Categories: Copyright, Music Industry, Press, Tags: board, California copyright conference, ccc, copyright, directors, Erin Jacobson, erin m. jacobson, find a music attorney, music attorney, music attorney la, music attorney los angeles, music business, music lawyer, music lawyer la, music lawyer los angeles, music publishing
I am pleased to announce that I have been elected to the Board of Directors of the California Copyright Conference.
The California Copyright Conference is a longstanding organization of music industry professionals focusing on copyright and other industry issues. I am honored to have been chosen by my colleagues for this position.
Categories: Articles, Business, Law, Management, Music, Music Contracts, Music Industry, Royalties, Tags: artist management, artist manager, attorney, beverly hills, commission, contract, Erin Jacobson, erin m. jacobson, find a music attorney, how much should i pay my manager, lawyer, los angeles, management, management contract, manager commission, manager contract, music, music attorney, music attorney la, music attorney los angeles, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer, music lawyer la, music lawyer los angeles, music management, music manager, royalties
In a recent article I explained the term of a management agreement, and in this article I’ll discuss management commissions; arguably the other most important clause of a management agreement.
The commission is the amount of money the artist will pay the manager under the contract. This is usually done as a percentage of the artist’s gross income. Standard percentages are usually 15-20%, with 15% being more common than 20%. I have seen the percentages range from 10-25%, but with both extremes requiring special circumstances. Some more creative deals featuring other percentages have also crossed my desk, but again, these deals require other career aspects or services not typically included in management deals.
Aside from the percentage, it is important to know if the commission is being taken on gross or net income, and what gross or net income actually includes. Management agreements in the music industry typically have a list of exclusions on gross income that are specific to aspects of an artist’s career in the music business. This is different than management agreements in other areas of entertainment and in my experience, not all attorneys (even music attorneys) know what to exclude. It is also important to note when, if any, the manager is able to share in other income aside from the main commission.
It is also common for managers to take a commission after the term of the agreement has ended – and I’ll cover that in the next article on management agreements.
Contact me now to draft or review your management agreement.
Categories: Royalties, Streaming, Videos, Tags: Adele, attorney, Erin Jacobson, erin m. jacobson, find a music attorney, how much do artists earn, how much do artists make, how much does spotify pay, lawyer, mechanical, mechanical royalties, music, music attorney, music attorney la, music attorney los angeles, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer, music lawyer la, music lawyer los angeles, music management, royalties, spotify, streaming, streaming royalties, taylor swift, what does spotify pay
I talk about the numbers.
Categories: Articles, Management, Music Contracts, Music Industry, Tags: agreement, artist, attorney, contract, Erin Jacobson, erin m. jacobson, find a music attorney, how long should a management contract be, lawyer, length, los angeles, management, management term length, manager, music, music attorney, music attorney los angeles, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer, music lawyer los angeles, music management, term
The artist-manager relationship is one of the most important relationships in an artist’s career. The manager has to “get” the artist and the artist’s artistic vision, but also needs to have the knowledge on how to translate that vision into something that will generate mass appeal and profits. The manager also has to have the business acumen and connections to generate opportunities for the artist so that his or her career can grow. An artist needs to be able to trust the manager, feeling that not only is the manager knowledgeable, connected, and in tune with the artist’s essence, but also that the manager is at all times acting in the artist’s best interests instead of serving the manager’s own needs.
Management agreements have several important aspects that need attention and often, negotiation.
The first of these aspects is the term of the management agreement. I explained what a contract term generally means here, and for purposes of this article the “term” will refer to the length of the relationship. Traditionally, management agreements have a term between three and five years. Managers typically would want four or five years because, as they often argue, it takes a long time to create the momentum needed for an artist to really start seeing success. From a manager’s perspective, this can be true and also gives the manager the opportunity to still be representing that artist when success comes; that way the manager can receive a full commission rate at the artist’s higher income level instead of earning a percentage of the low (or no) revenues artists usually earn at the start of their careers.
On the other side of this, artists usually want to sign with a manager for the shortest amount of time possible, which allows the artist to get out of the deal faster if the manager is not delivering on promises or things just aren’t working out. There is almost nothing worse for an artist than being stuck in a bad deal that hinders the artist’s career by blocking potential opportunities while the artist waits for the deal to end.
These days I have been seeing even shorter terms on management deals, often one or two year initial terms with at least one option period attached. Both parties really need at least a year to get enough momentum going to start seeing some increased success, but it seems the management deal is following the trend of all deals in the music business by shortening terms to try to reduce risk.
