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IndieEstablished 6 min read

Should You Sign a Manager?

The math of 15–20%, what they should actually be doing, and when "I'll think about it" means "no."

by · · 6 min read representation

The right manager makes you a different artist in 12 months. The wrong one costs you 18 of them. The math of the percentage is the second-most important question; the math of the optionality is the first.

The "next twelve months" test

Before you sign anyone, ask one question — what does the next twelve months look like if I sign you? If the answer is generic ("we'll grow your audience, do some bigger rooms, plan a release") — keep looking.

A real manager has a specific answer. "In month three we shop a sync placement for the Carter track. Month five we move you off the Lyon label to an indie with better international distribution. Month eight we set up a co-write camp in Atlanta. Month ten we line up a support slot on the Dawn tour."

If the plan doesn't have specific names and dates, it doesn't exist.

The 'next twelve months' diagnostic

  1. 01

    Specific names

    Which producers, labels, A&Rs, sync supervisors do they introduce you to in month one?

  2. 02

    Specific dates

    When does the release plan lock? When is the co-write camp? When is the support-tour decision made?

  3. 03

    Specific markets

    Which three cities scale next, and which act's tour are you on as support?

  4. 04

    Specific dollars

    What does the income statement look like in 12 months — touring vs sync vs catalog?

  5. 05

    Specific exit

    90-day milestone-based escape, 5% sunset cap, 12-month tail. Their reaction tells you everything.

Run this before signing. If they can't answer four of five with specifics, keep looking.

The percentage math

Standard is 15–20% of gross artist income. The trap is the word gross.

If you're at $400k/year today across touring, recording, and sync, 20% gross is $80k. If the manager doubles your business — to $800k — their cut is $160k and you net $640k vs. $320k. Worth it.

But if the manager doesn't double the business and just collects the percentage on the income you'd have had anyway — you've just given a smart person a salary for showing up.

The right manager makes you a different artist in twelve months. The wrong one costs you eighteen.

The exit math

Sign a two-year deal with a 90-day milestone-based escape. Add a sunset clause — post-termination commission caps at 5% and applies only to releases they actively worked on, with a 12-month tail.

A manager who won't accept these terms is telling you something important.

The signal you're actually ready

You're saying no to opportunities by accident. You're missing emails. You can't tell whether the festival pitch you got last week is worth replying to. The work is piling up and your judgment isn't scaling.

That's the moment a manager pays for themselves. Not when you want to be famous — when the work has already overflowed.

Frequently asked

How much should a manager take?
15–20% of gross artist income across all streams. Some carve out songwriting publishing; some don't. The trap is signing 20% of gross with no carve-outs — when sync money lands or you co-write a hit, you give up a meaningful percentage of money the manager had no hand in earning.
What's the right contract length?
Two years with a 90-day termination window if specific milestones aren't hit, plus a sunset clause that caps post-termination commission at 5% on releases they actively worked. Anything over three years at this tier is the manager protecting themselves, not you.
What should a good manager be doing in the first 90 days?
Inventory of every deal, every relationship, every recurring revenue source. A 12-month release plan with sign-offs. Introductions to at least three people who can move your career — not 'I'll set up a call' but actual sit-downs. If 90 days in you can't name three new doors they've opened, you've hired a babysitter.
Should I sign with someone who manages bigger artists than me?
Only if you can confirm they have time. The biggest mistake at this tier is signing with a manager whose 80% client takes 95% of their attention. Better a hungry mid-career manager who treats you like priority one than a famous manager who treats you like a side bet.