Did you say you do music?
The truth about real music artist is that they are business owners. Do be mistaken into thinking a career in music is all just fun and games. This article will emphasis the importance of choosing a manager or a coach to guide you through your career.
With so many artists out there on the music scene today its a surprise more of them havent linked up to guide each other through the process of selling songs for serious money. We have a whole culture of independent thinkers who have no clue how an independent movement can benefit them in the short and long term life of things. Managers are great for your career when you have reached that level of success that you can no longer be independent. As money grows so does responsiblity and when responsibility grows so does liability (the ability to lose what you have). Managers dont just manage an artists career they manage the whole life of the artist. They know how to make money with music because of contacts they have already established a familiarity with. In the early stages of your career it is completely unneccesary to look for a manager to put in the work you should be putting in as a rookie in the game. If you still want a manager then think about this before selecting one. Managers should never be paid upfront with money from your pocket, managers work for a percentage of what they help you bring in from agreements they book. For instance if a manager has a paid show scheduled for you everyday for the next week then a manager is entitled to a agreed upon percentage of those earnings. It is acceptable that the manger get paid first and pay you from what is left over after they have their percentage. If your at your gigs (that the manager booked) but you sell your own cds at the paid gig then you dont have to pay them (the manager) for those cd sales unless the two of you came up with an agreement stating otherwise. So remember also that its all about the agreement you sign with them. Thats a manager but a coach is a little different, coaches might require you to pay up front but you dont have an obligation to fulfill any contracts to use their services. If there is a contract expressing some type of commitment to a coach me personally I would stay away from a situation like that but each person has their own preference so I am not telling you what to do. Coaches are their to guide you in the right direction not really to push you, pull you and force you into success where as a manager kind of forces success on you. A coach will check in with you every now and then to see if you need help, they bring a more passive approach to the situation. Whereas a manager is going to be very aggressive and instrumental in your success. Having a coach lets you stay independent and make your own decisions but with a manager, you can say no to something you dont agree with and a manager could walk out on you and your career. Then you have to find another person to pick up where the last person left off and hope they have the same skills to do it. Finding a good manager is not an easy task but it is not a need in the beginning stages of your career unless you want to focus exclusively on shows. Managers could book shows while you practice and make your hits. With a coach they will give you advice when you need it and even give you direct resources of credible contacts to get you real results. Think about this: A manager just booked you a show for 500 dollars and you have an agreement to pay them 20% for their services. They get their 100 dollars, the show was a success but you only hear from them once a month. How can that benefit you? If you had a coach to show you how to do it and point you in the right direction you could book your own shows three times a week and keep the whole five hundred as opposed to paying a manager. The thing is you have to make time to do it, so ask yourself this “is it better to pay someone 100 bucks to get more time, or keep the 20% and use my time to do it all myself”. With a coach you can learn how to do it and teach someone to do it the way you need it done and negotiate your own terms. You will have effectively helped somebody else by giving them a job, helped yourself stay independent and keep more of your money, and helped your business to grow a little faster by delgating tasks that would not get done as fast with one person.
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