June 2008
“MAGENTS”
With the current status of the music industry it has become quite common for the manger to work as the agent while the act develops. My friends and colleagues over at Live Tour Artists kindly refer to managers who do the booking as “MAGENTS”. It’s simply out of necessity that most managers these days are taking on the roll of booking agent. In my opinion, performing live is the foundation to building any act. So if you can’t get a good booking agent on board, your manager or the act need to start taking on the roll of agent to get the calendar filled up.
I see a lot of acts and managers putting far too much time and energy into trying to get on an agency roster. My advice, stop chasing them, they’ll find you! Start picking up the phone yourself. If by chance you do get picked up by an agency early in the bands’ career, you’ll more than likely get lost in the shuffle and only become more frustrated that you’re not getting any attention / no gigs! This isn’t a slam against any of the agencies (I work with several of them) but you need to understand their side of things. Agents work on a commission, so if you were an agent would you focus on the commission from an act that’s getting $2000+ / night or a band that’s lucky to bring in $200/ night?
They probably had the best of intentions when signing the band but at the end of the day agents have bills to pay like the rest of us, so they’re constantly going to have their attention pulled toward the act that’s going to generate a decent commission.
Start booking your own gigs (not just one or two a month), build your following and make yourself more attractive to agents / managers. You’ll also have a better appreciation and understanding of what they can do for you after you’ve done it for yourself.
Feb 2008
SIGN HERE KID!
If you come across a manager who wants you to sign something within a very short time of meeting, I’m sure most of you would have the common sense to run the other way. A manager should be just as cautious about signing a band, as the band is of the manager. In the beginning, a manager is going to have to put numerous hours of work into a building a band with very little return. I personally want to know before I move into a contract if the band is going to work as hard as they say, and I want to know if the band is manageable (will they listen and follow my advise). I also want to get to know the type of people I’m going to be working with. Life is too short to have to deal with egos!
Don’t get me wrong, I believe it’s important to have a contract but not in the first month of meeting. I would suggest an e-mail exchange outlining a trial period agreement ….say six months. After the six months you can agree to move into a more formal contract. When it comes to the formal contract it’s always best to get an ENTERTAINMENT lawyer* involved. I know what you’re thinking, … “I can’t afford it”. If you go to an entertainment lawyer with the finished negotiated contract they can look over it within an hour and let you know if there is anything you should watch out for … it will be $250 well spent.
*With all due respect to your uncle, who is a real estate lawyer, he is not going to have a clue about management / entertainment business contracts. Don’t waste your time! It may also cause tension between you and your potential manager if you’re coming back to him with changes that have no place in a management contract.
