Manual
Are you ……
• New to the field of Band / Artist Management, or considering starting an Artist Management Company?
• Already operating an Artist Management Company but would like a “refresher” resource to help spark some new ideas?
• An independent artist or musician looking to self-manage?
• Studying or teaching a music business or entertainment-related course and seeking to supplement your reading or teaching materials?
If so, then the Artist Management Manual is just what you need to help achieve your goal.
• New to the field of Band / Artist Management, or considering starting an Artist Management Company?
• Already operating an Artist Management Company but would like a “refresher” resource to help spark some new ideas?
• An independent artist or musician looking to self-manage?
• Studying or teaching a music business or entertainment-related course and seeking to supplement your reading or teaching materials?
If so, then the Artist Management Manual is just what you need to help achieve your goal.
 Revised and Updated 2010 Edition! |
| Music Management Careers |
 |
 |
 |
MUSIC MANAGEMENT CAREERSOf all the various music business careers, music management (or artist, band, talent, personal management) provides the most hands-on interaction with musicians. Managers are generally the most influential people in the artists’ careers, and help to craft the master game plan that everyone (not just the artists) use as a guide or road map. If you are interested in the field of music / artist management, following is some information that you might find useful. So, who can be an artist manager? Well, just about anyone of legal age and reasonable competence. The two things that are indispensible to the music management position, however, are knowledge of how things operate in the music business, and a strong passion for music and musicians. Following closely behind are a good sense of moral principles, a strong work ethic, patience, and flexibility. Today, it is easier than ever before to find interesting artists all from the comfort of your home or office. Managers used to have to spend enormous amounts of time and money visiting clubs to hear bands perform. All you need now is an internet connection and access to sites like MySpace, Reverbnation, PureVolume, thesixtyone, and countless others. You don’t need to operate out of an expensive office, or even have a staff of people working for you on salary. You can generally outsource and/or designate much of the work that needs to be done; like accounting, publicity, legal, design, etc. In fact, maintaining low overhead is crucial to your long-term survival as a music / artist manager. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to live in the same state or even country as the artist you are managing, but it is advisable to do so nonetheless. This is because in moments of stress, it will be of benefit to be able to sit down with your client over a cup of coffee and work together to overcome challenges that are inevitable in this business. A deeper level of trust and understanding can be attained when you are able to sit down with your client and look them in the eye as opposed to simply staring at each other via webcam. Also, other interested parties closer in the vicinity of your clients than you are may be able to drive a wedge in between you when the going gets tough with promises of being able to do a better job. Points of contention between artists and managers are the percentage of commission paid to the manager, and the sources from which the managers’ commission is paid. Many artists think that managers take too high a commission for doing too little work. One way to effectively deal with this issue is to experiment with creative commission structures. An example would be to first determine how much money the artist is currently making on their own, and from which sources that money is being made, and then figure out a commission on only income earned from the efforts of the manager. All income below the threshold is exempt from commission. Another area of tension surrounds dealing with unrealistic expectations of artists. Without solid knowledge of how things work in the music business, it is fairly easy to indulge in the fantasies of superstardom and riches and then fall victim to the disappointment and anger that set in once reality bites. A word of caution to aspiring managers is to avoid signing artists simply because they fit a current trend. Trends in today’s music business are short and fleeting (making lots of short-term money for major labels until the next trend emerges), and are likely to be over before you even get any traction going with your artist. Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to compete against major labels on a current trend, and if the artist is unable to get signed, they will be unable to gain much traction in the independent music scene with a major label sound that was “last year’s trend”. There are simply not enough record labels (and not enough money, for that matter) to sign all the artists around the world that are worth signing. Therefore, you will need to be prepared and able to steer your artists’ careers successfully in the independent arena. Knowing how things work in the music business will enable you as a manager to tap into as many different income sources as possible for your artist, and allow you to create opportunities for them to further their careers. As far as music management is concerned, relying on only one or two sources of income will leave you and your artist vulnerable to downturns and shifts in the marketplace. |