It’s been an incredibly long time since PropertyOfZack has featured Curran Blevins in our Contributor Blog series, and we’re happy to welcome him back. Curran formerly tour managed We Are The In Crowd and You, Me & Everyone We Know and is now working with Killer Cool Entertainment. In his new blog, Curran discusses start up companies and how creating a new business and can more than a little tricky. It’s a great read and a different side of Curran, so make sure to check it out!

Starting anything as a business venture can be tricky. There are always limitations to what one person can do, and I’ve always thought that the sooner you find something that comes easy to you the better off you will be in the game of life. I personally went to college completing three years of classes and found it useless with what I wanted to do. My father always told me that college was not exactly about the information you were learning, but college was more about teaching an individual HOW to learn. At some point everyone has found themselves in a class asking why in the world would I need Spanish when I want to be a dolphin trainer, but in reality it makes sense, by challenging things, your mind adapts and learns new/different ways to obtain information. 

The one thing that I have found myself using over and over again in the world of the music business comes from my sophomore Macro Economics class. This single idea comes from the term comparative advantage, which in my opinion is the key to success for any business. I still to this day remember the example my textbook gave.

There are two farmers, a cattle farmer (rancher) and a potato farmer; both farmers herd cattle, and farm potatoes. At the end of one week the rancher brings in 9 cattle, and 5 potatoes. At the end of one week the potato farmer brings in 15 potatoes and 3 cattle. After looking at these numbers one can easily tell that the rancher brings in more cattle weekly, and the potato farmer brings in more potatoes. If each of the men would solely focus their time and efforts on the products that they are more successful with they would both they would greatly improve their quantity and quality at the end of the week. With this in mind the two farmers approach one another to discuss trading products. At the end of the second week with the trade negotiations being completed the rancher brought in 15 cattle and the potato farmer brought in 25 potatoes. Through trade they realize that by focusing solely on what comes naturally to them that they have better final outcomes. By implementing the concept of Comparative Advantage spending less time/effort with a greater final outcome for both parties. To finish the example after week 2 and focusing all of their effort on one product the Rancher walked away with 8 Potatoes and 10 Cattle while the Potato Farmer walked away with 17 potatoes and 5 cattle. Each through trade were more profitable. 

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PropertyOfZack welcomes back Curran Blevins for his second Contributor Blog. Curran’s first blog was a huge success, so we are thrilled to have him back. This specific entry from Curran revolves around how any privacy bands once had has now disappeared due to a new era in fans and social technologies and how fans are disrespectful and expect too much out of their favorite bands. It’s a great and worthwhile read, so catch up on it below!

There is no safe haven, there is no quiet time, and there isn’t anywhere you can go to have a so-called personal life while on the road anymore. There are no longer secrets left for the minds of the fans. Every question is answered, every autograph request met, and every photo taken time and time again. There is no longer a line that separates bands from their fans, but yet in reality it is the exact opposite. The playing field has been completely leveled, and the idea of a Rock Star has become a thing of the past.

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PropertyOfZack is thrilled to be debuting our new Contributor Blog with Curran Blevins. Curren currently tour manages We Are The In Crowd and You, Me And Everyone We Know, but prior to that, he drummed in The Right Coast and dabbled in other areas of the industry. Curran is absolutely perfect for this feature considering he has been around so many different loops in the music industry in such a short time period. In the blog that you’ll read below, Curran discusses tour managing and how desires to be a famous musician have shifted to being a crew member for a band. It’s one hell of a read, and Curran will continue to write his thoughts for us every few months. Click “Read More” to read the full post, and enjoy it— it’s truly informative!

As a tour manager you are a part of the behind the scenes team that enables the band to function while on the road. You are sometimes expected to be the jack-of-all-trades, or the crew leader. Many people ask what exactly a tour manager does, and I am unable to give an exact job description because there really is no way one can begin to explain the random occurrences that you deal with while being on the road. For background reference a tour manager is responsible for EVERYTHING that gets the band between point A-B.  You need to be an organized, people person who looks forward to solving and preventing problems.  You are the representative for the band regarding anything that may happen daily. Sometimes you need to be the bad guy to fans, or friends and family in order to get things done. You need to be familiar with the music business, and love your email account more than your significant other.  Living out of a suitcase for months at a time is an acquired trait, that many begin to long for after a month at your so called “home”.  As a tour manager you are the main contact for the umbrella of people who work for the band, and you are on call more hours a day than an ER doctor. It is a life that most know nothing about, but interests many.

Being in a band, and touring has always been the cool thing to do, but more people are realizing that their chances of “making it” are extremely slim. They then realize that they can still become a part of this cool niche industry by working for a band. I’ve been seeing more and more people idolize the crew/behind the scenes people more than the band members themselves. I can tell you that when I was 14 and started playing drums I wasn’t thinking that down the line I would be a tour manager, Hell I was thinking “ Im going to be a rockstar!”  It just so happened that I fell into the failing musician percentage, and couldn’t leave the lifestyle that I had come to love after years and years of engulfing myself in the industry that I love to hate.  After receiving emails from a bunch of people, some asking for internships, and some who were merely kids entering high school all saying that they wanted to be tour managers, it was apparent that the focus had switched from being a “Rock Star” to just being a part of the industry that included touring.

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