Burning Bridges

Whenever we feel slighted, many of us have an impulsive reaction that makes us wanna burn shit down. But after taking a breather to weigh our options, that’s when clarity sets in.

One of the things I’ve always strived to be was level-headed, and not reactive; and so I really can’t think of any bridges that were burnt due to my actions. Now, if somebody has purposely tried to hustle, scam, or deceive me, then that’s on them.

I wrote a thread this week that was meant to be 10 simple tips for artists and folks in the music biz. Nothing fancy, just the basics I believe are necessarily for prolonged success. You can read them here.

In the thread, I wrote about burning bridges, and stated “Unless someone does something really foul or crooked, it’s important to keep your cool, even if you don’t agree with the moves they make. Everyone is going to do what’s best for them, and that doesn’t always mean being loyal to you.”

I wanted to take the time to give some specific examples, so you could see why it’s so important to maintain calm in the situations where you may feel slighted.

Prior to the pandemic, I was booking a few artists that I felt very strongly about. And momentum was on our side in both situations.

In the first instance, I was approached by an artist manager who was referred to me by one of the artists I work with. He told me he was looking to do a 15 city U.S. tour. Very simple.

But once I started putting feelers out, I soon realized there was heavy demand in much more than 15 cities. So I told the manager, I thought we should go bigger; and he agreed.

By the time tour kicked off, we had 45 cities scheduled. A solid 3x his expectations. And the tour was successful. We priced it fairly, so the artist was happy, and the promoters all profited as well.

However, immediately after the tour, the manager called me, and said he had an old friend who was an agent at UTA, and he had decided to start working with him. His approach was gentle, as he knew the information he was giving me could have caused me to justifiably explode.

But I didn’t. I just took it on the chin, and wished him the best. He sounded shocked. He told me he thought I was going to flip out. But what good would that have done?

So fast forward to a week ago, this same manager reached back out to me out of the blue. He asked if I was available to book a tour for his artist in Europe. Now, if I would have cussed him out in the first place, then this new opportunity would have never been available.

The second artist I was booking was an artist I was fully invested in. I loved his music, his demeanor, and his overall style. And when I first met with his manager, who was a friend of mine, I was the only agent willing to come on board because the artist’s career was in the beginning stages.

But again, I believed in the artist, and I agreed to help my friend. And when I first started pitching this artist for shows, I really had to educate promoters, as most were unfamiliar.

Within a year and a half, we built the artist into a true touring artist, as he was moving real tickets across the entire U.S. But then, my friend (his manager) was fired. He was doing a great job, and as much as I wanted to continue to work with the artist, I decided to fall back due to my loyalty for my friend.

Soon he had new management and an eager new agent, who was undoing the deals I had already put in place with festivals and in venues overseas. It was a mess.

But I don’t think the artist ever fully realized the mess his new agent was making, and I continued to support and stay in touch periodically via DMs. The artist remained responsive, and we stayed cool.

So, one day I saw the artist post something that was in my wheelhouse, that had nothing to do with touring. I reached out, and we set up a meeting.

When we met, he thanked me for my unwavering support over the years, and we decided to work together on a creative project that we had both been interested in delving into for years.

And again, if I would have called the artist directly and caused a scene when his new agent began cancelling my shows and undoing my deals, I would have destroyed my relationship with him. So I constantly have to remind myself to put my ego aside for the bigger picture and the greater good.

Often the grass may look greener on the other side, but if you keep your lawn mowed and watered, there’s a good chance your clients will notice the difference, and they will come back to work with you before you know it. And if they don’t, it’s their loss.

And of course, not every relationship is going to come back around, but if you did a good job in the first place and kept your cool through the turbulence, opportunity may manifest itself in the future in ways you could never have imagined.

Appreciation and love to all of you who have shared this newsletter with friends, fam, coworkers, and complete strangers. The growth helps keep me motivated, as we have now hit 30 weeks of Thread Crumbs. How time flies!

Til next week.