5 Things You Should Know About Music Managers

The music industry is generally ran by music managers. These are the guys and girls in the trenches. They help artists with contract negotiations, push marketing plans forward, attract corporate sponsors, and beyond. Music Managers are the face of the artist in his or her absence. They “make things happen.”

This article is geared for the independent artist who feels they are ready for management, but may need a little more information about how artist management works, how managers get paid, or what the typical daily role of a manager -vs- the daily role of an artist may be. This article will list the top ten questions I have received over the years through my consulting website and the answers will follow.

1. What does a manager do?

A Manager handles the career of an artists. The best analogy I have ever heard was from super music manager Marc Oswald. In essence, Marc states that an artist should think of his or her career like a wagon wheel. The manager is at the middle of the wheel, the hub if you will, and the spokes coming of the hub are the different areas of an artists career including marketing, record label, live shows, publicity, merchandising, corporate sponsorship/endorsement, and everything else a music artist does within his or her career. The manager’s job is to keep all the areas of the artist career in balance, Think about that wagon wheel for a minute. When all the spokes of the wheel are the same length, the wheel rolls forward easily. If one or two of the spokes are broken, the wheel may go down the road, but it will be a bumpy ride. I have paraphrased here, but I feel you get the point. A music manager keeps all the areas of an artists career on the same path and working together so the artist can move forward as smoothly as possible.

2. How does a music manager get paid?

Music Managers only get paid when an artist makes money. A typical music managers contract with an artist is for 10% - 20% of the artist’s gross earnings. Meaning, for every dollar an artist makes, on anything, a manager will make anywhere from .10 - .20 cents. The managers percentage is off the top. This means he or she will get paid on the full amount the artist earns before an artist deducts the cost of doing business. Here is an example: Let’s say an artist sells 10 T-shirts at a show for $10 each. The gross earnings for the T-shirt sales is $100 dollars. The manager would get 10-20% depending on his or her contract with the artist. However, the artist did not really make $100. The cost of each T-shirt was $3 each. So in reality, the Artist only netted $70 for the sale of the $10 T-shirts. This is why it is important to understand “gross” earnings -vs- “net” earnings. Music managers that are new may be willing to negotiate their fee to be based on “net” earnings. High power and established managers will always ask for earnings to be based of “gross” earnings.

3. Does a music manager pay for an artist to record a CD, get merchandise, etc.?

No. Record Labels pay for artist expenses or independent artists pay for their own expenses. Managers only manage an artists career. They do not come out of pocket for anything. In fact, most music managers charge a daily “doing business” fee that will cover their “cost of doing daily business.” This includes a phone fee, gas fee, parking fee in major Cities, and “entertainment” fee for entertaining prospective business partners on the artists behalf. No matter if the music manager is brand new to the business or an established music manager mogul, an artist will have to pay “doing business expenses.”

4. Does a music manager book gigs?

Yes and no. It really depends on who your manager is and where they are at in their career. Major music managers do not book gigs. They may negotiate gigs and then pass them to an artists booking manager for final contracts, but in general a major music manager will not book gigs. Up and coming or emerging music managers may where many hats and book gigs for artists as part of their daily duties. They are more willing to do this for two reasons; One, it helps them establish themselves among the community as a manager that “gets things done.” And two, they want to get the name of their emerging artist or group out to the community in any way they can so they make additional money. As an artist or group gains fans, gets more known, and schedules more and more commitments it will become obvious when a music manager simply will not have the time to handle booking duties for the artist or group.

5. What does a music management contract look like?

It is a piece of paper with a bunch of text on it. Ok, we all know that, I just wanted to see if you were still awake! A management contract can be as simple as stating that the manager agrees to handle the artists business duties for a percentage of the money earned or it can be as drawn out as detailing every possible scenario that may arise when managing an artist’s music career. Yes, this is a bit vague, however, there really is not enough room to detail an entire music management contract within this article... that will be another article for the future. I will discuss some interesting points that need to be considered when signing a contract with a music manager.

- First, music management contracts are for a stated time period, usually from 1 to 3 years in length. Here is the kicker, there will be a payout clause if the contract is not renewed. Meaning, if an artist decides to go with another music manager at the end of the contract the artist must continue paying the manager for his or her services for up to three years after they have parted ways. In most cases it is a gradually decreasing amount for the time specified. Here is an example; Let’s say you have worked with a music manager for three years. They have worked hard at building your career and have gained a lot of contacts, business connections, and endorsements. At the end of the three years you decide to start using another music manager. You next few years worth of earning potential will be directly tied to the contacts and negotiations your original manager handled for you. So the gradual pay out to the original manager may look something like this - Year one - 75% of the original agreed percentage, year two - 50% of the original agreed percentage, and year three - 25% of the original agreed percentage. This may seem unfair to emerging artists, however, this is industry standard practice and it really is a fair deal for both the music manager and artist. Now, for emerging artists and music managers this gradual payout may have a much shorter life span. Typically, the life span of the gradual payout would only cover one year to eighteen months. And before you ask the question, yes, your new manager will still expect to receive his or her full percentage while you are paying your original manager his or her gradual payout.

- Music management contracts can be very vague. It is important that you read the entire contract and ensure that expectations of you and the manager are clearly listed somewhere in the contract. If they are not, you will have a tough time getting out of a contract and stopping the necessity of paying the gradual payout clause of the contract.

- Some music managers try to be slick and put an option in the contract where they have the option to continue the relationship but you as the artist do not have that option. Do not sign any contract that is based on a stated time period with any type of option to continue at the end of the time period. Your contract with your manager needs to be for a stated time period only.

- Music managers do need a “doing business fund” to handle the daily activities of running your career. However, a stated “doing business fund” can become costly. I encourage you to only agree to paying for his or her expenses rather than provide a daily “fee” for doing business. Some managers try to state an actual dollar figure in their contracts that the artist must pay.

Conclusion

Artists and groups need music managers to handle their day to day business activities. They simplify contract negotiations, free up time for an artist to concentrate on their core job of creating music, and they ensure that an emerging artist, that may be new to the business of music, is getting the best deal possible for their time, effort, and creativity. The relationship between music manager and artist can be a great one or it can be a horrible experience. Knowing what you are getting into, using good judgement, and making sure expectations are clearly stated in the music management contract are the best ways of protecting yourself and ensuring your relationship with your music manager is a great one!

Peace,

jai
“Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!”