This afternoon, I had an amazing meeting with one of Nashville’s top entertainment lawyers. His clients are well-known chart-toppers and he has an outstanding reputation around town, so I was glad to meet him and honored to bend his ear for free. We talked about being prepared, being fortunate, and making good choices. I was completely surprised to learn that, like me, he was a UK Law graduate. Lexington is in the heart of the Bluegrass but Bluegrass isn’t big business–even in Nashville–and he never set out to become an entertainment lawyer. It just kinda happened.

What do I want to be when I grow up? What kind of law do I want to practice? Do I want to practice? Or do I want to manage? Agent? Produce? He asked me those questions and I asked myself those questions. I’ve always enjoyed working with creative people and I’m a bit creative, too. Where do I want to be in ten years? In order to start now and work my way there, I need to know that now. There is much to consider.

The music business is tumultuous and the next two or three years will tell who and what will survive. Labels are changing. New artists shouldn’t sign with major labels. What’s the point? The labels can’t push much more airplay or sales. A small bump, that’s it. And, in exchange, they want a share of all income–not just music sales. Today, MySpace and Facebook are the powers that be. It takes four years for new artists to develop. And ten years is a good career. So, developing a new artist is like taking on a fourteen-year project. You pray that it pays, so you take precious few. How do you separate the good from the exceptional? That’s a matter of skill and practice, having been there, done that and seen what it takes. Who cares if you’re better than this or that signed act? Who cares? Are they selling? How good are you compared to everyone else? Who cares? How good are you compared to the top ten artists out there? They’re the real competition. They’re the ones who are selling the CDs, the tickets, the merchandise. If you’re not better than them, you can’t convince their fans to buy your CDs, tickets, and merchandise. Without them buying, you’re not a going concern. You’re losing money–and you can do that without help.

You have to prepare. Work hard. And pray that fortune finds you. The most amazing things can happen. You can head out in one direction, wind up in another, and be completely happy. Who are you? What do you want to do? How do you fit into this wild world of wonderful possibilities?