AS A band manager, Marcia Tan does what she deems best for her clients. In this case, it’s Electrico and Budak Pantai. She doesn’t mince her words and will always make sure her clients don’t get hard done by. Some call herlovea godsend, other think she’s gawdawful.
Anyway, during my recent trip to Australia with Electrico, I had a chance to see how Marcia operated. While she was accomodating to many of my requests, there were times when she’d just say “no”. Fair enough, perhaps the band didn’t want to be photographed in nothing by strawberries and whipped cream.loveloveStill, whatever your stance, you can’t help but feel that the bands in Singaporelovemight do welllovewith more people like her.
love
*******************
Many people have no clue as to what band managers do. Can you tell us specifically what your job entails as pertains to the bands you manage? I like to think there are agents, publicist and managers in the music scene here. In fact, that is what I hope to establish for musicians eventually. Some artistes merely need an agent to help them nail more jobs, think booker. Like a model who needs an agency booker, a musician or performer needs an agent. Publicity is a different thing, getting news for artist, and working with the media is another ballgame altogether.love As for managers, they do everything needed to make a band a band.
Managers work with agents, publicist and any and everyone who can help the band in their career.love A manager plans a roster, oversees the artiste’s career and, in my case with Electrico, I handle the entire marketing plan of the band since we are an indie outfit.love I talk to sponsors for funding of the band’s album, I work with organisations to negotiate deals for the bands, get wardrobe sponsorships, brand collaboration, secure gigs at festivals and plan their tour. I work with photographers for shoots, music directors, designers, producers.love I work with the band closely to achieve what we set out to achieve.love
love
Is there a set of rules that the band must follow? Like most managers, we will not discuss fees. Unlike agents who take a cut on the paid jobs, managers can work on different scheme. I believe some can command a fee, others a cut and some both.love I am not sure how other bands work but I like to think I have an open book policy with Electrico. They are updated on what’s going on and we do talk about what lies ahead, sometimes at an impromptu meeting, other times over band meetings.love
I also keep a file for all money matters that they can go through at any time.lovelove We did not go about setting rules on how we do this but over time, I think we have developed some understanding on what we all share in common and what I think the band does not like wish to do.love
If I do get a project that I find interesting but am unsure if that is something the band might want to take on, I just ask. Can’t go wrong asking and discussing about bigger projects. I think as a manager, you just help the band put their ideas into reality.love And when ideas are too wild, you also help put the band in check.
love
How important are managers to bands these days when bands can self-promote on the Internet, etc?love Bands need to understand having a MySpace account isn’t all there is to it. There is a reason why labels, managers, agents, publicist exist. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are useful tools but having your stuff out there does not mean you have made it.love There is a lot more work than just putting your stuff out on the internet.love I think bands can do better if they find a manager who knows their work and believes in them. Having your roadie or groupie start acting like a manager isn’t exactly having a manager. Bands not only need to ask themselves if they need a manager but if they are ready to have a manager.
Like any working relationship, it requires a lot of time and effort and it rarely is a love at first sight and you live happily ever after story.love I also know of some bands who think having a manager means they just sit back and wait to be a super rock star. Managers are not God, they don’t make miracles. Everyone has to work to make it work. I believe a lot of bands here have an unofficial spokesperson who acts like their managers and if that works for them, so be it.love
But I do believe bands should concentrate on their music while managers handle the business aspect. Bands will only benefit from having a manager if the bands believe they can advance their career, and assuming the said manager knows the business or has a genuine interest in the business.
