Dirty Deals – Bad Decisions

Dirty Deals – Bad Decisions

In the past few weeks I have talked to several people in the entertainment business about what it takes to negotiate deals. One person’s story stuck out to me so I asked if I could sit down and chat with them about what goes on with their day to day dealings in negotiations. This person told me they would be glad to speak with me as long as they stayed anonymous, so I said that was ok with me. I can completely understand why they didn’t want me to mention their name after speaking with them. This person started off talking to me about how they first were able to get into the door of the CEO’s and Presidents of major record labels in Nashville. “It was quite simple”, he said. “You just call up the label and get their secretary on the phone and ask for the person you want to talk to by a nick name.” He went on to explain to me how the secretary will think that you are just one of their buddies calling and will actually let you talk to them or give them your message. He was able to get meetings with label CEO’s to show them his music. This was just one of the first tricks he had up his sleeve.
Later in his career after having success as a songwriter and having a record deal of his own as an artist he really began to see how cutthroat the business really was. He recalls sitting in the office of an executive and having to extend the truth on facts on his record sales and fan base when he was trying to switch to a different label, and he told inside information on the label he was leaving to boost himself, and in the end this all fell down on him. He didn’t get the new deal and the label he was at found out about his dirty tactics against them, not only the label he was trying to go to but also some of the artist that were on the label with him. He explained how he thought he could get a few artists to go with him to the new label.
Now after 6 years away from the business he reenters the music industry with his own publishing company. Learning from his mistakes with dirty tricks and deal making he looks to solidify himself as a top producer. “If I only knew then what I know now”, he explained. “The money got to me, I was just out looking for anyway to get more.” This is just another example of how staying humble to yourself and truthful is the only way to go. Even though this is a cutthroat business you must stay morally sound.
Some examples I have found to show the different dirty tactics one might use in negotiations can be found here http://faculty.washington.edu/vandra/html/body_negdirty.html