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摇滚圈的商业智慧

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娱乐界资深经纪人戴维·费雪弗深谙生意经。他在自己的新书《生意场摇滚》中介绍了来自于摇滚世界的宝贵商业经验,包括如何形成商业点子,克服恐惧,谈判等等。

    走进极富传奇色彩的纽约洋基队(Yankees)老板乔治·史坦布伦纳的办公室,说服他为你代理的球员支付超过100万美元,绝对需要相当的胆识,特别是如果你只有22岁时。当时作为一名年轻的体育经纪人,戴维·费雪弗就是这样为外场手罗·皮尼拉谈下了合同。作为一位音乐会推广人,他曾经请回已隐退的猴子乐队(Monkees)进行了一场超级成功的全球巡演,也曾说服林戈·斯塔尔与他的全明星乐队展开巡演。

    如今,让费雪弗最出名的是他创立的摇滚乐梦幻营(Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp):有志向的摇滚乐迷甘愿支付数千美元进入梦幻营,与同好济济一堂,还可以得到罗杰·道雷、史蒂芬·泰勒和斯莱什等“营队辅导员”的指导。在与迈克尔·列文共同撰写的新书《生意场摇滚》(Rock Your Business)中,费雪弗将他在娱乐业的五十年经历娓娓道来,深信摇滚明星们在取得商业成功和过上幸福美满生活方面有很多心得,值得我们学习。

    遗憾的是,这本书没有讨论转瞬即逝的特丽珑(Trinitron)、限制级内幕或药品级茶点。在费雪弗的讲述中,摇滚明星是和你一样的商人,只会比你更出色。他写道:“摇滚行业为其他行业提供了一些宝贵的商业经验——比如,协同工作,推广,制造热点或激发热情,然后是销售。”

    费雪弗用14个章节阐述了自己的真知灼见,每章都围绕商业和个人发展的一个领域。他给出了很多合理建议,包括如何形成商业点子,克服恐惧,谈判,构思完美说辞,如何应对剽窃你创意的竞争对手(无需棒球棍或西西里岛帮手),出售企业以及其他更多丰富的内容。

    费雪弗在书中谈到了这些年来他遇到过的很多胆大妄为者,但他依然是这本书毫无疑问的主角。这位天生的娱乐经理人充满热情地记述了他当初为一场从无到有的《辣身舞》(Dirty Dancing)现场演出造势的经历,从邀请记者们到纽约市观看一场假彩排,到最终招募了舞蹈演员和舞蹈设计,使劲浑身解数。这种方法奏效了:投资者纷至沓来,愿意提供制作资金,《辣身舞》演出很快升级为一场成功的全球巡演,先后到过20个国家。费雪弗写道:“从A点到B点我们需要做的就是造势——凭借一点小聪明,我们从无到有创造了这一点。”

    It took chutzpah to walk into the office of legendary New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and talk him into paying your client more than a million dollars, particularly if you were only 22 years old at the time. As a young sports agent, David Fishof did just that for outfielder Lou Piniella. As a concert promoter, he brought the Monkees out of retirement for a wildly successful world tour, and he convinced Ringo Starr to hit the road with his All-Starr Band.

    Nowadays Fishof is best known as the founder of Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp, a musical retreat where aspiring rockers pay thousands of dollars to jam with their peers under the kindly tutelage of "camp counselors" like Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler, and Slash. In Rock Your Business, written with Michael Levin, the irrepressible Fishof spins yarns from his five decades in the entertainment industry, and argues that rock stars have much to teach us about succeeding in business and leading full, happy lives.

    Sadly, it's not about flying Trinitrons, X-rated fish tricks and pharmaceutical-grade refreshments. In Fishof's telling, rock stars are businesspeople just like you, only better. He writes: "The rock and roll industry offers some invaluable business lessons to those in other industries -- such as working collaboratively, promoting, creating a buzz or sense of excitement, and selling."

    Fishof develops this insight through 14 garrulous chapters, each one devoted to an aspect of business and personal development. He delivers sound advice about developing business ideas, overcoming fear, negotiating, crafting the perfect pitch, dealing with competitors who steal your ideas (no baseball bats or Sicilian associates required), selling your business and much more.

    Although Fishof dishes plenty about the boldface legions with whom he's worked over the years, he has no trouble holding center stage in this book. A born showman, he writes with gusto about building hype for a Dirty Dancinglive show that didn't yet exist by inviting reporters to a fake rehearsal in New York City, complete with hired dancers and choreographers. The trick works: Investors flock to fund the production, and the Dirty Dancing show rapidly morphs into a world tour that kills in 20 countries. "All we needed to get from point A to point B was the hype -- and we created that from scratch through a little ingenuity," Fishof writes.


    作为一位虔诚的犹太教徒,他定期飞往耶路撒冷向Amshinover拉比咨询新的商业计划。费雪弗记得有一次,拉比静思踌躇了20分钟才根据犹太法典《塔木德经》批准了他的《美国角斗士现场》(American Gladiators Live)巡演——业余格斗者付钱获得被职业拳师揍的资格。

    费雪弗也有温情的一面。他飞回到底特律,与当地一家犹太教堂重新协商他年迈父亲的领颂人合同。有一次,拉比没有重议合同,直接告诉费雪弗,他父亲该退休了。对此,费雪弗决不能同意,立即表示反对。他迅速掏出支票簿,写了一张10,000美元的支票,告诉拉比把这笔钱加到他父亲每年10,000美元的年薪中。然后,他告诉父亲,他说服拉比给父亲涨了一倍的工资。费雪弗的父亲得以继续做自己喜欢做的事情。一些年后他过世了,对此毫不知情。

    在这本极富魅力和实用性的新书中,费雪弗在最后发出了下述劝告:“如果我能做到,你也能。不要停止信仰,保持虎一般的眼力,让你的企业摇滚起来。现在是时候摇滚起来吧!”希望高弹紧身面料不是必须。

    A devout Jew, he flies regularly to Jerusalem to consult the Amshinover Rebbe about new business ventures. In one memorable scene, the Rebbe vibrates silently for 20 minutes before providing Talmudic sanction for Fishof's American Gladiators Live tour,in which amateur combatants pay for the privilege of getting their butts kicked by professional pugilists in Spandex.

    Fishof shows heart as well. He flies home to Detroit to renegotiate his aging father's contract as a cantor at the local synagogue. Instead of negotiating, the rabbi tells Fishof that it's time for his dad to retire. Nothing doing, Fishof retorts. He whips out his checkbook, writes a $10,000 check and tells the rabbi to add the money to his father's $10,000 annual salary. He then tells his father that he convinced the rabbi to double his pay. Fishof's dad gets to keep on doing what he loves. He dies some years later, none the wiser.

    Fishof ends this charming and useful book with the following exhortation: "If I could do it, you can, too. Don't stop believin', keep the eye of the tiger, and rock your business. It's time for you to rock and roll!" Spandex, one hopes, is optional.

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