Artist management agreements series; (part 1) introduction

The purpose of this series is to advice artists on the alternatives that are available to them when considering different contract terms in artist/manager agreements. The alternatives should be considered and discussed in order that when specialist advice is sought, much of the ground-work will already have been done. Any artist management agreement should be drawn up by an experienced music business lawyer.

Remember – this is your manager you are negotiating with, so you would be well-advised to

have some good independent legal counsel when doing so. And it would be better if your lawyer drew up the contract – not his. These agreements are important legal documents with potentially significant long term repercussions for both parties. International court cases in recent years do offer some guidance as to the contractual terms which are likely to be respected by the courts both overseas and in South Africa.

Some clauses are just not valid in law, while others have been amended due to their questionable validity. But the cases can only offer so much guidance and no more. When in doubt, presume that what you are reading will be binding on you. The important thing therefore, is for the artist to safeguard himself from being exposed by prejudicial terms, restraints of trade, or any term which, while it may not be a concern at time of signing, might become a concern in the future when the artist’s career takes off.

It should be noted that management agreements are constantly evolving, and it is hard for artists to keep up with these trends, while a good entertainment lawyer will always keep up to speed with these changes. Nevertheless, it is vital that the artist tries to do the same thing. It is also important that new agreements are reasonably in line with other management agreements customarily used in the music industry; otherwise it is unlikely that consensus will be reached. (Also, if the agreement ever comes before a court, when assessing the reasonableness or otherwise of a particular agreement brought before it at any particular time, the court will have regard to other management agreements currently in use, to determine what is acceptable in the industry).

There are obviously hundreds of matters to consider when entering into an artist management agreement. The main aim of a management contract for the artist is to appoint a capable individual that will guide his career in the music business in general. But when discussing the terms of the potential management agreement, the artist and the manager will undoubtedly focus, in particular, on at least the following main issues:

1. For how long will the manager manage the artist? (The term)

2. In which country/countries will the manager represent the artist? (The territory)

3. For what activities will the manager represent the artist? (The activities)

4. What will the manager be paid? (The rate of commission)

5. On what earnings will the manager be entitled to commission? (The commissionable earnings)

6. For how long will the manager remain entitled to commission? (Duration of commission)

7. What are the expected functions and responsibilities of the manager? (Business administration)

8. What will be the approach to the manager’s costs and expenses? (Running costs)