Some years ago I was member of an association, believed with passion in the goals, and thought the whole time that I had to fight against the board to protect the goals. From one of my coaching clients I heard a similar story. He told me that they all agreed on doing a certain show for a low fee, and suddenly the drummer refused to play. And how harder they tried to convince him, how more stubborn he got. In […]
Next week the first big event in European music business starts, Eurosonic in Groningen in the Netherlands. It’s a showcase event with seminars and workshops. During the last couple of years more and more showcase events pop up, all with similar outlines: festival at night, often at various locations, seminar/trade fair during daytime. You could have a full-time job all year though you wanted to visit them all, and still would have to miss some! All the events work with […]
Happy 2014! Every new year feels like a fresh start again. We think about the past year, about the lessons we’ve learned, and have good intentions for the new year. It’s often a switch of habits, like now I’m starting to eat healthy, to quit smoking, to be kind to my colleagues, to start sporting, etc. I’ve often started the new year with celebrations, fireworks and hugging everyone. And some hours later I woke up with a hangover! The freshness […]
Everyone is looking forward to celebrate christmas again. You see the joyfulness at the pictures on facebook, the happy faces, the happy families, in a cozy living room decorated for the celebration. You enjoy to listen to christmas carols, thinking of the great days that are ahead. That’s also the picture we see in all the advertisements. We don’t celebrate yet, we look forward to it and expect it to be perfect, just like our imagination. The other side is […]
It has been quiet on this blog for quite a while. I had lots of ideas to write about, make notes, and didn’t write. How come? There is this sudden doubt about what I want with this blog. How do I want to continue? I’m a booking agent, the relationship with my artist is very different than the relationship I have with coach clients. Do I have to choose, or can I do both? What is it I really want? […]
After a quite serious storm last Monday, the trees have lost many leaves. Suddenly I can see the structure of the tree, the branches that are usually hidden by the leaves. Makes me think of structure in general. Structure is often seen as the opposite of freedom. Structure can work as a coffin, as a prison. That’s how I experienced the structure of the village life in my youth. The only way out was another structure, the structure of religious […]
I just finished reading the book “Dag vriend!” (Hi/bye, friend!) from Stine Jensen. It’s very inspiring! She looks at the concept of friendships from various perspectives. One of the perspectives is social media and Facebook. At Facebook, we share with dozens (and potentially millions) of people what we used to share with our best friend only. All the stuff that you don’t want others to know about you, that’s your intimate capital or your intimate treasure. And how more famous […]
“Your real job in the world is to be you. Comparing yourself to others hurts you more than anything – it’s poison.” India Arie
Traditionally, many artists think that you can’t have both, creative success and commercial success. You can only be really creative, if you don’t give a damn about commerce. And if you do want to become rich, you make so many compromises that you can’t call yourself creative anymore. A thought that is doing quite well recently in business theories, is that if you show your true self and if you discover your unique talents, that commercial success will come to […]
It’s like today is screaming the whole time ‘expect the unexpected’ to me! It started when I woke up from a nasty dream. When I got up, everything was misty outside. Later on, the sun broke through and it was a beautiful and warm autumn-day. And on the way to the office I had a flat tire that I had to fix while I was full of other plans. Somehow that is what fall as season tells me every year […]
The open letter of Sinead O’Connor to Miley Cyrus seems to be an issue in the music business right now. Sinead writes about Mileys new video clip Wrecking Ball. Below I have the link, in case you haven’t seen it yet. Sinead has great respect for Miley as an artist, and is telling her that she is exploited by all the men in the music business, who are prostituting her in order to make money for themselves. A great addition […]
An artist can not fail, it is a success to be one. – Charles Horton Cooley
What’s the secret of all the people who have their company listed in the Fortunes500? Why do they make it, and most of us don’t? That’s the question that Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston asked themselves when interviewing women who are in the Fortunes500. And they came with some remarkable results. All the women didn’t lean back to wait for the knight in shining armor, they took life into their own hands. And that’s not easy. “Take your life into […]
Snakes and ladders is an ancient Indian board game. It’s very simple: you roll the dice, move your piece accordingly. If you come to a field with a ladder, you can move up to where the ladder ends. If you come to a field with a snake, you have to move down to the tail of the snake. Recently I did some reflections on my work as booking agent and as personal e-coach for artists. It reminds me of this […]
I love circles. They can include anything and everything. I see them all around me: here a light bulb, lots of cd’s, some lp’s, a clock, pots with plants, pans in the kitchen, outside wheels at bicycles and cars. And a picture of circles in the field 😉 The problem with circles is, that they can also constrain you. You want to stay within the borders of the circle, and you start walking round and round and don’t see a […]