The career of an entertainer is multi-faceted and requires expertise in specific aspects. Therefore, with high-level entertainers, there are various roles that are managed.
These roles are generally filled by a handful of different mangers that handle the management of music, tours, business, production, tech, and road.
Business Manager:
A business manager is good with numbers and sometimes an accountant. It is up to this person to manage the expenses and revenue of the business. They will pay the musicians, background musicians, crew, tour management, etc. They will also make sure that taxes are paid and everything is legal financially.
Music Manager:
Music managers, or artist managers advise the talent on all aspects on their career. They will help the artist to reach the audience and assist the artist in recording, publishing, merchandising, and touring opportunities. The music manager has knowledge in the specific industry and can advise on sponsorships, branding, and licensing. The music manager faces outwards and looks for opportunities and collaborations with companies or other artists.
Road Manager:
A road manager tends to the logistics while being on tour. Their tasks lie heavily in making sure that everything that happens on the road is according to contract and ensuring that payments are made on time. A road manager allows the artist to focus solely on the performance, appearances, and pleasing fans. The road manager will be in communication with promoters, agents, sponsors, and other personnel.
Tour Manager:
Although the tour manager sometimes serves the same role as road manager, the tour manager on large tours coordinates the road manager and other logistics on the tour. The tour manager is in charge of the bigger picture (the whole tour), instead of tending to everyday activities, which is what a road manager does. A tour manager will be key in planning merchandising, tour routing, catering, hospitality, etc.
Production Manager:
Production managers are generally a luxury of larger tours for major artists. They will work in tandem with tour managers and coordinate logistics such as renting sound, video, lighting, trucking logistics, and coordinating scheduling for touring crew and local venue crew.
Technical Manager:
The technical manager is in charge of set construction, set design and other technicalities that are a part of the actual performance. They will work closely with the production manager.
Typically, the larger the tour, the more specialized the management roles will be. On small tours, there is many times just one manager that overlooks all responsibilities. However, on large tours, these roles need to be split up in order to operate most efficiently.
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