Manangement for Musicians: Intro

I’ve been working on quite a few projects at the same time in the last couple of weeks and decided that I would spend the next couple of blogs talking about management for musicians. I’ve worked on my own and with a lot of artists over the years and I’ve found that most musicians don’t get as much done not for lack of trying but of simple mismanagement. Most musicians these days pretty much have to do it all: write, record, tour and promote. Getting all of this done can be overwhelming to almost anyone never mind the fact that most musicians have never been taught how to properly manage any one of these things. I also have come to realize the value of this discipline and hold it right up there with marketing and promotion. It’s the use of these management skills that ultimately allows me to get everything else done.

Basically when it comes to getting anything done, it’s all about management. There’s time management, project management and career management. No matter what you’re working on right now, all three of these have a place in what you’re trying to accomplish. If you don’t like doing paperwork and feel that you’re not much of a planner, stick with me, nether am I…or at least I wasn’t. I’ve learned how to incorporate some great time and project management skills without becoming a stiff administrator.

In the next couple of blogs I’ll be focusing on project management and how to make sure that you get everything done using your existing skills and habits. I’ve taken courses and read many books on the subjects of time management and project management and they all seem to want to make you fit into a preconceived program that has no bearing on who or how you are. I’ve been making to-do lists and creating planners for years yet never seemed to get very far. I’ve always had a problem doing things on a regimented system and tried to find some sort of way to use the great skills that these courses described but within my own capabilities and faults. It’s all about using what you have and not trying to squeeze into some regimented drill sergeant routine.

More to come…