(Not) selling contacts

Every now and then a band/musician asks us, if we could share our contact list with them.

This is not only very rude but also shows that this band/musician isn't prepared to work hard, lay the groundwork, network and that they have only little knowledge of the industry.

You should ask yourself: Would you share any of your contacts, just to be nice or do someone a favour?

Put yourself in our position or any music industry professional for that matter. We all run or work for a business. Businesses are only successful when they make a profit or at least break even (Break even means covering all the running costs – some business lingo for you ;) ). Giving away a list with contacts means they are (potentially) losing money (e.g. PR person hands over details of journalists and won’t work on the press campaign for the band or musician, booking agent gives access to list with venue managers, etc.).

Furthermore, it takes years to put such lists together and they also need to be maintained regularly. Again, why would anyone give years of hard work away for free? I know, some of you will say now, just sell it for a few quid. But this is a big no-no as well! The contacts on such lists will be annoyed when they are approached by someone they don’t know. Contacts become worthless, not only for you but also for the person who handed over the list. And no one in the right state of their mind will destroy years of work (read: the foundation of their business). 

Occasionally we will help a band with a couple of details but only when we are considering working with them. Why are we doing this? It is a test. Are they really dedicated and will they use the contacts? Will they thank us? Will they update us on the outcome? Etc. 

But we will always clear with my contacts first to see if it is ok to pass on their details!

Here is another example what some so called “managers” do. There is one manager on this planet who puts lists with industry contacts together to sell them (going through publications like The Unsigned Guide or the Music Week directory). Fair enough. S/He tells his clients though (the people who buy those list) that s/he knows everyone on that list, when in fact, he hasn’t even bothered to check if one is happy to be included in such a list. Annoys me very much and I won’t even check the music of these artists BUT I will tell them why.

When we deny the “request” of a band or a musician to hand over our contacts, unfortunately, some don't take it too well and send some rather rude messages back. Here is a little advice, folks. The time you spend asking for contacts (and sending abusive or insulting messages when this is denied), you could use instead to build your own database of contacts. And if you don’t have time (usually you just can’t be bothered), you should accept the fact that music will always be a hobby for you.

Information is a powerful source in this day and age. Information in the sense of contacts, not only as industry contacts but also as your fanbase! Build your email list, don’t rely on Facebook. But this is another blog for another time!

Peace, Love and Rock & Roll!