Music Industry: Team-building and Artist Management

Music Industry: Team-building and Artist Management

One of the most famous music sensations in the 1950s was Elvis Aaron Presley. His name and songs rode the airwaves for a long time among the American youths of his time. One of the most significant changes that he went through in his music career was taking on Colonel Tom Parker, who lived on to become his exclusive advisor and then his sole representative and manager. Despite working with Elvis to grow and the successful selling of his music, Parker was more selfish and self-centered than anyone else. He was more interested in making money off Elvis than helping the musician. Waksman (2016) describes him as an unsung hero who most writers portray unsympathetically. One of the decisions that Parker made as Elvis’ manager was against abroad tours. Elvis was a big name at the time, and such moves would have cemented his career as the King of Rock and Roll. However, the Dutch-born army deserter had his reasons for such a decision. However, all these came out after his death. The colonel never allowed Elvis to perform outside the US because he was an illegal immigrant, and the US would not let him back into the country if he left it. This decision was selfish, as it did not consider the artist’s welfare. The colonel was irresponsible and self-seeking. In a better circumstance, there should have been some chain of command on the artist’s management, allowing decisions beyond the manager’s affairs. However, this was not the case. There was no structure for holding the colonel accountable. After the death of Elvis and Parker and during investigations into their estates, Judge Blanchard Tual from Memphis discovered the defrauding cases and extreme cuts of fifty percent that Parker made off Elvis’ earnings. This case shows how failure to factor accountability into the decisions of the colonel led to a lot of losses and name tarnishing for Parker and his family.

Team building is an activity that organizations and companies take part in to foster cooperation and working together. These can range from activities within the business premise to evenings with workmates to even days off to a place far from the office to play games, interact, and have fun. Team building allows the employees to know each other, how to complement each other, and use workforce diversity to improve their work (Dyer, 2015). One of the best creative service companies includes The Go Game working with clients such as Facebook and Netflix. Alternatively, organizations can also come up with their games and activities to undertake. However, one of the most common team building activities that IT companies and technology businesses take part in is board game tournaments. These give employees a chance to work together in teams in a competitive nature but also requiring a lot of thinking and decision-making. In my music career, I will use teambuilding exercises to allow my people to blow off steam and engage in activities beyond work. I will use such games as a scavenger hunt, office trivia, storytelling, and even karaoke nights. In these activities, there will be no hierarchies, titles, or positions. It will be just teams and friends having fun. These shall improve relations among the workers and trust in each other’s abilities.

The relationship between a manager and an artist is very crucial for both their success. They act as advisors and facilitators of the music career of an artist. They hold a very significant position behind the success of any artist. As a result, there needs to be trust and commitment on the part of both parties. Managers need to work hard to enhance their client’s network base through meetings and deals for their client’s sake. They should be resourceful, visionary, and responsible to their clients. The fiduciary relation that a manager has to a client can become blurred in some cases. An example is in the case of Colonel Parker, who represented Elvis Presley for monetary reasons. Managers need to be committed to growth and enforce confidence and reliance from their clients. An excellent example was Brian Epstein, who was a manager for the group ‘Beatles.’ He was such an integral part of the global fame that the group had to the extent that he became known as the fifth Beatle (Jenkins & Jenkins, 2018). As a result, managers are fundamental to the accomplishment that an artist can make.

In some instances, a conflict of interest may arise when a manager has to balance between their work and overseeing and representing artists. In the case of new artists, they may not be as successful to fully support the manager hence the use of other sources of income. However, managers are promoters of the artists’ best interests. They defend them and do everything on their behalf. They help them work on their talents and becoming a brand. As a result, they need to be accessible and present throughout. Another case of conflict of interest can arise when a manager works for two different artists or groups that may be rivals. These can also be on consultation bases, as was apparent in the Killers band court case against their former manager Braden Merrick. Conflict of interests hurt the relationship and weaken the trust that artists may have in their managers.

References

Dyer Jr, W. G. (2015). Team building. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management, 1-2.

Jenkins, H., & Jenkins, P. O. (2018). Teaching Beatles business’ $9,’5 (= $. In Teaching the Beatles (pp. 74-84). Routledge.

Waksman, S. (2016). Writing the Life of the Concert Promoter. The Massachusetts Review, 57(4), 784-793.