Managers play a very significant role in the lives and careers of artistes. In the last few years, and in conformity with the technological development in general, the world of art witnessed, whether in Lebanon or the Arab countries, a prosperity it hadn't seen before. The number of artistes and people working in the art sector increased noticeably to include producers, promoters, managers, PR consultants, concert/show promoters, directors, distributors, and performing artistes (singer, instrumentalists etc).
With this development, and the multiple occupations of the performing artiste, (writing, recording, promoting and marketing, shooting videos, performing/touring etc..) it is inevitable that professional artistes would require the assistance of a person specialized in business and creative management to aid them in organizing their artistic affairs.
The artiste manager's presence in the life of a professional performing artiste has become an axiom, to the extent that some have begun wondering about the possibility of artiste's professional development in the absence of his/her manager especially since some artiste managers' fame has surpassed that of the artiste's.
The manager's primary job is to serve as a liaison between the artiste and the groups or individuals with whom the artist will deal. In the music industry, these groups and individuals would include the artiste's record label, publishing company, booking agent, business manager, media practitioners etc. Also, the manager usually has experience in the business aspects of the music industry that can help to guide the artiste in his or her career and in handling day-to-day administrative needs. Typically, a manager will advise the artiste in matters related to marketing, publicity, promotion, employment and image.
Consequently, choosing an artist manager is considered one of the most important choices that the artist makes and which affects his artistic career positively or negatively, due to the significant role that the artiste manager plays in planning the performing artist's career on the long run.
However, it has become a trend in Nigeria for artistes to choose a member of their family as manager. P-Square for instance is managed by their brother.
But despite this successful example, this is not the best or only way to choose an artiste manager. A member of the family or a best friend may not necessarily be a suitable artiste manager since the latter should possess certain qualifications and experience which qualifies him/her to perform the many ramified tasks he is in charge of. 2face and D’banj for example, have chosen their respective artiste managers from outside the family and have both achieved incomparable success.
In my opinion, whether the artiste manager is a member of the family or not, has no legal effect on the relation between the artiset and manager as long as this relationship is clearly organized by a written contract that is signed by both parties, stating the rights and obligations of each, and establishing the authority of the manager to avoid any conflict between the two parties.
The purpose of a written management agreement is to define the relationship between the artiste and manager, and to outline the roles of each party in that relationship. Some artistes and managers claim to have such good working relationships that a written agreement is unnecessary. These types of arrangements can be successful. However, a contract still is recommended because it allows the parties to outline and define their business relationship in writing. This helps to avoid disagreements or discrepancies that may arise later if the parties cannot remember exactly what their agreement was.
Before a manager and artiste sign the written agreement the parties usually negotiate important issues that each party feels needs to be addressed in the contract. Negotiation is a process of discussion to determine each party's needs and concerns; successful negotiations always are based on compromise and solutions. Therefore, when parties begin to negotiate an agreement, they should not view the process as adversarial. Instead, they should look upon the process as a puzzle they are attempting to solve. Just because one party has a question or concern does not mean he or she is resistant. In fact, most often, he or she is just seeking some assurance. Rather than viewing the other party's needs and suggestions as a problem, negotiating parties should work to develop alternative, creative ideas and rational solutions that meet both parties’ needs. In most cases, such dialogue will not only resolve issues, but will help the parties to understand the other better.
The difference between Artiste Manager and Agent:
It is important to mention the confusion occurring in the entertainment circle that don't differentiate between the artiste manager and the agent, bearing in mind that both are considered 'Personal Representatives' of the performing artiste.
The agent specifically undertakes the acquirement of, and/or the offer, and/or the promise of obtaining, and/or the attempt of securing contracts, concerts, and job opportunities through which the artiste carries out his performance. The agent's job generally ends upon signing the contract between the performing artiste and the third party (whether a physical or juristic person), with the knowledge that the agent's name isn't often mentioned in the contract, despite the fact that the agent has concluded negotiations on his/her terms to get the best possible conditions, taking into account that he/she gets a specific percentage (from 5% to 20% of the contract value) of the performing artist's productivity, and thus the agent doesn't have anything to do with the execution of the contract and its ramifications or with monitoring the performing artiste's work or anything of the sort.
As for the artiste manager, he/she manages the performing artiste's daily matters that are related to the latter's development, business management, and guidance.
