Chapter 4 Gizmos, People, and GEnder

1. Chapter 4 Gizmos, People, and GEnder It’s a fact. Most people prefer to work with either technology or people. Now is an appropriate time for you to ascertain whether you are primarily a “people person” or what I like to call a “gizmoligist” – a gizmo and technology person.

2. How can you do that? Consider this hypothetical question. Suppose you’re working as an intern at a record label in L.A. You have the opportunity to help a label producer set up the new demo studio or give the tour to a group of businessmen to show them how the label is structured. Which do you prefer? The answer to that question may lead you to evaluate, do I prefer working with technology or with people? You’ve got to be able to do both today, to some degree. You’ve got to be familiar with computers and the Internet.

3. You can’t really start a career in the entertainment industry today without knowledge in these areas. Regardless of your proclivity for technology or working with people, your career in the music industry will require you to become proficient at interpersonal skills, listening, talking, and networking. Even the most hard-core programmer will need to have a network of colleagues who know him and support his career development. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that your technology chops alone will get you to the top. Without a reasonable complement of interpersonal and networking skills, tech skills alone won’t lead anywhere in the music industry.

4. If you wake up at night thinking about ways to wire your home studio patch bay or just installed your new car stereo player, you’re likely a gizmo person. If so, you have good career opportunities ahead, because it’s essential that there be gizmoligists to keep the music world wired and working. Technology is a core component of recording, producing, and now, merchandising music via the Internet. Computer tech and network skills are also prized in the entertainment industry as more and more reliance on computing permeates our industry

5. Visualize a singer with a guitar playing a song to a roomful of people, with no microphone, no sound system, and no electronics. The minute that singer has to perform for a larger audience, you need technology. You’ve got to have mics, cables, amps, TV monitors, and a person to run them. The people side of the business is equally important. Companies must set goals and objectives, and develop the means to accomplish those goals. They must manage team building, finance, sales, promotion, and human resources, and tackle long-term planning.

6. These tasks are people-related. Hence business types provide the structure needed to make a record label, recording studio, management firm, or other music-related business a success. That’s why you should consider which you prefer, people or gizmos, so that you can focus your career research in an area that suits you. Interestingly, the people who make it to the very top of the industry are generalists, meaning that they have experience in both areas. They may be stronger in one or the other, but they are conversant in both.

7. So, you’ll find that the top people in most big organizations are adept at delegating and managing, and good judges of people. They have the ability to say, “Here’s a person, and this is what motivates her, and how she could contribute to our company’s effort.” These kinds of leaders usually have a good grasp of technology-not only where things are today, but where they’re headed in the future. Lastly, top leaders share one other common trait: an unquenchable desire to succeed.