Uncategorized https://5000mgmt.com Wed, 11 Oct 2023 19:11:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://5000mgmt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/cropped-5000_small_white-32x32.jpg Uncategorized https://5000mgmt.com 32 32 VACANCY AT 5000 https://5000mgmt.com/vacancy-at-5000/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=vacancy-at-5000 Tue, 18 Oct 2022 05:51:25 +0000 https://5000mgmt.com/?p=6633 *We had over 150 applications and the vacancy has now been filled*
– – – –

Please note:
The ideal candidate will live in Scotland, and while we’re open to the idea of you being elsewhere (see below for more on this), it will benefit your application if you can detail the many benefits of your location, beyond the ability to take meetings for the company. We’re regularly in London, have a direct train link, and collectively lived and worked there for 30 years

5000 is an artist management company committed to the mental and physical health of its clients and colleagues, and we’re looking for someone to join us. A small team that works very closely together in support of each other, we manage two artists via four labels across five artistic projects with responsibility for all aspects of their global careers

Ali Lacey: Novo Amor
Ed Tullett: Lowswimmer, Hailaker, Tolari, Lissom

The role we seek to fill is varied, with a couple of focus points. We don’t expect the successful candidate to be able to tick every box below, and while there will be some scope to carve out a role that best suits and interests you, we would initially have our new colleague focus on the following areas:

• Building a global and environmentally responsible merchandise business for our artists, including product development and marketing
• Investigating how our artists’ touring businesses can become more environmentally sustainable, and implementing processes to achieve this
• Assisting with touring logistics, while being mindful of the mental, physical and emotional toll touring can exact on those on the road, and considering how we can tour in ways that are kinder and gentler on our artists and their crew

There’s no reason why this role couldn’t be filled by someone who has an interest in management, touring and environmental responsibility but has only a little experience in them. Similarly, it could be filled by someone who has experience in one or all, to varying extents. It’s essential, though, that they have great enthusiasm for artist management. In any event, the successful applicant’s salary will reflect their experience

There will also be opportunities to get involved across the company’s entire business, depending on your experience of / interest in the following:

• Campaign Strategy
• International development
• Sponsorship and branding
• Writing and collaborations
• Data analysis and leverage
• Business and legal affairs
• Catalogue management / registrations
• General administrative support of the Management Team

Again, we don’t expect the successful candidate to be fully conversant in all of these areas, so don’t worry if you’re not. We had a think about what a week-in-the-life might look like, and you can read that here

The successful candidate will ideally
• be Mac literate
• have a head for numbers, spreadsheets and logistics 
• be organised, a good problem-solver and lateral thinker, able to juggle a number of things at once, and take the initiative when it’s needed
• be conversant in social media 
• have a positive familiarity with 5000’s artists 
• have some experience in artist management or be really keen to work in artist management 
• be mindful and protective of their health, and empathetic to the health of others
• live in Scotland (or be willing to move there, with 5000 helping with relocation costs) and be able to travel by train or bus (not car or plane) once a week to Edinburgh or Glasgow. This isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker; applicants from further afield – including abroad – are very welcome to apply, and outline how their location could be of great benefit to the business*. Please do, however, in your email to us, tell us where you’re currently based or where you’re going to be based in the near future, and why this location will be of great benefit to the company and its artists

The successful candidate will not 
• have to work evenings, weekends, or under pressure

5000 is offering 
• A full-time position
• A friendly, kind, respectful and safe working environment
• A salary between £24,000 – £33,000, depending on experience and location*
• A four-day week (ideally you’d take a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday off)
• A generous holiday entitlement
• Flexible working hours
• A signing-on fee
• Bonuses
• A pension
• Training courses
• A MacBook Air (yours after 24 months)
• Noise-cancelling headphones (yours after 6 months)
• Custom-fitted ear protection (yours immediately)
• Field trips around the UK and abroad for both working and learning opportunities 
• Access to Edinburgh’s Gleneagles Townhouse to work and socialise

If this sounds like you, or close enough, please email Andy and Hannah at work@5000mgmt.com and say hello. If you don’t have a CV, that’s fine; you’re very welcome to apply in any way you feel best represents you, and you don’t need to worry about gaps in your CV or having a higher education. Regardless of the outcome, all will receive a response, and feedback if requested

Interviews will be in-person and online, and by the time the successful candidate joins us, we’ll have met a number of times. It’s more important that our ethics and values align than it is your skillset matches exactly what we’re looking for, or that your experience or qualifications are extensive, though it would be great if your experience somewhat aligns with the areas listed above

Interviews will begin in November with the aim of the successful candidate starting at the beginning of January 2023

Application deadline is 15 November 2022

*with some locations being significantly more expensive in which to live than others, we’d take this into account in salary negotiations if the successful applicant doesn’t live/work in Scotland

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WHY YOUR FAVOURITE BAND CAN’T PLAY YOUR HOMETOWN (YET) https://5000mgmt.com/why-your-favourite-band-cant-play-your-hometown-yet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-your-favourite-band-cant-play-your-hometown-yet Fri, 21 Dec 2018 09:00:18 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5846 It is a familiar exchange on social media:

Artist: I’m going on tour to these places!
Audience: Come to my town!

