Indie Artist Management: Economic Realities & Insightful Strategies
Three personal managers of independent artists outline pathways for success in an increasingly competitive marketplace; a Los Angeles Music Network program, reported by Scott G (The G-Man).
(PRWEB) October 25, 2004 -- "An artist's music must be something I love," stated Jennifer Yeko of True Talent Management. "It has to be music I want to hear in my personal life as well as when I'm working."
This view was echoed by Ben Laski of Sonic Management, and Steve Ross of Raving Loon Management, as all three spoke on the Indie Artist Management program presented by the Los Angeles Music Network (LAMN).
"I will never work with an artist whose music I don't love," said Ross. "Commercial radio," added Laski, "sucks, and so..." He waited for the applause to subside, "...and so, why would I want to work with anything other than music that means something to me?"
Each of them acknowledged the economic realities of the marketplace ("The product has to be viable at some point," Ross pointed out), but all three were adamant that their personal reaction to an artist's music was the primary factor in selecting them for representation. "It's like a marriage," said Ross, "so it's best to make a careful choice."
Speaking before an audience made up of equal numbers of indie managers and artists seeking information about management, Ross, Yeko and Laski provided insights into their approach to guiding recording artists to achieving commercial success as well as their maximum career potential.
Moderated by Tess Taylor, LAMN President, the event covered a lot of territory and generally moved rapidly from one topic to the next, although too much time was spent on answering repeated audience questions about California labor law dealing with booking agents.
Basically, no one may "procure employment" for a client in California unless they are a registered agent who has posted a bond and followed other formalities. Since this means that managers are putting their entire contractual relationship at risk if they book a gig for a client, there were a lot of managers in attendance who were hoping to find a loophole in the law.
Both Laski and Ross are attorneys, and Ross has obtained his agent license in order to book gigs for his clients.
During a spirited Q & A session following the formal part of the presentation, one artist asked four questions without waiting for an answer and there was a bit of fun for the rest of us as we watched the microphone being wrestled away from her. It's nice to see passionate artists, but there is also something to be said for displaying a modicum of decorum in public.
For the complete story, including highlights from the presentation, you may visit:
http://newsreleaser.com/0000000562.html
Scott G writes and records as The G-Man and his work is on iTunes and at http://www.gmanmusic.com.
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