A GREAT MANAGER WILL BECOME THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE TEAM. SOMEONE EXPERIENCED, WITH SOLID CONTACTS AND A LEVEL-HEADED APPROACH TO NEGOTIATIONS, SOMEONE TO OPEN DOORS (FIGURATIVELY, THAT IS), GET YOUR MUSIC OUT TO PUBLISHERS AND PROMOTERS AND FIND YOU SUPPORT SPOTS WITH ESTABLISHED ARTISTS... NICE.

SO WHAT DOES A MANAGER DO?

Apart from that, an experienced manager will bring your music to the attention of record labels, A & R (Artists & Repertoire) people and deal with the nitty-gritty side of business, acting as your booking agent, accountant, publicist, promoter and, occasionally, tour bus driver. Essentially, they develop a band’s identity and reputation.

Managers don’t, however, guarantee a fast-track to number one singles and stadium gigs. It’s probably going to take you a few tries before you find someone who understands exactly with what you want to achieve. Once you do, they’ll be your champion and spokesperson, alternating between diplomat, headmaster, organiser and mediator. You need someone tough, charming and able to compromise, who’ll let you to focus on writing, recording and performing, while they take care of the rest of the business.

"It varies from case to case. A manager's skills and an artist's skills should compliment each other so just as every artist is different, so is every manager. They generally do the things that artists either cannot do or do not want to do for themselves." say John Watson, owner and President of both John Watson Management (Silverchair and Missy Higgins) and renown indie label, Eleven.


SO WHERE DO I GET ONE?

They do sound good, don’t they? Which makes it’s tempting them to say “yes thanks” to any manager or management company that approaches you with a contract.

But yeah, there’s more research to do first. Bad management can ruin your reputation, so check them out thoroughly: find out who else they work with and who’s fired them. And have a chat with your band about what you all want from a manager.

It’s perfectly common to ask for a three-month trial period (most decent companies will offer it). Considering how much time you’ll be spend together, it’s pretty important that you genuinely like and trust your manager. Spend those few months making sure your career will be helped, not hindered, by their involvement. It’s worth writing a schedule too, outlining what you expect to achieve during the course of the contract.


FINDING YOUR MANAGER

It’s standard music industry practice for people to approach you after a gig with a business card and promises of a phone call, and then never get in touch. Don’t worry, happens to everyone.

There’s no direct path to finding a manager; what follows is more about getting noticed and making the most of self-promotion.

Making contact: Always do your homework before contacting a management company: the artists they manage and how well they’re doing will tell you a lot, so too the genres they work in and how many artists they work with.

Much like blanket emails to promoters, keep your message to the point: absolutely no waffle. You might get the standard brush-off (“we’re currently busy with the acts on our books, but thank you for your interest and best of luck for the future”) or nothing at all.
Sometimes though, with a bit of luck, your email might arrive just at the right time.

Sometimes, you just strike lucky.

However, "If you sit in your bedroom and wait for someone else to knock on the door and offer to turn you into a star then you're much less likely to succeed than the artist who's out there connecting live and online with a real audience".

But if you’re really, incredibly, ridiculously lucky, your ideal manager will show up at one of your gigs, give you a business card and set up a meeting. And the rest, as they say, will be history.


YOUR MANAGER CHECKLIST

1. Do you know who they manage? How long were the artists with them and where are they now?
2. Do they work on their own or within a larger company, and what does that mean to your band?
3. Do they have a good track record of live performances, booking venues and building relationships with promoters?
4. Are they willing to have a three-month trial period? If not, dump them.
5. Have they drawn up a contract that actually reflects what you want to get out of the relationship? Be clear: it’s their job to help you achieve your goals.
6. Do you feel confident telling them what you think? Your working relationship with a manager has to be open and collaborative and, no, you don’t have to do everything they say.
7. Finally, remember that it’s always better to have no manager than a bad one.

John says, "The key is to get someone who's willing to work hard, who only makes mistakes once, who's keen/able to learn and who has a real passion for the job".

EXTRA READING

Included here is a long feature article written by John Watson entitled, 'What is a Manager'. It was written for a Managers Handbook, prepared by the Music Managers Forum and is featured here by the kind permission of the author.