Saturday, August 22, 2009

Seen on craigslist

I just couldn't resist posting this craigslist ad I found. Given that I'm generally not in the business of giving any band (especially new bands) a bad name, I've censored out the specific info.

To summarize what they are looking for: Band manager needed for young band that currently has one show booked on their calendar. No experience necessary, as long as you can talk and have tenacity. They need you to handle the business side of things because they don't have time (they've got that one show booked), and you will get paid when they start making money (no timeline for that provided). They've been screwed over a few times by managers who didn't help, so they are now seeking a better manager on craigslist. Don't forget about the tenacity.

Hello, we are {band name}.
We are an established rock and roll band from {somewhere} and we are looking for a manager.

We have been doing our own booking/managing but we're at the point where we need help with it. We want more big paying gigs. When we get paid you'll get paid.

Connections in the music industry are a plus but not required. If you have no experience with this sort of thing it's no problem; as long as you are well spoken, have great people skills, are passionate about music and are up to the challenges.

We really need someone that will stay on top of the business side of what we do. We've had a few people claim to be our manager, they end up doing next to nothing and we end up back at square one. If you think your enthusiasm will fizzle over time, do not waste our time. We must have someone that will match our tenacity.

Music business lesson #1: So you're in a band that's fairly new, and maybe you think you're pretty good, and maybe your parents do too. Maybe you even are good, and you really just need people to hear you. Naturally, you know that the bands you love have managers and booking agents and crews and such, so you figure, "we need a manager and agent too." There's your problem right there.

Please, please, PLEASE take note that you are nowhere close to needing any of those. If you are having to seek out a manager or agent then you do not need either one. Even if someone wants to be your manager, you do not need one unless your band is playing over 200 dates a year and touring the country regularly AND making a lot of money because you've got 100+ fans in every town you play. If you are a band that plays weekends, tours locally or regionally only, and doesn't have a substantial following, managers and agents are just going to take a cut of the tiny amount of money you make. Actually, since you're probably still spending more than you're making, they'll just cost you even more. Do it yourself, learn the business, make fans, and get better. Outside people will not help you do any of that.

That's all.

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