You Can Have Success During the Pandemic

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

It’s Monday.  Strike one.  And it’s raining, because Hurricane Eta is starting to arrive for an uninvited visit here to the Sunshine State.  Strike two.  And my beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered a lopsided defeat last night on national television.  Strike three.

It all adds up to a perfect equation to stay in bed and just say, “Forget it.”

Unfortunately, for some people, only one of those three would be enough to decide to just roll over and keep sleeping, and not even set an alarm.

But then there are those who don’t, and those who snooze later end up wondering why they see the other folks having success after success.  They get frustrated looking at social media because they see all the wins that those around them are posting about.

Attitude, my friends, can make or break how far you go.

We are eight months into what I call the Coronavirus era.  That’s an excuse on a silver platter for those who want to gobble it up.  Or it’s an opportunity for the motivated folks that are looking to seize on anything they can conquer.  They view it as a challenge, meaning, a new chance to show success.

I have been so happy to hear artists telling me on “Now HearThis Entertainment” about how they’ve actually flourished during the pandemic, writing, and releasing new music.  You’ll hear that when Episode 353 comes out 48 hours from now.  Heck, last week on Episode 352 RT Valine was talking about the TWENTY-song album he put out on September 2^nd.  One week earlier on Episode 351 Bailey James was promoting her latest single, which was her fifth such release this year.  On Episode 349 Casey Kearney was talking about her album that came out on October 2^nd, which means that one week ago today she could post that, “It was one month ago today that my new album came out,” as opposed to the glass half empty people who say, “Well, I’ve got nothing to post about.  There’s not much that can be done until this darn Coronavirus goes away.”

As far back as April when I was hosting the “Now Hear This Entertainment” Virtual Music Series on Instagram Live, Jessica Meuse was singing a song she had already written about the Coronavirus!  When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  You don’t go back to sleep because you don’t have the recipe for it.

Unlike the actual raindrops that I can see hitting the window as I sit here and write this, the metaphorical rainy day is here.  In fact, it’s been here, standing at your front door for more of this year than not.  Have you stayed inside and not opened the door, thinking, “Well, now I’m trapped”?  Or have you flung it wide open, with arms outstretched, a smile on your face, and a warm welcome?  I hope it’s the latter and that instead of the same old tired “’Rona” nickname everyone else has already beaten to death, you’ve affectionately greeted it as Opportunity, and are hard at work as though it was Wednesday afternoon, not Monday morning.

Oh, and speaking of Wednesday, the day after tomorrow is Veteran’s Day.  Don’t use it as another excuse to sleep in.  You just might wake up and find out someone you know wrote a hit song about the men and women that have served our country.

How have you thrived during the pandemic?  Puff your chest out and share your wins with me on Twitter via @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, post about it on Facebook or LinkedIn, or, instead of social media, write to me with the details.

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I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.

Anatomy of a (Missed) Interview Booking

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

Depending on whether you’re a glass half-full or glass half-empty person will determine whether you are drawn to the artist (or artists) in this post who blew it on potentially getting booked for an interview, or, the individual who seized the moment and was successful in consummating the appearance. 

Here is the timeline of events that I had a front row seat for recently, with names withheld, of course, to avoid public embarrassment.  Like any other entry that gets posted here each Monday, read and learn.

To set this up, understand that Artist A contacted me to initiate the conversation, not the other way around. 

Monday, dinner time – Artist A agrees over Instagram DMs to be interviewed for “Now Hear This Entertainment” that coming Saturday in-person in Orlando.

I ask then and again the next morning what time we can meet to record.  I have gotten a hotel to agree to let us use space in their facility for an hour at no charge, but they are asking me when this will take place. 

Tuesday, late morning – The guest’s mother (manager) is now taking over the DMs and gives me a specific time, so I let the hotel know that we will be there at 1:30.

Tuesday evening – I email the address the artist’s mother provided just over an hour ago, giving the details and instructions, including what I need sent back to me to prepare for the interview. 

Wednesday afternoon – Through Instagram DM I ask if the email that I’d sent last night has been seen.

Wednesday dinner time – The artist’s mother says no (“Haven’t checked it yet”), so I reply and mention that there were assets I was asking to have sent back by dinner time Thursday. 

Early Thursday evening – The artist’s mother DMs me to ask if I got it yet (note that last word).

Friday morning – I write back and say No (and that I’d even checked my Spam folder). 

Friday lunchtime – The artist’s mother writes back and says that someone in the band was supposed to have sent the email.  Thus, the use of the word ‘yet’ above, meaning, (unbeknownst to me) she wasn’t actually the one sending what I’d asked for.

At this point we are just under 25 hours until the interview is supposed to happen. 

Friday afternoon – The artist’s mother explains that the band member is going through some family issues, so instead she “will get into my emails right now and send you the information needed.”

Friday, just before dinner time – I send a message saying that I’m “standing by, watching my email closely as I need to get started with this ASAP.” 

Friday evening – I send a message saying that “I just checked my email and still don’t see anything.  We’re really cutting it close here.  Hoping you’re working on everything I asked to have sent for tomorrow’s interview?”

The artist’s mother responds, “I am I’m working on an (sic) I apologize for how close we are cutting this…”  I answer with, “Okay.  I will keep watching my email.” 

Two hours, 21 minutes later (now 10:28pm Friday night) – I message the artist’s mother and tell her, “At this point we might just have to cancel,” and the response I get starts with, “I think so.”

I text a colleague in California asking if there’s a potential referral that can be made last-minute so as to fill-in (over Skype) Monday (or “Sunday could be a possibility too”) and I even throw out a specific – who we will call – Artist B as a potential option. 

