Flexibility is the Name of the Game

Steve Raybine:




Blog #38:




Flexibility is the Name of the Game






When you are in business for yourself, you need to be flexible if you want to maintain your clientele. For instance, if you are a private music instructor, your students' complicated schedules or an illness will result in them either missing a lesson or asking to be rescheduled at another time. In order to accommodate them and their families, it is wise to try to provide a make-up lesson or reschedule the lesson at another time. Granted, because the student and teacher both have complex schedules, it is sometimes impossible to arrange a make-up lesson. However, your student(s) will certainly appreciate it if you at least make a sincere attempt to provide an alternate time for their lesson. Private lessons are costly, and when someone has prepaid and misses the lesson, it is a financial and musical loss to that individual. Therefore, remember to be mindful about trying your best to accommodate the student(s) if they desire a make-up lesson or a rescheduled lesson time--it's the considerate thing to do. However, when a student cancels their private lesson at the last minute for some reason other than a personal emergency, I don't consider making up the lesson.
 

If you are a music performer and hire musicians to play in your band, flexibility can't be emphasized enough. More times than I care to remember, I have had my sidemen present me with the following scenarios:


1.) They double-booked a gig and told me they can't play my gig. Note: they usually relay this information to me at the last minute when it's too late for me to find an adequate replacement. In order to not 'burn my bridges' with one of my best sidemen, I try to remain calm about this small calamity and not react with hostility--I am reasonably understanding and flexible as long as this is not an habitual occurrence.


2.) My sideman shows up late for the gig. There is no excuse for this, but sometimes unfortunate circumstances arise that may cause someone to be late for the sound check or the gig. I try to be flexible--at least until I hear their story and evaluate its merit.


3.) My sideman forgets his music (if he needs it) or part of his instrument. You might wonder how a professional musician can make such obvious mistakes, but it has happened, unfortunately. Remaining flexible during a frustrating moment can help to diffuse an otherwise argumentative and volatile reaction. By the way, I always carry extra musical parts for all of my songs to each engagement.


4.) My sideman gets sick at the last minute or there is a family emergency and he can't make the gig. What good does it do to react in a hostile or negative manner? Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances happen and it is in your best interest to remain calm and flexible--you can't control all situations.


5.) One of my sidemen complains about attending a non-paying rehearsal for a relatively low-paying engagement. Although this is one of my most frustrating situations to deal with personally, I try extremely hard to remain flexible and understanding of their disagreement or complaint with my request. Once again, however, if this situation occurs too frequently with any one individual, I will undoubtedly cease to employ them in my band.
 

There have been other situations where being flexible has been important such as:


1.) Filling in for a musician when they can't make their performance ('subbing' as it's known in music industry parlance).


2.) Donating my performance fee to an organization (charity) that benefits from my appearance, but doesn't necessarily have the funds to pay me my usual fee. Instead of turning them down, I accept the gig while providing a charitable service to an association that helps other people in need of assistance.


3.) Lending my advice to someone for his or her musical project at no cost to them. Essentially, doing someone a favor without expecting monetary compensation for my professional expertise.


4.) Having a musical contractor ask me to provide additional performance time over-and-above the agreed-upon contractual parameters for a gig. Also, being requested to present a clinic at the venue where I'm performing. In actuality, either of these scenarios are relatively common, and I always try to accommodate the requests of my employers whenever I can.


5.) Being flexible when one of my clients doesn't pay me my fee in a timely manner. This situation causes me much frustration, but sometimes, in order to keep the client, I am more lenient in my acceptance of the late payment than I would normally choose to be.






Remaining flexible in the music business is essential. If you want to work and to retain your clients in the music business, you need to be able to adapt to a variety of people and their respective situations. If you act like a 'prima dona' and rarely fulfill the special requests of people you work for or with, you'll probably go out-of-business in a very short time. Ask yourself this question, "Do you appreciate it when someone 'cuts you some slack' and is flexible with you when you need a favor or have a special request?" If so, the next time someone asks you to be a little 'flexible' with them, try to understand their predicament and be generous in your response--good things will come from it.






Copyright 2007 Steve Raybine


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