An Interview with Chlon Rogers

No matter what your position is in the industry, being in the music industry is tough. Being a successful entertainer is a hard job but very rewarding, there is much more to the business side of it than meets the eye. This is what inspired Chlon Rogers’ new book, Music Money. Rogers is an executive in the industry so she knows first hand what some of the challenges are.

Rogers owns Checkmate Business Management, a full-service business service company for artists, and she also serves as COO of Atlanta based independent record label, “Think It’s A Game Records”, which is the driving force behind artists like YFN Lucci, Rich Homie Quan, and Trinidad James.

Rogers has worked with many clients and says there was once a time when her main focus was getting as may clients as she could. Now, she wants to focus more on educating artists on things they should know in order to understand their paperwork and to make sure they know what it takes to maintain the lifestyle they create. “What is important now is having quality clients versus just having a lot of them and really focusing on those select clients”, she says.

She says her book “Music Money”, really is for anybody in the music or entertainment industry and that doesn’t necessarily have to be just the artist. From artists and label heads to PR and agents for artists, even if you are an independent label, this book is about educating the industry without exclusion. “It’s so much more to it than going into the studio and making a hot song”, she says.

Rogers says this book is necessary because she sees so many stories about people that are doing great for three or four years and then all of a sudden the money dries up. “A lot of times that’s because they didn’t have the bits inside of things in order”, she says. There have been stories about people that have gotten into contracts that didn’t necessarily serve them well.

So, what advice do you get from a Veteran Executive when you have a chance?

“I would say a big one is to understand your contract. Make sure that you know what you’re getting into when you sign. Make sure you understand your advances and know that this is not free money. Also, make sure you know the different ways that your music can make money for you”, Rogers says.

Music Money is available now at https://www.bemycheckmate.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bemycheckmate