ION INDIE MAGAZINE August 2014, Volume 3 | Page 71

KNOWING WHO TO TRUST IN THE INDUSTRY
By Jon Landers/TBAIMS
Although I am still fairly new to the music industry, if there is one thing I have seen and experienced, it is meeting
people who claim to be one thing—and turn out to be something quite the opposite. What I can tell the music artists
that are trying to connect with people in the industry is—do your homework whenever you meet someone that says
they are an A&R or Producer that can help you out in your music career. Do as much research on this person as you
have time to. It is time well spent; especially is you find out that person is not “connected” in ways he or she says
they are.
It isn’t that difficult to research someone. The first “red light” that should go off in your head is when the contact is
not comfortable providing legitimate referrals of artists they have worked with in the past. I realize certain artists like
their privacy, and I totally respect that. But it is not too much of an intrusion to message one on Facebook asking to
confirm that they, in fact, have worked with the industry professional you are trying to check out.
To give you an example, I was approached by someone in Las Vegas that stated he was a Music Promoter that hosted
these great big music showcases a few times a year that put the artists that wanted to participate in front of a large
audience that included media. He charged several hundred dollars for the opportunity and claimed he was very
successful with it. I checked his website—which was rather generic, in that it didn’t give too much information about
the different artists without their hometowns mentioned--so I was already a bit suspicious about this. When I googled
their names and checked music websites—where I assumed they would have their music on—four of the five did not
exist whatsoever! The fifth I was able to locate and contact. When I got him on the phone, he knew nothing about
this showcase.
So, when you are approached by some flashy person that is a quick and smooth-talker, make sure you get their
business card and check them out on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to see if they have a profile and how many
followers they have. If they make any claims of success with other artists, be sure to ask for their names and, more
importantly, their music websites to verity that they are, in fact, who they say they are.
And if you find that the person you researched seems legit, make sure you use an entertainment attorney to represent
you, since you could still be duped into a bad contract if you don’t know what to look for in the small print. It is an
investment well worth it in the long run!

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