CONSIDERING ARTIST MANAGEMENT AS A PROFESSION
Whatever your title—manager, personal manager, artist manager, music manager, brand manager, or representative—managing an artist in the music business means that you are becoming a part of every facet of someone else’s life. As a self-managed artist, all of that goes without saying. There is virtually no aspect of the professional and personal corners of an artist’s life that a manager doesn’t encounter on a regular basis. Helping direct the career success of an artist requires significant involvement in their life. A manager who is new to the profession will find it to be immensely time-consuming and slow to deliver rewards, yet energizing with its fast pace and regular challenges.
The music business swirls in its own continuous change, and the result has been the shrinking influence of large record labels in the careers of artists. Instead of being an adjunct to the work of the label on behalf of the artist, managers are at the hub of the artist’s career, providing many of the services formerly handled by labels, and they wield considerable control over the success of music careers. Labels sell less music, and in response, continue to cut overheads in an attempt to remain in business. Labels have traditionally cornered the distribution of music, but online sales have significantly reduced the need for a distribution system designed to deliver pallets of boxed physical product to warehouses. As traditional labels see their roles diminishing, the opportunities for managers of recording artists have never had a brighter future—today, many management companies provide most of the services of a record label and some have replaced the label by recording and marketing music on behalf of their artists. Clearly, a career in artist management requires a continuing—almost daily—education by paying attention to what is happening in the music business and other industries and events that affect it, and what that means to the artists they manage.
Artists in the music business are sometimes managed by attorneys. But there is a reason why professional managers are the best choice for artists to manage their careers. One of the top entertainment attorneys in the country once said over lunch that attorneys are not necessarily the best choices to provide career management to artists, primarily because of their conservative nature as practicing professionals. Lawyers are disposed to advise their clients on ways to conduct business without creating conflict. Today’s artist manager, in order to stand as the strongest advocate possible for an artist in a highly competitive industry, must be able to push that advocacy to the limit—without overstepping the boundary of business ethics. Attorneys have become effective managers, but doing so generally requires that they step away from practicing law.
Be Creative, Informed, and Connected
Today’s artist managers must be willing to encourage their artists to take calculated risks and then support their clients when they do. This doesn’t mean they take chances with an artist’s career. Rather, they involve the artist in promotional ideas that get the artists outside of their comfort zone and encourage them to be open to opportunities to help them reach their goals.
While you’re managing someone else’s career, you also must manage your own. That means you must keep up to date on the entire music business. Certainly technology and changes in the legal environment of the music business create new directions and challenges for artists, but they also provide opportunities. As a manager, you must be aware of trends and how they affect artists on your management roster. That means regularly reading publications like Billboard and Pollstar, attending industry conventions, and subscribing to online industry headline services like those provided by Billboard.biz and AllAccess.com.
Veteran artist manager, Ken Kragen, titled a book he co-wrote Life Is a Contact Sport; in it, he discusses the importance of developing and servicing a personal network of contacts. Being able to get that telephone call returned is among the most important assets an artist manager has. Without the connections—either direct or indirect—it is difficult to get business done on behalf of the artist. For the aspiring artist manager yesterday wasn’t too soon to begin building that network.
Understand People and Business
Developing meaningful interpersonal relationships can be challenging, but it is more important for the artist manager than any other skill or talent. The work of an artist in the music business is a web of negotiated deals that requires the manager to have patience, an understanding of human nature, great communication skills, and a solid reputation of dependability. Each of these traits requires cultivation, but each will also become the foundation of a successful career in management.
Aside from the music, business is the other constant in the career of an artist manager. As surely as music connects with an individual’s passion, it doesn’t become commercial until it’s good for business. And to conduct business on behalf of the artist, the artist manager must develop an understanding of team-building, marketing, budgeting, and sales as they apply to the income streams available to the artist.
There are frequent references in this book to a 360° deal, also known as a multiple rights recording contract. This term means that a company/label is entitled to a percentage of some or all of the income streams of an artist in the music business. It is most often applied to recording contracts that give labels part of the non-traditional earnings of new artists that they sign, such as part of their merchandise or ticket sales in addition to profits from marketing their recorded music. Similar arrangements are part of some artist management contracts that provide the manager a small percentage of ownership in an artist’s songwriting. As you read this book, you will see that the artist manager in today’s music business is actually in the best position to direct, profit from, and control 360 degrees of the artist’s career.
