Do You Need a Team?
Advances in digital music technology, coupled with the use of the Internet for marketing and distribution, empowers the independent music artist to build a music career that in the past would have been impossible. The claim in recent years has been that an individual musician no longer needs record labels or professional studios—the process of music production can take place entirely from the comfort of one's home using a personal computer.
This has lead to many aspiring artists having a maverick mentality. They feel that they are in complete control of their future and can launch their career with the push of a few buttons. This ideology is based on the flawed assumption that the artist has all knowledge and skills necessary for success in all aspects of the music business and can accurately identify the views and opinions of others.
Every successful person in history, whether in music or business in general, has only achieved success through the cooperation of people. A team is necessary in order for an artist to reach his or her desired goals.
Everyone, including the self-proclaimed maverick, has a team around them. The first step is to identify your current team. The people on your team may not be what would first come to mind when considering a music business team. Diane Kennedy writes in her book Loopholes of the Rich
:
:List the people you spend the most time with—your family, friends, co-wokers, and so on. Try to list at least five people. Now, next to each person's name, write the experience this person has had in what you want to achieve. (p. 33)
She goes on to write:
After you prepare the list, look at it with a critical eye. Are these people the advisors you need for the next step on your personal path to financial freedom? Do they have the needed experience to support your decisions and critically analyze them? (p. 33)
Every person in our life will be an influence and give us advice whether good or bad. Diane states that we need to understand their point of view. Are they narrow minded, not able to see the potential and vision that you see? Does their perspective cause them to provide negative comments? Once you understand the current influence in your life, you can move on to "Building a Team That Supports You." Diane says, "You have a team around you already. The difference is that now you have the opportunity to make a conscious decision about who should be on your team." She then presents the question and next step in the process: "Who Do You Want on Your Team?" (p. 32-33)
In his article, Assembling an Entertainment Industry Team, Anthony Berman lists 5 possible members for your music team:
The Personal Manager
Anthony states, "The personal manager is often the focal point between the other team members and the artist. Generally speaking, a manager's duties involve advising, counseling and guiding the artist towards the furtherance of his or her career." The manager can be the most powerful member of the team. "Management agreements typically seek to grant a manager a power-of-attorney provision which can be quite broad or narrow depending on the negotiating strengths of the parties."
The Talent Agent
"The talent agent has one clearly defined function--------getting the artist employment. Obviously, a very crucial function since, after all, without employment, the artist has no income and cannot afford to pay rent and compensate the rest of the team." Agreements with agents are generally exclusive, meaning that all bookings for the artists must come through the agent.
The Entertainment Attorney
Anthony states:
"Simply put, a publicist's job is to develop public awareness for an artist." A person skilled in public relations and marketing is needed in order to gain attention from the public and media for an artist and their music.
The Business Manager
"Assuming the artist has a solid income stream, a business manager (usually an accountant) is an essential member of team." Anthony further states that a business manager is more than just an accountant: "Whereas accountants generally do one or two things for their clients: taxes and/or bookkeeping, a business manager can pay the artist’s bills, help the artist collect income, do payroll, budgets, tax planning, shop for the best insurance (life and health), investment analysis, and track and audit royalty accounts."
I'll add a sixth team member to the list of essential assets for success with a music career:
The Producer
A producer is usually thought of as the person overseeing a music recording project, but can be a person with a more informal role. Some type of producer is needed at each stage of the music process to help support and guide the artist in the creation of music. Artists who have built the necessary business team, sometimes proceed to limit the music creation process to themselves individually.
There are times an artist may get stumped in producing their musical art and sometimes have a tendency to only hear something one way. Having an outside source to listen and give advice can help the artist be more productive. This second person can also provide feedback as to how the audience may perceive the music.
Through each stage of an artist's career, the needs for and financial ability to obtain various members of a team will change. The specific person filling a role will more than likely change as well as the career develops.
Later I will discuss how to find the right team members, how to evaluate the members, and how to operate with your team. For more information on teams, see chapter 3 entitled Team from Diane's book or read Blair Singer's book on team building which is listed below:
The Personal Manager
Anthony states, "The personal manager is often the focal point between the other team members and the artist. Generally speaking, a manager's duties involve advising, counseling and guiding the artist towards the furtherance of his or her career." The manager can be the most powerful member of the team. "Management agreements typically seek to grant a manager a power-of-attorney provision which can be quite broad or narrow depending on the negotiating strengths of the parties."
The Talent Agent
"The talent agent has one clearly defined function--------getting the artist employment. Obviously, a very crucial function since, after all, without employment, the artist has no income and cannot afford to pay rent and compensate the rest of the team." Agreements with agents are generally exclusive, meaning that all bookings for the artists must come through the agent.
The Entertainment Attorney
Anthony states:
Negotiation skills and general legal advice are only a portion of what attorneys bring to the table in the entertainment industry. Many attorneys are defacto business advisors and professional matchmakers, bringing parties together for new projects. Some attorneys administer copyrights and collect and receive funds on behalf of their clients. And, of course, when deals go sour, an attorney coordinates the litigation process to resolve the claim.The Publicist
"Simply put, a publicist's job is to develop public awareness for an artist." A person skilled in public relations and marketing is needed in order to gain attention from the public and media for an artist and their music.
The Business Manager
"Assuming the artist has a solid income stream, a business manager (usually an accountant) is an essential member of team." Anthony further states that a business manager is more than just an accountant: "Whereas accountants generally do one or two things for their clients: taxes and/or bookkeeping, a business manager can pay the artist’s bills, help the artist collect income, do payroll, budgets, tax planning, shop for the best insurance (life and health), investment analysis, and track and audit royalty accounts."
I'll add a sixth team member to the list of essential assets for success with a music career:
The Producer
A producer is usually thought of as the person overseeing a music recording project, but can be a person with a more informal role. Some type of producer is needed at each stage of the music process to help support and guide the artist in the creation of music. Artists who have built the necessary business team, sometimes proceed to limit the music creation process to themselves individually.
There are times an artist may get stumped in producing their musical art and sometimes have a tendency to only hear something one way. Having an outside source to listen and give advice can help the artist be more productive. This second person can also provide feedback as to how the audience may perceive the music.
Through each stage of an artist's career, the needs for and financial ability to obtain various members of a team will change. The specific person filling a role will more than likely change as well as the career develops.
Later I will discuss how to find the right team members, how to evaluate the members, and how to operate with your team. For more information on teams, see chapter 3 entitled Team from Diane's book or read Blair Singer's book on team building which is listed below:
- Kennedy, Diane. (2001) Loopholes of the Rich.
- Singer, Blair. (2004) The ABC's of Building a Business Team That Wins.
New York: Warner Business Books.
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