Rocker turns businessman at City Lights

When Mike Wood was having trouble getting his band recognized six years ago, he took things into his own hands. That's when he started City Lights Entertainment.Now, the band has landed a management deal with Florida-based Creative Content Management and a record deal with California-based Top Sail Productions, thanks to Wood's work at City Lights.

The 26-year-old musician/businessman learned about the music industry the hard way. Over the years, he has sent hundreds of demo tapes and placed thousands of calls to record promotions companies looking to hit it big. Ironically, the fruits of his labour are as much on the business side of things as they are on the music side.

If his band, called Circuit, does not impress music impresarios, Wood has a network of industry contacts to tap for a job. City Lights has struck an agreement with local music producer Pebble Studios in which the companies will consult up-and-coming talent. In effect, it will be an extension of Pebble Studios' jam clinic, which touches on the business aspect of the industry while focusing primarily on improving students' musical talents.

The project will be strictly focused on the business side of the industry, says Wood."The main thing we want to educate the up-and-comers about is it's not the music business, it's the business of music," he says.

Wood's partner at Pebble Studios, Peter Gilroy, believes the music business school will be the first of its kind in the city. It will address things like how to choose a management team, how to shop a demo and how to deal with A&R (artist and repertoire, a division of a record company that judges talent).

"There is a huge demand for this (in Ottawa)," says Gilroy, who has been producing local acts since 1990. While the idea of a music business school may be new to Ottawa, the city is home to a handful of music management companies. Unfortunately, says Wood, eager musicians and bands may jump into management deals that could be detrimental to their careers.

"There's a couple of management companies that have surfaced in town, picking up a bunch of bands at a time. The danger with that is if you have 14 acts with only two or three working, it means not everybody is getting the proper attention," he says.

The music business school will be housed at Pebble Studios in Barrhaven, and should start sometime in the September-October time frame. Wood and Gilroy are targeting corporate sponsorship to market the school and are planning to have guest speakers, such as Dale Penner, who produced albums for Matthew Good Band and Nickelback.

"We want to give the kids a chance to meet the bigwigs in the industry and ask them the questions head on," says Wood.

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