INDUSTRY ADVICE
"Artist/Producer Management"
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by Melissa Emert-Hutner, Hoseb Management www.myspace.com/teamhosebmanagement melissa.emert@gmail.com |
Q What is the name of your company?
The name of my company is Hoseb Management, I manage record producers. I have four clients: Ethan Allen, Emery Dobyns, Dean Baltulonis, and Jon Kaplan (www.myspace.com/teamhosebmanagement)
Q How did you get started in the field of music, artist/producer management?
I got my start in music working at Little Big Man Booking, as an assistant. From there, I did radio promotion for a few years at McGathy Promotions and Red Ink - college, then all of the rock formats and AAA. I realized that radio promotion was not for me in the long run, and I really wanted to do band management. So I partnered up with Rose McGathy, and formed Mean It! Management.
Mean It! had a great run of 4 years, working with Chevelle, The Fever, Walking Concert, Retisonic, and Mike Farris. Rose retired and shut down the company. I kept doing band management on my own, working with The Rinse and The Static Age. But after a couple of years (6 years total) of managing bands, I decided it was time to challenge myself again, so I began working with producers.
My first client was Ethan Allen, who is based in LA. I quickly loved doing producer management. From there, I picked up 3 more clients to form my current roster of producers.
Q What is different for you when it comes to managing producers vs. artists? Process? etc.
There are quite a few differences between bands and producers. It's a bit more stream-lined working with producers because you are dealing with one person as opposed to five. And my clients all are married or are in serious relationships, so I rarely get the 2am drunk on a Tuesday night phone call! I end up doing a huge amount of contract work for each project that the producer works on. So it has taught me a lot about entertainment law, which I wasn't as aware of (the fine details) working with bands. It is the same rush when a producer lands a great project, as it was when a band got a big tour or signed a record label or publishing deal. It's that excitement that I love!
Q Do you feel the climate of the industry today has an impact on the success of producers, the way it does over aspiring artists?
The climate of the industry has in fact been pretty favorable to my clients. Because the record labels don't have the massive budgets that they used to, I find they are willing to take a chance on someone that is young, fresh, and up and coming. Also, because there are so many artists out there doing everything on their own, there is plenty of work to be done for producers that are willing to work within a smaller budget (get a larger back-end, etc.) So though people are being laid off left and right, there are still a zillion bands out there wanting to work with a producer on their record. And my four clients have been doing it a while, so they have strong discographies to compete for the big projects, and easily work on the smaller ones.
Q We have musicians, producers, fans all checking out this website- what advice would you give those purusing a career in music today- from either side?
My advice for any bands pursuing music is to try to do it yourself - don't get swept away in thinking you need a label. The fact is, labels are attracted to bands that have a buzz. There is just no way to candy coat this fact. And the way you get a buzz is to tour, make your presence known online, make sure people know who you are. You don't want to hit them over the head with it, but you want to make sure that people know what your band is up to pretty often. It's all a game of luck, so you never know when you will have your ducks lined up, write that great song, and have your career take off! But, being a bit of a pessimist, always better to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
For other aspects of the industry, intern as much as you can. When people hire you, they don't want to have to spend weeks training you. The more you know, the better off you are, and more valuable to a future company.
Q What is the best way a new producer can have their work heard?
For a new producer to have their work heard, I would suggest building profiles on all of the different social networking sites - Facebook, Myspace, Virb, Bebo, etc. So many people are on these sites, it's insane! And it's a free forum to get your stuff out all over the world - take advantage of it!
Q Are you taking on clients currently?
I am always open to talking to producers, but not really looking to take on a new client at this point.