Lessons from the music business nobody talks about

Photo credit: Brenden Robertson

Stripping away the glamour: fundamental truths learned adjacent to the spotlight.

1 - Success comes from 2 facets: likability and results. 

The people that make you feel liked will make you question your results. 

The people that like your results will make you question your likability. 

2 - Beware the dangling carrot. 

Often times the size of the opportunity will have an inverse relationship with the offer of compensation. If someone low-balls you, it is your responsibility to counter. Know their scope from which they can

provide. Learn what small concessions they can provide that will become meaningful solutions to you. 

3 - Beware the Gatekeeper’s game

A gatekeeper will manufacture your expectations if you allow them too. 

4 - Sometimes it’s about the money, and sometimes it’s about the art. 

5 - Your friends are not your fans and your fans are not your friends. Apply the same rule to managers and bookers. Do not confuse business relationships with friendships. 

6 - Do not charge your friends. Your friends will not lift you up if you take their money. 

7 - Do not work for broke entities. Broke people cannot pay you. Broke people will not figure out how to pay anyone fairly. Instead, do the opposite. 

8 - Solve problems from two sides. The problem is a candle. Light the wick at both ends, and it will evaporate twice as fast. 

9 - Do not send a work in progress to an outsider with any expectation that they can understand your intentions. Finish your work and move on. 

10 - Your opinion will damage your reputation faster than you can build it. Lift up others and isolate their strengths when they give you the privilege. 

11 - You are the compass. Take control of your destination and your destiny will be informed.

BERA


 

Logic Pro Match EQ Preset: Red Silk Saturator

“Some nights are work, some nights are magic. Tonight was magic!”

— Roseanne Cash

BERA AVANTIS FOH LUCAS THEATER BRENDEN ROBERTSON

BERA AVANTIS FOH LUCAS THEATER BRENDEN ROBERTSON

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What we offer:

  • Direct Consultation & Strategic Planning

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  • Predictive Audio Modeling & System Design

  • Venue & House of Worship Renovation (Acoustics & Systems)

  • Immersive Audio Mixing & Production

  • Music Production & Artist Development

  • Sound Design for Audio Post Production

  • Bluff Echo Recording Studio

  • Showfile & Console Scene Design



Bluff Echo Recording Photo credit: Brenden Robertson

Sound, Designed. Space, Harmonized. Soul, Amplified.

BERA is a path to sonic design solutions, engineering immersive experiences through harmonic architecture and technology.

This company specializes in developing precise, balanced audio environments that are emotionally resonant. From the details of spatial acoustics to complete system integration, BERA delivers solutions where sound is an essential forethought.

Within sophisticated settings like concert venues, houses of worship, recording studios, and luxury vehicles, BERA incorporates elements of fashionable design, subtle detail, and enhanced comfort through carefully engineered soundscapes.

 

Explore More

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  • Here’s a Spotify playlist that I will often use to test a system. I have selected these tracks to help reveal any audible weaknesses in loudspeaker systems.

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to the heart of the listener.”

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