Building Your Own Value
We try to work with acts that have marquee value. The business has changed a lot. There was a time a kid with a dream would play in his garage, write a song, send it out, get discovered and have a career. There was even a time they would play the club scene and build a following. These days, kids have to go out, create something through social media or YouTube and build their career on their own.
Going (and Leaving) Metal
When James Brown went to jail, a friend of mine had a heavy metal label called Roadrunner. He said, “Do you want to book these bands for me?” I started with Sepultura, Sacred Reich, Napalm Death, Sick Of It All, King Diamond, Mercyful Fate...It was very lucrative.
But when Brown got out of jail, I was getting $100,000 a show. All of a sudden, I didn’t want to book metal. It’s a lot of work for groups getting $3,000 and $4,000 a show, so I followed the money.
Contracts and Honor
You always try to get a contract. How much you can enforce a contract when people are unhappy is another question. People sign contracts in marriage and then that doesn’t work out so well. So what did that contract mean? A contract is only as good as the people who sign to it and want to honor it. And if you’re doing a good job, people will honor the contract.
Become an Agent!
Anybody that’s [running an agency] successfully has a telephone, an office, a staff. Call up, ask for human resources, start in the mailroom, work hard. And if you think you’re going to work from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. then go home, it’s probably not the business for you. Put in the hours. It’s 24/7. And it’s a fun business, but it is what it is––a business.
Everything Passes
You learn in show business nothing lasts forever. Don’t take it personally. When you think you have something good, you don’t have it anymore. They’re coming out in droves. Next year, 1,500 people show up. And then the next show it’s 1,200 and it’s not working. Everything gets hot then cools down. Save your money, because it doesn’t last forever.
Production Counts
In the ‘90s, a rock & roll group called Riot V, who had not recorded in years, came to me and said they wanted to record. I wrote a check for maybe $5,000. It was out of boredom.
The kid delivered three well-produced songs. I couldn’t tell you if they were good, but the production and quality of the arrangements and sound were equal to what I was hearing from metal bands I was working with. There were buyers for it, because the production was there. If you have the ability to deliver something of quality then you have a good shot at a career, because you’re the talent behind the song.
Never Say No
Entertainers are not you and they’re not me. You’re told no all the time: when you want to buy something you can’t afford, when you want to go to a concert that’s sold out. Celebrities never hear no. Agents were created so they didn’t have to hear bad news.
You and I don’t have an agent. When you’re broke, you know it. When they’re broke, they don’t have a clue. They still fly on private jets thinking the world’s hunky dory. When they get the bad news it means their career is over.
Don’t Stop Believing
When I was a kid, I had long hair and an earring, I smoked pot and had a dream. One day my father sat me down and asked me what I was doing with my life. I told him that I was going into show business—that I was going to be an agent or a producer. I’m going to make a lot of money, have a house in the Hamptons and go to L.A. every day. I reassured him not to worry about me and that everything was going to be fine. Afraid his kid was going to starve to death he questioned further, “Who’s giving you a job? How are you going to make this happen?”
Well, it does happen. It happened to me, it can happen to you. Have the perseverance and ability to believe. Don’t stop believing. Take two or three years to pursue a dream.
Clients: Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Coolio, Tone Loc, Young MC, All-4-One, Color Me Badd, Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown, Floetry.
Years with Company: 35
Web: universalattractions.com
Email: info@universalattractions.com
