Annika Nord

Introducing Gentle Savage

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This article is a follow-up to the previous one. And about the band Gentle Savage, whose first encounter I remember vividly. If you’re reading this first, the two previous articles will help with understanding. After Annika, everything has progressed as a natural continuation.

Also, after the publication of those books, these artist contacts have been coming regularly. In early 2019, Jack McConnell reached out, and this was the first time I consciously began to consider modern strategies for artist promotion. The passive promotion, in particular, was our area of interest. I have extensively developed this concept in my writings. With Jack, we practiced this for several months and more – in fact, that collaboration continues to this day. I noticed that this mindset began to influence my regular daily routines. As lecture requests started to accompany them, the scope of operations expanded even further. Here, an entirely new way of understanding management had been developed – one in which the artist would become an active participant, strategically as well.

This encouraged me to present my idea more broadly. At this point, Gentle Savage, enters the scene. I needed something to reflect my methods upon. It is fair to say that Gentle Savage is a case zero, in many respects.

It was the summer of 2019 when I decided to inquire about artists’ interest in collaboration within one Facebook group. That post didn’t stay up for long before the then-bassist Vance Bead of Gentle Savage gave me a call. After inquiring further about it, he presented the idea to the band’s leader, Tornado Bearstone. Shortly after, the phone rang again, and this time it was Tornado on the line. For two hours, he interviewed me in return. It was fascinating to observe his reactions to my ideas and how quickly he embraced it.

He and his band came to my home, and over one weekend, we practiced the steps, exploring various promotional avenues and methods. They originally planned to drive back through the night, but our session extended. It’s over 300-miles journey from there where the band lives to here. In hindsight, I’m glad things turned out this way. We got more hours to get to know each other and, most importantly, generate valuable ideas. In return, these methods began to resonate in the music business management lectures I regularly conducted. A unique cycle had been established, generating and continues to generate something meaningful every day.

Even now, as I introduced the idea of our management patrol for the first time, I carefully considered when to present it to Tornado. He has a tendency to put me through the wringer. This is only a good thing, as being put through that wringer makes me think about possible flaws and find better solutions. But in the end, he always agrees!

I am particularly pleased about one thing. I introduced Gentle Savage and Rylos to each other back in the day. They clicked, and to this day, they have embarked numerous joint tours. As they both remain integral parts of our management patrol, all is well. They embody all this – naturalness, effortlessness and significance.

The portrait of Gentle Savage

 

 

The Other Perspective of Team Building – Artists

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I will soon be sharing the story of our manager team. So, this narrative is a bit premature but still an integral part of it. To make our manager team complete, it needs artists. A manager can’t really be a manager without artists. This perspective of the story is at least important and greatly influences what we do. In the upcoming article, I will explain how the artists will be selected to join and why. Let’s go back in time a bit – to the origins of this story. In addition, the intention is to demonstrate a few ideals of the music business: naturalness, effortlessness, and meaningfulness.

I personally took a break from artist management between 2013 and 2016. During that time, I stepped away from the entire music business scene and focused on preparations for the future – writing, giving lectures, and engaging in other industry-related tasks. The industry was, to say the least, undergoing a transformative phase at that time. When I talk about naturalness, I mean this. This perspective often gets less attention amidst all the hustle and bustle. In any case, the era of streaming was on the rise, and for me, it brought forth entirely new possibilities. It removed a few troublesome gatekeepers. I quickly realized that the artist’s perspective would soon become more prevalent.

Then I heard about Annika Nord. A friend of mine recommended to get to know her. When I found out that she had done her thesis on my book, I gained a new perspective on management. That was perhaps the moment when I got the idea of modern co-management between the artist and the manager. Being an indie artist might even be beneficial in the future. I had to meet her.

She was performing covers at that time, but she expressed her desire to write her own songs. We started meeting regularly, and Annika introduced me to her lyrics. And there it began again, gradually – artist management. However, this time with a modern perspective.

