Sample Chapters

Some free advice from the pages of Reality Check are available by clicking below:

Create a Business Plan

Just because the career about which you dream happens to be in entertainment, this does not imply in any way, shape, or form that basic principles of business do not apply. It’s called the music business, and it requires a serious commitment to both—the music and the business. Of course, the music itself is a given—no one need be reminded of that—but all too often artists forget (or ignore) the fact that establishing one’s business requires equal attention, and to that end, I strongly advise creating a business plan.  READ MORE…

Practice Does Not Make Perfect

My high-school tennis coach, Mr. Murch, taught me an invaluable life lesson when I was about fifteen years old. He said, “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” To me, these are Practice  words to live by.  In context, what Mr. Murch was telling me was that it didn’t matter how many balls I hit, or how many backhands and forehands I took every day. If I wasn’t hitting the ball the right way, if I changed my grip and developed a bad habit, then I was ultimately doing more harm than good, no matter how much time I spent on the courts. This is true in every facet of life.  READ MORE…

To Tour or Not To Tour

Artists are always quick to assume that touring early on is the only way to succeed, and there are several seemingly reasonable arguments in favor of this. It makes the band tighter the more they perform, gets their name out in markets where they otherwise wouldn’t be, puts them in front of an audience that otherwise wouldn’t see them play, and creates the impression that they are on the up-and-up. It’s also a source of pride and a feeling that they are “doing something,” as opposed to standing still.  READ MORE…