Let’s begin with a look at the business and science of management. For the reader who is relatively new to management science, this chapter is the starting point. It puts the balance of this artist management book into the context of the basic principles of management. As you will see in the chapters that follow, managing an artist in the music industry—whether it is your own band or an artist—uses science, business, and a good measure of creativity to achieve success. This is especially true of the music business because of its nature as an industry that can offer high rewards for the relatively few who become successful—where success is often measured by affluence.
As we consider principles of management, it is important to understand that the goals of artist management are different from those of other areas of the music business. Record companies are in the business of marketing and selling recorded music and related products. Traditional radio companies are in the business of building audiences to lease to advertisers. Advertisers then purchase spot advertising from the radio station that airs within the programming. Concert promoters present live entertainment experiences. Artist managers are in the business of developing long-term careers for their artists, which includes touring, merchandising, sponsorships, licensing, recording, songwriting, and the full exploitation of all of their talents. Some artist management companies combine all of these functions for the artist under one umbrella.
As we look at management principles, it is important to understand that the work of an artist manager in the music business is somewhat different from other kinds of managers. The traditional relationship a manager has with an employer is one that has a reporting hierarchy, and by definition is very structured and “corporate” in nature. For example, a copy writer reports to a creative services manager, who reports to the director of marketing, who reports to the VP of sales, who reports to the president; an artist manager only reports to the artist. Traditional managers use the resources of owners to ultimately sell goods or provide services for a profit, and, in many ways, that is what the artist manager does.
Much of the work of an artist manager is product development, sales and promotion, planning, and managing the work of the team around the artist. The relationship between the artist (employer) and the manager (employee) is considerably closer than that of typical managers in business, and is much more like a partnership. The level of trust and the strength of the relationship between the two are often compared to those found in successful marriages. That kind of association of a manager with an employer is rarely found in the business world. However, there are times when an artist manager takes on most of the traditional roles of management as he or she oversees the management of the artist as a brand, with the artist being a creator of art and entertainment experiences.
Nearly every text, research paper, and discussion on the topic of management embraces four classic functions: planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. These functions all apply to the work of the artist manager in the music business.
The difference between success and failure in any endeavor can often be tied to planning. Luck by itself can sometimes deliver success, but coupling it with a well-designed plan can put the manager in a position to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. It is very satisfying when opportunity opens a door to implement an active plan to take advantage of it. For example, young Josh Groban was asked by award-winning producer David Foster to replace an ailing Andrea Bocelli in the 1999 Grammy television rehearsals with Celine Dion. His performance at the rehearsal was powerful enough to help launch his multiplatinum recording career as an artist. Groban’s planning and preparation for a career as an artist put him in a position to benefit from the lucky timing of Foster’s telephone call. Eight years later, he had the top-selling album in the US, and by 2014 the U.S. career sales of his recorded music was well over a quarter-billion dollars.
When a leader or manager identifies worthy goals, he or she often collaborates with stakeholders (those who stand to profit or lose from an endeavor) to develop a set of logical steps to achieve them. Those steps, or plans, become the framework for successfully meeting goals. I credit Dr Carter McNamara in the first edition of this book with saying, “Planning is identifying where you want to go, why you want to go there, how you will get there, what you need in order to get there, and how you will know if you’re there or not” (2014). His ideas on planning in this simple sentence are the best guides you will find. His current website is listed at the end of this chapter.
It is easy to see why planning is often viewed as a road map that helps define the route to success. A career plan results from collaboration between the manager and the artist, which provides direction and milestones to reach goals. This book frequently addresses career planning essentials.
Organizing the manager’s work is closely tied to the planning function. Organizing is assembling the necessary resources to carry out a plan and to put those resources into a logical order. It also involves defining the responsibilities of the artist’s team, and managing everyone’s time for efficiency—especially the artist’s. The manager allocates the amount of time necessary to follow each step of a plan to get the intended results.
The manager of any enterprise also seeks the funding or financing necessary to pay for the plan. The grandest example—long before the great recession—is Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca’s successful pursuit of hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from the U.S. government in the late 1970s to save his ailing company from bankruptcy. For the artist manager, financing and funding the plan for a new artist’s career could include a combination of an accelerated touring schedule, finding sponsors, relying on assistance from fans who offer financial help, asking for help from friends and family, and helping the artist secure loans. Managers also recruit and employ labor and expertise to put the plan into operation and to see it through to its success.
