Services · Artist management
A manager runs the business, so the artist can make the work.
Strategy, the team around you, the deals and the day to day, planned backwards from where you want to be in five years.
What management is
And what it is not
The job
A manager runs the business of a career so the artist can make the work. Everything that is not writing, recording or performing ends up on the manager’s desk: which offers to take, who to work with, how the year is shaped, and whether the money that was agreed ever arrived.
Not an agent
A booking agent sells shows and is paid on the fee. We work with agents, and in the early years we often do the booking ourselves, but the manager’s job is to decide which shows are worth playing at all.
Not a label
We do not own your recordings or your songs, and we do not take rights in exchange for our time. If a label or publishing deal is right, we find it and negotiate it for you.
Not a lawyer
We negotiate deals and read contracts closely, and we sit alongside specialist music lawyers and accountants rather than in place of them. We will tell you when something needs a solicitor rather than a manager.
The work
What we do, week to week
Strategy
We start from where you want to be in five years and plan backwards. The plan decides the year: which releases, which markets, which rooms. It is written down, reviewed every quarter and changed when the facts change.
The team
Agent, label or distributor, publisher, press, lawyer, accountant. We find the right people for the stage you are at, brief them, hold them to what they promised, and replace them when they stop delivering.
Deals
Fees, splits, advances, licences, riders and brand terms. We negotiate them, get them papered before the work starts, and then make sure both sides honour them.
Day to day
Promoters, producers, press and the people around you. Travel, logistics and the scheduling that decides whether a month is survivable. One point of contact, so nothing falls between inboxes.
The shape of a career is made mostly of turned-down opportunities.
From How we work
The first ninety days
Housekeeping first
Weeks one to four
A full audit: every contract, registration, account and open conversation. Collecting society memberships checked, splits confirmed, the diary rebuilt in one place.
Weeks five to eight
Your website live on our platform, the booking pipeline and invoicing set up, and the written twelve month plan agreed.
Weeks nine to twelve
Introductions started: agents, labels or distributors, publishers and press, in the order the plan says. The first release or run of dates scheduled.
Everything after depends on the paperwork being right, so it comes first.
Who it suits
Fit
Artists in any genre who have music worth hearing, some sign that people want it, and a clear idea of where they want to go. That can be a singer-songwriter with a first EP, a band with a touring history, a DJ with a following, or a composer whose work is starting to be commissioned.
It suits artists who want to be told the truth about their numbers and their options, and who treat the career as a business worth running properly. It does not suit anyone looking for a manager to promise them a deal.
We keep the roster small so that every artist on it has a manager rather than a mailing list. That means we say no more often than yes, and when we say no we explain why.
Questions
About artist management
What does an artist manager actually do?
A manager runs the business of an artist’s career so the artist can make the work. In practice that means setting the strategy, building and directing the team (agent, label, publisher, lawyer, accountant), negotiating and holding deals, planning releases and tours, and keeping the money and the paperwork in order. A good manager also says no to things, which is most of the job.
What is the difference between a manager, an agent and a label?
A booking agent sells live shows. A label funds, releases and markets recordings, usually in exchange for owning or licensing them. A publisher looks after the songs themselves. A manager sits across all of them on the artist’s side, choosing who to work with and making sure each of them delivers.
When does an artist need a manager?
Usually when the business has started to take time away from the music: offers to weigh, people to coordinate, money to chase. Before that, an artist is often better served by a good lawyer and a clear plan. We would rather tell you it is too early than sign you before we can be useful.
How much does Emberlight charge?
Twenty per cent of gross income, and twenty per cent of net touring income after costs, with recording and video budgets and tour support never commissioned. The full terms, including the sunset after the agreement ends, are published on How we work.
Keep reading
For artists
Considering representation?
Tell us what you are working on and where you want to be in five years. We read every application properly and we reply to everyone, including when the answer is no.