A Brief Introduction About the Music Manager Contract
A music manager contract, or an artist management contract, is a business arrangement made between a manager and the artist. and clauses like the term of the contract, expectations from the job, fees, expenses, terminations, etc are mentioned in writing and signed by both parties.
Who Takes the Music Manager Contract?
A music management contract is made between an artist and a manager. This type of contracts are formed when an artist and a manager or the manager and the client decides that they want to work together.
Purpose of the Music Manager Contract
The purpose of a music manager contract is to define the relationship between the Artist and manager and to specify the roles of each party in that relationship. The manager’s main job is to serve as a liaison amid the Artist and the groups or individuals with whom the Artist would deal.
Contents of the Music Manager Contract
Few important elements of the relationship that is required to be decided and questions that need to be answered before you draft a music manager contract include:
- Services of the manager: The Manager must agree to render advice, guidance, counsel, and direction. Supervise the Artist’s professional employment, and consult with employers and prospective employers. To represent the Artist. And also act as the Artist’s negotiator, to fix the terms governing all manner of disposition, and use.
- Rights And Authority of the manager: The Manager can pursue business interests which may be similar to or may compete with, those of the Artist. However, the Management will be available to Artist and shall act as his/her day-to-day manager. In an event that Manager is not involved in the day-to-day management of Artist for a defined period as stated within the agreement, then the Artist may terminate this Agreement.
- Term: The Artist grants to the Manager irrevocable consecutive options to extend the term of this agreement for either two (2) periods of three (3) years each upon all the terms and conditions thereof.
- Compensation: It defines the compensation for the services to be rendered by the artist to the Manager shall receive from the Artist or chooses to retain from the Artist’s gross monthly earnings.
- Accounting: The Manager must compute all amounts payable to the Manager and the Artist. He will render a statement of account along with payment or receipt of funds on a monthly basis. The Manager must maintain accurate books and records of all transactions which will be inspected or audited during regular hours by the Artist.
- Termination: The artist can terminate this agreement at any time upon the Manager’s breach upon bankruptcy, insolvency, or in the event of any disputes.
While drafting the music management agreement, manager contract for music artist or manager artist contract, you can mention these necessary inclusions.
You can also refer to a music manager contract template, to ensure you got it all right!
How to Draft the Music Manager Contract?
Some of the essential clauses that may generally appear in a music manager contract are;
The Contract Term: A fair contract term is ideally a one-year agreement, with a choice to extend the agreement at the completion of the year if both parties agree. At that point, you could look at negotiating longer agreements, but a 1-year term is a good trial term for both parties. You must ensure that your contract specifies how both parties could leave the deal.
Job Expectations: What you expect your music manager to carry out depends on where you are in your career. If you are a new band, your manager must be promoting you to labels, trying to get you gig, and usually trying to get things off the ground for you. Also, your manager is responsible for making sure other people are doing their jobs to promote your music. You should be clear as possible about what you need from a manager and what they are willing to perform.
The Management Fee: A standard management fee is generally around 15% – 20% of your earnings. Your manager takes a cut of profits from album sales, any label advance, and from the earnings from deals they have negotiated. Some does not get your money from your merchandise sales, your songwriting royalties, or from deals which they have not negotiated.
The Manager’s Expenses: Your manager must not be out of pocket for business expenditures for promoting your brand, thus, it’s important that you need to reach an agreement on how expenditures would work. You are not required to pay for your manager’s phone costs or office expenditures, or pay for business trips of your manager, or other reasonable costs.
The best way to handle expenses would be to pay them at set times, which is once a month. The music manager should give you receipts for expenditures. You must include a caveat in the contract saying expenditures above a certain sum should be cleared with you first.
Leaving members: There is a clause in the music manager agreement, which makes certain that if a member leaves the band, their duties towards the manager or label do not automatically come to an end.
If you are a small band, and your manager is going to grow with you, make certain to re-examine your music manager agreement to check if it is fair to everyone.
[ Also Read: Music Contracts]
Benefits & Drawbacks of the Music Manager Contract
Benefits include;
Ina music manager agreement, obligations could be made much clearer and responsibilities more easily understood with the presence of a written agreement.
Drawbacks include;
A recognized artist appointing a new manager, or a well-known celebrity with a good career in another industry, might wish to be very specific relating to the activities the manager could get involved in and from which they could expect to obtain commission. They might limit the manager’s role towards music-related actions only and exclude extra income streams, on the basis that these opportunities are contingent on their current status and reputation, which the manager didn’t help them to achieve.
If you fail to think concerning your expectations and promises before you draft a music manager agreement and simply use “standard” language in your agreement, you might find yourself in breach of contract only because you did not fully comprehend or appreciate what was expected of you, or that you settled to take on responsibilities you could not handle.
What Happens in Case of Violation?
In this contract, the Artist would be entitled to terminate this agreement at any time upon the manager’s violation(1) of any of the manager’s representations, covenants as well as warranties, or obligations, which includes without limitation the manager’s duty to account to the Artist.
It is a form of a business arrangement which is made between a manager and their client before a manager and Artist sign the written a music manager agreement the parties generally negotiate important concerns that each party feels that they are required to be addressed in the contract.