One common question music professionals get is “how does a manager in the music industry get paid?” Historically, a manager typically gets between 10% and 20% of the gross. However, that number changes depending on what the situation is. For example, a female solo artist or a male solo artist may be paying 20%, but if you’re a rock band of five or six guys, for a manager to make 20%, they’d make more than any individual member of the band. Generally, any manager who’s smart and wants to have a good relationship with their artists is going to take less than that.
Some managers make less than touring based on a touring history, but 15% to 20% is a general rule. Any manager who’s worth their weight and has a great history and good experience is going to want 15% to 20% of the gross of everything that you make. It’s not an unreasonable amount of money because there are many times when a manager is working hard on your behalf. They aren’t making any money during the times that you’re dormant, recording, etc.
It’s hard to talk about the music industry without talking about some of the pitfalls of the business. Because there weren’t music education programs 20, 25 years ago, all of us who grew up in the music industry made mistakes and learned by either making those mistakes, getting ripped off, getting screwed over, or getting somehow cheated, unfortunately.
Thankfully, things are different today. However, the pitfalls still remain the same. That is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t fall for the hype. Don’t go for the quick buck. Instead, go for the long term. So, why do I say that? Many people think that fame equals a career, but that’s not the case. The list of one-hit-wonders, flashes in the pan, people who had their short moment in the sun, is significantly longer than the list of those who have had a real career.
Always be open-minded. Always be thinking about where you want to be in five or 10 years. Don’t be thinking about how to get as many ‘likes’ as you can today. Think about how to get as many followers as you can long-term. If you think about even the arc of Facebook and how it was used, in the last five years it went from the number of followers being the most important thing to followers no longer amounting to excitement, interest, or passion.
So, if I were a manager, I wouldn’t really care how many followers you have. Instead, I want to know how many people are talking about you. It’s a very different dynamic. It’s a very different algorithm. But ultimately, having real fans is what it’s all about. Don’t go for quick fame, and don’t confuse fame with a career, because they’re two completely different things.
Another important thing is, don’t make the mistake of signing contracts without having them looked over. Standard music industry contracts are not usually in the artist’s favor. And honestly, it may never be completely in your favor; however, it should always be within the confines, norms, and boundaries of what’s acceptable among artists.
When you hear those horror stories about old artists being ripped off or selling their music, or when you wonder how Michael Jackson owns part of the Beatles catalog, that’s because artists were signing bad deals at the time. Fortunately, that’s easily avoidable now with good advice. Remember, just because somebody asked you to the dance, it doesn’t mean that’s the only person who wants to dance with you.
If you’ve got ‘the goods’ and you’ve got things going on, you don’t have to take the first deal that comes your way. Be patient and wait for the right deal to be presented to you. If what you’re doing makes a lot of sense and people really like it, there will be more than one company, one person, one bit of interest in what you’re doing. There will be a lot of it.
If you’re interested in learning much more about concepts like these surrounding the world of professional music, you should seriously consider exploring online music education.
