Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
MANAGEMENT
MANUAL
2010 Edition
by
JEREMY RWAKAARA
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Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 6
ARTIST MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 8
The Personal Manager ..................................................................................................................................... 8
The Business Manager ..................................................................................................................................... 8
The Road Manager........................................................................................................................................... 9
The Tour Manager ........................................................................................................................................... 9
The Production Manager ................................................................................................................................. 9
The Technical Manager .................................................................................................................................. 10
M A N A G E M E N T R E Q U I R E M E N T S .............................................................................................. 11
ARTIST MANAGEMENT CODE OF ETHICS ............................................................................................................ 15
SETTING UP YOUR MANAGEMENT BUSINESS ..................................................................................................... 17
Sole Proprietorships....................................................................................................................................... 17
Co-Sole Proprietorships ................................................................................................................................. 19
Partnerships .................................................................................................................................................. 19
Choosing a Corporate Entity........................................................................................................................... 21
Loan-out Corporations ................................................................................................................................... 22
General Corporations..................................................................................................................................... 22
Close Corporation .......................................................................................................................................... 22
Subchapter S Corporation .............................................................................................................................. 23
Limited Liability Company (LLC)...................................................................................................................... 23
FINDING ARTISTS ............................................................................................................................................... 25
THE MANAGEMENT CONTRACT ......................................................................................................................... 28
CAREER PLANNING FOR YOUR ARTIST ................................................................................................................ 40
UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEALS .................................................................................................. 45
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES OF THE DIFFERENT INDUSTRY PLAYERS .............................................................. 56
SOLUTIONS TO COMMON MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES .................................................................................... 70
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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COPYRIGHT BASICS ............................................................................................................................................ 90
THE CURRENT STATE OF MAJOR RECORD LABELS............................................................................................... 96
The role of the major label A&R rep ............................................................................................................... 98
How major record labels evaluate and sign talent ........................................................................................ 100
OPTIONS FOR THE WAY FORWARD IN TODAYS MUSIC BUSINESS .................................................................... 105
Positioning yourself to sign a deal with a major record label. ....................................................................... 105
Pursuing a deal with an independent record label (with major label distribution) ........................................ 108
Pursuing a brand-and-band / strategic partnership deal............................................................................ 110
With funding from an investor, recording your products and outsourcing all essential label services ........... 113
Recording and releasing your own products (DIY) ........................................................................................ 116
GETTING YOUR BAND BUSINESS AFFAIRS IN ORDER ......................................................................................... 117
GETTING THE BAND TOGETHER AND READY FOR GIGS..................................................................................... 120
RECORDING YOUR MUSIC AND MAKING IT AVAILABLE FOR SALE ..................................................................... 133
MATERIALS FOR YOUR PHYSICAL KIT................................................................................................................ 149
PUBLICIZING AND PROMOTING YOUR RECORDINGS ........................................................................................ 156
USING PUBLICITY TO BUILD YOUR FAN BASE .................................................................................................... 175
DISTRIBUTION FOR YOUR RECORDINGS ........................................................................................................... 178
Consignment ............................................................................................................................................... 179
The Distributor ............................................................................................................................................ 185
Pressing & Distribution (P&D) Deals ............................................................................................................. 187
Qualifying for Distribution............................................................................................................................ 188
The Distribution Process .............................................................................................................................. 195
Changing Distributors .................................................................................................................................. 200
RADIO PROMOTION CAMPAIGNS .................................................................................................................... 202
Podcasts, Satellite and Internet radio ........................................................................................................... 202
Non-commercial / College Stations .............................................................................................................. 203
Specialty / Mix show Radio .......................................................................................................................... 208
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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Commercial Radio Airplay ............................................................................................................................ 208
Promoting to commercial radio.................................................................................................................... 211
DEALING WITH VENUE BOOKERS AND BOOKING AGENTS ................................................................................ 216
The approach ............................................................................................................................................... 222
The package................................................................................................................................................. 224
The follow-up .............................................................................................................................................. 225
The negotiation ........................................................................................................................................... 227
The venue / band contract ........................................................................................................................... 230
DIFFERENT TYPES OF GIGS YOU CAN BOOK FOR YOUR BAND ........................................................................... 233
PROMOTING SHOWS AND ANNOUNCING PRODUCT AVAILABILITY .................................................................. 248
THINGS TO DO BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER YOUR GIG.................................................................................. 265
Before The Gig ............................................................................................................................................. 265
During The Gig ............................................................................................................................................. 277
After The Gig ............................................................................................................................................... 286
SPONSORSHIPS AND MERCHANDISING ............................................................................................................ 289
GOING ON TOUR ............................................................................................................................................. 294
Things to keep in mind when planning and embarking on a tour .................................................................. 295
TIPS FOR WHAT TO DO ON THE ROAD ............................................................................................................. 304
TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR BAND TOGETHER ...................................................................................................... 307
IN CLOSING...................................................................................................................................................... 310
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INTRODUCTION
What are d reams? Dreams are what keep the fires bu rning so that
you can see you r way throu gh the night. Dreams inspire u s to aspire to
greater things. Bew are of the people arou nd you that conspire to kill you r
dreams. They are ou t there! They lu rk within the mu sic industry its elf,
among the field of exp erts, in you r circ le of friends, and ev en in you r
fami ly. Hold fas t to you r d ream, becau se if you lose the grasp you will
have only you rself to blame. Stay confident and fight the moments of selfdou bt and insecu rity; bec au se there will be many.
By reading this manu al you will be taking a step tow ards fu lfi llin g or
continu ing you r dre am to b e an a rtist mana ge r (aka - talent manag er,
music manager, band manager). Some of you have been doing this for a
while, and others of you are ju st starting ou t. In either cas e, you will be
able to find a lot of valuable information con tained within this manual. I
wou ld encou rage y ou to try ou t some other things in addition to what y ou
learn in this manu al. Some of the things we discu ss will w ork better for
you than others, or even not at all, depending on what style of mu sic or
artist you represent.
Also, b ecau se of th e speed wi th wh ich th ings ch ange in th is bu siness,
there is always something new that makes another thing obsolete, so keep
researching and learnin g in order to stay ahead of the cu rve. Read all the
books you can get you r hands on; attend as many class es, seminars,
workshops and conferences as you can afford; and u se the Internet (mu sic
blogs,
and
search engines)
as
a powerful
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has
th e
deed
half
done
wh o
has
made
beginnin g."
- Horace
Page 7
ARTIST MANAGEMENT
First
and
foremost,
let
us
begin
by
discu ssing
what
artis t
management is. There are generally six types of managers that play a
role in the c areers of recordin g arti sts, record produ cers, songw riters, and
mu sicians/instru mentalis ts. Followi ng is a bri ef d escrip tion of what each
one does.
The Personal Manager
The Personal manager has the most interac tion with the artis t and is
generally the most important person in the artists mu sical life. They are
involved (in coordinati on with the artist) in crafting a master career p lan
for the artis t and working dili gen tly to see i t execu ted. Man agers act as
b u f f e r s p r o t e c t i n g t h e a r t i s t a g a i n s t u n s c ru p u l o u s c h a r a c t e r s i n t h e m u s i c
bu siness. They are involved in cou nseling and advisin g the artis t on all
matters related to thei r mu sical c areers. The person al manager shou ld
research the mu sic indu stry and kn ow all abou t record labels , pu blishing
companies, produ cers , booking agents, promoters, pu blicists , sty lis ts,
photographers , recordin g engineers, graphic designers , mu sic licensees,
etc ., as well as u nderstand how and when (or if at all) they integrate
themselves into the overall plan .
The Business Manager
The Business Manager, u su ally an accou ntant by trade, manages the
income and expenses o f the c lient. Bu siness managers u su ally take c are of
making
payments
to
musicians,
backgrou nd
singers,
roadies,
tour
managers, etc ., on behalf of the artist. They also ad vise the artis t on
assets and investments , savings and taxes (loca l, state , federal, a nd
International).
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Most artists are u naware that they have tax obli gations that relate to
their performance and licensing income, CD and merchandise sales ,
equ ipment pu rchases, sponsorship cash, other miscellaneou s income, etc .
Bu siness managers also try to get clients to inv est in their fu tu re and s ave
for a rainy day since even the most su ccessfu l artists even tu ally s top
earning regu lar income as their careers fad e.
The Road Manager
The Road manager normally tak es care of logistics while the artist is
on tou r (or on the road) . Du ties in clu de making su re that everything on
the road is provided for as spelled ou t in the contract and all monies are
paid on time. The artis t is then left free to conc entrate on performing and
not wondering
whether
bookin g agent,
sponsor or brand partner has met their obli gations. The road manager
also follows u p on items that were promised as part of the contract su ch
as accommod ations, per diems , adv ances/dep osits, rentals , commissions,
and so on.
The Tour Manager
The Tour manager on larger tou rs c oordinates all the Road managers
alon g
with
the
details
and
logis tics
of
the
tour
itself.
Sometimes,
particu larly on smaller tou rs, the road manager and the tou r manager
are the same person. The Tou r man ager is in charge of all the details that
relate to the enti re tou r inclu ding commu nications, merchandising, tou r
rou ting, catering, hospitality , etc .
The Production Manager
Production managers can be fou nd on larger tou rs involving major
record
label
artists.
P rodu ction
managers
work
closely
with
tour
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tru cking issu es, etc. Produ ction managers also d eal wi th the pu blicity for
the show, as well as assist with schedu ling and coordinating both the
tou ring crew and the local venu e crew (stagehands, carpenters , ri ggers ,
etc .).
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MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS
Most peop le can be managers simply by finding an artis t, mu sician,
grou p or band they love and decidin g to handle the management du ties for
them. If you are on e of those people, there are, however, some basic
requ irements that you will need to have in ord er to be an effec tive
manager.
As
personal
man ager,
you
will
need
to
be
extremely
one
potentially
communicating
pu blishing
companies,
booking
promoters,
merchandising
with
agents,
companies,
rec ord
talen t
brands,
labels,
p rodu cers,
bu yers ,
publicists,
sponsors ,
licensees,
attorn eys, media personnel, equ ipment manu factu rers, etc . You will have
to
read
p len ty
of
books,
attend
as
many
seminars ,
workshops
and
conferences as you can afford , and u se the Internet as a powerfu l res earch
and netw orkin g tool.
You will need to be patient. It can take a lon g time for your client
to make money and therefore for you to make money (since your income
will be based on a 10% - 15% commission). Extreme patience is requ ired
to stick to the game plan ov er the long hau l. Most artis ts will not make
mu ch money on their fi rst recording or tou r. Mos t often than not the firs t
albu m or tou r wi ll serv e as a mean s to create a bu zz arou nd the arti st,
increase the fan base and raise the artis ts p rofi le for the next albu m or
signing.
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You will need to be very realist ic abou t you and you r artists
expec tations. If you are u nrealisti c abou t how things work and what is
achievable at you r level, you will end u p gettin g extremely fru strated and
giving u p before things can prop erly materialize. For examp le, it is
u nrealistic to think that you r artist will get offered fiv e-fi gu re gu arantees
to headline shows in major cities when all you have is a three-son g demo
of you r artis t and no albu m/single/download sales, regional/national
bu zz, intern et p rofile, tou ring history , media c overage, radi o ai rplay ,
pu blicity, etc . Do not indu lge in th e fan tasies c reated by you r artist. You
will have to keep them realistic and not promise to d eliver the impossible.
As a manager you will need to be flexible. Even the bes t-laid and
devised plans can u nravel at a moments notice. Set lon g-term goals , bu t
be
prep ared
to
change
and
fine-tune
things
in
order
to
adjust
to
will
need
to
tru ly
like
and /or
love
the
client
and
their
mu sic/talent. You will need to be v ery passionate abou t the mu sic that
you r artist or band is performing and/or w ritin g. Don t si gn an artist i f
you cant visu alize you rself listeni ng to their mu sic a lot and thorou ghly
enjoying it. Anything short of that will leave you stru ggling to find the
energy to do all that is requ ired on a day-to-d ay basis. It is easier to sell
somebody on an artist you are passionate abou t.
As a manager, you need to be pers istent and aggressive , s topping
ju st short of annoying. Dont easily take no for an answer if you believe in
the stren gth of you r argu ment or the viabi lity of you r p rojec t. Develop
ways to pu sh really hard when you need to, while s till remainin g on
speaking terms wi th someon e you ve ju st pushed really hard .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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You will need to have plenty of people skills . Your job will involve
a lot of one-on-one contact and communication with other p eople. You
will need to be able to commu nicate you r needs withou t irri tating the
people you are negoti ating wi th or talking to. You will need to be able to
separate you r personal feelings from the conv ers ation at hand and focu s
on the goals ahead as well as the desired ou tcome.
You will need to have lots of appropriate contacts. The more
contacts you have, the easier it wi ll be to get things accomplished. Y ou
need to have a contact in as many different areas as possible depending on
the genre of mu sic you r client performs , inclu ding influ enti al v oices and
tastemak ers
within
social
networking
circ les ,
record
produ cers,
(http://www.pollstar.com),
Music
Business
and
Registry
Billboard
(http://www.ord erbillboard .com) . Find the contacts that are well known
and respected in you r area and begin to d evelop a relationship with them.
Attend
conferences
and
exchan ge
business
cards
with
indu stry
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have
to
pu rchase
music
bu s i n e s s
books,
pay
for
conference
registrations, acc ess industry resou rces, book ai rline tick ets , etc ., and
will mos t like ly h ave to pay fo r al l t h ese th ings you rsel f. You can recou p a
certain percentage back from you r cli ents income (depending on the
terms of you r contract) . From time to time you may have to help pay for
some stu dio time or equ ipment purchases, or help pay for ou tstandi ng
bills , tick ets , insu rance, etc . Be carefu l not to get taken adv antage of,
however, and keep good rec ords of you r expenses. You r contrac t shou ld
s p e l l o u t h o w m u c h y o u c a n r e c o u p f r o m t h e c l i e n t s i n c o m e i f y o u s p en d
some of you r own money on things related to their career.
Finally , i t always helps to have a bi t of good , old- fashioned luck on
you r side from time to ti me! As the saying goes , luc k is wha t happens
when prepara tion meets opportunity. Therefore, do you r bes t to be
prepared to take advan tage of opportu nities that p resen t themselves to
you and/or y ou r clien t.
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Indie
Managers
Association
(which
no
longer
accepts
membership registra tions) has a code of ethics that all its man ager
members mu st abide by . The cod e of ethics agreemen t contains some
items that are positive elements for all managers to abid e by whether they
are members or not. H ere is a copy of the text of the c ode:
Indie Managers Association Code of Ethics
For the privi lege of membership in the Indie Man agers Association
(herein referred to as the IMA) , a mu sic manager (he rein referred to as
member) agrees to:
1. Deal fai rly and honestly in ALL matters relatin g to their c lient(s);
2. Always look ou t for the interes ts of their c lient(s) alongside
members own interes t;
3. Treat all bu siness matters related to their clien t(s) as c onfidenti al;
4. Make an effort to avoid sc enarios where a conflict of interes t is
likely to occu r;
5. Encou rage c lien ts to seek legal advi ce prior to si gning con tracts;
6. Keep du rations of man agemen t contrac ts of reason able len gth;
7. Condu ct research, stay involved in and be w ell -informed abou t
m a t t e r s r e l a t i n g t o t h e m u s i c b u s i n es s ;
8. Avoid collu sion with other managers that resu lt in ac tions against
the interes t of the clien t(s);
9. Refrain from black listing c lients or en gaging in any other similar
behavior;
10.
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11.
12.
Not encou rage clien ts to breach exis ting con tracts with other
managers; and
14.
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are
many
ways
to
s tru ctu re
your
management
business,
and /or
attorney
for
advice
thats
relev ant
to
startin g
or
law
suits
against
their
company.
Creditors
of
the
sole
propri etorship (or anyone else, for that matter) can su e the owners of the
bu siness and, if they win a ju dgment, can move to sei ze the owners
homes, c ars , savin gs or other personal assets .
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Unlike
corporation ,
sole
p roprietorship
is
not
considered
separate from its owner for tax pu rposes. This means that the sole
propri etorship itself does not pay i ncome tax. Instead, the owner reports
bu siness income or losses on his or her individu al income tax retu rn. A s a
sole p rop rietor, you 'll have to take responsibility for wi thholding and
paying all income taxes , which an employ er wou ld normally do for you .
This
means
paying
"self-employment"
tax,
which
consists
of
number
from
the
IRS
(if
you
have
or
plan
to
have
employees), a seller's permit from you r state and a zoning permit from
you r local planning board.
If you do bu siness u nder a name different fro m you r own (e.g., u sing
Big Blue Man agemen t instead of y our name Nancy Jones) you usually must
register that name, known as a fic titiou s business name, with you r county .
In practice, lots of bu sinesses are small enou gh to get away with ignori ng
these requ irements . Bu t if you are cau ght, you may be su bject to back
taxes and other penalties.
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Co-Sole Proprietorships
There is one excepti on to the "s ole" owner ru le. You can share
ownersh ip of you r bu siness with you r legal spou se and still main tain it as
a sole p rop rietorsh ip. If you do th is, th e IRS wi ll conside r you "co-sole
proprietors ." You can ei ther split bu siness profits and losses on s eparate
retu rns, or pu t them on you r joint Schedu le C retu rn.
This arrangemen t, sometimes referred to as a hu sband/wife sole
propri etorship, allows you r spou se to help with the bu siness (witho ut
pay) without having to classify him or her as an emp loyee (which would
cause you to have to pay payroll ta xes). Simi larly, by not classifying your
spou se as a partne r or an independ ent contract or, h e or sh e won't h ave to
pay
your business
won't have to
file
general
partn ership,
all
partn ers
share
profits ,
assets,
liabi lities , and responsibili ties . Assets belong to partners collec tively .
Each general partner has au thority to enter into contracts on behalf of the
partn ership. Each partner is accou ntable for acti ons by any other p artn er,
and is responsible for the partn erships debts and losses . A general
partn ership itself pays no taxes. Partners mu st individu ally accou nt for
their shares of p rofi ts or losses on their personal tax retu rns.
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When a gen eral p artnership is disbanded, assets are liqu idated and
proceeds are u sed to (1) pay credi tors , (2) repay loans to the partners hip
by any of the partners, and (3) compensate partn ers who have contribu ted
fu nds or assets . Money left over is distribu ted between partners in
proportion
to
their
shares
in
the
bu siness
(as
spelled
out
in
the
partnership agreement).
Limited Partnerships
A Limited Pa rtne rsh ip is a partne rs h ip in wh ich some of th e partne rs
have limited li abili ty for the bu sinesss obligations . At leas t one partner
acts as general partner, assu ming total responsibili ty for managing the
ventu re. The remaining, limited partner(s) mu st not have any say or role
in managing the ven tu re. Whereas gen eral partnerships are formed by
like-minded
individuals
who
collectively
con tri bu te
assets,
capital,
expertis e and /o r ti me to the comp any, limi ted partnerships u su ally ari se
where one party seeks to raise money from investors to pu rsu e a speci fic
ventu re. The fu nction of the limi ted partners is to p rovide operating
capital.
Limited p artners are rep aid a percentage of the v entu res profits .
Normally a limi ted partnership has a finite life. Limi ted partn erships may
be formed to finance sp ecific p rojec ts (i.e. fu nds
for s tu dio time or recordin g equ ipment, pu rchase of copy right c atalog,
lau nch of a management or record company, fu nding of a tou r, etc).
Shou ld the ventu re fai l, limi ted partners lose on ly their inv estment; th ey
are not liab le for losses or damages beyond what they pu t into the
ventu re.
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P a g e | 21
who
Under
operates
the
right
bu siness,
alone
circumstances,
or
the
with
owner
others ,
may
of
size
any
bu siness can benefit. While the argu ment for incorporatin g is strong,
maintaining
your
corporation
comes
with
set
of
responsibiliti es .
sole
p rop rietorships.
Each
individu al
state
has
its
own
legal
procedu res and regu lations for forming and main taining a corporation in
good s tanding.
A fu ll desc ription of all the differences betw een an S-Corporation, a
C-Corporation , and a limi ted liabi li ty company ( LLC) wou ld be beyond the
scope of this manu al. Besides, the distinctions are often altered (or
blu rred) by changes in the Intern al Revenu e Code and local laws. Ev en
by the time this manu al is read, fu rther changes to relev ant tax laws may
have been made, affectin g the en tity choice. The bottom line is that a
choice of entity shou ld be made u pon cu rrent information only, with the
assistance of a lawyer and an accountant. To do it any other way is to risk
making a bad choice that one will later regret, esp ecially when the first or
su ccessive company tax retu rns are filed .
Bu sinesses may choose from a variety of co rpo rate entiti es, based on
their needs. Below are u sefu l des criptions, bu t you r legal or finan cial
advisors can help you decide which type of stru ctu re best su its you r
business needs.
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Loan-out Corporations
A Loan-out Corpora tion is primarily a tax-saving device u sed by a
recording artist to shelter income from a recording contract. Instead of
signing directly with a record comp any, the artist signs to his or her own
corporation. The corporation then loans the artists servic es via an
agreemen t
with
the
record
company,
and
the
rec ord
company
pays
differences
between
general
corporation
and
close
Page 22
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Subchapter S Corporation
A Subc hapter S Corporation is a gen eral corporation that has
elec ted a speci al tax statu s with the IRS after the corporation has been
formed.
Subchapter
corporations
are
most
for
small
bu siness owners and entrep reneu rs who prefer to be taxed as if they were
still sole prop rietors or partn ers . For many small bu sinesses, the S
Corporation offers the bes t of both worlds , combining the tax adv antages
of a sole p ropri etorship or p artn ership with the limited li abili ty and
endu ring li fe of a corporate s tru ctu re.
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
A Limited Liabi lity Com pany (LLC) is not a corporation, bu t it
offers many of the same advantages. Many small bu siness owners and
entrepreneu rs prefer LLCs bec au se they combine the limi ted liabi lity
protection of a corporation with the "pass throu gh"" taxation of a s ole
propri etorship or p artnership. While LLC owners enjoy limited personal
liabi lity for many of thei r bu siness transactions , it is important to realize
that this protection is not absolu te. This draw back is not u niqu e to LLCs,
however - the same exc eptions apply to corporations. An LLC owner c an
be held personally liable i f he or sh e:
LLC defaults;
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P a g e | 24
This last excep tion is the mos t imp ortant. In some circu mstances , a
cou rt mi ght say that the LLC doesn't really exis t and find that its owners
are rea lly doing bu siness as individu als, wh o are pe rsona lly liab le for
their acts.
Becau se of the expense and formaliti es involv ed in setting u p a
corporation and issu ing stock (shares in the corporation) , you shou ld
form a corporati on only if you hav e good reason to do so. If you merely
want to limit you r personal liabi lity for bu siness debts, formin g a li mi ted
liabi lity company (LLC) is probably smarter, becau se LLCs are both less
expensive to form and less comp lex to ru n.
Page 24
FINDING ARTISTS
Today, it is fai rly easy for a manager to find artists to si gn. Before
you start lookin g for artists, however, you shou ld take stock of what
exactly you have to offer. What style of music do you enjoy listening to
and have a good u nderstanding of? What contac ts do you have in the
entertainment indu stry? How mu ch money do you have available to k eep
you afloat du ring the difficu lt fi rst phase of managemen t? How mu ch do
y o u k n o w a b o u t t h e m u s i c bu s i n e s s ? H o w m a n y a r t i s t s a r e y o u a l r e a d y
managing at this point; and will you have enou gh time and resou rces
al loca ted to t ake on ano th er one? T h ese and many oth er qu estions sh ou ld
be answ ered before you start lookin g for artis ts to sign .
Once you are comfortable wi th the answers to you r qu estions and are
ready to start looking for artists , you can begin by visiting mu sic-related
sites and blogs , and/or asking clu b owners / book ers , p romoters , op en mic
/ karaoke hosts , c lu b DJs, mu sic retai l store managers, entertainmen t
attorn eys, record produ cers / en gi neers , pu blicists, etc ., if they know of
any artis ts that need managemen t. There are tens of thou sands of arti sts
with Twitter accou nts; MySpace, imeem, and Fac ebook p rofi les; Electronic
Press Kits (EPKs); You Tu be channels; and official web sites that you can
revi ew online. This allows you to narrow down you r search and make a list
of bands to go and s ee p erforming live. You can also start going ou t to
clubs and other venues to see if you can find bands that you like.
It always helps to see a band performing liv e becau se you get a
chance to see how well they perform. It gives you a chance to see if you
can indeed improv e u pon what they are already doing. You can also see
how the audience is reacting to the band.
P a g e | 26
will
make
will
be
from
tou ring
or
performin g
live,
selling
What
is
the
talent
level
of
the
potential
client?
Are
they
at
the
What
primary
market
demo graphic
are
they
trying
to
reach?
For
What are their go als? Are their go als re alistic? Will yo u be able to
achieve those goals with them in a timely manner or are you in over
your head?
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 26
P a g e | 27
Do they absolutely love what they do ? Are they doing what they do for
the love of it, or do they want to make a million dollars and live on a
beachfront p roperty? Either way , will you be able to achieve what they
want?
Do they have any existi ng deals (e.g., manageme nt, pro duction, spec,
recording, publishing, licensi ng, sponsorship, endorsement, etc.)? Will
any of these deals be co mplicate d by y our involvement? Will any of these
deals present a conflict of interest? Can they legally sign with you, or do
you have to buy somebo dy out of a contract, co-manage with somebo dy
else, or help them get o ut o f an existing contract, and so on?
Where do they live, and can you manage them co mpetently even i f you
live in another area (or country)?
What
debts
have
they
incurred?
Debts
and
liens
can
affect
commissionable income .
Do they have lots of friends o r ene mies in the music busi ness? It is better
to know soone r than later since yo u may bump into some o f these people
(good or bad) alo ng the way .
These are ju st some of the topics you will need to discu ss at the
preliminary meeting. You will probably be able to add some more to this
list. If everything is answered to y ou r satisfac tion at this meetin g you can
then move to the next s tage and begin negoti atin g a management con tract.
Page 27
of
the individuals
involved.
contrac t is
legally
binding
agreemen t between two or more parti es, which may be oral bu t is more
often w ritten. In ord er for a con trac t to be legally binding,
The party that agrees to d o, or refrain from doing, a particu lar thing
make su re everything is legal and n othing important has been overlook ed.
You can find contact information for entertainment attorneys in (among
other places) the Music Attorney, Legal and Business Affairs Guide
available at the Mu sic Regis try web site (http: //w ww.mu sicregis try .com).
P a g e | 29
The Mu sic Registry also has a book of Contrac ts for the Mu sic
Indu stry (http://www.mu sicregis try .com/contrac tprod.html) that inclu des
a contract for A rtist Managers , bu t as they (and I) su ggest, it is always
better to have an attorn ey draft one for you ; or at the very least cu stomize
the one in the book to you r particu lar situ ation. Another resou rce is the
Volunteer Lawye rs for the Arts (http://ww w.v lany .org) . You can also
search fo r atto rneys on th e internet or ask oth er artists o r mu sic indu stry
professionals who they wou ld recommend . It is always wise to have
separate attorneys for each side ( the manager and the artis t).
Following are some of the important items that are usually
i n c l u d e d i n a m a n a g e m e n t c o n t ra c t :
Definitions.
Most management contracts have definitions of important words that
need to be clearly defined . Having vagu e terms in a contrac t allows for
some mischief when one party or the other needs to find a way out of the
contract. E xamp les of important words that cou ld have different meanings
to different people and n eed to be defined are gross, net , income,
expenses, rec ou pable , commiss ion, bu dget , and a host of others.
Term.
The term refers to a fi xed period of time du ring which the contract is
in force. Many managers and artis ts set u p a tri al p eriod of six / nine
months before committing to a fu ll-len gth contract. This trial period is
u sed to see if the manager and arti st are comp atible with each other or if
the manager is c apable of being of any valu e to the artist. If all goes w ell,
a term of one to two years with options to renew for addi tional one-y ear
terms can be set. Some states have a limi t to the nu mber of years an artist
can be si gned to a personal servic es contract.
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P a g e | 31
means
that
the
manager
can
sign
and
accept
contrac ts ,
agreemen ts and other related documents on behalf of their clien ts. The
contract wi ll have to spell ou t which contracts , agreemen ts and related
d o c u m e n t s t h e m a n a g e r c a n s i g n a n d w h i c h o n e s th e m a n a g e r c a n n o t s i g n .
The pu rpose of this power of attorney is to allow the manager to cond u ct
business on their clients behalf even if the client is unavailable at the
time. However, the client may wi sh to limit the power of attorney to
contracts that arent exclu sive, d ont bind the cli ent to a lon g-term
commitment, or dont assign clients ri ghts to sou nd recordin gs and
copyrights , for example. Clients may feel okay abou t managers signi ng
contracts on thei r behalf for short-term commitments that have p reviou sly
been discu ssed and agreed u pon. Many artis ts and thei r attorneys are
skeptical abou t giving power of attorney to the manager, so dont be
su rprised if this clau se ends u p bei ng one that is heavily c ontes ted . K eep
in mind that you can s till do you r j ob as a manager wi thou t having power
of attorn ey, s o dont let this be a deal break er.
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P a g e | 32
Commission.
This area of the contrac t can get extremely complicated and is
u su ally where the mos t conflict arises. Pers onal managers get paid a
commission, which is u su ally arou nd 10%-15% o f the c lients gross (or
net) earnings; not to be confu sed w ith bu siness managers, road man agers,
and tou r managers that get paid a s alary .
The problem most managers and clients encou nter is defining what
the term gross earnings or net earnings means , and deciding what
income sou rces are commissionable (e.g., CD/down load sales, gig a nd
touring income , advances, roya lties, sponsorship fees , endorsements ,
merchandise sales, brand partne r payments, income generated from
artist-branded products, e tc).
from a li mited nu mber of income sou rces based on the net receipts (i .e.
deduct expenses from the gross income before paying ou t a commission to
the manager) . A manager, on the other hand, w ou ld rather get pai d a
commission on the gross rec eipts (i.e. a commission paid prior to artist
expenses being deducted) from all sou rces of income from contracts
negotiated du ring the term of the managemen t con tract.
A sticky issu e is deciding what income the manager can receiv e a
commission on. Clien ts can rec eive income (in one form or anothe r) from
record deal advances , record sales (physical and digital), merchandisi ng
sales /deals , pu blishing advances and royalties , liv e performances fees,
sponsorship
fees,
appearances ,
speaking
en gagements ,
endorsements,
mu sic licensing, royalti es, ac ting or mod eling s alari es, band & brand
payments , cosmetic or clothing deals, artis t-branded produ cts, etc. W hat
income sh ou ld th e manager rec eive a commission on? Wh en sh ou ld th is
commission be paid (monthly, quarterly, when each check arrives)? Who
sh ou ld receiv e th e m oney initia lly? Wh en and h ow will paymen ts to o th e r
vendors and creditors be made?
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P a g e | 33
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P a g e | 34
Expenses.
Most con tracts wi ll call for the manager to be rei mbu rsed for all
reasonable exp enses incu rred by the man ager on behalf of the cli ent. The
manager may mak e long-distance or internation al phone calls , travel for
meetings , attend conven tions, pu t together showcases , etc ., on behalf of
the
client.
In
the
event
that
the
manager
needs
to
make
certain
expenditu res , most con tracts will specify a set amou nt of money that the
manager cannot spend withou t the clients prior app roval. For example,
the manager may have to ask for approval to spend anything above $ 500
on the cli ents behalf each mon th.
Some of the things that cou ld be deemed as exp enses inclu de:
Postage
Photo sessions
Related Air/Bu s/Rail fares (for trips on behalf of the artist to, for
example, bu siness meetin gs or conferences/conventions)
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P a g e | 35
Audits.
Contracts shou ld allow the rec eiving party to au dit the books of the
paying party. For example, if the manager collec ts all the money and
makes paymen ts to the client, the client should be able to audit the
managers
books
to
check
the
accu racy
of
the
payments.
In
many
instances, the c lient receives the money and pays the commission to the
manager, in which case the manager wou ld need to have the ri ght to au dit
the clien ts books. This right to au dit is u su ally restricted to within a set
amou nt of time after the transac ti ons have taken plac e (e.g. within two
years). Usually the p arty conducting the audit will pay for the audit
services u nless some discrepancy is fou nd, u pon wh ich time th e party wi th
the discrep ancy will pay for the au dit.
Manager is not a licensed talent agent.
Most management con tracts wi ll in clu de a clau se that says that the
manager is not ac ting as a talent agent. Some s tates requ ire a s eparation
between the two. For example, the labor commissioner in New York and
Cali fornia mu st lic ense a talen t agent. A talent agent is defined as a
person who engages in the occu pation of procu ring, offerin g, p romisi ng,
or attemptin g to p rocu re employ ment or engagements for an artist. It
remains to be seen how 360 deals (aka multiple-rig hts deals) will work
arou nd this issu e, since many of the deals bein g stru ctu red nowadays
provide mana gemen t and bookin g d u ties in-h ou se. Even ou tside of th e 360
deal stru ctu res, many man agers are involv ed with occasionally help ing
their artists secu re gi gs and other live performance opportu nities and
wish to avoid (if they liv e in cities forbidding managers from being talen t
agents) being fou nd to be operating as an agent withou t a licens e in
those states. By indicating in their contrac t that they are not a licens ed
talent agen t, any booking- like acti vity on their part cou ld be considered
incidental.
Page 35
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P a g e | 37
or
extended.
You
s h o u ld
decide
whether
such
renewal
or
Page 37
P a g e | 38
Assignments.
Most contracts will allow the man ager to assign thei r du ties and
responsibili ties to an associate, affiliate, licensee or other c ompany that
may bu y the managers company o u t. This is usu ally done to allow the
manager the flexibili ty to join or partner with other companies
or
investors y et s till be able to perform the du ties u nder their con tract w ith
the artist. Managers may also wan t to be able to assign the contract to
another member of a management firm shou ld they have to leave the
company.
Key Man Clause.
This is a provision in the contract that protects a recording artist or
songwri ter who signs to a company specifically bec au se of a particula r
person (the key man even though this pe rson might be a woma n),
withou t whose presence the artist or son gwri ter wou ld not w ant to be
bou nd to the company. A key-man clau se provides that if the named
individu al sh ou ld leave th e comp any du ring th e term o f th e artis t or
songwri ters contrac t, the artis t or songwri ter may have the option to
terminate the contract withou t legal or financial rep ercu ssions. To be fair
to the company , su ch a clau se may also requ ire that the artist or
songwri ter
repay
any
outstanding
advances
and /or
fulfill
any
commitments u nder the contract in order to terminate the con tract early.
Performance Clause.
This is a contrac tu al provision requ iring a party to perform some
service or achieve some goal. For examp le, a manager may be requ ired to
get their artist signed to a record c ompany within a specified time peri od;
or an artist may be requ ired to be available for tou ring commi tmen ts as
agreed to in a band & brand agreement, etc.
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P a g e | 39
General.
Most contrac ts inclu de some other general c lau ses that fu rther
clarify the complete u nderstanding betw een the parties . For examp le, the
contract sh ou ld identify th e state in th e country th at h as ju risdiction ove r
all matters related to the c ontract. Another clau se will iden tify the
contract as a complete u nderstandi ng between the parties and compel any
changes to be made in writin g in order to be enforceable. Another clau se
will show that the manager has advised the artist to s eek legal c ou nsel
before signing the con tract, and so on.
Signatures.
Of cou rse, a wri tten contract cannot be valid withou t the signatu res
of all the parties u nder obli gation. You do not necessari ly need to have
the contract notarized , bu t mak e su re that the signatu res are in blu e ink
s o t h a t i t i s o b v i o u s w h i c h d o c u me n t s a r e o r i g i n a l s a n d w h i c h o n e s a r e
copies.
Page 39
is
very
important
to
have
good
u nderstanding
of
and
appreciation for the clien ts image. Make su re that they are comfortable
with not on ly who they are, bu t als o who the pu blic perc eives them to be.
You may find it necess ary to fine-tu ne some things in ord er to p res ent a
more accu rate image to the pu blic. You may be able to do this on you r own
or hire a sty list to help with imagi ng. It is mu ch better to do this earlier
on in the process than to p roceed and try to change the image later.
P a g e | 41
Once you ve made an impression wi th the pu blic (or the artists fan
base) it becomes mu ch more difficu lt to change it later on . Dont c onfu se
this with the normal strategy of p resen ting differen t sides of the same
person to the pu blic or gradu ally u pdating the image of the artist to fit
the cu rren t release.
Evaluate the name
In this age of social n etworkin g, it is importan t to avoid con fu sion
and mak e su re that you r cli ent d oes not have the same name is another
artist. The process
of evaluating
your clients
professional name
is
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P a g e | 42
E v e n i f y o u f e e l l i k e y o u r c l i e n t s m u s i c f i t s i n mu l t i p l e g e n r e s , i t i s
still a good id ea to abbrevi ate th e desc ription when talkin g to oth er
members of the mu sic commu nity as well as fans.
Get your clients house in order
The beginning of you r relationship is a good time to sit down and
help to get you r cli ents hou se in order. This can be tricky someti mes
since most clients have inad equ ate fu nds to take care of some of thei r
more p ressing legal and accou nting issu es. You shou ld tak e this time to
talk to you r client abou t establishing a corporation to separate personal
and bu siness assets; registerin g copyrights; applying for servic e marks (i f
applicable); signing u p for variou s insu rance policies; tax planning /
bookkeeping;
etc.
You
may
have
to
sch edu le
consultations
with
an
attorn ey and an accou ntant or financial advisor to help with some of th ese
issu es. Use this time to add ress an y back taxes owed or legal issu es that
are u nresolved .
