How To Become a Band Manager

A band manager is an important piece of the artist or band's home team. He or she is the artist or band's partner. He/She receives between 10-20 percent of all earnings the act brings in. He/She is in charge of directing, motivating, and filtering the business aspects of a music career into workable info for the act.

Here is a Business Description on How You Can Become a Band Manager 

Start-up cost: $500–$1,000[#85,000-#170,000]

Potential earnings: $15,000–$25,000[#2.5m-#4.2m]

Typical fees: 10 to 25 percent of a gig

Advertising: Industry trade publications, Blog Banner Ads, local paper, direct mail, nightclubs, bulletin boards, musicians’ associations, electronic mailing lists, and banner ads on Web sites for musicians; later you might consider having a Web site/Blog site of your own with testimonials from other bands you manage.

Qualifications: An ear for what will sell, management skills.

Equipment needed: Mobile phone, computer with internet access, laser printer, phone, letterhead, business cards.

Staff required: No

Hidden costs: Band could fire you without notice; it might be a good idea to represent several bands at once.

What You Do

As a Band Manager you’re into the club scene. You know instinctively what’s hot and what’s not. You see a few up-and-coming bands who need representation (because, truthfully, most musicians lack business skills).

If you have the ability to convince musicians that you can really sell them and make their jobs easier by handling all of the business details they’d probably rather not think of anyway, you could make a decent living. You’ll need to be well connected on the club scene. If you are clued in on where to plug your band(s), you could successfully book them for regular gigs and earn a steady flow of income for yourself in the meantime. Of course, you need to really believe in your band, because if you don’t, you won’t be able to develop and promote them properly and it will show in your presentation. 

Good negotiation skills are a must.

What You Need

You’ll need some initial capital [included in start up] to help get the band off the ground and lay the ground for some publicity. The ability to negotiate good contracts is important not only to the band, but also to you since you get roughly 10 to 25 percent of what they make. With percentages like that, you could realistically make much money (depending on how many bands you represent).

Keys to Success

Expect to spend long hours on the phone trying to get bookings. You’ll probably still have a day job in the beginning, so expect your evenings and weekends to be tied up and your mobile phone to always be on. 

Start out at small clubs and work your way to bigger ones as your band(s) get more experience and confidence.