Jul 23, 2019
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra chats with Maria Shclover, President and Producer at Maestro Artist Management (MAM) — a full-service production, touring, and promotion company that focuses on presenting international artists in various genres. Maria is also the Founder of the Russian Film Week in New York City and is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, which runs a multi-day, multi-cultural, multidisciplinary celebration of international arts in New York City. Prior to MAM, Maria was classically-trained as a musician and graduated from the renown NYU Stern School of Business.
On the podcast, Maria walks through her journey from the USSR to America and from classical musician to entrepreneurship. Throughout the conversation, Maria is more than willing to openly share about the pains, uncertainties, and challenges of owning your own business yet doubles down on knowing that she made the right decision to pursue entrepreneurship. While she spends some time specifically speaking to those pursuing an artist management career, her wisdom and takeaways are for people from all walks of life.
Moving Quotes:
“The show must go on. Sometimes you have programs that aren’t delivered. Sometimes the bus is late. Somebody didn’t get their visa. But, it’s a working moment. We find a solution. Don’t stress out. We need to work through that and find a solution quickly. I think that’s the secret."
“[If you want a career in artist management,] you must be willing to wear a lot of hats. This is how you get successful."
“[In order to deal with uncertainty,] you have to be sure of yourself. You have to be sure of why you’re doing this."
“My personal [entrepreneurial] challenge is that it’s hard to delegate. Many times I try to delegate, I find out the hard way that I delegated something that’s not being done or it’s not being done correctly."
“Don’t be afraid to follow your dream. The most important thing is to fulfill your calling — your potential."
“There are certain things you can’t control — like weather, like government — but you can do your best to mitigate problems."
“[As an entrepreneur,] you need to grow all the time. And not just financially — you need to acquire new skills."
“Don’t be lazy and keep learning. Don’t ever say, ‘Oh I know everything.’ Because every day, something new will come up in your industry, whatever it is."
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
2:33: Maria discusses her journey from being a classically-trained musician in the USSR to the founding of her own company in America.
6:31: Maria reflects on the risks of leaving a secure corporate job to start her own company and looks back at the events that led to her company’s inception.
11:10: Shclover shares some details about her current company — Maestro Artist Management — and various events it sponsors, including Russian Film Week in New York City.
13:07: Maria shares her perspective on some of the most challenging things about owning your own business, including the necessity of ongoing learning.
15:39: Shclover mentions some funny stories from her company’s history and explains the importance of being flexible and “rolling with the punches” when working with artists.
19:56: Maria gives some great advice around dealing with uncertainty — a component of entrepreneurship that is unavoidable.
23:44: Maria encourages current and aspiring entrepreneurs to follow their dreams, whatever the cost.
25:31: Shclover discusses the types of skills necessary for someone who is looking to take on a career in artist management.
28:35: Maria speaks on the future of her company, which hopefully involves more shows in more cities.
Bullet List of Resources –
Maria Schlover
Maestro Artist Management