Business Lessons From Rihanna

Nothing – and I mean NOTHING – is more important than assembling a strong, reputable business team at the very start of your career.

There’s only one problem – most independent musicians still haven’t transitioned from the “I-just-want-to-write-play-and-sing-music” mode to the “if-I-want-to-have-an-actual-career-in-the-music-industry-I-have-to-treat-it-like-a-business” mode.

Which brings to me the lessons we can all learn from a recent star. If you haven’t heard, Rihanna is currently suing her accountants, blaming them for a loss of tens of millions of dollars, for not making proper recommendations to her, breach of contract and for the fact that she’s in some other financial hot water known as an IRS audit. The list goes on, but those are some of the highlights. 🙂

You can make your own judgment on whether or not this is how you would do business, but the most important takeaway is this –

You’ve got to be present to your music as a business.

The days of managers running your life and industry making all of your decisions, taking your career to the next level and in turn depositing an endless amount of cash in your bank account, are in fact – OVER.

You have to be your own advocate, your own manager.

Unfortunately, TV networks like VH1, MTV and E! – as well as magazines like People, Us Weekly and many others – create the illusion that musicians simply wake up one day famous and rich. And, all they’ve got to do now is turn their life over to the care of “Industry” who will keep their career on the straight and narrow – something like your very own music biz fairy godmother.

And of course when things don’t go according to plan – the same networks, magazines and other media outlets are there to cash in on the drama in the form of juicy gossip stories and reality shows.

In this lawsuit, we don’t know yet if Rihanna truly was taken advantage of when signing with this firm as a 16-year-old or if the whole thing is frivolous (or way more complex). But if you learn nothing else today, know this:

You’ve GOT to have your head in the game. If you keep having blind faith that everything will be taken care of for you, you could be in for a BIG surprise one day – and not the good kind.

Thoughts ladies and gentleman? Share them below…

©2012 Cari Cole, Vocal Mag, Inc. All Rights Reserved.