Identify the artists demographi c
It is extremely important to identi fy the demographic that you will
be mark eting you r mu sic produ cts and services to. You will u ltimately be
sellin g produ cts and services to this demographic, so the more you know
abou t them the more su ccessfu l you r campai gns will be. This data will
also be u sefu l to a poten tial brand partner, sponsor or record label. The
sooner y ou start doin g you r researc h the better. To find this informati on
you will have to start wi thin the inner ci rcle of you r fan base and w ork
ou twards . Begin by pollin g the people on you r mai ling list or in you r fan
base and you will soon begin to d evelop a p rofile (or a set o f profi le s).
Th e most effectiv e and effici ent way to do th is is condu ct a su rvey
(questionnaire)
on
your website
in
exchan ge
or
discou nted, like son g down loads , concert tickets , band merchandise,
au tographed or exc lu sive produ cts, access to you r artist, etc.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 42
P a g e | 43
Ask
for
or
utilize
the
variou s
direc tories
where
there
is
little
income
coming
in
from
performi ng,
Page 43
P a g e | 44
For example, you might have a Roc k band and a Pop/R&B band . The
R o c k b a n d c a n b e o n t o u r w h i l e t h e P o p / R & B b a n d i s i n t h e s tu d i o
recording. This way, in addition to royalti es from p reviou s recordings or
Film/TV licensing, you can have income coming in from the Rock ban ds
tou r while the Pop/R&B band finalizes their rec ordin gs, and then switch
schedu les. It is also a good idea to think abou t ancillary income from you r
bands songs , inclu ding licensing, merchandise sales , etc . The plan is to
arran ge it so that the lean periods do not all happen at the same time for
all you r c lients . You shou ld also take advantage of aftermark et, which
essentially means addi tional sou rces of income from you r clien ts records
after the initi al release. This cou ld be anything from compilations and remixes to releases in di fferent formats, c over v ersions , etc.
Page 44
bu t su rely
fallin g ou t of u se. In
Demo Deal
In this rare scenario a record label will give an artis t some money to
record a demo. The demo fu nd ranges from, for example, $1,500 to $5,000
for three songs. The label will have, for example, a 60-d ay period in which
to decid e whether to si gn the artist or not.
P a g e | 46
If they do not lik e what they hear and choose not to si gn the artist
they will have a 6- 9 month matching ri ght (or right o f fi rst re fusal).
This means that if any other label offers the artist a d eal in that time
frame, they will have the ri ght to match the other labels offer before the
artist can mov e on. The artis t will normally keep the demo once they move
on,
and
in
some
instances
may
even
be
allowed
to
release
it
independently.
Development Deal
A develop ment deal is somewhat like a demo deal, excep t that the
terms and options last for a little bit longer and the pu rpose is sli ghtly
differen t. In this scenario the rec ord label and the A&R rep wi ll sp end
some ti me, normally abou t six months, workin g with all aspects of the
artists package to try and bring it u p to the level where they can commit
to spending more money on a fu ll release. Bu dgets for developmen t deals
ran ge from $10 ,000 to $35,000. If the artist fails to matu re to the
approp riate level they can be let go, again savin g the label the money
associated with a full-scale release. These types of deals are happening
less and less now as labels seek to redu ce their risk exposu re by sign ing
artists that are already well-d evelop ed.
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P a g e | 47
which artists share not ju st revenu e from thei r albu m sales bu t concert ,
merchandise and other earnings w ith their label in exchan ge for more
comprehensive c areer su pport. Trad itionally, record labels participated in
royalti es main ly from sales of the artists recordin gs, and sometimes from
other d eals stru ctu red arou nd the sale of recordin gs. 360 deals allow the
label to receive royalties from a wi de range of income sou rces related to
the
artist,
including
ticket
and
merchandise
sales
from
Singles Deals
A Singles Deal is a contract betw een a record company and an artist
Upstream Deals
Major record labels have begu n to arran ge u pstream deals as a way
Page 47
P a g e | 48
distribu ted
and
marketed
throu gh
the
major
record
label
distribu tion system, and once sales of the independent record reach a
certain plateau , the reco rd is u pstreamed into the maj or label system.
The assets of the independent label can also transferred to the major label
in exchange for sharing of the royalties.
Option Deals
Option deals (also ca lled s tep dea ls) are arran gements where, for
example, a songw riter rec eives a partial payment towards a creativ e fee
for wri ting a song for a film prod u ction, commercial, or other p roject.
Upon completion of the song, the w riter su bmits a d emo to the comp any.
If the company approv es the song, a fu rther payment is made and the song
is recorded for synchronization . Fi nal payment is mad e if and when the
song is actu ally synchronized or otherwise u sed in the completed p roj ect.
If the song is not u sed, the songw riter keeps the initial payment(s) , and
u su ally retains fu ll ri ghts to
be some
conditions.
Distribution Deal
A distribu tion deal is an arrangement betw een an independent label
or p rodu ction company and a major (or larger) label whereby the latter
distribu tes the formers produ ct to retai lers. In this arrangement the
independent
label
or
production
packagin g,
distribu tor.
distribu tion
In
and
company
delivering
deals
where
is
finished
the
responsible
for
produ ct
the
independent
to
label
or
produ ction company does all its own mark etin g and promotion, the
distribu tor typically retains 20% to 30% of the produ cts wholesale s elli ng
price.
Page 48
P a g e | 49
and
the
distribu tor
then
assumes
responsibility
for
manu factu ring, packaging, and distribu ting the finished produ ct. In some
cases, P&D d eals also p rovide that the distribu tor handle all mark etin g of
the produ ct, and the independent label is paid a royalty ( typically 15% to
20% of the products re tail price)
.
Production Deals
These are contrac ts either between record companies and record
produ cers, or record produ cers and recording artis ts. Sometimes a rec ord
company signs an artist and then hires a produ cer to p rodu ce the albu m.
In other instances a record produ cer finds an artist and si gns them to his
or her produ ction company in ord er to produ ce an albu m that can be
shopped to a record label. An independent artist is more likely to
encou nter a p rodu ction contrac t than a recording contrac t early on in
their careers. If the produ cer has major label (hi t song) produ ction
credits , then an u nsigned artis t can use this as a vehicle to get on the
rad ar screen of the major label A&R reps .
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P a g e | 50
produ cer (generally, one with maj or label production credits) whereby
the record comp any obtains exclu sive ri ghts to rep rodu ce, distribu te, and
sell a recordin g for a s tated period of time, after which those rights
terminate and rev ert back to the produ cer. The produ cer fu rnishes a
completed mas ter recording. In some cases , the produ cer also fu rnis hes
camera- ready artwork for albu m covers . The record company assu mes the
responsibili ty
and
expenses
of
mark etin g,
and
distribu tion, p aying the p rodu cer a percentage of each u nit sale. The
produ cer is generally responsible for paying artis t roy alties from the
gross income received from the record comp any. The record company
typically assu mes responsibility for paying mechanical royalti es to mu sic
pu blishers that con trol the song cop yrights on the recording.
Licensing Deals
A license is a grant of permission for a comp any or individu al
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P a g e | 51
albu ms released overseas . In these instances, the copyri ght of the albu m
remains
with
the
original
copyri ght
owner.
The
deal
is
more
of
Merchandising Deals
Major rec ord labels are committing less and less money to the area
areas
for
merchandising
are
retail/mail
order,
and
tour
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P a g e | 52
these
deals,
the
songw ri ter
generally
grants
all
their
Co-publishing Deals
Under these d eals, the son gwri ter and the mu sic pu blisher are "co-
owners"
of
the
copyrights
in
the
musical
compositions.
The
wri ter
becomes the "co-pu blisher" (i.e . co- owner) with the mu sic pu blisher based
on an agreed split of the royalties. The songwri ter assigns an agreed
percen tage to the pu blisher, u su ally (but not always), a 50 /50 split. Thu s,
the w riter conveys of the pu blisher's share to the pu blisher, bu t retains
the wri ters enti re share.
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Administration Deals
Administration deals are made between songw ri ters/pu blishers and
administers
and
exp loits
the
c opyri ghts
for
another
gets
10-20%
of the
gross
royalties
rec eived
from
administering and exploiting the songs for a certain period of time and
for a c ertain territory .
Collection Agreements
Collection
agreements
are
like
administration
deals
where
the
songwri ter retains the copyri ghts, excep t that the pu blisher does not
perform exp loitation fu nctions. Lik e an accou ntant or bu siness manager,
the pu blisher merely collects and di sbu rses avai lable royalty income.
Page 53
P a g e | 54
Sub-publishing Deals
Su b-pu blishing deals are basically mu sic pu blishing deals in forei gn
Purchase Agreements
Under these agreemen ts, one mu sic pu blisher acqu ires in whole or in
In
this
case,
"due
diligenc e"
investi gation
is
done
to
Collateral Contracts
These are contrac ts that are entered into simu ltaneou sly by the same
parti es to d eal with separate, bu t related , issu es. For example, a singersongwri ter mi ght enter into a recording contract wi th a rec ord label an d a
pu blishing contract with the reco rd companys mu sic pu blishing division
at the same time. Careful attention must be paid to potential conflicts of
interest arising ou t of su ch arrangements .
Endorsement Deals
Mu sical equ ipment comp anies hav e a financial interes t in having
high
profile
musicians
with
album
or
c redits
endorsing their produ cts. The hope is that fellow mu sicians will bu y
produ cts endors ed by mu sicians they respec t and/or admi re.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 54
P a g e | 55
Mu sical equ ipment manu factu rers p refer to app roach mu sicians who
have sold a lot of produ ct or have c redits on major record label releas es or
tou rs,
achieved
signi ficant
radio
airp lay ,
and /or
attrac ted
lot
of
attention on television, the internet, and in the print media. How ever, it
is
possible
to
land
an
endors ement
deal
with
smaller
equipment
manu factu rers that are tryin g to expand their reach into other terri tories
or achieve more sales than thei r regional competi tors.
Endorsement deals u su ally requ ire the mu sician to endorse the
produ ct by mentioning the p rodu ct in ads and in terviews; inclu ding the
produ ct name, image and/or logo in albu m lin er notes; condu cting c linics
or teaching seminars; and /or endorsing the produ ct at trade shows. In
exchange fo r this added exposu re, the manu factu rer will u su ally pay the
mu sician a fee, give them free produ ct, and/or offer them a su bstantial
discou nt on equ ipment pu rchases. As one wou ld expec t, endorsement fees
u su ally go to the high profile mu sicians, while the discou nted or free
produ cts
go
to
the
independent
artis ts.
Endorsement
deals
for
i n d e p e n d e n t m u s i c i a n s d e p e n d o n th e m u s i c a l p r o f i c i e n c y o r s k i l l o f t h e
mu sician, how well the mu sician is known/ad mired, the nu mber of ti mes
the mu sician performs , the nu mber of albu ms or down loads sold, the s ize
and demographic mak eu p of the fan base, and the type of instru ment the
mu sician plays. Some equ ipment manu factu rers have informati on on their
websites regarding su bmission polic ies for endors emen t deals .
These are ju st some of the deals you or you r client might encou nter
alon g the way. As menti oned earlier, mak e su re you consu lt with an
experienced entertainment attorney (and accountant where applicab le)
when presented wi th a contract of any kind (and particularly one that
requires the transfer or assignment of rights).
Page 55
Pollstar
Billboard
reps
work
for
record
labels
and
are
charged
with
the
responsibili ty of scou ting and signing artists , selec ting material for them
to
record ,
assi gning
p rodu cers,
overseein g
recording
sessions,
and
developing mark etin g camp aigns for recorded releases in coop eration wi th
artist
man agers
and
other
rec ord
company
departments ,
such
as
P a g e | 57
Backline Techs
Backline techs are individu als, u su ally mu sicians as well, who s et u p,
tu ne, fi x, and break down equ ipment (drums , guitars, keyboards , e tc.) for
the band members on tou r. They sometimes play a role in the show itself
by operatin g gu itar effec ts pedals, p rogrammin g keyboard sequ encers, and
rep lacing broken s trin gs, dru m stick s, gu itar picks , etc .
Booking Agents
Booking
agen ts
performances
generally
and/or
work
tou rs.
In
with
artists
to
other
words
they
book
and
find
arrange
employment
opportu nities for artists . They n egotiate fees wi th venu es and other
interested parties and rec eive a c ommission (usually around 10%) for
their work. Bookin g agents u su ally have solid contac ts with venues,
bookers, fes tival organizers , p romoters and other presenters , and c an
u su ally get them on the phone when you cannot.
Booking agents can be invalu able when it comes time to organize a
t o u r . B o o k i n g a g e n t s a l s o d e t e r m i n e h o w mu c h t h e b a n d g e t s p a i d , t h e
pricing of tickets, what day the tick ets go on sale, which venu es the artist
plays in, which cities the tou r is rou ted to, etc. The agent also d eci des
which radio stations will do ticket promotions (free giveaways) . Keep in
mind that the larger booking agen ts tend to be interested in workin g with
artists who are si gned to a label and have financial tou r su pport, or a
tou ring
history,
loyal
fan
base,
great
reviews
and
media
coverage,
industry and /or pu blic bu zz, su bstanti al radio ai rplay , etc . That means
that it is better for a beginning artist to play and fill smaller venu es,
develop a loyal p aying fan base, organize street teams to help with s how
p r o m o t i o n , d e v e l o p u n i qu e p u b l i c i t y a n d p r o m o t i o n c a m p a i g n s , g e t s o m e
college or commercial radio ai rplay , and garner solid media cov erage and
industry bu zz before approaching booking agents .
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P a g e | 58
Camera Operators
The du ty of the Camera Operator is to tak e video footage and provide
shots that end u p on the large sc reens visible du ring stadiu m (or la rge
arena) shows.
Carpenters
Like the name su ggests , the role of the carpenter is to bu ild and
maintain the stage s et (e .g . dru m ri sers, pro ps, specia l e ffec ts and custom
stage pieces, etc .) .
Distributors
The distribu tor is essen tially a middleman between the record
label and retail stores (or anywhere the general public purchases music
from) . Dis tri bu tors attempt to convince retail stores to bu y and stock
label
products.
They
provide
ship
the
warehou se
produ cts
to
space
their
and
inventory
ordered . An additional fu nction for the distribu tor is to invoice the retail
stores and collec t money for p rodu ct sold . They then pay the record label
any money owed according to the terms of the distribu tion contrac t. It is
the record labels job to produ ce and provide the finished produ ct as well
as to promote the record to the general pu blic and make them aware of
where they can make pu rchases. On some occasions distribu tors will offer
to
manufacture
and
distribu te
the
records
in
retu rn
for
large r
percen tage of the sales p rice. These types of deals only get offered to
labels or artists that hav e a track record of solid sales and a relatively
large c atalog of releases .
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P a g e | 59
The major label distribu tion system involves some other indu stry
players as part of the network . These inclu de one stops, rack jobbers , and
record c lu bs. One stops are midd lemen who bu y records from labels and
then
make
them
available
to
local
rec ord
s tores
that
p refer
the
Service
Reps
work
as
liaison
between
the
variou s
departments of the venu e and the show promoter. Thei r du ties inclu de
tracking and docu menting v enu e expenses, enforcin g the venu e/p romoter
contract, and makin g su re the venue gets paid. Thei r jobs become criti cal
du ring events
(where
the
promote r rents the venue, books the talent, signs sponsors, coordin ates
the publicity and promotion, and collects the money).
show and controls how the au dience hears it. A ll the ou tpu t signals from
the mu sicians microphones and instru ments ( DI ou tputs , microphone
outputs) are fed into the main console (mixing board) . The fron t of hou se
engineer
applies
and
controls
the
volume
and
effects
(e .g.,
EQ,
compression, ga te, reverb , cho rus, etc.) before feeding the ov erall sou nd
to the main monitors (speake rs) in the venu e.
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Lighting Designers
The Lighting Desi gner designs the lighting sequ ence that takes place
Lighting Directors
The Lighting Di rec tor operates the lighting system on the day of the
show
and
executes
the
li ghting
sequence
desi gned
by
the
ligh ting
designer. The li ghting di rec tor u ses a li ghting desi gn ( plan) c reated by
the li ghting desi gner to gu ide them throu gh the show. Sometimes the
lighting design er and lightin g director is the s ame p erson . The li ghting
director also tells the spot op erators where to shine the spotli ght and
what cues to look for.
Lighting Techs
The Lighting Tech, also referred to as an elec trician , sets u p,
mechanical rights to record manu factu rers (e .g. record labels) and others
on behalf o f affi liated son g copy right owners, mu sic pu blishers and
songwri ters . Mechanical right societies collec t mechanical royalti es from
licensees and periodically distribu te the earnings to members. They
charge
their
affiliates
commission
of
gross
mechanical
roy alties
collected.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 60
P a g e | 61
The main mechanical ri ght society in the United States is the Harry
Fox
Agency
(HFA),
division
of
the
National
Music
Pu blishers
Merchandisers
Merchandisers are comp anies that pay bands and singers for the
Monitor Engineer
The Monitor Engineer con trols the sou nd that the mu sicians hear on
stage throu gh the stage or earphone monitors. They operate a sep arate
mixing board that feeds the sou nd from the equ ipment and microphones
back to th e stage o r earpiec e th ro u gh monitors th at th e mu sicians can
h ear. In comp lex monitor setu ps, each mu sician can h ear a s eparate mix.
Music Directors
Th ere are generally fou r different types of mu sic directo rs you may
encou nter wo rking wi thin the mu sic bu siness. Mu sic Directo rs (or MDs)
can be fou nd at radio stations sc reening and selec ting rec ordin gs for
airplay. At commercial radio stati ons, this job is being don e more and
more
by
consultan ts
and
grou p
Program
Directors
than
by
Music
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P a g e | 62
Music Publishers
A mu sic pu blisher attempts to exp loit mu sical copyrights on behalf
of themselves and the songw riters they rep resen t. They take c are of the
administrative
duties
involved
with
finding
uses
for
the
copyri ghts
(songs), negotiating lic enses, c ollecting fees and distribu ting money to
the wri ter(s) or other pu blisher(s) involved . Songs can hav e many u ses
besides being recorded on an albu m. Songs provide the mood for movie
scenes
and
set
the
vibe
for
TV
commercials
and
host
of
other
produ ctions. Pu blishing, like copyri ght, is a very comp lex topic that goes
beyond the scope of this e-Book . Lik e almos t everything els e related to the
b u s i n e s s o f mu s i c , y o u m u s t m a k e s u r e y o u h a v e a n e n t e r t a i n m e n t
attorn ey look ov er any paperwork presented to you by a pu blisher (or
anyone else for tha t ma tter).
Music Supervisors
Mu sic su pervisors are the peop le responsible fo r secu ring mu sic for
and
help
to
manage
the
music
bu d g e t s
approp riated
by
the
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P a g e | 63
Product Managers
Produ ct Managers are the p eople at major labels in charge of
coordinating, overseein g, and /or di rec ting the manu factu re and release of
produ ct. A record company p rodu ct managers du ties inclu de the assembly
of master tap es, label copy, copyri ght information , c redits , liner notes ,
graphics, artwork ,
etc., which
to
masterin g lab, and printers . P rod u ct managers work closely with other
departments
to
schedule
release
dates
and
coordinate
marketing
activities.
Professional Managers
Professional
Managers
manage
and
mark et
songs
for
music
pu blishers. Other names for professional managers inclu de song plu ggers,
catalog managers , or c reative managers. In addition to plu ggin g son gs, the
position sometimes also inclu des other du ties , su ch as scou ting, signi ng,
and developing talent, producing demos, and interacting with licensees.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 64
Program Consultants
Program Consu ltants are independent exp erts hired by radio s tations
Program Directors
At radio stati ons, the Program Director is the person in charge of
planning and schedu ling programs , and has the u ltimate responsibili ty for
the materi al and personnel selec ted for programs. The Program Di rec tor
(PD) decides what the ov erall programming for the radio station shou ld
be.
At
commercial
radio
stations
the
PD
performs
the
function
of
generating au dience share and rati ngs with inpu t from consu ltan ts, grou p
PDs , brand managers , and Indie promoters .
generate pu blicity throu gh the media for thei r clients . They normally get
paid a week ly, monthly , or per-p roj ect fee for their efforts . The pu blicity
efforts can help artists to attrac t in du stry and pu blic attention, pu blicize
a releas e or tou r, and increase the fan-base. Pu blicists assist in getti ng
articles , in terviews , revi ews, featu res and news items w ritten abou t thei r
clients , as w ell as responding to inqu iries from medi a personnel and other
individu als. PR fi rms can also be instru mental in secu ring sponso rsh ip
deals for tou rs.
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P a g e | 65
Pyrotechnicians
Pyrotechnicians
are
responsible
for
assembling
and
i gniting
Quarterbacks
In the area of radio promotion, qu arterbacks are people that are
consulted
to
ru n
you r overall
coordin ate
Radio Promoters
Independen t radio promoters (often called Indies) attemp t to
achieve radio ai rplay for their cli en ts. After records are sen t to the radio
stations , the Indies make follow-u p calls in an attemp t to convince the
program directors (PD) to add thei r clien ts son gs to the play lists . They
feed PDs information abou t the mark etin g and promotion campai gn , the
artists performances and/or tou r schedu le, ai rplay on other influ ential
stations , retai l ac tivity , media coverage, distribu tion plans, pu blic ity
efforts, radio trad e ads , u nit sales information , etc. The radio campaign
can ru n anywh ere f rom a f ew w eeks to a f ew month s and can cost
anywhere from a few thou sand to tens of thou sands of dollars.
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Record Producers
A good record produ cer is lik e a good film di rec tor. Thei r job is to
get the best performances ou t of all the mu sicians and singers , k eep the
stu dio sessions ru nning on time, act as a li aison between the band and the
recording engineer, commu nicate with the record label A&R rep , file all
the necessary talent releas es and related paperwork , and keep the proj ect
within the allotted bu dget. A good produ cer wi ll help keep the artists
inspired and motivated , and prev ent them from reaching for the same
predictable riffs ov er and over agai n. Many ti mes p rodu cers p lay the role
of talent scou ts and are the ears of the record labels in their area. As a
manager you will w ant to make relationships with as many good p rodu cers
with contac ts and c red entials as possible.
Riggers
The Rigger is the person respon sible for safely setting u p and
hanging
the
light
and
sound
points
in
the
arena.
They
work
in
coordination with the grou nd rigger, who assists in measu ring ou t the
points, as well as setting u p the chain-driven motors that su spend the
points. The grou nd riggers also prepare cable for bridle and d ead hangs .
Route Persons
A Rou te Person is a salesperson as signed to service retail c lien ts in
specific sales territories . Record distribu tors hire rou te peop le to sell and
deliver
product
to
retailers ,
set
up
merchandising
displays,
mount
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P a g e | 67
Selling Agents
Selling A gen ts (also called music jobbers) are appointed to sell
u su ally
p rint
publisher
with
expertise
in
designin g,
printi ng,
Stewards
A steward (also known as a shop steward) is a u nion official or a
union
contractor
who
hires
and
supervises
musicians
and
insures
Talent Buyers
Unlike Booking A gents , who work for thems elv es, Talent Bu yers are
Talent Scouts
Talent Scou ts u su ally work u nder the direction of A&R reps . Talent
scou ts assist the A&R reps by seeking ou t, evalu ating and rec ru iting new
talent and materi al. They are the ones that c an often be fou nd in clu bs
and on the streets listening and looking ou t for u p-and-coming talen t, and
more commonly now searching the intern et for talented artists that are
creating a bu zz .
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Technical Directors
Technical Directors are people in c harge of set d esign , constru ction,
and contro l du ring a live perfo rmance. They can u su ally be fou nd on
larger tou rs and shows where major label artists are performin g.
Trackers
Track ers
are
people
assi gned
to
check
radio
stations,
trade
magazines , record stores , distribu tors, etc., in order to moni tor the
progress of mark etin g efforts for a commerci al record release, maki ng
note
of
weekly
radio
adds,
chart
entri es,
chart
movement,
ai rplay
rotation , sales , etc. Now adays , companies can u tilize s olu tions like Big
Champagn e (http://www.bi gchampagne.com) and others to track all this
data.
Traffic Managers
In large rec ordin g stu dios, traffic managers are the people in charge
of schedu ling stu dio time for clients. These large stu dios u su ally hav e
betw een three and sev en differen t stu dios in one complex with mu lti ple
recording/mi xing/mastering/editin g p rojects taking p lace at one time.
Unions
T h e t w o m a i n m u s i c i a n u n i o n s i n th e U n i t e d S t a t e s a r e t h e A m e r i c a n
Federation
Television
of
&
Musicians
Radio
(AFM)
Artists
and
the
American
Federation
terms
of
of
radio,
sound
recordings ,
Page 68
P a g e | 69
Page 69
no
rewards
to
be had
if
workin g
as
hard
as
you
are,
you
create
and
take
advantage
of
opportu nities as they arise, and y ou have some lu ck on you r side. The
smart manager is the one who is willing to consider many of the problems
that may occu r in the cou rse of doin g their job.
Even thou gh some solu tions are offered, you shou ld spend some ti me
thinking abou t the p roblems p resented in this chapter and then try to
come
up
with
other
challenges
and
solutions
that
best
fit
your
P a g e | 71
of
the
group
members
is
not
interested
in
signing
the
management deal.
As
you
approach
grou p
with
management
offer,
you
may
encou nter a situ ation where one of the members is not interested in
signing with you . Th e firs t th ing yo u sh ou ld do is att empt to find ou t w h at
th e individu al band memb ers objections are. Th e person may th ink th at
you are u nqu alified . They may hav e had a bad exp eri ence wi th anoth er
manager previou sly, or some indu stry person may hav e warned them
against signing with you . Something you did in the past may have been
brou ght to their atten tion. They may simply be nervou s abou t signing
anything with anyone. They may think that they dont need management
or that they can and shou ld handle management du ties themselves.
Whatever the cas e may be, try and address their conc erns if you are
interested in signing the grou p. You may need to convince the person that
you are safe to si gn with, that the ru mors are u ntru e, that they really do
need management, and so on. If there really is something negative in you r
past that they have been made aware of, you should come clean and
explain you r side of the story and how you have recti fied the situ ation .
If something negativ e has taken place in the past, do not try and
pretend
that
nothing
happened
if
there
is
rec ord
somewhere
of
something negative you did. How do you expect the band to tru st you if
you start the relationship off with a lie? The manager-artist relations hip
mu st be based on mu tu al tru st. Do not try to sign the grou p withou t the
signatu re of the obj ecting member, or get the objectin g member kicked
ou t of the grou p.
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P a g e | 72
All members of the grou p have to agree to and sign the management
contract in order to be bou nd to it. As temptin g as it is , do not try and get
the objectin g grou p member fi red , u nless they are indeed a li abili ty to the
grou p and the rest of the grou p agrees that they shou ld go. If you fail to
convince the grou p to sign with you , the best op tion is to wi thdraw y ou r
offer and move on to another grou p. They may see the li ght at some point
in the fu tu re and approach you again abou t managin g them.
Lack of (or bad) communication between you and your c lient.
This is a very common problem th at occu rs betw een man agers and
their cli ents , and if not worked ou t early on, c an lead to the end of the
relationship before anything good can happen. Commu nication skills are
absolutely
vital
in
the
field
of
artis t
management,
since
bad
commu nication creates a vacu u m in wh ich oth ers can spread negative
propaganda and misinformation. Not on ly do you have to be able to
commu nicate well wi th you r clien t, bu t also with all the other indu stry
professionals as well (e .g. producers, label A&R reps, publishe rs, booki ng
agents, concert promoters , publicists, licensees, hired musicians, etc .).
Y o u a n d th e c l i e n t w i l l h a v e t o b e o n t h e s a m e p a g e a t a l l t i m e s i n o r d e r t o
avoid misu nderstandings.
Band members or artists shou ld feel comfortable talking to you
abou t anything that concerns or i nterests them at any time, and y ou
sh ou ld do you r part to main tain an open-door policy with th em. You r
clients shou ld know that all corres pondence mu st go throu gh you and be
discu ssed befo re being acted u pon. Besides talking on the phone, texting,
twit te ring, or sendin g emai ls back and forth , you sh ou ld try to sch edu le
regu lar meetin gs with you r cli ents to review progress reports and disc u ss
ideas and concerns the clien t may have. A ll id eas and concerns shou ld be
address ed as s oon as possible.
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Keep in mind that the cli ent is looking to you for career advice as
well as ideas and su ggestions, so make su re you remain u p-to-date with
industry news before s etting u p your meetin gs. The more c redible you are
with information, the more likely the band will take your communication
with them seriou sly, and the more theyll look to you for commu nicati on
instead of bringin g in ou tside sou rc es. An absolu te mu st-read is Billboard
(h ttp://www.bil lbo ard .bi z); al th ough you sh ou ld also ch eck ou t oth er
sou rces like the New York Ti mes ( entertainment sec tion online) or even
occasionally
the
Wall
Street
Jou rnal
and
Forbes
for
in-depth
entertainment news and an alysis. Keep u p with the local mu sic industry
news and newsmak ers in you r area, since the loc al area is where y ou r
artists are most likely to get their i ndu stry news from or encou nter other
industry players.
One member is (or more members are) not interested in a deal
youve worked hard to line up.
As a manager, you will spend mu ch of you r time trying to fi gu re ou t
how to get deals for you r clien ts. These may inclu de record deals,
pu blishing
deals,
licensing
deals
(domestic
and
internation al),
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P a g e | 74
Do not w aste valu able time talking to indu stry professionals and
having an attorney negotiate a deal ju st to have the grou p or artist refu se
to
sign
it.
This
will
not
only
cause
stress
between
you
and
the
grou p/artist, bu t will also ru in your repu tation among th e mu sic indu stry
community.
Some group membe rs working harder than others in the group.
It is not u nu su al to find that in a grou p, one of the members is
working harder than all the res t; or one of the members is lazy and hardly
does anything other than play thei r instru ment or sing. If not add res sed
qu ickly, this can lead to s eriou s morale issu es or even the breaku p of the
grou p. The bes t way to handle this situ ation is to design ate tasks to each
member so that all members feel li ke they are con tribu ting to the overall
su ccess of the grou p, and each of th e members are pu llin g their fai r share
of the load . If some members feel that they are contribu ting more to the
grou p than they shou ld be, they will start to insist on a larger percen tage
of the profi ts, which cou ld lead to other members complaining, some
members qu itting, or the grou p breaking u p. It is possible that s ome
members perceiv e their contribu tion to be greater even when it isnt, so
this has to be dealt with delicately yet decisively.
Besides rehearsing and performing, tasks that can be design ated to
grou p members inclu de: sending newsletters
mailin g list, condu cting social netw orking c ampai gn, s ending materials to
street
team
members ,
respondin g
to
emails,
creating
or
updating
elec tronic press kits (EPKs) , organizing artic les and materials for band
meetings ,
making
follow-up
phone
calls,
d esigning
and
ord ering
promotional materi als , u pdating the band website or social network ing
profi le, u ploading materials to sites for promotion , main taining the band
tou r van , passin g ou t flyers / pos tcards / samplers , sending press releas es
abou t the band to the media, preparin g for band rehearsals, au ditioning
mu sicians, and mu ch more.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 75
Whatever you do, make su re that the tasks are spread ou t so that
each member feels that the rest of the members are doing the same
amou nt of work , and that the valu e plac ed on the w ork each member is
doing is similar. If a p articular member seems to be the weak link in the
chain, and the enti re proj ect is bei ng held back bec au se of thei r lack of
focu s or contribu tion, then you might want to consider discu ssing getti ng
rid of them. Su ch a decision wou ld have to be voted on by the whole grou p
or dealt wi th in the manner detai led in the band partnership agreement.
This decision can be complicated if that member also happens to be the
lead singer, songw ri ter, or mos t talented member of the grou p. In the end,
you will have to c onsider d oing what is best for the grou p as a whole.
Band members refuse to sign a band partnership agreement.
One of th e fi rst th ings you sh ou ld do as a man age r is to get th e band
to sign a b and partne rsh ip agree ment . Th e reason wh y you sh ou ld get
this done immediately is becau se it is mu ch easier to get the band
members to agree to terms of an agreement while they are s till fri ends and
before a deal wi th su bstantial amou nts of money is on the table. If y ou
dont get this done early , chances are that there wi ll be problems trying to
get it done later on .
This agreement is c ru cial becau se it spells ou t the rights and
responsibili ties of each band member, indicates how assets are divid ed,
detai ls the procedu res that mu st be followed and principles that mu st be
adhered to, and a whole lot more.
Topics covered in the band partners hip agreement may inclu de:
Ownership of the band name and logo. Names and logos cou ld belon g
to a single band member, sev eral band members that might have come u p
with the name and/or c reated the logo design , or to the band as a whole if
the name and logo was a grou p deci sion.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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Band member hiring and fi ring. Who will have the ri ght to hire and
fire band members, and how will th at p rocedu re be c arried ou t? This will
have to be spelled ou t in the agreement.
decide what shou ld be considered a profi t or a loss, and what percen tage
of p rofi t and loss each member shou ld take or be responsible for.
the single most complicated issu e and the most con tentiou s one to d eal
with, especially if the band partnership agreemen t is left u ntil later on to
sign. Chances are that the sou nd recording wi ll belong to the whole band,
u nless some members are the band and others are ju st hired gu ns, or
the band assigns the rights to the s ou nd recordin g to a record label. The
pu blishing will belon g to the writer(s) of the songs the band reco rds,
u nless they sign pu blishing deals . Often , there will be con fu sion as to who
exactly
wrote
the
songs
or
whether
or
not
all
the
band
members
Band termination . The band will have to determine what even ts will
constitu te the dissolu tion of the band (e.g. death of a lead member,
initiation o f a lawsui t against the band, etc.) , and what shou ld happen to
profi ts, taxes , p roperty , d ebts , etc ., once the band is dissolved
The agreement shou ld determine the manner in which band dispu tes
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P a g e | 77
or
potential
damage
to
your
substantial
and
intentional breach of the contract i s u su ally a sign that the marri age is
in trou ble, and often , ev en with the intervention of attorneys , this leads
to the complete breakdown of the relationship. If all the parti es involved
follow the spirit and word of the contrac t and commu nicate clearly and in
good fai th at ev ery opportu nity, breaches can u su ally be avoided .
As a manager, youre in over your head.
It often takes a while to find a band or artis t that meets all you r
expec tations of what a band / artis t shou ld be, and when you find one i ts
qu ite easy to get lost in the magic al moments and move in to offer them a
management con tract before taking stock of y ou r resou rces. Initi ally, you
may think that great songs and good looks are all you need to get the band
to the next lev el. The band you sign may be extremely talented and exp ect
you to walk them ri ght into the Sr. VP or A&Rs office at a major label and
get th em a mu lti-million do llar d eal. Y ou may even believe th at m u ch
you rself, u ntil you find that there is more to the game than that and its
all taking mu ch longer than you exp ected .
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P a g e | 78
At that poin t, you may start to feel like youre in over y our head and
have bitten off more than you can c hew. The best way to avoid this in the
first p lace is to not promise what you cant deliver. Talk to the band abou t
a realistic game plan before you sign them and let them know that you will
all need to do a lot of work before su ccess can be attained . You shou ld
take
the
time
influential
to
voices
build
and
your
d at a b a s e
tastemakers
of
within
contacts,
social
which
i n c lu d e s
networking
ci rcles ,
attorn eys with mu sic indu stry contacts , rec ord produ cers with credi ts,
booking
agents ,
publicists,
music
pu blishers,
venue
bookers
and
promoters, media con tac ts, indu stry gatekeepers, and independen t label
A&R reps for when the time is ri ght to p res ent you r band / artis t for
revi ew. It will take you a while to gain the tru st of the people that you
need to have relationships with, so the sooner you start, the better. In
addition, the band / artist will be looking to you for career advice, so the
more you
know
confident y ou will be abou t the answers you giv e. Bein g know led geable
abou t all aspec ts of the mu sic bu siness and having lots of indu stry
contacts wi ll help you feel in control of you r situ ation , and p reven t y ou
from feeling lik e you re in ov er you r head.
Somebody is trying to cut-in on your management duties.
Every once in a while you will come across somebody who is trying to
cu t-in on you r mana gem ent du ties. So me times th is is u nintentional ,
while at other times it is inten tional and maliciou s. It cou ld be a fri end of
the bands, a clu b booker, a pu blicist, a radio promoter, a record label
proposing a 3 60 deal with in-hou se management, or even an A&R rep; bu t
most of the ti me it will be an attorney. Many attorneys fail to reali ze that
their job, i f a band or artist already has a manager, is to give legal
advice, not c areer advic e. Many attorneys have been known to overs tep
t h e i r b o u n d a r i e s a n d c u t - i n o n ma n a g e m e n t d u t i e s , s o y o u s h o u l d b e
aware of this as you retain an attorney to draft or n egotiate con tracts for
you.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 79
attempting
to
bypass
the
manager
in
order
to
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P a g e | 80
To prevent this kind of behavior, instru ct you r cli ents that all
commu nication mu st go th rou gh you for revi ew and discu ssion before any
action is taken. As a manager, you will need to act as a bu ffer agai nst
these types of individuals and approaches.
Somebody spreading rumors about the manager in order to get
the artist to leave .
Th e h igh er u p you rise in th e mu sic bu siness th e more like ly it is
that you will bec ome a casu alty of industry politics . It is fairly easy to
m a k e e n e m i e s i n t h e m u s i c bu s i n es s , e v e n w i t h o u t k n o w i n g i t . E n e m i e s
can appear in the form of a dis gru ntled ex- employ ee, an artis t wh ose
demo you didnt like, a former band member you fired , a jealou s manager ,
an angry jou rnalist, an arrogant A &R rep , and so on . The main thing for
you to u nderstand is that sooner or later, it wi ll happen to you . The best
way to handle this situ ation is to c onfron t it head on and add ress i t early
with your client. If you deal with people honestly and do what you
promise to do , you sh ou ld be abl e to minimiz e th e da ma ge th at co u ld
resu lt from nasty ru mors spreading fas ter than you can stop them. If y ou
have a good repu tation within industry ci rcles, you shou ld be able to find
people to help defend you from attacks.
Major labe l recommends that ba nd artist finds new management.
