The Next Food Network Star!

I'm kind of a fool for those food reality shows…Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, Ace of Cakes. But The Next Food Network Star is different. It's not about just great food or great culinary experience. It's something more. To be the next Food Network star, the winner has to have something special. THEY NEED TO CONNECT WITH THE AUDIENCE! It can be frustrating at times to watch some of these very talented people struggle at "performing". Some do fine in front of a camera but freeze in front of an audience. For some it's the other way around. The next Food Network star must have at it all. They need the whole package. Cool in front of the camera, cool in front of an audience, they need culinary talent, they must make the food not only taste good but look good AND look like it tastes good. They need to make your mouth water when you watch. They need to be likable, and most importantly they need to be authentic. As chef Bobby Flay says about the lack of authenticity…the audience will pick up on it and so will the viewers.

Well I'm sure you can see where I'm going with all this. When it comes to being an artist (no matter the genre) you have to connect. For some this comes natural and for some it ain't easy. Nothing worse than watching an artist crash and burn before your very eyes (okay maybe a comedian …all by himself trying to be funny and all you hear are crickets). Most artist will tell you "that's who I am, I can't fake it". Let me be clear, I am not suggesting you be anything you aren't. However, it is important to know who you are and enhance those appealing qualities. It's also important to listen to your audience. Not just what they say but what they don't say. Any artist who has felt the roar of genuine applause vs. the polite clapping knows what I'm talking about here. Find the things that work and ditch the stuff that doesn't. As an artist, like the Next Food Network Star, it's the whole package that is going to make things work.

BTW...A couple of pet peeves for me when watching a band… - music stands - I hate 'em, especially when they become a crutch for a musician or vocalist to stare down at. If you really need them make them as inconspicuous as possible. It's important to look at the audience and make the audience feel like your performing your music for them NOT because "it's a gig". And the other... if you're having fun…show it! If your audience likes you…they are more likely to like your music. The too cool for school vibe doesn't always work. Some artists may be able to get away with being condescending and standoffish (Miles Davis and Prince come to mind) but in general, like the next Food Network Star you stand a better chance by connecting and coming off as a person folks want to hang with down at the local pub. In fact at your next gig…invite everyone down to the local pub, have a nice hang and get to know your fans. The first one's on me!

Steve Belkin is a music business consultant and owner of Open All Nite Entertainment and an artist manager and partner with Left Coast Music Group.

The Ex-Boyfriend Syndrome

The ex-boyfriend syndrome... Your last boyfriend beat you and treated you like crap so you assume the next guy is going to do the same. So before you even get things started your punishing the next guy, protecting yourself from getting hurt and securing your self-fulfilling prophecy that all men are jerks.

This happens to us all the time in all types of situations. We've all felt taken, ripped off and had sellers or buyers remorse. We've all heard or said the cliché's…"Once Bitten…Twice Shy", "Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me" and so on. These situations are not unusual and sometimes they may not be avoidable. However, allowing for a fresh start without a lot of baggage will give a relationship the opportunity to grow. As a consultant and as a manager I've experienced the ex-boyfriend syndrome all too often. Unfortunately I've found myself spending time defending against overactive imaginations, paranoid attitudes and baseless accusations. Eventually these relationships don't last. They can't. When you go to work with someone and your head is on the chopping block and your sitting with two strikes against you…the inevitable is ineffectiveness or worse…just plain nothing happens. I recently had a client that wanted to promote a young pop/rock artist. I brought in a friend of mine who also happens to be a very reputable radio promoter in the format we were going for. Long story short, my client went into the discussions on the defensive. He'd been ripped off before and wasn't going to pay a dime without proof of radio play first. Some of you may see the wisdom of this approach. "I'll only pay on results!". The problem was that from the outset, there was no trust. No trust in me and who I brought in, no trust in my reputable friend and promoter, and no trust in the artist, the process and the system. We were all doomed to fail. The reality of this business is that it's a gamble. You need to do your best to reduce the risk but at the end of the day it is a VERY risky business. The best we can do is to surround ourselves with solid, credible, reputable people. The best we can do is give the people we hire the best tools possible. The most we can expect is that people get out there and do what they say they can do. Life's not just about taking chances but giving chances as well. SO be apprehensive. Be guarded. But understand that a leap of faith doesn't start with the dipping of your toes but with a running start and a great dive!

Steve Belkin is a music business consultant and owner of Open All Nite Entertainment and an artist manager and partner with Left Coast Music Group.

CIY is the real DIY

For the past ten to fifteen years or so the rally cry has been DIY. DO IT YOURSELF! The idea that you can do it all. There have been conferences built around the concept and the industry now embraces the idea that Artists, Songwriters, Bands Can do it all and do it themselves.

As a consultant for indie labels and emerging and indie artists, I too raised my fist in defiance that the artist do it all! But something didn't feel right. As I talked to artists, writers, etc. so many of them felt overwhelmed by the requirements of the DIY world. They realized that they didn't have all the facts. They didn't have all the knowledge. They didn't have all the resources and they didn't necessarily have all the talent. This is when I had my little epiphany. It's not about DIY. It's about CIY...Control it yourself. Many of us already knew this but it was never so clear. If we started from the CIY frame of reference, this gave us permission to NOT do it all. Now we could have no problem outsourcing. We could hire a publicist, promoters, marketing, managers, agents, assistants, etc. But at the end of the day...we made the final decisions. We received the lions share of the revenue. So the key to control is to surround yourself with a rock solid team that you can trust to go out and do the best job possible. However, if you're the controller, if you are the person making all the decisions, then you need to own that position. No more claims of "I'm just a musician", "I'm just the guitar player", "I'm just the singer", "Not my area", "Not my job". That doesn't mean you need to do everyone's job...That would be silly old DIY. No, no, no it is time to learn about the jobs, understand the motivation of each person doing the job and and hire the folks that really know the job. So get out there and be the CEO of your CIY world! .....C-Ya!