I plan on adding onto this but here are some thoughts of mine when it comes to branding ourselves.....
At a recent concert I was hired on to film as well as educate a group of teenagers in film production for live events I came across a prime example of artists protecting their brands and similarly destroying their brand at the same time. Cool Nutz and Certified were booked for the show and both showed up on time as well as gave the promoter everything she needed from showing up for sound check even though the engineer was late. Another group on the show did the complete opposite however showing up the night before the show with a total diva attitude showing complete disrespect to the shows promoter as well as the other performers. Now although they were picked up in a stretch limousine and put up in a very nice hotel casino this group acted like they got that kind of treatment on the regular when we all know this isn’t true. Now a true professional like Cool Nutz who has had these kind of amenities afforded to him in the past acted like a total professional and didn’t take any of it for granted. After the show was over I had a meeting with the promoter as she asked me to stay on for a few additional days to continue teaching the students. During the course of the meeting she said explicitly that she would never have the group back but she will definitely be bringing Cool Nutz back in the future. By showing the professionalism that should be standard in our industry Cool Nutz insured that he would be brought back for future events. Now I am not writing this email to sing Cool Nutz praises or bash this other group I am simply using this experience as a example of what to do and what not to do as professional artists. It is so important to maintain professionalism in this business of entertainment and even more importantly the genre of hip hop where we are already perceived to be non educated thugs. With the smallest amount of professionalism you can not only make new contacts that will benefit you financially and in your career but you will also create a brand for yourself that will transcend time.
At a recent concert I was hired on to film as well as educate a group of teenagers in film production for live events I came across a prime example of artists protecting their brands and similarly destroying their brand at the same time. Cool Nutz and Certified were booked for the show and both showed up on time as well as gave the promoter everything she needed from showing up for sound check even though the engineer was late. Another group on the show did the complete opposite however showing up the night before the show with a total diva attitude showing complete disrespect to the shows promoter as well as the other performers. Now although they were picked up in a stretch limousine and put up in a very nice hotel casino this group acted like they got that kind of treatment on the regular when we all know this isn’t true. Now a true professional like Cool Nutz who has had these kind of amenities afforded to him in the past acted like a total professional and didn’t take any of it for granted. After the show was over I had a meeting with the promoter as she asked me to stay on for a few additional days to continue teaching the students. During the course of the meeting she said explicitly that she would never have the group back but she will definitely be bringing Cool Nutz back in the future. By showing the professionalism that should be standard in our industry Cool Nutz insured that he would be brought back for future events. Now I am not writing this email to sing Cool Nutz praises or bash this other group I am simply using this experience as a example of what to do and what not to do as professional artists. It is so important to maintain professionalism in this business of entertainment and even more importantly the genre of hip hop where we are already perceived to be non educated thugs. With the smallest amount of professionalism you can not only make new contacts that will benefit you financially and in your career but you will also create a brand for yourself that will transcend time.