It’s frustrating for fans, and it’s likely most won’t be familiar with the behind-the-scenes discussions that lead to an Artist playing X place but not Y place. Here are some of the reasons:

 

1. The timing didn’t work
The Artist has only three weeks in which to tour in a specific time period due to other commitments. Maybe they’re writing an album, touring with someone else, taking their partner on holiday, have a family member in hospital, need to go into hospital themselves, or get some dental work done, have to hand their passport in at an Embassy to get a Visa for another country, undertake jury duty, take driving lessons, or just spend some time alone, in a dark room, away from the people they’ve been with twenty hours a day in small, noisy spaces (their band and crew). Artists and their audiences are exactly the same in that they all have lives that don’t involve work. And if the Artist has four other people on stage, the Artist needs to consider their schedules too. We’ve been offered a show in Croatia? Sorry, our drummer is getting married that weekend…

 

2. The routing didn’t work
The Artist’s Booking Agent and Manager plan the tour, sometimes in collaboration with the label (if there is one) to make sure that everyone gets what they want. This is how it happens:

– Each tour has a time period allocated to it
– The Booking Agent emails promoters and says “The Artist is touring in this time period. Would you like to promote the show?”
– Interested promoters reply and make financial offers, and say what dates they have available at the venue they want to use
– The Manager and Booking Agent look at the offers and work out which cities make sense based on logistics and money
– If New York says they can do a show on 1 March, and Philadelphia (close to New York) says they can’t do a show until 10 March, that routing isn’t going to work. The Artist needs to fill nine days with something, and that something really needs to generate money because it costs money to have a band and crew on the road even if they’re not playing a show. So the trick is to line the cities up in an order that makes driving between them possible and sensible.
Bus drivers have limits to how many hours they can drive each day, like truck drivers, and it’s stupid to have a tour criss-crossing a country or continent with a thousand miles/km between each show. It’s exhausting, costs a lot of money in diesel, and generates a lot more pollution than a tour that is booked smarter: DC > Philly > NYC > Boston > Montreal makes sense. The drives aren’t crazy and the cities are more or less all in a row.
So if the Artist really wants to play X place, but the venue they like isn’t free, or the stage isn’t big enough, or the production facilities aren’t good enough, and if there is no other venue in town that’s available on the day they’re passing through, it won’t happen, and they’ll have to look at it again in the future.

 

3. The Artist’s team can’t find a promoter who is interested or will/can take the financial risk
The live music industry is a financially risky business and someone has to front the money. Sometimes an Artist can see many people asking for a show in the same town/country on social media, but no promoter is interested in being the one to take the risk flying them in. In this case, the Artist just needs to wait in the hope that their profile rises enough that a promoter can see a show will be worthwhile. Or, if the Artist thinks the market is important enough to take the risk, they can consider putting on their own show, but very few will want to do that in a city many thousands of miles/km from their own.

 

4. The promoter didn’t/can’t offer enough money
Around the same time as the global financial crisis of 2008, the music industry was watching recorded sales collapse, and it began looking around for how Artists could make money, and many people said “Well, you can make money playing live”, which is true if you’re Ed Sheeran or Rhianna, but not necessarily true if you’re almost every other band. First, yes, many bands can earn money – even a show that sells one ticket generates money (from that one ticket sale) but that’s not the same as making a profit which is the start of making a living.
Say an Artist is paid 1,000€, but the show costs are 1,500€. They can’t pay their rent on -500€. Every Artist and every tour is different. That said, even if – collectively – promoters don’t or can’t offer enough to make a tour financially viable, that doesn’t mean the tour won’t go ahead. Some markets take a lot of time to break and if, for example, you want to be successful in the U.S. you have to accept that you’ll likely have to visit multiple times before you find success, if you ever do, however each Artist chooses to define it.
So, at the start, in most markets, for most Artists, it will cost them money to play the show in your town, no matter how much merchandise they sell. Promoters have to balance the risk of paying the Artist enough to make it worth their while, but not so much that if the show doesn’t sell enough tickets they (the Promoter) will lose a lot of money

 

5. It’s just not on the Artist’s radar right now
The Artist wants to visit but all the data they have shows that it’s not yet worth it. The audience seems to be small based on what they can see from streaming numbers, social media numbers and sales figures. The Artist’s team advises them that it’s best to wait, to focus their (often limited) resources on those markets where the prospects of success is better, or perhaps where the label has an office (which means people on the ground to help with marketing and promotion) or perhaps just where the label has decided (with the agreement of the Artist and their team) that marketing money would be better spent

 

6. Personal reasons
There are hundreds of reasons why an Artist might just not want to visit your town. Perhaps your country has a government that behaves in a way that is incompatible with the Artist’s core beliefs. Perhaps they allow whale-hunting, or are lobbying to be able to drill for oil in the Arctic. Perhaps they oppress a particular section of their society, perhaps they invest heavily in a specific things that the Artist does not agree with, such as weapons. Or maybe it’s more personal:
– That’s the town where the van was broken into and all the gear was stolen last time
– That’s where the police pulled them over and strip-searched everyone last time
– That’s where the bass player got attacked by two drunk fans last time
– That’s where they had that terrible show with the rude promoter and the audience that talked throughout the set on the last visit. They’re not going back there again…

 

7. The World’s just too big
Various governments recognise between 193-241 individual countries and states. Someone’s always going to be left out

 

8. They’re just tired
Touring is exhausting. It’s impossible to articulate how tiring touring can be, and in which specific ways it’s tiring, until you do it. How it burrows into your bones, no matter what the conditions are like. Your bed is probably in the same room as it was last night, and it doesn’t move. An Artist’s is now 9 hours from where they left it yesterday, and it’s bouncing all over the road at 70mph / 110kph while they try to sleep in often dangerous weather conditions. If you want to get some idea (and if you like long-form writing) you could read this tour diary or this one, both from very different tours, both gruelling and dispiriting (and fantastic!) in many different ways.

In short, while the Artist would probably love to play your town, it might just not be possible, and it’s not always in their control, and they’re probably as frustrated as you are about it.

