Peppa Boy Negotiating and Deal making

I interviewed an up and coming independent Rap artist named Peppa Boy Trill McCoy. Peppa Boy is an artist out of the south who currently is touring and expecting to release and album soon. As independent artist Peppa boy cannot afford a manager to negotiate deals for him, so he said that he has been educated through trial and error and from reading business books. During the interview I focused on asking key questions on how he utilize certain negotiating technique to get the best deal.

Me: What is the first deal you negotiated and what was the out come?

Peppa Boy: The first deal I negotiated was with a night club owner in my hometown of Pensacola, Fl. The deal was for me to perform as the secondary act and rapper Juvenile to be the main act. The cost for Juvenile was $5000 and I was supposed to receive half of the proceeds from the door and bar. Because I was in charge of all the advertising and I was also performing I was taking more of loss. So I had to negotiate a deal where as both parties would have a mutual benefit. So I presented to the club owner that he could have the proceeds from the door and would take all the proceeds from the bar. He denied that deal, so I presented to him that the only way we could get this deal done is if he got half of the door and bar but any tickets that I pre-sale would belong to me. He agreed to the deal and it worked out for me because in the end I sold more tickets presale than he sold at the door.

Me: Seeing as you don’t have a manager how do you separate the people from the problem when the other party tries to take advantage of you.

Peppa Boy: I just keep the emotion out of it and focus on the fact that its strictly business and that I need to negotiate the best deal for me.

Me: Do you utilize any negotiating tactics?

Peppa Boy: Yes, what I do is study previous deals in the industry and research what is most common. Also I study the person or companies background and pay attention to the industry trends. Then when I go into a negotiation I make sure that I give out the present how this will be most beneficial for the other party.

Me: So what role do you feel you play during the negotiations?

Peppa Boy: Well I wear many different hats! I’m the manager, accountant, CEO of the label, and the artist so I have to negotiate a great deal.

Me: So wouldn’t it be more beneficial for you to just sign with a major?

Peppa Boy: Yea, it would be less stressful and fewer hats to wear seeing as that I only have one head! LOL! But I don’t think anyone is going to look out for my best interest right now better than me. But to be associated with a well-known label will definitely open up more doors.

Me: Well thanks again and I wish you good luck

Peppa Boy: You got it!