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Band Manager

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Explore Being a Band Manager with Bill Boyette

By Jackie Asfoor

The Light Within

Our CareerZing advisory board member, Jackie Asfoor caught up with Bill Boyette to ask him to share his wisdom on what it’s like to manage the business of two up-and-coming, recently ‘signed’ bands. Bill gives Jackie a primer on how to achieve success and how to avoid common tricks encountered in the music business.       

About the Interviewer:

Jackie Asfoor is a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and minors in music literature and theory. She is aspiring to become more involved in the music industry with artist management, promotions, or event management. Jackie caught up with Bill Boyette as he was travelling home from Atlanta, where he met with record producers for one of the bands he manages, “The Light Within”. Jackie was very excited to speak with Bill about his involvement with the band and about the music industry in general.

About Bill Boyette:

Bill manages a private record label and two bands as well as being a full-time Certified Public Accountant. He manages “The Light Within” and “Come Down Denver”. As the record label manager, he set up the AMA (Artist Management Agreement), runs the bands’ tours, manages financing for the record and video production deal (he IS the record label!), and manages financing for booking and tour operations costs and other expenses. A business entity, of which both Bill and the band members are partners, collects the money earned from gigs, songs, and merchandise sales, and then shares the net profits, after expenses, based on the entity ownership. Bill hopes to either “upstream” his bands (that is, sell the bands to a larger record label) once they become more popular, or work full time in music.

Here’s what Bill shared with us about the music industry…

Legal Perspective on the Music Industry: Understanding Record Labels, Publishing & Ownership of Songs:

Revenue Streams: There are many revenue streams for music, for example:

  • Sale of songs, which can produce revenue in the form of royalties.
  • Product sales from gigs,
  • Merchandise and ringtones sales.  

Record labels are consolidating and roles are changing in the industry:

  • Historically, the A&R (Artist & Repertoire) coordinator discovered musicians for the Record Label (talent scouting), and developed the artists, ranging from providing vocal lessons to improving staging and lighting of concerts.
  • Now many artists bypass the major record labels by finding and developing talent on their own and signing them onto their own record labels. For example, Usher developed Justin Bieber after he was discovered on YouTube.  Usher was instrumental in creating Bieber’s sound and style to make him the recording artist he is today. So, artists like Usher are taking the place of two jobs in the industry: Talent Scouting and Artist Development.

Record Labels – Copyright vs. Publishing Rights: Artists must be under contract with a record label. In Bill Boyette’s case, he IS the private record label. Here are some benefits to having your own record label:

  • The record label has significant sway over what radio stations play and the CD’s bands sell to music stores.
  • Record labels won’t answer calls unless it’s from a big company or artist – at least not anymore!
  • The record label owns the copyright of a song and can sell music and keep any markup over the cost of the distributor.  However, the record label is responsible to pay royalties to the publisher and the songwriter first.
  • Music has to be published to be sold, so the record label gets a Publisher to publish the song.

Publishing Music: Publishers hold the publishing rights to songs. Publishing is a separate royalty to the party who holds the publishing rights. Generally, an entity

which is separate from the record company holds the publishing rights.

  • Bill Boyette has a record label and a publishing company. His record label pays his publishing      company royalties, along with the band, on any use of the music that is sold or played in a TV show, movie or radio play, etc.
  • Publishers track every time a song is played (on radio, in other’s YouTube videos, commercials, etc.)
  • An artist or a record label can be their own publisher and “pay themselves”. If an artist wants to be its own publisher, they can do all the administrative work or contract it out.
  • Publishing is different than ownership.  Copyright ownership (artist, record label) must assign copyright      rights to a publisher for the publisher to have ownership of a song. BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) monitor the use (play) of music. (See more about BMI and ASCAP below). The publisher gets paid by the record label.

Record Label and Publisher Relations:

  • The record label hires the Publisher, so they find a good Publisher that has connections with iTunes, Amazon, etc. If a band is lucky, the publisher may have connections with a “brick & mortar” store like Target. Usually record labels have good connections with a Publisher and use them frequently.
  • The record label gives the ability to sell songs to iTunes, and gets 60 cents a “unit” (a song)
  • The record label has to pay royalties to the band and to the Publisher.

Royalties:

  • Mechanical Royalties: Royalties can be made following the SALE of the song (sale on iTunes). Royalties equate to 9.1 cents of every dollar which goes back to the Record Label.
  • Performance Royalties: These pertain to the USE of a song (playing someone’s song on your TV show). The Publisher and Artist each gets 50% of royalties
  • BMI and ASCAP are performance rights non-profit organizations that monitor performance royalties for the Publisher and Artist. You must be a member of the organization to receive services. Artists join      BMI and ASCAP and then register their songs to the organization (or a Publisher does it for the artist).   Whenever a song is played on the radio, on the internet, via live performances, etc., BMI/ASCAP tracks it and pays out the performance royalties to the Artist and Publisher. If you think you can capture your own royalties, think again! You would literally have to monitor all radio stations, the internet, live performances, etc.

