Managing Artists in Pop Music: What Every Artist and Manager Must Know to Succeed

303 Pages·2012·2.62 MB·English

by  Mitch Weiss

Copyright © 2012 by Mitch Weiss and Perri Gaffney
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Cover design by Adam Bozarth
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
ISBN: 978-1-58115882-3
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Preface: The Buck Starts Here
PART I:
THREE DAYS IN THE LIFE …

CHAPTER 1: The Day Begins
Gross vs. Net *
The Whole Circle: How an Artist Should Choose a Manager
CHAPTER 2: Six Rules of Management
Kamlot's Six Rules of Management
CHAPTER 3: Commissions and Advances
The Art of Negotiation *
Contractual Clauses to Know
CHAPTER 4: Becoming an Entertainment Manager.
CHAPTER 5: Artist/Management Relationship: Business, Ethics, and Music
The Best Agreements are Those in Which Both Sides Think
They've Won *
Qualities to Look for in an Artist
CHAPTER 6: Performance Contracts..
Important Issues for Performance Contracts
CHAPTER 7: Taxes
Sample Budget Box with or without State Withholding Taxes
CHAPTER 8: Drugs and Rehab.
CHAPTER 9: The Media and Manager
Promo Packages
CHAPTER 10: Image and the Press.
Press Release
CHAPTER 11: Artist Interviews and the Press.
Good Interviews, Bad Interviews
CHAPTER 12: Creating a Marketable Image
Don't Front Money … *
Be on Time …
CHAPTER 13: The Internet Takeover.
CHAPTER 14: Demos and Material
CHAPTER 15: Managing a Star.
The Major Labels *
Independent Contractor vs. Employee Status *
Insurance Overview for Don Juan
CHAPTER 16: Money Matters.
Banking Accounts *
“Out” Clauses
CHAPTER 17: The Stuff of Stardom—Day Two Begins
Merchandising *
Selling Stuff on the Internet *
Trademarks
CHAPTER 18: Five-Year Plans
A Sample First Year of a Five-Year Plan *
Book Deals *
How Music Publishing Works
CHAPTER 19: Dueling Divas
Occupational Hazards *
Copyright Registration *
SESAC/BMI/ASCAP—Performance Rights Organizations *
Building a Dream Team *
Road Managers/Tour Managers
CHAPTER 20: Crisis at 3:00 AM—Day Three
Unions/Musicians
CHAPTER 21: Who Would Ever Guess?
Preparing for the Death or Resignation of a Band Member:
Production Deals
Coda: Syra Says (The Most Important Advice)
Interlude of Photographs: Real-life Managers with Their Artists
PART II:
CONTRACTS ANALYSIS FOR MANAGERS AND ARTISTS

CHAPTER 22: Artist Management Agreements with Analysis
CHAPTER 23: Sample Booking Agreement (Domestic and International Travel)..
CHAPTER 24: Sample Form for Independent Contractor with Analysis
CHAPTER 25: Sample Record Deal Summary with a Major Record Label with
Analysis.
The Authors
Credits.
Index.
Preface: The Buck Starts Here
A good manager's mantra: I don't know but I'll find out.
Attention: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that
the maximum safe load on my butt is two persons at one time unless I install handrails or
safety straps. As you have arrived sixth in line to ride my ass today, please take a number and
wait your turn.
A good manager spends a ton of time on his and his client's finances and
banking, paperwork, bill-paying, next-year's projections, fact-checking,
resource-gathering, promotion materials, insurance, budget-cutting concepts—all
the boring stuff of business. A good manager must also be prepared to deal with
payola demands, homophobia in the radio business, sexism and racism (which
are still alive and well in the music industry), massive numbers of charity
requests, an airline industry determined to make the cost of touring impossible,
paparazzi and demanding press people, and all those family members who think
they know everything about the music biz.
That said, there is nothing more important than being an expert at
communication with people, and I don't mean social-networking. I mean taking
massive amounts of time to communicate every decision and logistical detail
that might affect a staff person, artist, promoter, booking agent, accountant,
lawyer, insurance broker, sound engineer, songwriter, or family member—
everything they might need to know in order for them to excel in their individual
work on behalf of your artist and yourself. It's a lot of time and work because it
involves editing the information and repeating the information over and over
again . . . tactfully!
Unfortunately most young managers and artists think a manager's primary
job is to develop an artist's career and find work. If you didn't know it before,
money talks when it comes to development. Lots and lots of money. So let's
explore the myths and discuss reality in this new world of instant global
notoriety courtesy of American Idol and X Factor.
The music industry is somewhere between chaos and flux. Technology and
the Internet continue to affect every rule of artist development, music creation,
promotion, sales and distribution, and the source of an artist's and manager's
income. The public has new expectations and the industry is still struggling to
catch up to its consumer base. The revised edition of this book combines the new
digital age with the ageless principles that dictate success or failure in the music
industry.
The new options and obstacles faced by managers and artists today are
explored in detail from the manager's perspective. To the extent that every artist
should learn to be his/her own manager, then this book is just as much for both
the established and the hopeful artist as it is for the professional manager.
To make this book more accessible, we tell the story of one manager over a
three-day period, providing important lessons in negotiating, artist handholding,
and crisis resolution. Through a fictitious client list, we are able to describe in
detail real things that have happened, based on firsthand and secondhand
experiences known to the authors.
Along with this storyline, we offer cold facts through data boxes, on
subjects ranging from choosing a pension plan, selecting a road manager,
creating an effective press release, and analyzing a sample recording deal,
paragraph by paragraph, in plain English.
The bottom line is to find success and happiness in what we do. Our
business is to help singers, musicians, and songwriters do the same. In this
regard, the buck starts here.