Preparing to manage
The short course on preparing to manage artists is this: get some education, get some experience, build a network, find some clients, and then go to work managing. This chapter includes details on some of those steps, but it also includes a deeper look into the realities of the business, and the character of the relationships that a manager develops in the industry. And most importantly, it will help managers understand realities that have an impact on their effectiveness at advancing the careers of artist clients.
MANAGEMENT IS PART OF A BIG BUSINESS
Managing artists in the music business is done within the context of the general business environment, which is influenced every day by the economy, technology, politics, social and cultural factors, the price of energy, and international tension.
Likewise, the practice of artist management is done within the environment of the music industry, which deals with issues such as illegal file sharing, shrinking market shares, competition by other entertainment media, and rapidly advancing technology. For example, Chris Anderson’s disputed idea of The Long Tail (2006) suggests to the music business that the industry is moving from being one that is hit-driven to one that serves countless niches of appetites for unique music. Anderson’s theory is fueled by the speed of the development of technology and the speed of its adoption by consumers of music. Alternatively, Anita Elberse says in the August 2008 issue of Harvard Business Review her research demonstrates that entertainment continues to be driven by music and motion pictures that are defined as hits that have broad appeal to consumers.
A few years ago Live Nation was researching ways to expand its business and discovered that artist managers and booking agents globally earn a combined $10 billion (Leeds, 2006). Agents and managers are responsible for connecting artists with career income, and both earn a percentage of the economic activity they generate for artists and for themselves.
The International Federation of Phonographic Industry provided its estimates of earnings by the music business from a global perspective (see Table 2.1), showing its broad impact as well as areas of opportunity to managers of artists’ careers.
An artist manager typically earns 10–25% of the earnings of an artist in the music business. However, if no artists under contract with the manager are earning enough to cover their own expenses, the reality of when commissionable money flows as income to the artist can be a shock to new managers if they’re not prepared for it. Recording royalties from large labels can be two years or more from the release date (assuming the album recoups advances to the artist), and income from the sale of tickets to performances can be minimal to nonexistent at first. Publishing royalties can be slow to develop if the artist is new to songwriting. So a new manager should be prepared to finance his or her own management business for three to five years. There are other ways to enter the business of being a professional artist manager, which are discussed in this chapter. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of a manager’s compensation is presented in Chapter 5, where we examine the contract between the artist and the manager.
The aspiring artist manager needs a basic understanding of the entire music industry. Without it, the manager will never know about opportunities that he or she has missed on behalf of artist clients. Earning a degree in business is very useful—especially one that emphasizes marketing, brand management, and salesmanship. Earning a degree with an emphasis in the recording industry can give a graduate a very broad, contemporary look at the business that many active players in the industry do not have. A degree in law is helpful, as is a masters in business administration, although an undergraduate degree in business gives the manager a good general working vocabulary and understanding of the business world, which help effectively manage artists.
Aside from the classroom, an especially effective way to acquire knowledge is to work for an artist management firm. Opportunities at management companies are limited, so a very basic, entry-level position may be the best that is available, but the experience will permit the aspiring manager a place to develop a hands-on understanding of the artist management business, and help build that important personal network of industry contacts.
Another option is to seek an internship or apprenticeship with a management and production company that is willing to put the aspiring manager on the road for a season of touring. Many of the basic issues that a manager regularly handles come up on a tour, and one can get a good education about management issues by being in that environment.
UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF ARTIST MANAGEMENT
Any business is primarily providing a form of customer service to a target market, and artist managers must keep a good working definition of the customers that the artist serves. Certainly, the fans who buy tickets, recordings, merchandise, and digital products are first on the list. However, others that artists and their managers serve include concert promoters, talent bookers, sponsors, members of the artist’s team, and anyone else who relies on the artist to provide something. Striving to promote good relationships with people who rely on the artist creates the kind of reputation that draws and keeps the kinds of professionals who are willing to invest their energies in the success of the artist’s career.
Decision making about an artist’s career certainly has to do with business, but there are also decisions to be made that deal with art and artistry. As tough as some of those decisions are for the artist manager, management icon Lee Iacocca puts it best: “If I had to sum up in a word what makes a good manager, I’d say decisiveness” (Iacocca and Novak, 37). Often being decisive is easier to say than to do. For example, choosing the commercial viability of a single recording from a ten-cut album of music requires a certain intuition based on experience. In the music business, it often is referred to as making a decision based on your gut feeling. Former BMG Music Group CEO Clive Davis was said to have golden ears, because into his seventies, he continued to hear the sound of commercial musical success when choosing which artists to sign. Although Davis used a different part of his anatomy, it is the same concept as using your gut to guide your decisions. Artist management today requires professionals to step away from the standard strategies that have been used in the past to manage careers of artists in the music business. Some things remain as they always have been, but there will be times when a manager must rely on that special inner feeling to direct the artist to an opportunity because it feels right, or, to guide them away from it because it does not feel right. There are no criteria for this kind of guidance. You just need to follow your gut.
