A headliner rock-turned-artist manager shares her insights into the business side of music.
By Maureen Herman
August 9, 2006
In 1991 I was living in a drafty warehouse in Chicago & 39; s South Side, practicing with my band in the basement and playing local clubs - until I received a call that would change my life.
An old friend telephoned with the news that the bass had quit the band and asked if I would like to participate. This band, Babes in Toyland, had just signed to Reprise and was about to record its major label debut. I joined. Within two weeks I was on tour with a recording session scheduled immediately after we started the road.
In real punk rock fashion, we are all to share the work. But things soon became agitated, and she became an overwhelming responsibility to keep on top of our business - touring, recording, updating equipment, something about ASCAP, and need someone to tell us that the A & R , not stand for Artists and Restaurants. We wanted an ally, someone like us, who understood what they were doing, who knew the business and could help us defend our interests and image.
It was time for a manager.
In all my previous bands, I never thought about having a manager or even know what people really did music business. Entrincheirados in DIY ethics of the Chicago indie scene, when I imagined a manager, I saw a cheap suit, a cigar, and a snake holding of another person money.
Fast-forward a few years, and today I have a music business executive. I dress pretty cheap, sometimes, and I smoke cigarettes - but now I know that the majority of managers out there are not thief-like Svengalis. In general they are hard-working people of all walks of life, with a passion for music and a respect for artists. How do you find one of those managers - someone who has the drive, if not the experience, to nourish your career?
Glad you asked.
Where can find a manager and what does it look like?
& 39; Be clear from the beginning about where you could use some help. Look at the people around you - none of them can offer this help? "
Calling is a large company coastal management is not the best first step in seeking representation - especially if you are a baby band " " (which is an unappealing term used by the industry to describe a band that is just beginning, or to shop a business). The best thing to do is look at the people closest the band - people who appreciate what you are doing and can provide constructive support. You can be the friend who is always help you put up flyers and load out equipment at the end of the night. Or, perhaps, is the woman who books the club he called home and awards that the prime slots. These situations can grow naturally and successfully in management / client relationships. Witness Maggie McPherson, former agent of the reserve Uptown Bar in Minneapolis, now manager of the place then-bar band and the artists Columbia current Jayhawks.
Many managers, like me, get involved with any intention of full-time management. Instead, they see a talent, become passionate about its potential, and feel they can contribute to something that the artist& 39;s drive for success. Steve Hutton of the Superior Court of Management was a friend of Kid Rock is back in Detroit, and, until recently, its manager. " There was a local band that I really liked ", recalls Hutton. " I started working with them. I used as an excuse for the network and teach me the business. "
Like Hutton, Janet Billig in Immortal Entertainment has an eye for indie talent and learned about how to develop it at work. One of their first customers in the early 90 was Courtney Love and her band Hole; she now works with Lisa Loeb, Cibo Matto, and Guided by Voices, and partners in a film production company with love. " In different stages of the career of an artist, you need a manager to do different things ", said Billig. " Sometimes I think more recent artists, " I need someone to help me design flyers ". Well, some managers might be really good to make pamphlets, but that may not be the best use of your time or skills. Think about how they can facilitate their goals, instead of thinking of them as his personal assistant ".
In other words, be clear from the beginning about where you could use some help. Look at the people around you - none of them can offer this help? What you could give them in return?
& 39; A manager needs to love and appreciate the music of an artist, but they also must be able to tell the truth. " - Danny Goldberg
Is necessary experience in a good manager?
Let & 39; s say you are thinking about asking someone who has a track record with other artists to control it. The fact that this person was in the music business gives grounds to do some research. Danny Goldberg, currently president and CEO of Artemis Records, founded Gold Mountain Management and counted Nirvana, the Beastie Boys, Bonnie Raitt, Rickie Lee Jones among its customers. " If somebody is dishonest with others ", he warns, " they will be that way with you. Bands should also avoid managers who are intimidated by them. A manager needs to love and appreciate the music of an artist and like them, but they also must be able to tell you the truth, which sometimes includes bad news or advice that they do not want to hear ".
