With the music business changing at an incredible speed, HND Music Business invited former Biffy Clyro manager Dee Bahl and Fatherson/Idlewild manager Bruce Craigie to discuss the ever-expanding role of the artist manager in the 21st Century. In the first of two instalments Dee and Bruce talk about the music industry in 2019 and their introduction to the role of artist manager.
Q: What are your predictions for the music industry in 2019?
Bruce Craigie: Hard to say unless the economy settles and the industry takes some better shape. In regards to the record labels they are either very big or very small with nothing in between and this has been lacking in the last few years which has made things very difficult for the development of rock bands or anybody who needs to tour because there hasn’t been the support network that there used to be when you were lucky enough to have a record deal that could help you with those things. A tricky time which I don’t see being any easier this year unless the economy settles.
Dee Bahl: Difficult to make predictions in this volatile climate but I’m hoping there is a sort of rise for the independents and they become a lot stronger and I’m hoping venture capitalists take a chance on emerging talent because it’s really hard to get funding and it’s really hard to get finance. There are some people out there with a little bit of money that can make a huge bit of difference. You’ve only got the three major record companies and there is not a hell of a lot of signing going on there, it’s very guarded considering the usual things I see getting picked up. I’m really hoping that the independent sector becomes a lot stronger and I think with the lack of money there will be opportunities for independent labels.
Q: What are you excited about in the music industry for 2019?
B.C. I think at the current time for better or worse in the digital era it’s never been easier to record music and get your music out there so that’s one of the things that’s really exciting but on the downside it’s never been harder to make a living out of the music business so it’s very difficult to quantify where you can collect any money from since it’s just such a broad scope of things that go on but what I like about it is that it feels like it’s back to being a cottage industry again in many ways.
D.B. I’m becoming more aware of different business models of people who are trying to do things differently and almost go out on their own and give it a go and that’s exciting. There are a lot of bands out there who are doing their own albums and a whole range of people being creative and that can only be a good thing.
Q: What led you to get involved in management?
B.C. I’ve been managing bands for about thirteen or fourteen years now and before that I worked in record companies. I worked at Go Discs and I worked at Chrysalis and I started of at Stiff Records and I ended up at a little label called Deceptive Records which I did some consultancy work for and that’s how I became involved in the management side of things by one of the bands that came through which is a band called Idlewild and I basically managed them from day one really and continue to do so. I came across Idlewild when I was working at Deceptive and we signed their publishing and we had a publishing deal through EMI music and that gave me the chance to quit the day job for a few months. They wanted to make some records with Deceptive so we put some records out and in the meantime we were negotiating a record deal for them and one of the labels that was interested in signing them said to the band why don’t you get Bruce to manage you and they said what a great idea and it just fell into that way and I’d been asked a number of times to manage bands but never actually taken the plunge as it were and that’s how I sort of fell into the management side of things really.
D.B. It happened by complete accident if I’m being honest. I’ve always been a bass player in various bands over the years and I came off tour once and my next gig wasn’t for a while and I always had this ambition to set up a small record label and so that’s what I did with a couple of mates. We didn’t have much money and we had to borrow money. Once we got things moving the two bands that we got for the label was a band called Aerogramme and a band called Biffy Clyro and we put out their first releases and one thing lead to another and basically by default I ended up doing a lot more for these bands and before I knew it I was their Manager. From my days of being in bands, any management company that had managed me or the band I was in basically had to come through me and I just had an aptitude towards management and I just knew how it worked. I also had a degree in Marketing and Management and I’m not saying that’s what cuts you out to become a Manager, you either have it or you don’t. I don’t see why anybody who is young and is aspiring to become a Manager can’t become one because as you go further into your career you learn a lot more. It’s not for the feint hearted. It’s not a dull job, it’s a very demanding job and it’s twenty-four/seven and I mean twenty-four/seven. However, the rewards are there to be had and it’s a very fulfilling job.
Q: What is a day in the life of a music manager like? What aspects of your bands’ careers do you look after?
