4 Things You Should Be Aware Of Before Signing With A Music Manager

4 Things You Should Be Aware Of Before Signing With A Music Manager

Starting in the music industry can be an intimidating venture, as any newcomer will tell you. Since everyone wants to be in it, the music industry is very competitive and also, complicated. Unfortunately, if you don’t know any better, you could easily wind up victim to someone taking your money, time, and hopes of being a star; and giving you nothing but disaster. Below, we offer you the best things to look for when seeking a music manager to handle your career.

1. Getting Paid - One of the first things to be aware of when interviewing music managers to handle your music career, is how they address the issue of payment. They will, of course, take a percentage of your earnings for the services they provide. This is the trade off. However, caution should be taken if any potential music manager requires money upfront to represent you and/or your band. A reputable music manager knows that they will get a percentage of your earnings once they have completed the first part of their tasks.

2. Success - Secondly, when scouting for a music manager, you’ll want to find someone who has a past history of quality referrals and happy clients. Moreover, you should know who some of these clients are-because they are successful musicians. Even in the case of a new music agency, they should be able to offer you someone they have done business with that has made it big.

3. History- Closely tied to a list of successful past clients, the music manager you are looking to hire should also be able to disclose their full business history, i.e. why they got into the business, what their goals are, what achievements they’ve had, etc etc. Someone who seems guarded about their own or their business’ history should be avoided, because they have something to hide-and that something could easily be repeated with your hard earned money, business, and reputation.

4. Reputation- Lastly, and perhaps this should be sought in the very beginning, your potential music manager should have a good reputation. They do not have to be the best and most expensive music manager around, but they should be known around town-so to speak. This is why it’s best to get together a list of potential music managers and show the names and credentials to someone you know in the music business. Typically, if a music manager is successful, they will have heard of them.