 

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TOUR MANAGEMENT FAQ https://5000mgmt.com/tour-management-faq/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tour-management-faq Wed, 29 Nov 2017 08:16:10 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5586


Do you tend to handpick the artists that you specifically work with?
For the most part, I’ve TMd artists I also manage. Getting closer to them, and meeting their promoters and label partners around the world are hugely beneficial consequences of discharging the role. Otherwise, I’m asked to do it either by booking agents or artists who know me personally. I’m 45; I’m done taking risks on artists I don’t know who’re doing their first tours and want to live the rock and roll lifestyle. The rock and roll lifestyle kills people

How far in advance do young bands need to plan ahead of a tour? Is there an ideal run up time?
As soon as you can. If you’ve got a confirmed run of dates there’s plenty you can lock in; accommodation, van hire, booking time off work if you need to … certain times of year are busier than others for touring, though if you’re planning to tour the East coast of the US in January, you should be fine to book a van last minute because most bands try to avoid driving in two-metre snow drifts in order to avoid dying.

When planning a tour, how can new bands work out where they should be playing? What are the most important factors/influencers for them in finding out where their audience are?
The most important indicator would be if you have fans saying “We live in X town and we want you to come and play”. Beyond that, it moves into (hopefully educated) guesswork. Some online platforms (Spotify, Facebook) have analytics than can let you see where your fans/listeners are based, which can help. But not all bands are created equal, and not everyone tours for the same reasons. A band with money behind them – through their own jobs, or parents, or some other investment – might decide to tour partly for fun, with less concern about the bottom-line, and another band with no backing will have to learn how to carefully plan their routing to avoid unnecessary fuel costs.

How can emerging bands be best prepared to ensure they don’t lose money when they head out on the road? Or is this totally unrealistic?
It’s pretty unrealistic. There aren’t enough people in the world with both a disposable income and interest in supporting live music for every artist to come out of this in profit, or even to find any level of success, however each artist wants to define the word. If most artists went to a bank manager with a business plan and attempted to have a tour funded, they’re be turned down, so artists need to consider how much they’re prepared to lose, and for how long. Everyone has a limit, and most artists are fuelled by passion as much as finance.

Despite all forward planning and all good intentions, what will definitely happen to any young band while out on tour?
They’ll argue, get a parking ticket, book the right hotel in the right town on the wrong day, perform badly, reverse the van into a wall, pull a muscle trying to lift a heavy amp alone, get sick through a bad diet and sharing the same three enclosed spaces for 24 hours a day (vehicle, venue, hotel room). They’ll also have an amazing time, get away with the parking ticket because the Italian authorities can’t be bothered chasing them for 50€, do the best show of their career and eat world-class bread and cheese with the venue staff (France). There’s an anecdote I use when I lecture about touring, which references the film ‘Contact’ with Jodie Foster. The NASA scientist gives her a capsule of cyanide before she goes to meet the aliens and tells her they’ve been giving them to the astronauts since the space program began. It’s not for all the things they think might happen. It’s space: it’s for all the things they can’t imagine will happen. Same goes for the road, but most bands replace the cyanide with alcohol.

What does your day-to-day role entail?
Every day will be very different. The foundation for a day on the road is that there’s not much of a foundation. Or anyway, it is rarely predictable. Touring occurs in what’s largely an uncontrolled, uncontrollable environment, unlike your office or lecture room which are static environments. That said, each day has a very simple 3-stage plan:

1. Get artist to venue safely
2. Get artist on stage on time
3. Get artist to bed safely

What are the working conditions like on and off tour? (hours, comfort, job security, etc.)
Off tour, if I’m doing a pre-tour advance, I’m sitting at a laptop like everyone else. Working conditions on the road are often challenging. Here’s an extract from one of my tour diaries, with Savages, in 2014:

One of the many benefits of touring by van as opposed to touring by sleeper bus is that we take hotels every night, which means we can have showers every night after work if we want them, and again in the morning if we’re feeling decadent, or if we shat ourselves in our sleep. This means that we’re generally clean during what – for Tour Managers and crew at least – is a very dirty job. Vans are microcosms of bacteria and sickness. Injury and ill-health are never far away and this is not a vocation for the squeamish. In loud environments we shout into each other’s ears, leaving trails of spittle behind, while our hearing slowly deteriorates and the long hours add weeks and months to our faces. We bruise and cut our shins on the edges of stages and pull muscles in our backs when manoeuvring bass cabinets. If someone gets a throat infection, cold or some other transmittable bug, there’s a good chance we’ll all get it, what with being in such close proximity to each other for 23 and a half hours a day (taking 30 minutes alone in the bathroom). When van hire companies wash their vans before you take them out, they don’t disinfect the wheel or gear stick, so you’re grasping the sweat, piss and faeces of every driver that’s ever driven the thing. The handles of your guitar cases have been held by countless production staff, many of whom will have taken a dump and not washed their hands just before you’ve arrived to load in, and after shaking hands with festival stage managers, who’ve been shaking hands with every member of every band’s crew since ten o’clock that morning, and haven’t had time to stop in front of a sink with hot water and soap the whole day and night, your own hands will be ingrained with the snot, shit and bodily fluids of a hundred people.

When artists play shows on a tour, what can they do to increase their fan base on the night itself? Alongside playing the best sets they can?
That’s about the best advice. Ahead of the show: good promotion. On the night: play well. After the show: say thanks, in person and online.

How has touring/the live music industry changed in recent years? Has it become easier/tougher for young artists to get out there and perform?
It’s hard to compare anything year on year, whether it’s touring, streaming numbers, or why your knitted-hat business is doing better/worse. The world isn’t a static environment. It’s never been easy for artists to tour because touring isn’t easy. There were less artists years ago and less things to do with our time – the internet and the explosion of hand-held technologies have given us another ‘world’ to inhabit without leaving the house in recent years – but those same technologies have enabled artists to be more strategic, to plan better, to be better informed, and these same technologies have also led to many more people forming bands, for a number of reasons, which has crowded the market. The industry itself has certainly changed, as most businesses have to some extent. Budget airlines have made flying cheaper, the proliferation of car ownership has made driving more difficult. The number of music festivals has increased the number of slots available for new artists, the number of new bands forming has made the fight for those slots incredibly competitive. Promoters are getting better at catering to those with dietary restrictions. Free Wi-Fi is more readily available. New tour management apps are (slowly) emerging. Some of the changes are demonstrably good or bad, some come down to how optimistic you are by nature.