Annika Nord's perspective on set while shooting her music video for her upcoming single "Hugo".

Around the same time, I published my first international music business management book. It brought me into broader awareness, which naturally reached the artists as well. This encouraged them to reach out more boldly, and I must admit – it was quite easy to find those with whom collaboration would naturally and seamlessly align. Annika has been followed by a few artists, most of whom are part of our patrol. We all share a similar perspective on management and how it is conducted between the artist and the manager.

I want to highlight them more prominently, which is why we will continue this article in the next chapter.

 

Mentor and What Does It Mean To Me

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To have a mentor is definitely an asset. One good attention to remember is that the mentor relationship does not born with a decision, but just takes place. It may arise whenever and in any way.

In my case, a meaningful event took place in 2003. I was spending the evening with my friends at Ravintola Ilves. Juhani Merimaa, the owner of the place, came to the place and sat on our table. When he heard I had written a book of music business contracts, he started a debate. I lived at the time in a different city and I had a ticket to the next outgoing train. I quickly realized that it is worth to stay and go with the next train.

Experience is a thing that has always fascinated me. When I write in my books that it is good to have at least one experienced player onboard, I will return to this moment. When he started talking about his experiences, the events he has faced in the international music business, the whole table got silent. We just listened. It was completely inconceivable that the music business professional that level gave three hours to us without being asked. Many things he mentioned, opened to me when practicing music law later on.

Now, 18 years later, I still continue to meet with him. To have a mentor – it also have an impact to the contents of my books. And lectures. Such moments offer insights that you would not otherwise be even aware of. It is the experience against which the options are easier to weigh.

Here’s a picture from the last week meeting, Annika Nord also included.

 

It can be important to have mentor. Juhani Merimaa has been one of a kind to me.

 

To have, or to become a mentor doesn’t happen by force, it just happen. That itself is a good reason to keep your eyes and ears open – the same may happen to you too.

A Few New Ideas and The Music Business

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This idea has been present a lot throughout the year. Finally I can tell you more about my upcoming publications. I’ve been thinking how to complete the trilogy. One option would be write a brand new The Essence of the Music Business book. The other is to include that updated material within the previous three. Since the first part, Contracts, was already updated in March 2019, the other two parts, Philosophy and Strategy, remain as options.

I read both books twice – thinking about how they could be improved. I was particularly interested about the structure and order of presentation. Could I get new information there without compromising anything. Whether the existing structure allow room for the new ideas and/or whether there is enough space so that the book does not become too long. I realized that the update could take place in two steps. It allows me to complete the material if needed. If I make Philosophy first with the things I could add there, I can further refine them in terms of strategy. This realization was followed by a sense of freedom. It would avoid the possibility that an entirely new book would actually be a repetition of three previous ones – with only a few new ideas. The possibility of such always exist, as the trilogy contains more than five hundred pages.

This kind of solution also allows for depreciation. I can take unnecessary songs out of the books – these always remain, at least with the first editions. When the time passes from the publication, the text can be evaluated more objectively, and from the better distance.

I have recently focused on the streaming management, in more detail than in the past. Also to gain experience how to perform this task in the 2020’s. Or rather, I started this operation a few years ago – at the national level. Now it has been transferred to the international scenes – with the same team as before. The experiences I got can be read in the new editions of The Essence of the Music Business.

UPDATE: It still so happened that I decided to write another book – not within that trilogy as I just told. Many things led to this decision. You can get this book from here.

A few new ideas and modern music business with Annika Nord - we are sitting on our kitchen with her.

There’s more to this than just writing and publishing. It’s been a pleasure to partner with Grey Beton Records. Our second joint operation, Delta Enigma’s Waterfall, will be released along through that avenue. More likely all my other artists will end up with the same solution. The vision that CEO Richard Hiles has to offer provides the experience required for the modern streaming release requirements.