Nick gives tips for basic Hollywood strategy
great things can happen in L.A. But you gotta stay ahead of the game
You can see patterns of the same people, activities, and surounding enviorment in L.A. and especially Hollywood. As a street musician I experience 1000's of people every day so my experience points is advanced beyond most othe people.
1. When someone stops me during my busking to tell them about their "recording studio" and how I should come work with them or drop a track, I take it as a grain of salt. It has rarely happened, and they tend to flake out or turn out to be weirdos. Lot of people talk it up big here. But when it comes down to it, its a fucking freak show of pyschotic yoohoo's wandering lonely lives. It's alsmost like they say these things to make themselves feel better or something. Or maybe they make these sort of comittments with you, but only hope that you'll do all the work to finnish the plan.
2. Have contracts of your own in which you set out all the guidelines of what you would want to see when working with a company and client. Call your own shots, instead of taking offers out of desperation. This is your career. You gotta make it happen. Dream big baby.
3. Strike when the iron is hot. If you do get an authentic offer for performances, auditions, paid gigs, and so on, make sure to stay professional. As we know theres a lot of whackos and losers out here, so Hollywood staff can be jerks about anything out of their system of processing their talent. No cover sheet on your resume? Boom! into the trash. By asking someone for some time to check out their site at home, or do further research, you allow yourself time to estimate the price you want to offer them for your work. Sometimes you might want to do something for free if its worth the exposure, but keep it real.
