ANTONIA JENAE’- is a singer, songwriter, mother, voice coach, mentor,
photographer, and very well known as being the background singer for Grammy Award winning artists Joss
Stone or the past 11 years. She spoke up that she is the same person on
stage as well as off, not indulging with the cliché of not being her self. Her music invites those to get to know her.
Simple tunes with complex storytelling that will captivate your soul and want
to hear her sing her story. She has small negotiating tactics. She has negotiated
gigs and background work for local artists in the Broward area of Florida. I was surprised to have a converse with her
being that her wrap sheet is lengthy, doing somewhat of what I plan to do as an
artist and business owner.
I asked her how she separates
people from the problem when negotiating and she expressed how she tells
people what her worth is. Most times her price is not the price her client
wants to pay, stating the budget is small. When she starts to hear the same
language from different mouths, it becomes innate in how she negotiates a job
or singing opportunity. She’s found out
that most times than none she has to compromise her initial price to a budget
of the other party. It’s called Give and Take, so she stated. She gave me a tip that I thought was useful
and beneficial, to continue to research your market,. She impressed onto me to
see if what I have to market is demanded in a certain area (or state).
Within such a competitive market such as the music industry,
Antonia understands protocol and positional hierarchy. Respecting who came
before you and set the tone and paved the way for most live performers is
highly look upon in the music industry. She has had many bosses and artist she
has sang behind and who’s allowed their position to cloud exactly what their
interests are. In order for beautiful things to occur in a performance or through
a contractual agreement as a performer its best to know where you stand. Positional bargaining occurs in the
industry. No one is thinking about how both parties can win or be satisfied
instead, there is tension and one person who is over the other. It’s not right
but it’s happening.
Antonia doesn’t use the hard approach to get what she wants.
She uses a soft approach, and aims for a deal to be made so that herself and
the other party can be satisfied and work on equal grounds with a mutual benefit. “Sometimes taking less
money is worth it, depending on the project, the amount of exposure at the
venue, and the built relationship with the party negotiating job with.
For example: Antonia once took a singing gig and settled for
an amount she usually wouldn’t, but after taking the opportunity she reaped
with 3 more gigs after she finished, and it all equaled up to an increase and
not a loss.
Reference:
Structure: Williams, A. (2014, September 3). Telephone Interview: Antonia Jenae’.
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