Planning and Execution

The vocal point leaders in the music industry focus on during an industry project such as the creation of an album are essentially planning and execution according to musicthinktank.com author Peter Ducker. The article entitled “Management In the Music Industry,” goes in depth about what is needed to succeed with long and short-term projects in the music industry in regards to the management of artist and products. Recently, Ducker and his management developed an album for one of their rock groups. Ducker says that every part from budgeting to customer satisfaction is important but says neither of those key aspects will prosper without planning followed by execution.  A quote from Peter Ducker states," long- range planning is necessary precisely because we cannot forecast." My translation of that statement is planning should be thoroughly done just in case things don't go according to plan A or B. According to the article how well you execute (sales, marketing) reflects your planning. So, execution will impact all elements in your project and that will determine how will the planning was done. In order to successfully execute you must strategize efficiently so that value of what you are producing and its creativity is available. Strategizing is something that Ducker and his team rely on heavily while planning. But, the key words are planning and execution the two things Ducker feels are vital in the completion of a successful industry project. Furthermore, the article says how important planning is for the marketing strategy. As you can see planning is involved in each step, especially marketing because you want to market your product or artist to the appropriate audience otherwise you won’t get the response expected and money and value will began to decrease. Again, your planning reflects your execution in the long run, because you have to plan what market, what audience and when the project should be dropped to successfully execute all points discussed in planning. Research should be constantly done during planning and execute says Ducker. In the music industry technology is often changing and that can affect your execution because a method you used in the past that was successful may no longer be an option. For example, years ago before the Internet music could only be purchase on albums or cassettes which made it easier to sell because you could only buy it from the store. Now, in this modern day where the Internet is the main outlet for distribution of music, the planning has to be on target for the artist to sell his/her music successfully. Otherwise, little to no money will be gain from the album which results in your execute. So, this is why planning and execution are the leading factors to a successful production in the music industry.

Team Work

A team effort is always better than an effort of one man alone. Look at basketball it takes five men to win a game or even football, there are multiple players on the field that each produce inadequate effort to gain success. Speaking on sports for a moment, recently Lebron James and Chris Bosh joined the Miami Heat. Now many were mad because the Miami Heat already had a super star in Dwayne Wade and felt adding Lebron James and Chris Bosh would be unfair. But, people tend to forget that basketball is a team sport that takes five men to win. The Miami Heat gathered its five best men that would give their team the best production to reach a team championship. Now, it is important to have a team in the music industry as well because each person adds something that the other may lack or may not be knowledgeable about. For example, when it comes to artist relations you need at least five people to assist you if you want to properly give the artist what they need. There has to be someone to handle the booking and scheduling of events, there has to be a tour manager, a road manager, a producer, a media consultant, and etc. According to Rhonda Adams, author of Successful Business Plans, “the quality of people determines the success of the business,” (Adams p 215). Therefore, when putting together my team I will gather the best people I know who contribute the links I need to run my business. Although I want to work in the music industry as an artist manager I want to start up my own record label. Adams also states, that when you are putting your team together you should use an evaluation worksheet to determine who your “ key employees,” will be (Adams p 217). The elements of the evaluation are as follows: Experience- related to the current position, Successes- accomplishments, Education and Strengths- best attributes in a business setting and Areas lacking strength- area where enhancements can be made to make person an effective leader/ manager. By conducting this evaluation I will be able to put together a success team that will help me reach my goals within the business.  I will communicate with my team on a daily business through meetings. Communication is a must to be successful in anything. So, we will conduct daily meetings to discuss business plans, new ideas and etc. Also, I will communicate via phone and email to discuss ideas or anything of importance when I am away from the office.  Finally, has the CEO of this company I would personally meet with my employees often and have talks with them concerning their work and things they need improvement on and compliment what they are doing correctly to help the company succeed.