love
How do you decide who to manage or who not to manage? Like how a band will suss around to know who can be good managers, managers will do the same to find out about the band.love That said, I don’t think it is fair to base the decision to take on any bands from hearsay. Given a choice, I do choose to start by doing a few jobs or projects with the band then decide from there if something more can come out of it.love
Think of it like a relationship where you start hanging out with someone then decide if you want to take it further.love Every manager has their own criteria and I believe there is no set criteria. I like bands who are hungry: When you are hungry enough you want to succeed. I don’t like complacency and mediocrity, and I think there a dime a dozen here in Singapore because we are not brought up to think music can be a career.love
I tend to lean towards bands that are hardworking because it is nice to know they work as hard as I do. It helps if you believe in that band that you want to manage, it makes the job a lot more enjoyable. I will never take on high maintenance or demanding bands though, even if they bring in the moolah, I have learnt it is just not worth draining my energy for it.love
love
What is the biggest misconception about managers? I am fiercely protective of the band and I am very firm on my stand on what a band deserves but I know by me being so, I am often misconstrued as me being a difficult manager.love Another common misconception of managers is that the job is glamourous and all they do is to sit there and wait for jobs to fall on their laps.love I think some people become managers because they are thinking so too.love
I clock minimum a 12-hour work day, sometimes a 16-hour day.love Sometimes when we tour, I sleep two hours a night.love Very often you are the first to wake up, the last to hit the bed.love It is a tough job, you need to thrive on stress to get things going.love Apart from replying general enquiries, you work on stories to come out next, next album plan, upcoming tours, itinerary, accounts, administrative work, billing and chasing payment, calling up contacts, establishing new partners, researching on the scene and find any other opportunity that you can take the band to another level that they deserve.love
I love to be that manager that sips champagne while I watch the band play too but I know the reality is that I am either trying to make sure there is merchandise at the door or if there is press at that event that I need to pass materials to or I have to be talking to venue owners to find out more and get feedback, making sure band has water and towels on stage, everyone is on standby and what have you.
I must add I am thankful Electrico is one hell of a disciplined band that spares me the pain of baby-sitting, which is something I don’t do very well and have no intention to perfect either.love The band has over the years trained themselves very well in their work, which really allows me to concentrate on the business more instead of fussing over the nitty-gritty bits. Once you hit a gig venue, the band just takes on the stage and gets everything in place without you having to worry about the gig itself.
love
What is the most important component of your job? And why? Like any career, you should love what you do.love I love this business – loveI’d better, since this is my 14th year in the business.love Sadly the monetary rewards in this business in Singapore are not great (yet) so if money drives you, forget about being a manager.
I think we have a long way before this music can be regarded as a professional job. Trust is a must in keeping this job and you must earn it.love It is probably the hardest thing to have between a band and their manager but it is probably the most precious component to have.love Networking is an important component, a manager with a good network does have the advantage to take your career further. That said, networks and contacts don’t fall from the sky, you have to go find them and not think people will come knocking on your doors.
love
What is the most hassle you had to go through? Sometimes I cannot believe that five years into managing a band and I am still fighting for rights.love You just assume since the band has made it here, people will know better.love The ironic thing is, we are often treated very well by overseas promoters and show organisers, often a lot better than what we can get in Singapore.love
I remember going to the backstage of a festival in Singapore where ALL local acts were to share one tiny room while the overseas act each had a room bigger than the shared one.love And the local promoter made passes differentiating local artists and overseas artist and themselves (locals) wearing overseas artist pass.love
At times like that you wish to throw your pass into the organiser’s face but I try to be professional, finish the gig we are paid for and leave. Sometimes I do follow-up with an email to tell the promoter I do not enjoy them regarding my band as second class citizens, other times I just tell myself I will never accept another show from this person/venue.love
I don’t find it a hassle to fight for the band but I find it painful and tiresome that year after year we are still doing it, which says a lot about this industry not moving forward.love Electrico has played to various audiences across Australia, America, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia from hundreds to thousands in each show and some of the best responses came from touring though we wish more will come from Singapore eventually.love Till this day I still get local television asking the band to be a warm up act while another regional television network can be aggressively promoting the band across Asia.
love
Let’s talk about this trip to Australia? Why did you decide to do it?loveI last worked with Tourism Australia on a project/shoot in 2008 and we had been talking about doing something fun to highlight the other aspects of an Australia tour when an opportunity arose. Then when the team at TA brought up Electrico to be “Friends of Australia”, I figured we could do something together by including gigs in between the tour. And with the band working with Chugg Entertainment in the last One Movement Festival, everything just fell in nicely — to have the gig part of the tour incorporated into the TA’s proposed itinerary.
love
Do you think the objectives were reached? In terms of touring and given opportunities to gig at selected cities, yes we have achieved that. Clearly, like all gigs, we hope to have as many people as we can and to make some money out of it. We sold tickets, we sold merchandise, the band played in bigger venues and had better turnout than their last Australia tour in 2004 so all in, it was a step up for the band.love
Like most of the gigs we do overseas, I am realistic enough not to think the band is as popular as they are in Singapore as they can be in a huge market like Australia. But the fact that they are able to make their presence felt and make an impression is itself an achievement.love
love
Someone said there should have been more publicity for the band. What do you think? Do you think Australia could be a target market for Electrico? Interestingly more press in Australia picked up the news than in Singapore. People often comment about more publicity, more gigs, more of everything for everyone. But I don’t know if anyone even realised the band was supported by a huge online player in Australia, lovefasterlouder, and backed up one of Oz’s biggest promoter, Chugg.