What people tend to forget when thinking about the length of an artist-manager relationship is that terms can always be renewed. If the contract term length is on the shorter side, the parties can always renew the agreement at the end of the term if they still desire to work together. The parties don’t have to part ways just because a piece of paper set a time limit at some point in the past. On the other hand, if the parties feel it is time to move on, they have the freedom to do that knowing they gave it a fair chance during the time period they originally allotted.
Part 2 of this series will cover management commissions.
Contact Erin now to draft, review, or negotiate your management agreement.
Categories: Interview, Music, Music Industry Interviews, Tags: capitol records, contracts, copyrights, disc jockey, dj, Erin Jacobson, erin m. jacobson, find a music attorney, gen y, generation y, geny success show, internships, jason bay, jasondbay, los angeles, music attorney, music attorney la, music attorney los angeles, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer, music lawyer la, music lawyer los angeles, networking, podcast, rick dees, usc
I recently did an interview on the The Gen Y Success Show and this has been one of my favorite interviews! It’s a little different than some of my interviews because it’s not about the music business — this interview is about my path in becoming a music attorney, my love of music (and a few examples of my favorite bands and concerts), my tips on how to network effectively, and more!
“…[Erin Jacobson] established herself as an authority, not only as a lawyer, but within the music industry itself.” ~ Jason D. Bay, host of the GenY Success Show
Listen here: The Gen Y Success Show (Online / iTunes)
Categories: Articles, Clients, Law, Music Industry, Tags: find a music attorney, music attorney, music lawyer, my music masterclass
I’ve adapted and updated my series of posts of “How to Choose the Right Music Attorney for You” at www.mymusicmasterclass.com. Check out the article here!
Categories: Business, Music Industry, Tags: attorney, beverly hills, find a music attorney, hollywood, lawyer, los angeles, music attorney, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer
Over the last several weeks, I have outlined many qualities to consider when choosing an attorney. Once you have decided what kind of attorney you want, the next step is actually finding one
How to find an attorney?
Ask your other creative friends whom they use as their attorney. With the wealth of information on the Internet, it is also possible to find information for the attorney of another artist you admire. There are several attorney directories like lawyers.com and findlaw.com you can browse. You can also search for attorneys and view their websites, or refer to networks like LinkedIn.
© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.
Categories: Business, Music Industry, Tags: attorney, beverly hills, find a music attorney, hollywood, lawyer, los angeles, music attorney, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer
You know what they say: “Location, location, location!”
Location
If you have to meet with your attorney or go to his/her office, you may want to make sure the attorney’s office is in a convenient location or that you are willing and able to travel to his/her office.
Next time, I’ll discuss how to find an attorney after thinking about all of the criteria I have explained over the last several weeks.
© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.
Categories: Business, Music Industry, Tags: attorney, beverly hills, find a music attorney, hollywood, lawyer, los angeles, music attorney, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer
Always an important concern is price. How much does the attorney charge?
Price
Attorneys have different billing rates based, which are mostly based on their experience and number of years in practice. Some attorneys only bill hourly and/or take retainers, while some will also charge a flat fee or take a percentage of income. Take serious consideration of what the attorney quotes you and whether you can afford it. An attorney will not be happy if you think you can afford their rate and then rack up a large bill you cannot pay.
There is one point I need to address because I feel a lot of people do not understand it. Lawyer’s rates are based on time expended on a matter, experience, years of schooling and learning a skill. It is different than walking into a store and getting a product. Many people seem to feel that they should not have to pay for legal services because they do not walk out of the office with a tangible product in hand. When you pay an attorney, you are paying for that person’s time and skill. You are paying them to provide a service to you that you should not provide for yourself. Even attorneys hire other attorneys when they have legal problems. Just as you spent your time and used your talent to craft a song or write a screenplay and expect to be paid for it, the attorney will do work for you and expect to be paid for it.
Next time, I’ll address attorney location concerns.
© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.
Categories: Business, Music Industry, Tags: attorney, beverly hills, find a music attorney, hollywood, lawyer, los angeles, music attorney, music business, music industry, music law, music lawyer
Consequences
Something that goes along with your attorney’s style is the consequences of your attorney’s style. Some attorneys have bad reputations and people do not want to deal with them. Other attorneys have killed or almost killed deals for clients because they are difficult to work with or have a large ego. Ask other people you know in the industry if they know anything about the attorney, or even ask the attorney for references. If they are well respected, it will show.
Next time, I’ll talk about fees.
© 2010 Erin M. Jacobson, Esq. All Rights Reserved. If you like this article and want to share it, you may provide a link to www.erinmjacobsonesq.com or a direct link to the post for others to read it. You may not reprint this article without written permission from Erin M. Jacobson, Esq.