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This page: Where to find a manager; Experience; What do managers do?
Where do I find a manager and what does it look like?
'Be clear early on about where you could use some help. Look at the people around you -- can any of them offer you that help?'
Calling up a big coastal management firm is not the best first step in finding representation -- especially if you're a "baby band" (which is an unappealing term used by the industry to describe a band that's just starting out or shopping for a deal). The best thing to do is look at the people closest to the band -- people who appreciate what you're doing and can offer constructive support. It may be the friend who's always helping you put up flyers and load out equipment at the end of the night. Or maybe it's the woman who books the club you call home and awards you the primo slots. Those situations can grow naturally and successfully into management/client relationships. Witness Maggie McPherson, formerly booking agent for the Uptown Bar in Minneapolis, now manager of then-local bar band and current Columbia artists the Jayhawks.
"A lot of times a new manager may be better than an experienced one," -- Steve Hutton (second from L)
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Many managers, like myself, become involved with no intention of full-time management. Instead, they see a talent, become passionate about its potential, and feel they can contribute something to that artist's drive for success. Steve Hutton of Upper Cut Management was a friend of Kid Rock's back in Detroit and, until recently, his manager. "There was a local band that I really liked," Hutton recalls. "I started working with them. I used that as an excuse to network and teach myself the business."
Like Hutton, Janet Billig at Immortal Entertainment has an eye for indie talent and has learned about how to develop it on the job. One of her first clients in the early '90s was Courtney Love and her band Hole; she now works with Lisa Loeb, Cibo Matto, and Guided By Voices, and partners in a film production company with Love. "At different stages of an artist's career, you need a manager to do different things," Billig says. "Sometimes newer artists think, 'I need someone to help me design flyers.' Well, some managers might be really good for making flyers, but that may not be the best use of their time or abilities. Think of how they can facilitate your goals instead of thinking of them as your personal assistant."
In other words, be clear early on about where you could use some help. Look at the people around you -- can any of them offer you that help? What could you give them in return?
'A manager needs to love and appreciate the music of an artist, but they also need to be able to tell them the truth.' -- Danny Goldberg
Is experience necessary in a good manager?
Let's say you're thinking about asking someone who has a track record with other artists to manage you. The fact that this person has been in the music business gives you grounds for doing some research. Danny Goldberg, currently head of Artemis Records, founded Gold Mountain Management and counted Nirvana, the Beastie Boys, Bonnie Raitt, and Rickie Lee Jones among his clients. "If someone's dishonest with other people," he warns, "they're going to be that way with you. Bands should also avoid managers who are intimidated by them. A manager needs to love and appreciate the music of an artist and like them, but they also need to be able to tell them the truth, which sometimes includes bad news or advice they don't want to hear."
Sometimes these qualities can compensate for a lack of experience. "Depending on how far along the artist is in their development, the manager should have some skills and expertise in the business," Goldberg continues. "If they don't have direct expertise, they should have a temperament that makes them open-minded and able to learn."
Steve Hutton agrees. "People should not look down on managers who haven't had success yet. Everyone has to start somewhere, and frankly, a lot of times a new manager may be better than an experienced one, because you're probably going to be their only act and their most important work. The experienced manager has other acts and more things on their plate."
Beyond honesty and respect for the artist, what qualities are important for the novice -- and veteran -- manager? "Patience and perseverance are the two most essential qualities," says Hutton. "You cannot be tenacious enough. At the same time, you have to be diplomatic, creative, and intelligent."
That's just the beginning, according to Boche Billions, a.k.a. David Viecelli, of Billions Corporation in Chicago, whose roster has included Southern Culture on the Skids, Liquid Soul, and the now disbanded Jesus Lizard. "Besides the obvious things, it is about finding someone who understands who the band is, what they want to get out of being a band, and what the realistic expectations for that band are in the marketplace."
"You miss out on the fun of managing if you don't see the process as worth it." -- Boche Billions (shown with Mr. Bumby) |
'Good managers are worth a great deal to an artist. And bad managers are worth zero." -- Danny Goldberg
What exactly do managers do?
"A lot of work goes into the public hearing the music," states Danny Goldberg. "It's time-sensitive, and it requires finesse and intelligence to avoid disasters. Whether it's something going wrong in a club, the relationship with the media, the record company, the attorney, or the booking agents, I don't know if artists are always aware of how much work it is. It's the kind of profession where anything good that happens is credited to the artist and anything that goes wrong is the fault of the manager.
"It's hard sometimes to measure a manager's real contribution, impact, and value in a tangible way," Goldberg admits. "Therefore, you're hoping that there's an intuitive grasp of it. There's no chance for an It's a Wonderful Life run-through of what your career would be like without the manager. That's the most frustrating thing for both parties. The artist always wonders, 'Am I getting my money's worth?' The manager wonders, 'Do they appreciate what I'm doing or not?' I believe good managers are worth a great deal to an artist. And bad managers are worth zero. So the profession is extremely valuable -- when done correctly."
Good managers are networkers; they understand that the business is all about relationships. Though it may be your song in the movie, the path it followed to get there may be this convoluted: Your manager is backstage at the Foo Fighters show, which he got into because he used to book bands at the club part-time. He runs into his ex-girlfriend's brother, who works for a film company. They talk about a film that's under production there, and it turns out they're looking for a song with a train theme for the soundtrack. The manager remembers that your band has a train song on their demo. Phone numbers are exchanged.
The point, of course, is that it's not always easy to trace or gauge the manager's positive effect. As Billig points out, "There are little accomplishments that seem insignificant to the artist or outside world but are gigantic for the artist's career. It's hard for anyone, even an artist, to see that opportunity the manager gained for him or her."
"I think there's a quote from Andy Gould [manager of Rob Zombie and Monster Magnet] that says, 'A manager's job is to be the thing that gets between the bullet and the artist's foot,'" laughs Hutton. "I think that's true, combined with contributing to the artistic process. That doesn't necessarily mean creating the music, but representing the music in the proper spirit and in a creative way."
Next Page: Payment; Getting a manager interested; Do I really need a manager?; Criteria; What to know....
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