Managing A Musician in Second Life

I've been managing musicians in Second Life for three years now and I love it! In the past I have managed the music career of Craig Lyons, Guitar Zane and others. Currently, I am managing Mankind Tracer/Seth Regan in real life.

With every musician I have managed, I take it seriously. To me it's no different than a real life job with real commitments and by taking on the management of a musician, they are putting their career into your hands. Second Life offers musicians a global audience that they may never have had in RL. It is a chance to get their name out there and develop their very real fan base and even sell some CDs.

If you want to manage a musician, or currently do, you MUST keep in mind that this is a business. You are in the business of promoting, booking and creative development. Also, I cannot express enough, you are a reflection on the musician you manage and they are a reflection on you. So act professionally.

What do I mean by act professionally? Well, to start with, be kind, to everyone. Be nice to newbies, venue owners, fans, hosts, other managers, musicians....everyone. Even when someone is not being really nice to you, be nice back. Kill them with kindness. There will be times when you might have a disagreement with someone, that is bound to happen eventually, just remember to not lose your temper and keep a professional attitude.

Dress to impress! Think about the shows you have booked and even visit the venue before hand to see what is appropriate for that venue. Don't wear jeans to a ballroom and don't wear a ball gown on the beach. As a musician manager, you have some flexibility because you can dress "rock & roll" or to a theme but keep in mind that it is still unprofessional to have your butt cheeks hanging out or cleavage spilling out all over the place. In Second Life I believe that we have become a bit desensitized to blatant sexuality but as a professional you do need to dress the part. When in doubt go conservative.

Communication is key! You NEED to be able to communicate effectively with many people, such as, the musician, venue owners, hosts, fans, media and others. Make sure you have good communication skills! You can schedule times to sit down to meet with your musician to discuss upcoming gigs if they are very busy in RL or you can just make a point to communicate daily with pertinent information. This is very important to a successful working relationship. Also, communication with venues is super important. If your musician needs to cancel or reschedule or is running late you HAVE to let the venue know or you might not get your musician booked there again.

"When considering a manager to handle your music career, it is imperative that you find someone you communicate well with and understands your vision of what you want for your music career. They need to understand that this is a job that you are counting on them to perform professionally and that you are putting your name, your brand and your trust into their hands."- Mankind Tracer/Seth Regan

These are just some basics of musician management, I do offer one on one training for managers. Right now, I am not taking on new talent in SL, however, if you need a little help with creative development or mentoring you are free to email me. If interested please email me with links to music, your name and the sort of assistance you are looking for:  brandy@maltasmanagement.com