don't have good news for them. People don't
realize how high the bar. After listening
to music, I have appointments with people I'm
working with." On any given day,
Williams may attend a writer or artist
showcase, or help present an award to a song-
writer who has just had a number one
hit.
POINTERS FOR THE JOB SEARCH
"I think you've got to really love music and be
a student of it if you want to
pursue it as a job. The industry takes 100
percent of your involvement to succeed.
Whether you're trying to get your songs cut, be
a producer, a publisher--whatever--
go work in the mail room and learn the
business. It's a competitive business on all
levels. The people who are persistent and
persevere are the ones who succeed. Hangin'
in, hangin' on, and hangin' out applies. You've
got to know the town and how it ticks.
Know who the players are."
HERKY WILLIAMS, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF
CREATIVE SERVICES,
MEMBERSHIP, NASHVILLE, ASCAP
In the 1970s, Herky Williams was an Austin,
Texas golf pro with a passion for
music and an ear for a good song. Although he
made friends with the many music
artists he golfed with during their tours
through the area, few of them took his inter-
est in the music business seriously. ("I was
giving lessons to Willie Nelson, Charlie
Daniels, Marshall Tucker, Jerry Jeff Walker.")
"I don't write, I don't sing. I don't play
an instrument. For years I was trying to get in
the music business and they would
CASE STUDY:
THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS
JOB:
"Dealing with people who are so rigid and so
sure they know what
they're talking about that they won't take any
input or constructive
criticism. I don't think I'm the last word, but
I think I have a voice."
THE BEST THING ABOUT THIS JOB:
"Knowing I helped facilitate something that was
successful. There is a
young girl over at EMI Publishing named Nikki
Hassman, and I was
in the mix in helping her secure a major label
deal with Tommy
Matolla. I was playing golf with some people
and played her music for
them. They took it and the rest is history.
Those kind of things make
me feel successful."
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