We were lucky to catch up with Sam Warshaw recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sam, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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 earned a living as a full time musician my entire adult working life. When I started working in high school I realized very quickly that I would never thrive in a 9-5 type of job. In addition I realized if I didn’t truly care about what I was doing, my motivation was non-existent. On the flip side, I knew I wanted to be a full time musician from about the age of 16. Pitting those two thoughts and experiences against each other made me realize I had to figure out a way no matter what to make music my full time career.

I spent my college years more focused on networking and performing rather than what text books had to say about working in music. I figured its better to do it, then to read about it. I graduated music school in 2007 with my wife (who also graduated as a vocalist) and we knew right away we weren’t the type that were going to be the “starving artist” but we also didn’t know exactly what the path ahead of us looked like.

We went on a cruise for our honeymoon and saw all of the amazing entertainment they had to offer onboard and at that moment we knew, lets give performing onboard a try. We were resourceful, found out who the bookers were and landed jobs 3 months later with a leading cruise line. From that first job we had onboard we took advantage of EVERY opportunity that became available and anything we saw as a potential opportunity. We looked around and thought of ways we could improve upon what we were a part of. In doing that, we moved up through the industry as performers and later as business owners. Today I still perform but because I want to, not because I have to. I run an agency that recruits and places top musicians within the cruise entertainment industry and we work along side 10 leading cruise lines. All of this happened because we were good stewards of the opportunities we were given.

Another thing people grossly underestimate in business and for some reason in music is kindness. My wife and I have always made it a priority to be kind to people we work with and it has paid off more times than I can count. Being the “ruthless” take no BS type of business person just doesn’t work long term…..Kindness in this industry goes a long way.

There is no simple path to success, regardless of your field. People tend to think the arts is different. It’s not. You have to treat it like any other life long career. If you want to be a heart surgeon, you work and study endless hours into your 30’s before you see success. Music is no different. Hoping and wishing someone will hear your music is just that…..a wish. You have to put in the years of sweat – like an entrepreneur trying to launch their product. If you treat your artistic profession like this, you will win, no doubt. The journey may not look how you planned but in my Expierence, it ends up better than you imagined.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Sam Warshaw. I am a musical director and also the owner of Warshaw Entertainment. I have performed as a musical director (Bass & Piano) for over 20 years. I have toured with various artists spanning 92 countries and 250 cities. In the midst of performing and touring I knew I couldn’t maintain that type of travel and my wife and I wanted a family.

We created Warshaw Entertainment in 2010. Warshaw Entertainment is an agency that resources the cruise ship entertainment industry with top tier talent. We hire and place musicians, vocalists, bands, comedians etc to go work full time onboard an amazing cruise ship. We partner with the 10 largest cruise lines and our musicians work around the globe.

What I believe sets Warshaw Ent apart from other agents is two fold. Number One; We care deeply about communication. We have made it a priority that as an agency we communicate with our artists and clients consistently. We never want our artists to feel like they have to work to get a hold of us. Same goes for talent partners. When you email us, we write back – every time. Number two; We care deeply about the people we hire and the people we work with. Our roster of artists are not just “another musician we hired’. We want to see them win in their careers and it gives us great joy to help them on their performance journey. We also strive to build meaningful relationships with the talent bookers we work with. Our main currency as an agency is trust and we work hard to maintain that. I noted this earlier but kindness is also something we care about. Business can be tough and things don’t always work how you want them too. That said, being rude and disrespectful with someone you work with is never going to push your business in the right direction.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I have had many influences over the years but the books, speakers etc that have impacted me the most both in music, business and in life would be:

The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten – Victor taught me what it is to be a musician, not just a bass player

EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey – Dave is one of my biggest influences. He teaches how to handle money properly, lead an organization and how to hit goals in a real way.

Shoedog by Phil Knight – Who doesnt love Nike. But I LOVE Jordan brand. Shoedog was an incredible story of business and the journey of turning a desire into what we know now as Nike. So much to be learned from Phil

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

it’s not very creative but I wish I had found Dave Ramsey sooner. I graduated college with $460,000 worth of debt most of it being student loans. Through Dave’s program my wife and I have paid of every cent of that debt. Most creatives are not great with money. We hear about big artists who have gone broke. We also hear about the “starving artist”.

Being creative doesn’t give us license to ignore linear subjects and personal finance it a huge subject that needs to be a priority. Understanding how to manage your finances opens you up to more opportunity. If you have a hard time managing your current level of success, managing more is not easier. I wish more of the artists people look up to speak out about this topic. Its vital.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.WarshawEntertainment.com
• Instagram: @WarshawEntertainment
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warshawentertainment