of the fan club merchandise, and meet with the
artist or management to get
approvals."
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
Learn as much as you can about the music
industry and how it works, then apply
to work as an assistant or intern for a fan
club company. Once you have some experi-
ence, and an understanding of how the business
operates, then contact managers of
artists you respect and find out if they have a
fan club president.
SHARON EAVES, OWNER, FAN CLUB
HOUSE
While attending college in Bowling Green,
Kentucky, Sharon Eaves got involved
with a community access television channel as a
talk show host, interviewing people
involved in the local music scene. Intrigued by
her brush with the music business, she
was soon booking talent for local shows and
finding up-and-coming bands to
manage. She moved to Nashville in 1983 to
pursue her interest and landed a job as a
receptionist at a recording studio, and worked
her way up to manager.
When Paul Worley, a record producer Eaves had
met at the studio, became a
senior vice president at Sony Tree publishing,
he brought her in as his assistant. By
the late 1980s, she also began managing Wild
Rose, the first all-female country band,
which eventually became a full-time job. Able
to run the group's fan club at a profit,
she received offers from other artists to do
the same for them. Initially reluctant--"I
was focused on building my management business
and didn't want to be labeled a fan
club company"--she finally agreed to take on
another club. As word of mouth
spread, Eaves soon found herself running the
fan clubs of four groups. Eventually
putting aside her plan to be an artist manager,
she opened her own business, Fan
Club House, and today creates merchandise lines
and operates fan clubs for artists
like Bryan White and Wynonna. To understand the
volume of business generated,
Eaves confides that one of her clients grossed
more than $500,000 in annual club sales
in one year. Eaves has expanded the companies'
services to include publicity, mer-
chandise, fulfillment, and fan marketing
services for the entertainment industry.
www.fan-clubhouse.com
....
CASE STUDY:
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