Jeri Goldstein

Book gigs strategically with your career goals in mind. Do you ever get the feeling that you are chasing the same gigs every other performer you know is after or is playing? You keep asking yourself, "Why not me?" First of all, seeing those venues on your performer friend's itinerary doesn't tell the whole story. You have no idea what kind of deal they negotiated or anything about the situation, you only see a particular venue listed on their itinerary. So before you get all envious about the fact that they are playing somewhere and you are not, let's look at this from a different perspective. Start with your goals…

Thinking BIG is often a challenge. I run into this all the time. Artists and other creative people are focused on their art, their music, their writing, etc. That focus keeps the thinking process turned inwards. The focus is on the day-to-day and most often the logistics and the minute details. Many artists are not in the habit of Thinking BIG! When it comes to negotiating gigs, I've found that so many musicians willingly negotiate themselves into comfortably smaller fees rather than going for it and asking what they really deserve. Do you fit into this description? Visual artists often under price their creations. Have you found yourself doing this?…

2018 Wow! Here's what's new for me, what's new for you? January is my birth month and every year during January I have a surge of energy and excitement for the possibilities of the new year. I'm sure being a Capricorn has a lot to do with it as all of my Capricorn friends and relatives are similarly energized. Whatever forces are tugging on my creativity, here's what I've got planned for the coming year: Celebrate an auspicious birthday as my sister and I swim with Dolphins. (mammals not the football team, Ha!) With a renewed excitement in cooking, I plan to start up my one- day gourmet retreats for…

Happy Holidays to you and yours. Here we are, the end of yet another year. I hope yours was a good one filled with great career growth and life 's joys. I hope your challenges were met with grace and your victories celebrated with humility among friends, fans and family. As the year comes to a close, do a few important things to set yourself up for a great new year: Celebrate and enjoy your accomplishments Remember your challenges and the creative ways you met them Honor and cherish those in your life who have been a part of your journey Plan for a better year next year by understanding…

It is time for your Year In Review. It’s December and the year is winding down. Every year during Christmas week I take a bunch of time to look back over the last year and see what I accomplished in my business. Then I look ahead and make some plans for the new year. I cherish this time as I look at all the new things that I was able to make happen or challenges that I faced head on and conquered. It’s not so much the numbers of things that were done that makes your Year In Review so important, it’s the processes behind the accomplishments that makes this…

Create your holiday focus on your fans. Politics got you down? Bah Humbug to that! When you focus on your fans, the ones who have signed up on your mailing lists, bought your CDs, shown up at your concerts, you can always come up with new ways of creating value for them—and in turn yourself. Think about what your fans want, their concerns especially at this time of year. Everyone’s busy with holiday happenings, parties, shopping, giving and getting gifts. So how can you create something of value for your fans who are thinking about those things without being all salesy? What kind of creative ideas can you come up…

Are you getting accurate audience counts when you play for the door gigs? Playing clubs usually involves door sales. Depending on the deal you negotiate, it is very likely that your income will be partially or wholly dependent upon a percentage of the tickets sold. When you play clubs that don't offer advance ticket sales or have a real box office selling pre-printed tickets, your income is at the mercy of whomever is collecting the money at the door. Do you know that person? Are your interests their utmost concern? Are they working for the club? So are you getting accurate audience counts? Here are a few suggestions to help…

Have a great Thanksgiving this week to all those celebrating in the U.S. Enjoy your friends and family. Hopefully, you've got some gigs lined up for Friday or Saturday. If you don't, then use some of your downtime to check the community in which you are celebrating to see what sort of performance opportunities might be possible for future visits. As a reminder, here are some ideas: Regular mainstream clubs, coffeehouses, concert halls House concerts Businesses and Organizations for private parties and fundraisers Elementary Schools, Colleges and Universities, (departments, clubs, organizations) Catering Halls, Civic Centers, Hotels, Conference Centers Ski Resorts and other Resorts Museums, Aquariums, Parks, Recreation Centers Local City…

I know all about those gigs that make you pay to play in their venue. I’m sure you’ve come across a few. But that’s not exactly what I want to talk about here today. I want to help you realize when you are actually paying to play in other situations when you don’t even know that that is exactly what is happening. And I want to help you avoid those situations in the future. It’s easy to spot one of those gigs that are upfront with their charges to pay to play at their venue. It’s not so easy to spot the gig that offers you a certain fee, you…