How to Be Successful in the Music Business When Money is not a Holdback:

If the band has the funding here are the first steps they must take on their road to success:

  • Their music must have a catchy melody. The band must have a good lead singer. And the band must be good at writing music. It really helps to have an attractive appearance!
  • Then, bands can be their own Record Label and their own Publishter
  • In the case of Bill Boyette’s bands, the bands hired Bill to manage everything for them.

The Job of the Band Manager

The manager sets up the AMA (Artist Management Arrangement) which is a legal agreement (contract) between the band and the manager. The AMA can be set up any way that is agreeable to both parties. This is typically how the AMA is set up:

  • All gig money goes to the Manager. After the manager pays off all the bands gig expenses (food,      transportation, etc.) the remaining proceeds are split between the manager and band.
  • Touring revenue – gig and merchandise proceeds go to manager
  • The manager arranges all logistics for gigs: The band just shows up and plays. The band gets 30%, the  manager gets 70%; or 50%/50% - whatever the manager/band agree upon.
  • If there is no money left over or if the entity (band/manager) is in debt, it is important for the AMA to ensure that the manager gets a minimum set amount of money each month, so the manager isn’t working for free.
  • The  manager raises funds for the band
  • The manager finds gigs and arranges for payment of band’s gas, food, transportation, hotel and other expenses.
  • The  manager buys the band’s equipment. Technically, it’s a loan from the band’s side of the profit, so  they pay the manager back and the leftover profit gets split.
  • The manager goes in advance to gigs, does marketing, and sells merchandise. Bill uses a Publicist      for this, but ideally the band manager would do it. The manager needs to get the right gig and the right audience there.
  • The  manager goes to record stores to sell the CD, puts up posters, and creates relationships with record store owners.
  • The manager runs and schedules the tour for the band.
  • The manager does not make money on record sales or royalties, but gets money from paid gigs and all touring revenues.  However, if the manager brings CD’s to the gig and sells them to the fans, then that falls into the merchandise category with T-shirts, etc. which are touring revenues and… if you’ve been paying attention, the touring revenue go to the manager!

How to Become a Band Manager/Booking Agent:

Start by doing a Goggle search using key words like “AMA” and “how to manage a band”

Bill suggests starting off as a Booking Agent to make yourself an asset to bands and venues. Bands need gigs – so be valuable to them by finding them gig opportunities. Here are suggestions on how to do this:

  • Go to venues and music bars and meet the management and promotions staff. Be a resource to them.
  • Let management/promotions people you will find them the talent they want. Go every month and let them know that you’re on the lookout for great talent that can play at their venue.
  • Ask venue management how they historically find talent to play at their venue.
  • Build relationships with large venues, not just bars. Let the bars be a fill in for gigs once you have a successful band.
  • Do the same with fraternity houses: Go to the fraternity/sorority house, or other organized clubs and work to find talent for them to play their events.
  • Choose venues based on the clientele they attract. You’re not looking for dance clubs, because their customers want DJ’s rather than a live band. Concentrate on venues that want live music.

Building Fan and Venue Databases

  • Build a good venue database with the venue contacts you’ve made. Be a Booking Agent by doing your own booking. If your database is extensive enough, it may even be worth money.
  • Include in your database: names, phone numbers, specialties of people, promoters, local venues.
  • Once you are a Booking Agent, you can help bands get gigs.
  • Start a database of fans for the band (collect fan names, email, phone numbers)

How to Become a Band Manager Once You’re a Booking Agent  

  • Book a gig and charge yourself as the booking agent. Often booking agents are paid 10% of gig revenue. You also take care of lighting and other venue details.
  • Make sure the band members know and understand their responsibilities. You have to specify all responsibilities – even things that seem obvious to you. For example, that the band needs to mingle with fans and the audience during gigs, that they have to be at gigs on time, that they have to sell merchandise at gigs, write music, etc.
  • You handle all accounting, credit card bills, hiring of a Booking Agent (or “hire” yourself as the Booking Agent if you have a good venue database and relationships.)
  • Build a fan email database (send emails blasts). The secret is to obtain fans’ email addresses before you hand them merchandise.
  • It is easier to manage databases when your band is still small. However, once you have hundreds or thousands of fans’ names and emails, you may want to use a database program. Bill suggests using ACT database software to manage and organize sales, and to keep fan contact information neatly organized in a database.

Where to Find a Band to Manage:

  • All the music artists found on the following websites are unsigned and are looking for record labels to sign them, for gigs and for promotion: ReverbNation.com & Kompoz.com
  • If you are good at managing or promoting bands, have a great venue database or any other skills (ex: graphic design, website development), the bands on these websites will want to work with you.
  • Don’t shy away from a band appealing to an older demographic. Rock or blues will bring them back to      their rocker youth and they will become hard core fans.
  • Soulful singers are increasingly popular – they appeal to all ages.
  • Women are no longer in the back seat in music – girls are now rockers (Izzy Hale, lead singer of the band Halestorm).