B.C. It’s an interesting one that, particularly now, as it really depends on the role that you take on with the band and what part of their career you get associated with as I guess what the artists needs and what the artist wants to do is what basically changed my role. Basically looking at the areas where they need assistance whether it is help with the show or help with the crew and building a team around the band if you don’t have a traditional record company.
D.B. Pretty much on a day to day basis I’d be dealing with the bands lawyer, dealing with the accountant , their agent. The international department of the label or the press department or it could be the TV department. Really depends on where you are in the lifecycle of an album or a release which dictates what your day is going to be like. With Biffy Clyro they’re a heavy touring band so a lot of time is dealing with aspects of that such as putting a crew together, appointing a tour manager and so I have to think months ahead of what the band might be doing. I spend a lot of time with the bands accountant working on budgets with the record label. If you’re going into record an album I’ll deal with liaisng with the record label, with the producer, with the producer’s management. It’s never dull.
Q: What should other aspiring managers look for in a band? What important contractual issues should a manager look out for, or what red flags should they be wary about when considering getting involved with managing an artist?
B.C. When you’re looking for a band you’re looking for somebody that’s going to entertain you, that can write good songs, somebody that has an idea of their direction, somebody that has the drive and knows what they want to do and why they want to take on a manager. What’s the right time to take on a manager? What role do you want to take on as a manager and what are you able to facilitate? I particularly go back to the artist having drive if they want to have a career out of the business. Pretty much every band I’ve worked with from within record companies, publishing companies, right through to managing bands has had a very strong idea of what they wanted to do and what they wanted to achieve out of music.
D.B. They’ve got to love the music that a band are making because if you don’t you won’t love the people making the music and it’ll be difficult to sell the band to the world. It was really hard in the early days to get people to believe in Biffy Clyro. If I didn’t love their music I couldn’t have done that job. Obviously you want people who can write good songs, who really want to succeed and are attentive to what you’re saying. A manager can bring opportunity and a band have to be ready and willing to take these opportunities. In terms of contractual issues, the term of the contract, your commission, your expenses – make sure you’re not saddled with a lot of the cost. Also if the term of the contract is up or the relationship breaks down you need to know what you’re entitled to given the amount of work you’ve put in.
Q: Since you started being an artist manager do you find that the role is changing? Are you becoming more central to the whole industry?
B.C. Definitely changed. The traditional way for a manager of earning any money has changed. It used to be that you’d find an artist and you’d take them to a record company or publishing company and they’d offer you an advance and then you’d take a commission on the advance from the artist. There are a only a few of these deals done now as the industry has shrunk and the amount of money available has shrunk. That has made the role change a lot really. The role used to be to motivate your artist and motivate the label and that was an important thing and now you have to do what the labels used to do and you have to be an all-encompassing person so instead of going to the label and saying what do you think on the marketing campaign you’re now involved in that sort of thing.
D.B. Looking after the band, the tours, the releases are the same. However as technology develops the change has been in online activity, social networks and how music is accessed and consumed. There has been changes in how much labels have become involved in all aspects of a bands career. They will only get involved if a band signs a 360 deal. They are much more cautious now about signing and working with bands.
Q: Is now a good time to be a manager?
B.C. Sort of. It’s exciting but it’s difficult to make any money and that’s the big issue. Unless you’re bankrolled by a big company or you have a huge act that can let you take on a few other things and develop them at the same time then it’s becoming increasingly more difficult. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to get involved on the El Jam project as I thought there are good bands out there that don’t have the access to the knowledge and the wherewithal about developing as a band. For example, it’s surprising how many bands playing gigs don’t have a website or don’t have a logo and are giving away music at venues and not thinking about the future and it seems fundamental advise that needs to be given and that can set bands back. If they get an opportunity and they’re not ready it can set them back and that is really damaging for bands.
D.B. It’s always a good time to be a manager. It’s always going to be a tough job and a thankless job. There are a lot of opportunities out there it just depends about how you want to make a difference in relation to the band you want to work with.
Posted by JD, 11th March, 2019
