What To Look For In A Manager

Let's say you are an artist who says to a prospective manager, "OK, I'm a talent, here I am, here's what I look like, here's what I do. Are you interested?" and the manager says "yes!"

First off, your manager will probably say to you, "Look, approximately one hundred percent of our energies have to go toward getting a record contract. Anything else we do is more or less avoiding the main issue. You are not going to make it, you are not going to become a star, you won't make good money and nothing monumental will happen to you as a musical performer without a record. Let's get a record contract!"

I shall presume that the manager, whether an individual or a company, has honesty and integrity, nowledge and capability. If any one of these attributes is missing, the manager will not be effective.

Your manager represents, advises and works for you. This person or organization handles all of your day-to-day business while you create and for that, receives a percentage of your earnings. If you make money, your manager makes money. If not, your manager will have spent an awful lot of time and effort for nothing.

When considering managers, check out their reputations. People have reputations because they have earned them. Nobody can be liked by everybody, but if a person is spoken of as being genuine and honest, you can assume this is probably true. However, a good reputation means nothing unless there is a trust and good feeling between artist and manager. I don't see how anyone can have a personal manager they don't like.

The manager's enthusiasm and belief in you are essential for a successful relationship. A manager cannot and should not represent you if he or she doesn't understand your motives, priorities, beliefs, way of life and what's important to you.

The personality of the manager must be considered. Some managers can break down doors (literally and figuratively), scream, holler, demand and be very effective. Some artists like that, others might want someone more laid back. The object is to enable the artist to write, rehearse and perform; to create with a free, clear mind. The idea is not, however, to remove artists from business entirely, but rather to free them from the nitty-gritty work-a-day affairs.

HALLORAN ESQ., MARK, MUSICIAN'S BUSINESS AND LEGAL GUIDE, THE, 2nd Edition, Copyright 1996

Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.