1. HONESTY. Far and away the most important thing is that your manager is honest, faithful and loyal to you. Your manager will be intimately involved in all of your business affairs and musical ventures, and you want someone who can be a “fiduciary” – that is, someone who will put your needs and increase before their own. If you cannot trust your manager to be honest with you, they should not be your manager.
2. LOGISTICAL COMPETENCE. Your manager has to be able to organize, plan, prioritize, delegate and execute plans. You want that person who got their assignments done ahead of time in school. They have to be able to write things down and plan for multiple events, travel, riders, appointments, meetings, concerts, receptions, shows, tour buses, plane tickets… and still be able to help you find where the Playstation is packed in the luggage. Once they are busy enough they should get an assistant and delegate basic responsibilities.
3. FOLLOW THROUGH. Talk is cheap. You need someone who takes ACTION and gets things done. And not just started, but totally complete. Letters, phone calls, emails… there are going to be thousands of communications that need to go out and plans to be made.
4. TIME. Your manager should be dedicated to your career and give you adequate time in their schedule to see that your career is advancing every day. Beware picking someone with an overly demanding ‘day job’ or multiple jobs.
5. CONGENITALITY. Ideally you manager should be upbeat, sociable and able to befriend people. If he is a bridge burner or is ticking off people in the music industry (or has a list of enemies), be careful he doesn’t take your career down with him.
6. SALES ABILITY. Your manager has to “sell” the concept of your music to agents, record labels, tour companies, publishers, merchandise companies and more. He has to be able to cold call someone and close a deal. If he’s not savvy enough to convince them of your quality, either he can’t sell or the product is defective!
7. COURAGE. There will be times when industry forces will push against you, and you want someone with the bravery to stand up to large, wealthy, lawyered-up corporations for you. They’ll have to argue with travel companies for you. They’ll have to explain that hotel room damage to the concierge and smooth things out. You want someone with some backbone who won’t shirk from confrontation.
PS: Look beyond your circle of friends for a manager. It’s better to find someone who has the aptitude and motivation to be a professional manager than to pick a buddy just because he’s your friend. Often, friend-managers end up losing both a performer and a friend when things go awry. Find someone with the qualities above you can trust and do business with.
Remember that your manager is human and really can’t single handedly run everything. Give them time with their families and try not to absorb their entire lives, just most of it. 😉
For more on music law, or to talk to Ryan, click here.