Songwriting and the Band:  

  • It all starts with the music – the melody and lead singer are most important. They are the storyline and the main character.
  • Meaningful lyrics are more important to girls. Girls want deeper emotional attachment. Guys like beer and girls, but heart break songs seem to cross all lines!
  • To acquire songwriting skills, you need experience in addition to schooling, if schooling is available. You need raw talent to be a good songwriter without much experience.
  • Country music writing is a big business because most country singers don’t write their own music.  

  

Where to Find Gigs:

  • Bands can get paid gigs at fraternity and sorority house parties, and other social clubs or groups (sell merchandise there too).
  • If the band can increase audience attendance at venues, and increase alcohol sales, the band has potential to make more money the next time they play at the venue.
  • Other gig opportunities are at state fairs, them parks like Disney, carnivals. Disney is a good venue      to grow fan base.

Recording an Album with a Record Label:

  • Need 30,000 fans to get a major record label deal
  • Upfront money comes from the record label to support the 4 steps in recording: Preproduction, Production, Post Production, Mastering.
  • Preproduction: When the band goes into the studio, they play the song like they were sitting around a campfire – the music is stripped to the bare minimum. An experienced producer gives tips - dynamics, octaves, timing, etc. to transform the song into one fit for radio and recording. The three parts of the song, in order of importance are: Melody which needs to be catchy and flow with the rest of the song. Vocals: lead singer (really a tie for #1 in importance), Music: everything else including instrumentalists and back-up vocals.
  • Production: The drummer is most important here and must keep perfect time.
  • Mastering: This is done by a computer. It puts all the parts together and makes the song perfect.

Music Sales:

  • Music is a giveaway – at least it’s headed in that direction. However, iTunes sure sells a ton of songs every day!
  • Profits are not very high because you have to split revenues from music sales with so many people. The Copyright owner gets 60 cents of every sale. It used to be that Target, Wal-Mart and other “brick and mortar” stores were the biggest retailers. Now it is iTunes, and other online music stores.
  • Artists don’t really make money from music sales unless the band is very famous.

How Can a Band Distinguish Itself from Others? Branding and Identity:

  • Stay on top of new music and know what’s out there to contrast and compare.
  • Then develop your own identity
  • Work with the right Producer to teach you how to be unique.
  • It’s hard to make a “new current” in the river.  This is why many new artists are soulful singers, like Adele. Others are copying her sound.

Band Marketing and Fans:

  • Fans become die-hard fans by meeting the band in real life, not from seeing them on the internet or by listening to their songs online. Here are some suggestions on how the band can grow their fan base in person: go to the mall and hand out iTunes fliers with a free download. Talk to girls! Be creative – if the band sounds like Adele, play in the parking lot before Adele’s concerts.
  • Be very active on Facebook and Instagram. Tell fans to “come out and show your support by attending a show!” Take names and phone numbers once fans show up to a show. Tell them you’ll keep them up-to-date with upcoming gigs.
  • Hand out fliers with iTunes download. Music is token giveaway. You can sell shirts, ringtones, etc. not just songs. However, money mostly comes from gigs.
  • Start a Facebook banner ad (marketing campaign) for a free download of a song. Pick a song that will be a great hit single, and give it away as a free download. Place these ads on the page of someone      you sound like to attract similar fans
  • At gigs, you can also sell iTunes cards that fans can buy for $1. These cards have a code for a song      download.
  • To be stable in the music business, a band needs 1,000 hard-core fans; 10,000 regular fans.

Facebook Likes – Instead, Start a Fan Database:

  • “Getting 5000 ‘likes’ on Facebook means nothing!”: Be careful hiring marketing professionals who try to trick you into thinking that they’ll get you 5,000 “likes” in two weeks and that it will mean      something for you. It’s so easy to get a “like” that record labels don’t count them as fans.
  • A “like” on Facebook does not constitute a fan. Record Labels define a fan or follower as someone who you have a name, address/contact information on.  So it is important that you start a database where you’ve collected this information. Track concert attendance and merchandise sales to show radio stations your success.  You can walk into a Record Label and show them the hard data you have collected if that band has a lot of fans and sales (30,000+)

Other Advice for Going into the Music Business:

  • Remember that you are naïve and have lessons to learn. If you screw up, see it as a lesson. If you’re smart, you won’t repeat it.
  • Don’t trust anyone. Understand the legal stuff.
  • No matter your role in the music industry, it is important for everyone to have basic knowledge of entertainment law so you are not easily ripped off, and so you can understand the contract you are signing.
  • Be careful when you sign a contract with a Record Label. Sometimes they don’t even tell you that      they have all publishing rights.
  • Be willing to walk away if your efforts are not going anywhere.
  • A “buy on“ is when a venue charges you to play. This is good if you do it for the right night, for example, if you open for a big band. It is an investment that will get you great exposure.
  • “Upstreaming”is selling your band to a bigger record label. Some record labels continuously develop      smaller bands and then sell them to larger record labels once the band becomes popular.

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