This book is dedicated to my mother Helen, my sister Deana and my two awesome nephews Eddie & Anthony. Thank you all for your continued love & support while on my journey to success and a better life for us all. To my past music teachers: Lisa Tedesco; Thank you for being the first person to recognize my abilities to be a leader by tossing the sheet music aside and letting me “Recess Rock” in 6th grade band by allowing me to write my own drum lines. Mac McDonald; Thank you for helping me start my high school music career while still in junior high. You let me play with the “big guys” Nick and Joe. Thanks for believing in me fellas, you helped build my strength of character. Anne Sutton; Thank you for believing in my drive and continuing to have the same vision Lisa and Mac saw in me as a leader. Paul Pickutt; Thank you for taking me into the Southampton H.S. band as one of your own even though I was a Pierson H.S. student. Glad to have helped my fellow musicians. To some special people through my life: Erin Brockaway; Phantom is and always will be with me forever. You knew I was going to be a music visionary. L.N.; Ya know who you are , thanks for your continued support Jessica Jenkins, John, Karin & Dave Schroeder, Robbie Foster, Jennifer & Carl Lions and Pat Malazzo; You always had my back & are such truly amazing people. All of you always inspired me to the fullest and are nothing short of pure class. I appreciate and respect you All. Last and certainly least…To all the hateful people who have ever doubted me or are full of negativity; THANKS for pouring the gasoline on my fire.
~ Table of Contents ~ Chapter 1: An Industry Mogul Is Born (1994-1996) Chapter 2: Rough Seas Ahead. (1996-1999) Chapter 3: Tides Of Change. (2000-2001) Chapter 4: Here We Go Again…and Again.(2001-2005) Chapter 5: 1 Step Backward, 10 Steps Ahead. (2005-2009) Chapter 6: If You Build It, They Will Come. (2010-2011) Chapter 7: An Angel Comes Along & The Devil Is Afoot! (2012) Chapter 8: One Last Time and I Swear I’ll…. (2012-2013) Chapter 9: One Last Time and I Swear I’ll…. (2013) Chapter 10: Guess You’ll Have To Wait and See…. (The Future)
© 2013, Hamptons Multimedia A Division Of Hamptons Entertainment, Inc. www.HamptonsEnt.Biz
1 An Industry Mogul Is Born (1994-1996) At age 17, ninety eight percent of teenagers have one main focus when they go to school: To hang out with their friends! Then after school, they either spend more time hanging out with friends, play a team sport, join an after school club, etc… As for me, I headed to school looking forward to music class and marching band practice followed by volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball or tennis practice throughout the school year. Then when I got home, I ate dinner…and ran my management label. I had a small office set up in my bedroom with a basic sized desk with a typewriter and the house phone doubled as my business line. The one main issue was I was broke so I couldn’t afford a computer (though they were nothing like we have today anyway) and there was no such thing as “unlimited” calling plans or cell phones for just “anybody”. Every call was ten cents a minute so that goes to show you just how high my first few years of phone bills were! At age 17, instead of being part of a high school “click” cutting class to go smoke pot or get drunk like most did, I was either in the music room teaching fellow band students or in the senior lounge writing songs and putting together PR / marketing plans for a friend’s rock band I was helping promote & eventually become manager of. Also, instead of being part of the weekend “party crowd”, I was working my part time job during the day and scouting bands in New York City at night at legendary clubs like CBGB, The Continental, Limelight, Irving Plaza and Downtime. I was networking with major label A&R reps, booking agents, producers and musicians. They had no idea how young I really was but they certainly got to
know “who” I was…The owner of True Sound Management from “The Hamptons”. I spent a good 5 months learning all I could about the field of Artist Management, reading whatever books I could find and paying close attention to what was happening in the music business at the time. I knew it was going to take a ton of hard work learning the task of managing artists trying to “catch a break” in the biz, let alone seeking bands & getting them to sign a contract with me while me being a new manager with NO experience. Graduation came in June and I was really excited to get into the city during the summer, having all the time in the world to spend scouting talent and really getting my feet into the club scene. During the spring I had met Nevil, a very well known & seasoned booking agent who worked a few top venues in NYC. He offered to help me learn how to network with other booking agents and venue owners in order to “learn how the system really works”. My graduation came with a surprise: My older brother came home from the Air Force to see me graduate & offered me the chance to get away from home for the first time in my life with a trip to stay with him for part of the summer in Omaha, Nebraska. I took the opportunity and within a couple weeks was on a bus half was across the country. The experience was awesome and I even picked up some part time work while I was there to have some spending cash in my pocket. One thing I learned was that as beautiful as Nebraska was, It wasn’t the place for me! The bright lights and hustle & bustle of New York City was calling my name. It was time I headed back east and really started the journey I was on. You better believe when that greyhound bus pulled into Port Authority It was early
evening and I had 5 hours to kill before the next train back to eastern LI. There was a place I had to be: BLEEKER ST. Now if you’re reading this book then you’re most likely in the music biz in some sort of fashion and know EXECTLY what and where I’m talking about. If you don’t well, NYC’s Bleeker ST. is the music row of Nashville, The Strip of Vegas and The Walk Of Fame of Hollywood. It houses some of the most world famous yet hole-in-thewall venues known to man. It’s where the cream of the crop artists come to “Break In” and industry icons, both artists and executives, are born. It’s where a lil punk band called THE RAMONES got their break, along with many others, and made the street address of “313 Bleeker” THE most epic place in the world to play if you were in a rock band of any kind. It’s also the place that ultimately became my home away from home. I became friends with the house soundman who also happened to be the most sought after soundman in the industry. This guy taught me about sound & lighting hands on every chance I could get. He also ran sound for major label world famous bands & singers as well as a few other venues, but this place was his home and he would probably still be there today! Long Live CBGB. AS “LUCK” WOULD HAVE IT… They say that some people are “Lucky”, that they have things happen to them for “no reason”. I beg to differ and so does the “law of attraction”. We create our own luck in many ways, it’s doesn’t just appear. So, as “luck” would have it randomly on one afternoon that summer, I was sitting tapping my drumsticks as I normally would do while sitting on main street waiting for a bus to work in my home town of Sag Harbor.