It is not u nu su al (and actually quite normal) for a majo r label to ask
the band to sign with an A-level managemen t firm before offering them a
recording contrac t. This is often bec au se the label wants to mak e su re that
the band is rep resen ted by a manager that is able to properly manage the
artist at that level. A-level man agers know how the game is played and
u nderstand how the wheels are greased, and therefore dont make a big
stink abou t things that might appear somewhat ou t of the ordinary to an
inexperienced manager.
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P a g e | 81
In addi tion, things at the major label level c an mov e v ery fast, and
windows of opportu nity can close before a manager with no clou t or
connections can take advan tage of them. A- lev el managers c an get thei r
calls retu rned by top booking agen ts, sponsors , brand partners, pu blicists,
attorn eys, media personnel, pu blis hers, c oncert p romoters , tastemak ers,
ga tek eepe rs, and so on. An u nknown manage r, e ven with a band on a
major record label, may wait hou rs before their calls or emails are
retu rned,
often
at
the
cost
of
major
financial
or
p romoti onal
opportu nity. Major labels also know that it is easier to commu nicate with
an A-level management fi rm that theyve done bu siness with before. Th ese
managers have repu tations arou nd the world and know what to tu rn down
and when to take advan tage of opportu nities. A new man ager may be
temp ted to go after ev ery offer, often dilu ting the pres tige of the artist
and the major label. A new, inexperienced man ager may also acc ept offers
that shou ld be d eclined , or d ecline offers that shou ld be acc epted .
Complicating matters is the fact that even independen t labels are
starting to offer artis ts 360 deals that provide for in-hou se management
as part of th e de al . Be p repa red to deal wi th th ese situ ations. Y ou sh ou ld
h ave a clau se in you r contract th at describes wh at sh ou ld h appen if (or
more li kely, when) these si tu ations arise. It is often better to release you r
artist or band for a bu y-ou t fee an d limited fu tu re commission (provi ded
for in you r su nset clau se) from the major label or independent deal than
to hold the band or artist back and have them resen t you for it. You can
u se the fact that you got the band signed (along with some of the money
you made from the deal) to si gn other artists to you r management
company. If you play ball and go along with this, you will even have some
good connections wi thin the major or mini-major label system that y ou
can u se to shop materi al to in the fu tu re. Make su re that you recou p any
money that you might have spen t on the band in the early days and ask
the band if they can thank you in their album credits, on the band
biography, and in interviews.
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P a g e | 82
Of cou rse, if y ou feel strongly abou t keeping the band si gned to you r
management company and feel that there are better ways for the band to
achieve lon g-term su ccess withou t takin g adv antage of the opportu nity
presen ted to them, then you shou ld make you r feelings known and exp lain
the way forward to the band.
Manager lacks contacts.
As a new manager, you may find you rself wi th very few seriou s mu sic
industry connections in the beginning. If you intend to be in the bu siness
for a while and retain artists on you r roster, you will need to remedy this
situ ation as soon as possible. Start in you r local region and attempt to get
t o k n o w e v e r y b o d y w h o i s i n t h e m u s i c bu s i n e s s , i n c l u d i n g l o c a l c l u b a n d
venue
owners ,
engineers ,
club
p romoters ,
DJs ,
record
other
p rodu cers,
managers,
record
recording/masteri ng
labels,
publishing
companies, mu sic editors from local pu blications, radio station person nel
(especially college radio), mu sic indu stry media, and so on. Attend all
local mu sic seminars, w orkshops or conferences that co me throu gh you r
area, and join any local mu sic associations and organi zati ons that are
available. Uti lize the internet and follow (and be-friend) influ ential mu sic
industry voices and tastemakers within social netw orkin g ci rcles .
Once you ve tack led th e loca l sc ene, you sh ou ld spread ou t t o th e
regional, n ational and internation al scenes . You will have to do some
research in order to find the names of and contact information for
industry people ou tside of you r region, bu t there are p lenty of directori es
a v a i l a b l e t h a t y o u c a n p u r c h a s e , i n c l u d i n g t h o s e f r o m T h e M u s i c B u s i n es s
Regis try
and
the
series
Bi llboard
of
directories
from
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P a g e | 83
is
paying
adequate
attention
to
your
band
and
spending
the
Page 83
P a g e | 84
You will have to spend time on th e internet bu ilding you r mai ling
list and workin g on pu tting together an independent street team for
additional help . Dont c ou nt on the label to d o ev erything for you , and
keep in mind that any addition al in vestment you make should pay off for
you and the band in the lon g-term in terms of CD, download and
merchandise
sales,
gig
attendance,
licensing
fees,
sponsors hip
arent
getting
any
new
gigs,
CD/down load
sales
have
peaked,
intervi ew requ ests are down , radio airp lay has stopped , and in general
th ings a re ju st som ewh at fl at . A t th at point , y ou sh ou ld take stock of w h at
you have accomplished so far and try and get you r hands arou nd what the
problem might be. There cou ld be any nu mber of things that cou ld be
h a p p e n i n g . Y o u r c o n t a c t s m a y n o l o n g e r b e a v a i l a b l e t o h e l p y o u ; th e
industry may be done with you r artists sou nd (or not ready ye t for your
artists sound); you r bu dget may n ot be su fficient for the tasks that n eed
to be done; the bu siness models for si gning or booking artis ts may have
changed; the indu stry may be flooded with artists that sou nd ju st like
you rs; you may be h aving a h ard ti me makin g enou gh of a bu zz t o sta nd
above the crowd; you or you r clients are losing fai th in the project; youre
u nable to allocate enou gh time to the projec t to get i t to the next lev el;
you are having a hard time fi gu ring ou t new ways to sell CDs /down loads
and merchandise; you are u nable to formu late creativ e ways to mark et and
promote the grou p or the shows; you r client isn t ready to take advantage
of new revenu e streams avai lable in the mu sic bu siness; and so on.
Page 84
P a g e | 85
demos.
Perhaps
you
need
some
unique
items
to
add
to
your
merchandise list besides the same T-shirts and mu gs you ve been selling
all alon g. Mayb e you need to work on bu ying on to a tou r as an opening
act wi th an artist on a major label in ord er to inc rease you r exposu re.
Perhaps you need a more aggressive pu blicity campai gn or different
remi xes of you r s ongs for radio/internet ai rplay.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 86
Maybe you
need
to
do
to
display
your bands
personality to the pu blic. Perhaps you have to w ait u ntil you r ban ds
sou nd cycles back in to the pu blics tas te. Perhaps you need to find some
sponsors or brand partners to help fu nd a more exp ansive tou r in order to
reach a larger fan base. Perhaps your social networking c ampai gn needs to
be re-energized . Maybe you need to invite and pay some high-profi le gu est
mu sicians/artis ts to perform on you r tracks.
The bottom line is, dont keep doing the same thing youve been
doing and exp ect different resu lts. If you try a bu nch of new things and
nothing seems to be working a cou ple of years later, it may be time for
you and the band to move on to other things. They may need a new
manager, and you mi ght need a n ew band.
The band or artist is spending too much of the budget recording
the album.
This section pertains mainly to managers with bands signed to
(major) labels with a large recordi ng bu dget. B ands have been known to
spend too mu ch time and money on the recording p rocess and on bu ying
equ ipment for thei r personal u se. It is you r job as the manager to inform
them abou t the lack of wisdom of being produ ction rich and promotion
poor. It doesn t matter how good you r recording is i f there isnt any
money left over for promotion or ou treach. P romotion costs a ridicu lou sly
large amou nt of mon ey, and wi thout ad equ ate exposu re, you r record w ill
be a n eedle in a musical haystack unable to be found among the thousands
of records being released every mon th.
A great song does not hav e to take two years and $3,000,000 to
produ ce. Some bands are known to record never- ending albu ms, claiming
to be perfectionists and endeavori ng to get i t ju st right. Work with a
good produ cer that can help you get the record finished on time and u nder
bu dget, then spend the rest of the money on pu blicity, promotion and tou r
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 87
su pport. Remind the band that there comes a point when an extra hou r in
the stu dio wont necessarily sell an extra CD or conc ert ticket. Besides , all
that money is being charged back to the band and will very likely leave
them u n-recou ped (and u n-wanted by anybody els e) at the end of
contract term.
Manager
has
problems
with
another
member
of
the
team
session,
etc.
If,
however,
the
problems
relate
to
the
job
performance of the person you hired or retained , then you will have to u se
you r clou t as manager to rec tify the situ ation.
Part of you r management du ties i nvolve working wi th the band to
hire or retain peop le to help with the project. If the p roblems inclu de
things like the attorney missing deadlines to hand in drafts or contracts ,
the accou ntant embezzlin g fu nds from the band accou nt, the produ cer
losing master files or recordings , or the agent not paying you whats owed
fro m the tou r advance, then you will have to talk to the people you hired
and, i f necess ary , fire them if they d ont fix the p roblems .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 88
deals
signed
under
your
management
su pervision,
fu tu re
commissions, etc.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 89
Page 89
COPYRIGHT BASICS
It is extremely important for managers to u nderstand the natu re of
copyright law and how it relates to the material that is bein g recorded
and/or performed by thei r clients . Having a general u nderstanding of
copyright basics will allow you to explain certain things to you r clients
and h elp th em avoid th e types of scenarios we o ften see played ou t in th e
cou rt system.
Another thing to keep in mind is that en tire books have been written
on the topic of copyri ght, and an in-depth discussion of copyright law is
beyond the scope of this e-Book. It is highly advisable to retain the
services of an experienc ed entertain ment attorney to revi ew all paperwork
relating
to
particu larly
the
copyri ght
if contracts
and
p ublishing
interests
of
your
clien ts,
or
P a g e | 91
2. The
other
copyright
is
that
of
the
sound
that
the
lyrics
make
the
song,
everything
else
is
simply
arrangement. In fact, this is what the copyri ght law s tates regard ing
su bject matter ( with some important elements bolded for effect):
102. Su bject matter of copyri ght: In gen eral
a)
Copyri ght
original
protec tion
works
of
subsists,
authorship
in
accordance
fixed
in
any
with
this
tan gible
title,
in
medium
of
Page 91
P a g e | 92
allows
for
the
selection
of
Music
or
Lyrics
to
indicate
thereby
making
the
music
an
origin al
work
of
au thorship
Page 92
P a g e | 93
the
arran gement.
musicians
Arran gement
as
arran gers
may
apply
and
to,
the
for
music
example,
as
simply
strin g
arran gement composed arou nd the chords . The bass line, howev er, is
probably based on (no pun intend ed) the root of the chords that h ave
already been wri tten, and therefore normally wou ldnt be considered an
ori ginal work of au thorship u nless they were so ori ginal and recognizable
in their own ri ght to cons titu te au thorship. Once again, av oid problems by
deciding ahead of time who will be giv en songwritin g c redi ts once the
songs are completed.
You can u se the eCO system or fill ou t the Form CO to register you r
works
onlin e
by
visiting
the
Library
of
Congress
website
at
http://www.c opyri ght.gov. On the Form CO (if you choose to use it),
selec t Performing arts work to register the mu sical work , and Sou nd
Recording to register the sou nd rec ording. Paper forms (e.g . Form PA for
the musical work and Fo rm SR for the sound record ing) are being phased
ou t, bu t you can order th em online at th e websit e if, fo r e xamp le , you
dont hav e a credit card to u se onli ne or dont tru st the online system of
making paymen ts. For all options, y ou will need to a) properly fill ou t the
form, b) inclu de a sample of the s ong or sou nd recording as instru cted,
and c) pay the fee.
Technically speaking, y ou r song or ori ginal work of au thorship is
copyrighted the moment i t is red u ced to a fixed mediu m that can be
perceiv ed, rep rodu ced, or otherwise commu nicated for a period of more
than transitory du rati on. The main reason for registering you r works at
the library of congress Copyri ght office is that is provides a formal record
of the date you r work was regis tered. This certific ate of regis tration cou ld
be u sed in a c ou rt of law to help you recover money d amages in the ev ent
that somebody in frin ges on you r copyright.
Page 93
P a g e | 94
You can signal you r copyri ght own ership on paper wi th the symbol
and/or the word copyri ght along with you r name and the year of creati on
(e.g., copyrig ht 2009 Jo hn Phillips). If you record you r words and /or
mu sic onto a CD or as a file (e.g ., .wav, .mp3, e tc), you can signal you r
copyright ownership with the symbol alon g with you r name and the year
The
Harry
Fox
Agency
can
be
reached
at
http://www.n mpa.org. If, however, the song has not been p reviou sly
released to the pu blic, you will have to negotiate di rectly with the
copyright owner for the ri ght to rep rodu ce the son g.
If you intend to u se a sample from a song or albu m you will have to
obtain
master
use
license
directly
from
the
owner
of
the
sound
recording. For major label recordin gs, the owner of the sou nd recording is
almos t always the rec ord label.
Page 94
P a g e | 95
The owner o f the sou nd reco rdin g is u su ally iden tified somewhere on
the recordin g itself, along wi th contact information in the form of a
mailin g add ress and/or a w ebsite. In addi tion, you will also have to get
permission
from
the
owner
of
the
u nderlying
song;
normally
the
pu blisher. That means that you will have to get two permissions to u se a
sample that has been lifted straight off of a previou sly released recordi ng.
Failing to do so will constitu te an infringemen t of the copyri ght owners
exclu sive ri ghts. It is recommended to u se a mu sic clearance specialist to
assist with obtaining the ri ghts to u se samp les wi thin you r composition s.
As mentioned earlier, there is a lot more to copyright law than we
can cover in this e-book , and this is ju st su pposed to give you an ov ervi ew
of some of the importan t items. It is alw ays advisable to retain an
experienced
entertainment
attorn ey
to
d raft
and/or
look
over
any
paperw ork you may be presented w ith concerning copyri ght, particu larly
as it relates to an assignmen t of rights or w ork- for-hire.
Page 95
up
for
re-negotiation
to
leave
the
labels
and
cou rt
non-
P a g e | 97
With shrinking profits and a redu ced nu mber of artist signin gs, the
major lab els h ave laid of f sta ff (i ncluding some A&R reps), ou tsou rced
some work done by their own departments (li ke lega l and marke ting), and
sold off some real es tate (includin g office space and recording studios);
fu eling specu lation that the labels are goin g ou t of bu siness.
Bu t, the major labels , far from goin g ou t of bu siness, have something
working in their favor that few people realize or even app reciate. That
something is woven deep into the fabric of ou r society in general, and in
the American psyche in particu lar.
as a society , n eed heroes and su pers tars. Ind eed , w e can t liv e wi thou t
them. Think of all the su perstars (singers, athletes , acto rs, dance rs,
comedians, magicians, reality TV stars, authors, poe ts, philosophe rs,
etc) that have brou ght joy and inspiration to you r li fe. If some governi ng
body decreed that startin g tomorrow, it wou ld be forbidd en to have heroes
and su perstars, we as a people wou ld rev olt. That d ecree wou ld not s tand.
Throu ghou t history, we have always embrac ed heroes. And, as a fai rly
rec ent
phenomenon,
we
have
d esired
su perstars .
In
the
world
of
entertainment and in mu sic in particu lar the major record labels are
(and have been) responsible for delivering those global su perstars to u s.
As yet, no independ ent record label or investment grou p has managed to
produ ce an international mu sical su perstar completely ou tside of the
major label s tru ctu re (a lthough, i n this age of social networking a nd
globaliza tion , that may soon change).
As it cu rrently stands th ou gh , only th e major labels h ave th e vast
financial resou rces and de ep su pport inf ras tru ctu re necess ary t o deve l op
su perstars and deliver them to the people. The labels also have a lot of
experience and expertise in the bu siness of creating mu sical su perstars
that are cap able of havin g great influ ence on the general pu blic. And the
reason why there will continu e to be a need for major labels (even i f they
consolidate, downsize , outsou rce tasks, go under different names, or
otherwise restructu re), is that there is a constant need for fresh
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 97
P a g e | 98
su perstars . The standards of cool shift with the times, and the stars of
today mu st make w ay for the su perstars of tomorrow; therefore there is a
need to dev elop new on es ev ery few years to replace the older ones .
Even th ou gh th e cu rrent conu ndrum is one of h ow to get people to
pay for the mu sic they are listening to, once a new su perstar is created
(figuratively and li terally speaking ), then the majors can look to cash in
on income sou rces other than CD sales . Consider that su perstars like
Celine Di on, Madonna, Beyonce, etc, are generating hu ndreds of millions
of dollars from fragrance collec ti ons, fashion collections , endorsement
and
sponsorship
opportu nities,
artist- branded
p rodu cts,
etc;
income
sou rces from which the major labels hope to tap into in the fu tu re w ith
artists they sign now.
The role of the major label A&R rep
Even thou gh there are few er A&R reps at the major labels , thei r
expertis e is still something that the labels rely on to help them figu re ou t
who to sign . Althou gh the process i s now very s tatistics- and d ata-d riven,
the signing process generally begins by the A&R rep finding (or bei ng
presented with) an artist that they think has that certain x-fac tor that
is necessary to develop into a su pers tar artist. Artis ts or bands almost
alw ays come to the attention of maj or label A&R reps from solicited ( i .e.
known or well- respected) sou rces. Even when an A&R rep discovers talent
that they find promising, it almos t alw ays takes a second or third opinion
from a respec ted and tru sted sou rce, along with some du e diligence,
before the rep considers making a move towards si gning. Solicited sou rces
inclu de upstream deals from independent labels, talent scou ts, other A &R
reps , attorneys, produ cers, managers , pu blishers, bookin g agents , song
writers , si gned artists or mu sicians, and now more frequ ently from
contest winners or artis ts benefiting from high lev els of TV/in ternet
exposu re.
Page 98
P a g e | 99
A&R reps also spend a lot of ti me d oing thei r own research. As far as
most
A&R
reps
are
concerned ,
except
for
the
occasional
internet
in
attorney,
the clubs,
agent,
etc),
mailing
list
p reviou s
size,
deals
artists
and
their
team (e .g.
outcomes,
manager,
past
and
Page 99
P a g e | 100
and potential movie roles, pas t and potential mod elin g gi gs, past and
potenti al endorsemen t deals , p reviou s or pending lawsu its, etc .
Armed wi th a Profi t and Loss statement (P&L) , the A&R rep at a
major label wi ll attempt to convince the appropriate peop le that the artist
is worth investin g money in and can provide the label with a solid retu rn
on the investment ( ROI). Most often, thou gh, A&R reps dont have to go
very far to find talent. Most of the talent is already p res ent in the
industry pipeline from solicited sou rces (e.g., friends of artis ts already
signed
to
the
label,
writers
already
signed
to
major
publishing
earlier, they
exp lode
on
the scene by
being an
internet
sponsorships,
su bscriptions,
licensing
endorsements ,
deals,
artist-branded
merchandising
products
and
deals,
services ,
clothing and fragrance lines , and more. A ll the major record labels - and
increasingly independ ent labels - have s tarted to inclu de mu ltip le ri ghts
langu age in their contrac ts with newly signed artis ts.
Page 100
P a g e | 101
In ord er to faci litate this arran gement, some labels have hired
people
to
ru n
management,
tou ring,
merchandising,
sponsorship,
brandin g, etc, divisions in their offi ces or ou tsou rced some of the work to
ou tside label s ervic es companies .
A mere fraction of the artists that pu rsu e major label d eals ev er
achieve
the
objective,
and
it
is
mathematical
certainty
that
the
squ andering
countless
opportu nities
to
get
things
done
independently . In addi tion, most d eals that get don e at the major label
level are deals with artists who are already in the pipeline (e.g. ,
upstream deals from independent labels, sources with connections to
people in the major labe l system, signed songwriters with publishing
deals,
producer-signed
singers/instrumenta lists
or
on
recommended
major
label
projects,
acts,
etc)
backg round
or
otherwise
appear on the major labels radar (from music sales figures, fan base size,
touring history, merchandise sales, social network sta ts, industry buzz,
television contest positions , etc) . Taking all this u nder consideration,
you r efforts as an independen t artis t are mu ch better sp ent setting things
u p to release rec ordin gs and fu nd tou rs on you r own.
But, as mentioned earlier, major labels are always lookin g out for
the next rou nd of su perstars that can replace the cu rrent ones once the
fans ti re of them. They look for arti sts that can be dev eloped into a brand
that can be monetized; for example, branded magazines, ni ghtclu bs,
artist-branded ad-su pported video c hannels, recorded produ cts, electronic
gad gets, c lothes, footwear, cosmeti cs, etc. Wi th the introdu ction of 3 60
deals , the major labels are looki ng forward to sharing in the inc ome
generated by the artis t from mu ltip le sou rces.
Page 101
P a g e | 102
Consider
the fact
that in
2008
2009 (according
to
Forbes
Celebrity Valua tions), B eyonce Knowles earned $87 mi lli on from starri ng
roles in two fi lms; an expanded fashion collec tion that inc lu des jewelry
and eyeglass es; sponsorships with Nintendo, Crystal Geyser, and General
Mills; and Endorsements with LOreal, Giorgio Armani, and Samantha
Thavasa handbags. From the labels perspec tive, these artis ts have been
developed into brands and are only able to get these deals and generate
this income becau se of the efforts and resou rces the labels provid ed to the
artists as part of their recording d eals . Therefore lookin g forward , major
labels can position themselves as brandin g companies and sign 10 20
artists
per
year
and
build
them
into
fu tu re
Beyonces
under
360
(multi ple rights) contrac ts obli gati ng them to spli t a percen tage of the
income generated from mu ltiple sou rces .
While considering an artists poten tial, it can also be of interest to a
label i f an artist receiv es a lot of exposu re (in the fo rm o f hundreds of
thousands of hits , impressions, or views) on the internet (e.g., You Tube)
or from a popu lar television or i ntern et competi tion, con tes t or sh ow.
This exposu re provides the artis t with an instant fan base of sev eral
hu ndred thou sand or even a few
immediately exploi t. Since the arti st has already been exposed to those
people, promotion and pu blicity costs can be signific antly less than wou ld
be if the artis t was an u nknown entity. The label can also c ou nt on a
percen tage of these p eople to pu rc hase tickets , mu sic, or artist- bran ded
merchandise and other p rodu cts/services from the label.
Most labels (and in particula r, ma jor record labels) have a p re-s et
bu dget allocated to going after artists they have already expressed an
interest in signin g. For those artis ts, P rofi t and Loss (P&L) statements
will have already been created indic ating the level of retu rn on inves tment
(ROI) that wi ll be provided by the v ariou s income sou rces associ ated wi th
signing the artist.
Page 102
P a g e | 103
The P&L will give the label an idea of the amou nt of money they can
make signing the artis t as well as where to draw the line once negotiati ons
begin . If a bidding w ar ensu es with other labels , or the artists attorn eys
ask for too much money, the label (unless they REALLY want to sign the
artist) will know when to back ou t and look to si gn another artis t instead.
The fou r major labels are cu rren tly not good at ( or interes ted in)
artist dev elopment; i .e. workin g wi th artists in the early stages of their
careers (as well as artists in most genres with sa les under 10 ,000 un its
or so), yet they are the only ones that can tak e an artist wi th some
exposu re,
buzz
and/or
sales
and
break
them
on
national
and
intern ational lev el at radio, on TV, in print, on the internet and at retail.
Some of the labels u nder the u mbrellas of the majors (particu larly those
with ups tream deals in place) do a better j ob of artis t dev elopment than
their corporate parents . Bu t, bec au se of the enormou s expenses involv ed
in the endeavor, the music the major labels release must appeal to the
largest s egment of the mu sic-bu ying popu lation in order to c reate a large
enou gh fan bas e to provide a good retu rn on the labels inves tmen t. Nic he
projects do not work well in the major label sys tem, and therefore ideally
sh ou ld be re le ased independ ently , o r m atch ed u p with a b rand , connec t ed
to a sponsor, or shopped to an independent label with major label
distribu tion.
In addition to not being good wi th artist dev elopment, major labels
are generally not very interested in signing u nknown/u ntested and/or
older artists . Indeed, the fou r maj or labels seem to be highly obs essed
with the you th mark et and you nger artists . This is becau se you nger fans
(even
though
downloading
they
seem
activities)
to
be
are
responsible
typically
for
most
most
of
the
passionate
illegal
about
entertainment in gen eral. Research shows that you nger fans are the most
influ ential d rivers of new mu sic, new media, new platforms, new devic es,
and hardware; and have the pow er to mak e or break new mu sic and other
entertainment- related releas es.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 103
P a g e | 104
You ng fans are i mpu lsive and respond very qu ickly and p assionately
when they feel emotionally connected to someone in the entertainment
field . Bec au se they are most su sceptible to peer-pressu re, you ng people in
large nu mbers follow the trends of what is considered cool in terms of
mu sic and entertainment at any giv en moment and wou ld rather ju mp on
the bandwagon of what everybody els e is listening to than be left ou t.
They are also most likely to pu rc hase artist-brand ed produ cts that the
label c an generate additional income from. You ng people in gen eral spend
most of their money on entertain ment (including music, sports, video
games and movies), since their parents are responsible for their welfare
(food and c lothing needs, not to me ntion a place to live) .
Since
major
responsibili ties
investors ,
and
labels
are
fi rst
are
part
and
shareholders.
of
large
foremost
Generating
to
corporate
entities,
their
c orporate
massive
profits
their
paren ts,
to
fund
acqu isitions, maintaining high stock prices (so that their inves tors do nt
take their money elsewhe re), and paying ou t dividends that sharehold ers
rely on for thei r spending and investing needs are p riori ties to all
corporations; inclu ding major record labels . So, exc ept for some of the socalled mini-majors that work wi th niche and older artists (e.g ., B lue
Note with Ja zz, Def Ja m wi th Neo-Soul, etc .), major labels tend to plac e a
high priority on you nger artis ts; or artists that c an appeal to a you nger
demographic (13 25 year olds) .
Page 104
funding
from
an
investor,
recording
your
produ cts
and
consensus
now
is
that
the
major
labels
are
u ndergoing
fu ndamental stru ctu ral chan ges , and that in this difficu lt transition
period artis ts and their managers are wise to stay clear of the major label
system. For the vast majori ty of artists , bu ilding a fan base, produ cing
recordings independ ently , and tou ring will be the only options av ailable
to them i f they wish to pu rsu e a career in mu sic. However, there are a
cou ple of things to k eep in mind if you represent a you ng artist wi th
brandin g poten tial and wish to pu rsu e a major label contrac t. Fi rstly, the
artist mu st fit the major label profi le (as discussed earlier in this
section). Second ly, u nless the artist is already in the major label pipeli ne,
they mu st create enou gh of a bu zz that they show u p on the labels
radar screen (or get the attention of someone who can present the m to
the people with signing authority a t the label).
P a g e | 106
to
major
labels,
influential
indu stry
tastemakers
whose
like
Pollstars
Record
Company
Di rec tory
Page 106
P a g e | 107
Approaching produ cers who have major labels credits . You can find
contact information for Record Produ cers from directories lik e the
one available
at Hi tQu arters
and
Approaching
published
songwri ters
(w riters
si gned
to
major
Shopping
your
demo
to
independent
record
labels
that
have
labels
get
u pstreamed
to
their
major
label
distribu tion partner once certain sales thresholds are met at the
indie level). Pollstars Record Company Directory also lists the
independent labels that have dis tri bu tion throu gh major labels that
you can approach.
If you are interested in getting the atten tion of major labels and
cant ge t in th rou gh th e back door, t h en you can u tilize t ech niqu es th at we
will discu ss later on in this man u al and elsewhere to c reate the bu zz
necessary to appear on major labels rad ar.
Page 107
P a g e | 108
Pursuing a deal with an independent record label (with major label distribution)
If you lack the resou rces and (wo)manpower to release you r own
records , then you might want to look into the option of signing wi th a
major label-distribu ted independ ent label. If y ou opt to take this rou te, it
is in you r best in teres t to seek ou t i ndependent record labels that have the
necessary resou rces avai lable to ad equ ately promote you r records to the
general pu blic, as w ell as the maj or label distribu tion deals in plac e to
enable people to find you r produ cts both at retail and in all the major
digital s tores . If the label can on ly offer you digital dis tribu tion (e .g. CD
Baby, Orchard , Tunecore, etc) , then you are better off rec ordin g and
releasing you r produ cts you rself throu gh those same digital distribu tion
channels.
In this age of mu sic streaming and digital d eliv ery (and considering
that both retail s tores and CDs themselves a re predic ted to become
obsolete), taking into accou nt retai l distribu tion may seem like a waste of
time. However, i t is worth considerin g the fact that labels with major
label distribu tion in plac e have the financial resou rces necessary to fu nd
your
tou rs
and
promotion al
campaigns
that
their
non-distribu ted
cou nterparts do not, and even if retail s tores and CDs become obsolete,
can re-di rec t the money that wou ld have gone to retai l mark etin g tow ards
tou ring and branding efforts instead.
If you are interested in approaching independen t labels that hav e
major label distribu tion deals in place, you can begin you r search by
pu rchasing a copy of the Record Company Di rec tory from the Polls tar
s t o r e ( h t t p : / / w w w . p o l l s t a r . c o m / ) w h i c h i n c lu d e s c o n t a c t i n f o r m a t i o n f o r
independent labels with major label distribu tion .
Page 108
P a g e | 109
You can also check the w eb si tes of the main distribu tors in the
United
States
information
here
for
the
and
locate
contact
independent
and
record
demo
labels
submission
whose
p rodu ct
policy
they
distribu te:
- ADA (http: //www.ada-mu sic.com/) (recently me rged into WEA)
- Bu rnside Distribu tion (http://ww w.bdcdistribu tion.com/)
- E1 Entertainment Distribu tion U .S. (http: //www.kochdistribu tion.com/)
- EMI Mu sic Mark etin g (http: //ww w .carolineb2b.com/)
- EMI Label Services & Carolin e Distribu tion
(http://www.c arolinedis t.c om/)
- Harmonia Mu ndi USA (http://ww w.harmoniamu ndi.com/)
- The Mountain Apple Company
(http://www.mou ntainapplec ompan y.com/)
- MVD En tertainment Grou p (http://mvdb2b.c om/)
- Naxos of Americ a (http: //www.n axos.com/)
- RED Distribu tion (http: //www.red b2b.c om/)
- Redey e Distribu tion (http://www .red eyeu sa.com/)
- Sony Mu sic Entertainment (http://www .sonymu siccentral.com/login.j sp)
- Su per D Independent Dis tri bu tion (http://www.sdcd .com/)
- Tate Mu sic Grou p (http://www .tatemu sicgrou p.com/)
- The Orchard (http://www.theorchard .com/)
- TravelVideoStore.com (http://ww w.travelvideostore.com/)
- TVT Records (http://www.tv trecords.com/)
- Univers al Mu sic Grou p Distribu tion (http://www .u mgdb2b.com/)
- WEA Corp (https://new.wea.com/login/)
Combined , the mu sic released by these companies accou nt for an
estimated 90 p erc ent of the U .S. mu sic mark et.
Page 109
P a g e | 110
(companies)
are
constantly
tryin g
to
reach
potential
sponsor events
sporting events , galas , and concerts that have the potential to attract
potenti al cu stomers . While many brands continu e to sponsor ev ents,
others have decided to bypass the middleman and began pu tting together
their own branded ev ents in order to reach cu stomers directly. In the
process , companies have discovered that bands/mu sicians have a way of
connecting with fans on a mu ch more emotion al level th an can be done
throu gh
interru ptive
advertisi ng.
B rands
therefore
look
for
bands/mu sicians that can act as brand ambassad ors on their behalf and
connect with the desired target au dience.
So, what exactly attracts your band to a brand? The most importan t
thing to a brand is a stron g pers onality fi t betw een the artist and the
brand
that enables
them to
multimedia
campai gns that connect and resonate with their target au dience. To avoid
a back lash from the brands cu stomers and the artists fans , there need s to
be a beli ef that the brand and the band / artist cou ld be friends in real
life. A brand will take their bu siness objectives in to consideration, along
with an u nderstanding of how their cu stomers relate to mu sic, when
deciding on what type of band (or artist) to work / p artner wi th.
Something else of importance that brands fac tor into the equ ation is how
easy or difficu lt it is to get all the ri ghts and permissions from the variou s
stakehold ers (music pub lishers , re cord labels , artis ts, e tc) nec essary to
m a k e a l a u n c h s u c c e s s fu l a n d p r o f i t a b l e . H o w a v a i l a b l e a n d a c c e s s i b l e a n
artist is (for performances, inte rvie ws, recordings , appearances, etc) and
how mu ch it costs for the artists to render their services also matters .
Page 110
P a g e | 111
Brands also look for ways that they can measu re the resu lts of the
partn ership and calcu late the retu rn on investment in a reliable way . If
you r band is attractin g a demographic (of considerable size) that a brand
is also trying to reach, then that mi ght also mak e a good fi t in their ey es.
An interes ted brand wi ll w ant to k now the artists au dience profile and
ensu re that it matches wi th the brands campaign objec tives . Identi fying
the demographic
to
a brand
requ ires
bands
and
their managers
to
proac tively su rvey th eir fan base i n order to get some demo graph ic data
(e.g., age , gender, geographical location, annual household income,
hobbies, spending pre ferences, etc) .
Many bands are unable or unwilli ng to do this since it can scare
away poten tial fans and requ ires existing fans to tak e time ou t to fi ll ou t
su rveys. Bu t, if offered as an opti on along wi th a gift or discou nt offer
(like an exclusive song down loa d or a discount on tic kets or b and
merchandise), then the data you c ollect will p rove to be invalu able to
direct y ou r marketing activiti es as well as to influ ence or influ ence a
potential
brand
partner.
You
can
utilize
services
like
mozes
Page 111
P a g e | 112
Some brands have gotten into the game of artis t dev elopment,
creating a new kind of record company that fu nds bands recordin gs and
tou rs.
Some
have
even
set
up
recordin g
studios
where
their
artist
p a r t n e r s c a n r e c o r d . I n t h e s e i n s t a n c e s , t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p i s mu t u al l y
beneficial,
with
bands
contribu ting
the
hip
factor
and
emotional
connection and brands providing large amou nts of money no lon ger
readily avai lable from tradi tional record companies.
The band-and-brand relationship also has some considerable p erks
for bands. Unlike what typically comes with signing to a label, bands in
band-and-brand relationships do not often give u p any of thei r ri ghts
(sound recording ownership, writing & publishing) since the brand is
mainly interested in reaching the audience and selling them their own
produ cts
and/or
servic es.
Except
for
occasions
where
the
brand
in
terms
of
recordin gs,
logos ,
videos,
tour
p rodu ction,
produ cts
already
have
pipeline
into
the
marketp lace,
thus
streamlining the proc ess of getti ng the bands CDs, down loads and
merchandise to the fans. B rands also have a lot of marketing exp ertise
and know how to get the atten tion of fans as well as the media.
Over time, most fans have come to u nderstand that brands and
sponsors are an importan t part of the equ ation when it comes to pu tting a
tou r together, and have come to tolerate a certain amou nt of brand
exposu re as lon g as the messaging and interaction isnt too heavy hand ed.
This
is
helping
to
create
new
model
where
some
companies
are
considering coming u p with a particu lar sou nd for thei r brand ( like a
soundtrack to thei r product) , which cou ld work in you r favor i f the sou nd
they are lookin g for happens to be w hat you r band is already doin g.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 112
P a g e | 113
Band
Metrics
imeem,
iLike,
Facebook,
MySpace,
Pu reVolu me,
etc.
Create
brands
getting
more
active
in
the
game
and
partnering
with
marketing,
p romotion,
publicity,
distribu tion,
radio,
and
Page 113
P a g e | 114
procedu res y ou employ , and the label services company you hire. Make
su re
that
everybodys
expectations
are
not
on ly
realistic ,
but
also
a c h i e v a b l e . A t t h i s p a r t i c u l a r t i m e i n t h e e v o l u t i o n o f t h e m u s i c b u s i n es s ,
it is extremely difficu lt to p rovide su bstantial retu rns on an inv estors
investmen t outside of the major label system.
The most c ru cial aspec t affec ting the su ccess of this endeavor will be
the artis t ( talent) that you sign. For this option to work su ccessfu lly, you
mu st have an artist that is not only very talen ted v ocally ( for recording s),
bu t mu st also be able to play w ell liv e, comfortably embrace soc ial
networking, w rite songs that have great lic ensing potential, and perform
songs that are in genres that are radio ( terrestria l, internet, sa telli te)
fri endly. In other words , the id eal artist candidate wi ll be one that is
similar to an artist that wou ld be si gned to a major label.
This model will requ ire the starting of a company (most like ly an
LLC) that provid es the stak eholders (artist, manager and investor) with
shares of all profits from all sou rces; similar to the 360 (multiple rights)
deals seen at the major label level. In that event, income will need to be
generated
from
CD/download
sales,
tickets,
merchandise,
licensi ng,
income
from
CD/download
sales),
perform
well
live
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sponsors and/or brand partners) and fit in mu sic genres that can receive
radio ai rplay (pro viding bo th promotion from airplay as well as income
from ro yalties collected by performing rights organizations). A rtists that
dont have the abi lity to generate i ncome from mu ltiple sou rces will not
be a good fi t fo r a situ ation that involves investo rs . If you have a niche
project that you beli eve in that doesnt fit the mold of a mu ltiple sou rce
income gene ra to r, th en you sh ou ld consider st arting a rost er th at inc lu des
at least one major label type artist that c an generate enou gh income
from mu ltip le sou rce to provid e the necessary fu nding to bank roll the
other smaller proj ects on the roster.
If you choose to tak e this rou te, you will need to be able to p rovide
an investor with a bu siness plan th at sh ows th em wh at type of proje cts
will be fu nded, how mu ch fu nding is requ ired , where the money wi ll be
spent, what the risks are, what the competi tion is, and how profi ts will be
made. Bu siness plans for mu sic projects are difficu lt to wri te bec au se the
inner workings of a mu sic company are qu ite u nlike those of most other
bu sinesses. With valu able advice provided by a qu alified acc ou ntant and
experienced entertainment attorney , however, you shou ld be able to pu t a
decent plan to geth er. In addition to oth er resou rc es, th e Mu sic Bu siness
Regis try (http: //www.mu sicregis try .com) pu blishes a Music Attorn ey,
Legal and Business Affairs Guide that lists mu sic bu siness attorneys
you can consult with.
