By Jim Purdy
As a record producer and talent manager, I am often asked what I look for when scouting talent. I look for a singer who has their very own unique sound, style, stage presence and proper delivery. But more impor- tantly, someone who has that “true natural gift” and a down to earth personality.
When I see an artist that I feel has overall potential, my interest in working with that artist is generated. I then have to see how much work is going to be involved. As any record producer would probably agree, it’s our job to take the talent in the recording studio and give them the best sounding product possible, using the best recording studios, session musicians and studio engineers. Most important is to ensure that the artist sells the song vocally and producing the best vocal qualities possible for that artist. A great deal of time and work also goes into pre-production. This includes everything from finding the right songs for the artist, as well as grabbing the attention from record label executives, if the artist is not already signed to a record label contract.
Any aspiring artist serious about pursuing a career in our industry needs to realize that this is a business, and dedication is one of the key factors. This includes vocal coaching, stage critiquing, song-writing (if you are a songwriter), band rehearsals, recording sessions, and working with your manager, booking agents, and publicists. Success means spending many weeks away from home while you are on tour, including countless hours on tour buses, autograph sessions with fans, long nights with no sleep, and performing under any circumstances. No matter how talented an artist is, dedication is of the utmost importance.
Dedication also applies to aspiring actors and models. Actors will need to devote countless hours to working with managers, agents, vocal coaches, acting coaches, studying scripts, going to auditions and callbacks, building resumes, and gaining experience. Models will need to constantly work on stage presence, staying in shape, building portfolios, and going on test shoots.
Are you willing to devote all of the time and hours that will be involved? When scouting talent, I hear many great singers and performers. Many times I see artists who are awesome and have everything together, and are more than ready to be marketed to the industry reps and executives. Obviously those artists are dedicated to their careers because they have taken constructive criti-
JUDGMENT DAY: Jim Purdy (R) uses his discerning eye and vast experience to judge talent for pageants, music, and myriad other entertainment mediums, himself having been a performer, songwriter, manager, and producer.
cism and advice from professionals in the business and put it to good use. In today’s extremely competitive music industry, aspiring singers need to understand that record labels, managers, and booking agents are looking for developed acts because this means less time and money spent.
Many record producers stay strictly within the parameters of music production. This leaves other artist development functions to the talent managers, publicists and booking agents. Several years ago I realized many artists were in dire need of development but had no means of finding people who could and would help develop them. I created avenues to help in these development stages by contacting colleagues who specialized in various techniques of performing. This includes stage-critiquing, learning how to use and
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