There can never be enough publicity but we do our part in getting what we can, we can send as many releases to as many people but I cannot point a knife and insist a press write-up. What is interesting to an Oz press may be something Singapore publications don’t find exciting.
We are sometimes so closed up here we think by doing the same thing we do in Singapore, it means the same in Australia. Sydney alone is the close to the size of Singapore and if you do see the weekly publications Australia has for the thousands of bands playing everyday, getting a mention or a small blurb is big deal and I am happy the band did.love
Any market that has an English-speaking audience can be a target market for Electrico. I don’t think we go about picking and choosing a target market but rather go where there is an opportunity or when a door opens up.
love
Would you be open to more such trips? I’m definitely open to trips where we can take the music further. The support from Tourism Australia eased a great deal off the expenses that we could have incurred in a tour and the activities that they hosted was a bonus to add some fun to the trip.
love
What is the most challenging thing about your job? And why? The most challenging thing is telling yourself not to give up on this job in Singapore because it often feel like a constant uphill climb that slides three steps back when you take two steps forward.love Funny as it may sound, it is still challenging to let clients know they have to pay a fee to bands if they are interested to book them. I am tired of receiving requests to perform for free, I have run out of polite excuses to turn down the show and I don’t know how else to let people know we do this for a living.love
I once received an enquiry from someone who incidentally was hosting the said event, he invited the band to play at a sponsorship-driven event for free and I wanted to ask him if he was hosting for free, which clearly he wasn’t.love
So you havelovesponsorship, you hire an event organiser who then pays for contractors to build a stage, hire a sound company, pay suppliers to print banners; you pay venue rental, you pay someone to host, you buy airtime, you buy print advertisement but you don’t pay bands.love Everyone makes something from this project except the band.love I mean, seriously, how do they think bands make a living?love Well, I still get questioned if this is my full time job so…
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Anyway, during my recent trip to Australia with Electrico, I had a chance to see how Marcia operated. While she was accomodating to many of my requests, there were times when she’d just say “no”. Fair enough, perhaps the band didn’t want to be photographed in nothing by strawberries and whipped cream.loveloveStill, whatever your stance, you can’t help but feel that the bands in Singaporelovemight do welllovewith more people like her.
love
*******************
Many people have no clue as to what band managers do. Can you tell us specifically what your job entails as pertains to the bands you manage? I like to think there are agents, publicist and managers in the music scene here. In fact, that is what I hope to establish for musicians eventually. Some artistes merely need an agent to help them nail more jobs, think booker. Like a model who needs an agency booker, a musician or performer needs an agent. Publicity is a different thing, getting news for artist, and working with the media is another ballgame altogether.love As for managers, they do everything needed to make a band a band.
Managers work with agents, publicist and any and everyone who can help the band in their career.love A manager plans a roster, oversees the artiste’s career and, in my case with Electrico, I handle the entire marketing plan of the band since we are an indie outfit.love I talk to sponsors for funding of the band’s album, I work with organisations to negotiate deals for the bands, get wardrobe sponsorships, brand collaboration, secure gigs at festivals and plan their tour. I work with photographers for shoots, music directors, designers, producers.love I work with the band closely to achieve what we set out to achieve.love
love
Is there a set of rules that the band must follow? Like most managers, we will not discuss fees. Unlike agents who take a cut on the paid jobs, managers can work on different scheme. I believe some can command a fee, others a cut and some both.love I am not sure how other bands work but I like to think I have an open book policy with Electrico. They are updated on what’s going on and we do talk about what lies ahead, sometimes at an impromptu meeting, other times over band meetings.love
I also keep a file for all money matters that they can go through at any time.lovelove We did not go about setting rules on how we do this but over time, I think we have developed some understanding on what we all share in common and what I think the band does not like wish to do.love
If I do get a project that I find interesting but am unsure if that is something the band might want to take on, I just ask. Can’t go wrong asking and discussing about bigger projects. I think as a manager, you just help the band put their ideas into reality.love And when ideas are too wild, you also help put the band in check.
