The only experience I have of managing an artist is that which I have gained managing myself for the past 9yrs... (minus the recent year or so that Lisa managed me).
9yrs might sound like a lot of experience to some (well, I know it does lol - because people are always asking me to run their DJ agencies...), but the thing is, despite this extensive experience of working with many promoters worldwide over the years, I am still not entirely sure I'm doing it right!
And this isn't the usual self-doubt or lack of confidence... I say this because I don't know the standard practices.. just how I have worked! I have asked several artists and agents for advice (which I always take), but there always seems to be something else new to learn along the way.. thru experience.. in the sense of learning from a mistake!
There are a lot of enquiries that just never materialise into anything, which I guess is normal, but I can't help thinking if my percentage is average, or not..?
It's also really difficult knowing what not to do. For instance, it is etiquette to work for just one promoter in one country... You can chat to a promoter for months and years, and have nothing materialise - no legal agreement, but a good working relationship. Then someone else comes along from the same country, ready to sign on the dotted line.. and then you feel like you have screwed over the guy you've been chatting to for years if you work with the new guy.
Another dilemma is London bookings vs international ones...
- London bookings pay peanuts... international ones don't!
- London bookings don't sign contracts or pay advances... international ones do!
- Both types of bookings are rare and tend to come along like busses (ie. all at once)
Yeh so this a little insight into the glamourous world of being a female DJ (it happens to guys too, I just put that in there to web optimise this blog hahahaha).
This political management minefield is a nightmare!! It is something that as an international DJ you find it thrust upon you. And that's actually quite dodgy, because for DJs that are new to all this, it can be very risky, especially for the female DJs... I have had some quite scary experiences in lands far from my own, and thankfully things worked out okay in the end. I learnt from them, and the result is now my contract is 3 pages long - I worry that it puts off some promoters, perhaps to some I sound like a diva.. instead of a girl who is just trying to make sure she is safe and gets paid what she is promised.
Oh.. what I want more than anything else right now is new Management to come charging in, like a knight in shining armour on a white horse... taking me away from the paperwork and politeness and cold-calling and chasing up and diary juggling... freeing my precious time up so that I can record more mixes for you guys to download, practice my mixing so that my live performances are mind-blowing and spending more time in the studio so that I can get more experience making tracks that even more people will like (myself included).
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