The Three Essentials of Management

When recently visiting Artist House Music “Helping Musicians and Music Entrepreneurs Create Sustainable Careers” I came across an article by George Howard titled “The Three Essentials of Management”. I found this to be a very interesting read and wanted to share a few points of the article that I feel would have the most impact or influence.

George Howard recognizes that passion, connections, and capital are the three essentials needed to be a successful manager. The advice given in this series of articles is meant to be directed towards an artist in search of management. However it is said that it could be beneficial to anyone also seeking an interest in artist management.

The article asks, “Why Passion is Important”. When one seeks a manager, one important thing that should be prevalent is how passionate one is about their client’s music. If an artist isn’t as passionate or more passionate then the “relationship” may be short-lived. “Passion combined with energy (often youthful) is a very potent mix that often knocks down many barriers and allows and artist to experience real career growth” It was said that managers who are more passionate find alternative methods of enhancing a clients career or more “innovative strategies that further idea of career development”. When a person who has a true passion for your (the client’s) work you are better off and their ways of finding funding via certain connections can also are beneficial.

That leads us into our second essential, connections. It is thought that the strength of the connection is often as powerful as the strength of the music. As a manager your main duty is to ensure that your client has as much exposure as possible. Therefore most managers utilize various web resources and or social media to make that happen. While some connections “just happen” most connection are those that are developed over a period of time and must be properly cultivated. When choosing a manager, you (the client) must research the manager’s connections so that you may know if they are essential to your particular style of music. A manager and a client normally form a type of symbiotic relationship where each others connections have some sort of benefit to each other. Through the proper connections you may be able to find proper funding for current or future projects.

Managers typically get paid from their client based on a certain percentage of what is made from different shows and any money that is paid from a label (if the client is signed to one) Not all artists have paying gigs when up and coming, so a way to secure payment for their manager is to offer some of the publishing rights to them. This ensures the manager a paid percentage of any money made. This is generally used strictly for insurance. “Money is a significant factor in creating effective artist/manager relationships” A manager typically is the source of funds for their client prior to them getting signed by a major label. Being a manager to up and coming artists is very similar to start up businesses.

When searching for a manager it is important that you look for someone who has a passion for your music as well as for the business, a person who is well connected and or properly financed, but most of all understands what your ultimate goals are as an artist.

Source: Artist House Music

http://www.artistshousemusic.org/articles/the+three+essentials+of+management
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/articles/the+three+essentials+of+management+the+importance+of+connections
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/articles/the+three+essentials+of+management+the+importance+of+money+how+management+gets+paid