Jennifer Yeko comes through once again with a great article about what managers are REALLY looking for. This is part one of two articles….part two will appear tomorrow.

Please visit Jennifer’s site at: http://www.truetalentmgmt.com

Do you ever wonder why it’s hard to find a great manager?

Well, I receive a lot of phone calls (and emails) from artists and bands looking for management.

When I was starting out, I signed bands whose music I just loved. And while that same principle holds true, over the past decade of managing, I’ve definitely added to the list of what I look for in an artist. For me, it’s not just “do I love this music?” but also “Do I think this artist/band can go all the way?” and many other things I look for besides just great songs.

So, the topic of this email is:

What managers look for in artists: (Where “managers” in this case, would be me!)

1. Talent/creativity
2. An artist that wants to be very successful
3. Work ethic
4. Charisma/star quality
5. Great performer
6. Passion/drive
7. Persistence & patience
8. An artist that won’t take “no” for an answer
9. A marketable image
10. An artist that is knowledgeable about the music business
11. An artist that is good at marketing/promoting themself
12. An artist that listens to me
13. An artist that isn’t naive/too trusting
14. An artist willing to do whatever it takes
15. An artist with good morals/values
16. An artist that wants me to succeed just as much as they want to succeed
17. A unique voice/sound
18. An artist that treats their family and friends with honesty and respect
19. An artist with a positive attitude
20. An artist that can take criticism
21. An artist who is open minded
22. An artist who is naturally lucky/has good timing

Now let’s go through the list, one by one.

1. Talent/Creativity. The most important thing I look for when signing an artist is their talent. Are they a great songwriter? (note: I wrote ‘great’ and not ‘good’). Are they a great singer? Guitarist? Piano player? But above and beyond that, do they also write songs that are commercial? Because at the end of the day, no matter what genre you’re in, your music needs to connect with people. You need to be able to get people to your shows. To make a living as a musician, as an artist, you need people to buy your music. Also, I look to see if the artist writes songs that may sound like other artists out there, but that aren’t carbon copies. (i.e. do their songs clearly rip off XYZ artist/band?) Do their songs have a commercial sensibility with a unique slant? i.e. you can’t sound EXACTLY like Gwen Stefani or Fall Out Boy, but few artists reinvent the wheel (like Nirvana). I want an artist that writes melodic, catchy songs. Songs that you can sing along to! That are memorable. That people respond to. Ultimately, your audience is the true test of your talent. If people are responding by buying your music and coming to your shows, chances are, there’s talent there!

2. An artist that wants to be very successful. Everyone from Madonna to the Beatles to Kanye West to U2 have wanted to become big stars and become incredibly, massively successful. I found this quote on the Internet: “Somebody said to me, ‘But the Beatles were anti-materialistic.’ That’s a huge myth. John and I literally used to sit down and say, ‘Now, let’s write a swimming pool.’?” — Paul McCartney. Of course, he goes on to say he also thought they were creating art. But my point is, if one of the most successful and well respected bands in the world wanted to write hits, and was obvious about it, well, there’s a lesson there, don’t you think?

3. Work ethic. Talent means nothing unless you have the work ethic to back it up. To me, this usually means that I look for an artist that tours like crazy. I don’t care if you play 10 shows a month in your home town or perform in a different city each night. Successful artists want to be out there performing and working like crazy. Writing songs every day. There is no “magic” to success. It truly is just a ridiculous amount of hard work! And if you believe you don’t need to work hard to get there, well, good luck! Artists that aren’t willing to work to the point of exhaustion just don’t get far. Because for every lazy artist, there are 10 that are working their butts off!

4. Charisma/star quality. I need to feel like the artist has that “special something”. That they turn heads when they walk in a room. Most artists either have this or they don’t. Confidence goes along with this and is very important to me, as long as the artist isn’t too cocky. However, cocky artists succeed far more often than shy, insecure artists. People generally respond to and are attracted to confident people. Ever met an insecure salesman? Chances are they weren’t very successful. The confident ones are.

5. Great performer. Not only must the artist be able to sing well live (meaning on key, with a strong, powerful voice), they also must engage the audience and have a lot of energy up on stage. Be funny, interesting and/or charming. Whatever your angle, I look for an artist that will keep fans coming back for more. So whether you were doing another show tomorrow night, or in a month, your fans should be dying to come back and see you again, again and again (and posting “when is your next show?” on your myspace page).

6. Passion/drive. Passion when they sing. Passion when you meet them. I need to feel like the artist want badly to “make it”. Without passion and drive, well, not much will happen.

7. Persistence & patience. You must be incredibly persistent to ‘make it’ in the music business. So many artists don’t try hard enough. Or they do try for a bit. Maybe even 4-7 years. But then they give up. Just when they were getting close. To be successful, I look for an artist with an “I’ll never give up” attitude. At the same time, you have to be patient as success in the music business takes a long time. Many times 6-7, 10+ years. So I look for an artist that is not only persistent but also patient as there will be ups and downs and frustrations along the way. This is not to say that you can’t ever be frustrating that it’s “taking too long” but it’s how you channel that frustration that is important. Do you sit around and sulk or just work 10 times harder when things get tough?

8. An artist that won’t take “no” for an answer. Pretty much self-explanatory but if someone says no, ask someone else. Or keep asking until that person turns their “no” into a “yes”. Every successful businessperson has this attitude - they just won’t accept ‘no’.

9. A marketable image. Again, pretty much self-explanatory but for example, it’s far easier to market a goth band as there is a built in fan base there, compared to marketing a generic rock band. Then again, Nickelback is pretty generic rock and is one of the biggest selling bands out there today. Whatever it may be, whether you’re rock, country, teen pop or a singer/songwriter, you need to have an image that is marketable and that your fans can relate to. So whether you’re a heavy metal band that boys and men like to rock out to, or a girlie girl who is sweet, cute and pretty and will inspire other sweet, pretty girls to idolize her, you must have a good, marketable image. Look at the Grateful Dead - they tapped into all the stoners in the world and toured forever!

10. An artist that is knowledgeable about the music business. There is a lot to be learned about the music business. I look for an artist that reads every book, every magazine, everything they can get their hands on about the music business - from music industry books to marketing books to books on publicity. Biographies. Business books. The more you read, the more it will help you in life and your music career. If you’ve ever worked at a label or in the music business (or been signed), all the better! I also look for artists that take classes - whether they are voice lessons or ProTools lessons or music business classes. Artists that attend music seminars and conventions are far smarter than artists that do not. I look for an artist that is constantly looking to learn everything they can about the business. An artist that wants to improve themself from not only a business perspective but also as an artist. I like artists that ask questions as it shows they want to learn everything they can.

11. An artist that is good at marketing/promoting themself. Any successful artist is great at marketing and promoting themself. Wonder why Madonna is so huge? She is an expert marketer. I look for an artist that will aggressively market and promote themself. A smart artist will know how to win people over and will market and promote themself well, while not “overdoing it” or “annoying people” along the way.

Visit tomorrow to read part two of this article!

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