The stress that comes with managing an artist is set in motion when the manager begins promoting the artist’s career. When launching a career for someone else, there is constant pressure to plan and to try alternatives that will work. On the other hand, when an artist has become popular, there are demands on his or her time that the manager must try to meet, because an artist’s career in the music business has a limited shelf life, and there is an urgency to draw as much from it as possible while demand is there.
Artist management causes pressure for those whose style prefers order and predictability. Although an artist’s manager is an advocate and is viewed as someone who makes things happen, managers cannot predict when people will respond. That means that the manager must always be prepared to react, regardless of the time of day or the day of the week. So an artist manager does not have set office hours with weekends and holidays off and a guaranteed two-week vacation each year.
Artist managers are ultimately responsible for the success of every performance an artist makes, and many of those performances are rehearsed during the week and performed over weekends. When you add in the other dimensions of an artist’s career and multiply it times the number of artists in a manager’s portfolio, it is easy to see that 24/7 easily could become 25/8 if it were possible.
With the stress of the work, it becomes very important and necessary to balance personal life with work as an artist manager. This book advises and guides artist managers in the creation of plans on behalf of artist clients; however, actively planning for personal time can keep artist managers refreshed and have them prepared to handle the business of managing careers. Planning for that balance between work and personal life can minimize the burnout that can result without it. Occasional long weekends are equivalent to a power nap—they’re a quick refresher and then it’s back to work. Plan for longer breaks. Block out the time and take at least a week away from management responsibilities. Without an extended break from the office, it is impossible to genuinely break the frenetic cadence of the office environment, with its cache of wireless and electronic devices that keep you lashed to your work. Put your watch in a drawer and give your digital assistant to your human assistant for a week.
Perhaps the best strategy an artist manager can use to handle the pressures of managing within the music business is to learn to put stressors in perspective. The most effective artist managers are those who are not prone to take the actions or inactions of others personally. In nearly all circumstances, the response or lack of response by others has little to do with your work as the artist’s manager; rather, it has to do with their personal and professional agendas.
Knowing to expect some of the stressors that accompany a career of artist management can help a manager approach issues professionally and with the aplomb that keeps them from becoming personal. As you consider the realities outlined in this chapter, remember that they usually are business—not personal—and these are specific realities that can cause the manager stress and consternation only if they are permitted to. Following are some of the realities in the music business that have the potential to create stress.
Reality one
A lot of people will say “no,” and a lot of gatekeepers will seem immovable. The music business on its grandest scale offers the promise of great financial rewards for the relative few who are able to connect with a large audience. This means that there are countless thousands of talented people seeking ways to access gatekeepers who can give career opportunities to artists in the music business. When they say “no,” it is not a personal response to the manager. It simply means that the manager must find a way to get past the gatekeeper, or must pursue another one who is more likely to be a favorable audience. Finding out what the gatekeeper needs and using it as a way to gain access is one strategy (Kragen and Graham, 1994). For example, personal or executive assistants are essential gatekeepers in any company and are often underappreciated for their contributions. They have a need to be recognized for their value to the company, so the manager who takes time for a brief visit with them implies to the assistant their importance and builds an ally who can perhaps open other gates within the company.
Another way to get past gatekeepers is to find someone in your network who can open that door for you. Build the network and use it.
Reality two
You are a “player” in the music business only if you are relevant. Relevance has to do with your current activity in the industry—specifically, in the case of an artist manager, this is defined by the artist management firm for which you work, or by the artists you manage. If your telephone calls are not returned or your emails are not acknowledged, it is not personal. It just means that you haven’t developed the perception that you offer something that will improve the other person’s business.
I emphasize throughout this book that every business encounter a manager has on behalf of artists they manage isn’t about the artists. It’s always about the agenda and needs of the other person. You must be able to demonstrate to others that you and your artists are relevant to continued success of the other person’s business.
