Best Practices

Best Practices

This class provided a great deal of information on artist, and product management, and how the two come together as one in the road of building an artist image.  I learned that as an artist manager you are a full-time multi tasker the artist is virtually depending on to succeed in the entertainment industry.  The link that I detected between the artist and product management, and the one that made the most sense to me was the product endorsement.  “ Product endorsement involves the artist name, and likeness being directly connected with a specially manufactured product line” (Frascogna, Hetherington, 2004, page 174).

So although there are many best practices to choose from, I decided to address the ones that I feel I will be able to use in the future. There is no particular order of importance as they are all useful tools for anyone in the business:

·      When taking up the task of managing an artist you should always have a clear understanding of the responsibilities you have as detailed in the contract.  This is something I can use in the future if I do get the chance to manage a versatile artist such as Prince Cat-Eyez.

·      Along the same lines of the above paragraph I believe that as an artist manager you must always go over all the details in the contract, and have a professional draw up the contract to ensure that all the legal language is clear to all parties to avoid conflict in the future. This is something that I can definitely use in the future to protect myself against liability, and in the event of a lawsuit I will have the tools to have a favorable judgment in court. The varied nature of relationships makes it difficult to draw general provisions but every contract will have certain key terms in common (Frascogna, Hetherington, 2004).

·      In terms of product management I believe that is always a best practice to have a specific goal you are trying to accomplish with the launching of a new product. Will the goal be a short-term goal or a long-term goal?  This is something I can definitely use now and in the future since I am working on a home based business that involves a website I am promoting that has all kinds of home products.  Research should always be present to determine the market conditions including, buying trends, demographics, location, and such.

·      The best practice when it comes to marketing I product is diversification. The purpose I see behind it relates to new channels that come up everyday to reach the consumer; this will affect not only how he or she views a product but also even how he or she will purchase it.  In the home business I am trying to launch this is a very important tool I will be using to reach new consumers.

These best practices are just a sample of the huge amount out there that can vary based on need, channel of distribution, market, and much more. As a artist/product manager this is an ongoing process that should only improve over time.

Frascogna, X., & Hetherington, H. (2004) The business of artist management. New York: Billboard Books, an imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications Group, a division of Random House Inc. New York.

Project Management Interview

For this particular assignment I chose to interview a friend, and role model of mine. His name is Tomas John Sullivan who has a strong background as a project manager. Tomas, hereafter refer to as Tom, has worked for companies such as Springer Miller Systems, which is a computer software company.  His track record shows skill diversity that includes project management, front office manager, customer service, and employee development.

1.     What is the first thing you do when you prepare to start a project? The first thing I do is to take a look at the agenda. Verify if I have the strongest experience and knowledge to handle every aspect of the operation. In the event that I do not, I would immediately reach out to my network channels.

2.     Along those lines, how do you start accessing that network? I would outline what I needed to have done in advance.  The very next step is to contact the department I knew I was going to get feedback from because I find that if I talk to this party in advance I would get all the information, and assistance needed for the project.

3.     Do you delegate responsibility? Absolutely, one of the things that I dealt with in the past was peer training as part of the project. Delegating responsibility would provide trainees with on-the-job experience but you have to give very detailed instructions. This just one example though.

4.     Did you manage your own deadlines or did you have set deadlines most of the time? If you did how did you meet them? We had customer deadlines, which is what I always shoot for. However, I had my own deadlines to ensure I exceeded expectations which, I accomplished 98% of the time.

5.      Do you always have a back up plan and how does it work? You always have to have a back up plan. Every project is different but the one thing they all have in common is that instructions, specifications, and in the case of software configurations, can change at anytime. You just have to be prepared for anything.

6.     Are budgets something you deal with? Most of the projects I handled had a set budget so I did not have to negotiate. However, sometimes budgets can be tight and this is when you go back to the client to reevaluate.

7.     How do you accomplish goals through people? You provide feedback; give positive criticism by using positive words.  You also make sure they know they will get credit for their contribution to the project.

8.     What do you think makes a good project manager? To me it’s very simple; a good project manager is someone who does not make assumptions. A good manager researches, evaluates, and communicates.

This was a very interesting journey for me. I have always enjoyed learning from people’s experiences. This is where the must current information is. I would like to thank Tomas John Sullivan for his valuable contribution to my project.