What item of clothing/food/drink or anything else is indispensable when touring?
– Noise-canceling headphones (Bose)
– Moulded earplugs (ACS)
– A packet of Sharpies
I’ll slightly alter the question in my head and say: Don’t eat junk food. You’ll be doing 18-20 hour days and your body needs fuel. Unless you’re in your early 20s then sure, eat whatever you like. You’ll be fine until you’re about 27, 28. Try and avoid alcohol every day. In my experience, people who drink alcohol on the road every day tend to have – or are on their way to having – some kind of an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. It can certainly be problematic to be around it. There’s nothing romantic about it, though we (as an industry) seem to think it’s okay to put a bottle of whiskey and 24 cans of beer in musicians’ places of work – backstage rooms – at four o’clock in the afternoon. Try that in any other industry and see how fast you get sacked.

What were your previous roles, and what experience developed and prepared you for your role as a Tour Manager? What personality traits are best honed in advance of hitting the road?
I’ve been an artist manager (still am; it’s the heart of my business) venue founder/co-owner, festival booker, label manager (multiple times), lecturer and mentor. It’s been a packed 28 years. My route to TMing was – from one perspective – very direct: I like music, travelling, helping people and customer service. That’s Tour Management.
Being aware of your own personality and how it affects others is the most important thing. Annoying trait + 20 hour day in enclosed spaces = arguments. We’ve all got quirks and idiosyncrasies that will annoy people. Be empathetic.
Not everyone is built for the road. Be kind to and supportive of each other. You’re all in the same boat. Everyone’s cold, everyone’s tired, everyone’s hungry, but do your best not to just moan and complain about it. Do something about it instead. Try to address the issues and improve the working environment for everyone. And don’t slack off during load in and out. Everyone loads in and loads out, unless they’re sick.

What skills does a Tour Manager need to be successful and consistent throughout their career?
Patience, diligence, diplomacy, empathy, a head for logistics, and the ability to sleep anywhere. That said, there are plenty of Tour Managers who suck at all these things and still manage to get work.

At the beginning of your career, have you struggled getting used to a particular role or task which you did not think was going to be part of your job?
At the beginning, with no one to show me the ropes, I struggled to get used to the entire role. Sleeping on a moving bed isn’t natural, nor is getting four hours sleep for days in a row, or moving your office to a new city (sometimes country) every day, where your office colleagues are different people, some of whom may not speak your language, where it’s acceptable for people to drink while they’re working and when you’re packing up for the day someone wheels in a DJ and suddenly you’re trying to do your job in the middle of a nightclub. It’s a bizarre environment. The one aspect I’ve never got used to – and never will – is letting people down when I make a mistake. It’s going to happen, and people are generally understanding giving the situation, but I still don’t find it easy to deal with. It’s a character flaw I can’t seem to fix.

The Tour Manager covers a high number of roles and is usually involved with a large range of activities. What do you think are the most crucial in today’s industry to smoothly run a tour?
It’s a tough question to answer. It’s crucial to be patient, diplomatic, understanding, resilient, logical, creative… I can go on. Equally, on some tours you might get away with not being some of those things. There are three-month-long bus tours of North America and there are three-week-long tours of Singapore, Auckland and Australia. For me, the former was one of the toughest three months of my life and the latter one of the most relaxing three weeks. Further, I don’t know that the modern industry presents any major challenges that didn’t also exist decades ago. It could be argued that technology has made touring easier. I once planned a US tour in 1991 without the internet. I can’t work out how it was possible, looking back at it.

A Tour Manager’s skills are extremely varied. Do these change over time? You’ve said it’s difficult to compare touring over the years, but have you noticed an evolution in the fundamental skills of a Tour Manager? Did you have to learn any new abilities to remain successful in your job over the years?
I don’t think the role has changed much. Touring has become more professional though, as it’s become a more financially lucrative component of an artist’s career (for those playing larger venues with the capacity to generate substantial income), but for a Tour Manager that just means having to worry less about paying for a TV that’s been thrown into a swimming pool. It’s important to remember that there’s no barrier to entry for this job, no qualifications to achieve. Any idiot can do it, and plenty do, but how many people do you know who’re actually good at their jobs, in any walk of life? We’re mostly just doing the bare minimum and getting away with it. Same with Tour Managers. When people (artists and crew) abdicate all responsibility for their day-to-day care to someone else, it’s pretty easy for that someone else to do the bare minimum and get away with it, hiding their mistakes. God knows I’ve hidden plenty of mine.

It seems like many of the challenges of touring are related to finance, organising issues and time management. Most of these issues end up getting solved, but what are the mistakes that have seriously damaged a tour in your experience? And do you think the challenges of tour managing include securing a job in the field, career advancements, and personal financial stability?
I’ve never made a mistake that’s seriously damaged a tour, though I suppose that depends upon your definition of “seriously damaged”. I’ve made plenty that have caused problems, most of which I’ve been able to fix on my own without anyone else noticing. I’ve made others which have seriously damaged my bank balance, like booking nine flights to Berlin, forgetting I did it and booking them again a week later. I also once flew a band into Manchester for a festival, on the wrong day. That was pretty embarrassing.

Did you ever find yourself in a position of needing a break from tour managing because of stress and poor working conditions?
Yes, usually about five days into a tour.

What is the main thing you’ve learned from your time on tour?
The damage alcohol can do, and the extent to which the industry doesn’t care. Otherwise, what an utterly bizarre way of living it is, and how difficult it can be to articulate that to someone who’s never done it.

