Tuesday, March 07, 2000

Music Producer as Marketing Director

It's surprising to some people, but in fact many professionals with the title 'Executive Producer' may not ever produce in the creative or technical sense of the word. Rather this breed acts as defacto sales representatives for the company they represent. While it may not sound as glamorous as hanging in the studio with the talent, I've found that some of the most successful companies are helmed not by great creative talents, but by great sales people. My own strength is squarely in the management and directing of a creative production, but I'm still required to collaborate with sales teams to win and close jobs.

You simply can’t be in this business and not sell. Utimately, no matter what your position, you're in sales.

Whether you work for yourself, represent a roster of composers; it often falls to the producer’s shoulders to drum up business. Here are a few of the skills you’ll need in that arena:

–Nurture a working knowledge of –and relationships with a– pool of potential clients that includes advertising producers, art directors and copywriters, TV executives, film and video directors, editors, and broadcast designers
–Attend or throw –and network at– industry events/trade shows/parties/conferences
–Participate in the creation of sales campaigns, marketing collateral and in house events in order to attract clients
–Develop presentation skills in self and nurture the same in in-house staff
–Create demo reel, and/or maintain online presentation of work
–If applicable, produce additional branded video promo for reel
–If applicable, supervise the design and packaging of all branded materials for self or company
–Make cold calls as applicable
–Conduct presentations/give speeches/write articles/conduct seminars, as applicable in order to garner client interest

Sound like fun? No, I didn't think so.

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