We at Gate City Management have came across a lot of different situations in this entertainment industry. Not all entertainers know what it takes to be successful. Everyone is watching what see on TV or the Internet and thinking that's the way to go not knowing the details behind everything.
We here at GateCity Management come across artist that are always looking for management but don't truly understand what a manager does. Artist feel that their managers are suppose to book them shows and get paid off what they get booked. A booking manager and a manager are completely different. A booking manager is in charger for booking shows for the artist and a manager handles the day to day task for the artist. Yes the booking manager gets paid off what is booked, but if your a new artist new to the scene things are a little different. As a new artist your music can be the greatest thing out there but if no one is calling you to book a show then the booking manager and manager have to work together to find you a show. A booking manager gets paid 10% for what they book and manager gets 20% what the artist makes so if you as an artist get book for a show for $250-500 but it takes the booking manager 2 weeks to get you that show because the artist doesn't have a large fan base. Then that means the booking manager only gets paid $25-$50 for 2 weeks worth of work. This is why booking agency or managers are not taking on new independent artists because its not worth their time.
When it comes to a manager, artists want a manager to help their career to the next level. The manager has to wear many hats to make that artist successful. As manager, booking, publicists(discuss later) road manager, which is fine as long as they are paid for their time, services, expertise. Many artist hear and see on TV that the manager is suppose to pay for the artist things, which has happen before but times have change and so has the industry. During the times of managers paying for the artist things was called Artist Development and during this time record labels were doing Artist Development and managers were getting paid to Develop artists. Also what artists fail to realize is that since things have changed if a manager pays for i.e. studio time, pictures, tracks etc. then everything they pay for belongs to them until the artist pays them back with interest ( read the fine print). This is fine if the manager is willing to take the risk and everything works out fine. I'm sure you are familiar with Prince (Purple Rain & Doves Cry) when he first came out he was known as Prince and his label paid for everything to make him successful. Well when Prince and label or management had a disagreement Prince decided to leave them. But when he did he could not leave with anything i.e.pictures, rights to music not even his name "Prince". This is why he had to re brand his self as "the artist formally know as Prince"
As an new independent artist you first have to build a fan base this what companies like Gate City Management and some other management companies do which is called Artist Development. Many artists say they can't pay a manager to manage them. Well truthfully they are not they are paying for the manager to help build a true fan base. If you have unlimited source of money then yes you can throw money at your career and hope for it to be successful but realistic you will waste unnecessary money and may not get what you expected out of things. Or you can hire a management company to do your Artist Development correctly. Through the development the management company will take what funds you do have for your career make sure you spend it wise and strategically with professional people to do your photo shoots, productions, and shows. Artists want to waste their money on social media sites, paying to perform at different venues, and to turn up at the clubs. Managers have the insight on different places, parties, and events for the artist to be showcased and gain the maximum exposure to gain new and true fans.
Artists feel like that have a great fan base because they have over 100,000 views on their 8 of their You Tube videos and 30,000 followers on their twitter (that they purchased) doesn't count as fan. Just because your friends and family say they are going to support you doesn't mean you have fans.
Take a look at the artists that have had longevity in the industry that have had 5 or 6 successful albums its because they were developed as artists. Take Monica for example she got signed at the age of 9 and didn't come out with her first song until the age of 16. The reason being she had to be developed as a artist how to sing, how to perform, how, act, walk and talk like an artist. Now look at the artists that didn't get developed they are now one hit wonders. Yes they had a hit song and made some money but if they were developed then they would still be making even more money.
Artists until you build a true fan base, you need artist development where you want to admit it or not. Yes their are people that made it successful off of You Tube or got a 2 million dollar deal from being on World Star Hip Hop (even then they had to pay people) that's still one in a million chance of it happening to you, and when it doesn't happen artists get discouraged. While others continue to pursue it for years and fifth-teen years later feel like they've being doing it themselves the correct way and still in the same place they were in fifth-teen years ago.
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