Minding my own business, a couple came walking along and stopped, asking if I was a local musician. We struck up a conversation and I told them not only of myself as a local musician, but also my aspirations of becoming an artist manager. The conversation led to an invite to the couple’s home for dinner later than evening. Skipping work, I attended the dinner which lead to me gaining my first small financial investor to help get True Sound Management off the ground. That couple was Sony Music President Tommy Mettola and singer now superstar Mariah Carey. By age 18 I had signed my first artist and after 2years I landed the band a $1.5 million dollar advance record deal with Sony Music/Epic. I was new and excited and took a deal which I pocketed a $10,000 advance on my finder’s fee and took a 10% cut on the first 100,000 records sold. While shopping for a deal I had been pushing the band in all directions, leading to several sold out shows (including two with newbie now legendary band Our Lady Peace) and the release of their first two singles and a 5 song debut EP. Pressing 1,000 units for the first run, we quickly sold out in a matter of days at live shows alone. It was then we KNEW we had the beginnings of a platinum record on our hands. Within a couple of months I had worked out a consignment sales deal with several Long Island and New York City record stores including two of the largest chains SAM GOODY and FYE. We pressed 5,000 units with 4,000 going to retail and the others to be used for promos and sales at shows. Sales were just as fast and by the time we needed to order another run, the label deal had come through so the fans were gonna have to wait for the full album. Sadly, 3 months after landing the major label deal and the band spending the last 10 long years trying to “make it” in the biz, the lead singer’s wife had already
checked out. She had given him the “rock star life or me” speech and naturally, she won. That band went on to break up a quarter way through a one year, one album contract and I ended up with nothing in the end! Yes I got 10% of all the CD sales and shows I booked but that came with thousands of personal time and money spent. It’s the price we manager’s pay to see and help our artists succeed. Sometimes it pays off and other time you take the hit. Regardless of me getting screwed on my very first deal, the world never got to hear one of the greatest groups of musicians and songwriters that ever existed. It was a really sad moment for the band and I, seeing how we all really busted our asses to finally break them into the major market. The fellas played one last show for the fans on a brisk winter night in downtown NYC. While some in the village lay their heads down to sleep, the faithful packed the house so much that it spilled outside the doors onto the sidewalk. They were singing. They were celebrating. Some were even crying. A legend in their own right was about to end a historic 10 year run and they wouldn’t have wanted to go out how they did in any other way or in any other place than they did….at CBGB. WORDS OF ADVICE:
It’s ok to believe in your artist but don’t wear your heart on your sleeve.
Talk is cheap, get it ALL on paper!
Be excited to break you tail but don’t be overly excited to break your own bank.
2 Rough Seas Ahead (1996-1999) That time in my life was a very turbulent one. With the success of the band (then the departure), I had picked up and signed another band to a management contract with True Sound. I had also come to the point where I wanted to launch my own record label. One afternoon while walking along the ocean (Cooper’s Beach) in Southampton as I did on a regular basis, the name came to me and Ocean Front Records was born…sort of. I did the proper research on the name and discovered it belonged to a Motown subsidiary label that closed its doors some years before in 1983. I contacted the former label owner, explained my interest in the launch of my label and it lead to my second major deal. A month later, I was the new owner and CEO of Ocean Front Records, complete with the entire catalog of the past label roster. With the history of the label having records produced and performed by some of the most legendary names in the industry, I knew great things were to come. While great new things were happening in business, it was just the opposite on the personal side. The house I had grown up in my entire life was in foreclosure and going up for public auction. My parents had been divorced since I was five years old so my mom was a single mother raising two kids while a third was in the military. We thought all was lost until a man from the neighborhood who knew my family’s situation stopped by and made us an offer: He’d buy the house from the town then rent it to us at $800 a month. We were ecstatic, until the auction came and he lost the bid on the house to another guy by a mere couple hundred dollars! He explained the situation to the buyer
and he refused to make a deal..then followed up with a letter to us stating we had 30 days to vacate the property. The news hit us like a row boat in a hurricane with no direction to turn in. My mom, sister and I were forced to split up for a while, finding places to stay with family friends while we searched for a new place to live. After a couple of months and the help of a great family friend who worked for the Southampton town housing department, we found a place to rent a town over in Southampton village which turned out to be a pleasant surprise! It was a mile away from my mom’s job and located right across the street from the train station(where I had been taking the train to and from NYC in the first place) and a 10 minute walk into town. We couldn’t believe what a great deal we had been given in what seemed to be the darkest time in our lives. I had been working at the movie theater in East Hampton, my sister had been working retail in Bridgehampton and my mom the same in Southampton village. All of our jobs had been about 10 miles from our home in the middle of the woods in Noyak, a beautiful section of Sag Harbor. On a side note, my mom also wasn’t able to drive due to nerve damage from a car accident many years before. We had been dependent on the public buses during the day and rides from friends or taxis at night. The move to Southampton couldn’t have been more perfect. I was able to transfer to the movie theater in Southampton village due to it being owned by the same company. They knew me well over there anyway due to me occasionally filling in over there for call outs or super busy weekends. I had lived right between both towns so either one would work for me. I had only chosen the East Hampton location
because my sister had worked there for a few years when I was younger. I would always be there helping out so I already had a job there waiting for me when I turned 16. It all worked out really well for us in the end. As for my trips to the city, it was like door to door services via the train! It was bad enough that I would get into Southampton at 3:15am, then have to take a $10 taxi to get home when I was living in Sag. So to have the train station right across from my new place was a blessing in itself. Great things came to my family that day and I will never forget the man who made it happen.As for the greedy fuck who stole my family’s home right out from under another good man… I hope God and the spirits of the universe return the favor ten fold, if they haven’t already done so. Myfamily and I moved into the small, cramped apartment we had found until we were able to find something better. I had been able to keep things going with the label while working part time at the movie theater and waiting tables at a restaurant nearby. It seemed things were going according to plan until life took a sudden halt. I was in New York City running a sold out show at CBGB. Around 11:30pm I noticed my pager had gone off (no cell phone back then) about an hour before that with the number of my answering service on the screen. I had no idea who it was and figured it was just a client who left a message. When I tried calling the service from a payphone to retrieve the message, I couldn’t get the call to go through. At this point my client had been in the middle of their set and figured I’d just try again later on before I got on the 12:35am train to head back to The Hamptons. By the time the show wrapped up, I only had 25 minutes to get all the way up and across town to Penn station from
what all us New Yorkers know simply as “The Village”. When I got to Penn I had just made the train with no time to spare in order to make the call I needed to. No sooner did I get on the train, my pager went off again and then 3 more times within 2 hours and I still had 45 minutes left of my trip. At this point I knew something wasn’t right and then a 4th call with a text came across the screen that read: “Call Southampton Hospital ASAP”. I was frantic and had no access to a phone until I stepped off the train in Southampton at 3:15am. I called the hospital and damn near collapsed when the ER nurse told me the news: My mother had suffered a major heart attack. TURNING POINT It was at that point in my life that the music business was the last thing on my mind. I took a break from the industry to focus on my family and redevelop a plan of action for my labels. Within that time, we had moved into a much better and larger apartment just around the block from the old one. Mom was feeling better, life as a whole seemed to be back to normal and felt it was time I get back into the music biz. I did what came naturally & started scouting talent again, hitting the venues in NYC and getting back into the swing of things. I scoped out my old haunts and even found some new favorites. I scanned through the local music scene newspapers like The Village Voice and The Aquarian looking though the musicians classified section for ads from bands seeking management and booking. I also started hooking up with my old contacts in the industry, going to CD release parties and hanging backstage at a few major shows at The Garden (MSG for those who don’t know we simply call it that).
