There are so many aspects to managing a music career that one person can hardly be expected to handle it all.
Once your career moves out of the garage and onto the stage or into the recording studio, you need help. Promoters, booking agents, tour coordinators and business managers are just the beginning. It has been said that in order to have a successful career you need to devote 50% of your time to actually working on the music and 50% on the management of your career.
The advantage of hiring music business management specialists is that you can allocate specific components of your career to each to handle. You can return to the business of making music and let the experts handle the area they are experienced in.
Because each member of your management team has an area of expertise, he can devote himself to handling just that aspect. He is neither overwhelmed by the demands of his job nor struggling to handle some facet of the business with which he is inexperienced. The fact that he has training, experience or a combination of both in a particular field means he can do a better job than you could, get you the best deal and save you from the headaches of having to learn through trial and error.
For example, you might understand how your bad equipment works but do you have the time to pack it, ship it arrive ahead of the concert, set everything up, test it and make sure it performs acoustically well in this venue? No, you have other details to attend. This would fall to the road manager and his crew.
Another example is the business manager. His job is to look over all the financial dealings of your business. He reviews contracts, invoices, expenses and budgets. He makes sure bills are paid, wages are doled out and expenses are covered. He files the taxes and if agreed upon, sets up retirement and investments for you.
Typically the business manager has a business or accounting degree, something you certainly don’t have because you’ve been building a career in music. You are definitely going to need the services of a business manager.
Surrounding yourself with qualified managers who can take on the extraneous business matters they excel at handling leaves you free to deal with what you excel at, music. It also means there is someone in your corner, looking out for your well-being in every aspect of your career management. With a solid management team in place, you have a better chance of achieving the type of fame and fortune you dreamed of. The advantages of having music business management specialists on your payroll should be self-evident.