Reality three
Keeping the spirits of your artists up during a continuing career roller coaster will be draining for you. Understand that the pursuit of opportunities for your artists will include many rejections, due primarily to competition within the industry. Even if he or she knows that rejections are a regular part of the music business can still be a defeat for the manager. And then the manager is the one who must pass the difficult news along to the artist. Finding a way to cope with disappointment at the personal level and then being able to find a way to keep up the spirits of the artist is always a challenge for the artist manager.
Reality four
People will string you along. Early in the author’s career in the music business a prominent music industry publisher advised, “Don’t pet stray dogs.” His point was that you can waste a lot of time by giving advice and befriending individuals who are not in the industry yet and have a long way to go before they will have any chance at success. Some in the industry will tell others whatever is necessary to get them off the telephone or off their doorstep if they think the individual has nothing to contribute to their business. A frequent tactic is to be told “They’re tied up in a meeting. May I put you into their voice mail?” You leave your message and there is no chance that your call will be retrieved and returned. It is not personal. They just don’t know how you can contribute to the success of their business and don’t have the time to figure it out. The second time you hear from a personal contact saying, “I’ll get back to you in a couple of days on that” is the time to move on. It’s a not-so-subtle way of saying, “Don’t call me again.” Don’t allow people to string you along—they’re wasting your time. (Author’s note: Petting stray dogs with candid and genuine guidance becomes a way of giving back when the music business gives you your measure of success, however you define success.)
Reality five
People will disappoint you. Someone you feel you can depend on will disappoint you by not following through with promises or commitments made to you and your artists. Even the smallest oversight by others can have an impact on the things you are trying to achieve for your artist. Anticipate that people will disappoint you, but be pleased when they deliver on their promises. Advice to artist managers: always follow through with your promises because it helps define your character to others.
Reality six
The agendas of many people in the music business determine whether you matter to them. If you are the current manager of a significant artist about to go into the studio to record an album, music publishers will stumble over each other to get the chance for a conversation. If you are the former manager of a major artist, you might elicit a faint hello from those same publishers.
This is just the beginning of a larger list, but it covers key points that can easily be taken personally, when in fact, they usually should not be. Recognizing these points as realities of the music business environment can help the manager step away from an issue, realize that it is not personal, and minimize an emotional response to a business situation.
Many artist managers are very low key and rarely mentioned or quoted in the press, and so it is important that they actively pursue their own public relations within the music industry. An artist manager’s best clients will be the result of the active network of contacts they maintain. This means attending industry parties, events, conventions, and other networking opportunities. Because there is no official Association of Artist Managers in the United States, managers must find events and occasions when they can be seen by being involved socially in the music business on a regular basis. In Britain, however, the Music Manager’s Forum (http://www.themmf.net) offers regular meetings and seminars locally and around Europe for those employed as artist managers, and it is an excellent way for managers to become part of a network of others in the same profession to help improve their effectiveness on behalf of their clients. Appendix F of this book offers a look at the code of conduct adopted by the Australian Music Managers Forum that is a practical ethics guide for those who manage artists in the music business.
AN UNDERSTANDING OF POWER IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS
In order for the new artist manager to be prepared to navigate the music business, he or she needs to understand where power comes from, who has it, and how it is acquired. Connie Bradley, ASCAP Senior Advisor, says, “Power lies in your friendships. I’ve never known one person to be powerful without anybody else” (Underwood, 2006). This is a good starting point for a look at where the true power resides in the music business.
Friendships in the music business are much like those in the world of politics: You find out who your true friends are when you no longer hold a position of immediate relevance. True friends quickly step up to offer to help; others who were business “friends” will no longer text, no longer call, no longer email, no longer invite, and no longer return calls. When an artist manager is without major active clients or is downsized from a management company, it can be shocking to learn how weak those relationships with former associates truly are. It can also be reassuring when the manager learns how important the few true friends can be in reigniting a career.
As in most industries and in politics, power in the music business comes from having money, the ability to earn money, and money to influence decisions. Major labels, with millions in their annual budgets to promote their projects and those of their partners, are able to claim considerable space on the weekly SoundScan sales charts and on the major airplay charts. It is very difficult for small independent labels to compete at that level.
For example, money shows its power in the music business in the ability of major labels to influence who is nominated, who wins, and who performs on some music awards shows. For some association-sponsored shows, labels actively lobby members of the group and their talent selection committees, and they buy their employees voting memberships in those associations to help influence the outcome of decisions. Money makes it happen. For award shows like the American Music Awards, criteria for an artist’s nomination are linked to sales and airplay of recorded music, which virtually assures that only music by the largest labels will be eligible (Serjeant, 2010). Labels whose artists are chosen to perform on awards shows invariably see a short-term boost in sales of their recordings and performance ticket sales, which point to the value of awards shows.
