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contractual agreements, so you have to be meticulous and orderly. Communication

skills."

A DAY IN THE LIFE

"When I arrive, I go through e-mail--I'm the computer person at our company,

so if there are any computer glitches, I deal with those first. Take calls that come in

for Buck [Williams, her boss] and I arrange a time for them to talk. Most of those I

speak with are people at Widespread Panic's management company. I schedule any

trips that Buck needs to take. I'm the go-between person sometimes, passing words

between Buck and his bands or anybody else. I talk to the record labels. Anything that

needs to get done here in the office, I take care of."

POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH

Gain strong clerical skills and organizational skills so that you are an asset to an

organization. Be willing to start as a receptionist, an intern, in the mail room, as part-

time or temporary help to gain experience and get a foot in the door.

BETH BARNETT, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO BUCK WILLIAMS,

PROGRESSIVE GLOBAL AGENCY

Virginia native Beth Barnett was living in Colorado when the urge to work in the

music business struck. "I was hanging out with people who ran a lot of the bars that

had live music, and with the publicity people from Fox Theater. One of my Colorado

friends had worked for Buck [Williams] in New York and when he decided to start

this company, he called her. She knew I really wanted to be involved in the music

CASE STUDY:

THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE JOB:

"I think the worst thing is dealing with new artists' unsolicited material.

You just get bombarded. The fans can be a little hard; somebody calling

and saying, `Hi, I'd like to have R.E.M. play at my cookout in July.' "

THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:

"Being able to stand on stage behind them [Widespread Panic] and see

what they see--the expressions on people's faces--being able to see that

perspective at a live show is cool. Whenever I get frustrated with my job, I

will put in a bootleg of Widespread Panic and go for a drive and listen to

them--I love that band."

VOICES

EXPERIENCE

Management for Musicians - Page 13