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Does your band have a Manager?

#21
bunkaroo said:
Well my post was tongue in cheek. If all band members are happy with that, that's definitely not the norm in my experience.

As long as they're not trying to get the band members to record in "DOBLY".
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I think it works because we're a business, we're not friends with each other or hang buddies.

Blue
 
#22
Factor88 said:
Short answer no, and never have had one in any band I was in.

But I make a distinction between a booking agent and a manager. Many of the responders above seem to be talking more about booking agents (or people functioning like one) rather than a true manager. True managers are so much more than people who find you gigs. They should be people who know the industry, and who know how to make a band in your genre succeed, down to things like song creation, picking a studio/engineer, the look of the band, the stage presentation of the band, the promotion of the band, etc. etc.
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True, I was speaking specifically to booking. We're a bar band, our main goal is to stay booked.

Blue
 
#23
Yes, we have a road manager. He handles the contacts, collects the pay, drives the band van and perhaps most importantly handles the merch sales. We realized we needed a manager when we started calculating how much $ we were losing in merch sales.

Our road manager gets the same cut the rest of the band gets.

PS: Having someone to drive from city to city while you get to sleep in the van = the only way to tour.
 
#28
If it's a weeknd warrior type thing I prefer the band handles the bookings it saves the money. Unless there is a family member who is good and will do it for free.

If you are doing corp events,festivals,weddings etc then I could see a manager since there are contracts and all to work with. My experience with a manager stunk as I said before and we paid this guy 25-30% to sit in a chair all night plus the sound guy.
 
#29
Thanks again guys!

We've been talking to this guy for a while, and he's been doing some pro bono work for us in the meantime. The goal is to start getting our originals band some better paying gigs, and a manager will have some incentive to do so since he'd be making 15%.
I still have to do some more research on the guy, but it doesnt seem like we have much to lose, since his pay is based on how much the band is making, nothing out of pocket for us. Part of the reason for our interest is that we're just not all that great at networking and making contacts. The few contacts we do have are all for non-paying gigs anyway.

hdracer said:
I think demographics have a lot to do with it too.
With you being in the LA area your band has a lot of ground to cover to get into so many venues.
Around here I would say no but where you are and your band I would say yes.
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Im thinking this way, myself. As things currently are, our bandleader is doing the managerial duties of booking gigs and dealing with promoters and such, and the truth is, he's just not that great at it. He doesnt know how to be assertive with these guys and make sure we're getting something for our efforts, and I think having a guy who does will certainly be of benefit to us. The way things are now, we're not making much money at all, so I dont really have a problem with someone wanting 15% if theyre actively trying to increase our profitability.
 
#31
MatticusMania said:
Thanks again guys!

We've been talking to this guy for a while, and he's been doing some pro bono work for us in the meantime. The goal is to start getting our originals band some better paying gigs, and a manager will have some incentive to do so since he'd be making 15%.
I still have to do some more research on the guy, but it doesnt seem like we have much to lose, since his pay is based on how much the band is making, nothing out of pocket for us. Part of the reason for our interest is that we're just not all that great at networking and making contacts. The few contacts we do have are all for non-paying gigs anyway.

Im thinking this way, myself. As things currently are, our bandleader is doing the managerial duties of booking gigs and dealing with promoters and such, and the truth is, he's just not that great at it. He doesnt know how to be assertive with these guys and make sure we're getting something for our efforts, and I think having a guy who does will certainly be of benefit to us. The way things are now, we're not making much money at all, so I dont really have a problem with someone wanting 15% if theyre actively trying to increase our profitability.
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Hi Matt,

You have nothing to lose, so, that's good.

I would still ask him when was the last time he booked a gig for an originals band for at least $500.00 and where it was booked.

Blue
 
#33
Factor88 said:
Many of the responders above seem to be talking more about booking agents (or people functioning like one) rather than a true manager. True managers are so much more than people who find you gigs. They should be people who know the industry, and who know how to make a band in your genre succeed, down to things like song creation, picking a studio/engineer, the look of the band, the stage presentation of the band, the promotion of the band, etc. etc.
Click to expand...

Well put. I'm continually surprised by how little players understand the workings of their business. Managers are not responsible for booking shows. "Working" artists have huge teams including booking agents, publicists (record, tour and venue), tech crew, travel agents, financial managers, radio and Internet promotions teams, etc. An artist's manager stands in the middle of this group of professionals making sure the artist's best interests are being met. Managers are the only facet of the business responsible solely to the artist.
 

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