Self-management, finanacial-management and Professionalism

What is self management?

Self management is when a person finds strategic methods and plans to achieve his objectives and goals. To do self management as a artist you will need to know what you are doing because if an artist doesn't know what he's doing things can go awfully wrong. For example if a musician is meant to be performing live he/she will need to rehearse long hours with his/her band, they will need to know who the audience is, what venue it's in, how much it's going to cost and how long the set is going to be. If all of this goes to plan the live event will be a success not only for the audience but for the musician and it's band as well, but on the other hand if it does not go to plan the audience will hate it and the band will be going downhill.

If i wanted a job as a music manager I would probably take a bachelor's degree program. This will help me get experience for future reference. It will also help network with other people in the industry. This would be the best recommendation for me and other people who want to manage other artists.

What is financial management?

Financial management is more to do with costs and funding. An artist would need to discuss the reasonable amounts of money that can be spent on music related stuff e.g. costs for releasing a debut album, renting a venue to perform live, touring, a tour coach, etc. Money also needs to be deposited for tax as well. For example if a artist made £300,000 every year 45% of that money would be taken for tax if the artist makes more than £150,000. You would be left with £67,500. If you earn £32,011 - £150,000 you would get a higher rate of 40% tax. You would be left with £47,200. It is 40% of £118,000. If you earn £9,440 - £32,010 you would get a basic rate of 20% tax. You would be left with £4514. It is 20% of £22,570. The graph below shows and explains all the tax rates and how much money is required when you recieve your tax bills.

The bachelor's degree program will have financial topics such as collecting payments, negotiating contracts and networking and investing. The manager needs to be aware of what contract is good and bad for the artist. The manager also needs to be aware of what contract is good and bad for himself/herself as well. The manager needs to negotiate their wage. The reason for this is because the manager could be really good at what he does for his/her artist, this means he/she could get more money.

If I wanted the music industry to give me money I would need to invoice them how much I want. An invoice is a reciept or bill that has the amount of money requested, the date, what is was for, address, contact deatils, the person' signature on it and where it was given. The way I would earn my money is by producing, dj'ing, having my own website, sharing my stuff via social networking such as twitter, facebook, soundcloud, etc. For exmaple if I was working in someone's studio for a week the owner of the studio would invoice me how much money I would get for the amount of hours I work everyday of the week. If an invoice is handed in too late it will not be accepted by the occupant.

Professionalism 

In order to be professional at something you will need to have character, attitude, excellence, competency and appropriate conduct. Being puntual is very vital. If you someone is late to work in the studio the person will not get paid and will porbably get sacked. This is how the music industry works because no one likes people late or it's just going to be a waste of precious time and money. If I took the bachelor's degree in a music university this will show that I have competence for the role as a music manager. The manager will have day to day meetings with record companies and the artists they manage. Before the manager has the meeting he/she would need to look very well presented, serious and respectful. If the manager has all these qualities the meeting will be very successful.

Understanding Music for film and tv

The piece of music that is being played in 'The Dark Knight Rises' is non-diegetic music from the film's official soundtrack. Non-Diegetic music is music being played during the film, whereas diegetic music is music being played in the background, also the characters can hear it as well. The instruments being used in this film creates a lot of atmosphere, shock and awe, build up and action for the film and audience.


The film 'Despicable Me' contains some diegetic music. You can notice this because the characters can hear the music playing, also the small robots, the minion and doctor Nefario are dancing to the music. The music starts from 0:10 and finishes just before 0:35.


Wild tracks are usually used in documentaries about animals and wildlife. This piece of music defines what wildlife is what kind of atmosphere it creates for the audience. When shows like this are being recorded the sounds of the animals are real. This means the recording of the show could be recorded close up to the animals with a narrator in the background. Ambient background sound is recorded separately.


Foley sounds are used to make the action realistic e.g. Punching a punch bag can be a foley sound for a person punching another person in the face. In this youtube video it shows a guy performing the foley sounds for the 1962 film 'The Brain That Wouldn't Die'. Foley sounds can sometimes be out of sync e.g. if the foley sound performer punches the punch bag before the person in the film is about it hit another person that means it is out of sync.



A temp track is a piece of score music that sounds similar to the original score of a film or tv show. Sometimes the temp track is usually replaced with the original soundtrack for the film or tv show if the director of the film is not satisfied with it. This action usually takes place during the editing of the film/tv show. Here is a temp track for the tv show 'family guy'.

Review on a album

The album I am going to review about is David Guetta' Nothing But The Beat. This album happens to be the best album I have listened to. What I like about this album is the songs in it. For example I like how all the songs are properly mixed and mastered and how the variety of synths, basslines, melodies and drums used in the songs fit well with each other. I also like the red background of the concept art of the album. Red is a eye catching colour and it makes the album stand out very well for the consumer. Another good thing about the album is that the vocals on the songs are in tune and in time with the melody and rhythm. It all fits in very well.