Within the next few months, I discovered a TON of talent through scouting in NYC and accepting submissions via mail. Thank goodness for digital age now because back then I had hundreds of press kits coming in through physical mail and bins filled beyond capacity! Though I listened to everything, not all of them had what it took mentally(or musically) to “make it in the biz”, except for two of them out of 500 or so I reviewed. After a couple months of negotiations, I signed both bands (Hybrid Theory & Coven 13) to True Sound and I was back in the loop. The bands were from southern California and Arkansas, so it was going to be interesting treading new waters and making new connections from across the U.S. I was up for the challenge, as any entrepreneur should be. We started by building them new press kits and updating the bios to make them stand out from the rest. The bands soon started attracting attention from press and media, as well as larger venues that they originally had a tough time getting into. This comes with the power of having professional representation, and even more powerful when it comes out of New York. Just mentioning the two cities New York and Los Angeles add weight all by themselves. When people hear the name, it just screams “You Mean Business”. Hybrid Theory had one slight issue: Their lead singer was giving up hope and wanted out of the band. The fellas all agreed it was for the best and started auditioning new vocalists. One day at a rehearsal, a singer walked in to try out and said “I’m your new lead vocalist, let’s get to work”. It was pretty ballsy, but after 1 song, he was hired. It ultimately changed the entire sound of the band and took them to a whole new level. With new demos cut, I started pitching them to every major label I could and couldn’t get even ONE of them to sign the band to a deal.
They were “weird and different” and more on the metal/electronica side, so no A&Rs wanted to take the risk. One rep at Warner Bros saw it another way and even put his job on the line to give the band a chance. He told the president that if the band failed, he could fire him on the spot. It paid off & the band is now legendary and the rep went on to eventually become president of the label. Like the first band, I was paid my finder’s fee and dismissed as the manager due to the majors having select management companies they work with. I was simply made to be a ghost and in the end, the A&R rep took the credit for signing the band. One of the discussions in the deal was to change the band’s name to something more “marketable. The band however, wanted to keep the original name in some way so fans would know who they are (or used to be). They eventually came up with a name with significance that suited them and represented where they’re from. The label agreed to let them incorporate the old name as the title of the band’s debut album. Coven 13 on the other hand was a female and male duo that went through backing side man musicians and name changes like underwear. I had been pitching them also but could never have a full band together for a label showcase or a full show. We parted ways after a year contract so they could focus on becoming a solid band before continuing with management. They ended up getting signed to a major label a couple years later so it worked out after all. WORDS OF ADVICE: • It takes a lot of time to get “stable” so get use to growing and learning. You always will be.
3 Tides Of Change (1999-2001) With the new millennium, BIG things were supposed to happen! Computers would crash, the power would fail in the largest of cities, aliens would take over Manhattan…AHHHHH!!!!!...or the date could just simply change. Then it happened: OMG!!!...OGM!!!…It was the next day! It was 12:01am and the party was just getting started! I was at the Hard Rock Café running my first major concert event and things felt amazing & went fantastic! With 5 new artists on my management roster things were going really well. Even though I was still broke and exhausted, I was doing what I loved and wouldn’t change a thing (except for the broke part)! I was still working at the movie theater and using my day job paychecks and a lil help from my family to run my labels. I was occasionally working fill-in shifts at the movie theater in East Hampton and had been asked to help run the floor for a red carpet movie premiere. While I was working the major celebrity filled event, a world famous movie director(we shall call him (SS) happed to be there whom I had known for quite a while from his frequent visits to the theater. (SS) had made East Hampton his home for many years and still does to this day. While I was working at the theater before my transfer to Southampton, we would talk frequently and would always be filling him in on what was happening with my labels. (SS) mentioned to me that he thought I had moved onto bigger and better things in the industry because he hadn’t seen me for so long. After mentioning I had moved and the situation that had taken place, (SS) said to me: “Ray, you need to be working at a place where you can be using your true
talents…I can really use a guy like you in the music licensing department in Los Angeles, what do you say?” I was super excited and couldn’t wait to share the news with my family. Two weeks later, with the support of my family and current girlfriend (who lived in PA), I was headed to LA to work at Dreamworks, SKG. My time spent in LA was both educational and exciting. Though I had never been that far away & for so long from home before, I missed all the little things but mainly missed my family. LA is a huge city and a completely different world than the East End of Long Island or even NYC for that matter. I missed the small town feeling where I could simply go out for a walk through Southampton Village at 3am when I couldn’t sleep or the feeling of knowing just about everyone in town but I missed my family most of all. With the new job in LA, it also took a lot of time away from my ability to operate my labels the way I use to and caused me to lose 3 of my 5 clients. Just when I was feeling the call to go home to Long Island, I got a phone call from the HR dept informing me they were cutting back on staff and laid me off. The universe made the decision for me, and I headed home to The Hamptons. After returning home to Long Island, I landed a job bussing and waiting tables at a couple of upscale restaurants. It was a slightly new world for me as I had become the proud uncle of a new addition to the family that I really hadn’t gotten a chance to know quite yet…a baby boy named Eddie. While in LA, my sister had moved in with her boyfriend in East Hampton so my mom was feeling just as lonesome. All that would soon change, as my sister and her boyfriend had gotten into a huge fight that ultimately ended their relationship.