So, the agent and the artist manager have totally different roles from each other, but our Nigerian still merges these two whether theoretically or practically, because more often the performing artiste deals with a single person who does the agent's and the artiste manager's work at the same time.
The Contract duration:
One of the main points that the performing artiste and his/her manager should agree on, is the term of contract. The former usually wants a relatively short term contract so as to regain the freedom of contracting with another person if circumstances differ.
As for the latter, he wants a long term contract especially if the artist is a novice in the world of art, because the efforts that the artiste manager exerts may not bear fruit except on the long run.
The period of the contract usually ranges between three and five years and sometimes might be up to ten years. It is advisable that the first contractual period is not less than two years since the artiste manager's attempts may not be fruitful during the first year because of the preliminary proceedings.
But one may insert an Escape Clause that allows contract termination before its expiry date if both parties did not reach a requested purpose. One may also add a clause that allows the implicit renewal of the contract for an additional period unless one of the parties expresses his desire for non-renewal.
Obligations of the artiste manager:
The daily administrative aspect of the artiste's work falls upon the shoulders of the manager who seeks to develop and improve the artiset's performance, market his work and enhance his image. He also has to invest all of his experience, research, specialization, knowledge, cfreativity, connection, and skills to convey a special and distinguished image of the artiste and to develop and improve this image.
The artist manager has to negotiate on behalf of the artiste all contracts in order to provide the best contractual conditions that are in the best interest of the artiste and with the concern bestowed by a good father. Accordingly, he has to refuse any offer that may harm the artste’s development. It is worth mentioning here the importance of choosing an appropriate manager who is ready to reject any lucrative offer in order to preserve the image and skill development of the artist he/she represents.
In general, the artiste manager reviews all the artistic offers in the wide sense of the word; that is, everything related to the artiste's work and image.
The artiste manager must strive to provide the artiste with the necessary and suitable publicity to market his/her artistic works, as well as take care of all the artiste's publicity campaigns and public relations.
The artiste manager must pay keen attention to the execution of the agreed upon artistic contracts, to ensure the artiste's best interests. For this purpose, he can take all the measures he considers suitable, including all court claims on all levels to ensure the sound execution of the contracts, or for demanding compensation upon non-execution, as well as referring to arbitration when deemed suitable.
The artiste manager also collects all payments resulting from the contracts and the artiste's work, and gives the latter his due financial rights from all the works in which he participated after deducting all the expenditures. It is also possible to add a clause in the contract that determines these expenses and their limits.
For this purpose, he has to keep accounts for the amounts resulting from performing the artiste's contracts, which he keeps at the disposal of the artist who has the right to examine and assess them whenever he/she wants.
It is also worth mentioning that some professional artiste managers often don't accompany the artiste on his/her trips, or concerts, or shows, but are substituted by road managers who take care of logistics.., provided that both manager and artiste have previously agreed on the party bearing the fees. But this is not the principle in Nigeria, since many artiste managers solely perform all the work, despite its ramifications.
The difficulty lurks in determining what is included in the artistic framework and what is considered personal in order to get a clear image of the extent of the possibility of the manager's intervention in the artiste's personal life, especially with the great effect this has on the artiste's image in general.
The Manager's Compensation.
Not surprisingly, the terms of an artist-manager agreement that are most frequently argued about are 1) how much will the manager be paid? 2) in what form will the manager will be compensated? (3) who will pay for the expenses? Conflicts sometimes arise when the artiste views the manager as simply taking a percentage of their earnings. Managers are employed by the artiste to perform a service, and an effective manager one who helps the artist to make money and become more successful should paid accordingly. Because the success of the artist usually is measured in Naira-kobo amounts, the manager will take a percentage of what the artiste makes. Ultimately, an artiste should never think the manager is taking money from them. They should consider that everyone is working as a team for the success of the business, with each person taking on a specific role. Without the manager, the artiste would not have as much income to distribute.
To limit disputes later, the agreement should specifically set forth what percentage the manager will receive from the artiste's income, and from which income sources this percentage will be calculated. It is typical for a manager to receive 10 to 20 percent of the artist's gross income from all sources (e.g., recording, performing, songwriting, merchandise, etc.). The manager is helping to develop and exploit the artiste's talents in these categories and should be compensated for that work. To reduce discrepancies, each category should be specifically listed and defined in the agreement so that all parties will understand.
