HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DEAL AS A NEWBIE

I’d like to join Richard Kraft in sharing helpful knowledge to those who desire it. I’m an agent and colleague of Richard’s at Kraft-Engel where I’ve worked for nearly 7 years. I have a special focus on television, video games and new media of varying sorts, as well as film. I’ve noticed a lot of the questions I get from newer composers has to do with the deal making process. Since new composers usually don’t have agents (nor are they typically ready for one) they need to be able to navigate their own deals. It can be overwhelming when you aren’t sure what to ask for, what a fair offer looks like and so on. But the truth remains that new composers must be able to learn this skill and handle their own deals – at least for now.

An opportunity recently came up to help address this when I was asked by my friend and client Garry Schyman to speak at his USC class. I knew the questions I was going to get so I thought, lets just address this need head on. So, I made this here nifty flow chart for his students I’m lovingly calling:

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN DEAL as a NEWBIE

This is meant as a quick tool to use when first starting out. There seems to be so much emphasis placed on ‘getting a good deal’, ‘not getting taken advantage’, ‘what am I getting out of this?’ etc. At least that’s the impression I’ve gotten from the last several panels I’ve attended. I’d really love to see the focus shift more toward how to achieve the main goal of: GET THE NEXT JOB, BUILDING A CAREER! FOSTERING NEW RELATIONSHIPS! The deal making part is such a small portion of the overall picture. It’s important – don’t get me wrong, but its not everything. You need to get the gig before there’s even a deal to make (insert Richard’s “tail wagging the dog” reference here).

Once you do get the job, here’s a chart to help you get it done so you can move on and get the next one!

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