How important are managers to bands these days when bands can self-promote on the Internet, etc?love Bands need to understand having a MySpace account isn’t all there is to it. There is a reason why labels, managers, agents, publicist exist. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are useful tools but having your stuff out there does not mean you have made it.love There is a lot more work than just putting your stuff out on the internet.love I think bands can do better if they find a manager who knows their work and believes in them. Having your roadie or groupie start acting like a manager isn’t exactly having a manager. Bands not only need to ask themselves if they need a manager but if they are ready to have a manager.
Like any working relationship, it requires a lot of time and effort and it rarely is a love at first sight and you live happily ever after story.love I also know of some bands who think having a manager means they just sit back and wait to be a super rock star. Managers are not God, they don’t make miracles. Everyone has to work to make it work. I believe a lot of bands here have an unofficial spokesperson who acts like their managers and if that works for them, so be it.love
But I do believe bands should concentrate on their music while managers handle the business aspect. Bands will only benefit from having a manager if the bands believe they can advance their career, and assuming the said manager knows the business or has a genuine interest in the business.
love
How do you decide who to manage or who not to manage? Like how a band will suss around to know who can be good managers, managers will do the same to find out about the band.love That said, I don’t think it is fair to base the decision to take on any bands from hearsay. Given a choice, I do choose to start by doing a few jobs or projects with the band then decide from there if something more can come out of it.love
Think of it like a relationship where you start hanging out with someone then decide if you want to take it further.love Every manager has their own criteria and I believe there is no set criteria. I like bands who are hungry: When you are hungry enough you want to succeed. I don’t like complacency and mediocrity, and I think there a dime a dozen here in Singapore because we are not brought up to think music can be a career.love
I tend to lean towards bands that are hardworking because it is nice to know they work as hard as I do. It helps if you believe in that band that you want to manage, it makes the job a lot more enjoyable. I will never take on high maintenance or demanding bands though, even if they bring in the moolah, I have learnt it is just not worth draining my energy for it.love
love
What is the biggest misconception about managers? I am fiercely protective of the band and I am very firm on my stand on what a band deserves but I know by me being so, I am often misconstrued as me being a difficult manager.love Another common misconception of managers is that the job is glamourous and all they do is to sit there and wait for jobs to fall on their laps.love I think some people become managers because they are thinking so too.love
I clock minimum a 12-hour work day, sometimes a 16-hour day.love Sometimes when we tour, I sleep two hours a night.love Very often you are the first to wake up, the last to hit the bed.love It is a tough job, you need to thrive on stress to get things going.love Apart from replying general enquiries, you work on stories to come out next, next album plan, upcoming tours, itinerary, accounts, administrative work, billing and chasing payment, calling up contacts, establishing new partners, researching on the scene and find any other opportunity that you can take the band to another level that they deserve.love
I love to be that manager that sips champagne while I watch the band play too but I know the reality is that I am either trying to make sure there is merchandise at the door or if there is press at that event that I need to pass materials to or I have to be talking to venue owners to find out more and get feedback, making sure band has water and towels on stage, everyone is on standby and what have you.
I must add I am thankful Electrico is one hell of a disciplined band that spares me the pain of baby-sitting, which is something I don’t do very well and have no intention to perfect either.love The band has over the years trained themselves very well in their work, which really allows me to concentrate on the business more instead of fussing over the nitty-gritty bits. Once you hit a gig venue, the band just takes on the stage and gets everything in place without you having to worry about the gig itself.
love
What is the most important component of your job? And why? Like any career, you should love what you do.love I love this business – loveI’d better, since this is my 14th year in the business.love Sadly the monetary rewards in this business in Singapore are not great (yet) so if money drives you, forget about being a manager.