There is an occasional anomaly like the groups OK Go and Straight No Chaser, which can use the Internet with a creative video distributed through YouTube to successfully launch a recorded music project and a tour. However, the power of money at larger labels will continue to help define the major recording artists. To underscore this point, just look at the Top 200 chart in Billboard each week to see how very few independent labels can—by themselves—sell at the volume of the majors to get to the top, even in this age of new media.
In the music business, the power of access is an important resource for people who have it. Those who can reach key decision makers—or more importantly, influence those individuals—who have power that many do not. This power comes from business relationships and sometimes from associations with others. For example, when Garth Brooks was at the peak of his career, manager Bob Doyle became someone who needed his own personal gatekeepers to filter access to his time. Too many people wanted access to Brooks, and they needed to go through Doyle to reach the artist.
Booking agents have the power of access. Their relationships with prominent concert promoters and other talent buyers can give an artist access to some of the better performance opportunities at the better venues with the more successful promoters.
Radio programmers have the power to give an artist access to their audiences. It is their final decision whether an artist’s single is played on their radio station, and that gives them immense control and the accompanying power. With the huge competition among labels for airtime at traditional radio stations, having access to a programmer to promote music on behalf of a record label determines the effectiveness of a label’s radio promotion staff. Radio has the power, and the labels invest heavily in the talents of their promotion staffs to access it. Similarly, cable music channel programmers control access to their viewers and have the power to include or reject a music video.
Publicists use their power of access to help their businesses. Those with high-profile clients leverage their association to build on their own client base and to help record labels schedule their artists for appearances on television and cable programs.
The power of your latest success
The old saying that success breeds success also applies to the idea of drawing power from your latest success. Most definitions of success in the music business are based on money. Successful tours, CDs, and songs that find acclaim in their ability to earn give power to those responsible. Producers request the writer’s songs, concert promoters seek out the artist’s agent, and the artist might be able to renegotiate his or her recording contract for better terms. If your latest success is not followed by another success, there is a strong likelihood that you will become yesterday’s news.
The power of your body of work
People with the privilege of an extended career in the music business have built a considerable amount of success. The sheer staying power of individuals who have built long-standing careers within this industry, which disposes of commercially unproductive talent, possess power simply because they continue to succeed. These are people who have the “secrets” to success in the industry and are often sought for their help in opening doors, making introductions, providing advice, being partners, and being mentors. A strong body of work builds reputations, and that translates into power.
Power carries a responsibility to give back
People who have had any measure of success in the music business should use their talents to improve the quality of life of those who need help. The power of music can aid in efforts to raise money for world hunger, for victims of floods or earthquakes, or to pay medical bills for a needy family in a big city or a rural town or village. As artist careers are managed to success, it becomes the responsibility of the manager to seek opportunities for both the artist and the manager to return some of the fruits of their success to the public responsible for helping them achieve it.
THE MANAGER AS AN ENTREPRENEUR
Any person who owns and perhaps also manages a particular business is a proprietor. But the individual who has a view for a new business and a new idea of how to make it successful is an entrepreneur. The “new idea” element of the definition of an entrepreneur is what sets them apart from other owners or managers of businesses. The artist manager who is an entrepreneur is one who understands the music business, who is willing to make the investment in creating a storefront, and who is willing to take all the risk of possible failure—but also all of the benefits of its success. In a competitive industry that changes as often as it does, artist management in the music business requires success to be built on a continuance of new ideas on behalf of artists’ careers.
Earlier we noted that experienced artist managers say that there is a three- to five-year time frame for a new, standalone management company to begin to earn enough income from their artists to become profitable. It takes a lot of confidence, a huge commitment to the vision for the company, and similar confidence in the ability of artists who are signed to be able to develop quickly enough to be able to support the firm. The financial resources needed to develop and sustain a new artist management company are substantial, and so is the courage to accept the risk that goes with starting a new enterprise.
References
Anderson, C. (2006). The Long Tail. New York: Hyperion.
Iacocca, L., & Novak, W. (1987). Iacocca: An Autobiography. Bantam.
IFPI. (2010, March). Investing in music. Retrieved from http://www.ifpi.org.
Kragen, K., & Graham, J. (1994). Life Is a Contact Sport. New York: William Morrow and Company.
Leeds, J. (2006). Personal communication.
Serjeant, J. R. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69B4TI20101012.
Underwood, R. (2006). Executive Q & A: Connie Bradley. The Nashville Tennessean December 10.