When Michael McDonald first entered the music industry, it wasn’t exactly a premeditated process.
“I was a Portuguese and Latin American History major. I heard Dave Matthews Band and was blown away, so I started selling T-shirts at their concerts for free,” McDonald recalled.
Pretty soon, McDonald became more deeply involved in the business, touring with the band and selling their merchandise. What started as volunteering began to evolve its own structure.
“Touring with the band was kind of like grad school for me ““ I learned every element of the business, how touring works and what the artist’s experience is like,” McDonald said.
Judging by how things have turned out, McDonald’s career hasn’t been hampered by its lack of overt planning. Selling T-shirts turned into a full-time tour-managing gig for Dave Matthews Band, and now McDonald is managing John Mayer and serving as president of ATO Records.
For those who would like to start off in the music business with a little more direction, however, there are some options. Tonight at Royce Hall, McDonald, as well as a panel of other music industry luminaries such as promoter Jason Garner, agent Rob Light and entertainment lawyer Don Passman, will speak at an event titled “Break Into the Music Business,” at which they will relate their experiences in the business and the ways their careers evolved.
Despite the term “break,” Jason Garner, who currently serves as CEO of North American Music for Live Nation Inc., had a similarly unplanned beginning. For him, it all started as a result of a high school job at a flea market.
“I was promoted from parking attendant to the beer guy, but I was having problems with making the beer sales grow. People wanted to shop instead, so I hired live bands to play,” Garner said.
While both Garner and McDonald came from unassuming and hands-on beginnings, they both feel that now is an exciting ““ or at least interesting ““ time to discuss breaking into the industry. Both have experienced the changing ways in which people produce and receive music, from the rising influence of Internet social sites, such as MySpace.com, to the increased number of artists who have taken to producing their own music. While the breakdown of the music industry’s traditional structure may make things more complicated, Garner feels that it also leaves much room for innovation.
“You used to tell someone interested in the business to get a job in an agency mail room or to become an assistant ““ but now, a lot of the innovation comes from a kid on a computer in a garage at one in the morning. Now, the things you do to make the music business better don’t have to be traditional,” Garner said.
But whatever the form, the central exciting elements of working with music remain. Whether it happens over the Internet or at a live show, the core of what makes the music business interesting isn’t likely to go away any time soon.
“We connect artists and fans ““ it’s a special job. The bands work hard to make music and create a show, and the fans invest to see the music. We have the role of putting the parts together,” Garner said.