MUSIC MANAGER AND MANAGEMENT ROLES

There are generally six types of music managers that can play a role in the careers of recording artists, record producers, songwriters, and musicians. Most artists will interact with only one or two of these managers, but it helps to know what to expect from each of them nonetheless.
Following is a brief description of the roles of the different types of music managers.



Music Manager (aka Artist Manager, Talent Manager, Band Manager, or Personal Manager)

The Music Manager has the most interaction with the artist and is generally the most important person in the artist's musical life. They are involved in planning, coordinating and organizing the career of the artist. They are involved in counseling and advising the artist on all matters related to their musical careers. The personal manager should research the music industry and know all about record labels, publishing companies, producers, booking agents, promoters, publicists, stylists, photographers, recording engineers, graphic designers, video directors, music licensees, etc., and how they integrate themselves into the overall career plan. The more contacts the manager has, the more effective they will be at their job.




Business Manager

The Business Manager (usually an accountant by trade) manages the income and expenses of the client. Business managers usually take care of making payments to musicians, background singers, roadies, tour managers, etc., on behalf of the artist. They also advise the artist on assets and investments, savings and taxes (local, state, federal, and International). Most artists are unaware that they have tax obligations that relate to their performance and licensing income, CD and merchandise sales, equipment purchases, sponsorship cash, other miscellaneous income, etc. Business managers also try to get their clients to invest in their future and save something for a rainy day since even the most successful artists eventually stop earning regular income from making records and touring.




Road Manager

The Road manager normally takes care of logistics while the artist is on tour (or on the road). Duties include making sure that everything on the road is provided as spelled out in the contract and all monies are paid on time. The artist is then left free to concentrate on their performances and not whether the promoter, venue booker or booking agent has met their obligations. The road manager also follows up on items that were promised as part of the contract such as accommodations, per diems, equipment rentals, commissions, etc.




Tour Manager

The Tour manager on larger tours coordinates all the Road managers along with the details and logistics of the tour itself. Sometimes the road manager and the tour manager are the same person. The Tour manager is in charge of all the details that relate to the entire tour including communications, merchandising, tour routing, catering, hospitality, etc.




Production Manager

Production managers can be found on larger tours involving major record label artists. Production managers work closely with tour managers, helping with certain details having to do with the production of the show; like renting sound, video and lighting equipment, dealing with trucking issues, etc. Production managers also deal with the publicity for the show, as well as assist with scheduling and coordinating both the touring crew and the local venue crew (stagehands, carpenters, riggers, etc.).




Technical Manager

The Technical Manager (or Technical Director) is usually the person in charge of set design, construction, and control during the performance. They work closely with the production manager.




Responce:
I found this article to be so enlightening for me. I never realized how many different manager roles there were in relevance to the career of an artist. As an artist manager it didn’t dawn on me how many other manager’s I’d have to collaborate with to ensure the success of my artist. This article not only enlightened me on the fact that I won’t be doing everything myself but that I will also have to look for qualified people to fill that role for each of my artists. Being a music manager is a demanding job but at least now I know that there are other managers that I will be working with that can share my stress level and can understand the demands. In addition this is good information for my artists to know as well because most artist think that they only deal with one manager. Little do rising artists know that there are a number of different managers of which they will have to rely on other than their personal manager. This fact of “my manager handles everything” is proven myth because it various managers to make a project come to full fruition. It is a relief to know that there are other managers that fulfill various roles like road trip duties, production, tour, technical etc. It is less that I have to know and take on. Granted I would have to check in on their progress but for me to not have to worry about everything and assign specific roles to qualified candidates is a huge load off the shoulders. After this revelation, I am looking to see how each one fulfills these roles and how do people end up becoming one the indicated managerial roles. It is good for a manager to learn new information concerning a relevant topic and forwarding that educative information to their artist. Artists appreciate and value the counsel of their manager and keeping them informed secures the clarity of communication between manager and client (artist). It is good to always be on the same page.


Reference source:

Music manager roles. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.artistmanagementresource.com/music-manager-roles.html