Artists mind set

Artists and songwriters are actually subsidizing their record companies and music publishing companies.Of course, how the revenues derived from streaming is split depends on there being money to split in the first place.Another aspect of the digital evolution deals with the pressures being put on the American performing rights societies.Their music publishing company members and affiliates were apoplectic at the decisions made by the rate court judges.While they eventually failed in their quest, and have since pulled back from their stance, these and other music publishing companies are now focusing their efforts on the pursuit of modifying the consent decrees rather than merely striking at windmills.One would think that, with all of the technology emanating out of the imaginations and skills of computer scientists worldwide, the quality of the sound in the digital age might have improved from the 78 rpm, but apparently consumers don’t demand it and suppliers accordingly don’t really bother to deliver it.Who better to lead the fight to replicate the highest level of studio production than this icon of the recording world who has actually experienced firsthand the incredible advancements of recording capabilities from the 1960s to the present?He claims that the size of the respective files confirm this.Twitter is the mechanism by which hashtags are disseminated.So someone sends a message not exceeding 140 characters to the ether, which may or may not have impact on those who receive the tweets.Hashtags seem to be here to stay.Even though their value is questionable, admittedly they disseminate information about music widely and often.I can’t say that this result isn’t useful in a world of overstimulation where artists and songwriters seek to be easily and broadly identified and followed.The public domain, of course, is just what it says.Otherwise, it would have no retort when requested to share profits.Why shouldn’t the song owner enjoy half the net proceeds?Let no such man be trusted.It matters not how musical your personal manager might be.What matters is how dedicated, how energetic, and how imaginative he or she might be.What values should you apply to your choice of manager and to your rationale for entering into a formal agreement in the first place?What is the thought process that artists should conduct before entering into an agreement with a personal manager?Why should you even consider obtaining a manager?What would and would not be included among a personal manager’s duties?How should your manager be compensated?What should you expect and what should you reasonably not expect of this person?First of all, let’s concern ourselves with the schooling for managers.Sorry, there is none.Well, then, what about the licensing for managers?After all, accountants have to be licensed, as do lawyers, even dogs.What agency licenses managers?There are probably no managers who have either all of the negative or all of the positive attributes listed above, although most managers exhibit at least some of both.In essence, your personal manager should operate as your chief of staff in reducing to their essentials all aspects of your legal, financial, and artistic career.A personal manager’s role is not to be underestimated, but it is not always what you think it is either.Unfortunately, management contracts do not usually cite the specific areas in which a manager provides services.Inattention to these kinds of details can wreak havoc with your career, let alone with your management relationship, and if you do not articulate your expectations, preferably in writing, you are likely to be disappointed.Before going into details on the personal manager’s role in an artist’s life, a few words are in order about what a manager is not supposed to do.Accept the fact that it is not your personal manager’s job to assume your life responsibilities, or even all of your career responsibilities.Too many artists try to delegate to others all of their responsibilities and in the end regret it.Ultimately, we are all 100% responsible for all of the decisions affecting our lives and careers.But most of us do not have managers or others who tell us or, worse, allow us to believe, that they will look after us.Yet artists who look to a manager to live their lives for them and managers who claim to be able to do so are both delusional.You and your manager must also separate out your own respective interests.It is the rare manager who has the objectivity to do this.When a manager and artist first meet, they are often on their best behavior, and their wish that their respective interests should dovetail can get in the way of objective thought processes.Their love affair has begun.I often think about how marvelously some young attorneys present themselves in interviews, only to disappoint after being asked to write their first contract.Similarly, managers, even those with the most magical appeal, may disappoint when they have to make their first practical decision.Your career is just starting to develop.Your career is established.Of course, not all artists reach stages 3 and 4, but stage 5 is applicable to everyone who has had even the slightest degree of success.Ideally, an artist would be able to hire five different managers, one for each stage.However, the financial consequences of attempting to replace a manager as the artist’s career shifts from level to level would likely be devastating, and so the trick is to find a manager who will grow in a manner consistent with the artist’s changing needs.From a musical point of view, this is the time you are sharpening your image, developing your craft, discarding almost as much as you write, replacing musicians, and replacing the replacements.It is also the time for concretizing your physical image so that you look the part of what you are trying to communicate.But a statement must be made or you will be forgotten and melt into the fungible band category and disappear.Nothing jumped out at me, the professionals will say.During this stage you are the opening act for a more significant or known performing artist.Do you begin to appear in public with other artists of the same level of success?Do you start writing songs with them?Guesting on their shows?Do you reconsider whether your band is ready for the big time or whether you need to replace or add one more musician?For example, should you expand or contract your music publishing relationships?Should you expand your reach beyond the United States into other territories of the world, even as the demand for your services is gradually

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