Posted by Article on June 22, 2008, 8:50 am
Board Administrator
"You gotta peel a few taters & mop a few floors"
by
Lonnie Ratliff
I suppose one of the things I have never understood about some singers is how unprepared they are to actually be singers. They will practice singing and playing their guitar for hours on end but that is where they seem to think it should all end. You ask them about even the most basic element of how to run their business as a singer and you get the classic "I'm not interested in the business part I just wanna sing" answer. Well let me tell you, Nashville is full of people getting rich off these singers who are not interested in the business side of music. This type artist is also the one who wastes more time looking for a manager than it would take to learn how to manage themselves. My answer to anyone who says they need to find a manager has always been "manage that" ? ?
If you're not making any money or been approached by a major label wanting to sign you then there is nothing to manage.
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I always look at the music business like I would any other business. You start out by doing everything yourself and you only hire other people when you can afford them. If you are the best cook in the county and decide to open a restuarant but you are on a shoe string budget then you have to do everything yourself. You've got to cook all the meals which you love to do but you also have to mop the floors and peel the taters, kinda sucks. If you want to have a succesful restaurant some day there is no way around it because you have no extra money to pay tater peelers & floor moppers. One good thing you will learn from this is that once everyone in the county figures out how good a cook you are your cafe will be packed for dinner every evening. Then and only then you can then afford to hire some help. When you hang that "Help Wanted" sign in the cafe window you will already know how long it should take to peel a peck of taters and you will have learned that you have to change the water in the mop bucket a few times to get the floor good and clean. With this insider information you are now gonna know who is a good floor mopper or tater peeler when they ask you for a job just by talking to them and when you do hire someone they will be an asset who will help your business, not bankrupt it.
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Just like the restuarant business or any other business It isn't easy to learn all one needs to know and the smart ones will keep on learning as long as they are in the business. That knowledge they pick up will be reflected in their success. You can't make a couple of phone calls or read an article and figure it all out in one afternoon but you can figure it out eventually. It's not rocket science. You are just singing songs and entertaining folks who already like music and by now you already figured out that you can sing. All you gotta do now is turn that into a career instead of an expensive hobby.
Always keep in mind that most of the people you know probably hate their jobs. If you can figure out how to make a living singing you will be one of the lucky ones who can spend a lifetime doing something they love. That should be worth peelin' a few taters and moppin' a few floors. Just set your mind to figuring out how the business side of your music career works.
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As that famous "Okie" Will Rogers once said there are three ways to learn how to do something. Some will learn by reading books, some will learn by watching what others do and there will be those who just have to piss on the electric fence to figure it out. I guess in the end it doesn't matter how you learn as long as you learn.
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