Evita Gail Kaigler, Esq. is at a point in her life where she is proud of all her accomplishments as a music lawyer. She started Law Offices of Evita G. Kaigler, LLC, based in Atlanta, where she emphasizes the importance of knowing the business aspect of music, and represents artists like Big K.R.I.T. and Joey Bada$$. In 2011, Kaigler launched the Future Music Attorneys (FMA) program, which is a pipeline created to mentor and inspire college students and law students who aspire to be music attorneys.?
?But, deep down, Kaigler knows that this is just the warm-up.?
?On a big picture scale of 1 to 10, I?d say I?m at a 1.5,? Kaigler told TNJ.com via email. ?There?s so much I want to do ? create ground breaking platforms, impact lives all across the world… I?ve planted seeds and the roots are firm, but I haven?t broken ground yet; I?m just getting started.?
Growing up, Kaigler always wanted to be in the music industry ? or the ?music space? as she likes to call it ? to perform as a dancer and singer. However, the more auditions she went on, the more she hated the process of auditions. But, the fire she had for music never fizzled.
After reading, ?All You Need to Know About the Music Industry? by Donald S. Passman, Kaigler opened her eyes to other avenues in the industry. Merging her passion for music and her purpose for educating others in the industry – and making a living out of it ? Kailger had found her sweet spot. Now, she is helping others do the same through her interactive workbook, ?Don?t Forget About the Music.? Its release date is set for this summer.
?
From the motto she?s created, ?The you, your music, your business and your brand,? Kaigler tells TNJ.com how she managed to build her brand and outsmart the music industry, and why she calls the music industry the ?music space.?
TNJ.com: Why is it so tough to break into the business?
EGK: One reason is that everybody gravitates towards it. It?s such a saturated space. Everybody?s a rapper, singer, writer or a producer. But that doesn?t mean everybody has the talent for it. How do you make your music your brand in such a heavily populated space?
The second thing is just the perception of it. If I?m a young person with talent, and I want to get into that space, my perception of it may be, ?Well, I?m talented. Therefore, I can do it regardless of whether I understand the business and the industry.? What it comes down to is endurance.
The music space is a space in a game of endurance. It?s not how talented you are or how smart you are; it?s how long you can endure and push through and build the skill and the knowledge.? It?s whether you can deal with all the things you need to sustain over time. Most people can?t. And the third thing is, there?s no money in it. And that?s tough. How do I pursue my gift and passion in what I believe in when I don?t have the money? It takes a lot of sacrifice.
TNJ.com: You?ve found your sweet spot: your purpose and passion for what you do. And you enjoy it, too. Tell me about the journey in finding it. And what should others do to find theirs?
EGK: My recommendation is, no matter what industry you?re in, find the thing that makes you ?you? and build a platform. So, for me, my thing is music, empowerment education, [and] my thing is encouragement. I?ve found a way to bring all those things together. And I?ve built a platform for them. Find a way to communicate that thing to other people who want to engage in it and talk about it. That is my recommendation.
You?re getting all this education, but what is your thing in all of this? If you can?t see it, you have more work to do. I think that?s how I found my sweet spot! Once you land into your sweet spot, your work doesn?t stop. But, if you honor that thing that makes you ?you,? you will develop in ways you wouldn?t imagine. I?m in awe that I have these creative people entrusting me with their careers and their gifts. But, because I have built a platform that makes me ?me,? people are able to engage it and build with it.
TNJ.com: Speaking about your desire, tell me about your new book, ?Don?t Forget About the Music.?
EGK: I want it to touch people that I won?t be able to touch one-on-one. I want it to do what that book by Donald Passman did for me when I was 17. I want to inspire and encourage, and I really want people to grow. It?s an interactive workbook. In it, you will absolutely experience growth. That?s my promise with the book. It?s written with my desire to impact the music space by impacting the people!
The book stems from a model that I created: ?The You. Your Music. Your Business. Your Brand.? Every concern and every challenge that a talent will have, it will stem from those four areas. If you can take your doing and what you need to do and break it down to those four areas, you can begin to nurture those four areas that need support. Each chapter has exercises. We?re also going to do a website that supplements the book, but not in a way that overwhelms the reader. It will be something they can digest a little bit more. You can find extra charts, extra resources and all these questions on the website.
TNJ.com: What are a few points you want people to take away from your book?
EGK: The first thing – don?t forget about the music. Everything that you?re touching and all the people that you?re dealing with aren?t necessarily rooted in music. I keep myself sane and focused in my efforts. The minute I forget about the music or dishonor it, I realize that things are not going to go well for me. It?s that chicken and egg riddle: you?re either about the music first or the industry first.
Second thing – you can absolutely do it. Whatever that vision is, you can absolutely do it. You?ve just got to do the work.
Third thing ? if you have the vision, you have to have a plan for it. Having a plan is very difficult, especially when you?re creative. But you have to have a plan for it, and the book will help you put your plan in place.?
TNJ.com: Why is having a music lawyer important to an artist??What are your goals for your clients and the projects they?re working on in 2015? ???
EGK: You must understand the business of your craft. It isn?t an option. Knowledgeable music lawyers will assist you in understanding the business of your craft and they will protect your gifts. If you don?t understand the business of your craft, you cut your career (or any potential of a career) short. From my end, I?m mostly focused on how I can assist my clients in becoming enterprise-minded. In other words, how do we set ourselves up so that the work we put in now also supports us 10,15, 20 years from now?
TNJ.com: What birthed FMA?
EGK: FMA is the resource that I wish I had when I was in law school. I went to a great school, but it wasn?t as resourceful for me, as it was for other students. My school was very focused on big firm jobs.
I didn?t have mentors. So, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to build my own practice and how to be a music lawyer. And as I began to build the brand, a lot of students were reaching out to me. So, I wanted to create a resource for students that I wished I would have had to understand the space.
TNJ.com: What?s next for the EGK brand?
EGK: Ultimately, I would love for the band to be one of the voices in music. When it?s all said and done, I want my name to be next to Clive Davis, Berry Gordy and Quincy Jones. I want that kind of impact. I want to be the brand where people like Jay-Z is doing something like Tidal. EGK has to be in the room. I want to be that trusted source and even be a force in the academic community. These are young people who are going to school, and getting educated about the very space that I?m in. I want to be a filter and a voice for them while they are getting their education. I want EGK to be that go-to brand, go-to filter, go-to voice. And I want it to be done with impact, voice and meaning.