Late Saturday morning – I call the hotel and tell them we won’t be coming in to do an interview after all.

I hang up and wipe the egg off my face and DM who we will call Artist C on Instagram.  This had been a referral from another guest somewhat recently and was filed away in my memory bank. 

One hour later – My colleague from last night texts me saying Artist B “is in” and that an email has just been sent to connect me with Artist B.  I hit Reply All on the email and ask Artist B about availability for Monday (or Sunday/the next day) and note that “I need some lead time for you to email me assets that I will be requesting.”

Saturday, dinner time – I text the guest who’d referred me to Artist C asking if a gentle nudge could be put in towards the Instagram DM that I’d sent.  Thirty minutes later I get back a, “Sure.  I’ll touch base with her!”  Eleven minutes after that I get a screenshot texted back to me of a text conversation that the two of them had, including instructions for me to be given Artist C’s cell number to text.  I immediately text Artist C who responds four minutes later with, “Yes I would love to do it lets work out a time.  I’m at my brothers wedding right now so can you text or call me tomorrow…?”  Admiring that this artist is taking time out from her brother’s wedding to text with me, I ask for an email address, get an answer back immediately from her, and I write an email with the details and instructions for an interview we agreed to do Monday. 

Late morning, the next day – I text Artist C to follow up.  She answers me twelve minutes later while on the road returning from the wedding.  Just 79 minutes later she texts me again, saying that the “email is sent.”  Yes, already.  What a pro.

Around this same time, Artist B is finally emailing me back.  Too late.  The ship sailed.  And as happens so often in this industry, you have lost the booking to someone else. 

Decide which artist you are going to be.  The one that makes excuses and drags their feet, or, the pro who is present, who is attentive, who is timely, and who seizes the opportunity when it comes their way.

Which one are you?  Has the above account inspired you to shift out of Artist A and Artist B mode into Artist C mode?  Share your feedback with me on Twitter via @NHT_tweets or on Facebook, LinkedIn, or even through email.

• • •

I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.

Attitude Adjustment isn’t Just for Politics and Civil Activity

By: Bruce Wawrzyniak

From time to time you see guest blogs posted on this site, generally identifiable as such by someone’s byline other than my own, and usually a brief (italicized) intro paragraph letting you know who the writer is.

You might do a double take and look up at the byline to see if this week’s post was written by someone else because it’s not going to sound like me.  Generally, in these blogs and on the weekly “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast you read/hear a chipper, positive Bruce Wawrzyniak.  Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the compliments and every thank you I get for the work that I put in for the creative community.  But maybe I’m fed up with nice guys finishing last and/or I’ve shown that I am human and let the weight of the world influence me for this week’s blog.  It’s time I spoke up and practiced a little tough love here.

Over the weekend I had brunch with a client who said – despite being a singer, not trying to directly reference the song from the mid-1960s – “What the world needs now is love.”  And she is completely correct on that.  To me love and selfishness do not go together unless you consider ego to equate to love because it means you’re full of yourself.

Whether you’re in the entertainment business or you’re an author or you work in retail or you’re unemployed, no one is better than anyone.  Anywhere.  Period.

So, when you decide to promote only certain appearances of yours but not others, shame on you.  Don’t your fans, your loyal followers, deserve to hear what you’re doing?  We see a bigger push these days to support small businesses.  By extension, aren’t you also hurting the little guy when you decide not to promote his or her venue or show?  Get off your pedestal.

Similarly, if you share something in a public forum and then someone contacts you to follow-up on that business, product, or service that you mentioned, you have an opportunity to be of further service.  You can show your willingness to help.  You can provide information that the person contacting you can now benefit from.  And again, you’re helping a business that you’re giving a referral to.  So, if you ignore that incoming inquiry, it not only reflects poorly on you, but is shutting out other people in the process.

A third example of behavior that doesn’t reflect well upon your character is this.  Without putting a lot of thought into it, I know of three different people who have told me directly that they were going to sign up to the Patreon for my weekly podcast.  To use a baseball analogy, that batting average is at .000 because none of them did.  People forget, circumstances change, those folks might have it on a To Do list somewhere, and those all, to me, are excuses.  Or, since there are too many signs of cockiness showing up these days, maybe it was all just to try to look good in the moment and there never was any follow-through intended in the first place.

My father used to work for an employer where it was said that one “Awe s—t” equals ten “Atta boy” compliments.  At a time when there are some individuals and organizations who are trying to do right, it’s sad to see that others are carrying on with a “me, me, me” take-no-prisoners attitude.

In the United States numerous attempts are being made for change, and people will look back on the events and the individuals that presumably will result in such.  Do you want people to look back on actions you took – or didn’t take – and remember you for those disappointments?  Not only are we here for just a short time, but it really is a small world and you’re going to be in for a big surprise when those slights come back to haunt you as something comes around to bring you back together with someone you passed over before.  Be careful.  Think twice.  Look in the mirror.  If your personal infrastructure is not something that leads to a desire to collaborate and cooperate, you’re probably in a competitive posture and that’s not going to serve you or many others well.  While so many others are trying to, I suggest you hit the reset button.

Share your struggles with me by tweeting to @NHT_tweets.  Alternatively, continue the conversation via Facebook or LinkedIn, or even via email.

• • •

I am a manager and publicist, running Now Hear This, Inc., an agency that has served clients across the U.S. ranging from music artists to authors to small businesses and even an Olympic athlete. Since February 2014 I have also hosted a weekly podcast (“Now Hear This Entertainment”), which has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world. Find more about the company and the podcast at www.NowHearThis.biz. I am also a national speaker. Visit www.SpeakerBruceW.com for more information.