Courtney on DKD and Seligman

Last week we had the opportunity to hear the ins and outs of the music and concert promotion business from Donald Tarlton(DKD) and Dan Seligman. The men shared insight from two very different sets of life experiences. They are in opposite stages of their careers: Dan, emerging and hopeful, Donald, trying to wind-down his career and looking back on his success. They represent different genres and are targeting different audiences: DKD the most popular bignames of the past few decades, and Dan, the smaller scale predominately indie scene. However, their differing life experiences did not lead to the stark difference in perspectives I had anticipated. Both spoke of the same fundamentals – the thrill of putting on a great show, love of music, and (with reluctance) the necessity of being a businessman.
While Donald certainly wears the business hat with more comfort than Dan it was present in both cases, and I do not see this as a negative thing. DKD’s story about cleverly ensuring profit at the concerts at Expo ’67 even after signing an unfavourable contract is an early glimmer of his success that would follow as a businessman. Finding a way to turn the same amount of music and same number of fans into profit by forcing them to pay repeatedly (for shorter shows) solved the $0.25 concert problem. Dan on the other hand is less focused on profit. He set up Pop Montreal as a non-profit organization to ensure its continued existence. He is still more business-minded than he wanted to admit though; expanding the festival, balancing the books, and hiring big name acts to draw in crowds (even at the risk of turning off his original target audience). Each of the men seemed intent on presenting himself more as a music enthusiast and thrill seeker than a practical number cruncher. It is evident from listening to them that success necessitates a balancing of both art and business sense though, so why the reluctance to admit this.
No matter how business minded DKD is, I still empathized with his story about having his most spiritual experience (“give peace a chance”) twisted and portrayed as the money grab of a greedy businessman. I think this shows one of the problems musicians face today, and something that needs to be overcome to ensure the success of the industry. We are too intent on being in one box or the other: the artist box, or the (evil) business box. We slot people into one role or the other, and then watch their disappointment as they realize that in truth we all need to be both.
I believe the balancing of business and music is required of artists, no matter how much we want to resist it. Whether you are a performer, composer, or concert promoter, this mingling of art and business cannot be ignored. For me, as a performer, realizing this was a tough blow. When I got my first job in an orchestra I quickly (and sadly) realized that it was no longer just about loving music. People were underpaid, concert repertoire was not always thrilling or challenging, and the majority of my colleagues did not even seem to like what they were doing. I was surrounded by people who had forgotten what drew them to music. They treated it as a job and it was devastating. I think the problem is that artists are not taught that it is ok, and even necessary, to be able to think business and art at the same time. We spend years training because we are passionate about music, but when it becomes the way to pay the bills the love is tested and we are not prepared to deal with it. I think that musicians need to learn from the beginning that the business side of things is unavoidable.
There is a fine line between greed and ambition, and between selling out and success, and this is the constant balancing act musicians must undertake. The most difficult stage is realizing that (as DKD said) this is a business. If musicians can allow themselves to think about the business side from time to time, and if the money managers think about the art side things will run smoothly. We will combine creativity and passion with entrepreneurial spirit and business sense and the music industry (and the artists within it) will thrive. At such a changing time for the industry, it is the perfect chance for us to challenge the norms, resist playing the artist vs. businessman game, and proudly wear both hats.