What do you think are the best things about touring that keep you from disliking your job despite how stressful it can get at the times?

I get to travel the world and see fascinating places. I get to spend time at airports. I like airports. My bills are paid (no food, accommodation, mobile phone or utilities), the pay can be good, though when you work it out to hours worked it’s not so good. It’s exciting and challenging. I like to juggle logistics and fix problems. I like to take care of people. I suppose the last reason is what keeps me going back.


If you’re interested in getting inside the intricacies, mechanics and traumas of a tour, put the kettle on and read these:
A tour diary from Savages’ first Mainland European tour, 2012
A tour diary from East India Youth’s first (and last) North American tour, 2015

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SØRVEIV ARTISTS PROGRAM SCHEDULE https://5000mgmt.com/sorveiv-artists-program-schedule/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sorveiv-artists-program-schedule Mon, 23 Oct 2017 13:21:24 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5532 Sørveiv Conference invites you to Kick from 1000-1700 on November 10 and 11, to listen, debate and make your voice heard to a music industry which only exists because of you, the Artists, and your art. We’ve gathered managers, label bosses, booking agents, promoters, venue owners and managers, journalists from global publications, thought leaders at the tech/music intersection, lecturers, the CEOs of major industry organisations, life coaches and – of course – Artists. The music industry is your industry. This is your chance to tell it what you need, to tell it what’s wrong, what has to change. Please join us…

FRIDAY 10TH NOVEMBER
PROGRAM

1000-1010 (10)
Introduction
Welcome to Sørveiv Conference
Francine Gorman, Daniel Nordgård, Andy Inglis

1010-1020 (10)
Ice-breaker
Talk About The Passion*
Stand up, take the mic, tells us about that thing you love, what drives you, professionally or personally, despite these things often being embarrassing: why you got into the business, what led you to become an Artist Manager, or wanting to work at a label, venue, or rehearsal studio
*It’s an R.E.M. song from 1983

1020-1040 (15)
Keynote 1
Content Farming

Artist and musician William Doyle delivers our opening Keynote on the pressures we as an industry impose upon our artists to be constantly ‘on’, churning out content across multiple online platforms, facing their audience in a way that almost no other sector would demand of its workers. That this is implemented without planning, consultation or understanding of the individual can lead to our Artists being subject to a barrage of harassment, of racist and misogynist abuse, even rape and death threats. Every other industry has introduced health and safety practices to avoid injury to their employees: we just expect our Artists to deal with it as part of the job

1040-1130 (50)
Panel 1
Did Anyone Ask The Manager?
Despite the countless new platforms and tools at our disposal, our industry suffers from creaking channels of communication and tired, poorly-thought-out methods for engaging audiences, both physically and digitally. Michelle Kambasha, Rachael Patterson and Tamara Gal-on will explore how Artists’ teams can be better structured with more awareness of the effects that unmanageable workloads can have on them. For an industry that’s often considered forward-thinking, its methods and procedures are ancient; a creative industry lacking creativity or compassion in its processes, with Artists almost an afterthought

1135-1150 (15)
Soapbox* 1
The first of our quick-fire platforms on which our most impassioned/outspoken delegates can stand uninterrupted to introduce an idea or opinion – provocative or otherwise – with counter-arguments coming from the audience at the conclusion
*A soapbox is a raised platform on which to stand to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. The term originates from the 19th Century when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden crate originally used for shipment of soap or other dry goods. Throughout its history, “soapboxing” has been tied to the right to speak

Music Journalism is in Crisis
Former editor and co-founder of the sorely missed music paper The Stool Pigeon, and now a freelance writer and editor at BBC Music, Phil Hebblethwaite will argue that music journalism – particularly its independent voice – is under severe threat. Who needs a professional critic in 2017 when music is so accessible? And what’s the actual price of the massive drop in advertising revenues for publishers of music journalism? Is clickbait here to stay, or can originality still reap rewards?

1150-1205 (15)
Soapbox 2
The Art of Being a Fan
We all remember those first songs that struck us, the time we saw a favourite artist perform live, the records that changed our lives. These pivotal moments turned us into passionate fans of a world to which we decided to dedicate our working (and often personal) lives. Francine Gorman muses on the importance of remaining a fan, of celebrating the art around which the music world revolves, and how embracing a fan’s perspective can lead to better experiences of our industry

1205-1305 (60)
Lunch

1305-1320 (15)
Soapbox 3
The Death of Discovery
In the age of machine learning, consumers have ever more – and ever better – tools at their disposal to outsource their discovery processes. But should a handful of streaming-platform curators be the gatekeepers that decide how much exposure an Artist receives? And what’s lost when everything a listener hears is all but guaranteed to appeal? NY Times’ senior staff editor Alex Symonds reflects on where we’re heading and what this means for Artists and audiences

1320-1410 (50)
Panel 2
The Birth of Curation
A panel continuing the themes of Soapbox 2; discussing the overwhelming influence of the new gatekeepers. Is there any room for the audience to truly refine their own, personal music taste anymore? Can online ‘music discovery’ be called discovery at all, if a listener is finding music through pre-curated platforms? We’ll hear the considerations of Cherie Hu, Francine Gorman, Alex Symonds and Erik Brataas

1410-1425 (15)
Break

1425-1515 (50)
Panel 3
The Kristiansand Roundtable Conference
Our sister conference, happening in the days before Sørveiv, invites the industry’s most senior players to speak freely under Chatham House Rule*, in an attempt to agree on how to modernise the creative value chain and make sure that the Artists who actually drive our industry are paid for their work. Roundtable co-founder Peter Jenner will be joined by Keith Harris, Daniel Nordgård and others to report on the outcome.
*When a meeting is held under the Chatham House Rule, those listening are free to use and publish the information, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker, or of any other participant, may be revealed. In other words: feel free to tweet and post what anyone says, but don’t mention who said it and which company they’re from

