INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: Penny Weber of Cover Your Artz
Ever been on an interstate tour, crammed into a tiny little tour bus with squabbling band mates… only to get to the venue and find out that you were expected to find a sound guy? Or had trouble picking a reliable roadie and didn’t know who you could trust? All of these problems are the basis for the website Cover Your Artz, a unique and so-ridiculously-useful website set up by music industry veteran and genius Penny Weber.
Paige X. Cho found out a bit more about the new website, as well as Penny’s tips for music industry professional and how she got started in it all.
Tell us in a nutshell what Cover Your Artz is…
Cover your Artz is an online hub to find touring personnel and production staff for bands and industry personnel. Once you have all your tour dates, the website can help you find a merchandiser, sound engineer or lighting person to best support your show. You can check their profile for previous examples of their work, see the calendar for when they are free and it also looks after the paperwork. In July, we will be also running workshops in most capital cities to up-skill production staff and help performers learn about the stage and how to engage an audience.
What inspired you to start up Cover Your Artz?
Many years ago I was managing fairly well known bands that were touring on the smell of an oily rag. We were trying to keep costs down by hiring production staff in every area we were going but found that in some of the less central towns that finding a person who was available, within budget and had the right skills was a really difficult task. In the end we took someone on tour with us from Melbourne and the rest is history. At that time, I was thinking wouldn’t it be great to find someone in each town without losing time, money and sleep over it and came up with the idea for the website. I went to some well respected and not-so-well respected people and asked them about the costs associated with setting it up and found out it would be the same cost as buying a house. Many years passed and the need was still there, the cost of web creating had drastically reduced, the idea had blossomed further through time and further experience and I finally went ahead about making it real. I guess you could say that good things take time.
We know that you’ve done heaps of other things in the music industry. Can you give us a run-down of what other hats you’ve worn over the years?
Aside from the occasional beret action, I have been a band manager for eleven years, a label executive, a music supervisor into film, a film producer, a conference coordinator, a personal assistant, a make-up artist, a music business teacher, a marketing manager, a rep for a not-for-profit community body, a dance teacher, a publicist and DVD merchandiser.
That’s a lot of hats! How did you end up getting involved in the music industry?
After spending some time overseas backpacking through Europe, I had met a guy in Spain who worked for a record label. I crashed on his couch in Spain, saw some gigs, hung out and watched what he did for a living. I thought it was pretty amazing. I continued on my trip and met with him again in L.A., crashed on his couch, went to some more amazing gigs, met other people in the industry and thought maybe this could be something I could get into. When I got home I saw my brother’s band play in the garage and they blew my mind. I had just written, produced a play and asked them to perform in the show. The rest is history. I managed the band, from there worked with a film composer Cezary Skubiszewski, then a record company, a not-for-profit music association, music business teacher, marketing manager and my own businesses expanded to include music supervision, film co-producing, consulting, conference creation, event management, publicity, and mentoring. Life is never boring.
Any advice for industry kids trying to get a break in the industry?
Always be true to yourself and your beliefs. The industry is small. Be truthful, be unique and be professional.
Any tips for engineers, technicians, roadies, merchandisers and the likes who are using Cover Your Artz?
Have links to your professional portfolios, websites, Cover Your Artz profile and social media. The best way to stand out in the CYA website is to keep your profile current, update your availability on the calendar and check your email for when a job lands for you.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Saturday August 20: Cover Your Artz Workshop, NMIT Fairfield
LINKS:
- Interviews
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