An Industry Interview With Don Powell On How To Sustain A Career In The Live Events Industry...

I spoke with to a lot of amazing and successful people within the music industry in order to fill this blog with industry opinions that hold weight greater than my own, however Don Powell is probably one of the people I was most star-stuck whilst talking to.

Don worked as a talent manager and is the founder of Burbank Records in the US as well as being a theatrical Stage Performer, Television Spokesman, Producer, Director, Conductor and was an Apprentice Baritone with The Metropolitan Opera Company. He has 49 Top 10 records, 31 Gold Albums, 20 Platinum Albums, and 81 professional honours and awards and if thats not enough, he also has had Top 10 records in each of the last four decades, and 18 #1 singles.

I asked Don "What do you think has been the route to your success in the music industry?"

to which he replied...

"A great deal of luck, being in the right place at the right time, and knowing what to do when I got there."

Don also said that as well as needing to have great time management skills...

"You also need perseverance, the ability to handle failure many times over, and have grace and a modicum of humility when you have success. One thing you have to be aware of most, success isn't permanent. If you have success, you have a few days to sit back and enjoy it, then you have to worker harder than before to keep it."

I asked Don if he used any specific tools to aid him in managing his time since throughout his career he has had to manage multiple artists and career pathways at the same time., he said that...

"I still use a kitchen timer. Even if I haven't finished what I am doing at the moment, it's a reminder of how much time I'm spending on an issue. If you get on Google looking for something, and you see something else that interests you, you go right down the computer rabbit hole. My timer makes me aware when I do that."

So although Dons means of keeping track of time might be a little archaic and despite being pretty modest towards his achievements, aside from luck, it seems that knowledge, perseverance and awareness are dons 3 tips to sustaining a career in the live events industry. You might just be looking to put on a 1 off event, however if you are looking to make a living off of hosting live events remember dons advice, as it was found in a 2019 survey by Careers-cast that being a live events co-ordinator was the 6th most stressful job in the world (CareerCast.com, 2019) and having these skills might just mean you don't go insane.

References

CareerCast.com. (2019). 2019 Most Stressful Jobs. [online] Available at: https://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/most-stressful-jobs-2019 [Accessed 14 Apr. 2019].