Managing to Manage Your Career

Are you the best person to help avoid those Spinal Tap moments - or do you need professional management?

An artist’s work is never done. That’s borrowing from an old colloquialism, but it certainly applies to the fledgling artist’s career. The proverbial question for any artist or band is when do I need some help? For all the effort required to create something commercial, marketable or appealing, there's an equal effort that goes into managing or administrating said career. There are two pivotal issues to consider in deciding whether you or your band need management.

• Is your administration starting to bog down your creation?
• Is there really anything to manage?

Let’s take a look at a few of the tasks that someone in (or out of) the organization has to take care of for the band to really flourish consistently. It might shed some light on the subject to hear a take from Ian Faith, the infamous band manager in Spinal Tap.

Ian Faith: "For one thing [i do] that goes wrong...one...one single thing that goes wrong, a hundred things go right. Do you know what I spend my time doing? I sleep two or three hours a night. There's no sex and drugs for Ian, David. Do you know what I do? I find lost luggage. I locate mandolin strings in the middle of Austin!"

As Ian laments, band management can be a thankless job - but someone has to do it. Here are some of the functions an administrator or manager provides:

• Artist Representation – a manager is the frontline spokesperson for the band. He or she represents the artist in fiscal decisions, directional planning, and is the official liaison in business dealings.
• Promotional Coordination – managers plan and coordinate publicity or promotional activities. Effective promotion requires persistence and constant advocacy. Like Ian says, it’s really the manager’s work that is never done – it just changes locations.
• Booking Coordination – although management can sometimes be involved in booking arrangements, in some states it is illegal to manage and book a band simultaneously. Yet realistically, management works hand in hand with the booking efforts and coordinates as the artist's representative.
• Production and Merchandise Management – a manager works with merchandising and fulfillment for the artist. As I’ve alluded in prior articles here at HC, merchandising can be a significance revenue resource for a band or artist. It’s logical that the management is at the helm of these decisions.
• Artist Development – a manager is involved in the development and enhancement of all aspects of the artistry of an act. Costuming, choreography, branding, health and personal maintenance are all significant to helping an artist not just maintain but flourish.
• Personnel Coordination – behind any successful career is a crew of hard-working employees that are delegated responsibilities by someone in management. Someone has to coordinate the worker bees.

If your creativity is being impacted by the preceding administrative tasks, perhaps it’s time to consider some help. But before your start trolling for your own Ian Faith – is there enough revenue to justify the commissioned work of a manager?

Most managers are compensated with a percentage of the revenue generated by the artists they represent. If your band is working for $500 per night at the local VFW, you’ll definitely have difficulty finding a professional management firm to coordinate with the veteran working the door for your cash. Typically, a manager will receive 10 to 15 percent of the gross revenue from an artist being represented. Therefore, it’s not fiscally sound for a manager to commit time and resources when there's no legitimate potential for compensation. You might even consider that if you're looking for someone to help you make wise business choices, would you want to align with someone who makes poor business choices for themselves?

Ultimately, the best person to manage your business might be who you see in the mirror. No one has more skin in the game than you do. Even if you eventually develop enough of a career to need outside management, you still need to be able to oversee your career and strategic business decisions. The history of rock and roll is littered with story after story of inept artists being taken advantage of and exploited by bad managers. Develop some great self-management habits early on by following some of the above management tasks, and you'll be on the way to managing your own career. As always, my friends, manage wisely.

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_{Chris Marion is an American musician best known as a member of Little River Band and for his contribution to the gospel and country music industries. Although graduating college with a B.A. in Psychology, he is a classically trained pianist and has worked in the music industry professionally for over 35 years. As a resident of Nashville, he is involved in the recording industry working in the genres of Gospel, Country and Rock.  Since 2004, he has toured globally with the classic rock act Little River Band as a keyboardist and vocalist.  For more useless trivia and minutiae concerning Chris or to contact him directly, feel free to visit his personal website www.chrismarionmusic.com.}