AND NOW, A WORD FROM OUR SPONSORS...

Broke as a joke? Is your credit so pathetic you couldn’t afford a debit? Even better, you’re trying to break into the oh so lucrative entertainment business, aren’t you?
Here’s the funny thing about the music biz: like so many other industries, it takes money to get money. So let’s start with you. How are you going to finance your project? That 9 to 5 is barely making ends meet and you need to get the ball rolling. My advice: USE SOMEONE ELSE’S MONEY! Granted, it’s not as easy as it sounds. You actually have to convince people that you’re good. More importantly, good doesn’t mean good. Good means good enough to invest some hard cold cash on. BACK TO THE LECTURE AT HAND. Assuming you’ve got some real talent, you’re on to phase 2. The challenge here is to make people see value in your project. This will require heavy thinking on your part because you must convince these sponsors that you mean business. Business means dollars and cents. (A presentation on the many and IMMEDIATE ways a sponsor can benefit from donating to your project is essential) Rest assured, businesses won’t be too keen on entertaining propositions that don’t add up on the balance sheet. A few suggestions to get you started:
1. Present “real-life” figures so that sponsors know exactly where their money is going to.
2. Offer logo and name placement on your project. (i.e.: If Gillesini Clothing is sponsoring you, your project should include something along the lines of, “Gillesini Clothing presents…insert your project name here”
3. Make sure you set clear dates to keep track of the duration of your sponsorship agreement. Don’t be in someone else’s pocket longer than you’re benefiting from his/her contribution.
4. It can NEVER hurt to have a trusted lawyer look over your agreement. You do have one, right? If not, I’m gonna need to refer you to one of my previous blogs…

Until next time, do YOU, do music.

-Gilles