The
development of a business plan is intended to be a map assisting the
entrepreneur and business leader on the road to establishing a successful
business. However, a staggering 8
out of 10 entrepreneurs that start a business fail within the first 18 months
(Wagner, 2013). Among the many reasons why a business fails: poor communication
with customers, and leadership breakdown (Wagner, 2013). As I continue to move
forward developing my own business plan in family entertainment and artist
management, it became obvious to me that something else would cause me to be
unproductive in my business venture: that is the lack of knowledge in the area
of entertainment law. Obviously, the purpose of my scholastic efforts is to
gain an understanding of the entire field of the entertainment industry, but it
is to also learn how to lean upon the strength of other qualified
professionals.
Jalene
M. Mack, Esq. is a highly sought after entertainment lawyer operating out of
Houston, Texas with an extensive background in performance and media arts. Not
only does she represent some of the more recognizable talent in the industry,
she is an invaluable resource to the profession, offering years of insight from
her background as an actress, producer, playwright, and businesswoman. She is
also the founder and artistic director of Mack Performing Arts Collective (MPAC)
which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "cultivate the
interest of performing arts by exposing, educating and entertaining our
disadvantaged youth and young adults" (http://www.mpac-arts.org,
2011). I was afforded the opportunity to ask her a few questions that I felt
were pertinent to the development of my business.
I
really wanted Ms. Mack to define and elaborate on the Infliction of Emotional
Distress. I wanted to know where was it most common in the entertainment
industry. Ms. Mack pointed out that there is a lot of rejection in the
entertainment industry, especially when it comes to actors or talent not
getting an audition, or booking a job. Her insight and direction for talented
individuals is for them to simply know that they are good enough, despite the
outcome of an audition. She encourages artists and talent to not wait for the
job, but to go out and create one. Emphatically, she states for talent to write
their own material. Ms. Mack also summed up another topic of concern for me:
the area of contract interference. Business relationships fail, and she points
out that a soured business relationship could lead to one-side trying to
prevent deals going through for the other. She advises that a cease and desist
order be sent on behalf of the clients; and if that is of no avail, a lawsuit
filed with an injunctive relief may be in order.
Artist
and talent management has become my passion, and it’s important to understand
the legal avenues of setting up contracts when working with new talent. Ms.
Mack confirms what we have been learning throughout this journey, and that is
the importance of a contract. She adds that everything about a contract is
important, including (and especially) what is not in the contract. I also
inquired about starting a Christ-centered non-profit organization (that will
utilize entertainment industry resources and personnel) and I wanted to know
how not to let it interfere with my business of managing talent or making money.
Ms. Mack immediately clarified something that I never knew before, and that is
that non-profit organizations can make money. She clarified that the big
problem we see with non-profit organizations having issues with making money is
in how they submit their application, or in the absence of programs they should
have in place to justify their status.
Above
everything, Ms. Jalene Mack confirmed for me what I had believed about working
in the entertainment business, and that is you must surround yourself with good
people. In a world of open source documents and online legal advice, we run the
risk of “depersonalizing” an industry that thrives off of networking with
talented legal professionals. I admit, after my brief conversation with Ms.
Mack I felt ten times smarter, but I also walked away with a great appreciation
of letting go of the things that can be better handled by someone else who is
more qualified. Maybe the only thing we really need to know to prevent our
businesses from failing is simply how to pick up the phone and ask for help.
