next endeavour. However, it is important that you continue to assert yourself. Do the hard work and don�t worry too much about the outcome. Two years later, in a strange twist, I became an elementary teacher in the NYC Public School system. In a way, I felt like I had answered a calling. Teaching and I fit like hand in glove. In another way, because of my teaching job, my music career was never better. Finally, I was able to say �no� to sub-standard or underpaying gigs. In addition, my schedule was suddenly full, which made my time more valuable to me and my clients. Surprisingly, leaving my old lifestyle was as easy as dropping a hot coal. Assess, acknowledge, move on.

Author: Brian Doherty