Live coverage from Canadian Music Week in Toronto.
The
Managers Panel: Decisions, Decisions
Panelists:
Brian
Hetherman, president, Curve Music/Cerberus Artist Mgmt., VP of
Industry Relations, FACTOR, Toronto (moderator)
Mathieu
Drouin, cofounder Crystal Math Management, Montreal.
David
Stopps, Managing Director, FML (Friars Management Ltd.), Aylesbury,
UK
Geoff Trio, President, Code One Entertainment,
Miranda, Australia.
John Reid, Manager, JGR
Management, UK
Gilles Paquin, President & CEO,
Paquin Entertainment Group, Winnipeg.
Petri Lunden,
Executive Chairman, Hagenburg Law Media & Management, Stockholm.
The
panelists solicited lots of questions from the audience, which included
a large amount of artists and other managers. Labels were not well
represented in the crowd. There were lots of good tips, particularly
for early-stage artists.
How does an artist
attract a great manager?
Lunden: Simple, it's music.
"If they make good music, they're bound to make some sort of impact."
But accessibility is tough. "Unsolicited material, no thank you.
The first couple of steps will be on your own."
Drouin: Bands
don't need a manager necessarily at the beginning. Instead, go DIY
through channels like MySpace, Facebook, etc. "Turn fans into a
marketing engine."
Trio: Great show, good music, it will
attract.
Kates: Word-of-mouth critical. "If the main way
we're going to find out about you is directly, we're probably not going
to be interested."
Stopps: All about creating that fanbase, "you
need a manager when things get really busy, and you can't really cope."
Also, a manager creates opportunities that you couldn't on your own.
Reid:
"You need to know how to run a business." Manager pursues and
facilitates your objectives. "You gotta know about business, or
you're going to get ripped off".
Paquin: Get a lawyer, get
an accountant. "I don't like to manage an artist that doesn't manage
themselves." So, learn the business, really know your craft and who you
are, "we can develop and brand you, but I don't want to tell you who
you are."
Are record deals worth it?
Stopps.
Majors go after the top-ranked MySpace and Facebook with big checks,
and most bands accept.
Drouin. Lots of different parties
and companies that can bring value to the table, "devil in the
deals," though labels are "dying in one form or another". Oftentimes,
labels will not bring value to the table, and Drouin's Metric skipped a
major label signing.
Kates. On Metric, timing was key, it was
"the right record at the right time for the right artist," instead of a
"tree falling in a forest". In reality, the A&R drives it, instead
of the business side. Still, major label money is "the easiest money
out there," but there have never been so many options.
On
touring.
Drouin. Why tour cross-country (in this
context, referring to Canada)? Instead, tour in a more immediate
circle, instead of trying to spread out across different markets.
Stopps.
Most booking agents are not typically adding much value; Stopps
typically does a lot of booking by himself.
Paquin.
Live is a great place to start momentum, then the rest is recording,
other pursuits.
Douin: Crossing the Canadian border into the
US, a P2 visa is $1,800 (note: probably Canadian, approximate); better
than the gas costs to cross Canada.
Stopps: Imogen Heap is
suddenly going to Jakarta, thanks largely to reaction on Twiitter. "Notice
where the geographic spikes are, and that's where you tour."
On
the relationship, and management models.
Lunden: 1,000
fans is a lot of people. 10,000 is really a lot.
Stopps: fulfilling
the artist vision is critical, and earning way beyond the
commission.
On 'figuring out the model'...
Drouin.
The trap is trying too hard to figure out the model. Also, urged
attending bands to make sure to diversify away from MySpace, into
Facebook. More on DIY; "teach fans that when they buy from you
direct, they always get more".
Stopps. Important to sell
music directly from your site. "Update your website on a daily basis"..
and "it's better to have no website than a dormant site".
Revenues...?
Paquin.
Critical to investigate and exploit various dimensions of an artist,
"there are just so many other things that can develop with artists".
Beyond music, that can include paintings, theater, whatever. Also, a
great song can really break an artist, and for that matter, last for 10,
50, 150 years.
Stopps: Also, synchronization streams
important, potentially game-changing. Cites Snow Patrol's "Chasing
Cars" on "Grey's Anatomy," which catapulted the group. On top of that,
branding is critical, and can often outstrip the music revenues.
Douin:
"The more I give something away, the more it sells," (note: a
funny tendency that has been reported by others like Scott Cohen at the
Orchard recently).
Douin: Virtual worlds... watch this space,
because there could potentially be a lot of money for music there.
Metric has experimented with selling virtual merchandise, IMVU was
mentioned.
BigChampagne's Ultimate Chart (a/o February 10th):
1. “What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger),” Kelly Clarkson
2. “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele
3. “Turn Me On,” David Guetta
4. “Rack City,” TYGA
5. “Good Feeling,” Flo Rida
6. “Smooth Criminal (Glee Cast Version),” Glee Cast
7. “Young, Wild & Free,” Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
8. “Domino ,” Jessie J
9. “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO
10. “Ass Back Home ,” Gym Class Heroes
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