With fu nding or inves tors onboard , some label services / consu lting
companies you can look into include companies like My Rocket Sci ence
(http://www.myrocketsci ence.c om/) , Fahrenheit Medi a Grou p
(http://www.fahrenheitmediagrou p.com/) , Neu rotic Media
(http://www.n eu roticmedia.com/), EMI Label Servic es
(http://www.c arolinedis t.c om/) , A& R Worldwide
(http://www.anrworldwide.com/) , and other similar services. As they
become increasingly available in the fu tu re, companies simi lar to these
will be s tarted and/or s taffed with p ersonnel from the major label system
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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who have been laid off due to downsizing and consolidation. Some of them
will ( and some cu rrently do) op erate with the no u nsolicited materi als
accepted policies simi lar to those of the major labels , so prepare to
approach them from the back door as explained earlier.
Recording and releasing your own products (DIY)
If you r artist doesn t fit the major label p rofi le or you dont wish to
shop to an independent lab el o r partner with an investor, then you can
look to release the proj ect independently and realize income for you r
artist from mu ltip le sou rces inclu ding tou ring; licensing mu sic to film,
TV, etc; selling CDs /downloads/merchandise; negotiating endorsemen t
deals; and /or connecting with a sponsor or brand that valu es the arti sts
sou nd/look/fan base . You sh ou ld also look fo r ways to moneti ze any ot h er
talents /skills that the artist poss esses inclu ding, for example, ac ti ng,
painting, produ cing, d ancing, wri ti ng books or poems, or some other s kill
like martial arts , etc .
The rest of this manual is geared towards providing you with the
information necessary to successfully record an d promote your
own products.
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P a g e | 118
you
there wou ld
be the
likelihood
of
confu sion if you pu t ou t ads anno u ncing you r gig as a Mich ae l Jack son
performance, or released a CD u sing the same name, ev en if it really was
your name.
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You cou ld also place an ad in you r local free weekly or on Crai gslist,
etc ., looking for mu sicians. You can find these free weekli es in newspaper
stands and some coffeehou ses/cafes located arou nd town. Many of these
p u b l i c a t i o n s w i l l n o t c h a r g e y o u t o r u n a mu s i c i a n s w a n t e d a d . I f y o u
ru n one, be VERY specific as to wh at exac tly you are lookin g for. Exp lain
what type of mu sic you will be play ing and what type of instru mentali sts
or voc alis ts you need, as well as what you r bu dget is and the fact that y ou
are ju st setting u p th e band. Th is will na rrow down th e nu mber of peo pl e
who will respond.
You cou ld also s earch on-line for mu sicians referral services. Once
again, make su re you get p ackages or websi te links from mu sicians and
meet with them before you decide to hire them for you r band. Many of
these services wi ll be free to post and view classi fieds, bu t some of them
charge a fee. You cou ld also try calling recording s tu dios or placing fly ers
in mu sic stores, rehearsal stu dios, and other places where mu sicians hang
out.
Descri be what you are looking for in terms of mu sical instru ments,
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Take detailed notes at the auditions and when possible, tape each
mu sician (audio and video). You shou ld also make su re you ask a lot of
qu estions du ring the au dition.
Questions to ask include:
W h a t t y p e s o f p e r f o r m a n c e s h a v e t h e y d o n e i n th e p a s t ( e . g . o p e n
recording artis t, are they willing to help pay for things that can help the
bands p rogress (e.g. s tu dio/rehearsal time, promoti onal i tems, tou ring
costs, etc .)?
D o t h e y h a v e a n y c o n n e c t i o n s i n t h e m u s i c bu s i n e s s th a t c a n h e l p t h e
band (e.g. manager, produ cer, agen t, attorney , label A&R, promoter, clu b
owner, publisher, studio owner, etc.)?
Use these qu estions and any others you can think of to help you pick
the ri ght members for you r band .
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Goals You shou ld tell peop le what you r short and long- term goals
are. For examp le, you r short- term goal may be to record some material
and get good paying gi gs arou nd town to create a bu zz. You r lon g-term
goal may be to either get a record deal or su ccessfu lly releas e you r own
record and tou r arou nd the cou ntry (or internationally). It is also cru cial
that you ask each of the band members what their short and long term
goals are.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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If you have a seriou s conflic t in goals, now wou ld be the time to take
care of the issu es and either get on the same page or let the person go.
Expectations
This
meeting
is
the
place
to
discuss
your
expec tations. If, for examp le, a band member is expectin g to get p aid
$100,000 for thei r first show, then it is safe to say that thei r expectati ons
are rather u nrealistic and dont match either with you r expec tations or
with
what
is
realistic ally
achievable
at
this
stage
in
the
ban ds
development. Once again, taking care of this now is better than waiting
u ntil later.
Schedules You
schedu le is. This is necessary in order for y ou to set the bes t rehearsal
schedu le and estimate how many nights a week you will be able to
rehearse and how many days a month you will be able to perform.
Discu ssing sch edu ling also lets you know if i t wi ll be possible to tou r w ith
all of these mu sicians. Having to wait to verify each band members
schedu le while trying to book a gi g can often cos t you the gi g. Try and set
the schedu le so that ev erybody knows when the fi rst rehearsal is at the
end of the meetin g. If someone is having major problems with the general
schedu le, you are better off letti ng them go ri ght now. If schedu ling
conflicts develop , i t will be mu ch easier to replace a band member at this
stage than to wai t u ntil you are half way throu gh you r tou r.
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This agreement isnt w ri tten for what happens when every thing goes
rightit is wri tten for what happens when everything goes w ron g! It is
mu ch better to w rite this while ev erybody is s till respec tfu l and on good
terms than to try and figu re things ou t in the middle of a major band fi ght
or lawsuit.
A band partnership agreement c an be anything from a v ery simp le
one-page docu ment, to a complex, mu lti-page con tract with dozens of
attach ments and add endu ms. How you ch oose to set you rs u p will depend
on how seri ou s you are abou t you r bu siness and how many issu es there are
to address among the band members. If you plan to do this for the long
term, then there are a lot of things that you may want to consider in you r
agreemen t.
You r band partn ership agreement may inclu de things lik e:
The name of the band partnership (which can be the band name);
contribu tion;
What happens to the band name and logo shou ld the band
Who owns the recordings of the band (the master sound recordings);
How are the son gwri ting du ties shared, and how are the son gw riting
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What will happen to the band assets after dissolution of the band
partn ership?
How will the band d eal wi th leaving members or the additi on of new
members?
Equipment issues This is where you ev alu ate the condi tion of
each members equ ipment. For example, what type of d ru m kit does the
dru mmer have? What is the condi tion of the bass p layers ri g? Do you
have a mixing board , monitors , ou tboard gear, microphones, and speak ers
to use at venues that dont have sound?
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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Song list This is where you discu ss and hopefu lly set the band
song list. A song list is literally a list of all the songs that you will be
playing as a band. A long with this song lis t shou ld be recordings of all the
songs so that each band member can listen to ( and even learn and chart)
their parts before the firs t rehearsal. If possible, have chord charts
available for mu sicians that can read them. If you are doing cover songs,
you sh ou ld h ave made a compil ati on of a ll th e songs f rom th e va ri ou s
sou rces for all the band members . If you are doing ori ginal songs , th en
you sh ou ld eith er h av e th em al re ad y writ ten o r be prep ared t o wri te th em
togeth e r as a band f rom sc ratch . If you are writin g from scratch you wou ld
need to set asid e the n ecessary time to w ri te.
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As soon as you have finished the writin g proc ess, copy right the
materi al. This is bec au se many manu factu ring plants requ ire that y ou
provide p roof of son g / master ownership before they can agree to
manu factu re any CDs for you . Copyrightin g you r material is a good thing
to do anyway , ev en if you will on ly be recording son gs as singles for
downloadin g and dont ev er intend to manu fac tu re any CDs . Sometimes
bands break u p before ever getting a chance to releas e any produ ct, and if
the breaku p is messy it may not be possible to get everyone to agree as to
who wrote what and who qu alifies as a writer or pu blisher. The time to
deal wi th th is is now, wh en you are not only stil l on good te rms , bu t wh en
the songwri ting p rocess is still fresh and everyone can agree as to who
the wri ters on each of the songs are (even if its on ly one pe rson). Revi ew
the earlier chapter on Copyright basics, and then fill ou t the necessary
copyright
forms
online
at
the
copyright
office
web
site
at
segu es,
activities
between
songs,
back grou nd
vocal
parts ,
choreography, stage plot and design, li ghting, and so on. Ideally, you
sh ou ld not u se th is time to LEARN th e songs th emselv es, since eve rybo dy
sh ou ld h ave le arned th e songs f rom th e w riting sessions o r f rom th e
recordings you gav e them previou sly.
Before you set u p you r rehearsals, consider (depending on the s tyle
of music you perform) pu rchasing one (or all) of the DVDs av ailable from
Tom Jacksons Onstage Success website (http://onstagesu ccess.com/).
These DVDs can help you set you r band apart from all the others at you r
level.
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conditions you can get kicked ou t. Also discu ss what happens if somebody
damages equ ipment belon ging to an other band while rehearsing.
Try and book space a few w eeks ahead of time so that all the band
members
know
and parki ng
conditions and dont schedule times that will prove to be inconvenien t for
some of the band members . Mos t rehears al spaces have cancellation
policies that you should find out about ahead of time.
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Usu ally, you will h ave 24 - 48 h ours to cancel a time slo t th at you
previou sly booked or else get charged the rehears al fee. If you book time a
cou ple of weeks in advance, you will have time to coordinate the schedu le
with all the band members and still have the flexibili ty to c ancel the
session if you are u nable to get everyone together for a rehearsal. If,
however, you are having too mu ch trou ble c oordin ating the mu sicians
schedu les, book the date that most people can attend , and then fi gu re ou t
an extra rehearsal to get everybody else u p to speed. If you take the
advice offered earli er, you will have spoken to potenti al band members
about
their
schedules
before
hiring
them,
thereby
minimizing
the
Page 132
about
the
(althou gh
fu t u r e
of
the
music
bu s i n e s s
is
scary
indu stry
is
efforts
that
will
resu lt
in
people
finding
your
music,
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others .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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Most
studios
advertise
their
services
in
local
free
weekly
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While you are in recordin g mode, you might also want to consider
taking the time to record volu mes of ori ginal mu sic for sale on spec ial
(e.g.,
occasions
Valentines
day,
Mothers /Fathers
day,
Birthda ys,
W e d d i n g s , e t c ) a n d P u b l i c D o m a i n ( P D ) C h r i s t m a s / H o l i d a y m u s i c fo r
Film/TV produ ction licensing pu rposes.
Companies are always in need of mu sic that can complemen t a
produ ct or servic e du ring holidays or on special occasions, and having
mu sic that fi ts the bill c an p rovide you with additional income long after
the recording i tself is finished. H av ing this mu sic avai lable also offers you
the potenti al to earn extra income by performin g the materi al at ev ents on
special occasions , or generatin g extra income by licensing the songs along
with you r original recordings to Film/TV/Games , etc . produ ctions. Y ou
can
send
your
recordi ngs
to
music
libraries
to
rec eive
royalty
checks
from
your
Performin g
Rights
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youre
done
recording,
it
will
be
time
to
mix
all
the
individu ally reco rd ed tracks onto a tw o-track mas ter ( .wav or .ai f file,
CD-R, tape , e tc). While mi xing, keep in mind the English idiom that
too many cooks spoil the broth! When all the band members are
involved in the mixin g session , c haos u su ally ensu es. Individu al band
members invariably will want to hear thems elv es increasingly lou der and
more p rominent in the mix, and eventu ally what you have left is one lou d
mess. It is advisable to k eep the overall nu mber of p eople in the con trol
room du ring the mixing session to a minimu m; consisting preferably only
of the en gineer, the design ated produ cer, and one or tw o members of the
band who know most what the finished produ ct shou ld sound like. Ru n the
mix by the other band members after the session, and control the u rge to
want to re- mix the songs over and over again .
In addi tion to a fu ll mixes of eac h song, mak e su re you also mi x
versions of the songs withou t the lead vocals (TV mixes) as well as
versions of the songs withou t any vocals at all ( instrumenta l mixes). It is
easiest to do these 3 mixes as you go throu gh each song. These mixes c an
come in handy for live performanc e pu rposes as well as for licensing to
Film/TV/Games, etc .
Mastering Your Music
The next step in the proc ess is mastering . This is where you
arran ge the songs into thei r correc t albu m order, apply final equ alizati on
and compression, perform any additional processing that is necessary to
achieve a p rofessional sou nd, remove excess noise from the recordi ng,
perform fade-ins and fade- ou ts, check for au dio anomalies , create a
u niform sou nd and volu me level from one song to the next, in sert
copyright, ISRC and UPC information into the son g files, and so on.
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Wh eth er you ch oose to master you r songs after you mix th em will
depend largely on what you intend to do wi th the finished produ ct. If all
you are doin g is making a recordin g to send ou t to talent bu yers , book ing
agents, promoters, etc., then you can ju st make copi es after you r mi x and
send them ou t. If, as is rec ommended, you want to ac tu ally sell y ou r
produ ct or of fe r m aste rs fo r Fi lm /T V licensing pu rposes, th en you sh ou ld
go ahead and spend a little extra money mas tering you r recordings afte r
you mix them (even thoug h it is de batable whethe r or not a lis tener can
appreciate the mastering e fforts in ear buds, on laptop speakers , or out
of a smart phone).
If you wish to have an ISRC for you r songs (unique numbers that
identify each individua l song) , then you can do so by requ esting the
necessary info rm ation f rom th e agency in you r cou ntry of residen ce
(http://www.i fpi.org/conten t/s ection_resou rces /isrc _agencies .html).
Mastering is u su ally done at a sep arate facili ty, althou gh it is also
often offered at the same facility wh ere the recordings are mi xed . For best
resu lts , I wou ld su ggest takin g you r mixed recording to a sep arate facility
that
specializes
in
masterin g.
You
can
search
on line
for
masteri ng
facili ties . You can also ask recordi ng en gineers at loc al recording s tu dios
to recommend a mastering facili ty. Talkin g to bands in you r area is yet
another option . The hou rly fee fo r masterin g is u su ally mo re than that for
mixing; between $3 5/hr - $300/hr (and in some instances even more).
However, it takes less time to mas ter a rec ordin g than it does to mix it,
and you can u su ally maste r a 13-song al bu m in 6-8 h ou rs if th ere isn t t oo
mu ch fixing to be done to th e mix . If you write mu sic th at you conside r
mainstream , then an option wou ld be to test the son gs hit poten ti al
u sing services like u Playa (http: //u playa.com) and others in ord er to get
feed back on the hit poten tial of songs before you master them and
manu factu re a minimu m ru n of CDs .
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You
can
find
publicists
and
p romoters
online,
as
well
as
in
directori es like The Mu sicians Atlas, the variou s Billboard direc tories ,
and the Indie Con tac t Bible, to name a few . Don t d espair i f you cant
afford to hire a pu blicist or radio promoter and have to handle pu blicity
and
radio
p romotion
duties
on
your
own.
For
most
independent
mu sicians, do-it-you rself (DIY) is the only realistic opti on avai lable
today.
After
utilizing
resou rc es
like
The
the
Virtual
Publicist
Indie
Bible
to
help
or
keep
Music
your
Arsenal
publicity
and
but
also
for
your
website
gallery
images,
studios,
publicists ,
modeling
agencies,
local
photography
schools, etc) , or search onlin e c lass ifieds like Craigs list and others . Make
su re you see the photographers p reviou s work and talk to them abou t
you r vision before hiring them for a shoot. Once again, make su re you
discu ss wh o owns th e copyrigh t on th e design or ph otograph ic mat eri als
produ ced.
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photos,
as
well
as
define
clearly
who
owns
what
(e.g .,
the
photog rapher generally owns the photos unless you ag ree othe rwise in
writing, etc) . You r CD graphic designer shou ld work clos ely wi th you r CD
manu factu rer. If you r manu factu rer offers graphic design templates, make
su re you r graphic designer u ses them. The templates can u su ally be
download ed from the manu fac tu rers web site. These temp lates inclu de
exac t measu rements to ensu re that you r artwork is su bmitted accordin g to
t h e i r s p e c s . I f y o u u s e y o u r o w n d es i g n t e m p l a t e s , y o u c o u l d e n d u p w i t h
artwork that doesnt fit thei r specs, cau sing a delay in the process and
possibly costing more money .
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CD Manufacturing
In this era of mp3 players, smart phones, streaming intern et radio,
social
networkin g,
and
the
impending
cloud,
the
physical
CD
is
practic ally a dying breed. Howev er, some consu mers who, whether th ey
are less tech-savvy than other consu mers or simp ly prefer to hold a
shrink-wrapped
CD
in
their
hands,
still
p refer
physical
CDs
over
have
the
potential
to
be
sold
on
your
website
and
alongs ide
even some
applying
for
bar
code
for
your
company
here
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When it comes to manu factu ring you r finished produ ct, you will have
to shop arou nd and allow plenty of time before schedu ling a release /
listening party or annou ncing a street (release) date for you r produ ct. Its
not u nu su al fo r problems to occu r du ring the manu factu rin g proc ess and
you ll need extra ti me to correct problems that mi ght occu r. P roblems
ran ge anywhere from the company taking longer than promis ed to d eliv er
the produ ct, to them prin ting th e wron g materials or qu antities and
shipping packages to the wrong ad dress . Make su re you shop arou nd for
differen t manu factu rers and, when possible, ask other people who h ave
worked with the manu factu rer how their proj ect tu rned ou t.
Since most people now adays prefer to pu rchase (if at a ll) down loads
i n s t e a d o f C D s , y o u m i g h t c o n s i d er o f f e r i n g m u s i c d o w n l o a d c a r d s f r o m
companies lik e FizzKicks (http://w ww.fizzkicks.com), or Dropca rds
(http://www.d ropc ards .com) and others; or consider c reating delu xe
produ cts
(like
custom
USB
out
of
produ cts
the
materials
you
are
manu factu ring. Delu xe p rodu cts cou ld also inclu de bonu s material in the
form of addi tional songs and/or videos, enhanced packaging/artwork,
bonu s merchandise (e.g. pos ter, t-s hirt) , exclu sive recordings , or CD/DVD
combos. Thinking abou t these items now will enable you to manu factu re
all the produ cts at the same time and inclu de them all as part of you r
initial release. You can also take these items with you to sell at shows and
earn extra income.
You can search on line for manu fac tu rers or pick u p a con tact
directory from Billboard (http://www.orderbillboard.com). Your local free
weekly sometimes co ntains advertising from manufacturing plants. The
Musician s Atlas (http://www.musiciansatlas.com) is also a source for
contact information that includes manufacturers. Some popular manufacturing
options include Disc Makers (http:// www.discmakers.com/), Oasis Disc
Manufacturing (http://www.oas isc d.com/), Crystal Clear Media Group
(http://www.crystalclearcds.com/), and others.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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Dont nec essarily make a d ecision based en tirely on the p rices you
see, bec au se some of these p rices dont inclu de everything that you migh t
need. Manu factu rers sometimes pu t low p rices in their advertisin g in
order to get you to commi t, and then hit you with extras. Asking arou nd
and getting referrals is sti ll the best way to go abou t finding a su itable
vendor. You mi ght also consider making a short ru n ord er (of perhaps 100
or so CDs) and printin g you r inserts and j-cards from a manu factu rer,
and then pu rchasing CD cas es separately.
Some manu fac tu rers also offer graphic design services. This can be
of help in terms of one-s top shopping. They can also offer lower costs for
the desi gn in consideration of y ou using them to manu factu re. This
u su ally works ou t ok ay, so i f you dont have too mu ch time or mon ey, you
can look into this option.
Most
Media
Associations
participate
(IRMA)
in
Anti-Piracy
the
Intern ation al
Compliance
Recording
Program.
This
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P a g e | 145
Once you rec eive y ou r CDs from the manu factu ring plan t and
release them for sale, you may also want to track you r s ales by registeri ng
you r titles wi th Nielsen SoundScan (http://enu s.nielsen.com/tab/indu stries /medi a/entertainmen t).
Merchandise
Even thou gh most experts advise y ou to wait u ntil later on (when
you go on tour) to manu fac tu re you r merchandise, you may consider
manu factu ring s ome t-shirts at this stage since you can sell the items on
you r website ev en before you go on tou r. In addi tion, merchandise can be
sold to fan clu b members that sign u p for you r su bscriptions, or given to
street team members as app reciati on for them helping to promote y ou r
band.
You can manu factu re a minimu m set of i tems (e.g. t-shirts) from
companies lik e Sell Merch (http://www.sellmerch.com/) , Zazzle
(http://www.zazzle.com) , or Extra Mile Merch
(http://www.extrami lemerch.com/) and others. You cou ld also u se
services like CafePress (http: //w w w.cafep ress .com) to c reate and sell tshirts with li ttle u pfront cos t, althou gh the qu ality of the merchandise
may be of sli ghtly low er caliber than those offered by some of the other
vendors .
Setting a Release Date for Your Recordings
The battle rages on abou t when exactly CDs will become obsolete,
with some s aying they already hav e become so and others s aying that it
will happen wi thin the next 3-5 years. In the meantime, many people are
still bu ying CDs , even if at lower levels than in the past. The choice is
you rs as to whether or not you want to manu fac tu re CDs at all or j u st
stick
to
recording
individual
songs
(singles)
for
di gital
down load
pu rposes.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 146
With some fans fi rmly in the dow nload camp while others stick to
the old school world of physical CDs, i t mi ght be wise (a t leas t for the
time
being
and
depending
on
the
style
of
music
you
still
p refer
physical
CDs
to
be
submitted
for
airplay
consideration over mp3s and dow nload links . This may change in the
fu tu re, bu t is gen erally sti ll the c as e as of this writin g.
If you are manu factu ring CDs/DV Ds , you sh ou ld set a re le ase da te
at this time. Release dates don t work for down load-on ly rec ordi ngs
becau se fans will want acc ess to the singles immediately as you rec ord
them. For physical recordings , however, a release d ate is essentially the
date that you will mak e you r record ings avai lable to the gen eral pu blic for
sale. Any
p ackages
you
send
out to
talent
bu yers , booking
agents,
Page 146
P a g e | 147
Page 147
P a g e | 148
It is gen erally easier to get an e-mail add ress from someone you ve
ju st met than a phone nu mber. Most peop le feel that e- mails are less
intru sive on their privacy than phone calls. H aving a lot of names on y ou r
mailin g list is not only imp ressive to talent bu yers, v enu e bookers, labels,
etc ., bu t is also the easiest way for you to promote you r firs t show and get
people to attend . If all the band members make this an ongoing effort, you
sh ou ld be a bl e to add two o r th re e names to you r m ailing list eve ry d ay.
Th is wou ld amou nt to sixty to eigh ty new names a month , even if you
arent doing any gigs .
If you dont have a system of you r own for collecting fan data and
sending ou t emails , you cou ld try solu tions like FanReach
(http://www.reverbnation.c om/fan reach), FanBridge
(http://www.fanbrid ge.com/) , Ban d Letter
(http://www.bandletter.com/) , and others .
Page 148
them
access
the
assets
(e.g.,
music,
photos ,
biographical
P a g e | 150
In
the
downloads,
media
area,
interested
high-resolu tion
parties
headshots
should
and
be
able
images,
to
find
biographical
information , tou r dates , rec ent press releases , band logos , pictu res and
video footage from recen t events , i nterview requ est forms , notable qu otes
or testim onials from influ ential m u sic indu stry pro fessionals , etc . Offer
both
u n-compressed
(.wav,
.aif)
and
lower
quality
carefully
following
the
in structions
provided
to
you
by
the
recipient):
Cover letter For occasions where a cov er letter is requ ired, make
you rself some band stationary (le tterhead, business cards, envelopes)
u tilizing you r band logo that can be u sed for bu siness corresponden ce.
When requ ired, you r cover letter will basic ally describe what you have
sent, why you have sent it (e .g. fo r booking considerati on, for a possi ble
review, for money from a sponsor, etc) , a brief breakdown of any
important informati on (e.g. u pcomi ng release party, i mportant showcase,
etc), you r contac t information (where you can be reached), and a notice
of when you will follow up.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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M u s i c W h e n s e n d i n g mu s i c i n a p h y s i c a l p r e s s k i t , c a r e f u l l y f o l l o w
the instru ctions provided by the recipient. If the recipient requ ests a
manu factu red CD complete with artwork and liner notes , dont send in a
CD-R d emo or links to mp3s; and vice vers a. In addition , you r best 3
songs from the CD shou ld also be u ploaded to you r EPK for revi ew or
download.
Photo If you are sending someone a kit in the mai l, the indu stry
import ant th ings abou t you r band . You sh ou ld att emp t to k eep it no
longer than one page in len gth.
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P a g e | 152
Topics that indu stry people find interesting in you r bio inclu de
famou s produ cers you ve worked wi th, gu est appearanc es or du ets on the
recording, famou s family members you might have, major deals you ve
signed, tou rs that you ve been on , college or commerci al radio airp lay
you ve receiv ed, artic les that hav e been wri tten abou t you in major
publications,
famous
songwriters
involved
in
the
recordin g,
film
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P a g e | 153
Quote sheet Not ev ery mu sician has a qu ote sheet, bu t if you can
put one together it would add to the package. This is basically a collection
of qu otes from revi ewers, editors , promoters, radio personnel, w riters,
etc ., which are collected and condensed onto one page. If you dont hav e
revi ews o r qu otes , you shou ld consider u sing resou rces like Re view Y ou
(http://www.reviewyou .com/) ,
the
Indie
Contact
Bible
articles / featu res that are taped on to a page and photoc opied (in the c ase
of a physical press kit) or scanned and uploaded to your website (in the
case of an EPK). Once again , not every mu sician is fortu nate enou gh to
have articles wri tten abou t them i n print pu blications. If you can pu ll
together a few articles or reviews w ritten abou t you from any pu blication,
you sh ou ld cu t ou t a section th at inclu des th e pu blications nam e and
issue date.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 154
Y o u c a n th e n g l u e o r s c o t c h - t a p e t h e s e c l i p p i n g s o n t o a s h e e t o f
plain white paper. Ti tle the page press c lippings. A t that poin t, you can
make ph otocopies f rom th e mas t er and inclu de th e copies in you r
package or sc an them for you r EP K. Dont pu t too many clippings on a
sheet, and dont pu t too many sheets in you r package ei ther. If at all
possible, try and fit them all on one page, and inclu de only the most
impressive featu res . Ju st like qu ote sheets, if you dont have any fabu lou s
fea tu res , don t inclu de any at a l l. Bu t if you do, inclu de you r mail ing
address , con tac t name, phone nu mber, e-mail add ress, and web site URL
across the bottom.
managers, booking agen ts, promoters , or other bands to say someth ing
positive abou t thei r w orkin g experiences with you . You cou ld also u se
references
from
music
editors ,
radio
station
personnel,
festival
Lyric sheets Only include these if specifically asked for them. For
example, you may be asked to prov ide lyric sheets for you r songs if y ou
are sending a pack age ou t to a mu sic pu blisher or a talen t bu yer for a
charity ev ent; or even i f you are sending a mu sic video ou t to a television
or intern et s tation for potenti al ai rplay. It is possible that a venu e might
ask for lyric sheets to see if they are interested in booking you r type of
band or not. In any case, hav e them handy in the even t you are asked . Y ou
cou ld also h ave you r lyrics av aila bl e on you r web site wh ere you can point
people to.
However, when done well, having a DVD can increase the odds of sign ing
with a bookin g agen t, landin g an opening slot on a tou r, getting a gig at
an important v enu e, or getting a w riter from a pu blication to attend and
revi ew one of you r shows. Y ou cou ld also u pload you r footage on to
You Tu be or into th e EPK sec tion of you r own web site .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 155
If
the
cost
of
hiring
company
to
shoot
footage
for
you
is
prohibitive, then having stu dents from a fi lm school shoot and edit y ou r
DVD is a good way to s ave money and works as a benefi t for both parti es .
More often
good
DVD for
promo tional u se. Another good opti on is u sing equ ipment from you r lo cal
public access television station . Most of these offer training on their
equ ipment as well as volu nteers that you can u se to help shoot you r DVD.
Search on-line for pu blic access television stations in you r area. An
alternativ e opti on is to rent some vi deo equ ipment ( mainly cameras , lens,
and lighting) to videotap e your live shows and then editing the footage on
you r compu ter u sing readi ly available vid eo editing software.
placed inside a fold er. You can pick u p folders from you r loc al office
s u p p l y s t o r e . P i c k u p t h e o n e s t h at h a v e a s l o t f o r y o u r b u s i n e s s c ar d s
inside, and inclu de a business card with you r contact info rma tion a nd
address . Inclu de a band sticker on the fron t of the folder. If you have a
band logo, inclu de it as part of th e artwork. Also, pu t the name of the
band, the contact person, address, phone nu mber, fax nu mber, w eb site or
MySpace URL, and a pictu re of the band on the ou tside of the folder.
Page 155
(s treaming,
ride
(CDs ,
produ cts
paid
free
downloads,
downloads,
etc)
or
PAY
subscriptions,
FOR
show
your
tic kets ,
to
at
the
buyers
convenience
in
as
many
places
as
possible).
Getting the maximu m nu mber of people to find you is ju st the
beginning o f th e process , and you will need a m assive amou nt of e xposu re ,
views and lis tens to translate to even modes t sales . Therefore, you will
need to employ as many promotion al and pu blicity-related techniqu es as
are
financially
possible
(or
as
relate
to
your
type
of
music)
simu ltaneou sly in order to generate the income you desire. Dont ju st pick
one techniqu e and pu t all you r eggs in that one basket.
P a g e | 157
You will also need to be consistent and persistent with you r efforts
over a pe riod of time t o ach ieve resu lts. With all th is in mind, you sh ou ld
begin promoting you r band and rec ordings long before you r firs t gi g and
even before any official release d ate. This is becau se it takes people a
while to warm u p to something they ve never heard before.
Pre-promotion is nec essary to make people aware of you r songs , the
release date, and the name of you r band. People are mu ch more lik ely to
a t t e n d y o u r s h o w s w h e n th e y k n o w w h a t y o u s o u n d l i k e a n d a r e f a m i l i a r
with some or all of you r son gs. H av ing videos , pictu res and song samp les
on you r web site or social networking profile offers visitors a glimpse of
what
you
have
(including
to
media,
offer.
talent
Pre-promotion
buyers,
also
labels,
makes
indu stry
publishers,
people
dis tributors,
or
tru st
(i .e.,
friends ,
family
members,
associa tes
and
Page 157
P a g e | 158
Since you will most lik ely not ac hieve the airp lay satu ration on
mainstream radio thats necessary to make y ou rself well-known to the
general pu blic, encou raging word- of-mou th recommendations from you r
fans and positioning you rself to benefi t from chance encou nters will be
the way that most peop le find out about you. That means that you will
have to be in as many places as possible in ord er to increase that
likelihood that somebody bu mps into you or you r profi le somewhere, and
then ends up tellin g someon e else about you
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P a g e | 159
Consider hobbies or speci al in terests that you may have, and then
find networks that allow you to soci alize with like- minded people to wh om
you can display you r mu sical skills and tal ents. Th e re a re doz ens of
special interest social networks you can find . For examp le, Acti on Profi les
(http://www.actionp rofi les .com/) is a social networking commu nity for
action
sports
enthusiasts.
PatientsLikeMe
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P a g e | 160
Y o u c a n u s e t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d b y t h e s e s i t e s i n f u tu r e n e g o t i a t i o n s
and
dealings
with
venu e/talen t
bookers,
promoters,
brand
p artn ers ,
services
like
HootSuite
(http://hootsu ite.com/),
Ping.fm
bloggers,
and
interesting/entertaining
people
(including
other musicians) who already have a large following or are an influ ential
voice in you r area of interest. Y ou can also choose to follow peop le who
follow major label bands on Twitter that you think you sound like, or
search for people who have bou ght mu sic from iTu nes from artis ts w ho
sound like you (or whose music is similar to yours).
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P a g e | 161
can
use
services
like
Search
of
c onversation .
You
can
also
join
networks
like
Ning
(http://www.nin g.com/) and others to (as the site su gges ts) create and
join new social netw orks for you r i nterests and passions. Follow people
who have had conversations abou t pu rchasing mu sic from major label
artists that are similar to you , and then find ways to communicate with
them and in trodu ce you r mu sic to them over time.
Keep in mind that social networki ng, done effec tively, is not abou t
sellin g. The ri ght cou rse of acti on is to spend time investin g in the
re la tionsh ip between you and you r potenti al f ans so th at th e re la tionsh ip
can be moneti zed later. Treat people in social networkin g circles they
same way you wou ld treat them if you met them at a bar, restau rant,
nightclu b,
library ,
caf,
groc ery
store,
etc.
In
those
instances,
you
wou ldnt lau nch into a high-pressu re produ ct sales pitch, so dont do that
while in social networking ci rcles. If you do, you ll tu rn people off and
end u p with few follow ers or fri ends. Instead , paint a pictu re of you rself
by being interesting, en tertaining, inspiring, or edu cational (depending
on your personality); contribu tin g meaningfu lly to conversations; and
providing something for other peop le in the network to gravi tate to.
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P a g e | 162
While netw orkin g, you can occasionally mak e reference to the fac t
that something interes ting happened at a show, or offer some other
conversation-generating tit-bi t that will tu rn the conversation towards
you r mu sic. Keep in mind that w hile you are conv ersin g you are also
mark etin g
and
branding
you rself.
Interact
with
people
in
social
places).
like
Show
Twitpic
your
p ersonality
by
sharing
(http://www.twitpic.c om/)
photos
or
u sing
DailyBooth
(http://www.d ailybooth.c om/) and others; and images and video u sing
services like yfrog (http: //www.y frog.com/) and others .
to attrac t a bas e of fri ends and followers , open u p a two-way dialogu e and
interact with them frequ ently.
Once you get you r soci al netw orkin g campai gn u nder w ay, research
variou s methods of s treamlining you r campai gn by u tilizin g resou rces like
the Involver Social Marketing Suite
(http://involver.com/gallery .html) and others.
Word-of-mouth
Engage you r fans to p lay leading roles in you r virtu al street team.
Encou rage them to spread the word abou t you r mu sic to their circ le of
fri ends, fami ly members , and associ ates . Remember that each one of these
fri ends, fami ly members and assoc iates hav e thei r own larger circ le of
fri ends,
family
members
and
associates,
all
of
whom
tru st
recommendations made from within the circ le. This effort can generate a
more loyal fo llowing than can be do ne fro m simply pu shing propaganda on
foru ms, blogs , social networks, etc . Give you r fans instru ctions on what to
say abou t you r produ ct availabi lity and shows, while at the same ti me
listening to what they have to say and collectin g feedback on what they
are hearin g from people in terms of fav ori te son gs, opinions of liv e show
performances , su ggestions for new recordin gs or p rodu cts, etc .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 162
P a g e | 163
Have a two-way convers ation with you r fans and u se them as focu s
grou ps. Withou t being too pu shy, try to get some demo graphic data from
them (e.g., age, loca tion by zip co de, gender, etc) in order to cu stomize
you r mailin g list ou treach.
YouTube AudioID & VideoID
Consider
utilizing
YouTube s
AudioID
and
VideoID
p rodu cts
Publicist
like
the
available
at
The
you
Hype
can
use
Machine
Page 163
P a g e | 164
As with everything else, read some of the blog archives to get a sense
of an individu al bloggers likes an d dislikes before reaching ou t to them
about your music. If they live in your area, invite them to a show and
offer to pu t them on the gu est list and p rovide them wi th some d ri nk
tickets.
Song down loads
Consider offering you r fans, in add ition to s treamin g, the opti on of
downloadin g some of you r son gs ( in 128 k mp3 fo rmat) from you r site.
Doing this is not so much more different than handing ou t CD samplers on
the street; excep t for the fac t th at you are d oing i t onlin e with no
manu factu ring cos ts. Make su re th at when you do this, thou gh, any mp3
tracks you have for sale are of higher qu ality; like 320k mp3s and/or one
or more of the loss less fi le formats (e.g. Apple Lossless or FLAC) . Si tes
like Bandcamp (http://bandcamp .com/) and others allow you to offer
you r songs to fans in mu ltiple fi le formats . Re verbnation also has a
widget that you can u tilize to give people free downloads of you r mu sic
(http://www.reverbnation.c om/mai n/widgets_overview) .
Allowin g some free low er qu ali ty downloads offers the listener the
opportu nity to enjoy you r mu sic anywhere they have the ability to p lay
mp3s even when they dont have access to the internet to hear the
streams on y ou r site. You dont nec essari ly have to offer them all of y ou r
songs, bu t the offer shou ld allow you r fans (for a limited time) the ability
to down load mp3s from you r site, not ju st to listen to free son g s treams
or hear 30 sec ond song samples . If possible, c reate a system where you
collect p eoples email addresses in exchange for access to the s ong
downloads area of you r website so that you can send ou t gig informati on
and other news (Bandcamp, men tioned above, allows you to do this).
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P a g e | 165
Page 165
P a g e | 166
Some of the listed music pools are no longer in business, but once
you ve located a u seable list you shou ld gather the addresses and phone
nu mbers of all the record pools in you r promotion region. The preferred
approach is to send a copy of the song (CD, vinyl, or mp3, depending on
the pool) alon g with a response / bou nce back card to the record p ool
director to see i f you r mu sic is something that wou ld be app rop riate for
their record pool. If it is su itable, they wou ld then send back the response
card (o r call / e mail you back) and instru ct you to send enou gh prod u ct
for all their members to be serviced. Each pool may have anywhere from
50 to 200 members, so you wou ld have to have enou gh promotional
produ ct to service all the pools in you r area. If you r songs are not su itable
or i f you r produ ct isnt avai lable i n their preferred format, they wou ld
send back the response c ard or c all/emai l you to let you know that you r
mu sic is not a good fit for their pool.
