Build A Team

@Smoke1Hunit & @MacDidIt
of 1Hunit Entertainment, LLC

The most important thing an artist can have is a good team. The people that surround the artist usually influence the artist’s style, mood, outlook on life, and even health. In the beginning the team is usually the people that understand the artist’s dream. The team should motivate the artist, play an active role in the artist’s career, and understand their roll in the organization.
A bad idea for an artist on the verge of crossing over to the big leagues is to have another artist as a major part of their team. The artist should have someone who has experience or knowledge of the business behind the music, and an entertainment lawyer.

The spotlight is something that is usually not shared well amongst egos. The same fame that the team works so hard to provide for the artist is the same thing that breaks up most teams. Jealousy is hard for someone to spot within himself or herself, and if the team has been together for a while, it is usually not discussed until things have gotten way out of hand. Dame Dash once said while explaining his split for Jay-Z to the Website Village Voice, "The people that I was helping, once they realized their dreams, they did what a criminal would do, they stabbed you in the back.” This and a slew of artists speak about how they’ve had snakes and backstabbers make moves different once the dream was realized. An artist is rarely patient enough to watch another artist in their group become the focal point of the team’s success. Turk tells hiphopdx.com about Brian “Birdman” Williams not giving him and the rest of the Cash Money clique what was owed to them. In the end it seems like the violators are the one with the winning hand. Is it possible there is a misunderstanding of business moves compared to personal moves? I’d personally bet yes. KNOW YOUR BUSINESS!!!

The business behind the music is something of a, learn as you go, type of deal. There is such a vast separation between the publicized music business and the actual music business. Even the academic learning of the music business is surprisingly off especially if you’re relating it to hip-hop. The books leave out the fact that more than likely you’ll never see royalties from your label until you have leverage on them. Even if you try to Google anything about marketing to the hip-hop crowd you will find nothing. The new market is so different from any other music genre’s that its borderline undocumented. The importance of a manager or, at a minimum, a consultant is detrimental to the progress of an artist’s career. About.com speaks on how managers also help you lighten the load. Chasing down promoters and contacting labels will no longer be a burden on your shoulder. They also mention not to sign away an unreasonable percentage of your future away for a manager. To make sure everything is fair you should hire an entertainment lawyer.

A good entertainment lawyer should be the artist’s saving grace. Thelawyer should watch out for unfair contracts, have valuable connections, andknow a lot about the music business. Because of this some people say the entertainment lawyer is just as important as the manager and could be hired first. It’s hard for a struggling artist to find the funds for a lawyer or a manager. The best idea is to shop your dream around while saving up. Some lawyers are willing to work pro bono if they really believe in the artist’s project.

The lawyer, the manager, and the team is all the artist can depend on to make their dream come true. They should be chosen wisely and watched carefully. Even though most creative types are solo in their thinking process, the logistical types are needed to make the dream work. Finding that balance is crucial, making it work is key.

@MacDidIt