Artist Point Of View II
OK, so you’ve made the rounds, and you’ve built yourself a reputation in your town. People are starting to call you for gigs, music, and appearances. You need to start working on new music, update your facebook, twitter, blog, and a half dozen other social networks as well as your website. AND you’re still working that crappy job because you have to still pay your bills. This is getting to be to much. You need help, NOW!
This may be the time you start looking for management. But how do you find one. And not just any one, but a GOOD manager? That answer depends on your situation. If you’ve really done a good job networking and getting to know the people in the industry in your hometown, then ask them. Many times you’ll hear the same names thrown out there over and over again. Or, you may have the perfect candidate already with you. Is there someone who’s around you that seems to promote you as much as you do? Someone who’s at all of your events helping you setup and breakdown? They may be the one to help you out.
If you’ve read part I of this series, then you may remember that I said managers are often the ones with the connections, know how, and money. But that doesn’t always have to be the case! More important than anything else, who ever you choose for management, you can trust them. If the trust is there, you can work through the rest. There are strong advantages for choosing a manager that”s been around you for awhile. They know you’re work habits, which makes it easier to schedule things for you. They know your aspirations, so choosing the right opportunities is smoother. They know all, or at least most, of the things you are and are not willing to do to succeed. And that chemistry is vital in any good artist/manager relationship.
The main mistake I see many artist make when choosing managers, is choosing them for the wrong reasons. Picking your friend because they’re around you a lot is just as foolish as picking someone you don’t know because they make a lot of empty promises to you. In the end, NO ONE will care about your career more than you…so treat it that way, and be smart about who you finally do decide on. Test people in smaller roles to see how they handle it and what they can actually deliver before committing to a long term arrangement with them. If you are still going to have to oversee or micro manage everything that’s happening in your career, that person probably isn’t the one.
