Question of the Day - WHO NEEDS MANAGEMENT? - August 10, 2009

TheHolodigm.com

WHO NEEDS MANAGEMENT?

Simone Battle asks:

A friend of mine who i used to intern for told me his ideas about managers, which perplexed me. He said that managers make an artist lazy. In other words unless you are an artist with gigs, a following, a record deal on the way perhaps, then you don't need a manager because there's nothing to manage. I had to disagree because I feel like it takes so much to get to that level of an established artist, especially nowadays when labels don't sign anyone unless they're packaged and pretty much independent. I think that an aspiring artists needs the help of a manager to aide in all of the non-creative aspects of building a music career, in order to get to that level of "record label interest."So, my question is, which artists need managers? Only the ones that have busy schedules, or all talented and ambitious artists?

Hartmann responds:

A pure artist walking naked in the woods, singing his songs to the birds, does not need a manager. When the love of his own music inspires him to seek appreciation and remuneration, in return for sharing his muse, he becomes a business. It takes courage and confidence to compete in the professional realm. All artists who embark on this journey do so lost in the fog of showbiz.

Every new artist starts out as his, or her, own man personal manager. They all begin the fight for survival when they are at Rock Bottom. Musicians and songwriters take up an instrument and open the doorway to musical expression. Initially, the process finds them alone in their rooms with their music and dreams. At that stage they are blinded by the fog and are probably not aware of the roles of the core professions of entertainment as described in The Holodigm Seminars.

However, conscious or not, they are responsible for all the activities assigned to each profession. Most of the millions of artists on myspace.com will never attempt to go pro. They will get a day job and continue to dream. The most passionate and driven will pursue professional status. If they have talent, do everything right, and get lucky, they may survive and even make a living.

In The music Renaissance, 100% of the money will be made by 10% of the artists; 90% of that money will be made by 1% of the artists. There are eight core professions in entertainment and no artist can do all the jobs for the duration of his career. In the beginning, an artist develops his repertoire in private, and in due course, he yearns to see if others will love it as much as he does.

Management is a force that is projected toward the artist from every opinion source that reaches his ears. When mom gives up the garage to the band, it is an expression of love, her opinion matters. When the mailman stops for a listen and offers his assessment, he becomes part of the management force and pretty soon dad and the siblings get their two cents into the mix. At this early stage virtually every person offers positive reinforcement. They all say you have talent.

Nobody ever tells you that your guitar playing is wanting, you can't carry a tune, or your song is less than a crystal tear from the eye of Zeus. At the beginning, this is probably a good thing; but eventually you have to face the music. Sooner or later someone has to care enough to tell you that your act needs work. The problem is, no artist wants to hear the bad news; and most wouldn't believe it anyway. In fact, I have never met a band that didn't think it was going to The Big Top.

Showbiz is a team sport. Sooner or later every professional artist needs a manager. The record companies do not want to deal directly with artists; and I know of no recent deals where there was not a personal manager and a lawyer directly involved. Agents also prefer to deal with managers because artists are most often not very realistic. It uses up a lot of time dealing with someone who is still learning the ropes. Every successful artist maintains a busy schedule.

The act is constantly writing, recording, performing, promoting, and often doing television and films. The business of careers does not stop because the artist is doing something else. Every act needs a manager to tend to the myriad of activities that are never ending and in need of constant attention. In The Holodigm System we train managers as well as artists; so one does not have to get an established manager to endorse you. Find someone you trust and teach them the new paradigm.

The game is not rocket science; anybody can learn to play. Under The Holodigm system, the artist is the corporation and the manager is the CEO. Every business needs a leader to set the pace, dictate the policy and execute the game plan. An artist who negotiates for himself is represented by a fool, so the sooner he starts building his management team, the faster he will be liberated to focus on the artistic aspects of his career. First the artist needs a manger he can trust.

The most successful managers are well known and easily traceable. The act is attracted to them because of their client rosters, professional experience and established accomplishments. Today, the well known managers are not interested in breaking new artists. They prefer to focus on expanding the business opportunities of established acts, often resurrecting dormant careers.

For new artists the game has changed and the goals today are unique to the digital age. The Holodigm System requires artist to assume all activities of the 8 core professions and search for a business "partner" to be the CEO of his corporation. This person does not necessarily need to be experienced. The process is well documented at Holodigm Academy and can be learned quickly.

The artist must choose someone he TRUSTS to join him in a mutually owned enterprise that conducts the exploitation of the artist's recording and performing activities. The formula for the future is 1 Artist + 1 Manager = 1 Enterprise. Both partners work on an equal share of the net profits and mutual ownership of the corporation that provides those products and services. they work on fifty-fifty split of the net profits, or in the case of bands the manager gets an equal share.

It is never too soon to begin the artist + manager relationship. The challenge for the artist is to find a qualified person who wants the job. Everybody has an opinion, but few want to bear the responsibility for another person's hopes and dreams. The wondrous nature of music makes it easy to tell when an act is great, but it is hard to determine when the act is mediocre or worse.

An act needs a manager-partner who will tell them the truth and share the risk. Intelligence, flexibility and action are the requisite ingredients. If the manager's survival depends on the success of the act, there is a presumption that he will do what it takes to achieve the common goals. The traditional goal array has been restructured in the digital age, and it should not be assumed that the way things worked in the past will necessarily deliver the same results today.