Asking questions to further one’s education
While interning at Surfdog Records, I not only strived to learn at work, but also researched the industry outside of the workplace. One way I was able to learn more about the industry was by reaching out to people within the industry via Linkedin. I often searched for people that had some valuable knowledge about the industry specifics that interested me.
One person I reached out to was a man named Paul Piggott. Paul had written an interesting article in the Huffington post: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/paul-piggott and I was inspired to find out more about the concepts which he wrote about. With the downfall of the Music Industry in the early 2000’s and an underwhelming resurgence in revenue streams, Paul’s theories struck me as quite progressive. I was able to procure his email address and started an open discussion regarding the industry and his theories. He pointed me toward a book called “The Plain and Simple Guide to Music Publishing”. This book introduced me to the exploitability of music publishing. Paul went on to describe publishing as “little understood, hugely profitable and in my view, ripe for disruption.” and I after reading the suggested book, I have to agree with him.
Since our discussion, I have continued to build upon my research within music publishing, and have reached out to a number of managers to figure out what dilemmas they run into regarding publishing, and how I can create a platform to benefit both artists and myself.