Portfolio: Nicole Dawley

When I first met Tiffany Chin at a mutual friend’s birthday get-together at Mandrake, a cozy dive bar over on La Cienega Boulevard earlier this month, I immediately noticed that she exudes a quiet strength, an unspoken confidence. When she walked into the space, she looked everyone in the eyes as she was introduced. She was not awkward or looking for a way out since she was among strangers, she simply ordered a beer and joined the conversation. She finally sat next to one of her colleagues, whom I was chatting with, and that’s when I got to know her a little bit.

From our conversation, I learned that Tiffany assists Ted Chung, co-founder of Stampede Management, who also manages Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg). She was an open book about her career in the music industry, such as her goal to be a manager and how she holds her own among the big boys. Since she has a lot of golden nuggets to share about her experience, I decided it would be perfect to bring her story to The Pearl Mic. Here is a follow-up of our conversation:

The Pearl Mic: So tell us a little bit about yourself.

Tiffany Chin: I’m a Chinese-American muggle living in LA. I LOVE spicy food and I work for some of the baddest motherfuckers in the music industry.

TPM: What initially ignited your interest to work in the music business, specifically, music management?

TC: I grew up in a traditional Chinese household, my sister and I were trained classically in piano (I hate long fingernails). Later, I branched off to learn the clarinet, the alto and bari-saxophone, and eventually dabbled with the sitar. I’ve always been fascinated with how music, and entertainment in general, affect the human condition, and how it has often been something that brings people from all walks of life together. Despite being so personally involved with music performance my entire life, I knew that my true passion was to be on the business side. Working at Stampede has let me work with some of the top talent in the space and has shown me the connection between the performance and business sides.

TPM: What is your role at Stampede Management?

TC: Currently, I am working as Ted Chung’s assistant (Snoop Dogg’s manager). I help him with his scheduling, calls, as well as organizing and communicating bookings and pursuing new ventures. In addition to being Ted’s assistant, I work as the International Business Development representative, working on expanding our roster of artists’ presence in international space, including Germany, Brazil and China. One of my biggest accomplishments is getting [Snoop] Dogg onto Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter/Facebook (all of these social networking sites are blocked in the lovely PRC), and having him tap into the large fan base he has in the East. Here’s a screenshot of one of his most recent posts:

TPM: Describe a typical day at the office?

TC: My days begin before I get into the office. I wake up at 5:30am and check my emails and texts and see if I have anything pressing from Ted or our clients. I then respond to everything I can and make my way into the office. I walk around the office with a douchey bluetooth, often getting whispers from coworkers, “Are you on a call?” making phone calls and writing emails. I’m on all of Ted’s calls and emails and additionally have to write ones for my role in International Business Development. As cliché as it sounds, there isn’t really a typical day as it depends on what our clients want to do that day and what my boss wants to do. Ooh, I’m also known for doing killer voice-overs for our video content – check one out here:

TPM: What do you think that you can add to the music industry?

TC: I have a keen ear when it comes to the welding of different genres to create a new sound. I love the idea that all music is converging in some way or another – similar to the way that ethnically, we’re all slowly but surely mixing the pot. My favorite trend, which has been ten years in the making, is the all pervasive integration of electronic music into all other genres of music.

TPM: Now, the hip-hop business is still very male and macho, how do you handle working in a male dominated industry?

TC: Sometimes, when I get flack from the guys in our office, I’ll whip out my 9-inch cock and lay it on the table. The ball is then in their court (laughs). No, but seriously, being an attractive, self-assured, intelligent female who gets work done well is a true combination for attaining respect.

TPM: How do you maintain your personal life with a demanding career?

TC: I try to keep expectations low, for when I get out on the weekdays. Our office hours are 10-7, but I am basically in the office until my boss leaves. Sometimes I’ll get out right at 7 (usually when he is out of town or has an evening meeting/meal), but more often than not I am in the office until 9pm. My friends and boyfriend are very understanding of my schedule, and have come to expect me to cancel whenever something comes up.

However, Ted understands that I have a life. If I can’t or don’t pick up one of his calls off hours, he usually leaves a message, or texts me with one of his requests. I’ve received calls at 12:30AM on a Friday night, and instead of taking the call, I did all the work over email and text. Everything works out, especially if you really enjoy your work (which I do)!

TPM: Our motto is to be bold, beautiful and brilliant, what is your definition of a bold, beautiful and brilliant person?

TC: It really comes down to one word for me – confidence. It’s one thing to have inherent advantages (beauty, wealth, intelligence etc), and confidence may be predicated on what you’re given (again, beauty, wealth), but confidence can be learned. It is an inner strength that can be trained, just like a muscle. I strongly encourage everyone, not just women, to assess the insecurities they have, and try to either overcome, embrace or fix them.

I also strongly believe in high self-awareness. Ladies, always know how others portray you, and play up your strengths from that knowledge.

TPM: What are your future goals?

TC: I’d really like to still be alive when they figure out how to apparate people. Or maybe the more colloquial term is “teleport?” If I am, I hope to have made enough in the industry as a manager or A&R to purchase my key-card for such a privilege.

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Special thanks to M-Boogie of LA Stereo TV.