We’re Rachel Hurley and Frank Keith IV, co-owners of the Sweetheart Pub. We’re music industry veterans with over 30 years of combined experience in the music business, having worked in licensing, talent buying/booking, label management, tour management, and more. Once a week, we’ll publish a new edition of this newsletter, where we’ll share some philosophy and actionable advice on all facets of the music industry.
We’ve been putting together a weekly playlist of seven songs (just enough to keep your attention) every week — check out The Sweet Spot to hear what we’ve been listening to.
What we’re thinking about this week…
If you've been following along on socials, you probably know I (Rachel) made some big changes to my life this year due to being diagnosed with an esophageal hernia, which sounds worse than it is. That — along with the ongoing pandemic and so much work that the only traveling I was doing was from my bedroom to my office — inspired me to get rid of the majority of my belongings and move into a Grand Design Imagine Travel Trailer and make the open road my new home.
Now, until you’re in the middle of a decision like this, you have no idea how much work this will be. Going though 40 years of belongings and deciding what to keep is one thing, but having to buy a pickup truck, a trailer, learn how they work, and then have to get it set up to live in … well … let's just say it's a lot. It's basically what I have been doing every moment that I wasn't working on client projects since August.
I remember being in my 20s and sending out resumes and making sure that I let the hiring manager know that I was GREAT at multitasking. However, many studies have come out since then about multitasking not working as well as you think it does. And it's true. MOST of my mistakes happen when I am trying to do too many things at once, rather than trying to do one thing at a time to the best of my ability.
All this to say: I put everything else in my life that wasn't essential on hold, socializing, the Music Rookie podcast, working on photography, binge watching television, this newsletter, the list goes on … in order to focus on the task of getting on the road and being prepared for any disasters the future may hold.
Now that I have been on the road for close to two months, I am feeling confident in both my skills and my decision. My dogs are having the time of their lives.
Follow my journey on Instagram.
Frank and I had a great year, even though we realize a lot of things in the music business are still in major flux. We're excited about 2022 and the releases/campaigns we already have lined up. We're also excited to get back to creating content for musicians trying to navigate our new normal. We created 20 episodes of the Music Rookie podcast this year where we interviewed booking agents, sync agents, managers, entertainment lawyers, editors, radio programmers, distributors, music supervisors, and more. We feel like that was a great first season. We have a lot more planned for 2022 when we will be releasing season two.
So thanks for sticking around and please let us know if there is anything you'd like for us to cover — we're always open to new ideas, and love starting dialogues. Don’t be a stranger!
Have a happy holiday season, and we’ll see you in 2022.
— Rachel & Frank