We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Frederick Nichelson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Frederick below.
Frederick, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I have been a profesional musician since graduating college in 1986. I have a BBA in Management and also earned a music minor at (NTSU) now Now University of North Texas in Denton. Initially I just played bass but soon found opportunities to help fellow artists in areas of marketing, book keeping, taxes, and other aspects of business fundamentals. I quickly learned that being a successful musician required the same tasks as most other jobs. After a few years, I began to do management, booking and administrative duties for several other artrist.
One of my classmates was saxophonist, Shelley Carrol. He joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra during college and needed my assistance to learn the ins and outs of touring, performing local shows and booking himself as a solo act. I was able to parlay the DEO gig into tours with Sheryl Crow, Kool and the Gang, Gary Clark, Jr, and many others. I attribute our over 30 year partnership to being a trustworthy friend who was at the right place at the right time. We have released 4 CDs and done scores of other live projects over the years.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My music roots were planted long before I knew I would become a profesional. I grew up in a working class low income neighborhood in Memphis. The only music in the home was from records of my mother, brother and sister. I was the youngest so I got to take a lot from all that was played. I began playing Tenor saxophone in 7th grade. I was a better than average player, but not great. I played through high school and earned several scolarships to college. I attended Jackson State University in Jackson, MS but became a little dissolutioned with saxophone and marching band. This lead me to transfer to UNT. It was a big culture shock and I was not prepared to compete with most of the music majors. After 1 year, I became a Business Major and changed my path. I still took music classes and performed with the best muscians I could. This led to many of the associations that carry on to this day. After many years leading my own group, Fingerprints, I started a new organization that strives to help artist learn business skills and mentor young artists that may desire to become professionals.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The thing that drives my creative journey is seeing all artists realize their potential and getting the benefits they deserve. The digital age has really made things hard to navigate. I want to see musicians understand royalties, PROs, and basic wage scales to help the better understand how the music business works. In most cases, when creatives open up to aspects of the business they don’t understand, the find out it is musch simpler than they thought. Many things can me done by the artists to protect themselves. We try to start the learning process early to prevent the pitfalls of bad experiances. Our Artist Fundamentals platform guides artist from an early age on tax preparation, self employment data, and local organizations to assist them.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the work flexibility and opportunity to meet new challenges each day. No two gigs or shows are the same and the human aspect always makes for a fun and exciting experience. I also love to see artists reaction to new audiences they may not have known existed. The mystery is hard to gauge and we never know when things will be super busy or slow. Either way, it allows for adaptation and creativity to flourish.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nichelsonentertainment.com
- Instagram: @artistfundamentals
- Facebook: @nichelsonent
- Twitter: @fanbass2
Image Credits
Tal Campbell Photography