Your Support Team

As an indie you are left to formulate and strategically plan for many things. Of the many things you will have to do, without a question, formulating your inner circle of support for your career is the most important. The team you form will be just as important to your success as the music you make, if not more. Today’s industry is driven by lawyers, publicist, managers, and agents more than ever before. If you cannot put these key elements together right, your chances of
making it to the Big Time are slim.
The first key person in your team should be the manager. Naturally, unless you have incredible skills and are already somewhat known you shouldn’t expect to reach the top managers of the industry. This is due to the fact that managers are actually hired by you. You are the one that pays them. If you aren’t proven to be profitable or able to show that you’re an amazing talent, there is no reason for them to pay you any attention early on. However, it is still key to have a
manager. A manager is the person that will lay out your course of actions, keep you focused, and go the extra mile to get you out there, again due to the fact that its through your success that they reach their own. In your early days a manager could simply be a relative or friend that you absolutely TRUST to handle all business and financial happenings. They should preferably have at least a little industry knowledge, but most of all believe in you without fail. Many top acts
today and many legends have been led by family members and friends into top level success, most recently Usher, who’s managed by his mother.

After establishing a manager the next step is to find an agent. This is usually handled by the manager as well as the formation of the rest of your teams key members. The agent is super important to your being known because they are responsible for getting you gigs. Without them or a hard working manager you can find yourself splitting your time between arranging gigs yourself, remembering the gigs you set, handling payment issues with promoters (there will likely be some along the way), along with all the many other tasks you have in the studio and writing and most likely your 9-5. A percentage of your shows’ income will also go their way so it is also in their best interest to work hard on your behave, however, the manager should do just that, manager them, to make sure this is happening so that you are not shelved by the agent and also that your money is distributed properly.

After you have gained some local clout and clout in surrounding areas. You should be ready to seek out an entertainment lawyer. Your manager again will play a key role in this. Again, finding someone that you can trust is vital. The lawyers more and more are becoming the key person that A&R persons turn to looking for new artist. Why is this? They more than anyone one your team are mostly all about business. There is seldom a case of lawyers putting their name out on the line without there being strong numbers and thus a higher calculated chance that
you’ll be profitable. Or in other cases some lawyers that feel they have a ear for music and have contacts in the industry, if they deem you to be a true creative talent, will go ahead and take you on as client. Lawyers are responsible for many of the transactions that leads to someone becoming a household name now-a-days. They are the ones introducing the branding plans and seeking out opportunities for their clients to be seen beyond the music scene. Which also makes them that much more important if that’s your goal. It is worth really taking your time to find
your right match, the person that shares your vision the most, because the right lawyer can get you to your desired destination.

Finally, the last person you need in your inner circle is a publicist. They are responsible for making known to the worlds population that you exist. They like all the other members are very choosey of who they’ll take on. Simply because they too get paid from your success. The person that meets your needs, has the best roster of artist, networking and experience is the one you’ll want to choose. They have contacts all over the media scene and will press those contacts to give
you exposure. They along with you and mostly your manager will decide target markets and the course of action over your media blitz. Everything from autograph-signings to magazine covers are up to them so they are vital for you once you reach a certain level of success. Also due to their many contacts it has been known for publicists to actually be the key player in getting an
artist signed. So they can be important in that way as well.

So this is your team. The manager, agent, lawyer, and publicist. There are many variations on the order in which you assemble your team, but I often tend to have artists seek out management first and foremost. They stand as your guiding light, much like that of the producer in the studio.  They keep everyone on task and oversees the actions of the rest of your team. In short, they act as your coach, so make sure you choose the right person for this position. Though assembling your team will take time, money and a lot of effort, once they are all in order you’ll begin to see the fruits of such a team as they work alongside with you to fulfill all of your musical dreams and aspirations.
Now, Get Out There And Manifest Your Career Success!

~ by bmarcel on June 27, 2008.