The Negotiator

He's not William Shatner, but for people like A&O&B clients he may be even more fun, enlightening and entertaining when he speaks to our annual client get-together in Nashville.

Attorney James L. [Jim] Varnell, who for the past 42 years his wide-raging law practice (all the way up to the bar of the United State Supreme Court) has encompassed all types of trials, agreements, negotiations, entertainment law, the concert business, talent contracts with major radio groups and networks.


Jim in his usual tongue-in-cheek, yet straightforward, manner lists as his most significant career achievements:

• running a paper route with Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall and his 2 brothers in Sewanee, TN., in 1951; 
• playing a flawless bass guitar at a Seattle festival with members of Garth Brooks' band in 1998;
• and escorting songwriter Dean Dillon to George Strait's bus at a Knoxville, TN., concert in 2005.

He promises to make use of at least a dozen great country songs as the thread to tell stories of his experience, while sharing many of the lessons he has learned as he has dealt with major celebrities, promoters, agents and all facets of the music business.

Albright & O'Malley & Brenner will present our 20th annual Pre-CRS seminar Feb. 18 at the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame. 

This is your formal invitaton to these yearly sessions on personal career growth, important topics facing Country radio and even new music from sponsor Republic Nashville. 

A&O&B's 9th annual perceptual study "Roadmap 2014" will show country P1 trends in music, digital consumption, social networking and more.  

The full agenda and presenter list will be announced over the next few days.

Please come! RSVP here.   

No, you won't need a Jim Varnell to negociate your way in to this private meeting, since admission is free to A&O&B clients as well as anyone else not in a competitive situation with A&O&B stations.  

And, since it's at the Country Music Hall of Fame, you do NOT need to be registered for CRS to attend (though of course we hope to see you at Country Radio Seminar as well)!

Selling?

• Recently, I went on a sales call with a programmer at a client station and listened as a station rep told a buyer who asked for additional value-added - after reporting that a competing station was offering more free mentions as incentive than "we" were - told the agency, "you know they will promise anything but their track record is that they talk big but don't deliver."
  
  
• Not too long ago a music director reported that a major label promotion rep suggested that he drop a competing label's highest-charting song to make room for something on the promoter's imprint.

So, what else is new?

Of course, these things happen every day, in one way or another.

We're in a very competitive business in difficult economic times, both in our advertising contacts and our music business relationships, so you can't blame folks who aren't incented on necessarily doing things the right way, but on the short-term results they get.

However, doesn't any good business need to be based on solid product attributes which deliver results and relationships built on trust?

How does trashing your competition achieve that?