Thursday, August 19, 2010

For the Love of....

I book a band. I negotiate with the agent on a price. Then I negotiate with their management on specifics on the contract. Then I spend money marketing them & pushing their product (band). Then, day of, I argue with the tour manager on things like dinner menus. Then, I pay them. If the night is a success, the venue makes some money. Then I pay licensing fees to big companies that never even pay the artist back. Throughout the whole process, the venue/promoter (me, and by the way, i hate the word, promoter) is looked upon as the opponent, not as part of the equation in making an artist successful. End of the day, question: what is the motivation for the venue?

MOTIVATION. MOTIVES. Always been an interesting word. Whats behind the action of an individual or group? What drives or motivates the words coming out of someone's mouth. You hear the "chess" analogy alot, especially in the business sphere, but also in relationships, group settings, even foreign relations. I've got to thinking: Do people even know they are playing?

Let me give you some examples. You dont want to date someone anymore, so you become distant. You are negotiating a contract, so you become quiet and let the other person talk first. You are worried about how you look in a dress so you call up your bigger friend to go out that night (girls only). Nuclear war tit-for-tat. Congressman hating on gay marriage & hookers and then getting caught, literally, with their pants down. Get it? My point is this - why has the world become so coy? what happened to just asking for what you want, or would like to get, being open to compromise, and cultivating a society where nobody had to question motives? Where everyone was themselves (be yourself, everyone else is taken (Oscar Wilde).  Is that too utopian?


Lately things have happened in my life where my motivations have changed. my motivation for waking up in the morning. I found myself wrapped up in progress, money, success. But in that equation, I thought that those equaled being content, and I've found that I had it completely backwards. Contentment first, the others after. Because as I was interacting with people, my motivations (PMS-progress,money,success) we're driving my actions - were my motivation - and I wasn't always being the type of person I wanted to be: someone that does things because they are fun, because they provide inherent value.

It's like drug addiction. Chess mentality addiction. You become good at it, and manipulation starts rearing its head as well. And then you're doing your thing, and you get an email about a possible Blues Traveler play. And you forget all the progress, money, etc. and you just say, holy shit, i drank my first beer to Blues Traveler music back in 91. And you do everything you can to get the show, just because its going to be awesome. no other reason.

And its like surfing. In a split second, you return to what you were meant to be. Human.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your insight... good to finally figure out that happiness is the goal and it really doesn't have one clear definition (money, success, etc.)

Anonymous said...

wow, you really do all that?


wow.