We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Simon Needle. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Simon below.

Simon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

If there is one thing that I believe in it’s the ethics of transparent business practice. In fact, when I entered the workforce I found it surprising that this wasn’t the norm. The norm, as it were, was overcharging clientele and underpaying employees.

It is, frankly, exploitative to do business this way. It’s not that administrative staff shouldn’t be supported by income earned through their employee’s labor. Company structure often dictates hearty margins like these in order to sustain a business long-term. What is inexcusable is the veiling of who makes what and when. In these situations questions will inevitably arise: What is the client paying? What is the business making? What are new hires making- And my own colleagues? If the business administration does anything but answer these questions truthfully and transparently, they are acting against their own best interests.

Worker solidarity movements are born of this administrative overreach. With technology enabling unseen productivity, it is indicative of poor business sense not to pass on that prosperity to the driving force behind this income flow.

In the music service industry, there’s no shortage of worker discontent. In the corporate entertainment space, where contracts are in the thousands of dollars per night, it’s not always clear where money is going. And, as the focal point of the service, the artist, I might assume that a booking agency would be entitled to no more than 50% of a given contract. In fact, that feels quite high, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, that number is closer to 67%.

And so, I offer a new approach. A model from the working musicians’ perspective.

Wage-based contractors will make a certain hourly rate starting at the downbeat of their first set. A band leader makes more on top of this number. An emcees makes more. Sound and lights make more, too! Overhead costs due to marketing, administrative hours and client outreach are also baked into the initial contract. The company itself makes 15% over this contracted amount and the musician’s collect pay based on how much they worked. This number is calculated and quoted to an interested client. And, surprisingly, it almost always falls well below the industry standard pricing for live music for weddings or corporate events.

The money that is accrued then builds, not on the wealth of the company, but on the wealth of the workers on which it relies. Acknowledging their contracted status, my bookings aim to pay the artist as much as possible for their expertise. And with this model my contractors prioritize my bookings and my reputation is thought of as open-handed and fair, rather than being thought of as a last resort.

Treat your people well and they will treat you well. Its selfish to be selfless.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My brand and, indeed, who I am as a self is best explained as a music services company. I began my career after school as a freelance jazz guitarist who often took work in Atlanta’s many theater houses and small clubs. Since then I have expanded my services to encapsulate the music education and music production space.

My background as a musicologist has served me well in preparing me to teach both individual students and music seminars and music forums at local high schools and remotely (via Zoom) all over the country. My teaching style has an unorthodox emphasis on music mentorship and the promise of fulfilling a student’s goals in a more complete and personally gratifying way.

In the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic I took my teaching studio, comprised of students in after school programs and musical business professionals, completely online. And I have seen fortuitous success ever since, expanding my reach to students in Alabama and now, extending my services to students as far as California.

My dalliances in the music production world started with my studies with Steve Dancz and the desire to be a composer. This brought me into the studio world where I worked as a studio runner at The Quarry in Kennesaw where I worked with local Atlanta artists like Mastodon. Before long, I had caught the studio bug and started producing for my own bands (Wisteria, City Playgrounds) and eventually began vocal production and hip-hop arranging and production for up-and-comers of all stripes.

My through-line in my musical journey has always been the guitar and the bass guitar. There is no greater experiential rollercoaster, to my mind, than taking freelance gig work of any sort. I have toured with massive touring acts like Simon Cowell’s “Il Divo” and I have played more theater shows than I could list on a carpool to Durham Performing Arts Center.

There is so much adventure that comes from a life in music, but it has no shortage of hardships, from poor artist accommodations to long periods of financial uncertainty. And that discomfort is something I aim to filter out of this industry.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Understanding this question is absolutely critical to my ability to grow and reinvest in my work as a musician/producer and as a music educator. And the answer is really quite simple. Leave a positive mark on anyone you work with professionally and do your best to stay top-of-mind for your clientele, because my work comes almost exclusively from word-of-mouth advertising.

I don’t have Facebook ads or any social media systems for funneling students and artists to my services. Rather, I spend my time on the job ensuring I’m indispensable to a clients successful outcomes and I set my rate accordingly. I can typically undercut more bloated operations when it comes to entertainment booking. For my music mentees, I take the time to help them fold their music practice into their lifestyle, which leads to better student progress and a more sustained interest in long term musical studies.

There certainly have been times where I worried about “breaking through” into new markets or simply hasd an empty calendar, but on these lean months I focussed on skilling up and continued to emphasize my readiness to work and indeed, my confidence in my output. People will take notice and they’ll want to hop on that train right with you!

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

My business is a lot like several different jobs standing on each other’s shoulders in the trench coat known as Needlepoint Music. For this reason I describe my work as music and musician services., because the through line of every service I provide involves sound and the arrangement of sound (i.e. music).

Often the lessons act as a financial backstop and a boon to the upfront costs of building a suitable writing and production suite in my home. Other times, high profile gigs generate positive cashflow and bolster my business outlook. There are few business opportunities that I won’t seize for exploration from theater work to working as a background musician in the background of a film. Working within this industry demands flexibility and, indeed, bravery.

Many folks will not understand this, but working musicians certainly will. Many teach or code or even work real estate on weekdays and then hone their craft on the weekends. There is nothing facile about this lifestyle, rather these people have dedicated themselves to an immensely stratified field that emphasizes art and entertainment over margin and profit. Many of the best players I’ve ever met have struggled with finding an income or have needed to take jobs in retail or other service industries to balance their income with their desired lifestyles. This is a not a sign of failure, rather it is a sign of pragmatism and dedication to music!

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnsleyMusicStudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/needlepoint-music
• Other: https://www.rangr.org/ansleymusic

Image Credits
Susan Irais Reyes Photography (https://www.susanireyes.com/) Matthew Fain (https://mattfain.com/Info) Hagen Mattingly (https://edwardmattingly24.wixsite.com/hagen)