The music industry is probably one of the most complicated ever. Some may argue – partly in jest – that there are more backroom deals in that business than even, say, sports or politics.
One of those who’ve managed to navigate that treacherous business better than most others is David Fishof, who’s lived in the center of that cutthroat business for more than 25 years. If you’ve not heard of David Fishof, he was responsible for reuniting The Monkees and convincing Ringo Starr to launch his All Starr tour, to his current mega success as founder and CEO of Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, a music bootcamp that lets amateur musicians play together with prominent stars in rock and roll. Fishof combines all his hard-earned experience and channels that wisdom into his book “Rock Your Business: What You and Your Company Can Learn from the Business of Rock and Roll“.
Of course, we don’t normally think of the music business as truly entrepreneurial, but that would be a mistake. The truth is that the best music artists work like any business, building a customer (fan) base, looking at various revenue streams to build profitability, working in partnership with others, and overcoming all kinds of challenges, for example. Worse yet, what they do and what they know simply isn’t taught in business school.
In “Rock Your Business” Fishof takes the reader through the usual paces, from finding the right idea to building and bringing that idea to life, be it in crafting a proper business plan or perfect sales pitch. He’s also a big advocate in finding the right partners (having been cheated a few times by employers and business partners alike), proper negotiation as well as using barter to get the things you want or need done without spending money. There’s also advice in overcoming various obstacles, such as dealing with competition or growing the business.
If you run your own business, you’ll definitely take away plenty of nuggets of wisdom from Fishof’s book. And if you’re a fan of rock and roll like I am, you’ll also go away with no small degree of jealousy for Fishof, who’s worked with so many rock and roll greats through the ages and has proof in the many photos liberally strewn throughout the book.
