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Parent Category: Onstage

By Natasha T. Brown

Inauguration weekend brings lots of people to the city and several parties to choose from. In the party spirit, this week I took a look at the nightlife industry, which would be nothing without promoters who are dedicated to attracting paying crowds, week after week in an oftentimes dog-eat-dog industry where winning is a must. The average person who only sees the final product, a packed or empty club, may not realize the thought process and ingredients promoters put into winning.

There are rewards to promoting, which include the overwhelming high of being architects of an entire city’s entertainment – knowing the smiles seen in Facebook albums, on Instagram after a party, and in Twitter avatars, are the result of your great work and superb promotions.

The challenges, and grimy parts of the promoting business are the obstacles that are thrown in the way of those who are winning to hinder their success. Oftentimes, it comes from within when two or more promotional companies collaborate on events – and one party doesn’t do their part, but still wants the pay-off. People’s dedication and skills don’t always match up.

Everyone wants to win, but not everyone has figured out the winning ingredients to profit in an oversaturated industry where the originators and newcomers battle for the same crowds night after night.
Winning Ingredient #1 – Consistency/Name Recognition

“I can promote anything. I am a people mobilizer; I can do a bar mitzvah,” said Dre All Day in the Paint, with just a tad bit of sarcasm.
If you know entertainment in the DMV, you know Promoter and Host Dre All Day in the Paint of Allday Ent. He is credited with creating the term “DMV” to describe the rap-entertainment industry, helped build the bridge between underground rap artists and mainstream nightlife, mainly by proving that clubs and promoters could get paid by attaching recording artists to their events. He has attracted large crowds to a variety of events since the mid ‘90s. Dre may host a national act such as Pastor Troy or Nicki Minaj on a Saturday night, an open mic on a Monday, The Stadium Club on a Tuesday – then rock a go-go the following day. Dre All Day has been affiliated with go-go and the Backyard Band for two decades, has dabbled in radio and promotes music. He also ensures that his face is seen at events all around the city each night.

Winning ingredients? Dre All Day’s consistency keeps him relevant.

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Parent Category: Onstage

by Natasha T. Brown

Ever wonder why different roles on an artist's or entertainer's team are necessary? How their contributions differ and why artists with such strong teams excel, while those who seemingly do everything on their own, simply don't have the same results as their counterparts?

It's not only about quantity, or the amount of people on a team that makes team atmospheres work. It's more so about the thinking that clarifies roles that makes a team effective. Each member is trained to think differently, or by experience, they grow to think differently and more specialized in their roles than other members on the team. It's true that some people have experience on various levels and can do more than one duty, but whenever possible, structure your team with specialized members who each think about and implement different programs.

Here is how a well-structured team thinks

· Managers mainly think about money and how to make money for the artist/team. (Therefore, they have spent their time networking and building relationships with individuals who write checks.)

· Publicists think mainly about how to get more people to pay attention to their client/project, often through media placements. (They have spent their time networking and building relationships with media outlets, other publicists who do similar jobs and tastemakers who attract attention.)

· Booking Agents think about who they need to connect with to get their artists on events and what events their artists would be good for. (They have spent their time learning about performance outlets, meeting promoters and venue owners/booking staff, etc.)

· Personal managers ensure that the artist's/entertainers personal affairs are intact so that he/she can focus on business. (They may have direct connects to makeup artists, know what food and brands the artist likes, etc, and know how to reach an artist's family member. They are on the inside and in the business.)

· Assistants help keep things organized and keep the workflow flowing per se. (They are great organizers, and know where to find things, can save time and money and solve simple, important problems on a whim.)

While many independent artists only have a publicist or a manager who handles all of the above, there is a benefit in hiring specialists for your team or project or even breaking things down more distinctly so that specific roles within an area are covered by different people.

One of the approaches Think Brown INK is taking this year with certain clients is breaking down the public relations function into very specific roles to allow more specialized focus. One client that we're testing this out on is an entertainer who also has deep ties to health/beauty and social causes. There are three people on her team: one person handles her entertainment media outreach and social media, another person focuses on community and philanthropy and also health initiatives, while the third person handles specific media outreach and serves as a point person who brings everything together. I am a firm believer in segmenting and (after you know the vision and where you want to go) breaking tasks down into individual parts with a different person assigned to each task.

In my experience, programs, projects and clients who have specialty members on their teams who think differently but work cohesively see far better results than those who want a publicist to handle PR, events, management, booking, etc. I've tried it both ways, and while it can work, the best results always come with a well-oiled team or management machine. Teamwork most certainly makes the artist's dreams work.

Natasha Brown is a writer and founding communications strategist of Think Brown INK, a creative think tank and strategic communications agency in the Washington area. Follow her on Twitter @TBINatasha@NBrownINK or her company @ThinkBrownINK.

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Parent Category: Onstage

By Natasha T. Brown

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Parent Category: Onstage