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  • Essay / The Roles and Responsibilities of a Talent Manager

    Table of ContentsManagementThe Live IndustryBooking AgentsConcert PromotersManagementThe main task of an artist manager is to manage the artist's career on a day-to-day basis. The manager is the person closest to the artist. He should be there to take care of all other matters that do not concern the artistic aspect of a project. The manager usually signs an agreement with the band/artist in which it is specified what is expected from both parties, what percentage the manager receives from the artist's income (usually 15 or 20%) and what happens if both or one of them decide to go their separate ways. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe manager looks after the artist's profits and investments on behalf of the artist and regularly checks that the contracts, royalties and licenses are all in order. There are different areas covered by management; these are: music, business, road, touring, production and technical. An artist may have a single manager or a team of managers, each covering one of these areas. In a management company, an important role is taken by management accountants who differ from normal accountants because they not only store data, keep track of figures and report. At the company, they make money, plan strategies, have a say in the company's investments and therefore have a different role in the company. Part of an artist's management are also music lawyers, who are divided into two main types: those who handle disputes in court and those who make deals. “Court attorneys” typically handle copyright violations and contract disputes. “Transactional lawyers” are those who handle all forms of contracts that relate to music (for example: contracts between artist and producer or manager or publisher; licensing and recording contracts copyright). Major artists usually also have sponsorship and endorsement. They are both agreements between two brands, one being the artist or group, the other being the brand wanting to promote themselves. In sponsorship, the brand makes itself known by trying to reach the largest audience possible by trying to take advantage of the artist's fan base, by sponsoring a fixed amount agreed in a contract and in exchange l The artist will use his brand. The same thing happens with sponsorship, where usually brands that work in the music field offer their products for free or at a reduced price depending on the level of audience that the artist can reach. Record labels are divided into two types: majors and independents. labels. The majors are essentially four large companies that, over the years, have absorbed all the other major record labels. These “big four” are: Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, EMI and Warner Music Group. An independent label is a record company that is independently funded and is not tied to any of the "big four." The biggest advantage of signing with a major label is the economic potential that they can invest in your project. Independent labels, however, believe more in the project and give more artistic freedom to the artist. Depending on the level of the independent label, they are organized in the same way as the majors. The label's hierarchy is made up at the top by a legal and commercial affairs department. These two are responsible for all contracts made between the company and the artist.Directly with the president of the label, they decide the terms of each contract and the signing of a new artist. They also manage all of the company's financial revenues and bottom lines. Other departments involved in the smooth running of a label are: The artist and product development department. This department is responsible for planning the career of the artist or group throughout their period with the label. They oversee the marketing and promotion plan. Correct, help and develop the artist's talent in a long-term vision. This department is slowly disappearing as labels are less focused on long-term planning and more interested in developing a unique product, like a hit, that can generate revenue faster and easier. In fact, some labels have renamed this department simply “Product Development Department.” The A&R department. He is the one who is looking for new talents to sign. For signed artists, on the other hand, they take care of the song selection and choose the recording studio and producer together with the artist. In general, we can say that this department is the one that connects the artist to all other departments of the label. The duty of the promotion department and the New Media department is to ensure that the artist is broadcast and promoted on radio and other platforms. , such as Internet radio, Spotify and iTunes. They take care of the artist's online presence, often taking care of his social networks, his sites, monitoring news and publications concerning him. Additionally, they produce and promote music videos, offering them to the market both on the Internet and on television. The sales department is the one that oversees the label's sales. Both digital and physical. To produce, record and sell an album, the label grants an advance to the artist. This advance is recouped by the label by owning all sales rights to the album until the advance is fully recouped. Record companies are trying new strategies and starting to offer new deals called “360 deals”. With the continuous development of new technologies; it has come to pass that records are no longer the main business, but live performances, singles instead of albums, merchandise, sponsorships and tours are now the main market. And with the 360 ​​deal, record labels are trying to move forward and understand the new advancements in the music industry. PublishingThe business of creating, protecting and promoting songs and musical composition is the business of music publishing. Access to music is now faster and easier than ever and the music industry and music publishers have adapted to these changes by licensing music to a multitude of digital services. Music publishers deal with songwriters, they invest early on in the development of writers, who can write songs for the artists or write their own songs to perform live. The publisher will invest time, money, passion and risk in the songwriter. It will register the work, make sure it is properly protected, it will also track royalties and make sure they are collected, so the writer can get paid for their work. In case the artist does not have his own, publishers also offer legal protection to protect the author in the event of legal dispute. The publisher usually commissions the work, registers it, and promotes it. A composition can be exploited in many ways: it can be broadcast on the radio, sold, streamed, used for visual purposes (this includesmovies, TV, game ads and apps). ); it can be performed live and the music can also be sold as sheet music. The area of ​​using music on visual media is the area called synchronization, which is a specific task that editors do. Editors are also "music pluggers" whose job is to suggest songs and actually promote the songwriter to producers, A&R reps and managers for sync, performance or studio recording . Covers, remixes and samples also fall under the scope of work of an editor. Every time a composition is purchased, a copy is made, so royalties must be paid to the creator of that piece of music. If an artist wants to cover a song, they will only obtain the mechanical rights, the royalties will always go to the creator who owns what is called the “intellectual property”. Managing a song or a group of songs is not an easy task. although, by investing a lot of time, it is achievable without the help of an editor. Usually there are two main cases regarding the involvement of a publisher, a writer after writing his song can decide whether to sell his song to a publisher in which case the publisher will also become his rights holder and hence he will collect the royalties itself; or an artist may decide to give the song to a publisher to administer and manage, in which case the publisher will still receive a share of the work but its owner will remain the author. The live industry The live industry is made up of everything that concerns the organization of a concert. Many people and companies are involved in different roles in organizing a professional service. But the key players in this field are: Booking agents Booking agents are companies or a single person, who help the artist or band organize their live performances. They serve as a link between the artist and the promoters or venue. They also supervise other people involved in the event and ensure that performance equipment and facilities are well organized. They agree with the manager and promoter on the ticket price, they plan all expenses from hiring instruments to light and sound engineers and touring costs, they check the capacity of the venue and they also check that all permissions and licenses are in place. for the event.Concert PromotersThe promoter is the person who negotiates with the booking agent to find an artist for a live performance or several, for a specified fee. He is also the person who searches for and reserves the venue and engages in the market campaign regarding the sale of tickets for the determined event. Merchandising is an important part of a live show, it's a great income for the artist. By studying the target, in this case the fan base, a catalog generally consisting of clothing, posters, CDs and vinyls is created to be sold to fans at the concert. The artist is a brand and therefore a live situation is a great way to sell directly to the customer, the brand.Sponsors. Sponsors typically cover a large portion of a live concert's budget and revenue. Sponsors want to promote and advertise their brand in order to reach a target that would otherwise be too far away for them. The venues are what makes all of this possible, from the artist's point of view, it's a way to reach your fans and a way to get known, to become more and more comfortable on stage, and ultimately it’s a beautiful emotional experience. Of.”