Within a few weeks, we were suddenly a family under one roof again (plus 1 of course!). Between working part time and running my labels full time, I still managed to find time to babysit and get to spend quality time with my nephew. Funny, he was kinda like my A&R because when I would sit and listen to demos, Eddie would dance to the ones he liked! He STILL does it (even though he’s 15 now!) To this day I fully believe the universe had a lot to do with re-connecting my family once again. My life seemed to be coming full circle and I couldn’t have been happier. I took the time to re-focus and get back on track. Woman and Rock & Roll, In THAT order. I must take a step back in order for this next period of my life to make more sense. I had met my then current girlfriend who I had been dating for over 1 year. I would travel back and forth to Erie, PA. at least once a month just to spend a few days with Julie and her 3 children. She was a divorced mother of twin girls and a little boy and worked VERY had to take care of her family. Our relationship took a serious turn when Julie asked me to move in with her. This would mean me leaving my family again yet it would be better than the LA situation because I had traveled back and forth so much already. After discussing it with my family, I packed up and moved again in hopes that I was headed for better things. For the first time in my life, at 24, I felt like I was finally settling down. After moving to Erie and settling In, I found myself in a position that I really loved‌but also a very difficult one. While Julie had said she was fine with me running my labels full time, it became just the opposite.
Add to the fact that I had NO office space or peace of mind to get any work accomplished. After not being able to run my labels properly or find a good paying job for that matter, tensions grew and we both agreed the situation wasn’t best for anyone. I made the decision to move back to Long Island. Over the next year, Julie and I managed to work things out and I ended up spending a couple months in Erie and a couple months home. I was going pretty well until, on a random trip to visit her and the kids, she confessed that she had lost her romantic feelings for me and we would be better off just staying friends. We did so and parted ways on good terms. Little did she know, I knew she had been back together with her ex-husband but I just respectfully never brought it up. She had felt I spent way too much time running my labels and taking care of my family and she was 90% right. With respect, my job IS my life and my family will ALWAYS come first. Within that time came a lot of hard work with my two top bands being signed to major record deals. However, with the signing also came major label control, as I was forced out by the label as artist management as part of the deals. I also walked away with a much lower finder’s fee that I was anticipating. Though our management contract was for me to receive 25% of a deal, the label was only willing to pay me 10% of their advances and no future royalties. I was broke, and took what I could get. The bands were also forced to change their names for “marketing reasons”.
However, both grew to become worldwide successes and I’m proud to be the one who guided them and broke them into stardom. I can’t mention their names for copyright and legal reasons but those who know me know who they are. Knowing in my heart I was the man behind their careers who took them to where they are now is payment enough for me. However, I grew very wealthy on knowledge, experience and I learned from that moment how to never get screwed by another label again! I also learned that no matter what, always trust you gut and stick to who you trust the most. Out of all the advice given to me between business and my personal life, I listened to the person who’s opinion mattered most: MYSELF. Sure I took a little from each person along the way but I built my strength of character from the lessons I learned and my own mistakes I made. It comes with the package of doing business as a whole. WORDS OF ADVICE: • Make sure your romantic partner understands and truly respects your career choice. • ALWAYS remember: FAMILY is #1 and will never give up on you. Take their advice when given, it’s out of love, not telling you how to live. • Don’t get mad from making mistakes, learn and grow from them. Real world hands on classes are the BEST you will ever take over any business school.
4 Here we go, again, and again….(2001-2005) So randomly one day, three years after living in Southampton, the landlord decided he didn’t want to renew our lease because his brother needed a place to live and gave us 30 days to find a new place! All of a sudden we were back to square one. The craziness didn’t last long though, as my mom had turned 55 and she had qualified for a few adult living communities (55 and older apartments). We ended up fining a new home within a few weeks just a couple towns away from Southampton. With the move to the new (but familiar) town of Riverhead also came much peace of mind. I finally had my own space after not having any to myself since we lived in Sag Harbor. It was also very peaceful since it was just mom and I. My sister had started dating an old family friend about a year before this point that we had known since living in Sag Harbor. They had since gotten married, bought a small house and my sister had my second nephew on the way (whom I’m proud to say took my middle name). Edward was soon to be the proud big brother of Anthony Alexander King. So it was time to get down to business and back into the swing of things. I had set up my bedroom to double as an office and in most cases it would turn out to be just the opposite! I was getting back in the groove of more work, less sleep and determined to make BIG things happen. I had also picked up a part time job at night so I could run my labels full time during the day. Then I would get home from work and get caught up on office work and on most night till 3am. My hard to work paid off, as I started to have a full artist roster again and making good money.
