Sham Sabbah
English 111-17
November, 1999
An Interview with a Business Man
My major or career choice must be based on business. This profession is important for my future obligations because I need money. I am searching for information on how to start a business that will actually last in the industry. I know there are so many people that have majors in this kind of business and don't succeed because they didn't follow the guidelines on how to create a successful business. Some just don't have the preparations set to keep themselves competing with other companies around them. You must be prepared for making the correct decisions and managing money the proper way. My field is business management. I am furthering my lifestyle into making big bucks from a music label. This choice was made because I have experienced my talents through producing and composing music for others and myself. I love it. These goals may be against all odds but I have no problem fighting the odds.
There are some qualifications in advancing through the stages of a business education. First of all salaries definitely vary in many situations. A salary depends on what major one is getting into. There are many different types of fields in business- accounting, administration, management, economics, and much more (Bacon 64). Most jobs require a bachelor degree in a business plan (Bacon 64). Opening up a new business has liabilities. The projections of job availability are not too great when dealing with demands. The demands of a business degree aren’t too high because this is such a broad field of work. To begin a business you must learn the demands and the risk of the business. There should be a strategic plan for marketing the business successfully. You have to get a business license from the local government to accurately keep your business legit. You must financially be able to support your business’s demands and loans. A proper location is also very important. The location can determine the rate of business you may have. An industry full of competition may cause problems because of your lack of competing well towards other company strategies.
In ten to twenty years I will have run through these obstacles to get to my goal. By then my business in music production will be a success. I will be the CEO of this record label and hopefully my family can help me run this company. Of course, it takes time and patience to get to this point beginning from an entry-level. At the beginning, you must start from the bottom and climb your way up to higher positions. You can’t just climb your way to success escalator style.
I took the initiative to interview an engineer working for Hung-Lo Productions, Chris Haskins. It's located in Hampton, next to Hampton University. This business involves oral and written communication.
Primary audiences are professional music artists, distributors, and, of course, the buyers of the music (Haskins). Most written communication deals with documented contracts. These contracts involve information about the company that produces the music and the buyer’s agreement towards the company’s offer. Financial agreements are documented through these contracts. The contract will show the name of the producer, engineer, company and client. Letters are sent to keep clients and companies informed of any new changes. Flyers and posters are made for promotion to help Hung-Lo get more attention from the music industry. Written communication mainly involves detailed contracts. On the other hand, written communication can be casual when dealing with promotion services. Haskins does not deal with contracts or promotions. He does most of his work by communicating orally, or working on digital track boards connected to computer monitors, which I believe involves computer skills. The employer or higher ranking employees do all of the written documents.
Haskins is an engineer and producer for other clients. He communicates with these clients to give them what they want. He will either contact them over the phone or they may contact him. This type of communication is very casual because it is just brief talk over the phone about basic information needed to produce what the client likes. They don’t really go into depth. The engineer just gives the client or the buyer an overview of how the session will run and an estimation on hourly rates. Whether it is person-to-person or over the telephone, his job is to listen to what they want and then put their words into action. When speaking to the CEO of a record label, his communication should suit that persons position. In other words, he may need to change his casual communication to a more formal style. The audience can cause a variation to the level of communication the engineer should speak on.
Sometimes the engineer/producer may be interviewed for a magazine article if their music is worth reviewing. "The public only pays attention to those who are really sparking up the charts," said Haskins. What he means is you have to be really good at what you’re doing to get that kind of publicity.
Computer skills vary in the art of engineering and music production. There are two types of equipment used for the job. The first one is analog. If this equipment is used, then there is no need for work on a computer. The second is digital. Digital has pinpoint accuracy with filing and programming information through computer data. Analog is not as accurate and specific as digital. When using digital equipment, computers are mandatory for saving tons of musical data to access whenever it is needed. Computers are constantly needed for this type of equipment. There is much more to tell about what they are for, but you wouldn’t understand it unless there was a step by step guide explaining all the info needed.
In addition, the Internet is used more than occasionally for research. On the Internet the company can find out the market for music production. They are able to place a web-site on the Internet for promotion benefits. This also helps clients get a good overview on how the company works. The Internet is also used to see what other companies are giving them competition. They will be able to find out the latest news on new music artists, so they can possibly contact them for business. It is also used to contact other companies and superiors. The Internet is used for a variety of things to help speed up the process on daily routine work with the employees. Computers alone are a great deal of help without the use of the Internet.
A business in music production is where I would love to be in a few years. Hopefully I can surpass the entry-level positions and establish a greater level of authority.
Works Cited
Bacon, A. James. Virginia Business. Volume 14, No. 10.
Haskins, Chris. Personal Interview. 5 Nov. 1999.
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