The Management Shuffle...An Ugly Dance!

Management companies are a dime a dozen but some of them are better than others.  There are different levels of management, from personal management to business management, local to international.  Each of them have their respective levels of talent.  Most managers start out locally managing an artist in their home town booking gigs, printing flyers, setting interviews, managing the web pages, etc... This is a person of many hats in an artists life.  As managers grow they become tour managers and then national managers, finally partnering with another group to give the artist an international edge.  So goes the progression of management.

I watched an interesting transaction take place recently between two management groups and an artist and thought I would share some of the particulars of the situation as they are funny and fall right in line with our ethics topics.  For discussion's sake we will call the management companies A and B just to keep them straight.  Management company A had been working with an artist for 9 months, in that time A had quadrupled the artists fan base, actual fan base, had a fully functional website up and operational and had been shopping the artist to a national management companies and booking the artist with national level acts.

After several interested agencies passed on the artist, a company B came along which management team A introduced to the artist, that was well spoken and pushed all the pleasure spots for the artist.  Everything seemed to be moving well in the transition until B went directly to the artist and began planting a wedge between A and the artist directly.  Soon insinuations of untrustworthiness began making their way between them.  The he said she said dance is one of little benefit to anyone except the instigator.  In this case B told the artist they would not work with A so the artist complied.  Manager A was out in the cold and B dropped the artist within 2 weeks, in which time B's Publicist managed to get black listed from Live Nation Corporate due to unethical circumvention attempts.  Because the artist was unable to coordinate everything that A was doing the entire relationship fell apart.

If you are an artist make sure you really get to know the people that you are working with.  If you do not have faith in the manager you work with let them go.  You have to sign a contract with anyone otherwise you could inadvertently and unintentionally hurt those that have put the time and energy into your career.  These black balling management games are ugly and unwelcome in the music industry and I warn you all to be aware of the core driving force behind everyone you meet or choose the have business relations with.

Pay to What? Maybe! But only...

I have been asked repeatedly what my opinions are on pay to play.  The can of worms opens and here are my thoughts....

It saddens me to think that artistry is something that has become so commercialized that a venue owner would charge a band to make him money on his bar.  I mean hats off to a bar owner that has such a hopping establishment that bands actually want to pay to play the venue.  That isn't the case for just any bar however and as such should be considered when looking a gigs to play.  Never do it, if a promoter isn't making enough to pay bands well, then they aren't doing what needs to be done to make a successful show.   However, if the exposure is great enough 2,000 plus people each night and the band can still sell their merchandise at the event, then that situation is an exception to my rules.  And if you aren't making money by the 3rd trip through a market then you need to re-evaluate your talent pool.

If anyone at the lower echelons of musical society asks you to pay to play it's not worth it and you should run like hell.  The only other exception should be if you are paying for the promotions and reaping a percentage of the profit.  So many of these places ask you to buy presale tickets and resell them.  That is also not a professional show.  There has to be a good promoter, a solid theme and a gimmick or four.  Pay to play is just a way for someone else to profit off your hard work unless the promoter is Live Nation or AEG.

I found that the music industry is 75% money and 25% good music.  Sometimes you have to pay $5,000 to get onto a tour.  Not supposed to be ethical but happens all the time in this industry with backdoor deals and secret hand shakes.  Paying for radio time, face time and favors has become second nature yet in a crumbling economy people begin to question the importance of money.  The Gen Yer's 79-95 are getting ready to enter the upper echelons of these industries and with it bring a new era of integrity to the playing field.  Much of the pettiness will no longer be tolerated by most.  The US consumer and the mighty dollar make the world go round right now but soon they will no longer serve that purpose.

Enjoy playing and make wise pay to play decisions.  Always national always directly with larger name promoters and competitions.  The more people hear you the more people will want you.  Get on Pandora and pay for space.  Get on Billboard and other online music sites.  Those things pay off right now.  And pay to get on 5 dates with National Acts if you have to.   Promotion! PR! Placement!

Cheers!
Mel

Who is Rachel James?

