Recording - January 2011 - 52

By Todd Gascon and Bruce Kaphan

Chapter 10: Managers—part 1
In the music business, the term manager (as in artist manager) is used quite differently from other business or sports realms. What do artist managers do? How are they paid? What laws govern their behavior? What are the key terms in typical management agreements? We’re addressing these and other points in this and next month’s chapters. This month Bruce Kaphan introduces the concept of an artist manager and speaks from his own point of view as an artist. Next month, entertainment lawyer Todd Gascon will explain the legal framework of an artist-manager relationship.—LzR What is an artist manager? Simply put, in music business terms a manager is a person or company with whom an artist enters into an agreement, under which, for a mutually acceptable length of time (the “term”), the manager agrees to “advise and counsel” the artist in return for a percentage of the artist’s earnings. With a couple of noteworthy exceptions, this is almost always an exclusive arrangement in which the artist agrees to only have one management relationship for the term of their agreement. Not to be confused with managers, an agent is a person or company responsible for contracting specific appearances for the artist. We’ll be covering agents in the next installment of this series. The role of the manager Why would you want a manager? A major-label A&R person once told me bluntly that record labels don’t like to talk directly with artists; they prefer to communicate with an artist’s manager. Why? For a variety of reasons: Artists can be largely ignorant and often distrusting of standard music business practices; then there’s always the issue of the “artist’s temperament”—business people may not want to risk negotiating or be directly confrontational with someone who doesn’t understand standard operational procedures, or may have an unexpected emotional response to facts or criticisms. I’m sure this holds true not only for record companies, but also for film studios and production companies of any ilk that might have an interest in working with an artist, either to license existing music or contract new music. Getting management—an elusive goal? If you wanted a manager, how would you find one? If you found one, how could you convince one to be interested in working with you?
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RECORDING JANUARY 2011

Forming a relationship with a manager is one of the most elusive Catch-22s known to mankind. You need a manager to get really big deals, yet no well-connected, seasoned manager will be interested in investing in you unless you’re already doing very well, or at least appear to have unlimited earning potential. At this point in the history of the music business, more so than ever, it’s mostly household-name artists who have the potential of attracting a big-league manager. This isn’t to say that the sharp go-getter who hasn’t yet made a bona-fide career out of managing artists isn’t the right person with whom to enter into an agreement. Brian Epstein wasn’t a bona-fide big-league manager when he entered into his agreement with The Beatles... but of course, The Beatles weren’t THE BEATLES yet either, were they? Would The Beatles have become THE BEATLES without the contribution of manager Brian Epstein? History has rendered this a rhetorical question, but evidence certainly points to Mr. Epstein as having been largely responsible for helping to craft the band’s all-important image, and after the band had been rejected at many record companies, it was reportedly his enthusiasm regarding the band’s potential that helped convince George Martin to produce the band—arguably another pivotal element in the band’s success. The price tag? 25% of gross monies earned by the band during his tenure. Do you think The Beatles and their heirs think this was a fair deal? I’ll bet they do! On the other hand “The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There’s also a negative side.” This quote is often attributed to the late Hunter S. Thompson. As I scoured the internet in an effort to confirm the original publication of this quote, what I found was a quote from David Emery (About.com Guide) indicating this wasn’t exactly what Thompson wrote. But close enough.

http://www.About.com

Recording - January 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2011