5 Major Advantages of Working with a Music Manager

Working with a music manager has its ups and downs. They can be helpful. But, depending on where you are in your career, they may not be necessary.

Typically, you’ll act as your own manager until you’ve been able to make a name for yourself and build your fan base. Until it becomes too hard to manage your career on your own, you shouldn’t even worry about connecting with a band manager.

Though, you shouldn’t write off the idea. A manager can be incredibly useful in your career. Below, you’ll find 5 major advantages of working with a music manager.

#1 – Managers Add Credibility to Your Band or Solo Act

The main advantage of working with a manager is that they can bring credibility.

While this isn’t always the case, some of the people that you’ll need to deal with are more likely to take your music seriously when you’ve got a manager present. It brings a certain level of professionalism.

Of course, the professionalism of your manager can also have an impact on this benefit. If you hire someone that doesn’t take their role as manager seriously, then they could hold you back from moving forward.

The manager that you work with should be able to present a professional image. They should be able to meet with people at record labels, radio stations, venues, and other locations in order to help advance your career.

#2 – Managers Create a Separation Between the Industry and You

Another advantage of working with the right manager is that they help create a separation between you and the music industry. Most people won’t want to deal directly with the band or artists.

For example, journalists and radio stations would prefer to deal with a manager than the artist. If they have something critical to say about the band, it’s easier to relay this information through a third party. This is much easier when there is a manager acting as an intermediary.

This applies to nearly every aspect of the music industry. If a radio station listens to your music and decides that it doesn’t fit their sound, instead of letting you know that they won’t play it, they may ignore your calls. Or, they may not provide honest feedback as to why they didn’t play it.

These issues can get in the way of your career. They can keep you from growing as an artist. This separation is a major advantage of working with a band manager.

#3 – Managers Can Provide Direction and Insight

If you’re working with an experienced manager, they can also bring direction and insight to the table. Their experience can help you navigate the music industry.

You don’t need to listen to your manager’s advice, but they can offer valuable knowledge that you won’t find in blog articles or in books. Sometimes, you need real world experience.

With that being said, you won’t always find an experienced manager. You may end up working with a friend or find a manager that is relatively new to the business.

This doesn’t mean that they can’t provide direction or insight. They can still help you solve issues or come up with effective solutions – two heads are always better than one.

#4 – Managers Can Resolve Disputes and Disagreements

If you work with other musicians, there’s a good chance that you’ll occasionally butt heads. This is true in any workspace. With long hours working together, tensions will rise.

A manager can get in the middle of any disputes or help keep everyone on the same page. Part of their job is ensuring that everything goes smoothly. If you’re in the studio, your manager should help make sure that you don’t waste your time with disagreements.

Though, you can’t always rely on a manager to calm the waters. If an internal dispute between bandmates is keeping everyone from moving forward, then a change to the lineup may be needed.

In sports, when a player isn’t pulling their weight or if they’re limiting the performance of other athletes, the coach might call a time out. But, if the bad behavior continues, the coach will likely pull the player from the field.

The same is true in music. Everyone should be on the same page and play the same tune.

#6 – Managers Can Give You the Freedom to Focus on Music

The final advantage of working with a manager is that they can help free up your time. You don’t have to spend as much time calling venues or radio stations in attempts to line up gigs or get your music played on air. These are tasks that your manager will start to handle.

By allowing your manager to take over some of your tasks and handle the logistics of playing gigs or making public appearances, you can focus more on your music.

This is the ultimate goal for most artists. You want to spend more of your time playing and making music, instead of dealing with the business side of things.

Though, you won’t reach this point overnight. You do need to put in a lot of work in order to grow a large enough fan base and busy enough schedule to warrant the need for a manager.

Final Thoughts on the Advantages of a Band Manager

Overall, a band manager can be a great resource in advancing your music career. Just keep in mind that they aren’t always a requirement. You also need to make sure that you find the right person for the job.

Watch this short video before you hire a music manager:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa7vferiH7w

Many of the advantages provided by working with a manager can be found with a relatively inexperienced manager. In fact, a friend could step in to help create the separation between you and the industry, along with providing some of the other benefits.

You really should focus on building your fan base, improving your craft, and creating original music. If you put yourself entirely into your career, you’ll reach the point where you could consider working with a manager. For additional tips on managing your own career, make sure that check out our guide – Music Management for Indie Artists.

Source: ArtistPR Music Manager