Hybrid Executive: The New Terminology and Responsibilities of Today's Indie Artists

By Samuel E. Archer

Hybrid Executive is a terminology coined by Composer, Educator, and Author, Samuel Archer. This
terminology is the one title today's Indie artists can
proudly use to define who they are.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543983548

Book preview

Readings

●      CHAPTER 1      ●

Intro

Definition of the New Executive:

HYBRID - Of mixed character or composed of diverse parts.

EXECUTIVE - A person with senior-level managerial responsibility in a business organization.

As of right now, market trends are shifting at a rate we can barely catch up with, it’s faster than ever. Technology growth continues to increase at an alarming rate, showing no signs of slowing down. Anyone who has a hope or a dream of making it in the music business must either adjust to the change or pack up and quit.

In response to these challenges, a new breed of executives has evolved: the Hybrid Executive.

A few months before my graduation, I started to work on my resume. I browsed various sources online to find tips on preparing my resume and determine the things I could do to improve it. As I did my research, it was interesting to see the lengths individuals took to have their resume stand out, especially the creative individuals. Between YouTube clips and ‘how to’ articles, the bottom line was to be unique, break the mold and be memorable. It seemed like the ‘traditional resume’ layout needed to evolve into something else or the next best thing. A hybrid resume anyone?

One of the things that challenged me was finding a way to describe myself on my resume. With various areas of music included in my degree such as product development, copyright, publishing, artist & repertoire, marketing, distribution, etc., I couldn’t just pick one. The only way I could represent a full spectrum of my MBBS (Music Business Bachelor of Science) degree was to give it one heading - Hybrid Executive. As previously stated in the definition of Hybrid: composed of diverse parts, to me, it made sense to say I’m a Hybrid Executive on my resume. Hence the title of this book.

Artists of today are resorting to using unconventional means to stay in the music business game. Also know that by the time you’re done reading this book, those same approaches will be different, even more as the business keeps evolving. Today’s artist is a Hybrid Executive by default.

(In this book, terms like artist, indie, hybrid, and executive, may sometimes be used interchangeably depending on the context of what’s being discussed. They are different by definition, but this is to demonstrate that artists today must assume the role of all music departments in some form or fashion.)

Gone are the days when the artist could just concentrate on writing songs, recording, and performing is beyond an understatement. The artist must now be involved in all areas, or at least understand the relevance of a particular duty and hire someone to fill that role. The artist has graduated from his or her traditional role in the past and must consider themselves an executive in developing and directing their career.

Being self-sufficient and genuinely independent is the way to think as the power hastily comes back into the hands of artists, thanks to emerging technologies. Building an active repertoire of material, releasing recordings, building a fan base, setting performance dates, owning a website, doing marketing and sales, and so much more are key for any artist who plans to stay in the game.

Other industries have gone through similar changes that artists can learn a great deal from by studying this process.

Entities, such as McDonald’s, have revolutionized the fast food business over the years and remain on the cutting edge of improving efficiency in product development, distribution, and marketing. George Ritzer, the author of The McDonaldization Of Society, explains the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are dominating more business sectors.

We have seen the same shift in other industries. For instance, in Apple’s effect on the modern culture and even trending changes in social media platforms like MySpace to Facebook to Snapchat to whatever the next thing might be, a paradigm shift has taken place. The pattern is clear: either companies must improve their business model or become obsolete.

One phenomenon we can’t overlook is the culture of Hip Hop. From its origins to what it has presently evolved into, Hip Hop is probably the most easily-measurable trend to give us accurate results and data about this subject. Any company that remained complacent and didn’t pay attention to new technologies and the culture shifts around the corner is no longer in business or is on its way out.

The artist has been forced, over the years, to find ways to solve each problem they‘ve faced. Getting a record deal with a Record Label has now shifted to self-post releases. The issue of radio airplay has been another pain for indie artists. This radio issue directed artists to utilize Internet radio stations, create mobile device apps for their fans to tune in, stream online and going live on social media platforms. Sales have been a significant problem for indie artists, and little by little, new habits are being formed to overcome that problem.

Record stores were caught off-guard by being lazy and clueless. The advantage went to artists willing to do live performances and sell their music on the spot and over the Internet. In the past, I would have my CDs at various stores when it was released. As I did performances, I would eventually get my CDs back from shops that barely made any sales to sell at a concert that same evening. After a while, it didn’t make sense for me to put my music on consignment in the stores at all because they had become dead end options.

In fact, music stores have died or are about to take their last breath. Many owners refused to update their business approach or invest. They complained that people weren’t buying much music and stuck with a few albums that sold well. The storeowners became storekeepers and not salesmen. They opened the doors, swept the floor, and sat there waiting for customers to come in. The record stores became funeral parlors.

Consequently,