1520-1535 (15)
Soapbox 3
Artistry In The Age of Abundance
Hanne Kolstø
is originally from Sykkylven, in the county of Møre og Romsdalen, in western Norway, but has strong links to Kristiansand, its University and local music scene. Hanne has had a long and varied career as a musician and Artist, exploring various solo and collaborative models long before a DIY mentality and artist-centric business models became buzz-phrases among policymakers and business schools, releasing and touring six acclaimed albums. The music business has changed dramatically in the last two decades, with major economic upheavals, technological disruptions and an explosion of creative possibilities. Within the context of these unpredictable frameworks, Hanne will give us an insight into her work, and what it’s like being an Artist in an age of abundance

1535-1550 (15)
Soapbox 4
Can Music Make You Sick? (Gross & Musgrave) A Discussion of Findings
Dr. George Musgrave
introduces the findings of his study ‘Can Music Make You Sick?’ – co-authored with Westminster University’s Sally Gross – the largest ever academic study of its kind, exploring the links between the mental health of Artists and the precarious working conditions of a musical career. These are financial; causing musicians to question the value of their work, experiential; as the industry itself is so changeable and fluid, and interpersonal; as the work comes to damage both personal and professional relationships

1550-1605 (15)
Soapbox 5
The State of Independents*
Norway was a very early adopter of streaming and digital platforms for creating and sharing music, learning about the potential benefits and great challenges surrounding new technologies, business models and revenue streams long before many of the larger music markets. Chairman of FONO (Norway’s Independent Label Association) Larry Bringsjord will address the Conference with his thoughts on the obstacles facing independent record labels in a post-physical world.
*It’s a nod to a Jon & Vangelis song from 1981, made famous by Donna Summer’s 1982 cover version

1610-1700 (50)
Panel 4
The State of Independents
Independent labels account for the vast majority of global music releases and represent the full breadth of genres and artistic expressions vital for a sustainable and vibrant music scene. But recorded music has experienced dramatic changes in the last decade; Harvard-Professor Anita Elberse, calls it a ‘Blockbuster Economy’, referring to a trend where a growing proportion of the market is controlled by a small number of major companies. At the same time, technological innovations have allowed Artists themselves to take on some of the traditional functions of labels, leaving us wondering: what is the role of the independents? Michelle Kambasha, Kees van Weijen, Frithjof Hungnes and Henriette Heimdal will discuss and explore these complex issues

1700-1705 (10)
Thanks and Don’t Drink Too Much Tonight

Francine Gorman, Daniel Nordgård and Andy Inglis wish you an enjoyable evening and remind you to be back in the Conference room, preferably sober, by 1000 tomorrow morning

 

SATURDAY 11TH NOVEMBER
PROGRAM

1000-1005 (05)
Welcome back to Sørveiv Conference
Francine Gorman, Daniel Nordgård, Andy Inglis

1005-1015 (10)
Ice-breaker
“Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better.”
This famous line by Samuel Beckett from his 1983 short story ‘Worstward Ho’ has become a meme among Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, motivational coaches and athletes, all convinced failure will bring them a step closer to success, and if success is selling out the Telenor Arena or Madison Square Gardens then almost every band that ever formed has failed. Following the same format as Friday morning (which may or may not have worked by the time you read this), we invite you to stand up and announce your greatest professional or personal failure to the room. Francine, Daniel and Andy will lead the way with how they fucked up and what they learned from it

1015-1030 (15)
Keynote 2
Music and Identity in a Networked World
The stories we tell used to be so simple: there was Elvis, then there was the Beatles, then the counterculture, whose middle-age spread gave us dinosaur rock which the punks tore up and the cycle started again. The mass media of the mid-to-late 20th Century told us a story of ourselves and our music that allowed us to define who we were and who we were not. But as Ross Allmark will explain, the story is no longer as simple. We live in a new Information Age where everyone is a participant, where everyone tells their own story of who they are, and more often than not, who you are too. As we watch the very idea of context collapse around us, we ask: what role does music have in a such a world?

1030-1120 (50)
Panel 5
The Search for Music and Identity in The Information Age
Phil Hebblethwaite and Alex Symonds join Ross Allmark to dissect his Keynote and invite the audience to give voice to its opinions. Music and identity were once intertwined; leather jackets and hairstyles were defining cultural characteristics, signaling not just what you listened to but who you were. How do we create meaningful and sustainable relationships between Artists and fans when audience preferences and allegiances can change like the weather?

1125-1215 (50)
Panel 6
The Shifting Sands of Artist Management
Managers Rachael Patterson, Shekayla Maragh and Andy Inglis will be joined by self-managed artist Hanne Kolstø to consider how new platforms, consumption methods and audience and industry expectations have radically changed and greatly expanded the nature and scope of the Artist manager’s role. How does this inform the Artist/manager label relationship and how it interfaces with the rest of the industry? Too much to cope with or is the power finally in the right hands of the Artists and their managers?

