The Ongoing History of New Music, episode 1026: Mighty managers of rock

If you’re a musical artist and start to do well, the point will come when you need a manager.

The manager is the person who looks after all the business stuff so the musician can get on with the business of making music. Managers deal with booking gigs, marketing, promotions, promoters, publicity, support staff, and road crews.

They collect the money and pay the bills. And they oversee all the infrastructure of your career: lawyers, accountants, and all the other people involved in running the business that is you and your music.

But it doesn’t stop there. Managers can also function as advisors, sounding boards, fixers, father and mother figures, referees, bail bondsmen, bouncers, psychologists, and even amateur physicians and pharmacists—for good and not-so-good reasons.

They need to be on top of trends, have all the right connections, understand audiences, be able to navigate record companies, and translate contracts. It is a 24/7 job.

They are incentivized by their commission, which is usually somewhere around 15%, so the more you make as an artist, the more they make. If they’re good at their job, your career grows and the money rolls in for everyone.

The bottom line is that a manager can make or break a career. These are the stories of nine managers who have had an impact—mostly good, but also, you know, not-so-great.

Song heard on this show:

• David Bowie, Rock’n’Roll Suicide (Live)
• Malcolm McLaren, Buffalo Gals
• The Specials, Gangers
• Ramones, Sheena is a Punk Rocker
• U2, Pride (In the Name of Love)
• New Order, Fine Time
• Alice in Chains, Man in a Box
• Foo Fighters, My Hero
• Cage the Elephant, Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.

Naturally, Eric Wilhite has a playlist for us.

The Ongoing History of New Music can be heard on the following stations:

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