Published 5 March, 2020

With over 25 years working in the Australian music industry, Vivien Fantin has a CV that is enviable. She has worked as a tour, festival and awards publicist and communications coach with a number of industry heavy waits including the Big Day Out, Livid, Homebake, Splendour in the Grass, ARIA, APRA Music and the Screen Music Awards. Now an accredited personal coach, Viv dedicates herself to helping the next generation of music business professionals. As the recent VMDO Expert in Residence, we spoke to Viv about what she’s learnt from her years of experience in the industry and why personal coaching is beneficial for creative professionals.  

Please tell us a bit about yourself and Next Act Coaching?

My name is Viv and I’ve been in the music industry for more than 25 years (probably longer if I really do the math) in various capacities. In 2005, after years of flogging myself as a festival and touring publicist, I realised I was totally burnt out. Just utterly spent. My physical and emotional resources were so limited that I had to completely re-think the way I was working. After some recovery time, I thought of ways to diversify my offerings. One was to become a media coach, to help artists communicate their story. Being in a ‘helping’ profession had always appealed to me too, so I decided to re-train and went back to study to become a personal coach. I chose to focus my coaching practice on the industry I know and love, and set up Next Act Coaching to work with people on all sides of our music community, artists and the people that work with artists – managers, agents, publicists, publishers, agents and so on. I love it. 

What’s the biggest challenge for Victorian music business professionals today and how can people overcome it?

I think the challenges that people experience in the music business don’t really have borders. It’s hard to identify just one challenge, but not being clear on the value you bring to the people you work with can lead to chronically over-delivering and under charging. I see this a lot, especially with people who are self-employed. There are a lot of legacy fears around charging what we’re worth, that we’re lucky to have our place in the music business and should settle for that.  And then there are the personal things that can negatively impact the way we work professionally – not being able to disarm the voice of the inner critic, endless comparing, perfectionism, feeling like an imposter in the music industry, exhaustion and so on. One strategy to help overcome all of these challenges is to be clear on your values and strengths. Your values help to define who you are and what’s truly important to you. If you’re clear on your values, it should become easier to make decisions about the projects you’ll take on and the people you’ll work with because your values will guide you. People generally understand their skills but are less clear on personal strengths which can be less tangible. Understanding these can really help clarify the value you bring to the industry.

How can music business professionals get the most out of coaching?

Anyone who is ready to make positive changes in their life and is open to the discomfort that can come with self-reflection, will benefit from coaching. It’s both future and goal focused. You don’t spend too much time dwelling on the past, as it’s about moving forward. It’s a positive process but one you definitely have to commit to and be ready for.  You definitely can’t be passive in coaching. It’s a boots-and-all proposition. 

What was the most useful piece of advice you received in your career in the music industry?

That it’s ok to say no! Boundaries are everything in the music industry. Without them we can end up taking calls at all hours of the day & night and end up doing all sorts of tasks that fall way beyond the scope of our job. Which creates resentment and can lead to burnout. When I finally gave myself permission to say no, everything changed. Saying no to the things or people that made me uncomfortable or weren’t aligned with my values allowed me to say yes to those that really matter. The other gem that had a profound impact on me is ‘you are not your thoughts’. 

What newsletters do you subscribe to?

I recently did a cull but I hung onto Mark Manson’s ‘Motherfucking Monday’, David Byrne’s ‘Reasons to Be Cheerful’, Nick Cave’s ‘Red Right Hand Files’ (which is a revelation every time it lands in my inbox). Also, The Industry Observer, Music Industry Inside Out, The Music Network, The Music, Noise 11, APRAP and New York Times daily newsletter. 

What podcasts and books do find useful?

I don’t listen to as many podcasts as I’d like. I’m more of a reader. I do listen to The Daily for awesome news content. Recently I’ve listened to Hidden Brain from NPR which is all about the unconscious patterns that drive human behaviour. Two books I always recommend to people who are interested in leadership and want to have a values-led music industry career are ‘Playing Big’ by Tara Mohr and ‘Dare to Lead’ by Brene Brown. Neither are music industry specific, but both address important obstacles that get in our way. 

What are some of your favourite Victorian music acts? 

Amyl and the Sniffers, Ali Barter, Ecca Vandal, G Flip. I’ve always loved The Living End. And going back, of course the mighty Nick Cave and Dirty Three. Too many to list J 

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