The manager of an artist in the music business forecasts the need for members of the artist’s team, and plans for the time when their services will become an expense to the operating budget for the artist. The manager also draws any other necessary resources together, creates a logical structure for the organization of those resources, develops a career plan, and executes it. An artist looks to the manager to take the chaos of a prospective career and organize it into the prospect for success.
Managers provide a leadership function for the artist and their team by ensuring that the talents and energy of the team are directed toward the career success of the artist. The work of a manager in directing activities is to take the resources needed to reach goals and use them efficiently to achieve success. For example, an artist manager often hires a company or an employee to oversee the successful application of digital media strategies to the promotional plan for the artist’s career. (Promotion and marketing are elements of the overall career plan.) This means the manager coordinates the energies of the professional team members working toward the artist’s career goals, monitors income and the expenditure of funds, and plans and manages time. And all of this work requires that the artist manager keeps everyone directed toward achieving the career plan objectives.
An artist manager sets up a team of support for the artist. Some are on the active payroll and others are used to support the plan on an as-needed basis. The term “team” as applied to the group of professionals who support the artist is indeed a group with a common goal: a successful career for the artist. However, it is rare that the team as a group will assemble for a meeting about the artist. Instead, the artist manager provides each with continuous communication about the activities of the artist, and draws expertise or assistance from each member of the artist’s support team as their help is needed. And members of the team communicate with each other as necessary. For example, the artist’s booking agent forwards budgets and offers from promoters to the artist’s manager, business manager, and perhaps accountant, and then waits for feedback from each.
Any manager who has created a plan follows its implementation by controlling all of the resources required to achieve the goals of the plan. When the resources (time, people, equipment, financing) have been assembled and the plan is underway, the manager monitors how effectively the plan is being carried out and makes any necessary adjustments in order to be efficient with the use of resources and to be effective in advancing the plan.
The business of managing an artist in the competitive world of the music business means developing plans and an implementation strategy in an effort to control as much of the artist’s developing career as possible. The manager must be realistic in what he or she feels able to control, but it also means that he or she must be flexible enough in encounters with reality to adjust to the circumstances. For example, a manager should anticipate that a new and promising artist will not be able to give a powerful performance at each audition, and should be prepared to put the most positive “spin” on the result.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND PERSONAL TRAITS
The management skills discussed in this section are an indication of the breadth of the practical understanding of people and the music business required by an artist manager. For the prospective artist manager, these skills constitute a guide to learning; for the active manager, they are an affirmation of the truly special talents of management professionals who guide the careers of artists in the music business.
Managing an artist’s career requires interaction with people of all personality types and under many pleasant—and some unpleasant—circumstances. Studying why people react as they do to events in their lives is the best way for the prospective artist manager to learn. Among the most challenging can be those times when it is necessary to manage around the ego of another. The music business is one in which egos thrive, with many trying to be “somebody” or trying to assert that they already are somebody, and often these very people can be the gatekeepers to the next step in the artist’s career. Carefully playing into the ego in this circumstance is an effective way of using human nature to the manager’s advantage. Before playing into a gatekeeper’s ego, though, the manager will need to know enough about the individual and his or her ego drivers. That is, knowing the particular human will let you know his or her human nature. For example, if the manager is trying to recruit the services of a top publicist who is reluctant to take on an additional client, that conversation must include references to a specific artist’s promotional campaign in which the publicist was a key component in another artist’s success. Explain that you want nothing less for your client. The manager should also acknowledge any awards or special recognition the publicist has received resulting from their recent work. An understanding that personal achievement is important to professionals gives the manager an opportunity to service the gatekeeper’s ego and open a conversation.
Leadership is an important skill, or trait, of an artist manager at the beginning of an artist’s career or at the beginning of the relationship. The influence of an artist manager on the early planning and development of an artist’s career is what helps the artist to develop a focus and an organized purpose. At this point, we are merely acknowledging the importance of leadership skills to help direct an artist’s career, but we take a deeper look into both leadership and coaching and how they apply to a career in artist management in Chapter 14.
Coaching skills for the artist manager are closely related to those of leadership. Leadership seeks to guide the broader, long-term goals of the artist’s career, but coaching involves short-term work toward an outcome that improves the artistry of the artist. For example, the manager-coach helps the artist improve a competency such as being able to develop more animation in his or her stage presence. Acquiring the skills of a coach requires that the artist manager study others who coach (regardless of the sport or profession), and draw from observed styles and techniques. Certainly, most managers will be unable to coach an artist in all of the creative and technical areas necessary, so it is important that the manager has a good network of specialists who might include vocal coaches, physical trainers, stage direction coaches, interview coaches, and more.
