Artist Management Course
Learn from your expert tutor, live in the virtual classroom

Module One

• What is an artist manager and what do they do?

• Management skills and personal traits required for managing artists and bands

• The artist/manager relationship

• How to get into artist management - entry options

• The trick of 'communication' the psychology of management

• How are managers paid?  The commission and consultant model

• The artist management contract: typical artist management contracts, contract negotiation, contract term, percentages, exclusivity, payment of services, power of attorney, expenses, earnings following contract period and financial terms. A sample artist management contract will be given to all students

• Class discussion: Streaming and Spotify - how has streaming impacted our role, what is the future of streaming, and how do we secure revenue and promotional opportunities from streaming today

Module Three

• Introduction to music business revenues

  • sources, structures & future trends

• Impact of streaming on revenues and how we utilise this

• Data analysis - the sources of data we examine and how it's used 

• Entertainment lawyers - what they do, and why they are so crucial

• Income from recording

• Signing to a major label vs. signing to an independent label​

• The recording contract

• Advances - what they are, how they work and how to negotiate

• Tour support from the record label

• What the record label pay for and what is recouped

• Producers - contracts, rates and functions

• Income - PPD and net receipt deals

• Royalty basis calculations - net album royalty rates

• Payments - how money is collected and distributed

• 360 deals, what is available and how they work in practice

• Indie deals - working with independent deals on releases

• Presenting your artist to a label - A&R meeting role-play

• Class discussion: The health and wellbeing of you and your artist

Module Two

• Artist management as a business: establishing your company

• Artist evaluation: strengths & weaknesses, current landscape

• The first meeting - from both artist & manager perspectives

• Planning a career: short & long term goals and success trajectory 

• Marketing and branding your artist

• Building the team: finding the team members and understanding their roles and obligations (specifically social media managers, booking agents, publicists, pluggers and lawyers) – when they are needed, and how to manage them so they are all working together

• Finding your artists - the art of management A&R

• Class discussion: Brands and Business - how successful 

Module Four

• Income from live performance 

• Why live music is so important to the industry and it's revenues

• The hierarchy of responsibility in live music

• Booking agents & promoters - what they do and how they do it

• Types of ticket - hard & soft tickets, fee deductions

• Real example of an artists profit and loss sheet from touring

• Tour management - day sheets, tech plots & riders

• The performance contract - a guide to the key clauses

• Secrets of selling out shows from expert promoters 

• The business of merchandise 

• Income from songwriting (Music Publishing)

• How copyright works - a full guide

• Mechanical licenses and compulsory licenses

• An overview of music publishing and it's associated revenues 

• Who are PRS, PPL and MCPS and what do they do?

• Writer splits - working with multiple writers on a single track

• Sync - getting music on adverts, film & TV soundtracks& games

• Class discussion: Sources of funding for artists & new music businesses