Here's some useful info I got from Larry Randolph former lawyer and manager of Britney Spears.


When I started law school, one of the first things I learned was that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client. The same holds true with respect to music artists. Of course you'll have no choice until you find someone to represent you, but that should be your first goal when starting out. You will almost never be taken seriously by a record label if you are shopping your own material. Even though record companies may listen to unsolicited demos (that means demos that they didnt ASK to hear), if they do, then at best theyll have an intern doing it whos probably got nobodys ear at the label who can actually do anything about signing you anyway. The way record deals get done 99% of the time is when a music industry professional who has a relationship with someone at a record label (either an A&R representative or high level executive) says hey, I have this great new artist that you have to check out. From the record label's perspective, this enables them to filter out all the material that isnt worthy of their consideration...remember what I said in lesson ..2, everyone and their grandmother has a demo, well this at least keeps all the grandmothers' demos out. Record company executives have so much stuff coming at them, and with shrinking budgets they also have the ability to sign fewer and fewer artists each year, so they need to be able to rely on professionals who they trust to bring them only the artists who they should be paying attention to.

So how do you know if someone is in that category of trusted and respected professionals who will get record companies to pay attention to you? Most of the time its about track records. Who have they represented in the past? If theyve represented successful artists then theres an assumption that they must know what theyre doing, and since many record company executives and A&R reps dont know what theyre doing, why shouldn't they listen to someone else who has proven that they do know what they're doing (or have at least done a good job of making people believe that they do).

With that said, how do you go about finding the right professional to represent you. First, you need to understand the difference between a manager and an agent. A manager is like your mom and dad in the industry, helping you to make all of your career decisions, including who your agent should be. An agent performs one very specific task, getting you booked for live performances (some go a bit further and help secure things like tour sponsorships too, but you get the basic idea). So initially, you should be looking for a manager (and not a business manager either, because he/she is really just your financial advisor and accountant). Ok, so where do you find one, in the Yellow Pages, on a street corner, at Target?? NO!!! And rule number one of management is never ever use your boy who you think happens to have some general business abilities just because he had a successful paper route when you were kids or was the most successful drug dealer at your high school. Trust me when I tell you that nobody at any record label will ever respect him and if you're lucky enough to get a deal in spite of his presence, he will always be a liability to you. You need to find a manager with experience, resources and contacts. Now here's the rub, the managers with the most experience, resources and contacts dont have time for you. Thats because they're out there spending their time managing their superstar clients who make them a lot of money right now and a new artist just takes too much time and attention to cultivate. So what do you do? One way is to get the attention of a mid level manager who works for the big-time manager. One day hell probably be the big guy and for now, at least he has the attention of the big guy and access to his contacts.

Another very valuable professional at this early career stage is an entertainment lawyer who specializes in music. Many lawyers have similar contacts at record labels and can get you a deal. In fact I was only Britneys lawyer when I got her her deal at Jive Records. I became her manager soon after that. But one word of caution with lawyers...dont EVER pay a lawyer to send out your packages. Trust me, if a lawyer truly believes in you he/she will not ask you for money to send out your material. Theyll do it because they want to get you signed and then make part of that proverbial fat cash you make when you go on to become a superstar.

Ok, now it's time to stop reading this, sign off of MySpace and start looking for that one person whos going to take you to the promised land!