1215-1315 (60)
Lunch

1315-1405 (50)
Panel 7
The Future of Norway’s Live Music Venues
Battles over alcohol licenses, sky-rocketing Artist fees, the threat from state-funded concert halls, vanishing funding… our small venues are by definition risk-takers and their futures are uncertain. Hosted by NKA, moderated by Rhiannon Edwards of MUO and starring promoters from Ålesund (Synnøve Nesdal Sandnes), Kristiansand (Jan Kenneth Transeth) and Stavanger (Mariann Bjørnelv) we’ll debate the status, health, and monetary and cultural value of Norway’s grassroots venues

1405-1420 (15)
Soapbox 6
European Venues in Facts and Figures
Live DMA represents over 2,500 music venues (mostly under 500 capacity) and festivals in thirteen countries. It collects data about the activities, performances, employees, income and expenses of the live music venues to better represent and lobby for them on a local, regional, national and European level. Live DMA’s survey coordinator Arne Dee will present the facts and figures of these crucially important platforms for developing artistic talent, highlighting the diversity of cultural and political policies and business models in different regions and countries, guiding us not only to greater insight and knowledge, but to a discussion into the very heart of the opportunities and challenges live venues face today

1420-1510 (50)
Panel 8
European Venues in Facts and Figures
Arne Dee from LiveDMA will lead debate and analysis of the health of European music venues, which varies greatly from country to country, often depending on wider political and social forces, as governments decide how to spend their citizens’ tax income. In a struggling global economy and a climate of suspicion and hostility between States, do we have to choose between art and armaments? Daniel Nordgård will offer data insights and methods to better analyse the live sector, as Karma Bertlesen and others set forth their views with an open mic, as always, in the audience

1520-1525 (15)
Keynote 4
The Destructive Power of Art
Artist Manager and Tour Manager Andy Inglis delivers a Keynote informed by his recent three month European/North American bus tour with SOHN, and how the physical, mental and environmental damage it did changed his views on touring, how we do it, and what we could change to make it less destructive for Artists, Crew and the world around us

1525-1540 (10)
Break

1540-1630 (55)
Panel 9
I Will Survive: The Human and Environmental Cost of Touring
In the wake of news that UK artist Joss Stone is planning to offset her touring carbon footprint by planting trees, Andy Inglis, William Doyle and Erica Berthelsen will discuss what can be done to make touring more ethical and manageable for Artists and audiences

1630-1645 (15)
Soapbox 7
Per Ole Hagen’s Photography: a Life in Live Music
Musicologist and former head of Music at NRK P1 (one of Norway’s three nationally-broadcast radio stations) Per Ole Hagen has been photographing Artists for decades. Here he talks about his passion for music and photography and tells the stories behind his favourite images and memories

1645-1700 (15)
Soapbox 8
Andy’s Weird Talk That Will Unnecessarily Worry His Colleagues
To close the Conference last year, Andy Inglis Skyped a Palliative Care Consultant at a specialist cancer treatment centre, to talk about music in life and death. At the time of writing he has no idea what he’ll close with this year. Let’s see…

1700-1705 (10)
Thanks!
Francine Gorman, Daniel Nordgård and Andy Inglis bid you a tearful farewell as you head out into the Sørlandet night

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PROTECTING ARTISTS AND ART https://5000mgmt.com/protecting-artists-and-art/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=protecting-artists-and-art Wed, 25 Jan 2017 12:47:47 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5124 On Monday 30 January, Andy and Ine Hoem will debate and discuss the health of musicians, using Ottar Bjerkeset’s research paper ‘Symptoms of anxiety and depression among Norwegian musicians compared to the general workforce which can be read here. The conversation will be moderated by Guttorm Andreasen and is presented by MØST

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NOVO AMOR ANNOUNCES FORTHCOMING EP, DUTCH AND GERMAN SHOWS https://5000mgmt.com/novo-amor-announces-forthcoming-ep-dutch-and-german-shows/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=novo-amor-announces-forthcoming-ep-dutch-and-german-shows Tue, 22 Nov 2016 09:15:27 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5030 novo485

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Novo Amor returns will return in the early hours of 2017 with a new EP entitled ‘Bathing Beach’. Audiences in the Netherlands and Germany can be the first to hear its songs during a short run of shows centred around a Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival performance in Groningen, Friday 13 January, and tickets are now on sale as follows:

10 BERLIN Grüner Salon  Tickets
11 HAMBURG Nochtspeicher   Tickets
12 AMSTERDAM Paradiso  Tickets
13 GRONINGEN Eurosonic  Tickets
14 COLOGNE Artheater  Tickets

Facebook, Soundcloud, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter

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ARTIST MANAGEMENT LECTURE FOR EMPTY TAPE, 27 APRIL https://5000mgmt.com/artist-management-lecture-for-empty-tape-27-april/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=artist-management-lecture-for-empty-tape-27-april Sun, 24 Apr 2016 11:45:41 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=4875 Screen Shot 2016-04-24 at 13.30.46
I’ll be speaking about Artist Management for Empty Tape at their pre-SPOT Festival event Pit-Spot, Studenterhuset Aalborg, 27 April. I’ll be focussing on supporting sustainable careers particularly through caring for the mental and physical health of your artist. Those attending The Great Escape this year might also like to attend this presentation on musicians’ mental health, presented by Sally Gross of Westminster University, and hosted by Help Musicians UK and Vice

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INTERNATIONAL STAMMERING AWARENESS DAY https://5000mgmt.com/international-stammering-awareness-day/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=international-stammering-awareness-day Thu, 22 Oct 2015 09:35:34 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5102 An extract from ‘The Great North American: a Diary From The Road‘ on this International Stammering Awareness Day

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We park right outside the venue – Boot & Saddle – and meet Amy behind the bar and Steve the sound engineer. It’s a great little room. Compact, well-lit, good PA. George sets up and I go get some tips from Amy about where to get pizza, and head out on this mission. All I have left on my North American Junk Food list is pizza, a milkshake, a Dr. Pepper and a box of Junior Mints. And just twenty-six hours left to tick them off.

I have what’s been diagnosed by a speech therapist as a ‘severe covert stammer‘ – often referred to as ‘interiorised‘,  which means you don’t hear it in the usual s-s-s-stuttering way, because I’ve spent my life hiding it. It manifests itself in other audible ways though, which, if you met me, you might put down to my accent, or my talking quickly, or you just not catching what I’ve said. I like talking, and do a lot of it, though in every sentence there will be something I find difficult to say, so I may need to swap a word out, or switch the syntax, or in some way distract you – audibly or physically – from what I’m failing to articulate, which involves always thinking a few words ahead so I can make changes before I get there, like swerving to avoid something in the road.

