#ArtisteManagement101: Seven Lessons On Managing the Artiste’s Brand

The Nigerian social media was recently inundated with the news surrounding an artiste and His management. We must be careful about what we read in the media (including social media) these days, so I am not narrating this as verified fact, but the news more or less came out in the following sequence:

·         i. Artiste is reported to be dead

·         ii. Artiste is subsequently reported to be not-dead

·        iii. Manager- & record label exec is alleged to have falsified the news of the Artiste’s death as a publicity stunt

·       iv. Co-Artiste (& Co-Label Owner) apologizes for the false alarm of Artiste’s death; he further informed that the Artiste Manager & record Label Exec. responsible had been fired.

           v. Label Chairman (who happens to be brother of Co-Artiste is accused by someone- probably on social media- of attempting to use the Artiste  for “Money Ritual” and  Co-Artiste decided to clear the air on that as well.

·       vi. Label Producer is alleged by Co-Artiste to have  caused the misinformation leading to the "Money Ritual" accusation; he also said that the Label Producer was on suspension as he spoke.

·         

      vii. Artiste finally speaks- according to reports, he said:

“ This is not the first time this is happening to me. It’s like a blackout which occurs anytime I’m over excited. It’s happened two times…”

I had a feeling I should write when I first heard it might have been a publicity stunt, but this last statement by the artiste was the tipping point for me. So here are 7 lessons- learned- for Artiste Managers (including record label owners and artiste promoters)

1.       Not every publicity is good publicity- Yes; I know you’ve heard that- especially for entertainers- any publicity is good publicity. You & I both know that this is not true. You don’t. Do I really need to explain that? I don’t think so. You do? Ok let me try:

In the past 18 months, the Nigerian entertainment space has provided some controversial stories about Artistes, which were later alleged and/or claimed to be publicity stunts.

These ranged from a popular twin brother group purportedly planning on a split, to a producer/musician and wife claiming pictures of her face allegedly bruised & battered by Him was all a stunt- for real?? Maybe it was photo shopped- as was claimed by the two popular and usually controversial male entertainers making out in photos. There was also the one where a 23 year old pop singer, offered her virginity to boko haram members in exchange for the kidnapped girls.

What these diverse “publicity stunts” had in common was the public back-lash they generated. Some of the not-so-nice words used to describe these “stunts” included “dumb” & “dangerous”….  I hope that’s clear enough

2.       You do not need to respond to everything:  I have a theory that 8 times out of 10, responding to rumors only make them more popular and begin to assume the nature of truth, sometimes the response itself then becomes a rumor then we find ourselves dealing with a whole other issue, than the issue that started it e.g “Money Ritual”

3.       If  you need to respond, think your response through: let me explain this by using  a simple logical thinking model:

·         Major Premise: Artistes should be very excited when they are performing at shows

·          Minor Premise: Artiste X says He blacks out when He is very excited.

·         Logical Conclusion:  Artiste X should not be performing at shows

Now, a conclusion can be logical without being valid, but imagine if it was an concert sponsor or a show promoter coming to the above logical conclusion; Artiste X may not be getting on their show. L

4.    If you need to respond, respond with one voice: There was a lot of communication about the one artiste from different artiste management sources- no one person be able to communicate unilaterally for the corporate body, on such a sensitive issue, without a go from the group.  

5.       If you need to respond, respond with one message: Nothing kills a brand like multiple, mixed, inconsistent messaging. Branding is about finding an anchor in the minds of the brand audience. It is easier to build a brand when people know THAT ONE THING the brand stands for.

6.    If you need to respond, use a consistent and competent spokesperson:  I often advise that artistes, should as much as possible, focus on their art, and minimize engaging with key partners on corporate brand issues. Just as with getting a good lawyer and finance managers, it is important to engage a good PR Manager, agree a communication strategy that is consistent with your brand, then get the hell out of their way at let them do their work.

I believe some of you may be thinking about the costs, but there are bootstrap ways of innovating around that challenge- more in subsequent posts.

7.       If you need to respond, be careful about throwing people under the bus:   Another way of saying this is; try not to burn bridges, or I could say; fight all your personal  fights in-house, before coming to fight your corporate fights out-house … the team is always bigger than the individuals that make it up; finally Leadership -whether by Manager-ship, Co-Owner-ship or Chairmanship- should be about taking responsibility, not hanging out scapegoats to dry, I am not saying that is what happened in this case, but I hope you get the point.

Meanwhile, while we are on the topic of scape goats- there’s a question that’s been nagging at my mind, which is:

How do you suspend a producer?  I’m thinking: No producer, no production; no production, no product; no product, no packaging; no packaging, no promotions,; no promotions, no purchase… no pay… So  I  ask again: how do you suspend a producer? Answers, anyone? :)