When I started working at Sleeping Giant Music, I had little idea of what to expect. I began my career here as interning as a Senior at SDSU, learning the ins and outs of the office and music industry as a whole. During that time I believed I gained a lot of insight and knowledge into how everything connected and operated. However, after graduating and eventually being re-hired into the ops team, it quickly dawned on me that I had some catching up to do.
Things move pretty fast when you’re dealing with bookings. Stuff pops up at the last minute and events are planned out sometimes years ahead of time. Because of this, you need to be able to stay focused and motivated. Along with this, you need to be able to understand that mistakes will be made and that it’s not how you mess up, it’s how you recover. Here are a few tips that I’ve learned almost half a year into working in the music industry.
Ask a Lot of Questions
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned so far is that when you find yourself lost or confused, just ask someone for help. Things get very complicated and complex when dealing with artist bookings, and the littlest of mistakes can make things go from good to bad fast. Asking one of your coworkers for help isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength. Instead of guessing and remaining uncertain, you’re using one of your most valuable resources, first-hand knowledge from someone more experienced than you.
Be Confident
It is imperative that you remain confident in your own capabilities when working in the music industry. With this being one of the most competitive industries in the world, everyone is trying to move their way up or find their way in. It is inevitable that at some point you will make a mistake. Having confidence when these situations do happen is an important step to a quick recovery! The only way to keep yourself ahead of the masses is to go in every day with the confidence that you will achieve your goal.
Do Your Research
Lastly, don’t forget to do your research. Every action you make should be done with a little bit of background information about what is going on. You never want to look like the person who doesn’t have full knowledge of the situation at hand. When dealing with multiple bookings or clients at once, it’s easy to get caught up with too many tasks and lose focus. However, as long as you collect all the information you can about each scenario, you’ll never be caught like a deer in headlights when it comes time to make decisions.
Operations
Troy Herrera
Meet the rest of the SGM team here!