George Costanza and Life After Your Label Deal (Thanks Matt!)

George Costanza and Life After Your Job-Search Label Deal

Below is a blog posted last year by Matt LeBlanc on what often happens in the job search process.  It's not much different from what happens in the music industry when artists are seeking performance opportunities and label deals.  I'm re-posting LeBlanc's blog here while tailoring it to the music industry to show just how similar the scenario is, regardless of the industry.  Thanks Matt! 

One of the most difficult things about the recruiting business music industry is when a good candidate interviews talented musician/artist showcases and the client company label says that they were ‘not a fit’ or ‘not what we were looking for’ without going into detail. That makes it hard for the candidate artist to know how to improve on the next interview performance and very difficult for the recruiter label executive to judge where they fell short.

I recently heard of a situation where the company gave the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ routine in regards to why they were not moving forward with someone and it reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite shows - George Constanza's girlfriend breaks up with him in a familiar way.

One thing that I have always found interesting is that when someone goes through the process of looking for a job seeking a label deal and fails to get calls returned, emails responded to, and feedback on interviews performances, they promise themselves (and everyone they know) that they are ‘forever changed.’ They vow that they will always give people the courtesy of a return call or email and (if they are a hiring manager label exec) never pull a George Costanza when giving feedback after an interview a showcase.

However, after they start a new job contract/deal, they quickly forget how frustrating life as a job-seeker an aspiring artist really is and a quick Starbucks break is more important than giving two minutes of their time to really invest in someone else. My challenge for you is that after you land your next gig (and the good news is you will), don’t ever forget how frustrating it was to be on the other side of the desk microphone.

Until next time, good hunting and good luck!