So you are an independent band or musician looking to score your first record deal – no major labels of course, but a cool indie like ANTI- or Engine Room or Kelp Records. You’ve self-funded your EP, you’re drawing around 200 a show and you’ve heard your song on the radio for the first time. You’ve even been hearing rumours that A&R reps have been spotted at your shows. You are so incredibly ready for this next step – but the offers aren’t coming in and now you are wondering why?
The sad truth is that it could quite possibly be your management. The reason that it is a sad truth is because at this stage of your career your manager(s) are likely 1) A parent 2) A spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/romantic entanglement 3) A sibling 4) Your best friend from high school who you love but couldn’t let into the actual band because he is tone deaf. It is also quite likely that your manager has never been near the music industry and that their own record/cd/iTunes collection consists mostly of Stevie Wonder, KISS and/or the Backstreet Boys. You brought them on as manager because you love them or they are family, but at this crucial stage in your career they could be doing more harm than good. In some cases your management alone may be the reason you don’t have record labels beating down your door with contracts.
Among A&R folks, tiny label execs and others responsible for sealing the deal with indie bands a good quarter of the “ones that got away” stories shared centre around really strange experiences with management. From managers that ask at the first meeting whether the label is willing to sign a 10 album deal to managers that draw up riders including demands for unlimited Taco Bell expenses there seems to be no line that hasn’t been crossed by either a well-meaning but naive/uninformed manager or a greedy one. Even when a label rep is willing to muddle through a terrible management situation and are willing to put an offer in front of the band (which invariably includes the replacement of management) he or she is often turned down. The band explains that they can’t possibly let their current manager go even though in so many cases they are making as logical an argument as “No doctor, please don’t cast my broken leg, I like the way the bones look just as they are”.
So independent bands of the world, whether you are looking to justify keeping on current management, searching for a new management (possibly after finding the above paragraphs hit a little too close to home) or want to find out where it all went wrong I present to you (in no particular order) the list of: 10 Things Your Management Needs to be Doing For You if They Aren’t Doing It Already
1) Making Sure Your Band Does Not Murder One Another
Seems like a given, I know, but one of the primary purposes of management is to ensure your band stays happily together. This includes breaking tension when necessary, helping band members resolve disputes and ensuring that as best as possible the needs of individuals are being met insofar as they don’t infringe on the needs of the group. To be able to do this effectively they need to know you as individuals – what makes you tick, where are your buttons and who’s most likely to be pushing them.
2) Not Scaring Away Label Representatives Interested in Talking to You
Again, straightforward given the lead-in to this list. Your manager shouldn’t be making demands at the first meeting and should be both polite and respectful to A&R if they introduce themselves at the end of a show. Perhaps most importantly they should be clean and (at least relatively) sober at the end of your show, prepared to talk business if the opportunity presents itself. While there are some who don’t mind snorting lines off of dirty bar mirrors, the overwhelming majority (99% at least) wants to see some signs of responsibility and dependability.
3) Making Sure You Get Paid After Gigs
Though not as big of a problem as it used to be, there still exists many a venue that will attempt to rip musicians off. Make sure your manager is aware of the payment agreement for the night (set amount, percentage of door, whole door, free show etc.) and ensures that this agreement is fulfilled. If you’ve agreed on a percentage or the whole door than this means that as best as possible you manager should be gauging the number of people in the place so that if you are pumping up a crowd of 200 you don’t get paid for a crowd of 60 at the end of the night.
4) Putting Together Your “Real Life” and Your “Electronic Press Kit” (EPK)
Your EPK is your lifeline as an independent band. It is what allows you to differentiate yourself from everyone else looking for the same opportunities. It allows labels, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, festival organizers and sometimes even this big-deal bloggers get to know the real you. There are a lot of online services that will guide your manger through the process step by step so there is really no excuse for them not to be doing this. If you have never seen an EPK before check out Children’s Entertainer Bruce Cambell’s: http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=154842. PS: As a band MAKE SURE that your CONTACT INFO has been included (I wouldn’t mention it if it wasn’t a common problem).
5) Getting You Gigs
In the early stages of your career you likely don’t have/can’t afford both a manager and a booking agent. Because your manager (hopefully) wants you to succeed, they normally take on these duties. This means that THEY call potential venues for you (because if you haven’t noticed the key places to play often won’t even talk to bands if a member of the band itself makes the call). This means that they ensure that when they have found you a gig (or a gig has found you) a solid payment agreement is in place and that you will have what you need to play. For example if you have a pianist – they should make sure the venue has/can get a piano for you (unless your baby grand fits in your mother’s minivan). You aren’t Mariah Carey or Gene Simmons so this doesn’t include making sure the venue has champagne filled dressing rooms or bowls of green M&Ms.