After two years things were rolling along really well. My artist roster was growing and I had made quite a few major connections not only in the music industry, but in the acting and modeling industry as well. It was at this point that I started receiving inquiries whether I represented actors and models. I wasn’t at the time, but soon would be. After doing some research, I launched Gifted Images Management, a personal management label for actors, models and screenwriters. I then followed up with Paradise Publicity, breaking up the “all in one” multi-services provided by True Sound and Ocean Front. This move gave me the ability to provide separate services for artist management and then offer promotion, marketing, publicity and booking as extras on an “as needed” basis or as is minus the management side of things.It was at this point that my company was growing rapidly and gaining a major positive reputation on an international level. I started receiving submissions from artists in Canada, London, Australia, Brazil and even Russia. Within a couple months of the launch of Paradise Publicity, I signed my first few international artists…two from the U.K., one from Canada and another from Brazil. My client roster was now sitting at an even twenty. The little label from The Hamptons was on the map…and in a BIG way! Love. Death and Growth In Connecticut. With another year passing came fifteen more clients and 3 more subsidiaries to the family of labels: A Music Publishing label, An “extras” Casting Agency and a private music production and songwriting label. It was at this moment in my career where I finally started to see financial
profit from all of my blood, sweat and tears that I had spent ten long years of my life into.(NOTE: It was 8 Loooong Years). It was also a positive time in my personal life when I had met and began dating a woman who lived across the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. After almost a year of back and forth to CT, she asked me to move in with her to be closer together. Once again, I was juggling between Home and CT and ultimately moved to be with her. My family was upset but also happy for me at the same time, knowing I was a lot closer to home than my last move to PA.(you THINK I would have learned!) Moving to Connecticut was a moment in my life and career that I never anticipated would happen. The first two years there were fantastic! I was running my company full time with the addition of more clients and bringing in a good amount of money. It also helped that I had great support behind me‌.or so I thought! There came a point where my girlfriend started to feel uneasy about the way my income flowed and felt she’d rather see me bring in a daily paycheck than get paid the way I was. She had stated that it had to be that way if we were going to focus on having a realistic future together. I guess over $2,000 a month in profits and a 45 client roster wasn’t good enough! So after several conversations, I swallowed my pride and took on a job working in the music and electronics department at a local walmart that was just being constructed. I managed to swing it where they hired me as an event planner to help develop celebrity :in-store appearances. I looked at it as something new to learn on both the retail side and big business side of things while getting paid for it. Learning how a Walmart store is built from the inside- out was pretty interesting.
It actually helped me develop my marketing and branding side even better! I worked out my daily schedule so that I could run my company during the day and work the retail job at night while also working in both the office and on the floor covering shifts. The only issue was that my girlfriend worked during the day and was home by 4:30pm. I ended up having to cut my company business day short at 3pm in order to start work at the retail job by 5pm. Slowly but surely, this started to limit my time allowed to run my label. In the long run I started losing clients because I simply couldn’t do all the work expected of me. I would normally work late at night just to get things done but with this relationship it wasn’t really an option. Late nights and my 2 personal days off a week were the only personal time I had to spend with my girlfriend and her son. Eventually, not only did my company start to fall apart, but my personal love life did as well. It came down to the fact that my girlfriend wasn’t interested in going down that path I and my company were headed for as well as us on a personal level. She made it clear she wanted what was best for both of us, but mainly what was best for her. So after 4 long years of my company and love life spiraling downward and me barely getting to see my family, I packed up and headed home to Long Island. I will freely admit, through those four years I learned a lot about myself, and life as a whole. WORDS OF ADVICE: • Don’t be afraid to swallow your pride. • Learn the first time around & you won’t have issues!
5 1 Step Backward, 10 Steps Ahead (2005-2009) I’ll start by saying this: Moving back to the Hamptons was the BEST decision I had made in a very long time! Being home really kick started my mental engines again and within a few weeks I was back in the driver’s seat 100%. I made the decision to feel out my remaining clients and see who was loyal and who wanted out. It was at this point that I had 10 clients still on the roster and then narrowed it down to three! It was time to take a break, time to re-focus and time to re-build. With the remaining clients signing newly revised contracts, I spent my days focusing on the rebirth of my company and my evenings working part time at a walmart store that I was able to transfer to. I’d come home by 11:30pm, grab a quick bite to eat and sat at my desk sending emails, retrieving voicemails and building a refreshed website. Out of those remaining 3 clients, I had yet another one that stood out above the rest and spent a lot of my time focusing on her. She was a feisty, fearless pop star on the rise from LA who was destined to make the world her stage. Now again for legal reasons, we shall simply call her “K”. For example, to show just how outspoken and daring this chick really was, her debut single we launched was very direct…called “The FUCK YOU song”! Google it and you’ll figure out who I’m talking about. I managed her career for a solid 2 years before landing her a major deal with RCA Records. Once again, I was asked to give up my position but THIS time I agreed to a 10% finder’s fee of $5,000 instead of $10,000 in return for a piece of the pie in the long run.
They agreed to 5% of all monies earned from all units sold from the first record released. I was ecstatic… until she spent a year in the studio and on the road and eventually got dropped, then RE-signed to the same label and I got totally screwed AGAIN! Of course my old deal was long gone and you’ll kick yourself too after you Google it like I said. Welcome to the way the “majors” really work. Re-branding is not a bad thing… One of the many things I learned about being a small business is that most people don’t take you seriously. From the start of True Sound Management, I had always been handling business as a sole proprietor. I had hundreds of potential clients seeking info on the company and when they saw it was nothing more than a guy running a small business from a home office, some were automatically not interested. Regardless of the history of the company, most people wanted to see that the company was “real” on paper, especially when I was asking to be paid for my services. I also had clients walk out of contracts, fail to follow the laws of the contract when being late with payments and potential sponsors and investors turn me down when seeking funding for the company’s projects and clients. It became obvious: If I was going to restructure the company, I might as well start thinking on a much larger level. So in March, 2008, after months of research and knowing I would be adding more sub-divisions and services, I decided to open up the doors of my company to the world on a much grander scale: The parent company, Hamptons Entertainment, Inc., was born!
