Artist's Guide to Music Managers (Part 1)

Introduction

One would admit that the music industry is a very hostile place; a place where no one is truly safe from the consequences of failure and in particular failure to make money. This was as evident as ever in 2009 when British major label giant EMI reported it had lost almost two point five billion dollars; just a few years later and it was all over. In this ever changing environment many industry professionals agree that knowledge of the business has become more and more important for anyone working or hoping to work in music.

for many up and coming artists DIY is the norm. Ninety-nine percent of bands start this way, they put on their own shows, promote them, write the music and often organise and sell their own merchandise. However, eventually as artists begin attract a bigger audience these tasks can become more and more time consuming, this is where music managers come in. These are honest, experienced individuals who are there to ensure that from a businesspersons point of view, the artist is on track and making money.

when bands first start out many choose members of their friends or family to have as their managers, the only problem with this is that it could be considered that choosing a manager this way could mean a band misses out on some real experience and know-how.

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Whilst this is a good thing to look for when choosing a manager, experience is not always necessary to create a success story. In fact there are many examples of incredibly successful artists being managed by people with little to no experience of the music industry at all and that still prove to be very effective at their job. One example of this is with the legendary music manager Brian Epstein famous for managing the Beatles from 1962 - 1967 when he died. Epstein always wanted to be an actor before dropping out of university to re-evaluate his professional life; whilst working at a music store near the Cavern in Liverpool, it was here that he came across the Beatles and after getting to know them eventually became their manager. Another common route that many successful artists managers have taken in their early stages was starting low and working their way up. One example of this would be Sharon Osbourne, Sharon started out working as a receptionist for her dad, the renown music promoter Don Arden. eventually she made her way up through the company and started working as a promoter herself. By this time her dad had started managing Black Sabbath and when Ozzy Osbourne was kicked out of the band due to drug addiction she became his personal manager.

George Capon

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