Kavi Halemane will be in Toronto for Canadian Music Week 2014. He will speak on two panels in addition to taking part in the Mentor’s Cafe during the Social Music Summit on Thursday, May 8.
Disrupt, Don’t Interrupt
I don’t believe there is a “typical” day in the life for anyone who works in the music business, myself included. Any given day can bring unforeseen circumstances, new challenges, and at least a few shots at success or failure. No matter how big or small the issue, there are decisions to be made, and made quickly – especially in the ever-evolving landscape of technology & social media, which seem constantly in an intricate dance with the fundamental shifts in how music is consumed and monetized today.
But here goes…
I try to wake up as early as possible (last night’s circumstances usually come into play).
First things first, and I hate to admit it…I check my email. My voicemail next. Do any of my artists need help with something? Do I owe them an answer on something else? How can I make their day easier? Serve your clients FIRST and foremost, artist management 101, off to a good start.
Second, I will try to get a general sense of the day by doing a quick check of the day’s news from various perspectives. Of course there’s the go to standards like Tech Crunch, Mashable, All Things D and others. After those I’ll go to the more music focused outlets like Hypebot, Digital Music News, and others to get a little more focused. I find a lot of those sites to be half facts and half editorialized/opinions, but I like to know where I stand on the latest debates, I’ll disagree with what they say often. I’ll also check CNN Money, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Financial Times, Business Insider and other outlets for a pulse on the financial markets, any big mergers/acquisitions news, and any other top line economic or business factors and conditions that might affect not only today’s business, but the week, month, and years to follow. From a pop culture / content standpoint I’ll often take a peak at Reddit as well.
It’s very important to me to allow time to make sure I know what’s going on in the world, especially as it relates to Music, Technology, and the Economy.
I may or may not be drinking coffee while doing all of this…time to drive to the office.
On the way, more often than not, I will listen to traditional terrestrial radio. Yes, you heard right, RADIO. Straight from the mouth of a “digital guy.” I’ll cycle between KROQ’s morning show (Kevin & Bean) to 98.7 FM and KISS FM in LA among a few other stations. I will under no circumstance engage in any emailing, texting, or cell phone calls during my commute. I promise, officer.
The day officially begins and that usually means a careful mix of meetings, calls, and of course – more emailing. I like to check in with the other members of my team during the week if they need me, maybe they do, maybe they don’t – but it’s important to be there for the people who support your mission each day. If they are reading this though, stop letting your boss beat you to the office all the time. Kidding!
Each day is it’s own adventure.
I’m usually touching base with artists/clients, other managers and execs at the company, agents & publicists, entertainment lawyers, 3rd party marketing firms, the folks at the record labels for our clients, major digital partners (streaming services / digital retailers, apps, games, major social networking sites, etc.), and always trying to network and find new companies that could be the next thing. Usually this happens through chance encounters, referrals out in the world, my team, LinkedIn, and following the news and pouncing on it – you name it, I’ll take a look at it and form an opinion.
Plugging in a digital marketing, business, & strategy perspective into the flow of an overall campaign/calendar for an artist is a delicate art and one that requires multi-tasking, connection, focus, organization, stamina and resolve. Everything from social media (the minutia and the ethos) to custom app development to major digital partnerships for marketing and/or financial gain is on the agenda. Launching new tours, music, side projects, and even charitable endeavors are the key tent-poles that tie it all together.
I love what I do. I live it and breathe it. But I don’t have “no qualms” about it…
Napster, BitTorrent, Apple/iTunes, Spotify and the other Streaming Services, Pandora and other Internet Radio Services, the Smartphone category, Tablets, 4G technology, Facebook, Twitter, Google/YouTube, Shazam…the list of companies and technologies that could lay claim over “disrupting” the industry goes on and on.
GREAT MUSIC cuts through the noise and the entire previously mentioned name brands and core technologies are just tools to reach a different kind of person. Add Radio and it’s cast of characters and companies to that list.
Touring, merchandising, brand partnerships, and other ancillary forms of revenue both digital and physical are a much larger part of the ecosystem for an artist in today’s industry than recorded music. Where “digital” comes in is the data. Owned data, analyzed data, you name it. I’ll take it. I aim to understand the fans & audiences, ticket buyers, casual listeners, and the dots that connect them. Give me more…
“Music Tech” has become a misnomer. There’s Music, and there’s Tech.
Music can be disruptive unto it’s own, it doesn’t need new and innovating technologies to be game changing. New artists break the mold; old artists reinvent themselves and are adopted by new generations. Music is a music game. Technology and “digital” is a whole other animal.
So when it comes down to it, at the core of what I do, is CAREFULLY get out of the way. Let artists be creative, musical, innovative in every way, and from a digital standpoint guide them and their extended team around their habits, interests, and bring ideas to the table that will work for their vision and goals.
I would offer the same advice to anyone advising artists in a similar role. Make sure you are optimizing every existing opportunity to the max, and strive to create as many new ones as you can, but don’t expect to cover every corner of the Internet. It simply cannot be done.
Disrupt, but don’t interrupt.
Kavi Halemane
Executive Vice President & Head Of Digital
The Collective
http://www.thecollective-la.com
P.S. Follow me on twitter @kavipaste, and see you guys out there.
Really looking forward to connecting with everyone during Canadian Music Week this May. Toronto here I come!
_____________________________
Kavi Halemane is Executive Vice President at artist management firm The Collective, where he guides the company’s Music roster in All Things Digital. He oversees clients such as Linkin Park, Stone Temple Pilots, Plain White T’s, Slash, and the company’s Nashville roster. He recently served as Vice President Of Marketing for Collective Digital Studio, The Collective’s multi-channel network (MCN) that represents video content creators and brand channels online, where he worked with clients such as Epic Meal Time and The Annoying Orange. Halemane is an alumni of Universal Music Group / Interscope Geffen A&M Records’ Marketing and Digital departments, where he worked on multi-platinum, gold, and Grammy award winning album/single campaigns with artists such as Lady Gaga, Rise Against, La Roux, Them Crooked Vultures, and several others.