I might intentionally mumble a word because I just can’t say it, and then quickly move on to the next ones, hoping that they will give you enough information to allow you to piece together the crux of the meaning. In loud environments I might intentionally shout gibberish in your ear as a way of ‘breaking the dam’, figuring you’ll just think you couldn’t hear me over the music, say, which gets my mouth moving, making it easier to get the sentence out second time around. I also swear more than most, partly because, for example, it’s easier to put what’s called a ‘hard onset’ before a word I can’t say. The ‘k’ in ‘fuck’ is a useful tool in that regard. And in a revelation that may seem counterintuitive, it’s actually more difficult to speak when I’m back home in Scotland, because there I can’t really get away with not speaking in mostly Scots (instead of English) without people accusing me of “talking posh”, so back there I sometimes feel compelled to say “ah dinnae ken” instead of “I don’t know”, whereas everywhere else in the world I can use phrases in both languages depending on the context which effectively gives me two languages to draw upon.

Tiredness, anxiety, diet and even my posture can all cause problems. In extreme cases – if I need to talk for extended periods without rest, or if it’s very cold – my mouth stops working. It starts with a tingling sensation around my right eye, spreads down the side of my face and envelops my whole face, until the muscles around my jaw seize up and my lips become numb, as your hand does if you sit on it for a few minutes. If I’m lying down when this happens it can affect my whole body. I’ve found that speech is less difficult when I’m physically free, able to move unencumbered. Standing up is best, moving foward is better; I can then use my whole body to talk, to distract you while I construct my sentences.

Some of the speech issues are context-based. I can say “toilet” all day without a problem, but if I walk into a bar or cafe and and try and say “Can I use your toilet please?”, I can’t say it. I just don’t have the ability to control that particular group of words in that order. They run away from me. I can’t ‘just slow down’, I can’t just ‘take a breath’. The ability to deliver the sentence is as elusive to me as quantum mechanics. It’s easier in North America. I can just say “restroom” or “bathroom”. No problem with that. But not “traditional” or “statistics”. Can’t say those easily under any circumstances.

Years ago, before I learned I had a stammer – and just though my tongue/mouth didn’t work proprely (which sounds ridiculous now when I consider it) – I struggled far more than I do now. I’ve seen me walking ten kilometres home at 2am because I wasn’t able to board a bus and say to the driver “Fifty pence please”, or any other variation of any other words that would allow me to illuminate my destination. I lived in Golders Green then. I couldn’t say “Golders Green” either.

A further complication is when speaking to someone who already has problems understanding me (or has little time or patience). I get more nervous with the effort it takes to finally  – finally! – get this person to get what I’m saying the first time, and since they also approach the conversation assuming they won’t understand me, they just cut to the chase and ask me to repeat myself (or worse; ask someone else what I just said), often before I’ve even finished the sentence. For someone who (when tour managing) has a job that needs clear communication, it can be both tiring and hugely disheartening. It’s similarly disheartening to tell people about my stammer and their reaction to be one of dismissal; that because they can’t hear it in the ‘classic’ way, it isn’t a stammer, that I don’t have one. I’ve had this from friends over the years, and explaining that it’s been clinically diagnosed doesn’t do anything to convince them.

Part of the reason I took up lecturing in 2012 was to help get all this out in the open, and it’s why I like writing more than talking; I’ve ten conduits to write through, and only one to use when I talk. On top of all this I have conductive hearing in my right ear, and am now partially deaf on that side, with tinitus, and hyperacusis, and since I’m not in my twenties anymore, the left ear no longer compensates, so in loud places, hearing myself or you can be tricky, which impacts on the confidence I have in my speech, which in turns increases the frequency of my stammer.

When I do feel confident, this brings its own problems: I feel good about speaking and find myself over-speaking, and as someone who talks a lot, it’s not great to add talking more on top of that. It seems like I’m domineering in a conversation when really I’m just amazed I’m able to have one fluently, and so I get carried away with enthusiasm.

And the reason I’m telling you all of this is to try and explain why I walked into a pizza joint to buy three single slices, but walked out with four, and one whole pizza…

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EIY LIVE AT HEAVEN (LONDON): A SHORT DOCUMENTARY https://5000mgmt.com/eiy-live-at-heaven-london-a-short-documentary/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=eiy-live-at-heaven-london-a-short-documentary https://5000mgmt.com/eiy-live-at-heaven-london-a-short-documentary/#respond Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:11:15 +0000 http://fivethousand.co.uk/?p=3652

We asked the good Sebastien Dehesdin if he’d come down to Heaven late last November and document East India Youth’s homecoming show, during which he played TOTAL STRIFE FOREVER in its entirety for the last time (released on Stolen Recordings in January 2014). 2014 was a momentous year both personally and professionally for Will, and we wanted to have something for the archive that he could look back at when he’s in a retirement home in 2075. It features live footage, and interviews with Will, Luke Turner of The Quietus (who released East India Youth’s first EP way back in 2013) and Andy Inglis, EIY’s manager.

The documentary was originally premiered at The Line of Best Fit

Thanks to all those supported him this year, and a Happy New Year to you.

 

Directed by Sebastien Dehesdin
Cameras Sebastien Dehesdin, Kenichi Iwasa, Tom Locke, Bella Riza
Sound by Jack Allett at Infinite Ear

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Protected: NOVO AMOR TOOLS https://5000mgmt.com/novo-amor-tools/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=novo-amor-tools Mon, 08 Dec 2014 06:08:37 +0000 http://5000mgmt.com/?p=5083

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