What Is Artist Management?

       

Source: Tim Allen       

      My studies in Music and Entertainment Business have all been geared towards the Jamaica Music Industry; this was done by choice as I saw the need to target this segment of the industry. One of the many points of pain is in artist management. As with any other product whether it is tangible or intangible an artist has to be treated as a product. He/she has to be marketed and packaged properly or else no one will be attracted to buy. There are myriads of misconceptions of what are the duties of an artist manager or artist management company. Let me make it clear ARTIST MANAGEMENT DERIVE THEIR MONEY FROM COMMISSION. THE INDUSTRY STANDARD IS ABOUT 15 to 20% OF THE ARTIST GROSS EARNINGS; an artist manager does not have to invest his/her money in an artist, unless he/she wants to.

       An artist manager is also known as a personal manager he/she is the buffer between the artist and other industry professionals. By extension, the management role is planning, organizing, directing and controlling. Planning for the artist long-term goals is vital to his/she success. “Organizing is assembling the necessary resources to carry out a plan and put those resources into a logical order.” (Allen, 2009) The artist manager has to assemble all the necessary resources to make his artist’s career a success. Artist managers have to be leaders and take charge in hiring the right support member for the artist team. The artist manager should be able to exploit the artist talent to his/her benefit.

Source: brandshank.com

       An artist manager is not a Publicist, Booking agent, Attorney or a Promoter. The duties of a Publicist are to expose the artist to the target market through, blogs, newspaper articles and social media. A Booking agent is the one who shops the artist to the talent buyer and negotiates the performance fees. An Attorney reviews contracts and, collaborated with the manager in making certain final decisions.  Ensuring the artist is signing the right agreements. The professionals making up the management team each have their area of focus.

       For all those who have it twisted I suggest finding a management company with trained managers to handle your business and, get Tim Allen’s book on artist management. Never have a verbal agreement with an artist manager; it is a recipe for disaster. Artist management is the bearing that drives this industry and the other industry professionals are the spokes that keep the wheel turning.