____
Lanre Lawal
Artiste Manager, Media/PR Consultant.
musiconsultant@yahoo.com
With this development, and the multiple occupations of the performing artiste, (writing, recording, promoting and marketing, shooting videos, performing/touring etc..) it is inevitable that professional artistes would require the assistance of a person specialized in business and creative management to aid them in organizing their artistic affairs.
The artiste manager's presence in the life of a professional performing artiste has become an axiom, to the extent that some have begun wondering about the possibility of artiste's professional development in the absence of his/her manager especially since some artiste managers' fame has surpassed that of the artiste's.
The manager's primary job is to serve as a liaison between the artiste and the groups or individuals with whom the artist will deal. In the music industry, these groups and individuals would include the artiste's record label, publishing company, booking agent, business manager, media practitioners etc. Also, the manager usually has experience in the business aspects of the music industry that can help to guide the artiste in his or her career and in handling day-to-day administrative needs. Typically, a manager will advise the artiste in matters related to marketing, publicity, promotion, employment and image.
Consequently, choosing an artist manager is considered one of the most important choices that the artist makes and which affects his artistic career positively or negatively, due to the significant role that the artiste manager plays in planning the performing artist's career on the long run.
However, it has become a trend in Nigeria for artistes to choose a member of their family as manager. P-Square for instance is managed by their brother.
But despite this successful example, this is not the best or only way to choose an artiste manager. A member of the family or a best friend may not necessarily be a suitable artiste manager since the latter should possess certain qualifications and experience which qualifies him/her to perform the many ramified tasks he is in charge of. 2face and D’banj for example, have chosen their respective artiste managers from outside the family and have both achieved incomparable success.
In my opinion, whether the artiste manager is a member of the family or not, has no legal effect on the relation between the artiset and manager as long as this relationship is clearly organized by a written contract that is signed by both parties, stating the rights and obligations of each, and establishing the authority of the manager to avoid any conflict between the two parties.
The purpose of a written management agreement is to define the relationship between the artiste and manager, and to outline the roles of each party in that relationship. Some artistes and managers claim to have such good working relationships that a written agreement is unnecessary. These types of arrangements can be successful. However, a contract still is recommended because it allows the parties to outline and define their business relationship in writing. This helps to avoid disagreements or discrepancies that may arise later if the parties cannot remember exactly what their agreement was.
Before a manager and artiste sign the written agreement the parties usually negotiate important issues that each party feels needs to be addressed in the contract. Negotiation is a process of discussion to determine each party's needs and concerns; successful negotiations always are based on compromise and solutions. Therefore, when parties begin to negotiate an agreement, they should not view the process as adversarial. Instead, they should look upon the process as a puzzle they are attempting to solve. Just because one party has a question or concern does not mean he or she is resistant. In fact, most often, he or she is just seeking some assurance. Rather than viewing the other party's needs and suggestions as a problem, negotiating parties should work to develop alternative, creative ideas and rational solutions that meet both parties’ needs. In most cases, such dialogue will not only resolve issues, but will help the parties to understand the other better.
The difference between Artiste Manager and Agent:
It is important to mention the confusion occurring in the entertainment circle that don't differentiate between the artiste manager and the agent, bearing in mind that both are considered 'Personal Representatives' of the performing artiste.
The agent specifically undertakes the acquirement of, and/or the offer, and/or the promise of obtaining, and/or the attempt of securing contracts, concerts, and job opportunities through which the artiste carries out his performance. The agent's job generally ends upon signing the contract between the performing artiste and the third party (whether a physical or juristic person), with the knowledge that the agent's name isn't often mentioned in the contract, despite the fact that the agent has concluded negotiations on his/her terms to get the best possible conditions, taking into account that he/she gets a specific percentage (from 5% to 20% of the contract value) of the performing artist's productivity, and thus the agent doesn't have anything to do with the execution of the contract and its ramifications or with monitoring the performing artiste's work or anything of the sort.
As for the artiste manager, he/she manages the performing artiste's daily matters that are related to the latter's development, business management, and guidance.
So, the agent and the artist manager have totally different roles from each other, but our Nigerian still merges these two whether theoretically or practically, because more often the performing artiste deals with a single person who does the agent's and the artiste manager's work at the same time.