If an artist manager in the music business cannot get a call returned, he or she is ineffective, so building a network of contacts and relationships early in a career is extremely important. To build a network, a manager must be willing to become involved in both the business and the social sides of the music industry. A starting point for a new manager is to become a junior associate with an existing firm where a personal network of contacts can be developed. Drawing from the networking resources of an established management company is a convenient way to become recognized as a manager and build a reputation.
Industry events—such as conventions, awards shows, conferences, and seminars—are good places to meet key players who may be helpful in the careers of both the manager and their artists. Examples would include the annual College Music Journal (CMJ) conference for U.S. college radio stations, the Billboard Hip Hop conference in Atlanta, the Pollstar convention, the Country Radio Seminar held each year in Nashville, and events presented by the UK’s MusicTank. When participating in events like these, it is important to set personal objectives to optimize the time and money spent invested in attending, because there are numerous social and showcase distractions that can take important time away from intended business purposes. For example, set a goal of becoming introduced to ten key people, and then set up a luncheon meeting with at least two of them to get to know them better and to draw them closer into a personal network of professional contacts. Be creative and aggressive in building a business network because the relationships you develop are key to your personal career success and to the success of your clients.
Perhaps the most important aspect of networking in the music business is understanding that important relationships are built through face time, not Facebook. Social media work well when the objective is to keep someone informed, but they are no substitute for meetings and phone calls that build a business bond based on personal chemistry.
When the relationship has been developed, an important gesture to them is to request a link through the business social media site, LinkedIn. This is the largest networking site for professionals. It’s not about the number of “friends” or “likes” that you have as with personal social networking sites. Rather, it’s about the quality of the people you choose to include in your professional network. It keeps business associates current on you and your projects, and remains a resource if you are looking for someone’s help or want to ask your network for recommendations. And it’s a useful tool for looking for new career opportunities.
Closely related to networking are social skills. For artist managers, being social means having a congenial and approachable style that gives the appearance of being comfortable in many quasi-social and business settings. Appearing comfortable in a social setting—whether the manager is or isn’t actually comfortable—gives an outward look of confidence. Managers should know how to engage others in conversations appropriate for the situation, how to begin and end those conversations, and how to make them productive. For example, a time-tested conversation opener is, “How are things with you?” which will let you know what is important at the moment to the other people and lets them talk about one of their favorite subjects—themselves. Another social skill is knowing the appropriate attire for different types of business meetings and events. Not every artist manager enjoys social settings, but being a part of them and looking the part are requirements of the job.
Being aware of political circumstances of companies and personalities within the music business is important for the artist manager to keep in mind. In this circumstance, “political” does not refer to a party or candidate affiliation; it has to do with the negative and positive business relationships between people in the music industry, and how they affect the ability of the artist manager to conduct business on behalf of his or her clients. Understanding business alliances between individuals and companies can help the manager save time by avoiding unproductive pursuits and focusing on those with a likely positive outcome. For example, the manager may not want to hire for one of his or her clients a publicist who was fired for good cause from a prospective record company. It might make good business sense, but the politics of the situation could make the development of a record deal with that company difficult.
Having good communication skills means the manager knows how to continuously connect with others, choosing between the written letter, email, tweets, instant and text messaging, telephone, fax, social networks, and every wireless device that will ever be invented. The manager will be interacting with all parts of the music business and must be prepared to use the communication tools that are favored by that sector of the industry. For example, radio promotion people who work for record labels depend on wireless devices to continuously communicate with their label and the radio stations in their region. Managers must also be advisors to their artists on which forms of communication they should use, and when and with whom they should use them.
Each form of communication has its own protocol when used in the business setting, and the artist manager should be sensitive about when and how to use each. Former Sony music executive Jack Lameier, for example, championed a voice mail courtesy that urges callers to office phones to leave their telephone number twice to prevent having to play a long message more than once to retrieve the number. Wireless phones display telephone numbers, but many office systems do not. If you don’t know which type of device you are calling, leave your name and phone number twice. Email is another communication tool that sometimes takes on the loosely written style of a text message, but it is important to understand that email has become a semiformal medium of business communication that doesn’t require smiley faces. As author of this book, I receive frequent emails from aspiring artists, and it is easy to tell from their email style which ones are prepared for the business of music and which are not.