Over the years I have worked with many musicians and over those years I always told myself that if I found one that was appreciative and business minded that I would manage that artist.  Many artists quickly develop this ego that separates them from their fans once faced with the pressures of performance.  Rachel James stood out to me in the very beginning as I listened to her speak about her music and the importance of family.  Her music is so emotionally intelligent and the melodies so fantastic that I couldn't help listening over and over.

I invited her to lunch and we hit it off, talking about family and friends.  Her energy was calming and yet determined all at the same time.  I knew this woman had the tenacity and strength of character to succeed in a failing music industry and working with her this past year has shown be a few key things about human character and ethics.  

Rachel has always gone out of her way to make everyone she comes in contact with feel like they are important.  She has a knack for putting a smile on people's faces with her ad-lib humor and facial expressions, believe it or not, reminiscent of Cory Taylor's goof ball persona.  Here's just a candid snapshot we took during one of her photoshoots.  

One of Rachel's biggest strengths is her songwriting.  She has been asked to participate in numerous projects partly because she has been blessed with a natural ability to arrange melodies and lyrics together in catchy tunes.  Every song could be a hot with the right marketing behind her.  

Rachel James was raised in a family of 4 children of which she is the eldest.  Her fascination with music started at a young age as she took up voice and piano at 6 years old.  Music has held her as a muse since she was 5 years old learning piano and voice at the onslaught of her tutelage.   She found her voice and that drive sustained her passions through the tumultuous teen years.  Always ready to perform Rachel was asked to join Tiffany Vartanyan on the Acquire the Fire tour during her freshman year in college.   As a Colorado Native her roots kept her close to home for college as CSU saw her graduate with a BA in Journalism.   It wasn’t long before music came courting again. 

The last two years she has performed to thousands, written hundreds of songs, played festivals such as VANSWarped Tour and SXSW gigging with musicians like Sherwood, Dillinger Escape Plan and the Pretty Reckless.  Currently she is shopping for label representation and will entertain all offers within reason.  

Introduction to my philosophies!

Looking at the world we live in, twisted and tangled with hidden agendas, I find solace in truth and knowledge.  The music industry is no different, than the corrupt back offices of the business world.  Even at the lower echelons of local music scenes, the very core of who people are is shaken by choices to get ahead or screw someone over.  Some artists follow very ethical practices and many just want people to listen and enjoy their music.  Talented kids can be a prime target for scammers as many don't know the ropes yet, and scams have gotten much more sophisticated.  This blog is your place for the Ethical REVOLUTION in music happening right now amongst those who realize money is just an empty promise to spend it.  Money is the byproduct of an economic system that continues to contract and fail to meet the needs of a starving population. 

How then is music to survive in an ailing economy?  There are many theories and business plans I have seen that are changing the face of this industry for the better.  However, many of them are still highly dependent on money.  In the Independent scene we have found sites like "Indie on the Move" that help bands book their own tours and at times find lodging for artists that need a little extra help.  Most low level bands are happy to do something like this.  Big name artists require ridiculous amounts of money and resources for one person.  Instead, how insanely amazing would it be to see Lady Gaga crashing at your pad in your spare room for free while you cook her breakfast in the morning.  What a cool reward to offer fans and it saves money on expenses.   These expenses are only a fraction of the issue.  

Artists have seen a rapid decline in the money funneling back into the coffers partly because of the dwindling percentages and partially due to the increase in illegal downloads.  Asking the public to stop getting things for free is like telling them they have to take a pay cut unfortunately and much more daunting a task than one realizes.  The only way to truly change any of the problems we have seen with digital distribution is with companies like apple and other companies that are providing proprietary software to track how many times an artist gets played.  Sites like myspace, reverbnation, Facebook and others have to disallow free downloading.   Musicians will ultimately form a stronger union and understanding about business and the need to remove that FREE expectation from the consumers vocabulary.  By downloading illegally consumers are shoplifting from their favorite artists. Remember rockstars are just people who play music better than everyone else but they are just people like you and I. 

Next week I will provide a detailed look at pay to play philosophies and how certain practices are harming artists even more.