The Contract duration:
One of the main points that the performing artiste and his/her manager should agree on, is the term of contract. The former usually wants a relatively short term contract so as to regain the freedom of contracting with another person if circumstances differ.
As for the latter, he wants a long term contract especially if the artist is a novice in the world of art, because the efforts that the artiste manager exerts may not bear fruit except on the long run.
The period of the contract usually ranges between three and five years and sometimes might be up to ten years. It is advisable that the first contractual period is not less than two years since the artiste manager's attempts may not be fruitful during the first year because of the preliminary proceedings.
But one may insert an Escape Clause that allows contract termination before its expiry date if both parties did not reach a requested purpose. One may also add a clause that allows the implicit renewal of the contract for an additional period unless one of the parties expresses his desire for non-renewal.
Obligations of the artiste manager:
The daily administrative aspect of the artiste's work falls upon the shoulders of the manager who seeks to develop and improve the artiset's performance, market his work and enhance his image. He also has to invest all of his experience, research, specialization, knowledge, cfreativity, connection, and skills to convey a special and distinguished image of the artiste and to develop and improve this image.
The artist manager has to negotiate on behalf of the artiste all contracts in order to provide the best contractual conditions that are in the best interest of the artiste and with the concern bestowed by a good father. Accordingly, he has to refuse any offer that may harm the artste’s development. It is worth mentioning here the importance of choosing an appropriate manager who is ready to reject any lucrative offer in order to preserve the image and skill development of the artist he/she represents.
In general, the artiste manager reviews all the artistic offers in the wide sense of the word; that is, everything related to the artiste's work and image.
The artiste manager must strive to provide the artiste with the necessary and suitable publicity to market his/her artistic works, as well as take care of all the artiste's publicity campaigns and public relations.
The artiste manager must pay keen attention to the execution of the agreed upon artistic contracts, to ensure the artiste's best interests. For this purpose, he can take all the measures he considers suitable, including all court claims on all levels to ensure the sound execution of the contracts, or for demanding compensation upon non-execution, as well as referring to arbitration when deemed suitable.
The artiste manager also collects all payments resulting from the contracts and the artiste's work, and gives the latter his due financial rights from all the works in which he participated after deducting all the expenditures. It is also possible to add a clause in the contract that determines these expenses and their limits.
For this purpose, he has to keep accounts for the amounts resulting from performing the artiste's contracts, which he keeps at the disposal of the artist who has the right to examine and assess them whenever he/she wants.
It is also worth mentioning that some professional artiste managers often don't accompany the artiste on his/her trips, or concerts, or shows, but are substituted by road managers who take care of logistics.., provided that both manager and artiste have previously agreed on the party bearing the fees. But this is not the principle in Nigeria, since many artiste managers solely perform all the work, despite its ramifications.
The difficulty lurks in determining what is included in the artistic framework and what is considered personal in order to get a clear image of the extent of the possibility of the manager's intervention in the artiste's personal life, especially with the great effect this has on the artiste's image in general.
The Manager's Compensation.
Not surprisingly, the terms of an artist-manager agreement that are most frequently argued about are 1) how much will the manager be paid? 2) in what form will the manager will be compensated? (3) who will pay for the expenses? Conflicts sometimes arise when the artiste views the manager as simply taking a percentage of their earnings. Managers are employed by the artiste to perform a service, and an effective manager one who helps the artist to make money and become more successful should paid accordingly. Because the success of the artist usually is measured in Naira-kobo amounts, the manager will take a percentage of what the artiste makes. Ultimately, an artiste should never think the manager is taking money from them. They should consider that everyone is working as a team for the success of the business, with each person taking on a specific role. Without the manager, the artiste would not have as much income to distribute.
To limit disputes later, the agreement should specifically set forth what percentage the manager will receive from the artiste's income, and from which income sources this percentage will be calculated. It is typical for a manager to receive 10 to 20 percent of the artist's gross income from all sources (e.g., recording, performing, songwriting, merchandise, etc.). The manager is helping to develop and exploit the artiste's talents in these categories and should be compensated for that work. To reduce discrepancies, each category should be specifically listed and defined in the agreement so that all parties will understand.
____
Lanre Lawal
Artiste Manager, Media/PR Consultant.
musiconsultant@yahoo.com