If someone at a rec ord pool is interested and you send ou t a
shipment, try and remind the pool director of you r releas e date and have
the DJs play the mu sic right arou nd that d ate. You can also ask the p ool
direct or if th e DJs can giv e you some fe edback on th e crowd response in
the clu b when they play you r song( s). This feedback cou ld be u sed (with
permission) in you r qu ote sheets as part of you r promotion materi als .
Submit your songs for licensing to Film/TV, etc.
Now that you have material that is recorded (and more i mportantly,
mixed and mastered), you shou ld pu t aside some time to res earch places
to su bmit you r material for licensi ng in Film, TV, Advertising agenci es,
Games, etc . It tak es many months for the resu lts of you r licensing efforts
to pay off, so the sooner you begin the process, the soon er you will s tart
to see the checks. The details of music licensing are beyond the scope of
this e-book, bu t you can find ou t mu ch of the information from man y of
the mu sic library websi tes as you condu ct you r research.
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P a g e | 167
If you have the right material, you stand to potentially earn tens of
t h o u s a n d s o f d o l l a r s a y e a r f r o m t h e u s e o f y o u r mu s i c i n a v a r i e t y o f
produ ctions and formats . A good place to begin researching places to
submit
you r
material
is
the
Music
Library
Report
(http://mu siclibrary report.com/) . There you can find u sers revi ews of the
differen t mu sic libraries before deciding where to su bmit you r material.
You can also pick up a copy of the F ilm & Tele vision Music Guide from
the Mu sic Registry (http: //ww w.mu sicregistry.com/) .
You can also license mu sic to u sers directly from you r own websi te
u sing services like LicenseQuote (http://www.licensequ ote.c om/) and
others , or p rogram you r own solu tion that enables you to do so. Before
you su bmit you r material to mu sic li braries , howev er, dont forget to
copyright all you r material (http: //www.copy right.gov) and affili ate wi th
a performing rights organization of your choice (e.g.,
http://www.bmi .com, http: //www .ascap.com, etc) as both a w ri ter and a
pu blisher member, as w ell as Sou nd Exchange
(http://www.s ou ndexchange.com) as a recording artis t / sou nd recordi ng
copyright owner.
Create Video Content for Publicity Purposes
Consider c reatin g video con tent to u pload to sites like YouTube
(http://www.y ou tu be.com) , Dailym otion (http://www .d ailymotion.c om),
Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/) , etc . Many potenti al fans like mu sic to
have a visu al compon ent to i t. In other words , the experience of listeni ng
t o m u s i c i s e n h a n c e d w h e n y o u ad d a v i s u a l e l e m e n t t o i t . A n y v i d e o
content you create shou ld serve two pu rposes. One pu rpose of creating
videos, in additi on to heightening the au ditory experience of you r mu sic,
is to give you r fans some insight into you and you r mu sic, inclu ding
behind-the-scenes, making- of, live shows, rehearsals , in-stu dio, backs tage
access, sneak-peek , demos in p rogress , and things you might wan t to
know about me footage.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 167
P a g e | 168
The
second
pu rpose
is
to
create
entertaining,
compellin g,
and
fans
interested
and
coming
back.
Your
footage
should
be
provide
feed back , mak e comments, and spread the videos virally. Increas e the
chances
of
this
happening
by
making
the
content
entertain ing,
over
time
as
you
learn
from
early
mistakes
and
make
Page 168
P a g e | 169
Page 169
P a g e | 170
You can also manu factu re a minimu m set of merchandise items ( e.g.
t-shirts, etc.) from companies like Sell Merch
(http://www.s ellmerch.com/) , Za zzle (http://www .zazzle.c om) , or Extra
Mile Merch (http://www.extramilemerch.c om/) that can be u sed for
promotional giveaways as well as made avai lable for s ale at you r website
or merchandise tables at you r gi g. Y ou cou ld also u se servic es lik e
CafePress (http://www.cafep ress.c om) to create and sell t-shirts with
little u pfront cost in ord er to fi gu re ou t which designs sell before ord ering
a minimu m ru n from the other si tes for sale from you r website or at gi gs .
Subscription Area
Cre at e a su bscription are a on you r website in wh ich you offer f ans,
for a mon thly and/or annu al fee, premiu m or exclu sive produ cts, con tent
and services inclu ding things lik e free songs; monthly live performanc es;
custom compositions; a lbum sneak-peek listening sessions; discounted
music, tic kets , and merchandise; exclusive photos; behind- the-scenes
footage ; pre-sales; live chats ; vid eos; special edition and/or premium
products; collectors items , limited edition vinyl, bac kstage access; me etand-greets; members only after-parties; VIP sta tus; entries to monthly
raffles; custom ring tones; member goodie bags; custom artwork; annual
get-togethers; and anything else you can think of.
Be creativ e with what you offer, and make su re by asking for
feed back that the su bscriptions inc lu de items of v alu e that you r fans will
appreciate. A fter all, fans wont w ant to pay a monthly su bscription fee
for things that have no valu e, or that can be had wi thou t signing u p for
the
su bscription.
You
can
use
solutions
like
Caribou
CMS
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P a g e | 172
duties
you rself,
you
can
services
or
use
can
to
ArtistData
Music
help
use
like
keep
Arsenal
things
Billboards
organized
Publicity
and
wire
Industry
together
list
of
media
people
that
you
think
would
be
interested in you r story . Condu ct research to find the places that w rite
revi ews
or
artic les
about
independent
bands.
Consider
non-music
search
locally,
then
region ally,
and
then
work
your
way
out
nationally and intern ationally. Tak e a look arou nd you r city, and pick u p
copies of all the pu blications , particu larly the ones that inclu de a lot of
independent mu sic-related articles . Watch television and see which shows
featu re local bands. Search on-lin e for places that revi ew or showcase
independent
artists.
In
every
instance,
attempt
to
find
contact
information of the person you shou ld send you r packages or links to.
Page 172
P a g e | 173
Always check what the submission policies are, and to whom you
sh ou ld send you r media packet . N ot ice if a pu blication w rit es revi ews, a nd
if so, who gen erally w rites these reviews. If you send a package ou t to an
entertainment editor, for examp le, you may have to follow u p before any
revi ew or artic le is w ritten. The thing to remember is that the bigger the
publication, the less likely it is that you will actually get a review or
article w ritten . Start with the smaller, more independent pu blications and
web
sites
where
your
response
will
be
better.
In
addition,
most
pu blications fill thei r space wi th advertising fi rst, and then fill the leftover space with news , articles , revi ews, etc .
Putting Together a Marketing Book
At this point you shou ld pu t together a marketing book that
contains all you r marketing and p romotion plans and efforts . It does nt
have to li terally be a book , bu t does need to be a solu tion that en ables you
to enter d ata and mak e u pdates and corrections as nec essary. This is what
you will u se to keep track of you r p romotion p lans as well as to chroni cle
how well or how poorly the plans are working. It shou ld be as detailed as
you can possibly make it. Each time you have an idea or concep t that you
want to try , you shou ld write i t d own in the book or enter it into the
data base and docu ment th e pro gress or l ack th ereof . You sh ou ld be abl e to
inpu t information into the book or database each week or sometimes d aily
depending on the volume and type of activity takin g place.
If you signed u p for Mu sic Arsenal, Artist Data, or some other
similar service, you can u se that as a working solu tion to inpu t and u pdate
you r data. This marketing book / database serv es two distinct pu rposes.
One, as men tioned above, is so th at you can document how effectively
you r plans are working and mak e adju stments as necess ary . The other
pu rpose for you r mark etin g book is that the data can come in handy if it
becomes necessary to shop you r band to brand partners, record labels ,
pu blishers, distribu tors , inves tors, licensees, or sponsors .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 174
Sponsors and brand partn ers in particu lar like to know what type of
mark etin g and promotion efforts you have u ndertaken previou sly, and
what strategies worked or didnt work so that they know how to move
forward with you r p rojec t if they choose to sign you .
Page 174
indu stry
attention,
and
sellin g
large
quantities
of
CDs ,
P a g e | 176
coverage:
The firs t s tep is to find a story an gle of in terest abou t you rself
(if you are a self-managed artist) or you r clien t (if you are a
manager). Consider something other than your music for an
angle. For example, aside from bei ng a mu sician, perhaps you
are also an exp eri enced diver, or have su rvived a hu nting
accident, or operate a graphic design bu siness from a tree
house, or are seekin g financin g in an economic d owntu rn, or
are an expert in a specific area, or have overcome a medic al
condition, or have been the victi m of a work-at-home sc am, or
traveled to 40 cou ntries in 40 d ays, or any other angle you can
think of.
or
Help-a-Reporter-Out
ads
looking
for
employees,
jou rnalists
put
out
requ ests for su bjects for stories they are working on for thei r
newspaper, publication , website, TV station , or Radio station .
These requ ests inclu de a description of the type of person they
are interested in as a su bject, th e type of artic le they are
writin g
or
information ,
in terview
and
the
they
are
deadline
condu cting,
for
receivin g
their
the
contact
n ecessary
While
peru sing
the
listings ,
look
for
as
many
jou rnalist
requ ests as specific ally apply to you r story, and then carefu lly
follow the di recti ons as requ ested by the jou rnalis t.
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P a g e | 177
information;
you
insert
references
to
your
artist/band name along with the fact that you are a mu sician.
Withou t these references the article may be a good read, yet be
of no benefi t to you r mu sic career since the readers , lis teners
or vi ewers wi ll not know that you are a mu sician or be able to
search for you in order to pu rchase CDs or downloads or come
to you r show. Think abou t how imp ressive it w ou ld be to get 1
percen t of 275,000 readers or viewers to you r next gi g.
Continue
fulfilling
jou rnalist
requ ests
even
if/after
youve
have
certain
preferences
(like
in
food ,
music,
clothing,
however,
that
you
s h o u ld
ignore
jou rnalist
requests
that
s p e c i f i c a l l y a s k f o r m u s i c i a n s u b j ec t s , s i n c e t h e s e p r e s e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s
for the exc eptions to the ru les .
Page 177
than
P a g e | 179
These distribu tors wi ll handle all the secu red c redi t card order
taking and fu lfi llment for y ou . They will issu e checks for CDs and
downloads bi-mon thly, monthly or qu arterly (depending on who you sign
up with) for all sales that tak e place in the previou s month or qu arter.
Make su re you read the contracts c arefu lly beforehand since some of the
abovemention ed sites offer exclu sive services , which means that you can
only sign wi th them for all of you r online mu sic distribu tion.
Consignment
As discu ssed earlier, th e fu tu re of mu sic consu mption is projected to
be mainly via down loads , streaming, mobile devices , clou d technology,
and/or su bscriptions . In this scenario, most (if not all) mu sic retail stores
are predic ted to go ou t of bu siness. In the mean time, however, some
mu sic consu mers still pu rchase their mu sic from retail sto res becau se
they either a) dont have access to the internet, or b) dont tru st making
pu rchases online or dont have a credi t card to u se for online shopping.
Some peop le may also not be able to attend one of you r gi gs in order to
pu rch ase you r mu sic. In th at re gard, some mu sicians sh ou ld consider th e
option of making their mu sic avai lable to fans at retai l s tores for a limi ted
time.
If you choose to pu rsu e a consignment deal, make su re that you limit
you r manu factu ring to a minimu m nu mber of physical CDs and mak e su re
th at th e ret ail sto res you select are with in you r promotion a re a (i.e ., t he
area where you live and can perform live , put up poste rs, dis trib ute
flye rs, get coverage in local public ations, receive airplay on area college
or non-commercial radio s tations , conduct social networking with people
in the area , have interviews on local radio and TV stations, e tc).
Page 179
P a g e | 180
CD
to
them.
If
interested,
they
will
license
your
record
and
Page 180
P a g e | 181
and
The
Musicians
Guide
to
Tou ring and Promotion (http://w ww.orderbi llboard .com/) or resou rces
like Mu sic Arsenal (http://www .mu sicarsenal.com/) and others for a list
of stores that take p rodu ct on consignment. You shou ld also consider n onmu sic retail stores for consignment consideration (depending on the style
of mu sic you write/perform) , inclu ding, for example, new age stores
(http://www.n ewagedi rec tory.com/) , tattoo parlors
(http://www.everytattoo.com/tattooparlors .shtml),
su rf
art
shops
galleri es,
chu rches and Christian bookstores , etc . You can also driv e arou nd you r
local area and stop by every mom and pop record store (or sp ecialty
store th at p lays o r wou ld be inte rested in playin g mu sic in you r gen re)
that you come ac ross and ask them i f they tak e CDs on consignment.
If you are getting any radio airp lay (particularly co llege and noncommercial) , ask the radio stations that are su pporting y ou r mu sic to
recommend retai l s tores where you can pu t you r CDs in . You can also ask
them for the name of the parti cular buyer (independent buyer or
consignment rep) so that you can as k for them di rectly when you call.
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P a g e | 182
The stores wou ld love to hear that a radio station thats playing you r
mu sic recommended them to you , and that cou ld help with the highvisibility positionin g of you r CDs w ithin the store.
Keep in mind the fac t that you dont want you r CDs /DVDs sitting in
stores f or month s with ou t sel ling, so you sh ou ld only h ave a f ew sto re s
stocking you r p rodu ct. Select s tores in you r area in su ch a way that each
store is no closer than fifteen minu tes or so from the next one selling you r
CD. Call ah ead o f time to set u p an appointment with th e bu yer in ch arge
of consignment p rodu cts. You cou ld also go by the store and ask for the
person in charge of acceptin g con signments . They will u su ally tell you
whether or not they are acceptin g c onsignments , who to talk to, what ti me
to come in, and what to bring with you (i.e., CDs , posters , samplers , onesheets, etc .) . Th ey u su ally work b y appointment so you sh ou ld be very
flexible and able to accommodate th eir schedule.
Retail s tores are taking a risk stocking you r CDs /DVDs becau se
those produ cts wi ll be takin g u p li mited shelf spac e wi th no gu arantees
that any will be sold . It is you r job to let them know how you are
promo ting you r produ cts and wh at sh ows you h ave coming u p. Th e more
they know abou t you r promotion and mark etin g efforts, the more lik ely
they are to s tock you r p rodu ct. A lways brin g an extra p romotion al c opy
for in-store airp lay . Some stores wi ll also accep t posters i f they have the
wall space, and samplers , stickers and postcards for you to leave at a
designated cou nter. Each store has differen t policies on consignment, so
work wi th each one to find ou t the mos t effectiv e way to promote y ou r
produ cts. You shou ld also take this time to ask the store manager i f y ou
can perform in the store, or even i n the store p arkin g lot, as part of y ou r
promotional campai gn . Not all s tores will be open to this, bu t it does nt
hu rt to ask . You can offer to share the cost of a local ad in the newspaper
promo ting you r CDs avai la bility a t th e store . Do as mu ch as you can
afford to show the lev el of c ommitment you have to you r p rojec t.
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P a g e | 183
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P a g e | 184
Make su re you read the consi gnmen t contrac ts very carefu lly. In the
contract, you will have all the information regarding how mu ch you will
rec eive fo r each u nit sold, wh en you will receive th e mon ey, h ow long th e
consignment term is, and who is res ponsible for checking the produ ct. Y ou
sh ou ld ask th e store fo r somewh e re betw een $7 and $10 for you r CDs. T h e
store will add on a certain amou nt, usu ally $5 to $8. As a new artis t, you
sh ou ld not expect peop le to pay $17 .9 9 fo r you r CDs , so keep th at in m ind
a s y o u c o n s i d e r y o u r p r i c i n g o p t i o n s . Y o u w i l l b e a b l e t o s e l l m o r e u n i ts i f
you price you r CDs low, and the fans you make now wi ll bu y you r next CD
for mo re money , as w el l as go t o y ou r sh ows and bu y you r me rch andise.
Some stores will pu rchase a few u nits from you u pfront for c ash.
Since
you are s elling di rec tly to the s tore and not going throu gh a distribu tor,
all th e money from s ales wi ll go d irectly to you . Retai l sto res are m u ch
more repu table than distribu tors when it comes to getting paid, bu t mak e
su re you hold onto you r contrac t an d tak e it in to the store with you when
it comes time to collect.
Remember to keep track of which stores you have you r p rodu ct in.
Periodically check to s ee i f you r produ ct has sold ou t and if y ou need to
re-stock. Some s tores don t wan t you to pester them by coming by too
often, bu t be p rofessional and let them know that you simply want to
help them to help you . Check if they wou ld like more posters , or i f you
can pu t some s amplers at the c ou nter for free giveaways. Also, notice
which stores people are bu ying a lot of CDs from and which stores s till
h ave all th e u nits you left th em with . Th is will allo w you to decide
whether it is worth it to k eep you r produ ct in certain stores, or where you
need to spend more ti me p romoting.
Make su re you do not rely enti rely on consignmen t sales from retail
stores. It takes a lo t of promotion for people to go to a store and bu y you r
CDs, and it takes a while to get pai d from the retail stores .
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P a g e | 185
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P a g e | 186
Most independ ent artis ts and rec ord labels will not qu ali fy for
distribu tion u ntil they have pu t ou t several su ccessfu l (i.e., mone ymaking) releases, have a 2 3 year operational history, and have good
management in place. For those that dont qu alify for direct distribu tion ,
the su gges tion wou ld be to approach other independ ent labels that have
major label distribu tion deals in place and pi tch you r recording to them
for dis tribu tion . If you have some money to contribu te to the marketin g of
you r projec t, that cou ld help move the deal forw ard .
If you are interested in approaching independen t labels that have
major label distribu tion deals in place, you can begin you r search by
pu rchasing a copy of the Record C ompany Directory from the Polls tar
s t o r e ( h t t p : / / w w w . p o l l s t a r . c o m / ) w h i c h i n c lu d e s c o n t a c t i n f o r m a t i o n f o r
independent labels with major label distribu tion. You can also check the
web sites of the main distri bu tors in the United States here (and locate
contact information for the independent record labels whose product
they dis tribute).
The main distribu tors in the United States inc lu de:
- ADA (http: //www.ada-mu sic.com/) (recently me rged into WEA)
- Bu rnside Distribu tion (http://ww w.bdcdistribu tion.com/)
- E1 Entertainment Distribu tion U .S. (http: //www.kochdistribu tion.com/)
- EMI Mu sic Mark etin g (http: //ww w .carolineb2b.com/)
- EMI Label Services & Carolin e Distribu tion
(http://www.c arolinedis t.c om/)
- Harmonia Mu ndi USA (http://ww w.harmoniamu ndi.com/)
- The Mountain Apple Company
(http://www.mou ntainapplec ompan y.com/)
- MVD En tertainment Grou p (http://mvdb2b.c om/)
- Naxos of Americ a (http: //www.n axos.com/)
- RED Distribu tion (http: //www.red b2b.c om/)
- Redey e Distribu tion (http://www .red eyeu sa.com/)
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 186
P a g e | 187
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P a g e | 188
mentioned
earlier,
most
of
the
larger
(national
chain
and
p rodu ct
from
their
corp orate
headqu arters.
Most
national
distribu tors prefer to work wi th a label that has mu ltiple artis ts on its
roster, a commitment to releasin g several projec ts ev ery year, an ad equ ate
bu dget allocated for mark eting, and a sales track record. If you are u nable
to qu alify for nation al (or even regional) distribu tion on you r own, a good
option is to research distribu tion companies that place p rodu cts in the
types of stores that you wou ld like to have you r CDs in and find ou t the
names of the labels on their ros ter. You can then contact the labels
directly to s ee if they wou ld be interes ted in signing you to a distribu tion
deal so that you r records c an be dis tribu ted throu gh them. You wou ld s till
have to record and possibly manu factu re you r own records , bu t at least
you
cou ld
to
throu gh
this
arran gement.
If you have an investor or otherwi se have a sales track record and
access to a large bu dget you can c onsider tryin g to get distribu tion for
you r label or releas e. H owev er, before you consider distribu tion, there are
some things you will need to be aware of. An importan t consideration is
the fac t that the fu tu re of mu sic consu mption will not be in the form of
physical CD p rodu cts, bu t more in the form of down loads , streami ng,
mobile devic es, and clou d technology . B efore you consider u ndertak ing
the considerable cos ts of distribu tion (number of CDs to manufactu re ,
shipping costs, costs of distribution-related marketing and promotion,
impact
of
returns ,
etc),
keep
in
mind
that
the
fu tu re
of
music
Page 188
P a g e | 189
You r CDs wi ll need to be bar coded. You can get a bar cod e by
becoming a member of the GS1 U S, formerly the Uniform Code Cou ncil
(http://www.u c-cou ncil.org) . When you become a member, you r comp any
will
be
assigned
an
identification
number
for
your
company's
use
(company prefix). You will need this number to create your own bar
codes. Th e nu mber of u niqu e produ cts you need to identify , alon g w ith
you r companys gross sales revenu e will determine the fee you will pay for
your
bar
code.
Even
thou gh
you
can
get
bar
codes
from
some
manu factu ring comp anies, pay the cost of getting you r own bar cod es if
you are goin g for real dis tri bu tion. It is possible that you have already
manu factu red you r CDs withou t the bar codes on them. In that even t, y ou
can remedy the situ ation by prin ting stickers (or deca ls) with the codes
on them and sticking them to the back of your CDs .
2.
You will need to have a su ggested price list for all you r p rodu cts.
3.
You will need a mark etin g plan and proposed bu dget for you r
u pcoming releas es. The distri bu tor will n eed to see that you u nderstand
the tru e costs of distribu tion and that you have the n ecessary bu dget
committed for all the tasks. Y ou will n eed to show that you are able to
create a demand for you r artists CDs.
4.
sales and initial ship out on each title for the upcoming year.
5.
As mentioned earlier, most nati onal distribu tors will requ ire you to
have a sales track record for mu ltip le artists . To p rove that, you will need
a sales report for at least the previ ou s two years. You will need to lis t in
the report each ti tle (account) individually, and lis t sales by account.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 190
You will need to show the retu rn ratio by title as well as gross sales
per ti tle. The retu rn ratio wi ll id entify how many of you r u nits shipped
were retu rned to the distribu tor by the retai ler. Retailers (stores) acc ept
produ ct on a 100% retu rn privilege basis. This means that if a retailer
orders 75 CDs from you (via your distributor) bu t is u nable to sell th em,
they can ship them back to you for fu ll c redit or a refu nd of the p rice it
paid for the records. Records sent back to the distribu tor as u nsold from
the retai ler are known as retu rns . Since the rec ords are bein g bou ght
from and retu rned to the distribu tor, i t is the distribu tor who will have to
refu nd the money or offer the c redit, which comes ou t of you r accou nt
u ltimately bu t means that the distribu tor has not made any mon ey on
those u nits. Having too many CDs retu rned is a bad sign, and a good
reason for the distribu tor to be c au tious abou t signing you . In order to
deal effectiv ely wi th retu rns, distribu tors will hold a certain percentage of
the money paid by the retai ler in reserv e (on hold) u ntil su ch time as
they are confident that the stores will not retu rn any more produ cts for
credit. Only at that point wi ll you get paid on records sold at retai l.
6.
Sou ndScan reports for you r last 3 or 4 releas es, as well as the marketing
plans for you r next 3 or 4 releases . The plans shou ld indicate the bu dgets
for consu mer advertising, retai l advertising / co-op , pu blicity, radio
promotion, tou ring plans, and mark eting efforts .
7.
have on hand for each title. It wi ll not be a good si gn if you only have a
few or no CDs av ailable, or are u nable to qu ickly manu fac tu re more as
needed.
8.
Some dis tribu tors wi ll ask you for a bio / history of the label and i ts
k e y p e r s o n n e l . I t h e l p s i f y o u h av e p e o p l e o n y o u r t e a m w i t h r e t a i l ,
distribu tion, p romotion, and marketing experience and c red entials. Most
distribu tors will w ant to know how many people you have on s taff.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 190
P a g e | 191
9.
Most distribu tors will wan t to know who has distribu ted you before.
This can prove to be awkw ard if you ve had a bad experi ence with a
distribu tor and are looking to sign with another one. Mak e su re that, if
you leave a distri bu tor, i t is becau se of something they did wrong (e .g . n ot
paying you on time, not distributing your products to accounts as
required, etc) . Sometimes distribu tors go ou t of bu siness, forcing you to
look els ewhere for distribu tion.
10.
Almost all nation al distribu tors will w ant you to sign an exclu sive
agreemen t with them, meaning that no one els e can distribu te you r
produ cts as long as you are u nder contract wi th them. This mak es sense
s i n c e w i t h m u l t i p l e d i s t r i b u t o r s t h e r e w o u l d b e t o o m u c h c o n fu s i o n f o r
the retai lers regarding who to ord er and re- ord er from, where to s end
retu rns, who to coordinate retai l programs with, etc . It is often possible
to sign an exclu sive nation al and non-exclu sive international deal w ith
the same distribu tor, thu s retaini ng the option to sign wi th different
distribu tors in territori es overs eas .
11.
You will be requ ired to remove all p rodu cts you have on consignment
or p reviou sly distri bu ted before si gning with a dis tri bu tor. Keep this in
mind since it may take a while to track ev erything down and make su re all
produ cts are removed .
12.
You will need to p rovide the dis tri bu tor wi th promotional copi es of
Page 191
P a g e | 192
choice, and not CD-Rs, cass ettes or vinyl (although vinyl seems to be
making somewhat o f a comeback lately) . For certain types of mu sic,
however, cassettes or vinyl may be acceptable (e.g ., vinyl for record pool
DJs, cassettes for people in countries where access to cassette players is
still dominant, e tc).
14.
Each of you r CDs shou ld have a c atalog nu mber on the spine. This
catalog nu mber identi fies the CD as you rs for the sake of record keep ing
and accou nting and is usu ally prin ted on the spine of the CD along w ith
the artis t name and albu m title.
15.
Many distribu tors wi ll want to know certain things abou t the artist
and label. For examp le; is the arti st well known; does the label have an
adequ ate co-op bu dget; does the label have di gital and internati onal
rights to the proj ect; what are the key mark ets the label expec ts to sell the
produ ct in; is there a radio and retai l camp aign schedu led; is there a
publicity
campaign
involving
th e
media,
is
the
artist
tou ring
or
performing; does the artist / label have any sou ndtrack or TV placements,
does the qu ality of the recording measu re u p to standard within the genre;
are there any w ell-known gu est mu sicians on the albu m; can the label
manu factu re enou gh CDs qu ickly if there is a su dden demand for them; is
the label c ommitted to mark etin g th e projec t for u p to a cou ple of years if
necessary; does the label have any more u pcoming releases; does the label
have any material in its catalog that can also be sold; does the label sell
produ cts to one of the distribu tors competi tors; does the label already
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 192
P a g e | 193
have CDs stocked in the stores? These are the types of qu estions that will
need to be answered.
16.
known to ask the label for u p-fron t fees that help cover c osts. Some even
ask for a bond or take a lien on the masters. You will have to be aware of
this before movin g forward.
17.
You r CD artwork will have to meet the standards of other produ cts in
each
act
is
performing
extensively
with
active
p romotion
and
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P a g e | 194
If you r bu dget is limited and you only have one or two ac ts (projects,
albums, etc .) , you might want to consider consignment, shopping you r
projects to independent labels with distribu tion in place, or on e of the
many regional distribu tors for a regional campai gn. Regional distri bu tors
are sometimes more wi llin g to d eal with artis ts with on ly one or two
releases as long as they are willing to commi t some resou rc es to helpi ng
promote
the
record.
These
regi onal
distribu tors
often
partner
with
distribu tors in other regi ons, so i f you r sales do well and you need to
expand beyond your local area they will be able to help you expand your
distribu tion.
Read all the mu sic and bu siness pu blications avai lable in order to
ascertain
the
financial
status
of
potential
distribu tors
(particula rly
is
how
many
labels
the company
cu rrently
distribu tor with too many labels and too few sales reps is one you
definitely want to avoid.
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P a g e | 195
Initia lly , you sh ou ld select independent dist ribu tors ove r m ajor
label/distribu tors becau se they do essentially the same thing, bu t few er
sales will be requ ired of you from an independent distribu tor. Major
distribu tors prefer artists/labels that have nation al exposu re, not j u st
regional recognition .
Not all dis tri bu tors are cap able of gettin g you r produ cts into ev ery
retai l accou nt. If you have p rodu cts that need to be sold to sp ecialty
stores, th en you will need to c ondu ct research th at enab les you to find o u t
wh ich distribu tors service or h av e relationsh ips with th e specialty sto res
you re interested in. The best thing to d o in this case is to d ecide whi ch
s t o r e s y o u w a n t y o u r p r o d u c t i n , an d t h e n f i n d o u t w h o t h e d i s t r i b u to r s
are that service that store (i .e., whi ch distributo rs the sto res order fro m).
The distribu tors that are sympath etic towards independent labels
will
usually
have
submission
policy
displayed
on
their
website.
Otherwise, call or email the distrib u tors and ask abou t their su bmission
policy. Revi ew th e policy and pay close atten tion to th e instru ctions. Th e
policy will indicate what materials they wan t you to send and what you
need to have in place in ord er to qu alify fo r distribu tion. Condu ct some
research in order to find ou t whom to contact at each distribu tion
company. Once you v e sent in th e information , expec t some type of
correspondence with the distribu tor regarding whether or not you ve been
accepted . If you get acc epted , keep in mind that this is ju st the beginning
of the distribu tion road, and the jou rney ahead wi ll be lon g and hard .
The Distribution Process
You r distribu tor will have a contract that they will want you to sign.
It is extremely important to have you r contrac t review ed and negotiated
by an experienced en tertainment attorn ey. There are many things abou t a
distribu tion contrac t that are beyond the scope of this manu al and that
you will not u nderstand on you r ow n; grant of rights , term, p rodu cts and
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 196
terri tory, p rices and payment, man u factu rer and distribu tor obligations,
relationship of the p arties , reporting, trad emarks , service marks , and
trade n ames , c onfidenti ali ty, termination, pu blicity, warranti es, li ability ,
modification, assignments , etc . One of the more i mportan t items to
d i s c u s s w i t h th e d i s t r i b u t o r i s h o w m u c h m o n e y ( a s a p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e
amount owed you) they will hold in res erve in case retail accou nts
retu rn produ ct to them, and when that money will be liqu idated ou t of the
accou nt and paid to you . If they hold too mu ch of a reserve for too lon g a
time period , you may end u p seeing very little money for a very long time.
To worsen the situ ati on ev en fu rther, dis tribu tors are notoriou s for not
paying independent labels u nless the labels hav e other proj ects in the
pipeline that the distribu tors are in terested in. Talking to other labels on
their roster may help shed some light on this situ ation.
It is very imp ortant to u nderstand that it is bes t to go region-byregion wi th a fi rst albu m from a n ew artis t. Dont try to go national w ith
the fi rst albu m; leav e that for the second or third albu m (if eve rything
goes well and you make money from the first one) . It u su ally takes the
first albu m to make peop le famili ar with the artist and aware of the songs.
Trying to move ac ross the cou ntry too fast cou ld cau se you to bu rn
throu gh you r resou rces fas ter than you can make mon ey back from sales,
putting
you
in
financial
crisis
and
jeopardizin g
your
distribu tion
relationship.
It is also very important that you discu ss the retai l bu y-in with
you r distribu tor. This is a cru cial step tow ards a su ccessfu l retail sales
campai gn and will have to be d one in each city where you intend to have
distribu tion. These retail bu y-in campai gns (also known as placement
programs) can be expensive, often costing from $3,500 to $20,000 per
city. Most retailers and distribu tors produ ce pu blications in which you
will p lace advertising for your p roducts. You will also include in this
effort
the
cost
of
P rice
and
P ositioning,
Co-op,
and
Point
Page 196
of
P a g e | 197
Price and Positioning is a strategy whereby you r produ cts are p riced
to entice the consu mer to make a pu rchase (e.g. $12.99 SALE) , and you r
produ cts are positioned so that they are easy to find. Co-op adv ertising is
when the ad costs are divided between tw o or more comp anies. In a
typical label / distribu tor / retai ler Co-op relationship, the retailer agrees
to
pu rchase
certain
number
of
rec ords
from
the
label
(via
the
typically
refers
to
the
promotional
graphics
focused
on
influ encing consu mer behavior at the moment of the pu rchasing decision.
These inclu de posters, pos tcards , i n-store signage, cu stomer giv eaw ays,
and other related cu stom graphics that let peop le know abou t the artist
and album availability.
It is importan t to remember that distribu tors have a lot of other
clients who need their attention an d sales commitment. You will have to
keep you r s ales rep u pdated weekly abou t things that are happeni ng;
inclu ding live shows, radio ai rplay , newspaper articles , TV appearances ,
sou ndtrack placements , positive reviews, p romotion ac tivity , in-store
performances , special remixes , etc., so that they can pay atten tion to y ou r
release and mak e su re that the stores are well stock ed with you r product.
If you dont keep them u pdated, you will get los t in the vast catalog of the
distribu tor and p robably s ell very few copies , which in tu rn will resu lt in
a high percen tage of retu rns from the retailer and an end to y ou r
distribu tion relationship. You r sales rep shou ld be very comfortable
sellin g you r p rodu cts to the retail accou nts, and the more informati on you
give them regarding promotion and pu blicity activities the better they will
be able to convince the stores to stock more p rodu ct.
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P a g e | 198
In addi tion to keepin g you r sales rep informed abou t all you r
promotional efforts , it is also wise to encou rage them to offer incentiv es
to the retai l accou nts in ord er to help gen erate more ord ers . Incenti ves
inclu de offering discou nt prices on CDs bou ght in box lots ( la rge
quantities), delayed bi llin g, discou nts on money du e if paid on time, free
records (e.g . 1 free CD for every 10 the retaile r purchases at wholes ale
price), and so on.
You r distribu tor wi ll place an initi al pu rchase ord er for you to ship
CDs (or any other produc ts) to their warehou se. The shipment you send
sh ou ld inclu de a packing slip detai ling wh at was o rde red , wh at h as be en
shipped, the nu mber of u nits in the shipment, and the distribu tors
pu rchase order nu mber. You r shipment will also inclu de one-sheets and
any other materials that c an be u sed to help sell you r CDs to the
distribu tors retai l accou nts. P romotional CDs ( DJs) wi ll be inclu ded in
you r sh ipment so th at th e retai l st ores can t ry ou t you r CD and possibly
place it in their listenin g station. Make su re, as explained earlier, that the
artwork on these CDs is clipped , pu nched, or otherwise mark ed to
discou rage stores from retu rning the CDs as u nsold produ ct (for credit)
at the end of the lis tening station p romotional period .
Th e one-sh eet you su pply to you r distribu to r sh ou ld spell ou t wh at
the Su gges ted List P rice (SLP) of you r CD is ( the suggested price that
the s tores will sell the CD to the general public for). For example, the lis t
price for you r CD cou ld be $ 15.98. Generally , labels sell thei r CDs to the
distribu tor for 50% of the list p ric e. On a CD with a lis t pric e of $15.98,
for examp le, the distribu tor wou ld p ay the label $8.00 .
You r distribu tion contract shou ld spell ou t what the billing cyc le is.
You will bill you r distri bu tor by sending them an invoice for the amou nt
they owe you.
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P a g e | 199
The invoice is sent to the distribu tors Accou nts Payable department,
a n d s h o u l d i n c lu d e t h e i n v o i c e n u m b e r ; i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g w h a t w a s
shipped; shipping date; u nit pric e; amou nt du e; and the distribu tors
pu rchase order nu mber. If you ve shipped the distribu tor several different
CDs, each one shou ld have its own pu rchase order and invoice.
Depending on you r contrac t, the distribu tor will normally have 30,
60, or 90 days after receivin g the invoice to pay the amount owed you.
They will hold in reserv e (i.e ., not pay you) a c ertain percen tage of the
amou nt owed in case their retai l ac cou nts retu rn u nsold produ ct to them.
For obviou s reas ons, if produ cts are retu rned as u nsold, the distribu tor
cannot pay y ou for them since n o money was made. In addition , the
distribu to r will only pay you (less the reserve) for produ ct actu ally
shipped to the retai l accou nts and not for you r produ ct that is still sitti ng
in their warehou se waitin g to be shi pped. This means that if you sent you r
distribu tor 5,000 CDs and 3,000 of them are shipped to the stores , the
distribu to r will only pay you for the 3,000 units shipped to the stores and
not for the 2,000 CDs still sittin g in their warehou se. Keep in mind that,
u nless you have a sales track- record and more p rodu cts in the pipeline
that need distribu tion, it will be u nlikely that a distribu tor will pay you
promptly what you are owed; if they pay you at all.
Unfortu nately , becau se of the arrangement d escribed above, the
worst thing that can happen to you as a start-u p label is that you get a hit
reco rd on you r h ands and you dont h ave a large enou gh bu dget to
manu factu re more p rodu ct to keep sending produ ct throu gh the pipeline
to meet d emand. You wont be seei ng any cash from you r distribu tor for
months, and i f you dont have the cash available, you will find you rself
u nable to take adv antage of an opportu nity that strikes only once in a v ery
long while for most rec ord labels and artists . Make su re that you have
enou gh cash available even after execu ting an aggressive mark etin g and
promotion campaign .
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P a g e | 200
Once you r dis tribu tion is u nder way, you shou ld make su re that you
are doing all you can to promote the record and send p eople to the stores
where you r p rodu cts are s tocked . K eep in mind that you cannot promote a
reco rd indefinit ely , so you sh ou ld h ave oth er reco rds o r projec ts in t h e
pipeline so that y ou have enou gh materi al to follow the cu rren t release
and keep the distribu tor happy. Dis tribu tors are more lik ely to pay you if
you have other p rodu cts that mi ght interest them.
