EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Alternative Marketing: Chief Operating Officer
COMPANY OVERVIEW
ARTISTdirect Network is a leading on-line music network that provides services, comprehensive information, and a contact community to millions of fans. It is also the leading company that connects artists directly with their fans through their own web sites.
JOB OVERVIEW
The chief operating officer provides creative vision for the company and directs daily operations.
SPECIAL SKILLS
To succeed, you need determination, commitment, a passion for music, and a creative mind.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
“I get up at seven in the morning, go on line and answer e-mail, read the newspaper on line, make phone calls, and then go to work,” says Marc Geiger. “I'm constantly working on a variety of projects and ideas at different stages of completion. I look after personnel matters, strategic initiatives, and helping the management of the company achieve the goals they have set forth; setting new visions as the market changes. I do interviews; I try to do some planning on my own; I meet with artists, evangelizing what the Net means to them. I go home between eight and ten at night.”
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“The only thing I don't like is the pressure; the pressure of being the top banana and having everybody's livelihood dependent on you.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
“What I like the most is the feeling that we're involved in changing the world in terms of music. We can actually have a vision and set a course for how we think music is going to work in the future. This gives me a real sense of accomplishment. Second, I love the fact that I work with great people. We now have 210 employees. They are fantastic people that I'm thrilled to be associated with and have as teammates.”
“There are three pieces of advice I always give. One is to study before you decide what you want to do and pick a point of entry that has low resistance, because the industry, if you try to enter in New York, Los Angeles, or Nashville, has this whole mail room/assistant hierarchy. If you get into that, my next piece of advice is to be patient. It's like going to med school. Be aggressive while you're there, and be full of ideas, and enthusiastic in trying things. Pick your path so that you can get into a low resistant point and don't be wedded to one job. If you get lucky enough to get in with a label, be willing to do whatever it takes to move up. The other thing is, write down in advance whom you'd want to work for and what companies are the ones that would motivate you the most. Use that list as the starting point and try to enter those companies from the position of ‘I love the company.’ Study them so you know what they're doing. Then, when you get the opportunity—whether it's a letter or a meeting—show the people that you know everything about the company and that you really can make a difference there. Offer to work for free. Be willing to do whatever it takes to prove yourself, because that is the company you want to work for.”
MARC GEIGER, VICE CHAIRMAN, ARTISTdirect NETWORK
Marc Geiger chalks up his remarkable success in the music business to two words: “No fear.” He grew up in Stamford, Connecticut and managed bands while still in high school. While a first year premed student at the University of California at San Diego, he managed a record store, promoted concerts through the campus events organization, and had an import music show on a local radio station. “After promoting the first few shows, and them going very well, I realized it was a potential career and spent more time on promoting and less at school.” The early success of the campus concerts led him to form a fulltime promotion company with a fellow student, and at age 19, he was hired to run the San Diego office of Avalon Attractions and Concerts. In 1982, he opened the seaside music venue, Humphrey's Concerts by the Sea. Hugely successful from the beginning, the enterprise soon attracted the attention of top talent agents who recognized Geiger's ability to do sell-out business with artists who could not fill comparably-sized venues. His reputation as an aggressive talent buyer and promoter earned him job offers from Avalon's Los Angeles office, and from Regency Artists booking agency. He took the latter and became an agent. Regency later merged with a talent agency to become Triad Artists, Inc.
As an agent, Geiger carved out a niche for himself with underground and alternative bands. Among his many successes was the hugely successful Lalapalooza Tour, a concept fashioned after European festivals. After eight years as a booking agent, Geiger wanted a new challenge and found it in the record business. With several offers to choose from, he went to American Recordings as vice president of A&R, marketing, and artist development. Recognizing the potential of the Internet to change everything about the music industry, he bought a site called UBL (Ultimate Band List) and built it into one of the biggest music sites on the Web. With a vision of how artists would connect with their fans in the future, Geiger partnered with friends to launch ARTISTdirect Network in January 1997. The site set the standard for Internet music news and information. Geiger took the company public in 2000. He served as chief operating officer until 2001, when Interscope Records founder Ted Field was brought in as chairman and chief operating manager and Geiger was named vice chairman. In that role, Geiger launched ARTISTdirect's iMusic label.
In 2003, WMA Worldwide head of music Peter Grosslight enticed Geiger to join the firm as senior vice president for the contemporary music department. Grosslight and Geiger had worked together more than a decade earlier at Triad and William Morris. www.artistdirect.com and www.wma.com
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Additional topics
Job Descriptions and Careers, Career and Job Opportunities, Career Search, and Career Choices and ProfilesCareers in the Music BusinessEMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND INTERACTIVE MEDIA - The Internet And Digital Music, Emerging Technologies And Interactive Media: Senior Vice President • Vice President • Director (multimedia/business Development Or New Media Technology)