- Music
- 07 Sep 05
The Oracle: Hyped to death
Need help, advice or a second opinion? Put your music industry question to the [email protected]. This fortnight, Brad in London asks whether he and his other band members can protect themselves against a manager who constantly exaggerates their activities in such a way that they think it will have serious repercussions on their future?
A - The way you pick your professional team, especially your manager, will either set your career and finances up for life or assure you a place on the next RTE talent show. No one likes having to deal with this stuff. But it’s your career and if you pick the right people you can literally set your life on automatic pilot and check up on it periodically.
Although most artists don’t pay much attention to business matters, they all have a built-in radar that tells them when something is wrong. So, if you’re feeling weird then usually you do have a problem. Ignoring the issue won’t help so you must deal with the problem head on.
No one enjoys confrontation, but for your manager (or any other member of your team) to do their job properly there must open communication.
If you can’t bring yourself to do it, get someone who can. You do not want to let small things snowball to a point where they are a major drama and it sounds that your situation is already becoming a serious issue.
If talk doesn’t resolve your problems then make changes. Loyalty is very admirable but it should never be blind and it should be a two-way thing. Losing confidence in someone, whether for the right or the wrong reasons, is like falling out of love. It’s very difficult to fall back in again.
A good manager should expand your career to it’s full potential. Unfortunately, a bad one will do the exact opposite.
Certainly, it is part of his job to hype you to everyone he meets and in your case it seems he’s overdoing this or you’re just plain uncomfortable with being hyped.
This is a classic case of non-communication and I urge you to sit down with your manager and express your concerns in a clear and concise manner. Hopefully, you’ll reach a mutual agreement on how to proceed but if not, then a change may be necessary. Just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.