There are Music Parents and there are Music Business Parents

When we were in LA waiting for Mackenzie's blind audition, we met a lot of other parents of artists.  I decided they fell into 4 categories:

1. Clueless Parents - the ones who were thrilled and starstruck that their kids were auditioning for The Voice but had absolutely no idea how any of this works. Tremendous cheerleaders for their kids. They walked around about 10 feet off the ground on audition day 1 and were fighting the demons of fear and anxiety by the last day of auditions.
2. Clued in Parents - these parents understand at least some aspects of the long, unpredictable road their kids are on.  They were very supportive but were also quietly keeping "Plan B" options open.  Less starstruck by The Voice than the Clueless Parents.  They've made sacrifices for their kids, but are also taking care of their marriages, their other kids, their communities and churches.
3. Music Parents - these parents are 10% manager and 90% parent.  They are involved with their kid's career and are paying for at least part of the associated expense.  Most have continued to remind their son/daughter about keeping a Plan B. Most of them were careful about boundaries but some of them were moving toward becoming . . . 
4. Music Business Parents - 90% manager, 10% parent.  These are the parents who sacrifice their jobs, marriages, financial futures for the sake of their son or daughter's career.  We met moms who are living with the kid(s) in LA or NYC or Nashville, driving their kids to and from auditions/music lessons/dance class/acting studio while Dad is living somewhere else in the country to make enough money to support it all.

Waiting for +Mackenzie Elliott's Blind Audition

I moved from strongly in Category 1 to somewhere early in Category 2 during the audition timeframe.  And I learned a TON from some of the well balanced Category 2  and 3 parents.  I have called or texted a couple of them when I needed some perspective or wisdom.

But if you are the parent of an aspiring professional performer or athlete or any other kind of career that might involve celebrity status, I want to warn you to beware of moving out of Category 2.  If you're going to move into Category 3, I'd say that you need to set a time limit and identify a Plan B.  And in the meantime, take care of your other kids, take care of your marriage, stay involved in your hometown, save for retirement and put boundaries in place so that you are not in the Manager role at the same time you're being Mom and Dad.

Because Category 4 was really scary to watch. The dangers seem obvious, but at some point their son or daughter had a success that swept all of them into a paradigm shift. Their child got the part, got the development deal, got the big PR firm and Mom and Dad decided that any sacrifice was worth it.  But from my view on the outside looking in. . . it's like playing the lottery except your kid is the lottery ticket.  NO PRESSURE. 

Right now, Jim and I are on the outer edge of Category 2.  We are starting to move into Category 3 but we we want to be really careful.  Because the lines seem well defined from here, but apparently they are harder to see the deeper in you go.  A Manager has a role based on financial investment and return.  A Parent has a role based on love and wisdom.  But mostly love.  We never want to venture too close to the edge of Category 4.  That's a deep, deep pit that looks hard to climb out of.

Mom Plug:  Mackenzie is in a contest to open for Kelly Clarkson and Carly Rae Jepsen.  If you'd like to vote, go to the link below and open up an account with your email.  They haven't sent me one piece of spam.  You can vote every day, but no matter how often you vote, THANK YOU!
Here is the link to make a gigg.com account and vote for Mackenzie: http://www.gigg.com/contest/bracket/242/6342