Artist Management

Here is a quick bit of information of Artist Management, including what a manager does, what skills they need and for the artists out there, how to find a good manager. Hope this is useful;


Managers -

• Look for bands and artists to work with
• They need a good ear for music and an understanding of the current market
• Book-keeping – managing the bands accounts
• Getting gigs for the band
1. For this they need to know about the venues e.g. what sort of music they put on.
• Negotiate contracts with the record label
• Can take anything from 5% to 20% of bands income
• They need to work closely with all aspects of the music industry and understand them. If a bands on a small label the manager may have to take on some of the responsibilities of the A&R man.

What skills managers need –

• Good people skills are essential in order for a manager to get the best for the band, and in doing so the best for themselves. They also need to be confident and assertive with lots of contacts.
• They need patience when having to deal band members e.g. getting them onto the tour bus at 6 in the morning or making sure there not so drunk they can’t play a gig.
• They need knowledge of all areas of the music industry, in order to know there own role within it and to know whose responsible if something goes wrong.
• They need IT skills to do the financial aspect of managing.

Finding the best manager –

• An artist should want to see financial records – where is the money coming from, is it even coming?
• Professional feedback – to tell you if your going wrong and how to sort it out
• What bands have they previously managed and how many, what genre. A manager who is already managing 10 bands may not be good as he won’t have much time for you.
• They need to be trustworthy as it would be very easy for them to skim money off your profits.

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