I was on a mission to break things wide open and put my name on the map as a serious company with an already powerful presence. I had launched the careers of 3, now major worldwide names in the music industry, tied myself in with some top tier national brands like Pepsi and Hard Rock Cafe but with the “small business” image I was still getting looked at like a “little guy”. It’s crazy to say, but just the word “Corporation” makes all the difference in (and to) the world. With the launch of the new website and corporation status came a much greater response. I had posted new advertisements on blogs and message boards on websites like Myspace and Soundclick and started scouting artists again throughout NYC and Long Island. Before I knew it, I was receiving thousands of digital submissions from bands, singers, actors and models via the website submission page! It became quite clear: Hamptons Entertainment, Inc. was officially on the map! After a year of more long hours at the day job and coming home to work more late night hours for the company, my energy level was strongly diminishing but my work ethic was paying off. I say there are times in one’s life, whether you believe in the spirits or not, that the universe makes things happen, whether you like it or not. In November 2009, two weeks after receiving a HUGE ($60,000) motion picture music licensing deal and breaking my ass for the past 5 years at the day job, the day job, without warning on a Wednesday afternoon, let me go! They claimed I stole a measly $100 from a register operated by more than 5 people at a time throughout the day. I took it as a sign not to waste one more minute of my time working for “The Man”.
It was time to become the executive I truly was. I spent the next 2 months spending time with my family & enjoying a mini vacation ( if you will ). I reflected on my life and career and set focus on the future. I was given the opportunity to run full speed ahead with my company and I did JUST that! I had so many ideas but so little time to really put them in motion and it was clearly time to take things to a whole other level. Then, It happened again. The music supervisor that I had been dealing with was dropped from the project and the new one ended up scrapping the licensing deal! We were in the process of finalizing paperwork and this guy decides he doesn’t have room for the song because he wants to use another one in its place. Yup, there went my $6,000 commission! I hung up and said to myself “Damn it I need to make some serious changes!” It was that moment that I seriously considered needing a staff & get some much needed help so I could focus on larger projects and generating revenue. WORDS OF ADVICE: • Don’t EVER give in when you know for a fact you are right. Respect yourself and integrity 110%. • Sometimes spirit likes to tell us things by pushing us to the limit. LISTEN for messages with elephant ears! • Think BIG, kick ASS, take names and MAKE some! Most importantly, make sure people who treated you like crap remember YOURS, and their actions toward you.
6 If you build it, they will come‌ (2010-2011) The “law of attractionâ€? works its magic again. I had been networking in the Hamptons on a sunny afternoon, hitting up the local top 40 radio station to discuss getting my artists into rotation, and the possibility of connecting with a DJ there to hire on as a radio promoter for the label. I had been trying to reach the station manager for a few weeks and decided to pop in an pay him a visit. After being told he was out to lunch, I decided to grab some myself at a place next to the station while I waited for him to return. As I sat and ate my lunch, I overheard one of the workers talking to another customer there about the station. Turns out it was the very guy I was looking for. I got up and introduced myself and arranged to swing by the station to see him when I was done eating. now, not only was I seeking to talk to the DJ about a radio promoter position but I was also looking to hire on other personal managers for true sound so I could focus on running the company and other ventures I had in development. As I was leaving, I struck up a conversation with the store employee about how I was there in town to talk to the station manager. I explained who I was and what I did and the woman says "get the hell outta here, my husband and I manage bands and singer too". She explained how working at the shop was their day job and how they run their management label on the side. When I told her that I was looking to add managers to my team, we spent the next couple hours chatting away about the business. Within the next few days I met with her and her husband, listened to some of their artists and knew it was a good match and perfect timing.
We decided to merge their management label as a subsidiary under my parent company and them operate is as an artist development label while signing higher caliber artists to true sound with she and her husband joining the management team under both. It was partnership created by the law of attraction. Over the next few months, we transferred their artists over to true sound who we felt were on the higher caliber level of the bunch, 3 of them in particular were stars in the making, including a 16 year old female pop artist with a slight rock edge and a female soul/country artist with a voice equal to Etta James. I immediately offered the opportunity to sign both of the artists to my record label, ocean front records, with 1 album deals to start. After discussing it in person and making the offer to the artists, they accepted. Over the course of another few months, we signed more artists to the management and record label rosters, added producers and songwriters from all over the U.S. and things were running smooth. I was able to step back a little and focus on the other ventures I had mentioned a little earlier in the chapter. Help was what I needed and I was grateful to have it. There be a pirate on my ship. Things were indeed going smooth until I noticed a few issues with finances. Some of the clients were paying for publicity services while others were on a percentage only basis for artist management and signed to the record label. There was a client I had been waiting on a monthly payment from by mail who was always on time. She said she sent the payment but it never got to me. She mentioned how her manager (one of the wife/husband team) told her
to send it to them instead of me because I was having issues with the mail. So when I asked them about what she said, they denied it, got offended and went on the defensive. I called the artist back on a 3 way call and asked her to give me the details of her conversation with the manager and she did so. The manager again got mad and defensive along stuttered words like porky pig! We disconnected from the call and I asked the artist for the money order tracking number so I could track in through the postal service where she had gotten it from to see if it had been cashed yet. Low and behold, the money order was cashed at the post office just up the street from where the manager day job was. Now, I did NOT see this coming and there were no warning signs of the dishonesty. I went to the post office it was cashed at, showed them a photo and they ID’d the husband instantly, and even by name. I paid a surprise visit to the place they worked at, filled them in on my findings and terminated them on the spot! The wife later called me to apologize and explained the situation, but it didn’t do justice to the fact that she denied ever telling the artist to send them the payment or the fact they had even cashed in on my behalf. I set up a conference call meeting with all of the artists and other staff, gave them the exact details of what transpired and took over all management duties effective immediately. As for the artists that were signed to their management label, I left it up to them to decide what they wanted to do: Their contracts were free to be terminated and roll over to true sound, as the label’s contracts were issued under my parent company and the label partnership had been dissolved the day I fired them. Some of them rolled over, some of them stayed with them and others plain walked away.
Some of the other ventures I was developing were going to have to take a back seat and that was ok, as I had spent the past 6 months planning and booking an eastern U.S. tour featuring the 16 year old female pop artist, the soulful female artist, a female pop/R&B artist and the headliner, an all female rock band who was also taking over the scene in a huge way! I was also in the process of releasing the 16 year old pop artist’s debut single to radio when, 2 days before and just a week after terminating the husband/wife team, I get a call from the artist’s parents telling me they wanted out of their daughter’s contract because she was stressed out and needed a break. Using my heart to make a decision, I did what was best for her in good faith and let the artist go. I had called the former management team and filled them in of her departure, as they were the ones who brought her over to my labels. They informed me that the parents had let them know the same thing, as the door was still open to them on their end after building a personal friendship as well. We all agreed as adults that it was in the best interest of the artist as I mentioned, and wanted nothing but the best for her. It turns out, we were all played like a fool! WORDS OF ADVICE: • Don’t EVER give in when you know for a fact you are right. Respect yourself and integrity 110%. • Don’t wear your heart on your sleeve. It makes a perfect target for a poisoned sword. • Trust your got EVERY time! It will never lie to you and is the best business advisor you could ever have.
