Negotiate Your Way To The Top

As an inspiring artist, one of the most powerful business tools to get under your belt is the power of negotiation. Learning how to negotiate with others is the key to building successful business partnerships and despite what you think, you can’t reach the levels you desire as a one man or woman show.  As I approached the Negotiation course, my goal was to gain a better understanding of negotiation tactics that will enhance my ability to close deals for my company.

Learning the art of negotiation is something that most artists and creative professionals have failed to conquer, therefore they typically walk away from their entertainment industry career feeling slighted.  The dominant characteristic of a skilled negotiator is that they consider the negotiation from both sides. A good negotiator simply wants to win; a great negotiator desires a win that is beneficial for both parties.

Here are three attributes of a great negotiator:

1)   A great negotiator has good research skills. This allows them to reach a realistic goal based on the information they have gathered prior to the negotiation session.

2)   A great negotiator is realistic. They recognize the realistic boundaries of not only their part of the negotiation, but anticipate the other parties boundaries and negotiates strategically within them.

3)   A great negotiator is an active listener. It’s important that a great negotiator doesn’t just hear what the other party is saying but is skilled in communicating what is heard back to the other party so that the conversation comes to a mutual agreement.

4)   A great negotiator asks questions. He who asks the questions controls the conversation in a negotiation session. Don’t be afraid to ask hard questions and tie down your negotiating party with questions like, “Is that correct?” and “can we agree on that?”

Throughout my experience this month, I have learned that fine-tuning my negotiating skills will allow me to become a better music business professional for you, my artist, clients and industry friends. I have been able to apply them to my real world experience while I have been negotiating deals with a local venue to host a weekly event. Understanding these four negotiating principles allowed me to enhance those conversations. I encourage all artists to begin using them to push yourself to the next level of your career. Remember, your dream is just a wish without action and faith…negotiate your way to the top!

Interview with an Entertainment Lawyer

I finally had a chance to reach out to the other gatekeeper to the key of success for my class, future business avenues, and my business entity.

The young lawyers’ name is Mr. Jack Krumbein, MBA, JD Attorney at Law. 

I was surprised how reserved he was when he came up to my table asking my name to be for sure that I was the man described in his early text. As I got up to shake his hand hoping he wouldn’t tell my nervousness I answered, “yes I am.” We sat down and with no time of asking how he was we were off with the interview as I put on my reading glasses to get in character with the questions I had to ask for my paper and for my questions as well to learn what and how the Entertainment Business of Music is operated with ways of negotiation to gain a win/win for both sides asking for what they want and what they need to feel that both parties are happy at the end of the negotiation.

I started with the usual question of the experience and background of Mr. Krumbein; which was a 20-year stretch in the music business in the Los Angeles area and it has sent him over 20 countries in the world before his law degree. He has been in Entertainment Law for a year now. He was ready to get started so I begin the questioning and I hope to all my readers learn some things that matter to help you understand that without a lawyer or a team of legal advisors you will probably be taken for all your hard work or either you will be working for pennies and thinking you suppose to be working for more. So enjoy the learning experience because you are whom this is for.

Question was:

When doing a distribution form of negotiation what is the best way of approaching the situation?

Answer:

Being professional, stay objective, and able to make provisions to make the deal happen. For the record, “remember that you are there to capitalize on what is behind the label with the distribution access.”

Question was:

How do you separate the people from the problem when you are negotiating?

Answer:

You cannot separate the person from the problem. It is all about making the deal for the client. You have to keep a good relationship and a good hypocrisy affect of getting the payday between both sides.

 Question:

How do you handle positional bargaining tactics?

Answer:

By enforcing issues of politics in the business, and staying away from take it or leave it deals especially those with no real leverage.

Question:

How do you handle dirty tactic such as tricks in negotiating?

Answer:

When the other side lies or use trickery just walk away from the table. Stay transparent and always have enforcement ability for clauses and money for outside sources like auditors to make sure that all agreements dealing with such goes as plan.

Question:

Give me an example of a deal that you have done with your contracts  and they had to be mutual benefited?

Answer:

An 11 contract cycle that covers the money revenue stream, legal reservations that happen to enforce the contracts to have the issue resolved. He also included the fact that compromising is the center of negotiating. The example was putting the contract together within a team of a songwriter, artist, and producer; which help to make up a single work of art in the music business. Without one you can not have the other to make a whole work so the contracts must be able to back one up for the other to get what they want out of each person in their positions and interest.

Question:

What do you feel are your good attributes for being a good Entertainment lawyer?

Answer:

The ability to integrate business law and music along with dealing with Entertainment Finance, being a musician all his life, and being music business savvy allows him to build and keep relationships with his clients of past and present. I do want my readers to know that what you have read is me trying to be helpful to show artist that my blogs are to help and even get people to understand how serious I am to be the best Artist Manager, CEO, and small business owner for this industry of

Music. I hope that what you do learn from what I have been able to open your eyes

too is a plus not a negative because for any more of the knowledge that I was able to

acquire just like it was told to me all information costs and the ability to perform the

action of giving the client what they are interested in or asking a position out of something than pay the cost to be the boss of knowledge.