Sometimes those qualities can compensate for a lack of experience. " Depending on how the artist is far along in its development, the manager should have some knowledge and expertise in business ", continues Goldberg. " If they have no direct expertise, which should have a temperament that is open-minded and able to learn. "
Steve Hutton agrees. " People should not look down on managers who have had no success yet. Everyone has to start somewhere, and frankly, a lot of times a new manager can be better than an experienced one, because you probably will be their only Act and its most important work. Experienced The manager has other acts and more things on their plate. "
Beyond honesty and respect for the artist, qualities that are important for beginners - and veteran - manager? " Patience and perseverance are the two most essential qualities ", says Hutton. " You may not be enough tenacious. At the same time, you have to be diplomatic, creative and intelligent. "
That is just the beginning, according to Boche Billions, aka David Viecelli, Billions Corporation, in Chicago, the booking and management company whose list includes Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, in the south of Culture Skids, Wire, Calexico, and the now dissolved Jesus Lizard. " Besides the obvious things, it is to find someone who understands that the band is, what they want out of being a band, and what realistic expectations for the band are on the market. "
& 39; Good managers deserve a great deal of an artist. And bad managers are worth zero ". -- Danny Goldberg
What do just managers?
" A lot of work goes into the public hearing the music ", says Danny Goldberg. " It & 39; s time-sensitive, and this requires finesse and intelligence to prevent disasters. Whether it& 39;s something wrong going on in a club, the relationship with the media, the record company, the lawyer, or to reserve players, I do not know if artists are always aware of how much work is. It is the kind of profession, when something good happens it is credited to the artist and everything that goes wrong is the fault of the manager.
" It is difficult, sometimes, as the manager of the real contribution, impact and value in a tangible form ", Goldberg admits. " So you are hoping that there is an intuitive understanding of it. There is no chance of an It& 39;s a Wonderful Life run-through which their career as a manager would be without. This is the most frustrating thing for both sides. The artist always Ask itself, I am getting my money & 39; of the valley? " The manager wonders, " Will they appreciate what I am doing or not? " I think good managers deserve a great deal of an artist. And the bad managers are worth zero. So the profession is extremely valuable - when done correctly. "
Good managers are networkers, they understand that business is all about relationships. While it may be your song in the film, which followed the path to get there may be this convoluted: Your manager is in the backstage Foo fighters show, in which he started because he used to book bands at the club part-time. He runs into his ex-girlfriend of his brother, who works for a film company. They speak of a film which is in production and is not that they are looking for a song with a train theme for the soundtrack. The manager notes that his band has a train song on their demo. Phone numbers are exchanged.
The point, of course, is that it is not always easy to detect or measure the manager of the positive effect. As Billig notes, " There are few achievements that seem insignificant to the artist or outside of the world, but they are huge for the career of the artist. It is difficult for anyone, even an artist, to see that the manager has an opportunity for him or her. "
" I think there is a quote from Andy Gould [manager Rob Zombie and Monster Magnet] that says, " A manager of the mission is to be the thing that is between the bullet and the artist foot & 39; ", ri Hutton. " I think that is true, with combined to contribute to the artistic process. That does not necessarily mean the creation of music, but representing the music in the right spirit and a creative way ".
Managers essentially work for free until they can create financial opportunities and exposure.
" You want me to pay you what? "!
Commission: Anywhere from 5% to 20%, with the norm being 15%.
This is like the manager is able to afford to work for you and continues to pay the telephone bill and eat out from time to time. In the early days, which can be tough: The client has no income, which is why he or she wants a manager. The manager essentially works for free until he or she can create financial opportunities and exposure.
At this stage, it is important for all parties to be realistic. Early in his career, manager Chris Moon [Josh Rouse] also worked a second job - and for as long as was necessary, did the same as his client. " I spoke to several people who made a lot of money in big business " he says. " They still have to work on the side because of the initial investment to reach that point. Unless the artist receives a bonus you can sign committee, all the money goes for a record deal to make a record. You can only committee that is actually income, not spending. So it is good to start a publishing business and get some money up front for you and your client. Either way, you have to have someone manage your publication or you will never have all your money in - What is a given. So you want to sell your publication or who own about it and get a handle administration. In lever for that money, you give up ownership of " " x amount of years ".
How many years? " That depends, " Moon says. " You want to wait to win the money, or you want someone to pay up front? Outside this, the only income comes from goods and live performance - and it is where their management efforts should focus after the deals are made. "
As Billions notes, " For each of these deals, for 30 other tasks that have absolutely no income directly related to them. For me, the reward is in relation to yourself. Naturally there is satisfaction in having something become a success of a tax purposes, but there is a series of small victories, and lots of little the average frustrations. You miss out on the fun of management if you do not see the process as worth it. "
Sometimes artists forget how they had to be successful. For them, its first manager turns into something like an old guitar they want trade to a new glow red. On both sides of this scenario, the artist has forgotten how their former association helped get to where they are, and that history - especially the trust and communication built in a manager / client relationship - is invaluable.
