We recently connected with Tony Michaelides and have shared our conversation below.

Tony, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My heroes happen to be my mentors too but if I was to chose just one then it would have to be David Bowie. He really is The Star Man in every sense of the word. Working in the music business for a great many years I naturally met a lot of famous people and the inevitability is that with fame comes wealth…..but it doesn’t bring class. That being said, it doesn’t take long to spot the ones who are the REAL Rock Stars.That curiosity to be constantly evolving, looking for new things to do is the making of a true artist. They are the ones that you learn the most from and over time it becomes easy to understand how they became successful. They’re not prima donnas, they appreciate that success, they are gracious and humble and have respect for others. Just being around someone like David Bowie you can’t help but learn. He makes learning easy because as you are evolving so is he. You watch and you listen and you don’t even do it consciously!

I think that helps explain why I consider him both a hero and a mentor. It’s not about wanting to be him it’s just an understanding that you want to be as good at what you do as he is. David Bowie is recognized as one of the greatest artists of our generation and it’s fair to say there won’t be anyone like him again. As I write this it’s hard not to want to write volumes on him because the words just flow. If you’d like to read some more then there’s an op-ed I wrote for USA Today https://tonymichaelides.com/bowie-never-will-bow-out-usa-today-01-18/

Artistically Bowie was constantly evolving, pushing out from his comfort zone and trying new things. He went where others would never dare to go and that for me personally had a major effect on the way I went on to do things. There was no fearmongering, I found it to be incredibly rewarding as it inspired me to be a little daring and never worry about trying new things when it came to running my PR company. I think that innovative thought process allowed us to remain relevant and successful in a highly competitive industry.

Something else I greatly admired about David Bowie was that he was never frightened to allow great up and coming acts to support him. There were times in his career that were less successful than others because of his constant reinvention and to most it would have been seen as very risky putting a support band on who were on the way up and who could have upstaged you on the night. But that was never the issue with him, he would delight in helping to give them a leg up. He would stand at the side of the stage on the night and watch their set. You could never begin to imagine how that must have felt for an up and coming artist to see David Bowie out of the corner of your eye watching your entire set !

Tony, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I spent over 30 years in the music industry working as a publicist for some of the world’s leading artists ( U2, David Bowie, The Police, Whitney Houston, Peter Gabriel, Bob Marley, New Order, Annie Lennox, Genesis etc etc ) My first job was selling folk and jazz records before moving into promotions in 1978. I set up my own PR company in the early 80’s with zero experience in business and went on to become one of the UK’s leading promotion companies. In that time I also presented my own radio show on Piccadilly/Key 103 in Manchester, England which was the largest independent radio station outside of London. A career highlight came in 1997 when I toured with David Bowie as his publicist……and after being a lifelong fan!

In 2004 I was awarded a Green Card as ‘An Alien of Extraordinary Ability’ for services to the Music and Arts and relocated to the USA. I acted as a music industry consultant before joining a tech start up, Magic Leap as Chief Evangelist. I currently present my own podcast ‘Moments That Rock’ for Pantheon Podcasts, the largest music only podcast site in the world. It is also the title of my current book. I’m a TEDx Speaker about to release a series of E-Books and audiobooks entitled ‘Lessons Learned from Rock n Roll’

Any advice for managing a team?

Empower others and don’t threaten them with their jobs. Be prepared to do anything you ask your staff to do. Seek out mentors and never lose the desire to learn. Build relationships on trust and integrity and be true to yourself. Remember that first impressions count. Be authentic and make your staff feel they are part of a team. Nothing happens without people and effort. You’re not the lead singer, you’re part of a band. That gives you a voice.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Working in the music industry is never easy. It’s not a ‘how to do ‘ business. No two labels are alike, no two bands are alike. Your survival depends on building and maintaining relationships. It’s highly competitive and can be brutal. Trust and integrity are vital components. I learned from real music people who knew how to get the best out of their artists. They helped build careers and didn’t crave overnight success. The part I enjoyed the most was artist development. To watch a band like U2 grow from playing to a dozen people into what they have become is hard to explain yet incredibly satisfying. The music industry is built on results, you get a record played then you have a job and if you don’t … you don’t have a job! If people can see your enthusiasm and passion for what you do then it becomes infectious. You have to prepare yourself for the unexpected because things don’t always work out the way you plan. Creatives can blow hot and cold so it’s important to gain an understanding. They can be suspicious of others and quite rightly so because any industry that can generate huge income will attract the leaches and as Hunter S Thompson so succinctly said.. ‘ The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.’

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tonymichaelides.com
• Instagram: tonyigram
• Facebook: Tony Michaelides
• Linkedin: Tony Michaelides
• Twitter: @tmengine
• Other: Wikipedia.com

Image Credits
non applicable