Changing Distributors
There may come a time when, for one reason or another, you have
problems wi th you r distribu tor. It c ou ld be that the distribu tor is refu sing
or u nable to pay you money ow ed; or the distribu tor is u nable to get y ou r
produ cts into the kind of retai l stores you are in terested in being in; or
you feel lost in the shuffle among dozens of other labels on the
distribu tors ros ter; or the distribu tor is goin g ou t of bu siness.
Before y ou make any moves , you will need to review y ou r contrac t to
see what it says abou t ending you r relationship. If it is possible to move
you r catalo g to ano ther distribu to r, you shou ldnt expec t it all to happen
overni ght.
Fol lowing a re some th ings th at you sh ou ld expect t o do in th e cou rse
of changin g distribu tors:
1.
Review you r contract, and then i nform you r ori ginal dis tribu tor
abou t the change in distribu tion (fo llowing the procedures set out in your
distribution contract).
2.
of you r p rodu ct from its w arehou se to the new distribu tor (or where ver
else you may need your products s hipped to) . It makes the most sense to
not ship you r produ ct u ntil you have new dis tribu tion in place.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 201
Otherwise, you will pay the shipping fro m you r o ri ginal distribu tor
to you r own loc ation , and then from you r loc ation to a new distribu tor.
3.
You sh ou ld issu e credit to you r origina l dist ribu tor fo r produ cts
Expect a p aymen t from you r ori gi nal distribu tor for money owed
you . Do not exp ect 100% of all the money owed since the ori gi nal
distribu tor may sti ll have to deal with retu rns from the stores . You can
expec t about 85% of the money to be paid at this time.
5.
After abou t six mon ths, the origin al distribu tor shou ld make a fin al
payment and retu rn any produ ct it has remaining to you . You shou ld pay
close attention to all the things that made you leav e you r first distribu tor
once you have you r new distribu tion in place. At this point, you shou ld
work even harder to k eep good commu nication lines op en and do all you
can to help the new distribu tor sell you r records. The las t thing you wan t
is to sever yet another distribu tion arrangement and have to start things
all over again .
Finally , k eep in mind that distribu tion is what every mu sician wants ,
bu t not what every
musician
needs
or can
afford .
In
addition
(as
Page 201
playing mu sic and providin g au dio content to thou sands of listeners ev ery
minu te of the d ay, and this can p rovide an avenu e to get you r mu sic heard
in places where you
effectiv ely . You can regis ter and upload you r songs to sites like music
alley
and
Podsafe
Audio
(http://www.pods afeau dio.com) and others that serv e as a one stop shop
for podcas ters to find mu sic to play on their stations. Services like
MusicSubmit (http://www.mu sicsu bmit.com/) also service you r mu sic to
podcasts. If you want to h andpick individu al stations to su bmit y ou r
mu sic to, you can search for podcas ts that play you r style of mu sic or even
ones that focu s on topics of interest to you on sites like PodcastAlley
(http://www.podc astalley .com/)
or
Podcast
Pickle
(http://www.podc astpickle.com/).
Even th ou gh podcasts individu ally reach just a few h u ndred people,
they collec tively reach au diences in the hu ndreds of thou sands and can
have an imp act on increasing you r fan base if you man age to get you r
mu sic played on dozens of station s. Don t concen trate only on the ones
that play music, since even the ones that cover other topics could play
you r mu sic if there is a c onnection that c an be mad e between the ly ri cal
content and the topics of interest.
P a g e | 203
Find
podcasts
that
address
hobbies
or
interes ts
of
you rs
and
approach the hosts abou t the possi bility of exposin g you r mu sic to th eir
listeners .
The Indie Contact Bible (http://w ww.indiebible.c om/) contains
contact information for thou sands of radio stations that play mu sic by
independent
artists,
and
onlin e
radio
provi de
directories
links
to
radio
like
Radioguide
stations
websites
arou nd the world. You shou ld also su bmit you r songs to Pandora Ra dio
(http://su bmitmu sic.pandora.com) ,
but
you
must
have
physically
manu factu red CDs and not ju st mp3s in ord er to su bmit you r mu sic.
Consider
submitting
your
music
to
SIRIU S
XM
Radio
well,
in
addition
to
internet
radio
stations
and
like
Jango
iheartradios
Page 203
P a g e | 204
the radio
airplay
information for you r biography and media kit / EPK, then you have little
choice bu t to pu t in the n ecessary ti me.
In addition to info rmation fou nd in print directo ries lik e the Indie
Bible and search en gine resu lts , you can u tilize lis ts lik e the one at Fat
Campus
(http://fatcampu s.com/collegeradio.htm)
Intercollegiate
Broadcast
and
System
the
list
peop le
send
that
u su ally
have
no
impact
whatsoever
towards
Page 204
P a g e | 205
Ask you r fans or get f eed back f rom people in oth e r cities abou t
which radio stations shou ld be contacted . They know their ci ty better than
you do. Use the internet to do mu ch of you r research since p rinted
directory information can qu ickly become ou tdated.
For you r campai gn to b e effec tive, you need to h ave as mu ch radio
activity goin g on at one time as p ossible. This can be qu ite a challenge
since radio stations wont nec essarily play you r son gs acc ordin g to y ou r
schedule, but always keep a schedule in mind. A ttempt to have all the
radio stations play the same song (your single ) at the same time. This is
not always possible since some stations may feel that another son g on
you r albu m caters more c losely to their listening au dience. Sinc e high
school and college radio airp lay does not lead to massive amou nts of CD
sales by themselves , always incorp orate all the other promotion al efforts
(live performances, socia l networking, s treet team promotions, me dia
publicity, etc .) into the game p lan .
Make su re that you r mu sic, from a qu ality standpoint, is ready for
radio airp lay . Unless otherwise informed, d ont send a d emo (CD-R) or
mp3 attachments and mu sic links to a radio s tati on. Almost all of them
prefer you to send replicated CDs with artwork. Never blindly send
packages ou t to radio s tati ons. Call fi rst and veri fy a con tac t name and
address of the Mu sic Director ( MD). The MD d ecides which songs to add
to the play list. The Program Director (PD) decides what the overall
programmin g fo r th e radio s ta tion sh ou ld be . So meti mes th e PD and t h e
MD is the s ame person at a college radio station . Un less they are
produ cing their own show on the stati on, DJs u su ally have no power in
deciding what gets play ed on the ai r, so dont bother sending pack ages to
them. The only v alu e is if a DJ really likes a son g and men tions it to the
MD.
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P a g e | 206
The package
You r package sh ou ld inclu de a condensed biograph y, you r CD, a
radio one-sheet (wi th album cover, artist name, album ti tle , music genre ,
album
release
date ,
website
info,
track
listing
with
brief
song
descriptions, quotes, and contact info), a band photo, and a press release
that can be read on the ai r. Generally, you shou ld send a CD with 12 songs
or less , or an EP to college radio. Make su re that the firs t son g has a lot of
energy and a short intro sec tion . Pu t a sticker on you r CD indicati ng
which song(s) you want the MD to c onsider for ai rplay.
Once you ve sent you r package, don t call the station end lessly to ask
why they arent playing you r song yet. Make one follow u p call to the
Mu sic Direc tor 2-3 weeks after you ve sen t the p ackage to make su re the
CD is at the station , then p robably ev ery other w eek to check on its
progress. Some stations are ok ay with an email to the MD letting them
know when you will be callin g (which also allows them to e mail you back
before you call wi th a status updat e). Wh en you call, m ention th e nam e of
the band, the date you sent the package, and what sty le the mu sic is. If
you r package hasnt been rec eived or revi ewed yet, ask when wou ld be a
good time to call ( they will probably review the package now tha t you ve
mentioned it) . Take down the notes and call back then. If they reviewed
the package and want to add a son g to the play lis t, ask for which song
they have in mind and when they expect to add it.
Dont be afraid to offer to d rive ov er to the station with pizza, free
CDs, s tickers, T-shirts and tick ets for the air staff. Offer to d o an on-ai r
performance or CD giv eaw ay arou nd the time of the proposed airp lay . If,
however, they reviewed the package and decided not to add it to the play
list, dont try and convince them otherwise. Ask them for any qu ick advice
as to possible imp rovemen ts and thank them for their time. Theyll
appreciate you r professionalism and remember you the next ti me you send
something.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 207
like
streamSerf
(http://www.mu sicinfosystems.com/faq/index.asp) ,
Mediabase
Nielsen
BDS
Page 207
P a g e | 208
amounts
of
money
promotin g
their
artists
to
radio
and
influ encing the radio station playlists. For independent artists , even
airplay receiv ed from mix shows or achieved by su bmittin g songs to
individu al radio stations or a p ool of stations u sing resou rces like
iheartradios
New!
(e.g.
tour
production
and
promotion ,
social
networking
Page 208
P a g e | 209
at
re tail,
nationwide
marke ting,
etc)
than
independent
etc,
that
are
influenced
in
their
decision-making
by
information abou t radio ai rplay from an artist. Having some radio airp lay
information to pu t in a media kit or EPK can sometimes help an artis t to
get attention
pu rsu e radio
airplay, mak e su re that you have adequ ate fu nding to do all the other
things that are nec essary (and even more important) for you to su cceed in
bu ilding a large fan base and sellin g mu sic produ cts and merchandising.
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P a g e | 210
to
use
services
like
NEW!
Discover
&
Uncover
(http://ai rplaydirect.com),
Airplay
Music Submit
(http://www.mu sicsu bmit.com/) , etc. You can also u se the Radio Stati on
Worlds global station directory ( http://radiostationworld .com/) or the
Radiogu ide direc tory (http://www .radiogu ide.de/) and others to loc ate
radio stations arou nd the world to manu ally su bmit y ou r mu sic to. Keep in
mind the fact that sending you r mu sic to radio s tations is differen t from
promotin g you r mu sic to radio station . Sendin g you r mu sic to the
stations simp ly means that the mu sic is su bmitted in the hopes that
someone at the station will listen to it and play i t. P romoting the mu sic
means that someone (a promo ter) will commu nicate with the approp ri ate
people at the radio station in an attempt to convince them to p lay the
music.
If you have an adequ ate bu dget to d o so, some op tions for paid radio
promotion
services
include
companies
like
or
Planetary
Group
Howard
Rosen
Page 210
P a g e | 211
you
decide to
p romote
your song
to
commercial
radio,
consider you r statu s in the bu siness (indie artis t DIY , artist on indie
label with only digita l dis tribution, artis t on indie label with major la bel
distribution, etc) as well as the bu dget you have avai lable. If you are an
independent artist and dont have enou gh money to commit to a fu ll-scale
commercial radio camp aign (even an entry-level one), then you may
consider down grading to non-commerci al / college radio or skipping the
entire commercial radio promotion campai gn altogether.
A
realistic
bu dget to
consider
for
radio
p romotion
is
between
$15,000 and $ 150 ,000 per son g for three to six months of p romoti on;
depending on the genre you re deali ng with (e.g. Pop, Roc k, Country, H ipHip / R&B, Latin , Dance/Club, etc .). Keep in mind that you will n eed to
have even more mon ey set aside for other costs , inclu ding marketi ng,
manu factu ring, distribu tion, pu bli city, adv ertising, tou r su pport, mu sic
videos, online p romotion , etc .
If you r situ ation w arrants it and once you have the bu dget set u p,
the fi rst s tep towards promoting to commercial radio is mailin g you r CDs
or d eliv erin g sin gles via digi tal d ownload to the stations. If you are
working with an independent radio promoter and op t to do the maili ng
you rself (to save some money), they will give you a list of stations to mai l
to or do the mailin g for you.
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The radio version (no more than three and a half minutes long,
3)
4)
5)
commercials, liners and station IDs . Make su re the artwork on the singles
inclu des the title, artis t name, s ong lengths, record label name, contac t
info, versions of the single, and which albu m the single is from. Use only
standard CD jewel c ases with you r CD (i.e . not cardboard , slim cas es,
etc.) . Mak e su re the artis ts name and song title are on the spine of the
case, and include the same information on the outside of the case as in
inside so that someone can read it withou t having to open the case.
Inclu de the add date on the ou tside of the p ackage.
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The next step involv es a radio p romoter or you rself (i f you are
taking the DIY rou te) callin g (or fa xing / emailing) all the stations where
CDs were mailed ou t to (or d ownloads delivered to) and giving them
information abou t the son g / proj ect. This information inclu des adds and
/ or spins already happening at other stations , sales fi gu res from the
albu m, live shows, print reviews or articles , TV appearances, street
promotion, distribu tion information, positive indu stry comments , soc ial
networking bu zz, and so on. This information has to be fed to the stati ons
continu ou sly (usually week ly) fo r as l ong as th e ca mpai gn is in ef fe ct;
normally three to si x mon ths.
The next step to c onsider in terms of commercial radio is whether to
bu y trade ads. Bu ying trad e ads
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independent
artis ts
pu rsu ing
radio
ai rplay
will
want
to
spent
this
way,
and
whatever
is
saved
(by
not
running
materi als , merchandise, tou r produ ction & su pport, bu ilding street teams ,
web p romotion, etc.
Performance Rights Organizations (PROs )
In any event, before you send you r songs off for potenti al radio
airplay, make su re you
have joined
Organizations (PROs) of you r ch oice. Th ese PROs are set u p to negoti ate
performance fees with the radio stations, handle all the collec tion du ties ,
and pass on what is owed to the w riters and pu blishers. Wi thou t getting
too technical, radio s tati ons are requ ired to obtain a performance license
and pay songwri ters and pu blishers a performance fee in ord er to play
(perform) thei r songs on the ai r. It wou ld be a major pain for songw riters
and pu blishers to negotiate individ u al licenses wi th and collec t fees from
each and every radio station in the world. The best solu tion is to have one
company handle all this for you.
Enter the P erformanc e Ri ghts Organizations . They issu e blanket
performance licenses to radio s tati ons that allow them to p lay every song
in their rep ertoi re.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 215
you
sh ou ld
register
with
Sound
Exchange
Page 215
Once you ve got you r produ cts in place (avai lable on your website
and on iTunes, Amazon, etc ., and at retai l) and have the beginnings o f a
pu blicity and radio campai gn goin g, then it is a good time to tu rn y ou r
attention to live performances and tou rs.
The most efficient way to b ook gi gs is with the assistance of a talent
booker or bookin g agen t. Bu t, in order to deal effectiv ely wi th talent
bu yers, v enu e bookers and booking agents, you have to u nders tand where
they are coming from. These p eople are in bu siness to mak e mon ey, and
not to ru n a charity . Venu e book ers u se certain cri teria to help them make
their booking decisions.
Among
some
of
the
more
important
questions
venue
bookers
consider are:
How many PAY ING peop le ( prefe rably o f drin king age) do you
Do you have a promotion/pu blicity /mark etin g plan for you r shows?
Have you created any signific ant amou nt of local (or regional)
bu zz in the area?
What other v enu es have you performed in (and is the venue size
similar to theirs)?
bookers, indu stry personnel, etc . (i .e. are you a pain in the a**)?
What slots has your band play ed (opening slot, headliner, e tc)?
P a g e | 217
Has anything been wri tten abou t you r band in the local/regional
What is you r tou rin g mark et (region al, na tional, inte rnational)?
Do you have a comp eten t team in place ( manager, pub licist, radio
How many shows do you cu rrently perform every mon th, and how
employ?
Do you have a tou ring v ehicle, and do you have you r own PA/lights i f
necessary?
Do you have a press kit or EPK (including bio, photos, and video
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P a g e | 218
Most independen t artis ts will not have many of these things in place,
and therefore wi ll not be able to attract the attention or interes t of a
major
booking
agent.
Booking
agents
work
on
commission
basis
everything
you rself
and
need
assistance
expanding
your
perf ormance a re a ou tside of you r h ometown . Bu ild you r fan base u sing
promotional
and
publicity
techniques
discu ssed
in
this
e-book
and
can
use
solutions
like
Bandize
(http://bandize.com/) ,
Music
Page 218
P a g e | 219
in
resou rces
like
the
Indie
Venue
Bible
Page 219
P a g e | 220
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P a g e | 221
You now will be pitching a well-known band as the headline with you
as the opening act. Sell the booker or p romoter on the d raw of the
headlining band in addition to the people you will draw . You now have a
mu ch stronger pack age to s ell.
If y ou are handling the phone calls you rself, you shou ld write ou t a
phone script that you will u se with bookers , agen ts, and / or promoters.
Th is will h elp you keep on track wit h wh at you need to say and not wande r
off on a tan gent with u nnecessary chatter. Nev er ju st wing i t when you
call v enu e bookers , agents o r pro moters . You sh ou ld custom design a
script for the different peop le you will be talking to, althou gh you will
almos t always have a similar theme: the size of your draw and the
effec tiveness of your promo tion. Before you call, try and think abou t
things from the point of vi ew of the booker, promoter, or agen t. They are
ru nning a bu siness and are in teres ted in making money from drink ( and
sometimes food) s ales, as well as a portion of the cover charge and
sometimes (though rare ly) a percentage of merchandise sales.
Keep that
you
can
(http://www.s onicbids.com)
utilize
and
resou rces
like
Live
Music
SonicBi ds
Machine
that
venu e bookers can review on line. The larger venu es u su ally book their
bands th rou gh a booking agency and are less interes ted in individu al
bands calling them on the phone. Indeed, some of the larger venu es book
throu gh their corporate promoter and it is virtu ally impossible for an
u nsigned band to get thems elv es booked withou t going throu gh the
promoters.
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P a g e | 222
and
establishing
s tron g
d raw
and
large
mailing
list.
Remember that it is better to fill a 150-s eat venu e than i t is to have those
same 150 peop le in a 1,200-seat v enu e.
The approach
So le ts b egin a t th e ent ry lev el . Yo u sh ou ld call fi rst o r ch eck online
to find ou t who the responsible v enu e booker or p romoter is , what the
pref e rred meth od of cont act is, and (if a phone call is required) wh at th e
best time to c all is. Generally , the best times to c all are between 1 an d 5
p.m., bu t many venu es have specific booking hou rs (e.g. Tuesdays a nd
Thursdays between X and X time). You can call or email (or visit the
venu es websit e) to find ou t if a cl u b h as booking h ou rs, wh at th e h ou rs
are, and whom you should be speaking with.
Often, the p referred method of con tact is fi llin g ou t a form on the
venu e website, and /or sending in some materials or providing a link to
you r EPK. Follow the instru ctions to the letter if you wish to be tak en
seriou sly by the venu e book er. If the venu e requ ests that you email them
an EPK, fill ou t a form on the website, or mail ou t a DVD package, then
follow those instru ctions and DO NOT CALL THEM! Even if the venu e has
specific calling hou rs, do not try and sneak in an early call to catch the
clu b booker early. Call at the ri ght times and when you get the p roper
person on the phone, keep it brief and friendly , yet professional. Don t try
and hard s ell them ri ght there on the phone bec au se most of them will not
make a decision ri ght there anyway . Most often you will have to sell them
with you r package.
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P a g e | 223
While you have them on the phone, tell them that you have ju st
released a record that is avai lable online and at you r local retail stores
(via consignment), and that you are receivin g local radio ai rplay and
revi ews in some mu sic pu blications. Tell them that you have a mailing list
and a fan base that you can leverage to help you with promotion .
If you have any relevant data from sites /services like Ne xt Big
(http: //www .nextbigsou nd.com/) ,
Sound
or
RockDex
eventful
(http://www .rockdex.com)
and
others , now mi ght be the time to mention some statistics that cou ld help
convince a booker that you have a loy al fan base in the region . A lso
mention the fact that you are available to step in for any cancelled gi gs
that occu r at the v enu e (i.e., you r band is ready to pe rfo rm on short
notice if anothe r band cancels their appearance at the venue).
You sh ou ld h ave some definite d ays in mind for gig opti ons, ju st in
c a s e t h e y a r e i m p r e s s e d w i t h y o u r i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e p h o n e a n d h av e
some dates available. Know you r availabili ty so that you can ju mp on an
offer i f one is giv en. If you dont have a tou ring track record, the only
days you may be offered mi ght be weekdays . Take any day you can get in
the
beginning
and
use
social
networking
ou treach
and
street
team
promotional efforts to bu ild a fan base and generate interest in the show.
Once you ve p roved that you have a followin g and have a tou ring and sales
history you will be able to get booked for a Friday or Satu rday ni ght. In
case you get asked , make su re you know how mu ch you want to get paid
(e.g., 100% of the door, a fixed guarantee, etc) . If you dont have a track
record
you
wont
have
much
leverage
in
the
conversation
about
you
should
have
booking
section
on
your
website
with
information abou t you r avai labi lity as well as you r requ irements (fees,
production , accommodations , trave l, food, etc) that you can forward the
booker to.
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P a g e | 224
Inform the booker that you will be able to p romote the show online,
on the street, on radio, on telev ision, and throu gh the media. Also
mention that you only want to play in a few venues as possible locally so
as not to dilu te you r ticket sales . Dilu ting you r ticket sales means that
you are performin g so often in one area that you r fans have little reason
to go to every single show you book. In the larger v enu e circu it it is the
kiss of death to tell a book er that you are performin g a gi g in the same
town on the same w eek as a gi g they ju st booked you for. Venu es will be
very imp ressed that you know an d u nderstand this principle. Indicate
you r openness to present a strong lineu p by booking a cou ple of local
bands with decent fan bases to open up for you. Then offer to send them a
package, get the correc t spelling of their name, and mention when you
intend to follow up.
The package
If ask ed to send one , you r packa ge sh ou ld inclu de a cover le tt er, a
clear recordin g o f what you sou nd like LIVE (pre ferably including a vid eo
or DVD recording of a live s how showing an enthusiastic audience), a
band pictu re, a venu e list, any relev ant references or tes timonials/qu otes ,
a b a n d b i o , a n d a n y o t h e r s a l e s o r r a d i o / T e l e v i s i o n i n f o r m a t i o n y o u h av e .
You can pu t mu ch of th is informati on on a One-Sh eet, b roch u re, o r flyer
that w ou ld mak e i t easier for the bu sy booker to read . Offer to di rec t the
booker to an Elec tronic Press Kit ( EPK) that you have online that cou ld
speed u p the proc ess of booking you r band . Refer to any previou s
conversation you may hav e had wi th the clu b booker in you r cov er letter.
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P a g e | 225
every
two
to
three
weeks.
Try
to
balance
between
being
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P a g e | 226
venues
prefer
to
deal
with
booking
agen t
who
u nderstands the natu re of the business and can better deal with the
reali ties and ec onomics of booking a band . In that c ase, approaching a
booking agen t to deal with the ven u es may work if all other attemp ts at
gettin g you r own gi gs hav e failed . K eep in mind, however, that most
booking agents p refer w orkin g wi th bands that already have a large
followin g and can be booked in larger venu es where more money c an be
charged (and made).
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P a g e | 227
The negotiation
Th e first th ing you sh ou ld understa nd abou t negoti atin g is th at you
mu st always know when to walk away from a negotiation . If you dont, y ou
will always be negotiating from a position of weakn ess. Identi fy the things
that are c ru cial in comparison to the things that you can be flexible wi th.
For example, u nderstand why you are taking a particu lar gi g. Know what
your
overall
equipment
costs
and
(gas,
are
vehicle
food,
rental,
accommoda tions,
insurance,
etc.)
crew
before
salaries,
you
begin
negotiati ons. You will often find that you are negoti atin g for more than
ju st the price. Sometimes, you may want to take a particu lar gi g bec au se
of the exposu re or becau se you can sell CDs and merchandise and
increase you r fan base.
As mentioned earlier, c reate a booking section on you r website
containing all the relev ant bookin g information a book er or promoter
wou ld need. Inc lu de pictu res of the band and a band bio. Post some vi deo
footage of the band performin g live. Pu t u p a gig c alendar that displays
which dates you are unavailable, as well as notes on which dates you are
available to be booked . Indicate y ou r performance fees and any notes
abou t what those fees inclu de (e.g., fees for various band configuratio ns,
diffe rent
fees
depending
on
the
type
of
show,
extra
travel
and
accommodation fees for shows beyond certain distances, reduced fees for
non-profit or charity organizations , etc) .
Inclu de
form
in
the
booking
section
(using
scripts
like
Page 227
P a g e | 228
If you dont have you r own si te or are otherwise u nable to add a form
to
your
site,
you
can
utilize
resou rces
like
Live
Music
Machine
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P a g e | 229
However, if you are able to bring a lot of peop le to you r show and
mana ge to ne go tia te 100% o f th e door, you cou ld end u p with a more
money than the venue could have paid you by the end of the night.
Imagine promotin g a show effec tively and having 250 people show u p with
a $ 1 0 c o v e r c h a r g e . I f y o u n e g o t i a t e d 1 0 0 % o f t h e d o o r , y o u w o u l d h av e
$2,500 for you and you r band. Sometimes all the bands on the bill share
in a perc entage of the door, and people are ask ed at the door which band
they came to see in ord er to fi gu re ou t how mu ch each band gets . P romote,
promote, promote, regard less of what percen tage you get at the d oor.
Keep in mind th at if you are ge ttin g paid 100% of th e door, th en th ere is
no need for somebody other than one of your people to handle the money;
so get someone you tru st to collect the money at the door even if the
venu e has a door person .
Guarantee
Under
this
arrangement,
the
venue
pays
you
CDs
or
merchandise
sold
at
the
venue,
share
of
ticke ts
sales,
miscellaneous fees, etc). How ever, there are many venu es that will pay
gu aran tees
because
they
have
pre-established
bu dget
for
bands.
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This arrangemen t is u su ally a safe middle- grou nd since the band will
at leas t know they have a gu arantee ($700) while the venu e knows that if
nobody shows u p they can still afford that gu arantee.
Pay-to-Play - In some situ ati ons you literally have to p ay to rent a
venu e for you r performance. This may be necessary if you cant get booked
by any venu es becau se of a lack of track record . In other instances of p ayto-play , you will be asked to bu y tickets (pre-sells) from the v enu e and
then sell them to you r fans p rior to the show. In these types of instanc es
the objec tive is for the venu e to lower (or even eliminate) the risk of
booking a band that does not have a gu aranteed following. An examp le of
a pay-to-play situ ation works as follows: A p romoter gives you 75 tick ets
to sell to you r fans. B efore the date of the show, you will have to s ell the
first 50 tickets and pay the promoter $500 (the first 50 tickets at $10 per
ticket) . Y ou will then be able to k eep the mon ey made from the nu mber of
tickets you sell of the remaining 25 tickets. The most you will keep from
this scenario is $250 if you sell the remaining 25 tickets for $10 each. Y ou
may find you rself in this type of situ ation early in you r performing career.
Of cou rse, this can sometimes be beneficial if you have a large fan base
and manage to pre-sell 150 250 ti ckets or more.
The venue / band contract
Wh en you play th e smalle r venu es, you will very oft en find th at th e
gig is don e on a handshake. Very few c lu b bookers ev en bother wi th
writin g ou t or pres enting a contrac t to the bands they book . You shou ld
make a point of at the very least writing down all the items that you have
agreed to and faxing i t to the book er to keep for thei r records. This can
protect you if you show u p at the venu e and somebody tries to wiggle ou t
of his or her commitment to p ay you. Clubs have been known to doublebook bands (intentionally or unintentionally book two bands for the same
time slo t) , and u su ally the band wi th the bigger name o r the contrac t in
hand wins out; sending the other one packing.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 231
Some u nscru pu lous clu b bookers in tention ally dou ble- book bands in
order to get more people to the clu b, and then send one of the bands away
withou t paying them. They then keep the extra mon ey from the door and
the bar that was generated by the extra peop le.
Engagement contrac ts can be anything from a handshake (verbal
contracts are valid) and one-p age docu ments, to twenty-page con tracts
with riders and addendu ms . Here are s ome of the i tems that you may s ee
in or add to a contrac t:
The name, address, and phone number of the band and how many
The type of show it is (e.g . concert, festiva l, battle o f the bands , etc)
The rec ordin g restric tions associated with the show (i f no recording
is permitted)
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The technical requ irements or rider (any required lig hts , equipmen t,
etc)
etc)
etc).
As mentioned earlier, you can u se solu tions like Bandize
(http://bandize.com/) , and the Band Leader
(http://www.theband leadersoftware.com/) and others to keep all you r
booking in formation organized and u pdated.
Page 232
You sh ou ld always be p rep ared t o find addi tional and al te rna tive
sou rces for live p erformanc es. Y ou will definitely need to u se a book ing
agent for certain types of work , as we will discu ss later. Most major
booking a gen ts will not b e inte res t ed in booking you if you are not wel l
known already or hav e an impressive performance / tou ring track rec ord .
So, it is u p to you to get some momentu m and bu zz going b efo re you
consider trying to get one of the larger agenci es to tak e you on as a cli ent.
There are some local or regional booking agen ts who are op en to heari ng
fro m independent bands , so you sh ou ld seek th em ou t as you pu t begin
you r live p erformanc e campaign .
Try and schedu le you r gigs to tak e place after y ou r release date (i f
you are releasing physical CDs) , s o that people who see you perform can
b u y y o u r p r o d u c t s i f t h e y l i k e w h a t t h e y h e a r . Y o u s h o u l d b e g i n w i t h th e
gigs that take the lon gest time to book fi rst; for example, festiv als , college
gigs , etc . In orde r to enjoy th e fu ll ben efi ts of perfo rming, you sh ou ld
look at all the differen t places you cou ld perform in , and then attempt to
book a vari ety of gi gs that comp lement each other. For examp le (and
depending on the style of music you write and record) , you cou ld perform
at a caf on e afternoon, follow ed by a chari ty fu ndraiser performance at
night. The next day cou ld be cou ld be a hou se concert in the evening w ith
a gi g at a college campu s later that night, and the night after that an onair radio station p erformance before a gi g at a c lu b venu e.
As
you
can
see
with
this
strategy ,
you
can
have
multip le
P a g e | 234
In addi tion to c lu bs, there are sev eral other op tions you have when it
comes to p erforming. Looking into as many of these as possible will help
you raise you r visibility, add to y ou r track record , sell more CDs and
merchandise, and increase you r fan base. Some of these requ ire very li ttle
work , while others will requ ire some research and expenses in terms of
making
phone
calls
and
sending
packages ,
etc.
When
research ing
performance opportu nities, k eep you r options open, and u se this list to
spark some id eas . You sh ou ld be ab le t o add mo re pe rfo rmance and ve nu e
options to the followin g lis t as you condu ct you r research and depend ing
on the sty le of mu sic you perform.
Some venu e and performing options inclu de:
Clubs
In-store appearances
House Concerts
Hotel gigs
Cafs
Charity benefits
Restau rants
Specialty stores
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P a g e | 235
Holiday events
Weddings
Private parties
Corporate parties
High Schools
Chu rches
Gig swaps
Farmers markets
Bu sking
Booking some of these gi gs may requ ire the servic es of a bookin g
agent or p romoter. Lets talk a li ttle bi t more abou t some of the gigs
mentioned above.
Music conference and showcase slots
Most mu sic conferences (e .g. CMJ Music Marathon, Winter Music
Conference,
Canadian
Music
Week,
SXSW,
e tc.)
offer
showcasing
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College gigs
Most c olleges book their campu s gi gs on semester in advance,
althou gh some book on e year or more in advance. That means you will
have to begin su bmittin g you r materials to them early with that sched u le
in mind. Try and ti e in you r gi gs to the college radio station and attempt
to get radio ai rplay arou nd the same time as you r gi gs.
There are a cou ple of ways to attempt to get college gi gs. One way is
to attempt to book the gigs by y ou rself, while the other way is to go
throu gh an agen t / p romoter to book campu s gigs for you . It is also
sometimes possible to u se some combination of the tw o. If you are
attemptin g to book you r own college gi gs , you can search on- line or look
throu gh some of the contact di rec tories for a list of colleges.
Find the contact information for the Direc tor of Stu dent Activities or
Stu dent Activiti es board at the colleges , and /or the contac t information
for any other c ampu s organi zations. If you are doin g this by you rself, you
will find this to be rather ti me con su ming, bu t if you dont have an agent
working on you r beh al f th en you sh ou ld go ah ead and b egin compil ing
your list and makin g some phone calls and sending out emails.
You can make better use of your time by either lookin g over the
college web site or the contact di rec tory in formation before c alling to fi nd
ou t who the responsible booking person is and what the best time to reach
them is. That information may already be at the site and you can mov e to
the next s tep . Getting the ri ght person to mai l you r p ackage to mi ght be a
challen ge at some colleges , bu t keep you r logbook or d atabas e handy and
write down or enter notes as you call or emai l.
Page 236
P a g e | 237
$1,000
(unless
you
are
big
group).
One
of
the
bi ggest
disadvantages you may have trying to book you rself is that many colleges
book their shows u sing other means. Most colleges book their c ampu s gigs
u sing agents , p romoters , or artist contacts directly from conventi ons.
Page 237
P a g e | 238
This brings u s to the second way you can attempt to get college gi gs.
You can su bmit you r artist package throu gh a booking agent who attends
conventions where college reps (campus buyers) go to book their campu s
gigs .
The
bigges t
Association
for
convention
Campus
is
held
Activities
annually
(NACA).
by
the
Their
National
web
page
is
http://www.n aca.org. You can su bmit you r p ackages to any of the agents
that book you r type of mu sic. If you can get an agen t interested , they will
submit
your
package
for
you
to
showcase
your
band
at
the
NA CA
and
showcasing
opportu nities
at
APCA
conferences
and
Page 238
P a g e | 239
For mainstream/commerci al mu sic like, Adu lt Con temporary , Top40, R&B /Urban , or Pop, festiv als are generally not v ery good sou rces for
gig opportu nities. As u su al, check festival websites or call / emai l ahead
to find ou t what their su bmission policies are regarding band materi als ,
and then follow throu gh and follow u p.
Sites like Festi val Net work Onlin e (http://fes tivalnet.com/) ,
SonicBids (http: //www.sonicbids .c om) OurStage
(http://www.ou rstage.com) and others p rovide opportu nities for you to
su bmit you r mu sic to mu sic festivals, c raft fai rs, etc.
In-store appearances
Every time you meet with a retail s tore man ager to discu ss stocking
you r produ ct on consignmen t, ask abou t the possibili ties of performing
live in their store. Not every s tore will be interes ted , bu t you wont kn ow
u ntil you ask. As you might expec t, you r chances are better with a store
that is already carrying you r produ ct. Be flexible, and offer to perform a
smaller, ac ou stic set that isnt too lou d for their cu stomers , or ev en to
perform in the store parking lot. This will also show the store manager
how committed you are to the promotion of you r projec t. They may also
carry more of you r produ ct in anticipation of increased sales from the
u pcoming store appearance.
If you get a chance to perform in the store(s) , promote it ju st lik e
you wou ld any oth er perfo rm ance. Inclu de th e informa tion on you r web
site and social networking p rofiles, band hotline, flyers, postcards , and
posters. Let people on you r mailing list know abou t the performanc e, and
try and work ou t a $2 off the cos t of a CD or merchandise cou pon for
people who show u p to the in-store performance. To make peop le show u p,
offer a raffle contest or some kind of gi ft giveaway p romotion, and try and
co-ordinate one wi th the local radio stations and other medi a.
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P a g e | 240
The Mu sicians Gu ide to Tou ring and Promoti on, and The Mu sicians
Atlas (a long with other directories) have sections on local s tores that will
carry you r CDs on consi gnment an d information on those that allow instore performances . Don t forget to u se the internet as a powerfu l
research tool. When you find su itable retail candidates , c all or email all of
them and ask abou t performin g opportu nities. Also, driv e arou nd town
and stop at any independent music store that you see to ask if they can
stock you r produ ct and let you perform. Keep in mind that the store d oes
not necessarily have to be a mu sic store; specialty stores that cater to a
clientele bas e that is simi lar to you r fan base will work as w ell.
On-air radio performances
When you make the rou nds of you r local c ollege, pu blic, and noncommercial radio stations, offer to perform live on the air for the stati on
listeners . Most commercial stations will not let you perform on the air if
you are not already well-known maj or label artist who is promotin g to or
rec eiving ai rplay on the station. Most of thei r lis teners want to hear from
major lab el artists , so you r ch ances as an independent artist are m u ch
better at college and non-commerc ial radio. Once again, the chances of
performing
live
on
the
air
increase
greatly
if
there
is
already
u pcoming shows you may have and which stores in their area are stock ing
you r CDs. Try and get the college newspaper to wri te an artic le on you
and you r band, and ti e this in with the live performance. Give the radio
stations a reason to have you on the air.
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P a g e | 241
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P a g e | 242
House concerts
Hou se concerts are li terally intimate concerts or performances pu t
together in somebodys hou se. This type of show u su ally works better for
acou stic mu sic or mu sicians wh o can strip th eir ac t down to voice and
gu itar or flu te, piano, violin , harp, etc . The settin g for these types of
shows is casu al and intimate, so obv iou sly a screaming rock band wou ldnt
work ou t qu ite so well.
organize them well you can even pu t a tou r together and travel to other
regions besides you r home town. The trick is finding other peop le who are
willin g to p romote the shows and host them in their homes . You can start
by putting together a show either at your house or at another location you
have access to. You cou ld employ the same p romotion strategies as you
wou ld with oth er types of sh ows, excep t th at you wou ldnt identify th e
location of the even t u ntil peop le c ontacted you firs t to RSVP .
W h e n d o i n g h o u s e c o n c e r t s , k e e p t h i n g s c a s u a l a n d fu n . F i n d a
loca tion in th e h ou se th at is intimate ye t we ll ven til at ed. Make su re you
can adju st the lightin g to fit the mood, and have ample access to the
res troom or somewhere for people to freshen u p and relieve themselv es.
Offer refreshments when possible. Many peop le who come to these shows
will be wi llin g to pay $3 to $10 for the entertainmen t.
