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)."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
Indie Artist Management program presented by 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 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 economic realities of 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 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, event covered a lot of territory and generally moved rapidly from one topic to 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 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 formal part of presentation, one artist asked four questions without waiting for an answer and there was a bit of fun for rest of us as we watched 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.
Highlights from presentation:
On obtaining publicity for clients:
Ross: "You do whatever you can for publicity." He occasionally spends time in music chat rooms to see who is into which artists in local markets. "You call, write, give out 200 sampler CDs. It all builds for future."
Laski disagreed: "I don't believe in artists giving out free samplers to fans. Make an EP and sell it for $5."
Yeko: "We call music editors to get reviews and write-ups, but main thing is to figure out your goals ahead of time. Under right circumstances, you can't give out too many flyers or CDs."
