Most of the time, the question artists should be asking is not “Do I need a manager?” but instead, “When do I need a manager?” For example, do you need a manager to help you get a record deal, or do you need one to handle the complex business arrangement after signing a contract?
The truth is there is no steadfast answer to when getting a manager will help you as an artist, as it all comes down to your situation and business plan. If the band can take care of all business duties themselves, there’s no point in giving away part of their income to a manager. However, there will come a point in even the most business savvy band’s career if they become successful that they will have to have someone to take over the business aspects of that career.
What a Music Manager Does
Put simply, a music manager takes care of the aspects of a band not related to writing and performing music. This ranges from negotiating booking rates to paying taxes to setting up the band as a business and much more.
The actual role of the manager will vary depending on the artist and what they need done. For example, larger artists will have multiple managers (tour managers, business managers, etc.) to take care of various career aspects. Smaller artists typically will use managers to book shows (or connect with booking agents) or take care of all financial matters.
Typically, managers charge a percentage of income, and the standard amount varies from 15-20 percent. Therefore, they will take a cut of what they are responsible for bringing in.
When it comes down to it, few musicians are also great business people. Even the ones that are, will eventually run out of time to not only write, record and perform music, but also to handle the business aspects of their career. This is where a manager will come into carry the business portion of the load.
Can a Manager Get Me a Record Deal?
In some cases managers are brought on pretty much specifically to try and get the artist a record deal. In fact, this is often the best way for a manager to make money, as if the artist is given money by a record label after landing a deal, then the manager gets his or her percentage as a reward for the contract.
However, that doesn’t mean that it is necessary to have a manager to get a record deal. Again, it comes down to your situation as an artist as to whether this can help you, but it often can as you bring someone with business experience to work with the labels and obtain the best deal possible.
It should be remembered, however, that whether you have a manager or not, you should be sure to involve a lawyer in the process of reviewing any contract to make sure you are signing exactly what you think you are signing.
Make Pro Songs
There are 8 unique value-points inside the Sage Audio membership, so let’s go over each one so you can decide if it’s the right fit for you.
1. 50 Free Mastered Songs Per Year
- 50 free mastered songs per year with your own dedicated professional mastering engineer so you can get all your mixes sounding like professional songs.
- You’ll get your own dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer to create custom masters that are specific to you and sound exactly how you want.
- Unlimited revisions with your dedicated Sage Audio mastering engineer. As a standard of our service, we are not happy until you are happy with the sound of your masters.
- All masters are delivered as commercial, industry-standard high-resolution 24-bit HD WAV masters so they will sound clean and clear on every platform.
Get Access
2. 1-on-1 Mentorship
- The Sage Audio 1:1 Mentorship gives you direct access to us to answer all your questions and receive unlimited advanced mixing feedback directly from us.
- Unlimited direct access to us for in-depth discussions to help you improve your mixes and masters.
- Unlimited advanced mixing feedback with detailed suggestions for improvement.
- Fast communication to answer all your questions and get tailored guidance that’s specific to your needs.
Get Access
3. Unlimited Mixing Feedback
- Unlimited mixing feedback so you can improve your mixes quickly.
- This is highly valuable - giving you access to a thriving community of mixing engineers who can provide feedback about what you can improve before sending your mix to be professionally mastered.
Get Access
4. Sage Audio University™ (SAU) — (Mixing and Mastering Education Platform)
- SAU is a modern audio engineering education platform that includes in-depth mixing and mastering course curriculums that match the new music industry.
- SAU is designed for every experience level, ranging from first-time mixing engineers to advanced engineers. The techniques and concepts taught can be applied to any DAW to create industry-leading mixes without expensive software or plugins - and free plugin alternatives are suggested throughout every course curriculum.
- SAU course curriculums include Start-to-Finish session walkthrough lessons for multiple genres so you can follow along with your preferred genre.
- SAU Certification Document, which can be downloaded and showcased on your website, social channels, and portfolio for as long as you remain a member.
- Get first access to all future SAU course curriculums to continually build and refine your mixing and mastering skills as the industry evolves.
Get Access
5. Mixing and Mastering Competitions
- Compete in Mixing Competitions and Mastering Competitions to win prizes and connect with friends and colleagues.
- This is a great collaborative way to improve your skills alongside both aspiring engineers and seasoned industry professionals.
Get Access
6. Community
- The Sage Audio community is a tight-knit community of passionate audio engineers who can provide you with real-world mixing feedback, meaningful discussions, networking, collaborations, and more.
Get Access
7. 70+ GB of Curated Sage Audio Downloadable Content, Including:
- 36 multitrack sessions spanning multiple genres for mixing practice.
- 57 un-mastered mixes spanning multiple genres for mastering practice.
- 62 Recommended Free Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 39 Recommended Paid Plugins List (vetted, tested, and approved, so you don’t have to).
- 58 Sage Audio custom plugin presets to improve your mixes and masters.
- Sage Audio Membership Badge to showcase on your website, social channels, and portfolio.
Get Access
8. 700+ Video Catalog
- Access 700+ in-depth Sage Audio mixing and mastering videos - curated and organized into playlists so you can take a deep dive into all aspects of audio engineering with thousands of hours of concise, expertly crafted Sage Audio videos to continually improve your mixing and mastering skills at your own pace.
Get Access
