“I’m beginning to suspect that our manager is ripping us off..."

Q: Bill Smith (not his real name for obvious reasons) from Belfast asks the following question: “I’m beginning to suspect that our manager is ripping us off. We think he got more money from a record company to do some demos than he’s let on to us. What can we do?”

A: First of all, Bill, it’s worth saying that there’s often a simple explanation for things that musicians get paranoid about. Don’t jump to conclusions – but deal with the issue now, rather than letting it fester.

To begin with, if you have one, you should check what your contract says about your manager accounting to you, and ask him to do whatever it stipulates. Whether you have a contract or not, you can ask to meet him and tell him you’d like a clear break-down of all monies he’s received as you feel you have a basic right to this information. Check also if you can get some info from the record company as to what money they gave him and for what purpose.

If he’s unwilling to give you a basic account of the money and sight of relevant documents etc, then clearly there is additional reason for suspicion. The bottom line is that, if you have a manager you don’t trust, maybe you need to get away from him anyway, presuming your contract allows you to do so. If the contract means that he has you over a barrel, there is a longer and more painful route that you may have to go. If you don’t want to handle all of this directly, you can contact either your solicitor or an experienced music industry accountant and ask them to investigate.

Let us know how you get on.

(Michael McKenna is an experienced ACCA with O.J.Kilkenny and Co. You can contact Michael at [email protected] or call (01) 661 1588)