There is more to the job than babysitting...

 There is so much to consider when an artist or band begins thinking about hiring a manager. Two ladies from Nashville, one was a former exec from Sony and the other, owner of Alexander Management, mentored me for a couple of years. My association with a prominent agent from Creative Artist Agency also enhanced my knowledge and business acumen.

My sons were motivated to continually improve their abilities and hone their craft. It was strongly recommended they contact venues and book performances, and this in itself would place them in front of potential fans and improve visibility. In other words, give the record labels a reason to offer them a deal.

            Initially, I learned the artist (band) has to know who they are.  An artist must develop, understand and present the persona he is presenting and above all, be comfortable in his own skin.  It is important to be confident in the music he is producing, to know that music is a product and when it is ready to be marketed. Jeff Dorenfeld, former manager of the group, Boston, said in an interview, “An artist needs a vision of where they want to go and a manager will orchestrate that path.” (Berklee, 2009). 

Scott Austin, CEO of Authentik Artists, goes into great detail on his podcast about where artists need to be before they approach hiring a manager.  An artist must have a solid fan base, consistent ticket sales, and must be able to maintain both a stage and an individual connectivity to his fans.  

Much of my inspiration and what I consider my go-to guide is The Real Deal by Daylle Deanna Scwartz (2002).  I have spent hours studying and learning everything I could about the music business. This resource along with my contacts in the industry jump-started my interest in artist management.

Artists need to prepare for their career by doing their research.  They need to know what publishers do; copyrighting their music; the different organizations that protect them and their music such as ASCAP and BMI; and most importantly, how these impact their career. Managers have the ability to recognize and build undeveloped aspects of the performer. But, they expect the artist to have done everything possible before needing a manager. 

As a manager, I can give credible guidance and advice to the artist.  My job is also to function as a representative for the artist to the label and agent and as access to contacts they wouldn’t normally have.

The fact is: the music industry is a business.  Artists need to be savvy in the business and fearless in their pursuit of their dream!

Austin, S. (2008, October 9). QUIT ROCK: 10 Reasons To Give Up Your Dream Of Being In Music. QUIT ROCK: 10 Reasons To Give Up Your Dream Of Being In Music. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from http://www.QuitRock.com

Austin, S. (2008, November 2). QUIT ROCK: 10 Reasons To Give Up Your Dream Of Being In Music. QUIT ROCK: 10 Reasons To Give Up Your Dream Of Being In Music. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from http://quitrock.com

Howard, G. (2009, August 10). Study Music Online With Berklee. Interview with Jeff Dorenfeld Boston. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKTmYPVtU0U

Schwartz, D. D. (2002). Seeking the Right Personal manager at the Right Time. The Real Deal (pp. 25-33). New York:

Billboard Books.

Tour Manager Extraordinaire

07 August 2011

 While working on this week’s assignments for Full Sail University, I came across personal interviews with tour managers.  I am familiar with many of the jobs associated with a tour, but not the in-depth day-to-day activities of the manager.

It seems of the three tour managers I found to research, all of them found their way into their position by accident. Basically, their journey began because of their love of music and/or friends in the business. 

Jonny Ellett had an interview on July 14, 2011, “The Christian Music Junkie” blog, discussing his job as tour manager.  He talked about his “normal” workday being 16-17 hours long.  Ellett mentioned some of his favorite things about his job being learning new things, traveling and meeting new people.  I was most impressed when he said he enjoyed being part of the group that created a great concert experience.  Like me, Ellet has a hard time telling people “no”.  Dealing with conflicts and making decisions don’t always make you a popular person.

Another fascinating interview I read was with Thomas Reitz (Eventric, 28 September 2010) who was tour manager for Luciano Pavarotti, Nelly Furtado and Rihanna.  He started out as a translator for a friend who was a promoter.  What was interesting, he started a photography business during all of this.  Reitz met Pavarotti during a concert in Berlin where he was working as a photographer for that concert.  Pavarotti like what he did and from there spent many years working for Pavarotti even through the Three Tenors tours.  The article mentioned how Pavarotti became dependent on Reitz not just as tour manager, but some personal managing as well.  Reitz talked about how much Pavarotti treasured family; their daughters were one year apart.

A YouTube video, “A Day in the Life of a Tour Manager” by Josh Chambu (4 Mar 2008) also bravely recorded his activities in the middle of a tour.  He described much the same as Ellett and Reitz, but because it was a video, put a tired face on the job of tour manager.

Concerts and music events that seem seamless are the result of a tour manager’s or project manager’s devotion to detail, professionalism and inner drive.  My hat goes off to every road manager out there making the artist look great!

A Conversation with Wayne Forte

17 July 2011

 When I was checking sources for articles on Artist Management, I came across a video from The Center for Music & Arts Entrepreneurship, New Orleans Music, Entertainment and Educational Consortium from Loyola University, New Orleans.

This video was a conversation John Snyder had with Wayne Forte and his career as an Artist Manager and Agent (13 Oct. 2008).

Forte began his conversation talking about deciding how deep did he really want to get into that business, as it is a 24/7 obligation. That left no room for personal time or much of a family life.  He said there were two things important in this business: you have to earn money and research and development.

The music business is show business. No matter how great your records are, it is a business built on live shows. He also related attitude to an artists’ success: they must be committed to every aspect of their business; both recording and performing live shows. 

I found it interesting that Forte said that managers do not earn as much as they did several years ago. Before, they earned a higher percentage from an artist contract where now, it usually ranges from 10-20%.  When you stop to consider that a manager takes care of the day-to-day personal business of the artist and is usually available 24/7, that may be a poor return on your time versus income.

Agents are the “employment agent” for the music artist. They book the dates and venues. I liked how Forte compared the agent’s real job title as career planners, builders and maintainers for the artist.  The agent is responsible for envisioning where the artist wants to go career wise and how to strategically get them there.  The way they do that is by focusing their booking dates around (1) the area where the artist has a strong fan base and (2) major markets. Something Forte also reminded his audience was as the artist ages, so does your audience; so it is important to keep an eye on the types of venues you book to increase your profit margin.

I highly recommend this site for learning more about what agents and managers do.

http://www.cfmae.org/mis-forum-wayne-forte-artist-management/ 

Here is a great article from Billboard about about Ticketfly using their service to monitor statistics to let clients know how their programs are performing which actually goes along with the information that managers and agents need to know to help their clients get to the next level:

http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring/ticketfly-launches-analytics-dashboard-1005254382.story

Welcome!

This is my first post and my first experience blogging.  I am looking forward to connecting with others in the music and entertainment industry!  My goal with this blog is to connect with people passionate about the music industry, especially in country or Christian music.  Feel free to reply or add positive comments or ideas for networking.