A good su ggestion wou ld be to allow people to pay i f they feel like i t,
as opposed to having an official cover charge. This will keep you ou t of
reach of zoning and other loc al laws conc ernin g es tablishments that
charge an admission for entertain ment. For ou t of state shows you may
wish to set a minimum number of people per show paying a minimum
price so that you know exactly what you re gettin g into. The price could
inclu de a CD, or you cou ld sell au tographed CDs and / or merchand ise
du ring the performance.
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P a g e | 243
In addi tion to other on line resou rc es, Russ & Julie s House
Concerts Presents provides an excellent list of resou rces and Hou se
Concert information located at http://w ww.j rpgraphics.com/hou seconcerts/resou rces.html.
Listening parties / showcases
Listening parti es and showcases are u su ally set u p by bands to
showcase their new mu sic to indu stry people or fans. These types of
showcases can be an opti on if you perform mu sic that cannot u su ally be
performed at a regu lar nightclu b (e.g ., Pop, Urban, Rap, e tc). These
listening
parties
can
be
put
together
almost
anywhere.
If
you
are
tunes.
Performances
at
shopping
centers
and
malls
must
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be
P a g e | 244
for
the
upcoming
season.
Some
malls
do
not
allow
If
you
can
get
your
own
event
insu rance
and
(e.g.,
offer
to
Once you find a su itable mall, get the contact information for the
management offic e and call du ring bu siness hou rs. Most managers are so
bu sy th at th ey probab ly wont retu rn you r call if you leave a voicem ail . If
you call and they are not avai lable, ju st keep calling back u ntil you get
them on the line. Remember to start c alling early bec au se you wont be
able to ju st set up a performance w ith a weeks notice. If you do perform
at a mall or shopping center, see i f you can have you r CDs avai lable for
sale
on
consignmen t
performance.
In
at
addition,
record
ask
the
store
near
manager
the
if
location
you
can
of
sell
your
some
Page 244
P a g e | 245
but
sometimes
are
open
to
non-members .
Doin g
th ese
showcases wou ld be more for the exposu re than for the money since most
of them do not pay you to perform. However, i f you are ju st starting ou t
and you need to hav e some gig c red entials to add to you r bi o, then doi ng
these can be of benefit. These showcases are also good ways for you to
rehearse new son gs and / or get some feed back on the performances . You
can
find
out
organizations
about
web
these
events
sites,
by
visiting
found
at
the
performing
rights
http://www .bmi.com,
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P a g e | 246
and others.
The pay for performances on cru ise ships ranges from abou t $1,800
Page 246
P a g e | 247
repres entative,
etc.
Once
you
have
your
package
and
performance ready you can ch arge $500 - $3,500 or mo re per wedd ing
depending on the confi gu ration of you r band and the services you offer.
For example, do you also have to MC the even t? Do you have to learn
special son gs for the cou ple/host? Are you the only entertainmen t at the
event? Do you have to rent a PA or is one p rovided? Do you have to hire
extra players to get the right sou nd? Will you have to p rovide mu sic in
between sets? Make su re these qu estions are answered and let you r price
reflect the work involved . Try and get a 50% reserv ation fee and a w ritten
contract to p rotec t from losing money if the event gets c ancelled .
These are ju st some of
the performing
options
that you
have
available to you . Add some ideas to this list and try and do as many of
these at on e time as you possibly can. You cou ld probably retain the
assistance of an agent for some of the other options (e.g. cruise lines,
private parties , casinos, hotels, fairs, corpora te parties, e tc).
Page 247
PROMOTING
SHOWS
AND
ANNOUNCING
PRODUCT
AVAILABILITY
As soon as you get a show confi rmed at a venu e and /or comp lete a
reco rding th at is being mad e avai l abl e to th e gene ra l pu blic, you sh ou ld
th ink abou t h ow you are goin g to promot e th e sh ow/produ ct . If you fail to
adequ ately p romote you r show or produ ct av ailabili ty, few peop le will
show u p or make a pu rchase.
In addition to getting people to attend, there are other benefits to
promoting you r shows.
Many
agents, and even t promoters talk to each other, and if you develop a
repu tati on for being able to promote you r shows well, you will be i n a
grea t position t o get b ooked at v enu es in you r are a and ev en e xpand
ou twards to other regions. Another added benefi t to p romoting effectiv ely
is that rec ord labels get all thei r in formation on local u p-and-coming acts
from bookers, agen ts and promoters, as well as local and regional label
A&R scouts (if that is some thing you are interested in).
You can u se sites like eventful ( http://even tfu l.c om/) to promote
your shows and even have fans demand your show in their town. Sites
like these also allow you to provide venu e book ers with evidence that y ou
have fans that are willing to come to you r shows and pay a cover charge.
You sh ou ld get in th e h abit of prom oting you r produ cts (CDs , downlo a ds,
merchandise, etc) at the same time as you promote you r shows.
Review
the earli er chapter on Publicizing and Promoting Your Reco rdings for
other ideas that you can utilize in addition to the ones in this chapter.
Most mu sicians completely ignore many of the old-school , off- li ne
promotion methods becau se of the i ntern et and technological advanc es in
widgets and gadgets . Fortu nately for you , you will be ahead of the game by
incorporatin g some of the old-school methods along wi th the newer mu sic
b u s i n e s s 2 . 0 t e c h n i qu e s . W e w i l l d i s c u s s m a n y d i f f e r e n t p r o m o t i o n a l i d e a s
and techniques in this chapter.
P a g e | 249
(http://www.fanbrid ge.com/)
ReverbNations
or
FanReach
Band
Letter
all
your
ReverbNations
websites
and
social
n etworks
using
wid gets
Fan
like
Collector
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P a g e | 250
While keepin g your fans up to date, don t emai l too often and make
su re the information you send is actu ally newsworthy or interesti ng.
Avoid u sing th e same words in you r su bject line th at scam artists a nd
spammers u se (look a t the emails in your junk mail folder for examples),
or else you r emails wont get throu gh most peop les spam filters .
Ideas from past shows or other peoples shows Think abou t
the las t five shows you performed or attend ed and ask you rself what made
the shows special. Most people go to shows becau se of an email alert
(band newsletter, e tc), news from an artists websi te, word of mou th
(from a friend or colleague), or some type of pu blicity or advertising (on
the interne t, radio , te levision or i n print). Of c ou rse, some of the major
artists
have the
advantage of radio
airplay,
television
and
internet
exposu re, and name recognition that you dont have. How ever, try to take
notice of any cu te or c razy p romotional gi mmicks that on e of you r favorite
grou ps might have employed.
Fans as brand (band) evangelis ts Encou rage each of you r fans
to act as brand ev angelis ts and spread the word to their friends , family
members , nei ghbors , and colleagu es. Don t assu me that ju st becau se they
are your fans, they will automatically know to do this. Most often, you
will have to remind them ( frequently) to do this for you since most of
them will feel as thou gh the only thing requ ired of them is for them to
pu rchase you r CDs/down loads , merchandise, and gig tick ets . Onc e they ve
done that, many of them simp ly wait for the next thing you have to offer
so that they can offer thei r su pport. Inform them that the bes t way for
them to su pport you is to spread the word to ev erybody they know .
Withou t access to mainstream radi o and television , the best way for
you to bu ild you r fan base is to harness the enthu siasm of you r existi ng
fans to help you grow.
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P a g e | 251
Encou rage fans to u tili ze soci al networking tools that are mu siccentric , like B lip.fm (http://blip.fm/) , Twitty Tunes
(http://www.foxytu nes.com/twitty tu nes/), imeem
(http://www.i meem.c om/), and others. If you r son gs are av ailable on
iTunes (via CD Baby, the Orchard, Tunecore, ioda , e tc), ask your fans to
create iMi xes and inclu de you r son gs in the p lay list that they send to
their fri ends. They can do the same thing with Amazon Listmania lists
if you r songs are avai lable at Amazon. Ask you r fans to create and share
video ringtones u sing video footage of you r band provided by you (or from
clips from your You Tube channel) u tilizin g services like Vringo
(http://www.vrin go.com/) and others. Make su re you rew ard the most
active fans with exclu sive download s, au tographed items, live chats , free
tickets , merchandise, p remiu m prod u cts, etc .
Samplers A powerfu l way to get people to get a tas te what you
have to offer is to give them a s ampler. You cant go in to stores like
Costco nowadays wi thou t gettin g y ou r fill of free s amples of food from
manu factu rers trying to market new produ ct. It works the same way for
mu sic. What you cou ld do is to mak e a CD or DVD recordin g wi th snippets
of a few son gs from you r albu m or live show, or give ou t mu sic download
cards offering peop le the abili ty to download songs from a website.
Depending on the item (and the space available), make su re you inclu de
you r band name, contact in formati on (web page and/or social ne two rk
URLs, band hotline number, etc) , mini gi g calendar, names of stores
where you r CDs are av ailable for sale, sites where you r down loads are
available,
pictu res
of
the
band
or
artist,
etc.,
somewhere
on
the
packagin g.
Give these samplers or mu sic download cards away on the street or
to clu b patrons a cou ple of weeks or so before you r gi g. You can give th ese
samplers aw ay to peop le leavin g the venu e where you will be performi ng.
It is better to give these aw ay as p eople are leaving since they are goi ng
right to their cars.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
Page 251
P a g e | 252
Page 252
P a g e | 253
Ringtones
and
wallpapers
(http://www.myxer.com/abou t/share/)
Use
to
services
convert
your
like
Myxer
music
into
ringtones and share them with you r fans. Using Myxer, you can als o
utilize some of their other tools (including vanity text codes, MyxerTa gs
for you r websi te, e tc) to p romote you r mu sic. You can also u pload photos
for you r fans to u se as wallp apers that wi ll work well ac ross v ariou s
mobile phone screen sizes. Every ri ngtone and wallpap er you create has a
set of basic detai ls you can control, su ch as the title, category (genre),
and tags ( keywords) you want to have associated wi th it. When y ou r
content is inclu ded in the Myxer catalog, this informati on helps other
people find and discover your content.
Video
ringtones
Create
video
ringtones
(of
live
shows,
campaigns
Utilizing
servic es
like
Mozes
(http://www.mozes), you can c reate and deliv er mobile c ampai gns that
engage fans u sing text, voice, web, and smart phones applications. As they
mention on thei r website, you can ru n all of you r mobi le camp aigns , su ch
as:
Give fans ringtones , au dio clips , pic tu res, videos , cou pons, and more
Allow fans to call your artists or bands and leave messages for them
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P a g e | 254
others
pu rposes.
to
submit
These
your
services
Mainstream/Top-40 ,
songs
work
Rhythmic,
directly
well
for
Modern
to
DJs
music
Rock,
in
for
promotional
the
Urban,
styles
Dance,
of
Page 254
P a g e | 255
alon g with
band
information hotline on the samp ler so that people can find ou t more
information once they get back home.
Flyers & postcards You can pri nt some flyers or postc ards that
h ave informa tion on you r u pcoming sh ows and CD av ail abili ty. Y ou sh ould
limit you r flyer / postc ard dis tri bu tion to cars or people within a few
blocks of the venu e where you will be performin g.
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P a g e | 256
Most areas requ ire p ermits for fly er distribu tion, so make su re you
are able to do this before you proceed. Don t hand ou t these fly ers
indiscriminate ly. You sh ou ld only hand th em ou t to people wh o look li ke
they wou ld lik e you r type of mu sic. Do this a cou ple of weeks or so before
the gig. Mos t people throw flyers away, so try and get postcards instead.
Most p eople feel a li ttle bit gu iltier abou t throwing away a pos tcard, or at
the very least will look to see what its abou t before tossing it. Always
inclu de you r site URL and you r band h otline in case someone wants some
more
information.
The
flyer
postcard
itself
should
have
all
the
information abou t the gi g, inc lu ding venu e address, d ate, and cov er
charge (if applicable) . Also men ti on where you r CDs are being sold,
especially if they are available on consignment at a local retai l s tore.
Promotional merchandise Items like t-shirts , stickers , etc can
be u sed for both promotion al and sales pu rposes . You can give away a
certain amou nt of T-shirts and stick ers in ord er to get people to remember
the name of you r grou p or act. If you can afford it, try and have an
interesting d esign or logo that is eye-catching. I have fou nd that people
will take anything that is free, so y ou can literally hand these ou t on the
street to peopl e wh o l ook like th ey wou ld bu y you r mu sic. A sma rt er w ay
to do it is to hang ou t at areas where like-minded peop le hang ou t, like
clu bs, stores , res tau ran ts, malls , fai rs, conventions , etc .
You will have to be stealthy because a lot of times you will find
you rself gettin g chased aw ay by the secu rity in certain areas. H and ou t a
few and move on before you get bu sted. T-shirts and s tickers can also be
given away on radio st ations o r as part o f a cont est . Y ou sh ou ld also pu t
aside some T-shirts & stickers for sale at you r gigs . You can get these
from plac es like Extra Mile Merch (http://ww w.extrami lemerch.c om),
Zazzle (http://www.zazzle.com) , J akPrints (http://www .jakprin ts.com) ,
or Sticker Gu y! (http: //www.s tick ergu y.com) .
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P a g e | 257
can
involve
anything
from
u ser-generated
content,
to
w r i t i n g a n e s s a y , t o s e n d i n g i n f u n n y p i c tu r e s o r e m b a r r a s s i n g s t o r i e s ,
etc . Hav e a contest that anyone c an enter, bu t try and make the theme
something that would interest the kind of p eople that would like / buy
you r mu sic. The other advan tage to holding a contes t is that you can
collect contact informati on from all the people who enter and later send
them invitations to fu tu re shows or promoti ons. If you have a sponsor or
brand p artner involved in you r release or tou r, then thei r p rodu cts and /or
services shou ld be incorporated into the contest as gifts.
Concert
concert
listings
listing
websites
Submit
like
your
JamBase
gig
information/i tinerary
to
(http://www .jambase.com/) ,
Page 257
P a g e | 258
street
teams
in
other
cities
to
help
you
place
your
CDs
on
Page 258
P a g e | 259
execu te and requ ire the co-operation of at leas t another bu siness or two;
bu t when they work they can be v ery effectiv e. An example wou ld be a
cross promotion s et u p betw een y ou , a loc al bicycle shop, and a local
radio s tati on or podc ast. The way i t wou ld work is that you wou ld go ou t
and bu y a bicycle from the bicycle shop (or something your fans would
appreciate winning). This wou ld be the p rize that somebody wou ld win
from the cross promotion / c ontes t. People who come by the bicycle shop
wou ld pick up a free band samp ler/sticker and an en try form that requ ires
them to wri te a short essay abou t a bicycle. The entry forms wou ld then be
sent to the radio station/podc ast or su bmitted to the stati on/podcasts
site and read on the ai r. Listeners of the station w ou ld call in to v ote for
the winning essay and the winner would be announced on the air on a
certain date and win the bicycle.
The reason why this is complex for independent artists is that it is
u su ally difficu lt to ge t a radio sta tion to go alon g with th is, bu t you migh t
have an easier time finding a podcast that has a lot of listen ers to
participa te . You sh ou ld pick companies th at are recep tive to independ ent
artists to do you r c ross promotions with. This is also another way to get
you r samplers into peoples hands, and if they like what they hear, they
may come to your shows and buy your CDs even if they dont enter the
contest to win the prize. As I menti oned before, pick companies that cater
to the kinds of p eople who wou ld normally bu y the type of mu sic you
perform.
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P a g e | 260
to
your
shows
and
buy
you r
CDs .
Sponsorships
are
u s u al l y
expensive and many independent bands bypass this option Once again,
this can be very effec tive if done correctly, particu larly sponsoring a radio
station event.
Retail accounts Emai l and /or fax gi g information to the s tores in
the vicinity of you r gig a cou ple of weeks before the gig. Make a point to
go by the stores and leave some samplers and postcards at the cou nter
with gig info rm ation on th em . As k th e sto re man age r t o pu t u p some
poste rs and place you r CDs in a visible loc ation . You cou ld also pu t a $2
OFF SALE sticker on you r CDs for anybody who comes to you r gig.
Cou ple th is with $2 off cou pons that you h and ou t at you r gig. It doe snt
hu rt to ask the retai l manager whether you can p erform at the s tore and
sign copies of any CDs sold du ring you r performance.
Listening parties Another promotion technique is to host a
listening party some time before the official releas e date of the albu m (if
you are manufactu ring physical CDs). You can ei ther host this party at
someones hou se, a recording stu dio or even live from you r w ebsite. This
is essentially an opportu nity for p eople to hear the albu m ahead of time
and get to s ee the artist u p close and personal. You can u se this occasion
to tak e some pre-orders for the albu m and make some sales ahead of the
release d ate.
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P a g e | 261
radi o
station
DJs ,
TV
personalities ,
music
editors,
athletes,
to find
people who have a higher p rofi le than you and who have an existin g fan
base or business mailing list. You can ask them to add some vocals to your
C D o r e v e n a p p e a r i n y o u r mu s i c v i d e o o r l i v e s h o w . Y o u w i l l n o t o n l y
rec eive residu al p romotion from them spreading the word wi thin their
own medium, but you will also capitalize on their name in your press kits
and other promotional materi als . B e creativ e and try to find people wi th a
common interest, back grou nd or political ou tlook .
Joint venture marketing Poten tial joint ven tu re targets inclu de
mu sical equ ipment manu factu rers , clothes stores, hai r salons, mu sic
publications,
music
websites,
specialty
stores,
music
newsletters ,
Page 261
P a g e | 262
for
Hip-Hop/Rap
music
and
most
vari ations
of
Urban,
R&B
Contemporary , and Pop/CH R. You can find companies locally that ap ply
graph ics to veh icles. G raph ics cou ld inclu de th e albu m cover, pictu res of
the artist, or visu ally sti mu latin g graphics with the bands name, release
date, band hotlin e nu mber, and website U RL on it. Graphic wrap ped
promotional vehicles work best when sent ou t ahead of the release d ate
with free samp lers, pos ters, flyers , stickers , and T-Shirts for the pu blic. It
is best to pick the nei ghborhoods that you r target d emographic is most
likely to liv e in . The advan tage with graphic w rapped p romotion al vehicles
is that people can t throw them ou t (like newspapers , flyers, and other
direct mailings), change the station (like radio and television), or click
them off ( like the internet) . Drivers and ped estrians are exposed to the
vehicles and cannot av oid lookin g at them since they are right in front of
them. Check you r yellow pages or search online for companies that
provide this servic e.
Mix tapes This techniqu e work s best, again , for Hip-Hop/Rap
projects . Mix tapes se rve as bo th a way to get you r mu sic ou t to people on
th e streets, as w ell as a ch ance fo r mu sic indu stry professionals to h ear
wh at you sound like. Th e most effic ient way to ge t th is done is to su bmit
your
music
to
services
like
Coast
Coast
and
Mix
others,
tapes
which
is
better than putting out your own one with other unknown artists. Mi x
tapes that inclu de majo r label artists as well are u su ally tak en more
seriou sly, as lon g as the person pu tting the project together has good
ears and a repu tation for pu tting ou t material that is liked by the people
listening to it. In addition , servic es like these d eliv er the mix tapes to
hu ndreds of mix tape si tes and blogs more effici ently than you cou ld on
your own. While utilizing this method, however, keep in mind that the
recording indu stry has been c rackin g down on some mi x tape services that
inclu de mu sic from major label arti sts; so it remains to be seen how long
this will be a viable w ay for indep endent artists to get recognition .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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you
Jazz, Easy
Listening, Sin ger/Son gwri ter, New Age, etc., mu sic for the corporations.
You will be su rprised to find that a corpo ration might bu y 10,000 CDs
from you to give ou t to the employ ees, or even bu y a block of tick ets as a
gift to cli ents .
Band hotline - Believe it or not, some peop le still dont have access
to the in ternet, or are c ompletely i ntimidated by technology that is more
complicated than a CD and a simp le CD p lay er. Many of thes e peop le still
love
music
but have
given
up
trying
to
stay
on
top
of
the
latest
technological adv ancemen ts of mp3 players and other gad gets , and prefer
instead to stick to what they know. Even thou gh they are intimid ated by
technology, however, these peop le are completely comfortable with phones
- having u sed them for many years and cou ld possibly be interested in
bu ying you r mu sic if they heard it and liked i t.
As a percen tage of the world population, more people have phones
than they do compu ters wi th high-speed internet access . In fac t, there are
over 4 bi llion mobi le phone su bscribers comp ared to sli ghtly ov er 1
billion w eb u sers worldwide. Applications are being wri tten for mobile
phones that will allow su bscribers to access all their entertainment
playlists (music , movies , etc) at any time from any loc ation , so phones
sh ou ld not b e som eth ing th at you ignore c ompl et ely .
In ord er to tap into the phone demographic and depending on what
type of mu sic you create, you might want to consider setting u p a band
hotline/v oicemail and inclu de the nu mber on fly ers , brochu res and /or
postcards that you hand ou t to peop le on the s treet.
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Page 264
Fol lowing are som e ideas o f th ings you sh ou ld do bef ore, du ring, and
after you r gig that will help you r shows run smoothly, and make people
rem emb e r you , sh ow u p at you r oth er gi gs, and ev en pu rch ase you r CD s
and merchandise.
Before The Gig
Before you accept a gi g, mak e su re it makes s ense for you to do it.
Using research data, mak e su re that you will d raw enou gh people to mak e
the gi g worth doing. For example, ReverbNation has an add-on to their
mailin g
list
service
that
collects addition al info rmation abou t fans who have signed u p to you r
mailin g list (including their zip code) that can allow you to see which fans
reside in the area where you r gi g i s going to tak e place. There are some
other services you can u se as well, inclu ding Eventfu ls Demand it!
Featu re (http: //even tfu l.c om/demand).
Know
in
terms
of
gas ,
food,
vehicle
rentals ,
accommodations,
equ ipment ren tals, c rew s alari es, in su rance, etc; exactly what it c osts y ou
to do the gig. Mak e su re you are gettin g paid enou gh to cover all you r
expenses and, hopefully, make a profit. Sometimes a decision is made to
do the gig bec au se there is a promotional and pu blicity-related ben efit
attached.
Whatever the case may be, have a good reason to do the gi g.
P a g e | 266
sleepin g
accommodations,
travel
arrangemen ts,
car
rentals ,
insu rance, equ ipment rental and / or availabi lity , tickets, paperwork, etc .
Find ou t what the venu e photograp hy and videotaping policies are (so me
places either wont allow any photography/videotaping to take place,
while others will have union regulations tha t govern those decisions).
Find ou t if you can sell merchandis e at the venu e and whether or not the
venu e will tak e a cu t. If you ve signed u p for s ervic es lik e Bandize
(http://bandize.com/) , Music Ars enal (http://www .mu sicarsenal.com/)
or ArtistData (http://www .artistd ata.com) or others, you can enter all
the pertin ent information regardin g you r conversations into one database
in order to k eep everything organi zed.
~ Once you r gi g is confi rmed , mak e su re that you DO NOT book any
other gi gs in that area for at leas t a cou ple of weeks before and after. This
is becau se booking gi gs close together wi ll redu ce you r draw by givi ng
fans the op tion of attending one of a few shows instead of givin g th em
only one option to see you play in that area. The u rgency and hype of the
event wi ll be redu ced if you are performin g in the same place 4 ti mes in
one month, and some fans will miss one show because they can attend the
next one, and then miss the next one because they can attend the next
one, and so on until they actually end up missing all of them. Make an
event or show special, and more people will attend for fear of missing it.
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~ Find ou t what the policy is on food and drinks. Is the band getting
a discou nt on food and d rinks? Is th e band getting food as part of the pay?
Do band members get d rink tickets?
~ Note down what ti me the doors open and what the venu es gu est
list policy is. H ow lon g before the doors open are you allow ed into the
venu e for a sou nd-check? What time does the show begin? Is there a bac kstage area or dressing room for the band?
~ Ask whether the show is an all-ages show, 18 +, or 21+, since the
type of show you have will affect you r promotion campaign . The au dience
make-u p will also determine what ty pe of show you pu t together.
~ Get all the details regarding p arking. Remember that you have to
park and load in all the gear & merchandise. It wou ld be a seriou s pain to
have to d rag all you r equ ipment fou r blocks to the v enu e in the rain /snow
and then have to d rag i t all the way back at 2.00 a.m. after the show. Fi nd
ou t if th e parking is secu re in case you h ave to leave som e stu ff in th e van
(not recommended).
~ Find ou t whether the v enu e is doing any p romotion/advertisin g for
the show. If so, are they u sing you r bands name/image in the ads? W ill
they be wi lling to add some of the n ecessary information if you send them
some graphics or posters? Do they have a websi te, and if so, will they add
a l i n k t o y o u r w e b s i t e ? A r e y o u li s t e d i n a n y p r i n t e d p r o g r a m s b e i n g
handed ou t by the venu e? Will there be any si gnage or banners with y ou r
band informati on visible to the au dience du ring you r performanc e? If not,
can you bring some of you r own ban ners?
~ Try and get as many lists from the venu e as you can (media list,
retailer lis t, sponsor list, e tc .). Inform the venu e that you wou ld like
these lists to help promo te the show by sending press releas es, pu t
posters u p, get ai rplay , etc .
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If you r stage show requ ires mo re than the u su al items (PA, lig hts ,
backline, etc) , then mak e su re you ve discu ssed everything with the venu e
booker or p romoter prior to headin g ou t for the gi g.
~ Find ou t from the venu e booker or promoter what order you are on
the bill. Find ou t i f there are any other bands performing with you , and if
so, who is opening u p for whom. Also note whether you will have a DJ
playing in between and after your sets, or if you will be the only band on
stage all night.
~ Find ou t whether or not you need to bring you r own sou nd
enginee r, li gh ting pe rson , doo rman or secu rity , e tc. Most v enu es sh ou ld
provide the doorman and other s taff, and p romoters shou ld take c are of
all this if they are pu tting on the s how, bu t if you are bookin g you r own
shows it never hu rts to ask. Uti lize resou rc es lik e Pollstars Concert
Support
Services
International
directory
Talent
( http://www.pollstar.com) ,
&
Touring
Billboards
Guide
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P a g e | 271
Use
servic es
like
FanBridge
(http://www.fanbrid ge.com/)
or
or
pu rchase
the
Virtual
Publicist
Toolkit
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P a g e | 272
their
audience.
Offer
produ ct
giveaways
for
their
lis teners
like
itinerary
to
them
at
There
are
no
gu aran tees that you will be inclu ded in their listings , bu t once they
research and cross-reference the dates you may be inclu ded. You can also
use
ArtistData
to
submit
your
show
like
Vault
JamBase
(http://w w w.jambase.com),
Mojam/Wolfgangs
(http://sonic living.com) ,
clubvibes
SonicLi ving
and
others .
~ Send you r gig information to all the free entertainment calendars
in the city where you r gi g will be. Y ou can find su bmission information in
the entertainment sec tions of mos t of the pu blications in you r area. Start
with the free entertainment pu blications. They will u su ally contain a
section
where
they
will
post
information
on
what
entertainment
is
happening at what clu b on each night of the u pcoming week. Don t forget
college newspapers. Check on-line for the loc al radio stati ons that have an
event listin g sec tion you can add you r gig to.
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~ Send an email to all the rec ord stores that have you r CDs on
consignment within a 10-mi le radi u s of where you have you r gi g. If y ou r
gig is ou t of town , emai l all the record s tores that are stockin g you r
produ ct. Use the emai l to let the store manager know abou t the gi g, and
ask if they can mak e su re that they have you r CDs ou t on the shelves i n a
highly visible location. Ask if they can play you r CD in the store or even
h and ou t some sampl ers t o pat ron s on th e days leading u p to th e gig.
Off e r to pu t you r CDs on sal e, pe rh aps $2 off th e retai l price fo r peo ple
who bring a cou pon from you r gig to the store. Try and convince them to
pu t up some of you r posters u ntil after the gi g is ov er.
~ Send ou t an email to all the rad io stations in you r area that you
have promoted you r son gs to. Letti ng them know abou t you r live shows,
CD sales , revi ews, and interviews can help them d ecide whether or not to
play you r songs on the ai r. They are more lik ely to play a son g on the days
leadin g u p to the gig, as well as invite you to do an on-air performan ce,
intervi ew , or tick et give- away con test. Of cou rse, we are talking mai nly
abou t internet radio, college radio or some sp ecialty shows on you r local
commercial station .
~ Make su re you ve s ent ou t all you r gig invitations . Let all the
people on you r mai ling list know abou t the gi g, as well as any indu stry
people that you want to invi te. Invite media people to c ome and rev iew
you r live show. Invite booking agents and promoters so that they can see
how you perform live and possibly offer you more gigs at other venu es in
th e fu tu re. If you invite indu stry people to you gig, you may h ave to bu y
some d rink tickets from the venu e to offer them. Send invitations to all
the college newspapers and radio s tati ons, as well as to the members of
the stu dent activiti es or p rogram boards at the colleges . Go throu gh y ou r
directori es and invite people from record labels (bo th independent and
major) in you r area. Send invitations abou t three weeks before each gig,
that way they have about two weeks notice.
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If you send ou t you r invitati ons too lon g before that you risk the
chance that people will forget abou t the gig, bu t don t wait u ntil too close
to the gi g either. Don t expect everybody to show u p, bu t inviting th em
keeps your name in their heads.
~ Get you r equ ipment and health insu rance needs in o rder. You
never know when you may have your equipment stolen from the van or
damaged du ring a gig. Lost or d amaged equ ipment can set you back
financially
and
totally
ru in
spiri t of
the band.
Insu rance cov erage does not cost as mu ch as you think it does, and th ere
is absolu tely no excu se to not get some, especially if you are going ou t on
a
tour.
Try
contacting
companies
or
like
MusicPro
Clarion
Insurance
Associates,
Inc.
might
sell
enough
to
get
on
the
radar
of
music
industry
professionals) . If you r label has been in bu siness for at least 2 years you
can
set
up
you r
account
on
their
website
(look
Page 274
at
for
P a g e | 275
Make
su re
that
the
band
members
have
all
the
nec essary
equ ipment they need for the show. Write u p an equ ipment checklist. This
list should be used both when you set up and when you break down.
~
Put
together
chore
list .
Each
band
member
should
be
responsible for a specific chore. For example, one person may be in charge
of collectin g mon ey after the gi g. Another cou ld be responsible for
ru nning a final check on the equ ipment v an before leavin g the v enu e. Yet
another person cou ld be responsible for the items on the merchandi se
table or for giving T-shirts to the staff to wear du ring the gi g. In general,
you sh ou ld all h elp ou t with everyt h ing, bu t it is more organized if e a ch
person can take charge of an area that they will be responsible for.
~ Pu t posters u p at th e venu e a couple of w eeks be fo re th e gig l et ting
people know abou t you r band and su pplying them with information on
where you r CDs are avai lable. Ask you r fans and street team members to
h andle th e poster and sampler dis tribu tion campai gns fo r you r ou t-oftown gigs . Y ou sh ou ld recru it pe ople f rom you r we bsite , mai ling list , o r
band information hotline a few w eeks before the gig. Offer the s treet team
members a free CD and waiv e the cover charge for them to come to the
show. Do as mu ch promotion as you can afford to. It isnt any fu n at all
playing for 10 peop le.
~ Confi rm the gi g one last time a cou ple of days before the show.
You ll be su rprised how many ti mes a gi g gets c ancelled and nobody
bothers to tell the band abou t it. It only tak es a cou ple of minu tes to c all
and confirm the fact that you are s till on the bill and bein g exp ected. If
necessary , have you r contrac t handy in case you need to fax it to
somebody at the venu e that has any qu estions abou t the gi g.
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option
is
Better
than
the
Van
any
good
places
to
find
inexpensive
food,
cheap
gas ,
equ ipment rentals, affordable acc ommodations, etc . This will c ome in
handy especially if you dont live in that city and dont know where
everything is .
~ Send ou t a gi g reminder the day before the gi g. Don t assu me that
everybody remembers the date o f the show ju st becau se you told them
abou t it a cou ple of w eeks ago. A last minu te reminder can increase y ou r
draw by getting some peop le who were on the fence abou t you r gig to
commit to i t. Remember, the more p eople at you r gi g, the more money y ou
can mak e from the cov er charge and merchandise sales , and the more
likely you will be asked back to p erform at that venu e.
~ Most i mportan tly , think of anythi ng that c an ru in you r show if left
u nconfirmed. Mak e su re you have an emergency stash of cash ( and
available balance on your debit/credit card) on hand for the inevitable
occasion when the venu e doesnt pay you for you r gi g.
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P a g e | 277
to
indu stry
people
(record
labels
executives,
radio
sta tions
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P a g e | 278
Try and arrange for a fu ll sou nd check with the v enu e ahead of time,
and arrive with enou gh time to p erform one. This will greatly affec t how
you sou nd, and since you want to bl ow eve rybody aw ay with th e fi rst so ng,
it would be a shame to waste it as sound check fodder.
~ If you brin g you r own sou nd person with you , make su re they work
close ly with th e h ou se sou nd person and respect th at pe rsons space . If a
conflict arises , u nless it adversely affects the sou nd of you r show, always
yield to th e h ou se sou nd person. N ot only do th ey know th eir particu l ar
sou nd system better than you do, bu t they also know how things sou nd in
their room even i f things may sou nd weird to you at sou nd check. Of
cou rse, some venu es have peop le that have no clu e abou t mi xing li ve
sou nd, and in that instance it is ok ay for you to have you r sou nd person
take con trol of the situ ation. In those instances, most newbi es wi ll gladly
yield to a more experienced sou nd engineer and u se the occasion as a
training session and learning experi ence.
~ Once you ve done you r sou nd check, ST OP PLAYIN G. Do not play
you r instru ment or sing into a microph one u ntil you actu ally begin th e
first son g of you r performance; es pecially when people are in the venu e
already. This is particu larly applic able if the venu e is open for happy hou r
or otherwise open to the general pu blic pri or to the shows s tart time.
~ Have peop le in the venu e wearing you r T-shirts If you have any
band T-shirts or caps , it can be a good idea to have people in the venu e
(doormen, waiters / waitresses, club managers, patrons, band members)
wearing them.
~ Have a band banner on stage You shou ld have a banner, or at
leas t a series of pos ters wi th the band name position ed strategically on
the stage.
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kits
for
in teres ted
label
personnel,
booking
agents ,
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P a g e | 280
Avoid playing too many son gs bac k-to-back with the same tempo,
groove or key. The au dience cou ld get bored if too many of them a stru ng
one after the other. Keep dead spac e to a minimu m, and avoid things that
requ ire
dead
space
like
changi ng
instru ments
or
stage
positions.
Incorporate new sou nds or instru ments into the show for v ariety .
~ While performing, try not to do the same thing over and ov er for
each
song. Vary
movements,
lighting schemes, banter, ward robe, postu re, etc ., otherwise the au dience
will feel (even if its no t the case) as thou gh every son g is the same.
~ Ru n a raffle / con test Giv e ev erybody who en ters the v enu e a
raffle tick et. At the end of each set, call ou t a random nu mber from a hat
and give the winning ticket holder a free CD or T-shirt. At the end of the
last s et, give away something a bit more valu able (bu t not too expensive).
Make su re you make it fu n and invite the winner on stage to receiv e th eir
prize.
People in the audience will appreciate the interaction , especially if
you make the winner say something abou t themselves on the mic rophone
as they collect the p rize.
~ Remind peop le of your band n ame Mention your band name
several times du ring the gi g. It c ou ld very w ell be the case that s ome
people in th e au dience will h av e wa ndered into th e venu e with ou t knowing
who is performing. If they leave th e show early and dont get a chance to
go to the merchandise table, they might sti ll remember you r band s n ame
and
check
ou t
your
website
later
or
catch
up
with
you
on
social
networking si tes .
~ Speak directly to au dience in between certain songs Engage the
audience by saying something about the song that is coming up or the
song that you just did.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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Mention y our websi te by telling the audience that they can find song
lyrics or other information there. Give them some insight as to perhaps
why you wrote a particu lar son g, or tell a fu nny story abou t something
that happened to the gu itar player du ring the rec ordin g session. Do some
research ahead of time and incorporate loc al ev ents , bi rthdays , etc ., i nto
the show. If the situ ation is su itable, try taking a few qu estions from y ou r
fans (wri tten down on pieces of paper) and answering them in grou ps
periodically throu ghou t the show. Think of all kinds of w ays that you can
interact with you r fans in additi on to performin g you r son gs for them.
~ Mak e you r show visu ally stimu lating Inco rpo rate something into
you r show that is visu ally interes ting. Besides merely performing y ou r
songs, you shou ld have some type of stage p rop or li ghting theme that
g i v e s t h e a u d i e n c e s o m e t h i n g t o r e m e m b e r . T h i n k a b o u t y o u r m u s i c an d
what type of image you re trying to portray. Ev en if you r mu sic sounds
great, try and have something els e happening on stage that makes y ou r
performance special.
~ Record you r show Depending on the venu e policy, try and record
you r show u sing a feed from the front-of-hou se (FOH) mixer. Most
professional mixing boards have the capabili ty of s ending ou t a 2- track
mix not only to the main monitors , bu t also to a record er. If you are able
to record that feed into a lap top w ith recordin g softw are, you shou ld be
able to bu rn CD-Rs of the show and offer it to peop le either free with a
CD or merchandise pu rchase, or ev en as a free gift for attending the show.
You cou ld also perform some basic mas tering to the tracks (or send ou t
the songs to be mas tered) for a liv e rec ordin g that you can sell on you r
website or su bmit for digi tal distribu tion/fu lfillmen t.
You
can
also
use
(http://www.disc revolt.com/)
services
to
offer
like
fans
DiscRevolts
live
concert
LivePass
downloads
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P a g e | 282
like
U STREAM
(http://www.synclive.com) ,
( http://www.u stream.tv) ,
Livestream
SyncLi ve
justin.t v (http: //w ww.ju stin.tv) or Qik (http://qik .com/) and others to
let peop le watch and sometimes comment on your show live. Even if you
dont s tream the enti re show, this will be a good way to let people see
what they can expect if they come to see you live, and may make p eople
who were relu ctant to bu y tickets change their minds and come to another
show.
