2 LIFE LESSONS FROM AN ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY
1. Whether you are on the creative or business side, in the long run, character always trumps talent.
I think a lot of people get that flipped. I know as a young A&R guy, I did. I believe in the long run the people that have really fruitful and successful careers creatively or on the business side are people that are of high morals, honest and trustworthy and do what they say they are going to do.
2. Most creative people negligently underestimate the value of efficiency and productivity.
In other words, their creative skills are not equally balanced with their productivity and organization skills. No matter how creative you are — even if you are a musical genius — if you don’t learn to keep your calendar, manage appointments, get things done in a timely manner, follow through and complete projects, and value the time of your musical and business collaborators –- the world will likely never get to hear the beautiful work you are creating; you’ll never have the complete success you were born for; and, you will not be able to keep moving forward as a creative person.
By Mark Maxwell:
Mark Maxwell is an entertainment attorney in Nashville. He represents many young creative people, artists, songwriters, producers, record labels, managers and authors — all different types of people in the entertainment industry. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Belmont University. Prior to his law practice, he worked in A&R for a major record label for a decade. Overall, he has been involved in the music entertainment industry for 30 years.