6) Keeping Your Calendar
Your manager should be keeping track of everything you are doing (related to the band) and everything you have done. They should know when all of your upcoming gigs, press interviews, photo shoots practices etc. are and they should be willing/able to send reminders when need be.
7) Submitting Your Music to (Public/Independent/Uni-College) Radio Stations
Something normally done for larger bands by an artist development agent, in the early stages of your career it is a duty generally assumed by your management. This means finding out exactly what the radio station wants in a package, how they want to receive it, who it should be sent to and making sure it gets there during the preparation stages for a new cycle of music (usually around the 12-15th of the month). If you have an in with a DJ they should be using it. If the station is playing similar artists, knowing to mention that in the introductory note. If you are submitting to a station that is out of town, letting them know when your band is playing in that town so that they can help generate some hype or interview you while you are there if they are really keep on you.
8 ) Applying for Festivals
SXSW accepts applications and so does NXNE. In fact a lot of festivals do. Your manager should know this and should have the deadlines etched into his or her arm (not really but close). They should know about the nature of the festival, know how to spin you as the best fit for the festival and about the bands that have played the festival in the past 3-5 years (Have you opened for any of them? Can you call them and ask for advice on how to apply for this festival or whether this festival is worth applying to?) With so many music festivals springing up, there are tons of opportunities for bands to get out there, even if it is first thing in the morning.
9) Applying for Artist Development Grants
If you live in a fantastic country such as Canada then your government may offer some funding to help struggling artists (including musical artists) get out there. There are grants to help cover the cost of travel, grants to help with the creation of videos or websites and even grants to help you navigate the copyright/intellectual property process. A good manager will not only know about these things, but will be in contact with granting organizations to determine dates/deadlines/application requirements/eligibility etc. If your manager isn’t an excellent writer, then this is an area where they should be shopping the work out to someone else.
10) Dealing With Your Social Media
Even where band members tweet to a common account, blog on MySpace etc., your manager should at least make sure that you have a presence in these places, that fans are being engaged with and that important information is being shared (Is a gig cancelled? New ep out? Etc.) If your manager pulls out a dusty photograph album when you ask to see the Facebook page he’s created you are in trouble.
Now that you know what your manager should be doing it might be a good time to have a few words with him or her. Hopefully these few words aren’t “You are fired”, but even if they are remember it might be for the best. If it’s someone you love, they should still love you even if you have ‘creative differences’. The important thing to remember is that while a label can always sign another band you might not be able to sign another label. There is a musical surplus and sometimes difficult decisions must be made if you want to be one of the lucky ones.
When the A&R Rep is Intoxicated – I know that a lot of people who have worked/are working in the industry (including myself) keep a policy of not drinking at shows, whether on-duty or not. (because you sometimes find good music where you least expect it, it is quite important to keep a level head). That being said there are also a fair number A&R reps who do not keep this policy. If you run into an A&R rep at a show and they are unable to stand, form complete sentences or are dancing on the bar there is an exceptionally high likelihood that they are off-duty and even if they are not, they WILL NOT remember you come the morning.
At a Children’s Birthday Party – This applies whether the child whose birthday is being celebrated is the A&R rep’s or not. Everyone likes to let loose a little bit – maybe make some balloon animals, maybe see a magician pull a rabbit out of his hat – and a birthday party is a great environment to do that. Generally if at a children’s birthday party, the A&R rep is consciously trying to be “in the moment” and demonstrate to family/friends that they do have their priorities in order. Spending 30 minutes trying to get you to go away impedes upon their ability to do this. Accosting someone at a children’s party is tacky in general and it goes double if you try to sing that new song about you’re girlfriend leaving you for “the Puma*” in front of a crowd of starry-eyed 6 year-olds.
5. At a Funeral – This is quite possibly the tackiest place to try to slip your new LP into the right hands. It is extremely hard to gauge how bereaved a person is at a funeral (body language and emotional state are not necessarily aligned) so even if you are willing to brave tackiness for your shot at fame and stardom, there is a 99.9% chance that even broaching the topic will leave a sour taste in any A&R rep’s mouth. Do you want to be included in “The Dirt-Bag Hall of Fame”? No. Then don’t even think about it.