If the venu e allows y ou to u se a professional video c amera (or c rew),
make su re you let everyone in the venu e know that you are taping and
allow peop le who dont want to be on camera to position thems elv es in
locations ou tside of the frames (an d make sure the videographer avoids
shooting foo tage in those locati ons). Have model releases avai lable for
people who are visible in the shots acknowledgin g you r ownership of the
footage alon g with thei r permission to have their likeness in the vid eo.
Compensation cou ld be a cou ple of dollars off the cov er charge, some band
stickers , a d rink ticket, etc . An alternativ e to u sing the releases is to have
the videographer focu s all their shots on the stage, thereby av oid ing
recording venu e patrons .
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~ Work you r mailin g lis t Dont forget to get peop le to add their
names
and
contact
informati on
to
your
mailing
list.
Make
the
list
available at the merchandise table and have the band members men tion it
frequ ently from the stage. Have a laptop handy where people c an sign u p
directly to you r mai ling lis t if you are u sing something like FanB ridge or
FanReach as a mailing list solution.
~ The band man ager shou ld be des ignated the task of makin g su re
that all VIPs ( label A&R reps, media personnel, industry players, fan
club members, e tc) are well tak en care of. The manager shou ld walk
arou nd talking to anyone who need s to talk to the bands representati ve.
It is important to make su re that all deal offers go throu gh the manager or
designated band rep resen tative.
~ Don t spend all night asking th e bartender or c lu b manager for free
drinks, free food and other perks u nless those things have already been
promised as part of you r contrac t rider. This type of behavior will get
reported to the talent bu yer, clu b manager, promoter, or bookin g agent,
making i t less likely that you will be invited back in the fu tu re.
~ Allow fans to tape your shows (both audio and video) if the ven ue
allows the u se of cameras. Make su re to ask the venu e ahead of time w hat
the taping policies are, since some dont allow any taping at all while
others allow taping as long as the cameras (audio and video) are not
professional (i.e., poin t-and-shoot or cell phone cameras might be fin e).
Some venu es also have u nion gu idelines that mu st be adhered to.
If taping is allow ed, this is an excellent way to promote you r band
since fans will be likely to post images and/or videos on thei r social
networking sites which serves the p u rpose of increasing y ou r fan base via
word-of-mou th.
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At firs t blu sh, it seems like people who have a bootleg recording wi ll
not pu rchase the real CD, bu t you will be su rprised how many will become
long term fans, bu y fu tu re CDs, sp read the word abou t you r band to their
fri ends, and pu rchase you r merchandise. Also, they c an come in han dy
when it comes to you needing a place to stay while on tou r. You shou ld,
however, remember to ask for a c opy of the tape(s) for you rself when they
are done.
~ Tak e ph otos du ring gigs Y o u sh ou ld h ave someb ody t aking
ph otos of you du ring you r gigs, as well as ph otos of th e crowd and you in
betw een s ets . If the venu e allows it, u se the best c amera possible. You c an
share
the
photos
on
Twitpic
( http://www.twitpic .com/)
or
similar
services to let those that c ant be at the gi g see whats going on. If you
have a w eb p age or Facebook accou nt, you can post these pictu res there as
well as on Flickr (h ttp://www .flickr.c om /) fo r pu blicity. You can also u se
the pictu res as p romotion for the next time you play at the c lu b, ei ther by
posting them on a board inside the clu b or prin ting them on fly ers that
you distribu te before the gig. Remember to ask peoples p ermission before
you take thei r pictu res , get thei r names and emai l addresses, and tell
them what you intend to do wi th the pictu res. Do not tak e or post pictu res
of people that haven t given you permission to do so, and (as with
shooting video) keep some model release forms handy for people to si gn
acknowled gin g you r own ership of the photos and the ri ght for you to u se
them as you please.
~ End you r show at the exac t ti me you where schedu led to end it
Unless otherwise directed by the v enu e booker o r promo ter, you shou ld
not play beyond the end time of your show, especially if there are other
bands schedu led to perform after you . Have somebody off stage keepi ng
track of the time who can give you a signal when there is only time for one
more song.
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~ If there is another band playing after you , make su re you tak e you r
gear off the stage before heading ou t to mingle with fans and work the
merchandise table. If you need to do so, brin g along a roadie to help w ith
settin g u p and breaking down the gear who can also drive the van or mix
the sou nd, etc. If you are able to, ask the band performin g after you if
they need any help settin g u p their gear.
~ Min gle At the end of the gig, dont ju st pack u p you r gear and
leav e. Have a friend or roadi e break down you r gear, and min gle with the
crowd . Thank them for coming (eve n if they d idnt come to see you) and
try and mak e friends with some of the patrons . Remember that everybody
wants to be cool wi th the band, so take advantage of that. Talk to people
and ask them what they thou ght of the performance. Mention the band by
name so that the n ame gets stu ck in their memory . Most importantly,
meet peop le at the merchandise table and si gn both pu rchased items as
well as freebies (pho tos , CDs , t-shirts , e tc.) for fans. Ev en at this late
stage, its not too late to encou rage people to sign u p to the mailing list if
they havent already done so; therefore, don t forget to ask p eople to si gn
up as you talk to them.
~ Help out Help each other break down gear and ask the club
manager / booker if there is anything you can do to help them ou t. Most
of the time they will say no, bu t they will remember that as a nice gestu re
when it comes time to think abou t booking a band in the fu tu re.
~ Thank the engineer, doorman , waitresses , and clu b man ager /
booker Nobody ever remembers to be nice to these peop le. If you are
nice to them, they will think of you the next time they need to book a band
for an important night, and they may even pay you more for you r next gig
becau se of how thou ghtfu l you are.
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P a g e | 286
~ Dou ble-check that you have all you r gear with you before y ou leav e
th e venu e Once you h ave lef t t h e venu e, it is almost impossible to
recov er equ ipment or c lothes that y ou have left behind. Have a lis t of the
equ ipment you brou ght in, and check that list off as you load the
car/van /bu s at the end of the gig.
~ Never leave your van unattended while loading / unloading This
is self- explanatory. K eep an eye on all you r gear while loading and
u nloading. It is amazing how easy it is for someone to pick u p a gu itar
case or backp ack out of the van while no one is lookin g. WATCH YOUR
STUFF! Load lik e an assembly line, where there is always somebody at the
van while two or three others are on their way back and forth from the
sta ge / d ressin g ro om with gea r. You cou ld also h ave a fri end sit in th e
van while you load / unload.
After The Gig
~ Update the information on you r website and soci al networks .
Upload any video or au dio content that you record ed at the show, and post
any relevant photos to you r gallery as well. Let you r fans know how
everything went, and encou rage those that were at you r show to make
comments abou t their experi ence and post their own video footage and/or
audio content.
~ Take the opportu nity to discu ss everything that happened du ring
the show with the talent bu yer, c lu b booker, agent, or p romoter. If a
booking agen t was u sed to book the show, ask them for feed back, since
they are frequ ently involved in discu ssions with the venu e. If everything
went well, u se this time to try an d book another date at the venu e. If,
however, a lot of things went wrong (e.g. only a few people showed u p, a
fight broke ou t, you r show started late, etc.) , take the time to discu ss
ways to mak e imp rovements .
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Showing that you care abou t the situ ation will go a lon g way towards
bu ilding a good relationship with the bookers. Remember, its a s mall
world and w ord gets arou nd.
~ Pay the band members promptly as soon as you get back . Most
often, i f you receiv ed a check as payment from the venu e, you will hav e to
wait u ntil the check clears. If, however, y ou have gotten cash, p ay the
members ri ght away . Pay the band exactly what you said you would,
whether it is a percentage of the door, a gu arantee, etc . You can develop
problems if you gain a repu tation for not paying on ti me or for paying less
than you promised .
~ Send thank you emails/letters /postcards When you get home
send thank you emails, letters , and/or pos tcards to all the important
talent bu yers, label peop le, media personnel, p romoters , v enu e bookers,
etc, that you encountered or that came to your show.
~ Update you r mailing list Another thing to remember when you
get home is to immediately pu t all the new names that you collec ted i nto
your mailing list database (if you didnt have a laptop with you at the
gig).
~ Once you get back , review the v ideo and au dio footage from the
gig. Take notes of all the things that work ed ou t well and make note of the
areas where you need to make improvements . Analy ze i f the recordi ngs
can be released as CDs/DVDs or downloads .
~ Set u p a band meetin g or rehears al to discu ss all the issu es abou t
the gi g. Use this meetin g to go over things that you can do at you r next
gig to mak e i t better, and talk abou t things that w ork ed ou t really w ell
that you wou ld like to do again. Take note of which songs went over well
with the au dience and which ones you cou ld delete from the song list.
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P a g e | 288
Page 288
tou ring
or
performing.
Companies
are
constantly looking for w ays to reach cu stomers di rec tly , and c oncert
performances p rovide a u niqu e way to make that happen. It is gettin g a
little hard er to get sponsorships now bec au se large companies are more
interested in high-profile artists or bands on major labels with a large fan
base. Howev er, liqu or companies , for example, are often interested in
even smaller bands becau se they can make their mon ey back from li qu or
sales at the venue.
Following are some of things that i nterest sponsors in you r band or
act:
What does the band have to offer (image, fan base, la rge mailing
list, common message, etc)?
What are the bands overall tou ring goals (regional, na tional,
international)?
How lon g wi ll the tour cycle be (one night, one wee k, one month,
several months long)?
What cities (and /or co untries) wi ll the tou r be rou ted throu gh?
What are the expenses involved (eq uipment renta l, band & crew
salaries and per diems , car rentals , accommodations , insurance,
etc.)?
P a g e | 290
What kind of media coverage will be attached to the tour (TV, print,
radio, and in ternet)?
How many p eople will be exposed to the band du ring the camp aign?
What are you requ esting from the s ponsor (cash o r produc t
donation)?
in order to get a sponsor behind you . Remember that any company can be
a sponsor, and you can have more than one sponsor attached to your
project as lon g as they are not competitors . You can start with compan ies
that are interested in penetrating the demographic you reach (or plan to
reach).
If you are tou ring intern ationally, you can look for comp anies that
wish to extend thei r brand name beyond the bord ers of you r cou ntry . Y ou
may not a lways b e ab le to get cash . You sh ou ld keep in mind th at produ cts
and services given to you for free or at a discou nt can also be of valu e. For
example, hotel rooms , clothing, equ ipment, airline tickets , staff, mai ling
lists, or car rentals c an be part of what you ask for instead of (or in
addition to) cash.
Some c ompanies may be interested in co-branding magazine ads or
radio/TV/in ternet commercials promoting their p rodu ct alon gside you rs.
All this can help to offs et the cost of a tou r or albu m projec t.
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P a g e | 291
for
the
person
in
charge
of
arranging
sponsorships.
Some
companies don t u se (or like) the term sponsorship, so try and find ou t
what departmen t wi thin the company deals with marketing partnerships
or other initiatives that res emble sponsorships.
Most large comp anies arrange their sponsorships throu gh pu blic
relations (PR) firms, bookin g agents, sponsorship consu ltants, in-hou se
departments, or advertising agencies. You may have to work in revers e
and condu ct research on vari ou s PR fi rms in order to find ou t who their
clients are. When you find a firm that rep resen ts a company you are
interested in approaching you can call and find out who you can send a
package to, or ev en pitch the sponsorship/marketing opportu nity to the
PR firm. Onc e you have a contact you can send them a proposal that
includes a cover letter, a one-page document explaining the whats-in -itfor- them benefits , and a mark eting plan or tou r itinerary for thei r
revi ew.
You r cover letter wi ll have all th e general detai ls of the events .
Following that, you can have pages that explain the tou r in more detail
and get into answerin g all the qu estions the sponsor might have abou t the
event and the benefits . Dont be disappointed if you dont get a lot of
interest in the beginning. You
may
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P a g e | 292
Mos t
merchandising
deals
will
It
is
possible to get adv ances from merchandisers ran ging from $0 to $100 ,0 00
and u p, bu t there are some v ery i mportant things to keep in mind.
Advances are u su ally based on the bands previou s and cu rrent
merchandise s ales nu mbers , their tou ring itinerary , the nu mber of ci ties
the band will be performing in, the capacity of the venu es, the bands
tou ring history, radio airp lay , media coverage, sales track record , etc .
If the artist is wi llin g to tak e a smaller adv ance, the royalty rate may
be negotiated higher. If the artist is in need for a larger adv ance, the
royalty rate may be lower.
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P a g e | 293
When advances are p aid, they are u su ally paid in thirds; one-third at
the singing of the contrac t, one-th ird at the commencement of the tou r
and
finally
completed.
one-third
Unlike
after a specified
label
advances,
many
number of shows
merchandising
h ave been
advances
or
Page 293
GOING ON TOUR
Previou sly for bands , the on ly way to increas e you r fan base in other
regions was to tou r loc ally (sta rting small) , and then mak e several rou nds
over a cou ple of years before establishing enou gh of a repu tation to d raw
the necessary nu mber of fans to ju stify expanding ou tside the regi on.
Nowad ays, y ou can u se social netw orking on the internet to reach fan s in
areas ou tside you r home region and get some feedback abou t how many of
them would buy tickets to your shows.
Once you ve created a large enou gh mailing list from you r social
networking campai gn you can then send ou t newsletters and u se servic es
eventful
and
Live
Music
Machine
you
have
different
cities
that
might
be
streamSerf
to
track
which
radio
stations in which cities are p layi ng you r songs and rou te y ou r tou r
accordin gly .
You r local region is the plac e for y ou to test how well you r show is
pu t toge th er, mak e mist akes ea rly i n th e proc ess, and po lish u p you r act
b e f o r e t a k i n g t h e s h o w o n th e r o a d . T h i s i s a l s o t h e p l a c e f o r y o u t o
experimen t and find ou t exactly w ho you r au dience is, as well as make
some money to help you with tour expenses.
P a g e | 295
It is also the place for you to gain experi ence, create a bu zz, and get
cru cial references from venu e bookers and talent bu yers in you r area.
Once you have play ed at most of the important loc al v enu es; promoted
you rself to th e loc al fans and mu sic indu stry people; rec eived local radio
airplay; pu blicized you rself to the local media throu gh press releases and
intervi ews; and sold some records at you r local retai l stores; you can then
begin the process of planning a tou r.
Things to keep in mind when planning and embarking on a tour
First and fo re most , you sh ou ld make su re th at th e band is ready to
go on tou r before you start planning you r rou te. Do you have enou gh fans
to su pport goin g on
tou r?
Can
you
for your
performances to cover the cos ts of going on the road ? Is the song material
stron g enou gh to perform in front of fans and indu stry people alike in
other ci ties? Do you have any exp erience performin g in cities ou tside you r
home region?
Do you
tou ring to help you with all the logi stics and details (e.g ., boo king agent,
tour manager, e tc)? Is the ov erall show strong enou gh to take on the
road? Do you have a pu blicity and promotion camp aign to su pport the
tou r?
on a tou r.
Early in the planning stages (once youve determined that it makes
sense for you to tour) , you shou ld stron gly consider su bmittin g material
to mu sic conferences and festivals that take place in regions you are
interested in tou rin g.
Since it is someti mes difficu lt to get gigs in new cities withou t a
track record , a showcase slot at a clu b can get you a foot in the door. You
can then u se that information to book another gig in the same town on an
off night.
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P a g e | 296
For examp le, if you have a Friday or Satu rday night showcase slot at
a conference, you can try and book a Wednesday or Thu rsday night show
in the same city.
Start planning and rou ting you r tou r at least three to nine months
ahead, dependin g on the distance you are planning to travel; the gen re of
mu sic you perform; and the type of tou r you are planning. For examp le,
jazz fes tivals are often book ed u p to a year in advance, so s tartin g to p lan
you r tou r three to six months ahead wou ld be too late to be inclu ded. You
will need time to plan and rou te th e tou r, con firm all the dates , au dition
and rehears e the band, hire a road manager, hire the crew (roadi es,
driver, techs, etc .) , enlist the help of a trav el agen t, obtain the necess ary
visas or work permits , book you r accommod ations , pu rchase insu rance,
promote the shows, condu ct pu blicity campaigns , get the rec ords i nto
stores, send promotional items to the venues, etc.
You will also need to make su re th at you aren t breakin g any u nion
ru les if you are a u nion member (A FM, AFRTA /SAG) or if you are hiri ng
or performing with other u nion members. Do you r planning ahead of time
in order to avoid a situ ation where you are u nable to p erform s show at
the last minute.
Before
you
begin
planning
your
tou r,
make
su re
you
have
permanent and reli able phone and fax nu mber, as w ell as a fi xed mailing
address and an e- mail accou nt that you can access from any location (e.g.,
a free Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail email account). A laptop will be
extremely handy for access to emails while on the road.
If you are w orkin g wi th a bookin g agent and / or promoter, now
would be the time to go over the routing options and analyze whether or
not the tou r wi ll be profitable.
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P a g e | 297
Discu ss all the financing options you have available to you right now
(e.g.
ticke t
pre-sales,
record
label
tour
support,
deposits ,
savings,
investors, sponsors, promote rs, ta lent buyers, brand partners, roya lties,
etc.) . Th is will h elp you to u nderstand h ow mu ch money you h ave on
h and, and h ow mu ch you need to make e ach day on th e ro ad in orde r to
break
even
on
the
costs
of
putting
the
tour
together.
Without
u nderstanding the financing, it is likely that you will lose money on the
tou r. You mu st know exactly h ow m u ch it costs you each day on th e ro ad
(air fare, bu s fare, train fare, gear and other miscellaneou s ren tals, hotel
rooms , food , gas , au to expenses, lau ndry, taxes , insu rance, medical costs,
phone / fax charges , crew salaries , venu e fees , ATM fees, commissions,
etc .).
Determine the overall cost of pu tting the tou r together and dedu ct
the cash you have avai lable at hand from that. For examp le, if the overall
cost of pu tting the tou r together is $75,000 and you have $8 ,000 c ash at
hand, the remainin g amount of money you need to pay for the whole tour
is $67,000 ($7 5,000 - $8,000 = $67 ,000). This $67,000 wi ll have to come
from
ticket
sales,
merchandise
sales,
album
sales
from
the
gig ,
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P a g e | 298
If you have access to a bu dget that allows for it, consider lookin g for
a tour buy-on or marketing co-op with an established band. This is
a scenario where you reach ou t to a headliners agent and/or manager
with an offer to pay them a certain amou nt of money (e.g . $500 - $1,0 00)
per day for the opportu nity to perform wi th them as a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd act
for a c ertain nu mber of d ates (e.g . 1 40) in venu es of a certain capac ity
(e.g. 2,500 10,000 people) on thei r tou r.
You will most likely be bidding with other people for the buy-on, so
make su re you dont get cau gh t in a bidding war. Only bid wh at you can
afford to pay , since, in addi tion to the cost of the bu y-on, you will also
have to take into account the additional costs of your bands travel,
accommod ations , rentals , p er diems , insu rance, etc .
Keep in mind that the p romoters of the tou r also have a say in the
matter, and the size of you r d raw will be tak en into accou nt as d ecisions
are bein g mad e. You will also likely need to make lots of pitches in ord er
to
get
one
accepted.
You
can
use
(http://www.pollstar.com)
(http://www.ord erbillboard .com/)
the
directories
from
and
to
get
Pollstar
Billboard
contact
in formation
for
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P a g e | 299
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P a g e | 300
booking
agents),
festival
&
fair
organi zers,
and
indu stry
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P a g e | 301
deadlines.
It
makes
no
sense
to
wait
for
an
answer
from
somebody for months on end while you hold all your other booking
options. If somebody cannot giv e you the date you are requ esting, ask if
they cou ld recommend somewhere else in town for you to play that night
or on those nights. As you contac t venu es, try and research what time the
pu blic transportation system ru ns u ntil so that you can plan to end y ou r
show prior to the time the last train or bu s ru ns.
As you call arou nd, have you r media pack ages ready to send ou t, or
at least have a website where you can send people to view your Electronic
Press Kit (EPK). Always log you r phone calls and note down the date you r
package was sent out as well as the date you have scheduled to follow up.
Once you have a date confi rmed , note down all the bookin g detai ls you
agreed to (e .g. how muc h you are getting paid, wha t date and time the
gig is, what equipment is being provided, w ho else is on the bill, t he
load-in and sound check times , etc) and send this contract to the venue,
booke r, or pro mot e r. Do th is especial ly if th e venu e does not h ave a
contract of its own to s end you . Ask the promoter or booker for their
media list (a lis t of publications and media contacts in the area tha t
cater to music).
Ask them if they c an recommend any particu lar w riters or review ers
for y ou to contac t. Send the promoter or venu e book er any promoti onal
materi als they mi ght need (e.g., CDs, pos ters , samplers , postca rds,
flye rs, e tc.) at leas t 4 to 6 weeks ah ead of time.
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P a g e | 302
Keep in mind that the media works on deadlines , so the sooner you
can send you r materials the better. Ask them i f they will be u sing you r
band name in thei r ads. A lso ask for them to link you r website to theirs .
Get equ ipment and h ealth insu rance coverage befo re you leave. You
never know when you r equ ipment might be s tolen from the van or at a
venu e; or damaged on the road or du ring a show. Insu rance is qu ite
afford able if you consider the cost of replacing all you r equ ipment
you rself, and there is absolu tely no excu se for not gettin g coverage for
you r equ ipment; especially when you are goin g on tou r.
There are many comp anies that offer insu rance, bu t a cou ple of good
places to s tart (in additi on to you r Homeowners insu rance comp any)
inclu de MusicPro Insurance (http ://ww w.mu sicproinsu rance.com) or
Clarion Associates, Inc. (http://www.c larionins.com) .
Make su re you clarify exactly what is covered before you pay for a
policy. You need to be as c lear as possible when desc ribing the natu re of
your needs, including the fact that your equipment will not be in one
place all the time since you are on tou r. Some insu rance companies will
not cover equ ipment that is tak en ou tside you r stu dio or rehears al sp ace,
or they may only cov er i t if its stored in a secu re location. Ask very
specific qu estions before you sign u p.
Try and get p eople in the other ci ties (street teams) to help you pu t
you r CDs on consi gnment in the retai l s tores, as well as hand ou t
promotional samplers and T-shirts to people on the s treet. This type of
promotion will help you get more people to you r shows.
Send gig invitations to the media and other indu stry people in the
cities where you will be performi ng. Invite members of the media to
revi ew you r show and interview you before the sou nd check or after the
show.
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 303
Provide d rink tickets to indu stry people i f you want them to show
u p. Call the local radio stations and see if they can p lay you r mu sic
arou nd the date of the show or condu ct an on-air interview wi th you on
the day you arrive. Send promoti onal posters and fli ers to the venu es to
pu t u p a cou ple of weeks before you r show. Onc e the show dates are
confirmed, su bmit you r tou r itin erari es to Pollstars data proc ess ing
department at tou r_d ates@polls tar.com. There are no gu aran tees to the
entry of you r dates in to their database, bu t once they res earch and c rossreference the d ates you may be inclu ded.
Call and re-con firm all the dates before you embark on the tou r.
S h o w s s o m e t i m e s g e t c a n c e l l e d , o r v e n u e s g o o u t o f bu s i n e s s , a n d t h e la s t
person to know is u su ally the band. Dou ble-check each show befo re you
leav e town, and take a lap top and smart phone with you on the road in
order to s tay abreast of all the latest information .
Page 303
Pay atten tion to freeway gas and food exi ts on the road . For example,
notice how mu ch gas you have when you see the Next Gas Stop: 60
miles si gn.
Pack only what you need . Any extra stu ff will on ly add to the load
and ju nk that you have to hau l, which increases you gas costs in the
long ru n.
Renting heavy mu sical equ ipment (e .g., amps, monito rs, e tc) in each
city might be cheaper (in reduced g as, wear and tear on the vehicle ,
and insurance) than lu gging all y ou r own equ ipment wi th you for the
whole tou r.
Eat and sleep well. Youll play better and have more performance
energy ov er the cou rse of a lon g tou r.
Dont change you r normal eating habits too d ras tically on the road .
Keep all contact in formation on people you meet while on the road ,
inclu ding venu e owners /book ers , p romoters , helpfu l stran gers, retail
store employees, other musicians, etc. You never know when you
need help on the way back or at any other time.
P a g e | 305
Take a tool kit that inclu des flares and a flashli ght. It wi ll c ome in
handy for both your equipment and auto needs.
On the road , brin g an mp3 player, DVD play er, lap top, and some
games to su pplement the mu sic on the radio.
Whenever possible, p ark where you can see / hear the van. Dont let
people see inside your van .
Use bike chains to chain equ ipment cases and bags together inside
your van.
Take a laptop with you . Havin g access to the In ternet while on the
road can be a li fesaver. You can res earch information, c ontac t people
on you r mai ling list, get di recti ons, check the weather and traffic
conditions, update your band web page, send and receive e-mail, and
so on.
Bring along a hand tru ck to help with loading and u n-loading heavy
items.
Carry a firs t-aid ki t and check the expirations dates of i tems where
applicable.
Dont k eep large amou nts of cash on you . Mak e frequ ent bank
deposits when you get paid and u se you r ATM card to wi thdraw
money.
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P a g e | 306
Have a list of all you r equ ipment an d check it before you leave each
destination.
Give each band member a contact li st of all the v enu es, book ers, and
promoters involved in you r tou r. You will have backu ps if you lose
your master list.
Always carry road maps and bring along a GPS device if you have on e
(or rent one).
Make su re you brin g you r medical i nsu rance card with you .
Make su re you have backu p equ ipment (guitar strings, dru mstic ks,
pedals, cables , mic rophones, fuses , picks, extension cords , e tc) in
case you lose or damage something alon g the way .
Carry a sec ond form of identi ficati on for ti mes where that may be
requ ired (e.g . banks , e tc).
Bring along a set of earplu gs and save you r hearing over the cou rse
of a long tou r.
Bring along some extra rolls of toi let paper (no e xplanati on
necessary)!
Shows get canc elled , so hav e a plan -B in place. Mak e su re you have
a way to le t fans know abou t th e can cell ati on (wh ich is wh y you
sh ou ld h ave a l aptop wi th wire less c ard or a s ma rt ph one avai lab le
for updates).
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not
to
have
any
overt
fav oritism
in
the
band.
Consider
P a g e | 308
Pick you r fights among band members carefu lly (based on principle),
and each time an incident arises , consider whether or not it is worth
fighting abou t.
Split u p band du ties so that every member has something to do. If
one
band
member
is
doing
everything
(writing
the
songs,
mailing
asking
for
more
money,
or
even
qu ittin g.
Make
ev ery body
feel
important by giving them something to do. A lso, once you make somebody
in charge of something, let them do their job. Dont tell them to do
s o m e t h i n g a n d t h e n c r i t i c i z e i t a n d s a y h o w mu c h b e t t e r y o u c o u l d h a v e
done it you rself.
As mu ch as possible, try and allo w each person s sec ret talen t to
shine. For example, if the dru mmer has a good voice, work a song into the
set list where they can sing leads or even backgrou nd vocals. Not on ly is it
good for them and the band , bu t it also gives fans a nice su rpris e. If y ou r
gu itar player is also an artist, u se some of thei r art as a stage p rop at y ou r
gigs . Be creative and mak e su re the talent fi ts in with the grou p image and
game p lan.
Nev er, ever brin g u p an argu ment or issu e on s tage du ring a show.
This can be extremely hu miliating and annoying and c an lead to people
qu itting the grou p (or even coming to blows on stage). Always wai t to
address issu es at band meetin gs.
Wh en discu ssing issu es with band memb ers , offer solu tions instead
of argu ments.
Dont harbor i ll feelings for a p rolonged amou nt of time. Issu es are
best dealt with sooner than later. If you bring things u p earlier in a
constru ctive w ay, it wi ll prevent them from blowing u p into major fights .
ARTIST MANAGEMENT MANUAL | 2010 Edition
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P a g e | 309
Try and help each other break dow n equ ipment at the end of a gi g.
Offer to at least help c arry somebody els es equ ipment to the van if y ou
are done with your setup.
When possible, try and hang ou t as a complete band at an all-night
diner after the gig. Doing this bu ilds a kind of kinship that doesnt co me
from merely rehearsing and doing gigs together. You dont have to do this
al l th e tim e, bu t ev ery once in a wh ile you sh ou ld make a point of inviti ng
the whole band ou t after a gi g. Let them know ahead of time so they dont
plan to take off wi th friends or family as soon as y ou re done wi th the
show.
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IN CLOSING
Helping to come u p with strategi es that fu lfill an artists long- term
mu sical dreams and desires is the goal of every profession al artis t
manager.
When the game plan is tailored to fit a particu lar artist and
m a k e s t h e c l i e n t s u c c e s s f u l a n d h a p p y , y o u a r e c r e a t i n g a m u t u al l y
benefici al relationship worth all the time and effort you spend.
Give you r best to each client, or i f you are a self-managed artist,
give the best to you rself. As a man ager you will achieve satisfac tion only
if you pu t you r best ef fo rt f orw a rd each time you sign an artist t o you r
roster. Resist the temptation to bi te off more than you can chew. Kn ow
you r limitati ons, and be h onest with you rsel f in terms of wh at you can
achieve considerin g the resou rces you have available. Nev er think you
know everything, bec au se there is always more to learn. Most of all, en joy
what you do and best of lu ck on all you r mu sical endeav ors!
way."
-Theodor Seuss Geisel ( Dr. Seuss)
B r a n d s , 113
B u r n s i d e D i s t r i b u t i o n , 112, 193
Business Manager, 8
a d d s , 221
s p i n s , 221
C
3
3 6 0 , 36, 48, 81, 82, 84, 99, 103, 104, 105, 117
3 6 0 d e a l s , 48
C c o r p o r a t i o n , 22
C a f e P r e s s , 149, 176
c l o s e c o r p o r a t i o n , 22
c o l l e g e r a d i o , 212
c o m m e r c i a l r a d i o , 216
c o n c e r t l i s t i n g , 267
c o n s i g n m e n t , 186
A & R W o r l d w i d e , 119
Consignment, 186
A D A , 112, 193
c o p y r i g h t b a s i c s , 93
A n t i - P i r a c y C o m p l i a n c e P r o g r a m , 148
c o p y r i g h t n o t i c e s , 145
A r t i s t S h a r e , 138, 307
c o - s o l e p r o p r i e t o r s , 19
c o v e r l e t t e r , 155
C r y s t a l C l e a r M e d i a G r o u p , 148
A c t i v i t i e s ( A P C A ) , 247
D a n K i m p e l , 157
a u d i t , 36
d e m o d e a l , 46
a u d i t i o n i n g , 127
d e v e l o p m e n t d e a l , 47
d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f d e a l s , 46
D i s c M a k e r s , 148
b a c k d o o r , 109
d i s t r i b u t i o n , 185
B a n d & C r e w , 126
d i s t r i b u t i o n d e a l , 49
B a n d L e t t e r , 152, 259
d i s t r i b u t o r , 192
b a n d m e e t i n g , 129
d i s t r i b u t o r s , 192
B a n d M e t r i c s , 116, 166
D r o p c a r d s , 147
B a n d M i x , 126
B a n d p a r t n e r s h i p a g r e e m e n t , 130
b a n d - a n d - b r a n d , 115
B a n d i z e , 14
B i l l b o a r d , 13
b i o , 157
b i o g r a p h y , 156
B M I , 64, 65, 97, 122, 145, 223, 243, 254
B o o k i n g a g e n t s , 59, 225
b r a n d a m b a s s a d o r s , 113
E 1 E n t e r t a i n m e n t D i s t r i b u t i o n U . S , 112, 193
E M I L a b e l S e r v i c e s , 119
EMI Label Services & Caroline
D i s t r i b u t i o n , 112, 193
E M I M u s i c M a r k e t i n g , 112, 193
E P K , 25, 77, 125, 136, 154, 156, 158, 159, 160, 212, 217, 225,
227, 229, 230, 232, 246, 311
e s t a b l i s h g o a l s , 41
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E x t r a M i l e M e r c h , 149, 176, 266
K
k e y - m a n c l a u s e , 39
K i c k s t a r t e r , 138, 307
F a c t s h e e t , 157
F a h r e n h e i t M e d i a G r o u p , 119
L i m i t e d L i a b i l i t y C o m p a n y ( L L C ) , 23
f e e d t h e m u s e , 138, 307
L i m i t e d P a r t n e r s h i p , 20
F i l m & T e l e v i s i o n M u s i c G u i d e , 173
L o a n - o u t C o r p o r a t i o n , 22
f i n d i n g a r t i s t s , 25
F i z z K i c k s , 147, 175
f r e e d o w n l o a d s , 170
m a i l i n g l i s t , 151, 259
m a j o r r e c o r d l a b e l s , 99
m a n a g e m e n t c h a l l e n g e s , 74
g e n e r a l c o r p o r a t i o n , 22
m a n a g e m e n t c o n t r a c t , 29
g e n e r a l p a r t n e r s h i p , 19
m a n a g e r c o m m i s s i o n , 33
G S 1 U S , 146
m a n a g e r i s n o t a c t i n g a s a t a l e n t a g e n t , 36
m a n u f a c t u r e C D s , 146
m a r k e t i n g b o o k , 179
M a s t e r L e a s e D e a l , 51
H a r m o n i a M u n d i U S A , 112, 193
m a s t e r i n g , 141
H a r r y F o x A g e n c y , 63, 97
M e d i a a r e a , 154
H i t Q u a r t e r s , 110
m e d i a o u t r e a c h , 177
H o u s e c o n c e r t s , 251
m e r c h a n d i s i n g , 302
H o w a r d R o s e n P r o m o t i o n , 218
m i x i n g , 141
m o b i l e c a m p a i g n s , 263
m o z e s , 114, 263
M u l t i p l e R i g h t s d e a l s , 48
i m e e m , 165
i n t h e i n d u s t r y p i p e l i n e , 103
M u s i c B u s i n e s s R e g i s t r y , 13
i n d e p e n d e n t r a d i o c a m p a i g n , 212
M u s i c D i r e c t o r , 213
m u s i c i n d u s t r y p r o f e s s i o n a l s , 58
m u s i c l i b r a r i e s , 64, 140, 173
15
I n d i e V e n u e B i b l e , 124, 227
i n s u r a n c e , 14, 22, 43, 235, 253, 275, 276, 279, 284, 299,
M V D E n t e r t a i n m e n t G r o u p , 112, 194
M y R o c k e t S c i e n c e , 119
I R M A , 148
I S R C , 142
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P a g e | 313
N a x o s o f A m e r i c a , 112, 194
R e d e y e D i s t r i b u t i o n , 112, 194
N e u r o t i c M e d i a , 119
r e l e a s e d a t e , 150
N e x t B i g S o u n d , 165, 231
R e v i e w Y o u , 158
N i e l s e n S o u n d S c a n , 149, 284
r i n g t o n e s , 263
Road manager, 9
O a s i s D i s c M a n u f a c t u r i n g , 148
O p t i o n d e a l s , 49
O u r S t a g e , 139, 248, 309
s a m p l e r , 261
S e l l M e r c h , 149, 176
S e l l a B a n d , 139, 308
S E S A C , 64, 65, 97, 223, 254
p a r t n e r s h i p , 19
s h o w c a s e s , 252
P a y - t o - P l a y , 238
Performance Rights Organizations (PROs),
222
S i n g l e s D e a l , 48
S l i c e t h e p i e , 138, 307
S o c i a l n e t w o r k i n g , 164
Personal manager, 8
s o l e p r o p r i e t o r s h i p , 17
p h o t o g r a p h s , 156
P l a n e t a r y G r o u p , 218
P o l l s t a r , 13, 58
P o w e r A m p M u s i c , 138, 307
p o w e r o f a t t o r n e y , 32
S o u n d O u t , 139
s p e c i a l t y / m i x s h o w s , 216
S p o n s o r s , 299
P r e s s c l i p p i n g s , 158
p r e s s k i t , 154
P r e s s i n g & D i s t r i b u t i o n ( P & D ) d e a l , 50
Production manager, 9
P r o g r a m D i r e c t o r , 213
s t r u c t u r e y o u r m a n a g e m e n t b u s i n e s s , 17
S u b c h a p t e r S C o r p o r a t i o n , 23
s u b m i s s i o n p o l i c i e s , 179
s u b s c r i p t i o n , 176
P u b l i c D o m a i n , 140
s u n s e t c l a u s e , 34
P u b l i c i s t s , 66, 143
S u p e r D I n d e p e n d e n t D i s t r i b u t i o n , 112, 194
s u p p o r t t e a m , 44
Q u o t e s h e e t , 158
t a s t e m a k e r s , 169
T a t e M u s i c G r o u p , 112, 194
T e c h n i c a l M a n a g e r , 10
r a d i o p r o m o t i o n , 219
T h e M o u n t a i n A p p l e C o m p a n y , 112, 194
r e c o r d p o o l s , 171
r e c o r d i n g c o n t r a c t s d e f i n i t i o n , 47
r e c o r d i n g y o u r m u s i c , 138
t h e s i x t y o n e , 139
R E D D i s t r i b u t i o n , 112, 194
Tour manager, 9
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t o u r i n g , 304
T r a v e l V i d e o S t o r e . c o m , 113, 194
v e n u e b o o k e r , 9, 124, 154, 228, 230, 237, 277, 280, 294,
T V T R e c o r d s , 113, 194
311
T w i t t e r , 165
V e n u e b o o k e r s , 224
V o l u n t e e r L a w y e r s f o r t h e A r t s , 30
122
U n i v e r s a l M u s i c G r o u p D i s t r i b u t i o n , 113, 194
W E A C o r p , 113, 194
U P C , 142, 146
W o r d - o f - m o u t h , 168
u P l a y a , 142
u p s t r e a m d e a l s , 49
u p s t r e a m e d , 110
Y o u T u b e , 25, 88, 105, 116, 121, 160, 163, 164, 165, 169,
173, 174, 227, 261, 264, 292
.com/go/mu sic
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