I think we have a long way before this music can be regarded as a professional job. Trust is a must in keeping this job and you must earn it.love It is probably the hardest thing to have between a band and their manager but it is probably the most precious component to have.love Networking is an important component, a manager with a good network does have the advantage to take your career further. That said, networks and contacts don’t fall from the sky, you have to go find them and not think people will come knocking on your doors.
love
What is the most hassle you had to go through? Sometimes I cannot believe that five years into managing a band and I am still fighting for rights.love You just assume since the band has made it here, people will know better.love The ironic thing is, we are often treated very well by overseas promoters and show organisers, often a lot better than what we can get in Singapore.love
I remember going to the backstage of a festival in Singapore where ALL local acts were to share one tiny room while the overseas act each had a room bigger than the shared one.love And the local promoter made passes differentiating local artists and overseas artist and themselves (locals) wearing overseas artist pass.love
At times like that you wish to throw your pass into the organiser’s face but I try to be professional, finish the gig we are paid for and leave. Sometimes I do follow-up with an email to tell the promoter I do not enjoy them regarding my band as second class citizens, other times I just tell myself I will never accept another show from this person/venue.love
I don’t find it a hassle to fight for the band but I find it painful and tiresome that year after year we are still doing it, which says a lot about this industry not moving forward.love Electrico has played to various audiences across Australia, America, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia from hundreds to thousands in each show and some of the best responses came from touring though we wish more will come from Singapore eventually.love Till this day I still get local television asking the band to be a warm up act while another regional television network can be aggressively promoting the band across Asia.
love
Let’s talk about this trip to Australia? Why did you decide to do it?loveI last worked with Tourism Australia on a project/shoot in 2008 and we had been talking about doing something fun to highlight the other aspects of an Australia tour when an opportunity arose. Then when the team at TA brought up Electrico to be “Friends of Australia”, I figured we could do something together by including gigs in between the tour. And with the band working with Chugg Entertainment in the last One Movement Festival, everything just fell in nicely — to have the gig part of the tour incorporated into the TA’s proposed itinerary.
love
Do you think the objectives were reached? In terms of touring and given opportunities to gig at selected cities, yes we have achieved that. Clearly, like all gigs, we hope to have as many people as we can and to make some money out of it. We sold tickets, we sold merchandise, the band played in bigger venues and had better turnout than their last Australia tour in 2004 so all in, it was a step up for the band.love
Like most of the gigs we do overseas, I am realistic enough not to think the band is as popular as they are in Singapore as they can be in a huge market like Australia. But the fact that they are able to make their presence felt and make an impression is itself an achievement.love
love
Someone said there should have been more publicity for the band. What do you think? Do you think Australia could be a target market for Electrico? Interestingly more press in Australia picked up the news than in Singapore. People often comment about more publicity, more gigs, more of everything for everyone. But I don’t know if anyone even realised the band was supported by a huge online player in Australia, lovefasterlouder, and backed up one of Oz’s biggest promoter, Chugg.
There can never be enough publicity but we do our part in getting what we can, we can send as many releases to as many people but I cannot point a knife and insist a press write-up. What is interesting to an Oz press may be something Singapore publications don’t find exciting.
We are sometimes so closed up here we think by doing the same thing we do in Singapore, it means the same in Australia. Sydney alone is the close to the size of Singapore and if you do see the weekly publications Australia has for the thousands of bands playing everyday, getting a mention or a small blurb is big deal and I am happy the band did.love
Any market that has an English-speaking audience can be a target market for Electrico. I don’t think we go about picking and choosing a target market but rather go where there is an opportunity or when a door opens up.
love
Would you be open to more such trips? I’m definitely open to trips where we can take the music further. The support from Tourism Australia eased a great deal off the expenses that we could have incurred in a tour and the activities that they hosted was a bonus to add some fun to the trip.
love
What is the most challenging thing about your job? And why? The most challenging thing is telling yourself not to give up on this job in Singapore because it often feel like a constant uphill climb that slides three steps back when you take two steps forward.love Funny as it may sound, it is still challenging to let clients know they have to pay a fee to bands if they are interested to book them. I am tired of receiving requests to perform for free, I have run out of polite excuses to turn down the show and I don’t know how else to let people know we do this for a living.love
I once received an enquiry from someone who incidentally was hosting the said event, he invited the band to play at a sponsorship-driven event for free and I wanted to ask him if he was hosting for free, which clearly he wasn’t.love
So you havelovesponsorship, you hire an event organiser who then pays for contractors to build a stage, hire a sound company, pay suppliers to print banners; you pay venue rental, you pay someone to host, you buy airtime, you buy print advertisement but you don’t pay bands.love Everyone makes something from this project except the band.love I mean, seriously, how do they think bands make a living?love Well, I still get questioned if this is my full time job so…
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