7Angels Come Along & The Devil’s Afoot! (2012-2013) With the departure of the pop artist, it put a serious ripple in the tour plans and I slowly started to have other artists randomly wish to terminate their contracts soon after. It seemed sudden, with no real honest reasons, I knew something fishy was brewing but I couldn’t place it. There was no valid reasons why some of the artists should be let out, especially for the band who was the headliner of the tour and a couple months away from playing the Vans Warpped Tour! I was finalizing their paperwork before surprising them with the official news when they called me and surprised me with theirs! They claimed the band was breaking up and we, there’s nothing you can do about that. However, when we ended the conversation, SOMEONE forgot to make sure their cell phone was hung up! I ended up overhearing how band the singer felt about lying to me and how she didn’t have the heart to tell me they were planning to fire me but wanted to make sure they had new management first! I waited until I terminated their contract to give them the news regarding the Warpped Tour as well as 3 major shows I was working on for them in Hawaii that paid $5,000 each. They were dumbfounded and suddenly able to maybe keep the band together. I told them not to bother, fill them in on what I already knew and informed them I gave their massive opportunity to another band on the roster. They were pissed and I was glad. The drummer of the band called me a couple weeks later to inform me that she felt terrible about the situation and quit the band because of the dirty politics they play with me. The band of course tried to claim they fired her.
About a month before the whole fiasco with the management team and fallout of the artists and tour, I had the honor of meeting a sweet teenage girl who had just moved into my apartment complex in the building next to mine. I was on the way home walking back from the store when we briefly met and I welcomed her to the complex. We parted ways with simply exchanging names and that was it. A few days later while on my way out to a business meeting I ran into the girl’s mom walking her dog. When she saw I was dressed up in business attire, she asked what I did for work. When I told her I was in the music business, she informed me of her daughter whom I met, happened to be a pianist singer/songwriter. Later in the day I checked out her website, had a listen and was hooked! I could already hear she was a star in the making. We all got together later that evening and I explained who I was and what I did. Her daughter was excited and I offered her an artist management development deal with the now former subsidiary label. She signed with us 2 weeks later. After the whole chaos of the breakup with the sub-label, the artist naturally rolled over to true sound, which she had wanted me to personally manager her in the first place. Through the year of representing her, I landed her major sponsorships, sat listening to her write, sing and play for hours at a time. I knew great things were to come for her and know there will be some day. As our one year contract came to a close, major developments were coming to fruition for her through all of the hard work and dedication invested into launching her career. Things seemed just fine until I noticed a sudden distance from her, the same I saw in the other artists on my roster that had randomly requested out of their contracts for various reasons, a total of 11 artists in all within 3 month’s time.
Behind Enemy Lines Lies The Devil’s Pawn Now I knew something wasn’t right because the artist’s whole family and I became friends, as we were also neighbors. Getting told she was stressed out and things were getting too busy for her vs. fun, we took a couple months of distance and break for the artist to regroup. I on the other hand, was on a mission to get to the bottom of what was deeply going on inside as well as with the other departed artists. When the artist, her family and I sat down in a meeting to hash things out, the cat came out of the bag. Someone got in her head, and I soon discovered, in the other artist’s heads just the same. I learned from her, as well as other artists within the next couple weeks, that a former high school friend had been contacting my clients via email and social media spreading malicious rumors about me and my company, calling me a liar and a fraud with a fake company, amongst other nasty things. I then was shown several of these messages and upon discovering his facebook page, also found other people who I knew from my H.S. past that were friends with him, joining in his slanderous ways. He even touted on his facebook how he ‘was personally responsible for getting 14 of my clients to leave my company”. He also started a blog bashing my company all over the internet and really causing a scene. The question was, WHY??? I hadn’t spoken to or seem this guy in 16 years and never had a bad thing to say about him (or the others who joined him for that matter). Then it clicked: He had message me on facebook a couple years prior asking me to represent his band. Feeling it was a conflict of interest stemming from our past, I declined and wished him luck. Talk about bitter!
Now, people that know me know that I don’t take crap from anyone, personally or professionally! They also know I am not mean spirited and try to handle everything as nicely as possible. However, DO NOT mistake my kindness for weakness. After sending my former friend, who stole from my family and home after giving him a place to stay back in the same year I lost my home, 2 cease and desist letters via mail and the courts, he mocked me and the orders, laughing them off as a joke. He continued to post and contact my clients on social as well as his blog. It was causing me to lose potential clients and ultimately current clients as well. Between the turmoil with the singer/songwriter mixed with personal teenage life, the artist and her family felt it was best to not re-sign with me. She decided to take a break from the business as a whole and focus on being a teenager for now. She and her mom ended up moving to be closer to her other family members. With respect, even though I felt burned by yet another artist again with all the time and efforts I spent over the year working for free, I can’t say I got nothing in return. Financially not a dime, but she and her family are amazing people and I’m grateful to have met them. They helped me learn a little more about myself and added to my strength of character. I know she will be a star one day. As for the former friend, he’s currently seeing the business side he’s missed out on for now 18 years. I filed a ten million defamation lawsuit against him, including a host of other charges that he will feel for the rest of his life. WORDS OF ADVICE: • Don’t EVER take crap from anyone! You have to teach people a serious lesson, even if it’s painful for both.
