Over the weekend I interviewed Sherida Morrison, founder of NRG Theory management, an artist management/consulting company. She started the company a couple of years ago under the name S&M Management, but officially went on the books as NRG Theory about a year ago. Currently the company operates with a small team that packs a punch in the industry managing- 3 performing artists, 1 audio engineer, 1 graphic designer, and 1 web designer. They work on both a contractual and non-contractual basis with their artists.
Sherida and I are in the same Negotiation and Deal Making class for our Master’s of Entertainment Business program through Full Sail University and have been learning the art of negotiation in the industry. In my brief phone conversation with Sherida I asked her some questions about how often she negotiates, what she negotiates, and some challenges that she faces on a regular basis. Though she is fairly new on the scene I figured I could learn from her experience. Sherida negotiates on a fairly regular basis for job whether it’s how much her audio engineer should be paid for gig, or negotiating fees for her performers.
When I asked her about her previous of negotiating knowledge before entering the business, she mentioned that she had not been formally trained. She explained that she learned from a lot of trial and error at the beginning. Like many of us without formal training in negotiating Sherida made mention that she would sell herself short walking into a deal because she wasn’t sure what she was capable of even if she was representing someone who had notable talent. There were many times when she would fall, but the most important thing she conveyed was that she picked herself back up again time and time again. Though it was hard and she made some mistakes, she was able to push forward and make solid progress and learn from each negotiation.
I asked Sherida what has changed in her approach from when she was just beginning in the industry until now and she mentions confidence being a key factor. She mentioned that before “I was afraid to ask for what I was worth and if they said “no” I would just retract.” It’s a different ball game for Sherida now as she is extremely confident in the artists she is managing, knowing that she is promoting someone incredibly gifted and worth the money.
If there’s been one thing I have learned about negotiation and deal making in this current course at Full Sail University it’s be confident and walk into a negotiation prepared. The more you set yourself up on the front end with research and self-confidence, the more you be able to walk out of a negotiation with not only a great deal, but a mutually beneficial deal that will help build your rapport in order to build a wider clientele base.
For more information on NRGTheory, visit their website.