Artist managers spend much of their time planning and organizing on behalf of their artists. Later chapters in this book describe in great detail the ways these skills are applied to the manager’s work.
The best managers also work creatively. The hugely competitive nature of the music business requires that managers must push their own creative skills to their limits in order to advocate on behalf of their clients. Simply doing what every other manager does is not enough to gain recognition for an artist’s talents and potential. An example of using creativity on behalf of artists is a bold idea by Big Machine Records CEO, Scott Borchetta. Early in his career, his idea to attract attention for one of the artists he was promoting at an industry convention was to hire an entire high school band to march into Nashville’s Wild Horse Saloon. He and his artist received considerable attention and left much of his competition saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Fast forward to today: his creative skills now guide the career of one of the biggest stars on the planet, Taylor Swift.
Artist managers are persistent. Persistence in this environment is defined as a quiet determination without being pushy. Remember that, to be effective, the manager must navigate around gatekeepers, and an overly aggressive style can be offensive to some of those whose help is needed on behalf of the manager’s artists. However, the manager who quietly waits for an email or for the telephone to ring has clients whose careers will never ignite.
The best managers understand salesmanship and use those skills to create the interest of others in their clients. Specifically, they are the chief advocates, promoters, and cheerleaders in the music business for their artists. Through salesmanship, they use persuasion to influence and motivate industry gatekeepers on behalf of their artists.
Artist managers have a good sense of business, and are good at budgeting both time and money. Effective and efficient use of time can keep goals, strategies, and tactics on track. Planning the financial aspects of an artist’s career assures that the necessary funding is available when it is needed to support the career plan.
Artist managers have the necessary technical skills to deal with everyone from digital media planners to the sound technician at an artist’s performance. It does not mean that they must be able to perform the tasks, but they must know enough about the technical aspects of the tools that support an artist’s career to ensure they hire the best they can afford.
Managers are also skilled at keeping themselves goal- and results-oriented. This means they keep their focus on the artist’s career, and they keep the artist from being distracted by the frustrations that go along with pursuing a competitive, high-rewards career. Artists, too, must maintain a focus on goals—and it is the challenge of the manager to keep them motivated.
Problem solving, the final skill covered, is one of those “must have” tools for a career in artist management. This can include defusing conflicts, resolving interpersonal issues, finding alternative ways to get results, and being the “go to” person when major components of an event for the artist begin to fall apart. When confidence in every other possible solution is shaken, the manager is prepared to take action and solve it. And almost as important as problem solving is the ability to find problems and deal with them before they become something to which people must react.
BUILDING A CAREER IN ARTIST MANAGEMENT
An artist manager grows in expertise in many of the ways managers in other industries do, and some approaches for growth are especially applicable to the work of someone in the music business. Here are a few such strategies that will help build a manager’s position within the profession:
• Give yourself a good self-assessment by looking at the strengths you have and how you will use those to your and your clients’ best advantage.
• In every circumstance, be professional. There is no better way to build and strengthen a reputation.
• If you work within an artist management firm, do all you can for the success of the company, not just for your clients.
• Build and maintain a network of contacts. That means calling on your contacts for assistance when you need it, but also offering help when they don’t expect it.
• Be sure the management firm you choose is a good match of styles, and be sure the artists you manage are a good fit with your personality and style.
• Look for a mentor who can guide your development and be a sounding board for issues you face in management. The best mentors keep you out of the quicksand.
• The smartest managers recognize that, for genuine growth, a career requires continuous education. Attend an occasional seminar or take an online course, read relevant blogs, and bookmark websites that can keep you current in the music business.
• Know the business etiquette for the music industry.
• Be prepared for career setbacks and brace yourself for recovery. Not every project you’re involved in is going to be successful—know when it’s time to cut your losses, and then move on.
• Keep an ongoing record of the things you achieve for yourself and for your clients, and document your public service work as a reminder to yourself where you contribute time.
• Be a mentor to your eventual replacement, even though you and others think you are irreplaceable.
• Be better than your competing artist managers, and become known as an expert.
• Look successful even when your career is still a work in progress.
Reference
McNamara, Carter. “How To Do Planning.” Management Help. Available online at http://managementhelp.org/planning/ (accessed 7 January 2014).