8 One Last Time and I Swear I’ll…(2012-2013) Back on the Hamptonites Brand front, I was back and forth between the music biz and developing my new venture and had several others in the “Think Tank” for a while. If you remember, I had come up with the concept back in 2010. Here’s a little more detail: Now I’ve lived / worked / played in the Hamptons most of my life but never really took in what was happening on each of the Hamptons “Main Streets”. Those that know of this place know “The Hamptons” as “Beverly Hills, East”. The Main Streets are lined with major fashion designer stores and little “boutiques” filled with $600 lamps, $5,000 tables & apparel that simply says the name of that particular town. East Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, etc… I stopped in my tracks and said to myself: “The Hamptons has all these high society fashion designer stores but has never had…it’s own BRAND!” Something that represents the REAL people who live, work & play here. A symbol that states they are a true “Hamptonite”. Within that 5 minutes, “Hamptonites Brand” was born! I automatically went into marketing mode the day the idea hit me and got the plan for the clothing & fashion line down on paper. As I was writing out the concept, it all started coming to me: what if there were drinks with a ocean & sunset theme? Within an hour I went from an idea about the Hamptons having its own brand to having 2 concepts on paper. When I got home later on that evening, I made some dinner and spent the next 4 hours designing the logo & started researching fashion design software that I could use to create a sample idea of my t-shirts to start.
I ended up finding an online storefront with product templates that I could design and sell online.... for free! It was the perfect tool and simple to use… and VERY addicting! I’m using the online storefront until I partner with a manufacture and designer. Over the 3 years, I had built the brand even more, adding a few other concepts that add to the overall brand. You can learn more about it on the company website (www.HamptonsEnt.Biz). Over the course of a year after losing yet another client and several other potential ones due to the damage being caused by my former friend, I had decided to stick with the 3 artists I had left on the roster and focus on finding a solution to re-group. While the music business was also becoming an obstacle course in itself, I needed to reevaluate the need for assistance so I could focus on running the company and launching my new ventures as well as signing new artists. I had come to face the fact that I couldn’t sign new artists without the help of a management team. I just didn’t have the time. Aside from the Hamptonites Brand, I had been developing a series of music business Q&A seminars and an interest in launching a concert & event promotion company dedicated to bringing national acts to The Hamptons. They both kept getting pushed back because I was too busy representing the artists myself. I devised a plan to seek out hiring a staff starting in January and restructure my contracts to fill loopholes I had been learning I left open through the years for artists to “walk” out of a contract, if you will. I kept hearing “nothing’s going fast enough”, nothing’s getting done, for me”, etc… One of the issues with the changes in the music business regarding radio airplay, press & media reviews, talk show appearances and booking shows, is there was beginning to be a lot of “payola” going around and not
just on the radio side like most know. Sponsors were also claiming they had “no money” due to the crashing economy. There were also tons of layoffs on all fronts with people playing 3-4 roles at magazines, newspapers, music licensing offices, labels, etc…Retail stores are also accepting less and less physical CD releases because they are cutting back even more and eventually will not be carrying them on shelves at all. So, “space” is also becoming limited and a “rental” so to speak, with large retailers wanting an advance of profits no less than a guarantee of 30,000 minimum units sold. That right there is now affecting distributors who carry/distribute physical records. The buyers are twisting their arms and forcing them to not do business with “the little guys”. With the new year here, I had connected with some great staff prospects who saw and believed in my vision and who have studied my history in the business. They knew we could do great things, even though it would be slightly more challenging. I devised a plan to hire on 3 personal managers and sign no more than 15 new artists to the management roster and maxing the record label roster out at 5. Things were starting to look up for 2013, as I got the management team together and signed 10 artists by February. The plan was for me to oversee the managers and have them focus on local/regional management and light booking services while I handled the national services for the artists as publicity & marketing. Everything was going smooth until complaints started again from artists that were only signed to us for 8-12 weeks. I was really growing tired of getting this lip from people while we were taking a chance on the artists and only getting paid a percentage of what revenue they generated.
I was not going to deal with it and for every artist that started bitching; I dropped them from the labels and terminated their contracts. I knew that my team wasn’t going to deal with it either! I was also dealing with having to oversee some of the management team’s work, as things for the artists were legitimately slacking on their end just a bit. With the artists I had left on the roster, I had to do what was best for my reputation and step back in as the artist’s manager. I also had some artists that were telling me how to run my company and how things should be done. They also wanted things to be done almost instantly and refused to accept my professional advice and experience in the business. After showing my serious dis-respect, they were sent packing as well. Again, I don’t take crap from anyone, especially artists who I’m representing for FREE! With 6 artists left on the roster and 2 of them being brand new artist development clients, along with my mother in & out of the hospital since suffering from congestive heart failure in August 2012 and my teenage autistic nephew giving my sister a difficult time with life as a whole, I started taking a long hard look at what had been haunting me for the past year. With the changes in the business aiding to not gaining the successes I was used to, along with the stresses of the situation with my mother’s declining health as well as needing to spend more quality time with my family, maybe it was time to face the inevitable: Maybe I should retire from the music business. WORDS OF ADVICE: • Never be afraid of change. Never be afraid to accept defeat. We must learn to lose in order to win, otherwise we may as well not enter into battle.
9 Into The Sunset Sailing New Waters (The Future) After a long couple of days connecting with spirit seeking guidance and direction, the choice I made had been reached. On May 20th, 2013, I officially made the announcement of my retirement from the music industry as an artist manager and record label executive. The news came as a shock to many who knew me both for years and only months. I was congratulated by some, yelled at by others knowing I was never a quitter and thanked by many for my 20 years of dedication to the business and artists looking to make the world a better place by sharing their gift with everyone. So what lies ahead for me you ask? I’ll be taking some time off to reflect on my life and the accomplishments (and failures) I’ve been blessed to have achieved. I’ll be focusing on my new ventures Hamptonites Brand, Thinkers, Ink., a mastermind group and brand development company which operates as a “Think Tank” breeding new ideas and bringing them to life) and Hamptons Multi-Media, a company specializing in concert & event development / promotion, television series production / development and music & literary publishing. Part of the event development includes the launch of my music business Q&A seminars at Hamptons area hot spots and a larger scale “Grand Slam” Q&A seminar set to take place at Yankee Stadium in 2014. WORDS OF ADVICE: • Be who you are and nothing short of greatness in everything you do. Lead by example, others will follow.