- So the question then is when would a musician
decide that it's an appropriate time to seek management
and how would the musician go about doing that?
There's an old rule of thumb.
Since a manager, a true manager doesn't work
on a percentage of the individual engagement,
but rather works on a percentage
of the artist's total income,
that's particularly true in the commercial world.
Deciding when it's the right time to find a manager
is tantamount to deciding when is the right time,
when does the musician have enough income on an annual basis
that it would justify paying someone 10, 15, 25%
of that annual income.
And further what kind of truly experienced
and effective manager would be willing to work
on 25% or less of the musicians annual income.
Now, when I say annual income,
I mean annual income due to music
and music related endeavors not perhaps an inheritance,
not the day job and things like that,
but truly the income due to performance.
So if they're making enough money
that they could attract the attention of a good manager,
generally a musician doesn't have to look too far
because if that's happening, managers
and management companies will seek them out.
At the early stages of a career,
one is much more likely to try to procure the services
of a management company or an agency
in order to procure engagements.
And that's the case where the musician
has to go out and seek them out.
It's very rare at the earliest stages
of a performing career, that really effective agencies
or agents will seek out the musician.
It could happen, it might be fortuitous,
they're playing in the right place at the right time,
but for the most part, we have to be proactive.
So you go look for them, the union is a good place.
The union has lists of agents and agencies
that are accredited, so to speak by the unions.
Certainly the New York phone book
is not a bad place to look either.
The centers of entertainment in the United States
are New York and LA, Chicago, and Nashville
to a certain extent, but mostly LA, Chicago
Nashville is much more geared towards commercial music.
So New York is the place to look on your own.
That doesn't mean that there aren't really effective agents
and agencies in other places.
CMA is located in Cleveland for a long time.
But if you don't know anything
that's a good place to start as the union for advice,
of course talking to your fellow musicians,
particularly those who whose careers are being sustained
and who have agencies and other good way
and word of mouth is the best recommendation
for an agent that might be one of the real checks
and balances that we have in our industry.
That it's hard for an agent
or an agency to promote themselves
amongst the potential clientele,
if they don't have good word of mouth
and in our community reputations can travel very rapidly
and be broken or made very rapidly as well.