This is not to say that you should never change direction or fire your manager. If you feel that their needs are not being met, or that their interests or money are not protected, or you do not like each other anymore plain, you must participate ways. But associating humble beginnings with the " small " time can put it in the hands of someone who was not there when you are broke, unknown, and lose faith. Even if things are upturn in its next manager, the minute things seem periclitante, you can find themselves abandoned by someone whose loyalty to you began after all the hardest work was done.
& 39; I do not have a problem picking up an artist without dealing, I have a problem picking up an artist without experience. " - Janet Billig
How do for a manager interested in me?
If you have no record deal or solid interest (an expression negligible cake in the netherworld of A & R), and depending on how far you are in your career, you may not be able to attract a top-level manager unless you really blow it or outside it. Still, there is much that you can - and should - do to his band calling for a good manager, regardless of their label.
" I tend to not get really small artists who have not fulfilled a number of goals for themselves ", says Janet Billig. " It is really important that an artist go through the process of recording an album, generating press, the building of a movement, and booking and promoting concerts. I do not have a problem picking up an artist without dealing, I have a problem picking up and work with an artist without experience. "
Steve Hutton & 39; s approach adds some gut instinct to the mixture. " I get in trouble and have problems if I have to convince me to manage a band and not feel it immediately. I look for a good rock band with great songs, with the people who are relatively attractive to a certain age, have a Similar vibe, and looks like a part of the same team. You do not want a player who looks like Korn is on bass and a guitar player who appears with him in Backstreet Boys - who will not work. And that will always clich is true - it is all about the songs ".
& 39; If you can not have your brother-in-law of the indie label to get back to take him on the three CDs you sent them, you just might need someone with contacts & 39; . -- PW Long
Do I really need a manager?
My former managing customer PW Long came up with the following definitive list that you can use to answer this question for yourself.
Your band is finally getting some label interest. You are wondering if it& 39;s time to get help navigating the dangerous waters. And certainly, if you just made a big label you need someone to protect their integrity of the A & A person who wants your techno-metal-hop outfit to fill a slot to support Ani DiFranco & 39; s tour and a radio department clamoring for you to make a Hooter & 39; s grand opening. Perhaps, on the other hand, can not even get his brother-in-law of the indie label to get back to take him on the three CDs you sent them. If so, his career may only need a kick-off of - someone with contacts.
You need a manager if
1. You have a major label deal. If you have swung your record deal without a manager, the label will either recommend or require you to get one - now.
2. You have more success with the indie-label releases, earnings gig, products and goods that you can monitor more effectively.
3. His band of income and popularity are stagnating, and you need to get your music into the hands of people who can generate income for their band (record labels, music publishers, film music supervisors, etc.).
Manager criteria
1. Make sure that your manager will be easily accessible and have the necessary time to devote to your project. If your selection pool is limited to friends and acquaintances, realize that their friendship will probably become strained, if not completely compromised.
2. Find someone whose reputation and methods can not compromise its image of the band. A good manager is aggressive and firm, but also careful not to embitter of many people.
3. Make sure he / she is an ardent supporter of his music. His manager of the enthusiasm and confidence about its future must be infectious.
What to know going into
1. The manager of bandwidth and must agree on what to expect from each other. Set " manager ". Will include booking gigs, mailing posters, sending press materials, etc?
2. Subscribe to an agreement that is fair to all. This should avoid misunderstandings when - after a period of failed efforts - the manager says: " You need me $ 5000.00. " You say: " Not according to the contract, no. "
3. Pay the manager of the percentage agreed to his effort whenever possible. This keeps all stakeholders to be actively involved.
4. Demand performance of its management. At the same time you should show the same commitment that you expect them: Do what you say you will do.
In all cases, use common sense. Trust the instincts of the band-member with the best judgement of character. If you do not have a solid management list of candidates, ask friends from other bands of success guidance. If such efforts appear nothing, Pollstar & 39; s quarterly " agencies " issue offers a comprehensive list of management and booking agencies. Good luck.
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