Artist Management for the Music Business This page intentionally left blank Artist Management for the Music Business Paul Allen AMSTERDAM BOSTON HEIDLEBERG LONDON NEW YORK OXFORD PARIS SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO SINGAPORE SYDNEY TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Acquisitions Editor: Catharine Steers Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison Project Manager: M nica Gonz lez de Mendoza Assistant Editor: Dave Bowers Marketing Manager: Christine Degon Veroulis Book Production: Borrego Publishing (www.borregopublishing.com) Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK 2007 Paul Allen. Published by Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elseviers Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, E-mail: [email protected]. You may also complete your request online via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by select- ing Support & Contact then Copyright and Permission and then Obtaining Permissions. Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Allen, Paul. Artist management for the music business / Paul Allen. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-240-80924-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Music trade--United States. 2. Music--Economic aspects. 3. Performing arts--Vocational guidance. I. Title. ML3790.A45 2007 780.68--dc22 2007020282 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 13: 978-0-240-80924-3 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com 07 08 09 10 11 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii Considering artist management as a profession xiii Be creative, informed and connected xiii Understand people and business xiv 1 Principles of Management for the Artist Manager 1 Functions of management 2 Planning 2 Organizing 3 Leading and directing 3 Controlling 4 Artist management skills and personal traits 4 Understanding human nature 5 Leadership 5 Coaching 5 Networking 6 Social 6 Communication 7 Other skills 7 Building a career in artist management 9 References 9 2 Preparing to Manage 11 Management is part of a big business 11 Acquiring the knowledge 13 Understanding the nature of artist management 13 Making decisions 14 Managing pressure 14 Managers are inconspicuous 17 An understanding of power in the music business 18 The power of money 18 The power of access 19 v Contents The power of your latest success 20 The power of your body of work 20 The responsibility to give back 20 The manager as an entrepreneur 20 References 21 3 The Artist: Preparing to Be Managed 23 Being commercial is not selling out 23 Know who you are artistically 24 Get experience 25 Build a network 25 Be professional 26 Be prepared for management 26 References 28 4 Lessons in Artist Management: Colonel Parker to Sharon Osbourne 29 Tom Parker 29 Rene Angelil: Targeting 31 Michael Jeffreys: Con icts of interest 32 Peter Grant: A shared belief between the artist and the manager 33 Herbert Breslin: Promoting your artist 35 Joe Simpson: Manage by the Boy Scout motto 36 Jon Landau: Keeping a business focus 37 Bob Doyle: Using your network 38 Andrew Loog Oldham: Exploit your artists talents 39 Johnny Wright: A matter of timing 40 Lou Pearlman: A matter of trust 40 Sharon Osbourne 42 References 42 5 The Artist Management Contract 45 Negotiating the contract 45 The length of the contract 46 The managers services to the artist 47 Exclusivity 48 Power of attorney 49 The managers payment for services 49 Earnings following the contract period 50 The managers expenses 51 Other sections 52 Contracting with a minor 53 A contract 54 References 54 vi Contents 6 Planning: A Primer for the Artist Manager 55 Setting and achieving goals 56 Planning a personal budget for the artist 57 Planning and budgeting an event 59 An event plan 61 A sample budget 64 Planning tools 66 References 67 7 The Artist as a Business 69 Understanding target markets 69 De ning an artists target market 70 Ways to view market segments 70 Branding and image 71 The artists support team 73 Booking agent 73 Attorney 74 Publicist 74 Business advisors 75 Alternative forms of business for the artist 76 Proprietorship 76 Partnership 77 Corporation 77 Limited Liability Company or partnership (LLC) 77 The Internet: A primer for the artist manager 78 A brief history 78 What is the World Wide Web? 79 The importance of a domain name 79 A URL 80 Web hosting services 80 Content 81 Mining the Internet for information 82 References 83 8 Income From Live Performance 85 Booking the performance 86 Business management of live performances 87 Tour management 89 Promoting the performance 91 The promoter 92 The performance contract 93 Merchandise 94 International touring 97 College tours 98 References 99 vii Contents 9 Income From Songwriting 101 Song publishing 101 Income from songwriting 103 Income from song performance 105 Publishing as a negotiating asset 106 References 106 10 Income From Recording 107 Recording for large labels 108 Income and expenses for the artist from a recording contract 109 Creating and paying for the recording 109 Artists income 110 The role of the producer 113 Other expenses charged to the artist 114 Things for which the label customarily pays 115 Current trends in contracts for recording artists 116 A changing model for major labels? 118 Artists who record for independent labels 118 Its business 120 The role of radio in the recording artists income 121 The business of radio 121 The charts 123 College radio 124 Sponsorships, endorsements, television, motion pictures 124 References 126 11 Conducting Business for the Artist 127 Presenting the artist for a recording contract: An exercise in time management 127 Going for the record deal 128 Know the purpose of the meeting and do the homework 129 Prepping for the meeting 130 Planning for results 131 Budget the time 133 Practice the meeting 134 The meeting 134 Should the artist attend the meeting? 136 Ending the meeting 136 Ethics and payola 137 Ethics 137 Payola 138 References 139 viii Contents 12 The Artist Career Plan 141 An introduction to the plan 141 About the artist 144 Musical genre 144 Biography 145 Talents 145 Experience 145 Uniqueness of the artist 146 Evaluation of the artist 146 Strengths and weaknesses of the artist 147 Opportunities and threats 147 Action points based on this evaluation 147 Evaluation of the manager 147 Strengths and weaknesses of the manager 148 Opportunities and threats 148 Con icts of interest 148 Establishment of goals and timelines 149 Major goals for the artist and sample strategies and tactics to achieve them 149 Goals supporting major goals (subordinate to major goals) and sample strategies and tactics to achieve them 150 Setting timelines 150 Development of a marketing plan 152 The state of the industry 152 The target market for the artist 153 Detailed plans to reach the target 154 Business framework 155 Form of the business 155 Personnel requirements 155 Insurance 155 Other 156 The nancial plan 156 A personal budget for the artist 156 Budget for career plan 156 Exit strategy 157 The artist in a mature career 157 Planning by the manager to end the relationship 158 The plan outline 159 References 162 13 Coaching, Leadership and Final Advice 163 Coaching 164 Leadership 166 Final advice 169 References 170 ix